MAILA NURMI R.I.P.

Bummer to wake up and see that Maila Nurmi passed away on Thursday. I got to know Maila for a short time and had the honor of creating a poster for her to sign and sell (below) so she could eat and pay some bills.

Thanks to my friend Chuck Harter, I was also able to go to the original KABC studios in Los Feliz where the Vampira show was shot in 1954 and accompanied her and Chuck to an interview done for a Halloween segment which, due to the passing of Steve Allen was bumped off the evening broadcast.
see Vampira's Attic on YouTube for a bunch of cool videos.

Rest well Maila.

Brian's New Tour Programme

Programme? Yup. It was intended to be sold exclusively in Europe, but they decided to make it available in the U.S. too. Below are the front and back covers (stacked up)

You should be able to grab one on Brian's website soon. Here's a few preview page spreads below (click on the images to see 'em bigger)

There's a bunch of new and old shots and I had Brian's ol' friend Harvey Kubernik do an awesome new "inner-view" (also, look for this month's MOJO mag with Harvey's "Monterey Pop Festival" article) I dug up some amazing older shots over at Capitol Records. One of my favorite ones in the booklet is the one below of Brian at P.O.P. (Pacific Ocean Park) and there are a few surprises inside too: How 'bout an actual advertisement for The Radiant Radish?

My 1st update in a few months? I actually attempted to log in earlier last month, but forgot my password and user name. Today I logged in without thinkin' and hit it on the first shot!

Oh yeah...last month I ran into an old friend of mine, Nigel Mogg. Nige sent me this photo (below) of a SMiLE tattoo that a friend of his had gotten. He's an actor/musician named Drake Bell

I've seen a few SMiLE logo tattoo's, and I've also included another one (below) that I found last year. Man, it's one thing to see your art bootlegged on an album or shirt, but quite another thing to see it on someone's skin! If you have one yourself or know a friend that has one, send me a shot of it: Mlondon@hotmail.com See ya soon!

George Barris Place

Well, it was a groove. Domenic Priore and I went down there and met up with 1/3 of the Wondermints: The great Nicky Wonder & Darian Sahanaja. We also ran into Art Fein and my good friend (and amazing cartoon artist) Patrick Owsley. Domenic's new book "Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock'N'Roll's Last Stand in Hollywood" will finally be out in June.

ABOVE: The King with Councilman Tom LaBonge being hoisted up in a crane to unveil the new street plaque seen in the first photo at the top.

BELOW: Cool new mural done for the event. I was told that there was gonna be a faux Batcave constructed in that location and the Batmobile would be seen haulin' ass outta there at some point just like the opening of the TV show. So much for rumors. I guess it was cheaper to just paint it instead!

BELOW: all I can say is...it's the thought that counts! However this does give us a good idea what it could've looked like if Richard Belzer had been originally cast as Robin!

BELOW: The closest to Zombo I'll ever get...

BELOW: The closest to The Monkees Nicky will ever get...(but if they ever have another reunion, I hope they're sharp enough to have his number around!)
BELOW: (found on a sampler of things) If Wondermints ever get their own TV show...

I'm not sure of the exact list of who else attended. Of course Brett, George's son who I'd mentioned before...as was Brett's sister Joji. We saw Nancy Sinatra pulling around the front of the shop, but I didn't see her at the event. Eric Estrada was there, but that's about all I can remember. All in all, it was a great day and maybe Huell Howser will finally take notice and do one of his "California's Gold" features on George. I personally wrote Howser a letter explaining that Barris' shop is basically the "Willy Wonka" factory of Hollywood auto history, but I got a generic form reply in return...so, to them I say; get a clue, clues are free! OK back to work & see ya soon.
~ ML ~

Here we come..walkin' down the street: "Barris Place" that is!

Well, Rodney got his due last week and now another living piece of California's Gold; George Barris will have a street named in his honor this week. In case you think don't know who the King of Kustom is...trust me, you know his work.
Start with the Batmobile, The Munster's Coach & Dragula...and then I'll let you have fun doing your own google-fest.

Here's the 411:

TOLUCA LAKE – Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge is pleased to announce a very special ceremony on Friday, March 23 honoring the King of the Kustomizers, George Barris, and the Barris family business, Barris Kustom City. Please join Councilman LaBonge and Master of Ceremonies Fritz Coleman as they unveil and christen George Barris Place, and as they honor the most famous kustom auto designer and builder of celebrity cars in the world.

Expected to attend the dedication will be some of the stars Barris created cars such as Bo Derek, John Corbett, Adam West, John Schneider, Nancy Sinatra, Dan Haggerty, Karen Kramer, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), James Barren and Mamie Van Doren, just to name a few. Paul Casey, official Elvis of Las Vegas and two-time Entertainer of the Year, will perform Elvis’ greatest hits as a tribute to Barris, a long time personal friend of Elvis Presley. Barris built several movie cars for Elvis. The dedication will take place at 1 p.m. at Barris Kustom Industries, 10811 Riverside Drive in Toluca Lake.

Aside from fiberglass fabrications, Barris is also known for his Boss paint jobs. The "Barris Gold" is his signature color, and he's most renowned for his "scallops" rather than his flames. A scallop follows the line of the body and ends in a sharp point.
One of George's most legendary scallop jobs could be found on the back of a Porsche Spyder that was owned (and fatally un-owned) by the original Brad Pitt...a guy named James Dean.
Below is a shot of "The King and I" taken by Hal Lifson at his first "1966!" book signing at Bookstar in Studio City. At that signing we also had Batman himself: Adam West present along with Barris to sign some books (L.A. locals will sadly notice our dearly departed Sav-On in the background) You shoulda seen the look on the local policemen's faces when they saw the '66 Batmobile parked out front of the store, it was right out of a Candid Camera episode!
I went to High School with Brett Barris, George's son...this comes in handy when you just happen to need an original Batmobile on short notice...Thanks Brett & George!

One of my favorite Barris creations (also my all-time favorite movie poster seen above) is the ZZR surfmobile from the (1966 of course!) film "Out Of Sight" dig this -
Also of note to Beach Boys fans, George did a little something for the guys too (below)
BELOW: Beach Boys Buggy Kustom Cars Sticker #38
Text description written on back of the card:
From one of the biggest national contests Capitol Records ever has evolved 22 Kandy striped mini Coppers for the Beach Boys. Hub caps are made of their gold records. Red and white Kandy striped fur interior, top and curtains make this Barris special a real eye-opener.So there ya go.
Be there or be aware! I won't be posting much for the next coupla months, it's time to start on Brian's 2007 tour book and I'll be buried under e-mail's, photos, coffee and deadlines.

Until then, keep it real! ~ ML ~

P.S.
In memory of our beloved Tower Records on the Sunset Strip, which went the way of Wallich's Music City this year, here's my moment from 2004. A sight that all album designers and bands throughout the years used to look forward to seeing. I'm proud to have been a part of that tradition...and just in time!
photo by Dennis Loren

Rodney on the Walk: It's All Happening!

On March 9th 2007 the Mayor of the Sunset Strip will have conquered Hollywood Blvd. too!

I was asked by my pal Rodney Bingenheimer to create the concert poster for the evening gig at the Music Box theatre to celebrate his new position on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


Here's is the official announcement from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce:
WHO: Rodney Bingenheimer, Honorary Mayor of Hollywood Johnny Grant, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, President/CEO Leron Gubler
WHAT: 2,330th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
WHERE: 7021 Hollywood Boulevard
WHEN: Friday, March 9, at 11:30 a.m.

A few years ago, Chris Carter gave me the chance to design my first movie poster (above) for his and George Hickenlooper's documentary on Rodney "Mayor of the Sunset Strip". It's a beautiful poster with a silver mirror foil-stamped logo. These were only given out at the June 17th 2003 premier of the film at the Hollywood Cinerama Dome. I also designed the soundtrack sampler CD package, a promo folder, a button and the passes for the after-party event.

Unfortunately when the film was finally sold to First Look Media, I wasn't even given a shot at the art for the world release:

Them (read with lisp): "Well, we want to use someone who specializes more in movie posters"
Me (with "get a clue" frustration): "That's called an artist sir. If I make the graphic square, it's an album, if I make it long, it's a movie poster...you know, like my poster that you have framed in your front office!"

Anyway, his nephew or his friend probably got the gig or something. To me, the final art (look it up yourself) ended up looking like some kind of Clockwork Orange Halloween party. A little sour grapes? Nope. I'm happy with the work I did, I just think I should've been given a fair chance at the new package. That said, Rodney can still be heard on KROQ (106.7 FM in Los Angeles) every Sunday night, and I believe on the net too.

A real American Idol...and a Grammy for The Klezmatics!

If I could have a quarter for everyone who came to America inspired by Woody Guthrie's words & music, and another from everyone who came to Southern California inspired by Brian Wilson's music...you get the idea!
Last year, I had the incredible opportunity to create an album package (above) for an amazing group of versatile and talented musicians called The Klezmatics.
I had the pleasure to work with Nora Guthrie, Woody's daughter (yup, Arlo's sister...which reminds me, let's add another quarter for everyone who went to Alice's Restaurant from hearing & seeing Arlo!) Nora found a treasure trove of lost 1940's & 50's lyrics written by her father in a storage trunk. The words where all inspired by Woody's love of his family and his unique surroundings from the time they lived in Coney Island (a famous beach town in Brooklyn, N.Y.) The title of the album, Wonder Wheel, is named after the gargantuan ferris wheel in the amusement park. Nora ran into one of the band members of the Klezmatics at a concert, and the result of that meeting is this amazing CD, which I am proud to say, just won a 2007 Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary World Music Album"
It was truly an honor to work on this one.
It shot me straight back to Kindergarten, when an old folk singer gave us a concert in our auditorium at Carthay Center School. On that amazing 1965 afternoon, "This Land Is Your Land" was spiritually implanted into my being, and I still feel a sort of warm safety whenever I hear it.
Nora gave me full access to her family's photo archives and her father's own hand-written lyric sheets. Talk about American musical history! The Klezmatics' manager Dan Efram found a perfect folk-artist named Steve Keene who did the cover painting (actually it's a mix of 4 different paintings...but that's where I come in!) and interior paintings of Coney Island. The archival photos were mind-blowing. For Woody's fans, there are many rare/unseen shots in the booklet. I actually wanted the outer cover to be a 3-D digipac with the frame around the painting and the brush strokes raised up with embossing to look like an actual hand-painted piece of art. Who knows, there may have been 2 Grammys won, but the budget wasn't there and I have no control over that aspect of the business. That said, I'm still very proud of it, and very artistically fulfilled to have "worked" with the great Woody Guthrie!

Congratulations to Nora, The Klezmatics, their manager Dan Efram, and JMG's David McClees.

The shameless freedom of promoting pals, part two...

What can be said about my pal Andrew Sandoval?
Well...let's start here and then go there! Then go straight to Amazon and grab one of his CD's...33 the best of Andrew is a perfect place to start. Andrew can also be heard on his radio show "Come To The Sunshine" on luxuriamusic.com Mondays from 4-6 (PST)
I whipped up the piece you see above as a little nod...Oh, alright...a direct rip-off, of the old "93 KHJ Boss hitlist" that we used to grab at the legendary Wallich's Music City on Sunset & Vine.

Aside from being the foremost authority on The Monkees ,
Andrew is one of, if not my favorite singer/songwriters on the local scene. Andrew and his better half Wendy are one of the nicest and most factual couples I've ever encountered (he's an archival author, she runs an L.A. Library!) Together we are bold Disneyland freaks, and regularly inhabit the park. No, we haven't yet brought scented candles & incense to the statue of Walt & the Mouse...(Phil Hendrie fans will get that) but we do have our annual passes. Whenever I'm questioned about this, I find myself saying the same thing: where else can you flee from your work, drive for 35 minutes and be on a Rocket Ship, a River Boat, A Haunted House, and a Steam Locomotive?

Luxuria Music's own co-founder Eric Bonerz is also a member of the Magic Kingdom Underground, and I myself found a wealth of inspiration for the SMiLE album just by strolling down Main St. U.S.A. or to be more truthful, obsessing over the most minute imagineered details that you'd never understand...or would you? Are you...one of us?