A friend of mine was in town last week. It was his first time in Los Angeles and on his first night in town we got to go see Toro y Moi open up for Caribou at the El Rey theater! I was pretty excited for this because I've been hearing Toro y Moi playing on the Sirius station blasting through our office soundsystem. And coincidentally my friend is friends with Toro y Moi's road warrior. 'Tis a small world afterall (especially in music...)
After Toro y Moi's set we hung around the merch booth and chatted it up with the guys behind the counter (one of which was Jordan Blackmon a.k.a. the guy who helps round up my degrees of separation with Chaz of Toro y Moi).
While I was peeking over the counter on tippy-toe I see Adam (Caribou roadie) sitting in his chair, totally into his book. "How is this guy reading amongst all this chaos?", I ask myself.
I lean forward and wave my hand in front of him to get his attention then ask if I could come into the booth through the back and ask him about his book. He gladly agreed so I scampered on over.
Adam is reading a sci fi book called We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. He started it on this tour. "I like reading sci fi especially when I'm on the road with the band. It's the only genre of books I can actually pay attention to while a show is going on in the background."
When I took a look at the book cover it reminded me of the movie "Fantastic Planet". Go watch this movie if you haven't already! Preferably at night in the dark. Such a trip.
Adam admits that he hasn't been "reading" many books on tour, per se. "Do audio books count?"
He's actually been listening to a few audio books while driving the Caribou tour van to help pass the time. Right now he's listening to Stephen King's Life Under the Dome. "I'm not really a fan of Stephen King but I don't mind listening to his stuff with my earphones while I'm driving." And when he's not listening to audio books or reading sci fi paperbacks he occupies himself with his trusty laptop. Music, movies, and the internetz - it does the trick.
Bring on the new season of Cinespia!! My friends and I (as well as a good chunk of the city) look forward to the movies at the Hollywood Forever cemetery every Summer. We all get to picnic with our friends, drink good (and cheap) wine, share food, and, of course, I get to see a reader or two while waiting in line to get into the cemetery grounds.
This past Saturday was opening night. Wizard of Oz kicked off the season and we were stoked! My friends and I staked out a spot in line at 4pm and got a Scrabble game going. As more people started to file in I saw Brandy perched in her lawn chair with a hefty book. I approached her, offered her a cookie from our pile of goodies, and we chatted about her latest read.
Brandy is reading "Slash", a biography about the infamous guitar god and rock icon. Brandy is a big fan of Slash and Guns N' Roses. This book had been sitting on her bookshelf for a while so she decided to finally read it while waiting in line that day. What better way to pass the time than with a bio on one of your favourite musicians before you head in to watch one of your favourite movies!
Brandy loves reading rock biographies. She's also a big Stephen King fan.
A great recent read of hers? Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. I had been meaning to read this book and now I've received a full endorsement from Brandy. "It's just really good. You should pick it up soon when you get a chance."
Growning up Brandy read a collection of Disney books that her mother had gotten her. "I would read them so much until the covers fell off. They weren't about any of the Disney characters we are all familiar with but had great, fun stories. I couldn't get enough of them as a kid!"
What has been one of your favourite biographies? And what books could you not keep your hands and eyes off as a child?
While waiting for my order at the Corner Bakery in the Beverly Connection I encountered Justin with his copy of Jean-Paul Sartre's "Being and Nothingness". He was lounging in one of the leather chairs against a wooden divider.
The book is thought provoking, he says, and he generally enjoys reading Sartre's works. Justin hadn't started reading Sartre until recently. "I always recognized his name but I am now finally diving into his books. I'm really into Soren Kierkegaard, a philosopher from the 1800s. Reading Kierkegaard led me to Sartre's existentialism." Justin had also read Sartre's Nausea, prior to "Being and Nothingness". This was Sartre's first novel which explores what would later be known as existentalism, the philosophical thought that originated with the likes of Kierkegaard.
Justin wants to get a Masters in Philosophy. LMU in the Fall, if he gets his way. He studied Political Science as an undergrad and hopes to eventually get a PhD. Philosophy books have been consuming his life, both as study material and for pleasure reading, as he prepares to immerse himself in his courses. "I wasn't really an avid reader until last year. I've been reading nothing but philosophy books. Plus, I'm not a big fan of fiction."
My co workers and I decided to pay a little visit to the Roger Room on a non-Thursday evening. It was great to pop in and hang out with the bartenders we rarely see on our normal night.
As per usual,Jason, the doorman, strolls in wearing and/or carrying something that warrants our attention. That night he had on a dashing overcoat. "To keep warm while I'm manning the door."
As we lean in to give each other a hug I notice a book peeking our from his right side in his coat pocket. I immediately pull away from our hug sesh and yank out the paperback.
"Is this yours? What is it? Are you going to read it while you're out there tonight?"
Jason has had this book for about 2 years but never really got around to reading it. For some reason he was compelled to give it a go that night. "Lakers coach, Phil Jackson, makes all the guys on the team read this book."
Recently Jason's been reading Richard Dawkins' The Greatest Show on Earth while on duty. He had the book stored away in the backroom but wanted to try something new that night.
