Increasingly known, these places of worship in the bohemian youth are still preserved from the crowd and pretend that fill the clubs of Hollywood. At Echo Park, no limousines or BMW brand new, exit the suit and tie, remember fifteen years in big business. Now part of a rock’n'roll scene at the corner of Sunset and Alvarado, this “perfect product of the French Beaux Arts: School of Business, banking and management control,” as he describes himself, features the style Local: long hair, jeans, sunglasses with plastic frames.

Such a metamorphosis was not built in a day. After two years in Orange County Roland Belloir breaks his expatriation contract. “Doing this is frowned upon in a box,” he said. Result, upon his return, things fester. A year later, in April 2009, Thales thank him. On the floor with redundancy and memories of Echo Park full head, this music enthusiast embarks on a project with high risk, extremely dicey. ” “When I was financial, I would not have supported a project like this,” he joked.

And for good reason, did not wait Fretted Frog (name of his shop) to get its credentials in the music industry. The most famous musicians live there. And not the worst guitarists. He knows for example that Ben Harper is just not there in the corner of Los Feliz arty. Competition is fierce among retailers of six-strings, dominant among the shops in West Hollywood that are Guitar Center, and to a lesser extent, Sam Ash, and those of the west side of Santa Monica and Westwood. Its advantage: it is only on the east side. In addition, it offers music lessons.

“I have studied the ground. I hope to attract customers in Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena and Los Feliz, “he said. He knows that Echo Park, the musicians are quite penniless. Moreover, his rivals have settled “where there is loot, not necessarily talent,” says he. He’s the opposite. Local artists “are living the shop with small concerts or just repair their equipment, but not buy expensive guitars.

Major point on which the Toulouse set to get a place in the sun: to be a specialist in rare guitars, sharp. In the jargon of guitar players, “Gibson’s not here.” Reseller acoustic, but also amps, banjos and ukuleles, Roland Belloir is betting on little-known makers of quality, the French brand in the Irish Lag Lowden. A long-term bet as if he has to sell a guitar a day to “live well”, he is still “far off the mark.”

Artist/Millie’s waiter Aaron Donovan and Pac Bell operator/Spaceland doorgirl Patricia Castillo saw a need—an unpretentious place where artist could show—and a space—a turn of the century storefront in need of restoration. One sold ’64 Galaxie station wagon and countless tips later, Delirium Tremens was born. To settle an argument on the name, Donovan and Castillo chose one by a blind opening of the dictionary (a method used by countless bands in the same neighborhood). And yet Delirium Tremens—the formal name for the DT’s, or the shakes and hallucinatory visions drunks suffer upon withdrawals—fits perfectly with the duo’s vision of aesthetic provocation.

I really like art that people love or hate—nothing lukewarm,” says Donovan, whose hard luck getting his own show led him to open his own space. “I was taking my slides around, kind of frightened, and the galleries were so pretentious. They’d glance at the slides, look you over, look at their watch, and boom! You’re outta there.” An Art Center College of Design graduate, Donovan realized that many of his former schoolmates were likely undergoing the same experience.

He finally got a break last May when Ojala Fine Art, located next to the DTs space, opened its doors and gave him a show.

“There’s a lot of talent, but no venues,” says Jesus Sanchez, the proprietor of Ojala. Sensing a wealth of untapped talent in Echo Park, Silver Lake and Chinatown, Sanchez is committed to showing work for those communities. And so is Fototeka, a photography gallery that is set to open nearby before the end of the year.

“We want to bring people in, not be a snobby presence,” says Robin Blackman, one of three people launching Fototeka. As for Delirium Tremens’ niche in this mini art zone, the concept is to explore the fine line between illustration and fine art. “Think brain damage,” Donovan suggests.

glue style and action in los angeles is the new fashion and arts magazine busting out of Los Angeles, covering the trendsetting East Side of town. This is the world of Beck, indy film, cheap rent, affordable designer clothes, boutiques selling Mexican love potions, web geeks on crank, the Darby Crash Memorial Punk Rock Museum, and a million bands that will never get signed. Glue sees it all and takes pictures! Glue magazine is available at all major newsstands in LA, and at the following stores:
Squaresville, Amok, NYSE, The Swell Store, Eduardo Lucero, Retail Slut, Rojas, and Melrose Music.

The most notable feature of the intersection of Echo Park and
Morton avenues used to be Magic Gas station. Now, the same area is emerging as the neighborhood’s gallery row. By late September, three galleries are expected to be open in side-by-side store fronts on Echo Park Avenue.

In other news while I was away:

Longtime local and Reggae historian Roger Steffens is profiled in the Orion, Cal State Chico’s online magazine.

In the New York Times the Insurance Premiums Take a Toll tells the story of Pioneer Markets recent closing.

9/11 Tribute at the Fire Department Academy adjacent to Elysian Park, where the largest steel portion of the WTC serves as a memorial.

The LA Times Calendar Live (unavailable without paid subscription) ran another bohemian, hipster, softer-kinder-gentrification article that at least focused on all the great shops and clubs in Echo Park.

Speaking of new shops, Masa is now serving breakfast and Chango at Chicken Corner is now up and selling coffee, ice cream and other baked goods.

On another note I’ve posted some photos of the beast that is the new Caltrans Building, affectionately referred to as the Death Star, on Archinect where I’m a contributor. You can also find my comments on an article that ran recently about the architect Harwell H. Harris in the Los Angeles Times Home section. Harris’ 1935 home still stands in Echo Park.

Also still available at the NY Times website is Elliott Smith’s Uneasy Afterlife. *I completely missed that Echo Park neighbor and Los Angeles Magazine writer R.J. Smith wrote this article. I’ve also updated the link to another site where this article now shows up.