LA Woman

The Sunset Strip. While before Monday I'd only been chauffeured down the legendary boulevard, I felt I knew the cracks in the sidewalk like the scar on my knee (from an unfortunate shaving debacle) thanks to numerous episodes of Behind the Music and the stories spun on countless albums from my favorite bands. After spending Sunday night in Cincinnati with Tesla (which was a slight disappointment because, though I adore Dave Rude, my crush Frank Hannon was too sick to come off the bus), I hopped on a plane to Los Angeles Monday morning. I had been invited to the Rocklahoma 2008 Press Conference, being held at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go Tuesday afternoon. Prior to the junket, I was meeting up with the organizers and some of the bands for fun and debauchery Monday night. I crashed at a musician's apartment that was just off of Hollywood, and was within walking distance of all those famous footprints as well as a birds-eye view of the Hollywood sign. After some shopping and sightseeing, I grabbed a cab to the Rainbow Bar & Grill. The patio was stuffed with rock stars. Some I recognized (Joe LeSte, Chip Z'nuff) and others were just playing the part. Black was the color below the neck, and platinum was the choice for the lid. After grabbing a bit of food and a lot of booze, the crowd migrated to the Key Club for the Metal Skool gig. I have watched Metal Skool on YouTube and was excited to catch it live, and the gig didn't disappoint. They were hysterical, very quick with a quip and great with the crowd. Hal Sparks jammed some cover tunes, as did P!nk and Michael Rappaport. Scott Ian came out to play an original song, "Asian Hooker." While the show was a blast, I have to admit I may have been a bit swayed by the VIP treatment -- we were escorted to a private room to view the show, and then were given balcony access. The favors continued into the next morning, when I hauled back to the Strip to set up for the conference at the Whiskey. The event coordinator showed me to my table and told me to go exploring while they continued the set-up. Taking advantage of the unexpected free time, I hiked back to the Key Club and popped by the Roxy. After checking out the Viper Room, I grabbed a slice at Frankie & Johnnie's and shopped for a rockin' outfit for later that night. Around 1:30p PST, the press conference started and a cavalcade of 80s heroes were in attendance, including Bret Michaels, Black and Blue, Beautiful Creatures (okay, not 80s, but that band rules and Joe LeSte is also in Bang Tango, so consider it an asterisk) and JetBoy. I got the chance to interview a few of the guys from Creatures and talk to other schmoozers for a bit. Before kicking back to the apartment, I hit the Rainbow for lunch, and it seemed everyone else (including Vixen and Armored Saint) had the same idea. Later that night, I headed out to Hollywood VooDoo for the Press Conference after party (in my new rockin' outfit) and mingled with some of the same faces from the last 24 hours, as well as some new additions. United by the passion for the genre, strange faces became fast friends. I have a number of friend requests to get to after that night. Wednesday morning, I stepped back out onto Hollywood Boulevard to catch a few more rays and last glimpses before I had to turn back to Nashville. Last month I was convinced I wanted to live in New Orleans. This month, I think I've switched gears. The scene is alive and well in Los Angeles, and I should be there. At least I've got the right hair color...