Photo Op-ended

I want to relay this story for my cousin:

Back in 1982 I was a freshman in high school whose musical horizons were expanding.  I had grown up on a lot of R&B and Funk, but by now I had started playing guitar and developing a love for rock music.  Added to that mix were the intriguing punk and new wave bands you wouldn't hear anywhere else but KROQ.  Back then is when I first discovered the band that would eventually become my all time favorite - the not quite punk, not quite new wave, British "art pop" band XTC.

At that time their songs had been getting a lot of KROQ airplay.  So you can't imagine how excited I was to hear they would be playing gig at the Hollywood Palladium soon.  I so wanted to go to that show!  The only problem was I was too young to drive and couldn't think of anyone in my family who would take a 14 year old to a concert at a club in Hollywood.  And we're talking back in the day when Hollywood was grimy, nasty, bombed out, drug-infested, dangerous Hollywood!

It wouldn't have mattered anyway.  Three weeks before XTC's scheduled gig at the Hollywood Palladium on April 4,1982, the lead singer had a panic attack on stage in Paris.  They would perform only one more concert - in San Diego on April 3rd.  After that they would hang up their guitars, go back to England and never tour again.  Hollywood Palladium?  Cancelled.

Flash forward to the year 2000.  Luckily for me the band still put out albums.  They had disappeared off my radar after 1982 but I found them again a few years later.  Now they were going to be in L.A. again promoting their latest release at the (late) Virgin Megastore at Sunset and Crescent Heights.  This band, which has my favorite songwriter, favorite bass player and favorite guitarist, rarely left England.  This band whose songwriting craft and production I studied so intently was going to be just a couple miles from where I worked.  Hell if I was going to miss out!

So after work I drove to the Virgin Megastore and waited in a long line for a couple hours with one of those disposable drug store cameras in hand.  I finally get my turn to meet two of my all time favorite musicians in the world!  I was beyond cloud nine!  I knew an autograph wouldn't be enough for me, I wanted a photo with these guys.  Thankfully, someone graciously snapped a photo of me with each guy.  And I got to genuinely thank them for all the music they created that brought such joy to my life.

When I got back to my car in the parking lot, I had to sit there for a minute.  This had been one of the most thrilling moments in my life.  I was so happy.  I couldn't f*cking believe I met them.  I drove off with my camera planning to get the film developed soon.

Some time after that I'm finally getting the film developed.  I couldn't wait until those pics were ready!  But when I picked them up from the drug store...there were no pictures of this event at all.  WTF!?  Maybe it was the other disposable camera I had laying around.  But now I couldn't find it.  Somehow, after this most magical event in my life, I lost the friggin' camera!!!

To this day I have no idea what happened to that camera.  I never got my pics.  These guys went back to England, recorded one more album and then disbanded for good.  But you know what, I'm glad I did it.  I'm glad I summoned up the courage to even meet them.  I'm glad I got to tell them how much their music meant to me.  I just wish I had a photo of it lol!

So Long Ago - The Theme From Goldensnatch

Because I've always wanted to write a Bond theme.  And also a long lost Carpenters song.  Somehow the two merge into this.

Now I'm tempted to actually write a song called "Goldensatch".  Is Shirley Bassey still alive?

Urban Safari - Venice Beach - Medical Mari

Fortuately, spotting the clinic of Dr. Green Scrubs provided all the explanation I needed.
And with that another edition of #urbansafari comes to an end. Peace out, Venice Beach! Time for new adventures to places all too familiar.

Urban Safari - Venice Beach - Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!

As I wind down my travelogue I would be remiss not to mention the native cuisine. Plus peddling Greased Lightning all afternoon was making me hungry. What surprised me about a tastes of VB was the high caloric and fat content of these offerings. I search and scanned the area to see if there was any explanation for such curious culinary options...
#urbansafari #venicebeach

Urban Safari - Venice Beach - Vicious Drum Circle

Tribes, tribes and more tribes! Such an assortment gather here to sing, dance, strum, stroke and smoke for the throngs of vacationing gringos in search of cheap tinted eyewear.

Captured in action here are the plastic bucket drummer tribe, the lady who brought a baby grand piano to the beach to play tribe, the we can't sell this sh*t in stores so we sell it here tribe and the famous bearded guy in a turban playing electric guitar while on rollar skates tribe of one. Sadly, he turned away from my lens as I snapped this shot. His attention drawn to potential customers in an effort to sell them a tribal "t-shirt" bearing his image.

Urban Safari - Venice Beach - Les dreams du catche

There is something so sublimely spiritual about la plage du Venice (the beach of Venice or #venicebeach). Spritual practitioners abound.

As do the Catchers of Dreams (les dreams du catche). These massive ornaments on display today so fitting for these environs...all the wandering souls who travelled west for their dreams seem to migrate here after losing them. #urbansafari #venicebeach

Urban Safari - Venice Beach - In Xanadu did Kubla Khan...wear leg warmers and roller skates

35 years ago, I, your #UrbanSafari host, was a curious, young, impressionable 12yo. I know. Hard to imagine. Back then during the wee hours of the afternoon I discovered a documentary on HBO titled "Xanadu". In this locational time capsule of a film a beautiful mural came to life. That mural was in Venice Beach. That mural WAS Venice Beach!

Today in my travels I had hoped to find the mural. Sadly, the elegant depiction of the muses has not stood the test of time. Poor ladies.

#urbansafari #venicebeach

Urban Safari - Venice Beach - Native Garb

We must not forget jewelry is meant to accessorize cultural dress. Here are two items available from local merchants that any foreign explorer (me!) could barter for in an attempt to better fit in with the resident tribes. The pop culture t-shirt and the hippy hemp-made knapsack. Notice the bright, vibrant colors! Amazing!

One must assume the replicated images on said "t-shirts" are in honor of past leaders of various tribes that inhabit the beach and boardwalk here. Fascinating!

Urban Safari - Venice Beach - Native Jewelry

Our first stop for this #UrbanSafari Venice Beach edition. We decided to examine the curious culture of VB by exploring native made jewelry. What became abundantly apparent early in my excursion was how all cultural touchstones in this region are so closely tied with the indigenous food. The protuberance of such curious combinations were everywhere!

Alas, Toe Ring Ice Cream...maybe some other time. #urbansafari #venicebeach

Urban Safari - Venice Beach!

Bonjour mes amis! It's time for another edition Urban Safari! This time we explore the wild, mysterious sun, sand and surf of Venice Beach.

I had the pleasure of exploring this exotic territory on an open air jeep-cycle. "Greased Lightning" twas what I dubbed her. And I'd like to send a special thanks to Danny Zuko and Kenicki for transporting GL all the way from Thunder Road. Go T-Birds!

Tall Tales of a Puffy Shirt

Seinfeld "Puffy Shirt"

We all know of it.  Even if you weren't a regular fan of the show Seinfeld, there's a good chance you've heard of some of the show's most legendary episodes: The Contest, Man Hands, Real and Spectacular.  It was one of the greatest sitcoms ever.  One that took the most formulaic elements of the sitcom and turned them inside out in it's own Bizarro world sort of way.  I mean who would have ever imagined so much hilarity could result from the Seinfeld gang focusing on one item - The Puffy Shirt.  An episode so memorable, the actual shirt ended up in the Smithsonian Institute.

But I'm not here to do a break down play by play of what makes this episode comedy gold.  I'm here to investigate.  Heck, I may even be here to instigate.  Because the story of how the Puffy Shirt got to be on Seinfeld and ultimately part of the collection at the Smithsonian Institute may be it's very own mystery.

Peter in puffy shirt in mid-1980s

'You know the shirt I use to wear as a Prince impersonator?  I sold that to a television writer on Seinfeld!'  Of course I remembered that shirt.  Back in the mid-80s my cousin Peter was a Prince impersonator and a damn good one.  He got quite a bit of work impersonating the Purple One, and when he needed costumes replicating what Prince wore at the time with detail and accuracy, there was only one person he needed to go to - my Mom.

My Mom was (and is) an incredibly talented artist.  At the age of 18 she was offered a scholarship to go to Paris to study clothing design at Christian Dior.  She was forced to decline by her mother (actually the aunt that raised her) who said 'the only girls who go to Paris are prostitutes and whores.'  Nice.  My Mom had to settle for her other dream in life - to marry and to have a bunch of kids.

But the clothing design bug didn't leave her.  Her kids always had the best Halloween costumes.  When my sister got into gymnastics in the mid 70s-early 80s, my Mom along with one of the other mothers at the gym revolutionized leotard design.  They custom made the outfits for my sister's gymnastics team that went beyond the single color and occasional stripe wear that had bored the sport of years.   After that we saw an explosion of styles, colors and designs being adapted and incorporated by gymnasts around the world.

So in 1984, when Peter needed a Puffy Shirt that looked just like the one Prince wore in Purple Rain, he called my Mom.  She got to work and in no time put together a shirt just like Prince's.

Purple Rain

Impersonatin'

Of course a career impersonating Prince could only last so long.  When it was time to hang up his lacy tights, I had no idea what Peter did with all those costumes he put together with help from Mom.  That is until he told me his story of the ultimate fate of the Puffy Shirt.

Now according to Hollywood's history, the shirt was created by Seinfeld clothing designer Charmaine Simmons.  From an article in the Washington Post (2004)

"The real-life designer of the Puffy Shirt, Charmaine Simmons, came to the Smithsonian last night and explained that when she was told by the show's producers to come up with a pirate look, she decided to create "the most uncomfortable, unwearable shirt you could find." She thought of a hideous shirt her mother gave her back in the 1970s. The Puffy Shirt, she decided, would have a high collar, to inhibit breathing. She added elastic bands to the sleeves to quadruple the puffing action. She gave the shirt a long front ruffle to make the wearer unable to dine without dipping the fabric in the plate of food."

Case closed?   Maybe.  Maybe not. 

Yes, puffy pirate shirt designs date back centuries.  It had a bit of resurgence among rock stars in the 1960s.  See Jimi Hendrix.  That the design could eventually work it's way to fashion lines for everyday people of that era is not unthinkable, Ms. Simmons.

Jimi Hendrix

The episode was written by show creator Larry David and I have yet to find any interview with the writer/actor/comedian (or any other writers from the show for that matter) going into detail of how the got the idea for the puffy shirt in the first place.  But one thing they do claim is Charmaine Simmons created the shirt for the show.  Unfortunately, my cousin can't remember the name of the writer he sold his shirt to.  However, he does remember running in to him again after the episode aired and asking if that was his shirt.  The answer?  Indeed it was.

All I have is speculation.  Knowing what I know about people who work in Television, they aren't necessarily the most honest people in the world.  Getting credit for another persons work is not unheard of and probably happens more than you know. < --- End Personal Speculative Rant --- >

Okay, I also have photos.  I've asked my Mom what she remembers about the shirt.  She remembers Peter bringing her a woman's blouse and that she changed the buttons on it, added the elastic to sleeves to make them puff the way Prince's Purple Rain shirt did, added the three ruffles down the center as well as the ruffles on the end of the sleeves.

exhibit A	exhibit B

Seinfeld shirt on display at the Smithsonian

I don't know if it's awesome to think that my Mom may have a shirt in the Smithsonian or sad that she'll probably never get credit for it.  Truly there is only one winner here:

"Game:  Blouses."

  

Afternoon snap

 

Afternoon snapshots: With my trusted guide Rosie. I've seen her take down two milkbones with her bare paws. Total badass. #urbansafari 

Horoscope

 

So fitting for my adventure today! 

The walk back

 

The heat rises. Alas, it is time to end my urban safari. I walk the half mile or so back to the home of my host. An ancient dwelling constructed in the 1920s. More Angelenos have stirred awake and head to the bazaar. They do not speak as they pass. I do not speak as I pass. It is their way. I do my best to blend in. And bid a fond farewell to the Mid-Cities shopping and restaurant district. #urbansafari 

Indigenous food - part 2

 

While the cuisine of the Angelenos borrows heavily from all corners of the world, this is unmistakably part of the local culture - the juice cleanse. #urbansafari 

Indigenous food

 

Further exploration of the bazaar I found "Farmer's Market," an area where I could sample the indigenous food. Amazingly, the native cuisine bears the extraordinary influence of cuisines from around the world. Spectacular! I chose French. #urbansafari

Local village

 

Happened upon a local village whose name is pronounced in native tongue "The Grove". This village plays host to a sort of bazaar where locals exchange coin for goods. Fascinating! #urbansafari 

Shadow portrait

 

Portrait of an urban safarist. An early start was important before the blazing 80 plus degree temps with cool ocean breeze from the west kick in. #urbansafari 

Pan Pacific park jungle

 

 To the east of the Broadcast Center Falls we have the beautiful landscaping at Pan Pacific Park. Wonderfully crafted to give the illusion a wild beast could burst thru the brush to pounce upon it's prey at any moment. #urbansafari 

CBS fence

 

 Amazing how nature will burst it's way thru any manmade constructs. Here the bougainvillea gently crawls over the CBS Studios fence. Making it's slow escape to better, purer pastures. #urbansafari