Culver Club Chit-Chats

Image courtesy of Dissolve


On October 30, 2009, my buddy, classical music basoonist and pianist, Rudolph Porter, had agreed to locate a spot "and we can hang out." Culver Club was the place. He had performed there before. And Culver Club is where West Coast finest jazz pereformers display their arts, and it is a place of hangout for jazz enthusiasts on Fridays, on the Westside. On this particular day while Rudolph and I were poking around the lobby my phone vibrated and a friend's text message had timely popped up on my screen to check what I was up to and how I'm doing.

This fella, Ebere, loves African-related media hyped issues, news and views, and he is so fascinated about it, especially when it comes to show-biz and the tap of fine leather.

Knowing my spot, he hopped on his car and found himself at where Rudolph and I were hanging out for the evening. On his arrival, after our bumping fists, he noticed jazz at the Culver Club was alive and well as the November line-up and schedule of performers was all over the place. The Culver Club sits on the lobby of Radisson Hotel's L.A.'s westside, the hub of nightlife and promenades.

The line up for November had some interesting, upcoming gigs: Chris Benneth Quartet; Ernie Andrews Quintet; Dr. Bobby Rodriguez' Latin Jazz "Birthday Dance Party" featuring Justo Almario, Joe Rotondi, Eddie Resto, Luis Conte and Richie G. Garcia; Tony Russell Quartet; Rhonda Benin Quartet; and Ryan Cross & The Soul Funk Band.

The music in the lobby was mellow; some contemporary jazz of 94.7 FM the Wave kind of flow. We talked about a whole lot of stuff over some drinks and good, delicious dishes -- college football, the Nigeria 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup played in several Nigerian cities, the Orange CAF Championship, Nollywood and African films, Naija politics, Igbo Diaspora, Fela, President Barack Obama's visit to China and M-Net Face of Africa's new season, among others -- becoming one of those evening happenings around my neck of the woods.

Surprisingly, Ebere first raised the issue of Los Angeles Times' veteran music critic, Robert Hilburn's new book, "Corn Flakes with John Lennon and other Tales From Rock 'n' Roll Life." I did not read the book, but I did comb some pages about three weeks ago, I believe, at Borders, while cooling off from a bumper-to-bumper, crazy-dubby Los Angeles traffic. Frankly speaking, I was never a Lennon fan and that does not mean he was not good, but I did love the Beatles'years when the incredibly Liverpool kids -- Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- had it going on with a lasting blast that rocked America in the 60s.

Ebere, who loves the Beatles, also, gave most credits to Lennon he said "made it happen for the Liverpool kids." I'm not really sure, though, I did not know Lennon's mom left him (Lennon) in a relatives care for much of his childhood...and reunited when Lennon was in his teens until Ebere gisted us on the excerpts he read from the L.A. Times. I agree with Ebere that the Beatles' years was what changed America and the concept of rock and roll.

On college football, it's obvious no one liked the goings-on with USC's football program this season and a little bit not impressed, he said "all but full of uncertainties with a team that has gone through a whole lot including scandals, on and off campus." Not bad, since USC has lost only two games at the time of the Culver Club Chit-Chats. Coach Pete Carroll's choice of a freshman quaterback as starter was not what we wholly talked about, but that of the offensive and defensive linemen. And what they are saying is that Jethro Franklin's approach has been working wonders for Trojans defense. "I dunno about that."

We talked about college sports in general and how it's good for academia. We talked about how USC has played a very significant role in the renaissance of our hood and Downtown Los Angeles. As one of the nation's finest private research universities, USC is a major contributor to the City of Angel's economic growth, creativity and cultural diversity. An institution that enrolls more international students than any other American university.

We talked about USC being a builder of people and of society with its intellectual capital known to have built enormous bridges. Many of the nation's best doctors, lawyers, judges, teachers, dentists, pharmacists, urban planners, and government officials are USC-trained. Compared to Nigerian universities, he was pissed. Check this out;" he would say. "Last year alone, USC's faculty, staff, students, and friends donated $1.1 million through the USC Good Neigbors Campaign to fund education, health, and safety programs for the 16,000 children who live near USC's campuses or who attend one of the 14 neigborhood schools USC has adopted.

"Does such exist in your fabricated nation-state called Nigeria?" he would question sarcastically. "USC's faculty, staff and students also work as volunteers in these programs, tutoring school children, advising enterpreneurs on business plans, bringing high-schoolers into university labs to do hands-on scientific research, providing dental care for young people, and helping neigborhood kids prepare for college.

"Can you say that about your contry's retarded and ill-equipped higher institutions despite its huge human capital?" he would again utter.

On Nigeria 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup played in several Nigerian cities, he talked about how technology has significantly changed bringing the world so close to our fingertips. "Without physically being in Nigeria, we watch Nigeria Television Authority news live. We read the newspapers online immediately they are released. We watch the movies -- Nollywood Babylon, Pretty Woman, Secret Fantasy, Yankee Girls, Lord of Host, Sister's Love, Escape, Blood on Ice, Keep My Will, War Game, Extreme Measure, On My Wedding Day, Reloaded, Girl's Cot, Women's Cot, Coincidence, Osuofia in London and uncountable others -- in our living rooms without stepping out.

Ebere was very sure Nigerian Golden Eaglets "will pull that one out," and that the Latin American teams would be the obstacle even though there had been upsets in the First Round of the tournament. "Latin American teams are masters of the game and they do know how to finish," he would lament. Again, that I was not sure for a lot of reasons: time has changed and it is a different era. Ebere was wrong. Latin American teams could not "pull that one out" and the Golden Eaglets lost in the Finals.

On the Orange CAF Championship which I did not pay attention to and never had, he was sure the Owerri Heartland FC will lift the African Championship League trophy and its $1.5m prize tag when Heartland meets Congo DR TP mazembe on a homecourt and away aggregate score saying he has faith in Kelechi Emetole and his boys. Heartland lost. Ebere was wrong.

On Nollywood and African films, he talked about Sophie Okonedo's Anthony Fabian directed movie, "Skin," now showing in select theatres, among them: L.A.'s The Landmark on Pico Boulevard in Westwood. He talked much about how Nollywood did improve in its film editing, score, adaptation and visual effects. He talked about the industry being bent on the same concept in its movie-making, that it needs to drift to more creative stuff to allow room for unversal awareness as in the Oscars and other global film festivals that would enhance Nollywood.

On Naija politics, he talked about why Niger-Delta militants shouldn't have given up arms yet, based on the fact that for fifty years the "damn oil" has been flowing from under the feet of the people to the barren and rat-ridden lands of the murderous, northern Islamic Jihadists. He asked "how could fifty years mean fifty years of misery and hopelessness when our own resources is being used to feed fat the northern caliphates and blood-thirsty cannibals? Enough is enough and the fight must continue."

So pissed on nasty Naija politics, he said Charles Chukwuma Soludo, Anthony Anenih, OBJ, Alex Ekwueme, Andy Uba and a bunch of the raggedy ass politicians are all whack, and it sucks. He talked about how Soludo had been in the nation's political gimmicks.

Soludo, a man of high integrity. A financial scholar. A learned man who could have left the ugly political atmosphere with dignity and honor, but rather reduced himself to mudslinging Anambra politics run by greedy bastards and thuggish elements of Chris Uba's ilk. That Soludo is now akin to Anambra political thugs.

Soludo has become an example of infallible men who had thought they got it all figured out in not realizing they had deliberately opened up their vulnerability to riffraffs who had taken charge, including the "profound laws" of the land in their own hands, and not knowing they will be destroying their character and "political career" in a state of empire and anarchy. Such tragedies follow infallible men when they take their political allies and foes for granted. He is paying the prize and has lost every credit.

Of greed and coercion. A volatile "Anambra State." A people without human consciousness. A confused, infallible Diaspora bunch. A case of sad reality and critical situation where fixing the problems of Anambra could only be done by the people of Anambra; and if they don't, they can go to hell and leave the rest of us out of it. Anambra politics has destroyed every aspect of Igbo ideals one begins to wonder if it's the same Anambra we once knew -- the home of Chinua Achebe, Cyprien Ekwensi, Nwafor Orizu, Louis Mbanefo and the rest.

On Igbo Diaspora, he laughed so hard his ribs began to hurt him. Starting from an impotent World Igbo Congress, he said the bunch and casts of money-chasing, pot-bellied "chiefs," the so-called Igbo umbrella are not real. "These are gullible, vulnerable, crumbs-seeking red cap chiefs of an organization that is desperately going to hell and the only way out being dissolution," he would say. A bunch that has lost touch with reality and had no clue what had been done to them by a mouth-watering, misleading "executives" and "board members" who found it comfortable keeping funny books.

On Fela, the Chief Priest, he hailed Baba for all he did in using his music as a weapon to send his message across, fighting a bastardized and corrupt regimes of the military juntas including the civilian embezzlers. Fela is just king and he has been resurrected by Tony Award winning director, Bill T. jones in a manner that makes the legend more accessible to Western audiences.

Fela's Broadway resurrection takes the audience into the legendary nightclub, The Shrine, where the musical icon and political activist played for several years, perfecting his music and criticism of the military juntas in a fabricated nation-state.

Ebere recited some of Fela's songs and (he) kept talking about the legend. The spirituality in his perfomances on stage. The invocation of the gods and the evils of colonialism -- all in English, pidgin English and Yoruba. The smoking room and spirits. "Fela's the man, ah, baba!" he would continue.

On M-Net Face of Africa's new season, he called it "Africa's media sensationalism," and that it's all hype which do not take the aspiring models far enough to reach out globally. He said it's only the winners that takes it to another level leaving the runners-up and other contestants abandoned and vanishing to the thin air. He did not go further.

On President Barack Obama's visit to China, he brought up the president's half brother, Mark Okoth Obama Ndesandjo, who lives in China, married to a Chinese and has written a new book "Nairobi to Shenzhen," which is about the author's bad memories of his childhood. Born to the third wife of Barack Obama Sr., President Obama's father, Ndesandjo moved to the United States, earning degrees in physics from Brown University and Stanford, and an MBA from Emory University. He plans to donate 15 percent of the proceeds from the book to a charity for children.

Ebere was so excited about Obama's presidency. "Whoever could have imagined that after all the pains of slavery, the separate but equal laws, the Dred Scott Case, the 1890 Louisiana statute -- Plessy Vs. Ferguson -- the Civil Rights movement and things of that nature, that eventually America will do the right thing -- electing a black president?"

On societal ills and global problems, grand and small, he said "Obama cannot do it alone. He will need the unconditional input of global (political) leaders including religious leaders."

Ebere talked about how we should see the poor and how we need to always start with the poor because they are totally left out in today's society. That the poor aren't in our same networks. That they cannot afford our networks. That they do not belong to councils and committees. That the poor don't have access to anything. School is free and so too are other social programs out there; but the poor do not see it and we must reach out to them for them to have access to all the available social programs and benefits out there in the public.

He talked extensively to near exhaustion about teaching the poor help themselves and not by giving them handouts, which goes with the saying "give me a fish and you feed me for a day; but teach me how to fish and you feed me for life." "We should always try to help the poor help themselves." He summarizes his analysis on the poor quoting Pope John Paul II on the Papal's 1988 Encyclical on social concerns:

"Because of our love of preference for the poor, we cannot but embrace the immense multitudes of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without medical care and, above all, those without hope of a better future. It is impossible not to take account of these realities. To ignore them would mean becoming like the 'rich man' who pretended not to know the beggar Lazarus lying at his gate (Luke 16: 19-31).

Unfortunately, instead of becoming fewer, the poor are becoming more numerous, not onl;y in less developed countries but -- and this seems no less scandalous -- in the more developed ones too. It is necessary to state once more the characteristic principle of Christian social doctrine. The goods of this world are originally meant for all. The right to private property is valid and necessary, but it does not nullify the value of this principle."

On suffering and what it means, Ebere came to the fore of the Holy Scriptures with what most of us, if not all, have encountered in life. The question of why me when every other thing is going on well for others while "yours" keeps going down with severe pain and no end in sight. He goes on to lament suffering being punishment for foolish or sinful behavior; or a discipline, an experience from which we can learn and become better persons; or suffering being for the benefit of otherrs, citing running backs, quarterbacks and athletes in general who sacrifice themselves and their own glory for the good of their team; firefighters who risk their lives to save others; and Martin Luther King Jr. who was killed for proclaiming the gospel of justice and freedom, and his witness having significance for all Americans.

He talked about Nelson Mandela and the suffering and sacrifice to free his people from bondage which bordered on understanding the redemptive value of suffering; that is, the idea that the suffering of one person (or group) may benefit many others.

He enumerated a stretch of biblical verses regarding suffering. Among them: Proverbs 11:3; Deautronomy 30: 15-20; Eccl 7:15; Luke13: 1-5; John 9:3; Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and Job 4-37.

He (Ebere) had turned our evening of smooth jazz, lullaby, good feelings and good times into the temple of the Lord, like in a spiritual revival, rejoicing and invoking the name of the Lord. "Jesus is Lord, Amen! Amen!

Finishing his sermons on the Holy Scriptures, he changed the whole subject entirely and talked about what our women are doing to us and what we are in turn doing back to our women. Though I tried not to dabble into what he was about to say regarding the morally outrageous relationships that has become a commonplace thing on the shores of our adopted land -- America -- I asked him if he would marry again since his near fatal bitter divorce.

"Of course, I will marry again, but this time around since I have learned my lessons the hard way, I will keep her ass in my village and she will never smell America, never, and you can quote me on that," he replied.

Ebere's touch was magic but we were kind of getting the buzz when Rudolph chipped in with some more booze as he began to tell his own stories. Rudolph had done all kinds of stuff. He'd sold cars. He'd been Muhammad Ali's special guest when he entertained at Ali's home back in the 70s. He'd played gigs alongside jazz greats -- McCoy Tyner of which he was at backstage when Tyner performed at UCLA's Royce Hall last weekend. He had been everywhere and seen everything. In South Central Los Angeles, back in the 50s, he rolled at then Babe's and Ricky's Club on 50th Street. He's a regular at the historic Leimert Park, the home of World Stage Performing Arts Gallery's jam sessions and voice overs. And according to him, "at 60 I feel great!"

So was such an evening on the Westside around the neck of my woods.

A Tribute To The King Of Pop Michael Jackson

It's Showbiz All Around

Femi Kuti plays Hollywood Bowl and Central Park, NY, in his summer engagements while on top Herbie Hancock, Pascal Atuma and Sam Onwuka; Ernie Watts, Atuma on presentation of NEA for Best Album and bottom is Gregory Isaacs, Roy Hargrove who plays alongside Hancock for the Hollywood Bowl events and Queen Latifah who hosts BET's My Black is Beautiful Post Show June 28.



I have been working out lately on the Westside and boy, how does it feel to dabble into affluent old folks trying to stay in shape to keep up with their long life and prosperity mission. Sounds good and we all are trying to push it further, now that "life," they say "begins at 60;" and with the summer jams all around town, nobody wants to be confined to a position of not being able to hang on to all that summer blasts which smells all around the place, especially the Hollywood way.

There is no business like showbiz and living around Hollywood, it is a 24/7 thing and nothing one can do about it but just hang on and make the best out of it. It's too much stuff going on in Los Angeles -- the summer concerts, the 4th Annual Los Angeles We The People Festival, the Los Angeles Film Festival at the complex of UCLA Westwood Village kicking off on June 18, the Jewish Festival and Israelwood, and the crazy-dubby all night pub-crawling. Yes, Israelwood, you heard me. And there is Kenyawood, Ugandawood and all that wood. It's a whole bunch of woods line-ups and I might be just chilling limiting myself to not that many concerts and other outdoor events.

But the dates on the central courtyard of Hollywood & Highland Center, the home of the Academy Awards -- I would not miss the ones I had highlighted. It's a free live jazz sessions produced by Long Beach State's KJAZZ 88.1 FM. The line-ups are incredible -- Barbara Morrison, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Gonzalo Bergara, Carl Saunders Sextet, Bobby Matos Latin Jazz Ensemble, Ernie Watts Quartet, Karl Benson Trio, Theo Saunders Sextet, Francisco Aquabella Latin Jazz Band and John Daverga Big Band which runs through August 25.

And the Hollywood Bowl jams, I have already picked. Yes, on 6/21, I will be seeing Femi Kuti & The Positive Force alongside Santigold and Raphael Saadiq. Then follows Grace Jones, Herbie Hancock, Toots & The Maytals, Michael Rose, Gregory Isaacs, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, Pearbo Bryson, George Duke, Dizzie Gillepsie All Star Big Band, James Moody, Roy Hargrove Big Band, Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, Natalie Cole with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Beasty Boys to close-up the summer jams on 9/24. You see, I'm old-school and hanging out with me is just fun.

For the LA Film Fest, my schedule is limited, also. I will for sure be seeing "Facing Ali," a documentary portrait of 10 men who stormed the boxing ring to face the greatest, "Black Dynamite," a remake of 70s blaxploitation comedies and maybe "Sacred Places" about tracing a lineage from the West African traditional djembe drum in Ouagadougou.

Well, filmmaker and actor Pascal Atuma had called during the week telling me it was all jamming and brothers made some noise inside Cramton Auditorium of Howard University in Washington, DC, last week when the Nigerian Entertainment Awards had its gala night with presentation of awards. Atuma presented an award for the best album of the year which went to D'Banj. Seriously, I'm not familiar with Naija hip-hoppers as every name he mentioned sounded Greek to my ears. That's right, I'm old-school.

Elsewhere, the queen of hip-hop, Queen Latifah who said she was sexually abused as a child will be hosting the BET Awards 2009 My Black is Beautiful Post Show in Los Angeles on June 28. According to BET press release, "My Black is Beautiful celebrates the diverse collective beauty of African American women and encourages black women to define and promote their own beauty standard. The campaign brings to life an authentic reflection of African-American women's beauty by embracing Quen Latifah as the host of the My Black is Beautiful Post Show. The special will capture and recap the atmosphere, style and sexy of the night's festivities."

Whew! It's going to jam and for sure no business like showbiz.

Pascal Atuma and Nollywood film producer Sam Onwuka images courtesy of Trendy Africa

A Beautiful Holiday Weekend In Los Angeles

About a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine had talked me into going to the Bay area to watch Stephen Bishop perform at the Intramuros, South San Francisco, in a benefit concert. She had wanted to see the concert so bad. I had been preoccupied in Los Angeles. She wants to play a role in the concert for worthy causes. For the concert, and about our friendship, we are a study of compare and contrast.

She's into old-school -- the Norman Whitfield/Barrett Strong and Kenneth Gamble/Leon Huff composition-era. I'm into all vibes, a musicologist. She's a hardcore liberal; garrulous. I'm reserved, a somehow liberal conservative; a centrist. She's a fashion freak. I'm careless, fashionwise. She reads fiction and believes in the Zodiac signs. I'm the non-fiction reader kinda guy and have no faith in astrology. She's Libra. I'm Virgo. She cooks good. I'm a mixologist. She has shoulder length curly hair. I'm ishi nkwocha, shaved bald. She's Tonga, a Pacific Islander. I'm Igbo, an African. She's straight. I'm straight. She loves outdoors, and I do, too. She wears contact lenses. I wear prescription glasses; and both coasts are clear.

To make up for ditching Bishop's concert at the Intramuros, she brought up a set of rules on her own terms and whatever she said was going to be the rules. I said "Okay!" She got her way and ordered me around the house. That was cool!

Her set of rules was specifically for the Memorial Day weekend and that whenever it's all over I could take back my manly stuff and go ahead with my own set of rules she'd not have problems complying with. The rules were set as follows: There would be no driving and Friday which commences the holiday weekend would be set for eating out, perhaps a little bit of home cooking and checking out the movies. I knew it was going to be a hell of a fun since summer was just breezing around the corner.

School is over for some -- my daughter is back and it's going to be a long, beautiful summer, especially her tales of academia and life in the dorm. The weather's quite nice. Lots of sunshine. The beaches are full to capacity. Bikinis. Hot pants. Those fine, dark sunglasses. Beautiful faces sipping cocktails in the sun.

The volleyball tournaments: Hermosa Beach. Redondo Beach. Venice Beach. Rockweller Beach. Santa Monica Beach. The mark of summer.

The eateries and the random popped up in-house restaurants. The real deal and summer jams. Ceccone's on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. Jane's House on Hollywood Blvd. The Standard in Downtown Los Angeles. The Mint on Pico Blvd. in West Los Angeles. Club Tatou on Boylston Street in Los Angeles. O'Brien's Irish Pub and Restaurant on Main Street in Santa Monica. The Amazon Hut Brazilian Juice Bar on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica.

The new arrivals on the bookshelves. "Rinnavation: Getting Your Best Life Ever," by Lisa Rinna on life's amazing journey. "Bad Mother: A Chronicle Of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, And Occasional Moments Of Grace," by Ayelet Waldman.

At the movies as the summer hits pops up in June. "Public Enemies," directed by Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, the notorious Depression-era bank robber, and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, the fedral agent who tailed Dillinger. "The Taking Of Pelham 123," starring Academy Award winner Denzel Washington as Walter Mathau, of a New York transit dispatcher and directed by Tony Scott. Here, John Travolta stars as leader of the gang. James Gandofini appears as Mayor of New York whom Travolta must fear. "Funny People," directed by Judd Apatow and starring Adam Sandler, Leslie Mann and Seth Regan. The film is all comedy but Sandler's role as a dying middle-aged man might turn movie goers off.

"Taking Woodstock," directed by Ang Lee based on a true story of Elliot Tiber, an employee at a motel in the Castkills who inadvertantly made Woodstock happen. "Inglorious Bastards," -- another World War 2 story of Nazi occupied France written and directed by Quentin Terantino. The movie features Brad Pitt as the leader of the Jewish-American soldiers dispatched to perform targeted acts of retribution on German troops occupying France. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which opens in all theaters June 24. Michael Bay directed, starring Shia LeBeouf as Sam who becomes enmeshed in a battle between two extraterrestial clans "when he buys his first car and it turns out to be an alien robot in disguise." And, of course, there's Eddie Murphy's "Imagine That."

These, and too many others we talked about. So as it happened, she's the one calling the shots. She wanted some African dish, and I was like, o yeah, again? She did not know what was running through my mind about her quest for African food. She's the one calling the shots, remember? I had to oblige since this great country of ours is a nation of rules, fact why it's organized.

For some reason, she figured I was not comfortable with the African restaurant kind of stuff she's been persistent asking for. We have all the time in the world to eat ofe olugbo, bitter leaf soup (dunno why it's my favorite) coupled with the okporoko, stockfish, eju, snail, dried fish and anu ewu, goat meat, as long as her weekend rules were upheld and respected.

However, on Friday, May 22, she decided we should go whole grain, vegetables and stuff like that. One spot was not too far from our location. We walked down about six blocks to this restaurant on the Westside. It was kind of regular and approximately a nice way to begin the long weekend. The restaurant, recently remodelled had a gracious and attentive service. We ordered some seafoods that was served with chunks of salmon, perfectly cooked shrimp with lotta veggies and other health-related fiber stuff. She loves wholesome sweetners such as honey, maple syrup, sorhum, sucanet and stevia.

A good looking evening, we hopped on the bus to the Archlight Cinema in Hollywood to see Ron Howard's "Angels & demons," starring Tom Hanks which to me should be Howard's last in that category. The movie's full of surprises.

On Saturday, May 23, the rules did not change. No driving, remember? After cleaning up and doing the normal around house work, we concluded it's Metro Line time. We arrived at the Wilshire/Vermont Blue Line Station and hopped on the train. Checking out from the Hollywood/Highland Station, we took the steps and bumped on tourists from all walks of life who took pictures of stars and the accomplished on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Walking further down where Hollywood Blvd. meets Vine Street, and on the south of Hollywood laid the plaque of Apollo 13 -- Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr. and Michael Collins -- the first American astronauts to visit the moon.

On the north sits the landmark Capitol Records Tower known to have either recorded or marketed from the 50s to date, Frank Sinatra, Nat king Cole, Duran Duran, Richard Marx, David Bowie, The Beatles, The Beastie Boys, Kenny Rogers, Yellow Card, George Clinton, Selena Quintalline, Poison, The Band, Ice Cube, Radiohead, Tina Turner, Billy Holliday, Miles Davis, Grand Funk Railroad, Pink Floyd, Peter Tosh, Steve Miller Band, Maze, Dave Koz, Freddie Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Grace Jones, Kim Carnes, Queen, Eddie Harris and many others.

In continuation of our excursion, we went underground and hopped back on the train to the North Hollywood Station. A girl sitting next to us was reading a book on Andrew Jackson, an indication President Barack Obama's "The New Dawn" is doing stuff for the "era of the common man" and Jacksonian democracy to have replicated in the age of internet. While the train was about to station, I called my friend, Pascal, that we were on our way to his apartment. We popped up at the 5400 block of fair Avenue at the luxury NoHo (North Hollywood) Commons Apartments. We had arrived on time to watch the Los Angeles Lakers play the Dencer Nuggets in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. Three other guys and two gorgeous ladies were also visiting my friend, Pascal, and it seemed very much the guys were having a heart attack due to the uncertainties that had clouded Lakers' game during the series.

Our Lakers had pulled this one out to silence the cynics. Even Derek Fisher who had been written off, delivered and helped our Lakers pull a 103-97 victory over the Nuggets. Immediately after the game, we drove in two set of cars to The Echo on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. It's our kind of place. Time is telling. The place had a full bar, a dance floor and more than electric. It's a joint where the 70s and 80s pure funk would blow your mind. It was a blast and by the time it was over, we all realized Hollywood was a city of its own.

On Sunday, May 25, she had asked if I would be going to church. She's a practicing Catholic while I was born a Catholic. A difference. But I had shown her my new religious affiliation. The anonymously written book "I AM GOD: Here's My Message." I told her I would be ordering an additional copy as that might change her thinking on how religion has caused all the world's troubles. She prepared breakfast and we ate.

With that in place, we both agreed it's time to relax our driving restrictions and check out Hollywood proper; where Santa Monica Blvd. meets Western Avenue on the sidewalks women of easy virtue and prostitutes hang out. On the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Wilcox, Dragonfly, the sensational pot-smoking and reggae jams on Thursday nights. Amoeba Music, for all your record albums in any music category, facing the CNN building on Cahuenga and Sunset. The same sex ridden hangouts in West Hollywood on Sunset and Roxbury. After touring Hollywood for a minute coupled with sightseeing we took off for another round at the movies. We saw "Terminator Salvation" at the Mann Theaters in Hollywood. Kind of strange, though, the movie, to me, wasn't anything spectacular. A sequel to the three respective "Terminator" movies. I could not read her feelings about the movie.

On Monday, May 25, the awaited Memorial Day, arrived, eventually. We had been up early. There was the 2009 Los Angeles Marathon which I had never been part of, but have gone to see it, anyway. On this particular day and since all roads had been blocked, we chanced parking around Miracle Mile on the Wilshire Corridor. We had treked about 11 blocks and had stationed on the corner of La Brea Avenue and 3rd Street in Hancock Park. The marathon stretched from da hood through the "Black Township" of the Crenshaw thoroughfare all the way to Hancock Park and finishing up in Koreatown.

We had been almost exhausted and it's time for the last jam to end the holiday weekend. The jam: 23rd Annual UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival on the playgrounds of the campus' Intramural Field in Westwood, California. The previous night, Day 1 of the festival, which we missed as a result of other engagements had Erykah Badu, People Under the Stairs, Leela James and De La Soul take center stage. Day 2 had been slated to run between 12 P.M. until 7 P.M. It went later than that and, as usual, too much of a jam. The line up: Mavado, a.k.a "The Gully God" who performed live for the first time in LA, took the show to another level with his new band. He was equal to the occasion. Other casts in the reggae jam and finale were Michael Montano, Assassin, The Dirty Heads and Morgan Heritage.

Like Woodstock of the hippie-era and a replicated Coachella event in Indio, I had been exhausted from the excursions and partying hard the preceding days, and had laid flat on the field while the ragamuffin vibes transmitted through my head. The stomping UCLA campers and the voices of roots reggae did go through my head, and it was all good.

PHOTOS clockwise from bottom left: (2009 Los Angeles Marathon courtesy of Ian Sephton; MTA Tap Machine; Metro Rail Line; Metro Bus Line 770, Leela James takes center stage and performs "let's Do It Again," courtesy of Singers Room; and the 2009 UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival banner courtesy of The Deli Magazine.)

Seun Kuti To Rock Los Angeles Again

Yes, the youngest son of the legendary Chief Priest, Seun Kuti, will be storming the grounds of UCLA in Westwood on Saturday, April 18, 2009, in the campus' Royce Hall where his dad once performed. Hugh Maskela has performed there in many ocassions, and Maskela was his dad's best friend and they did play together. Like his last year's brilliant performance at the California Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles, this one at UCLA, and I know, will be another hell of a show.

But on Saturday, April 18, Seun, in his second appearance here in the Southland, will be unveiling more of his father's craft, the one he started learning at age 9, and I will be there live and on backstage to dig it. And, for sure, I will dig it!

LA is the place and it rocks!