Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Laurel Canyon


I live in Laurel Canyon. The photo above is of Jim Morrison's house which is also in Laurel Canyon. That is not actually "the" house that he lived in though. The original house was torn down a while ago to build this house. The house that I am referring to is the brown one on the right. My friend Andy used to live next door to it (above the Canyon Cleaners) when the remains of Jim's house was still there. It was cool. Someone had written MR. MOJO RISING on the front of the old place. It was empty for a very long time aside from Johhny Junk who moved in. We figured out that Johnny Junk was living there because Andy found an electrical cord that was running from Jim's old house into Andy's. When he unplugged it, Johnny appeared wondering why his radio had shut off.


Andy's car that he had for 100 years parked outside the "old" Caioti Pizza below Canyon Store
Photobucket

I love living in Laurel Canyon because you are up in the woods with nature but at the same time the chaos of Sunset Boulevard is only 2 minutes away. I have lived in this neighborhood for 8 years. It's good to be out of the flat land! The canyon has a lot of history. Jimi Hendrix used to live down at the bottom of my street and Houdini lived across the street from Jimi. Not at the same time of course. Duh! Next door to Jimi's house is where Frank Zappa lived and around the corner from me is where the "Wonderland" murders happened. The canyon is where a lot of music has been made. So many famous musicians have lived here. Joni Mitchell, The Mamas and The Papas, The Byrds, Graham Nash, Dusty Springfield, Keith Richards, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and more. Musicians that I know live here now are Marilyn Manson, Justin Timberlake, Pete Wentz and John Frusciante. It still has a hippie element to it which fulfills the hippie in me, but now a lot of yuppies have moved in because they all want their kid in the Wonderland School. That really blows. They all drive like assholes through the windy streets in their fucking Range Rovers.


Photobucket


There are a lot of actors who live in my hood too. That's the thing about living around here. My friends who don't live in LA always ask me about the actors that I know or who I've met and where do I see them? My answer is everyone and everywhere. This is my neighborhood. This is their neighborhood. You go to the same grocery store and B-B-Ques and hair salon and events and car wash. You see them and meet them everywhere.

Photobucket

I wish there were still a bunch of musicians who lived around here. To me, they are the real celebrities. I get all freaked out and nervous whenever I have met a musician who I am a fan of. They can let you down too as far as personalities go, but who cares? They can fucking rock!


Canyon Country Store
Photobucket


Photobucket


Photobucket


Photobucket

4 comments:

Matt said...

Thanks for that, had just finished watching the film laurel Canyon and felt inspired to read a bit more about your area. Amazing musical history you've got there! Read through a few sites and ended up here. Nice :)

Catalina said...

Oh amazing. You live there? Laurel Canyon is like my personal paradise! I'd love to live there sometime.. but i guess it will be a dream forever, because i'm from germany.

Can i ask you something? Is it possible for tourists to explore the area there and some of the star houses or is this forbidden? Sorry for my englishl.. ;)

Anonymous said...

I grew up in Laurel Canyon from 1949 through 1959, went to Wonderland Avenue School kindergarten through 6th grade. The Canyon was light years away from the 'flat lands' yet a 5 minute drive. I grew up in entertainment. In the mid sixties the canyon became hip, New Yorkers had moved in, the neighborhood had started locking front doors, then the bands from all over ascended. The best kept secret was gone but the Laurel Canyon sound was on in the biggest way. I miss the canyon of then, the amazing amalgam of writers, musicians, hermits, Nazis, actors, sales people, housewives, etc because something was special there, the juxtaposition of the fabulous getaway close to the boring city. It was that nature was all around us, not to mention a Nuclear film lab, a Nike missile base, occult wackos, star gazers, modern architecture, and Welch Society advocates. I still have friends there who never moved away. Are there tours of Laurel Canyon? My roots are there, we played in the coyote trails and natural springs. The canyon has since been paved over with tracts. Tours are a lame idea but people are always looking to make a buck. I suggest making your own Laurel Canyon. We need more Laurel Canyons.

Anonymous said...

In the last missive I meant John Birch Society, not Welch Society. Welch (Grape Juice, etc) was a backer of the John Birch Society.