Music Trip to Los Angeles, CA, Part 1

Date: Saturday, March 28 through Thursday, April 1st, 2004
Location: Los Angeles, California--Hollywood
Purpose: Day Job Conference and first trip to my music center
Attendance: 1--ME!

Well, I did it. I made my first trip to my music center--Los Angeles. After last year's trip to Nashville and my past meeting with some Music Row Publisher's at the Songwriter Search in Bristol, TN, I was starting to realize that Nashville is not my music center. My trip to Hollywood convinced me. LA is my musical home! Duuuuuude!!

That's not to say that I'm itching to move there. I mean, I kinda like the Southern life...and I quite enjoy not having to pay $6 for a bottled beer, thank you very much. However, I definitely liked LA...and I wouldn't mind regular visits. The weather was great; the music was great; the people were nice; and the industry was happening...sure, the traffic was hectic, and it looked like Convenience Store Hell, but underneath it all, it was eclectic, cool, and laid back. Here's my summary.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who helped me make my list of things to do and see. I had some great suggestions, and was unable to cover most of them in a week. However, I've kept the list, and I'm gonna cross things off with each trip.

I actually went to LA for a technical writing conference for my day job. It is very cool that the big bad bank let me go--and that they paid my way. I wouldn't have been able to go this soon otherwise. I hated that Tracey couldn't go with me, but she would've been left on her own a bunch and would've been terribly bored.

Here's a list of what I did:

Saturday: Arrived at LAX after changing over in Dallas. American Airlines was hurt by rising gas prices, and neither of my flights provided a meal. I had to eat running through the airport. (Sorry for whining...) When I arrived, I took the PCH up the coast to Malibu...the beach on the left, the hills on my right. I ducked for a quick drive through the beautiful hills as the DJ played the new Prince song "Musicology" back-to-back. It felt like a car commercial. I then took Sunset Ave through Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Brentwood. Just before Rodeo Drive, I looked over and saw Dion Sanders in his Lexus. I drove through Hollywood and saw Rosie Perez walking down the street with her entourage. My star count was "2" and I hadn't even reached the hotel yet!

I spent Saturday night at the Roxy and the Rainbow Room. I saw a couple of very LA bands--they weren't that great, but they had their look together. There was a "punk" band that all had the same outfits on--Chuck Taylors, black socks and black t-shirts. It was a weird LA moment. I mean, a punk uniform...strange. Oh--and I ate dinner at a "In and Out Burger" in Hollywood. It was jam-packed with all kinds of people--an Asian Internet geek here, a Hispanic couple on a date there, a bunch of goth high school kids here, some young brothers with Coolio hair there...It was a fantastic mix of LA folks. I loved it.

Read Part II now!

Listen to Brian's music now!