One upon a time, in a universe far away, Los Angeles Magazine did their first and only zine piece.
In it's August 1994 issue (cover left), two
pages were set aside for the teeming local few; with some scant reviews with no addresses and a VERY few with their face shown!
Some were well known (like Derby from Ben Is Dead), semi-known and there were those who flew far under this "underground" radar....like me. The creepy thing was that the writer who
interviewed me wouldn't tell me where and/or how he bumped into my "cruelly drawn" Shmuck-O Rat comic.....hell, I don't even want to know how that bastard got my phone number!!!!
Anyways, the last mug you see in this last page belonged to me, until I lost the
thick glasses thanks to lazik surgery in 2003. The photos of this "note" were
taken in a studio that was in West LA/Hollywood area and a few steps from
the old KCOP 13 television studio.
This photo on the left is from the same issue, but it's from a different piece, though similar 'notes of the 'underground' tone. This time, it's
an 8 page piece on Venice Beach Boardwalk performers and this excerpt is of the stride pianist master, Barry 'The Lion' Gordon. I
used to see him quite a lot on the boardwalk during the late 80's to the late 90's. We talked a bit and exchanged personal art; I give him some of my comics and I bought almost all of his recordings.
I hadn't seen him in a long time since I moved out of Los Angeles and he doesn't have a web site. However, within the last few years, he has
established a Facebook account (albeit barely) and occasionally post a message or two. Currently, he is in performance retirement but still active in writing and making tapes for future 'Stride Masters'. Long may he tickles those ivories!!!