The Baked Potato: Where LA's music industry comes to play

 

The linoleum “wood”-paneled walls and frame-less, threadbare Frank Zappa posters say it all: If you’re not here for the music you’ve come to the wrong place.

Los Angeles may be infamous for being the city where former Dairy Queen employees from Iowa make their hajj to try and become the next big thing; but for every one of these painfully optimistic, wayward souls there are at least two exceptionally talented musicians who have come to work in the city’s prodigious music industry. From studio musicians needed for movie scores and backing work on albums, to nascent legends and established icons who come to record, the amount of musical talent here at any given time is simply astronomical. Good news for you is that when they’re not at work they have a playground: The Baked Potato.

Located just down Ventura Boulevard from Frank Zappa’s old recording studio, the music varies from night to night, but is deeply rooted in “Zappa-esk” jazz and rock fusion.  It’s always a jam, it’s always smokin’ and aside from whose playing there is always a common thread underlying it all. My friends and I joke that its simply “Baked Potato Music”

And yes:  in addition to a full bar and world-class live music they actually serve a variety of baked potatoes. However, given how expensive they are I’ve often wondered if it’s just a sneaky way of making the place an all ages venue. 

Mind you that the only downside of the Baked Potato is that it can be quite pricey. Acts change every night(see website for calendar), but every Monday is Monday Night Jamz: its a $10 cover and two drink minimum featuring the same group of stellar musicians every week(see clip above). They usually play until 11 or so when it becomes an open mic. Granted there have been a few duds in the past, but more far more often than not the talent that casually walks up on the stage bears testament to just how much this city’s cup is brimming over with world-class talent.

And for the star-struck out there, know that The Baked Potato has a rather interesting line-up of regular patrons. Is that Andy Garcia?!

NOTE: More music from the Baked Potato can be found by simply typing in "Baked Potato Jam" into youtube

Avoiding Lincoln and How to Not Get Stuck in Traffic on the Way to LAX

Think of it as the 405 with fewer lanes, slower speed limits and stoplights. If this has not conjured up a clear enough mental image, just know that Lincoln Boulevard is the bane of every Westsider's existence and should be avoided at all costs. I live a half a mile away from this disaster and make it a point to only drive on it after 8pm and find innovative ways of paralleling it. Do note that it is nowhere near as bad on the weekends as it is on the weekdays, but that during the summer the beach crowds can change that. In addition to the Lincoln Alternative I have for you, note that if it's not during the summer it can be a wise decision to follow the coast via Ocean and Pacific avenues to avoid it.

To avoid the street that is the bane of every westsiders' automotive existence take the following route. Granted a great deal of the route does not run along major streets so you'll be hitting 30 mph tops, but at least you'll be moving.

Now I know you're you're most likely wondering what the deal is with the zig-zags it takes south of Ocean Park. Just know that Lincoln is such an over trodden route that 23rd street has become crowded, albeit far less congested north/south route through the Westside. Hence, the zig-zags are to help you avoid it and Walgrove(the street it turns into once it enters Los Angeles). Only take this route during peak congestion times(8-10am 4-7pm)as it is almost all side streets. If you're looking to get to the airport after soaking up your last whiff of Pacific Ocean air, take Beethoven to Short and make a left on Lincoln. Continue south on Lincoln through Westchester and follow the prominent signs to the Airport. Don't worry that this route uses Lincoln to get to the airport; traffic flow drops significantly at the point at which you turn left on to it.

KING EDDY Saloon: Where the Downtown old meets the Downtown of new

Kingeddysaloon.com

It’s sandwiched between Skid Row and Gallery Row: between problems that have always been and gleaming prospects of what’s to come. It’s a hospitable Checkpoint Charlie at an invisible, but very much present Berlin Wall of economic and social status—a place where the often clean lines of the societal checkerboard blur: off duty Mission employees sipping Gin and Tonics with their ID lanyards still on; timeless drunks singing along—and forgetting the words of—the same 10 country songs they play on the jukebox every night; Parakeet trainers in 3 piece suits, Architecture students in collared shirts, lonely old men, shameless eccentrics, cookie-cutter hipsters. It’s a former piano shop whose basement was once the nerve center of the underground tunnels that sustained Downtown LA’s clandestine liquor business during prohibition. It’s a social scientist’s mad laboratory.

KING EDDY Saloon may very well be the only place in Downtown Los Angeles where two neighborhoods isolated by 100 years of history and decades of aggressive public policy mix; where two populations deemed to be oil and water miraculously blend to an emulsified vinaigrette. What brings everyone together? Despite the gritty kitsch, I don’t think it’s the indoor, plexiglass smoking room with the sign warning you not to do drugs of “any kind” inside. It’s not the madness happening on the other side of Los Angeles Street and it’s most definitely not the tuna salad sandwich they purport to serve. The most simplistic explanation is the $2.50 cocktails and the kind, salt of the earth service. However, the real lure are the guarantees: namely, that you will never walk out its doors without some kind of crazy story, and that you will undoubtedly get a revealing glimpse into the dynamic and utterly fascinating story of what’s happening in Downtown Los Angeles. In any event, this place will undoubtedly incinerate any notions you have that LA is categorically “superficial” and “fake”. If anything, KING EDDY Saloon is arguably too real.

In stark contrast to the complex and convoluted history of the area, the reason for the invisible wall along Main Street very is unsettlingly simple: a dip in elevation. West of Main, higher ground gave rise to the swanky and exceedingly opulent historic core of the city, but to the East low lying land and adjacent Los Angeles River formed a flood plain ideal for establishment of an agricultural community. When the Transcontinental Railroad reached it’s terminus in the area in 1876, migrant workers from all ends of the country began arriving to take advantage of the abundance seasonal harvesting work. Packing plants, shipping yards and other industry related to the bourgeoning railroad soon cropped up, attracting even more transient workers as well as the notoriously rough and tumble crowd associated with the railroad itself. Soon a small community of motels, month-to-month apartments, bars and shops took root in the area to serve this influx of wayward souls; however, it was not long before rampant alcoholism, drugs, prostitution, violent crime and other vices associated with single, uneducated and nomadic men began to plague the area. Missions were built to try and curb the bedlam, but as the 20^th century wore on their services soon lured the very element they were striving to combat. For every person they help show the light, two more showed up on their doorstep. It is now estimated that within its’ 50 square blocks there are 9,000 people living in varied states of homelessness: making it the largest concentration of homeless people in the United States and what Police Chief Bratton called “the worst social disaster in America”.

The endemic problems of Skid Row were ignored for years because Downtown Los Angeles was, well, largely forgotten by Angelenos and visitors alike. However, the construction of Staples Center, Disney Hall and other mega-structures have—in addition to a strong sentiment among many in Los Angeles to live in a denser, more pedestrian friendly community—put Downtown back on the map in a huge way. True, it’s been called a nascent a Manhattan, but the harsh realities of Skid Row are still right on the doormat of this exciting new community of hip bars, cutting-edge restaurants and young professionals. Things have gotten much better east of Main Street, but many argue that this is due to controversial and patently aggressive police action designed to contain the problems to smaller areas in Skid Row and(in general) away from the new Downtown.

Aside from being a microcosm of the beguiling hodgepodge of socio-economic conditions in Downtown Los Angeles and a living history of where the area has been and where it’s going, at the end of the day KING EDDY Saloon is just a great fucking bar. Whether it’s for the history, the cheap drinks, the country music laden jukebox, the unparalleled people watching or to see a side of LA that you never knew existed, just go. If you’re worried about safety, remember that KING EDDY Saloon is on the border of Skid Row and that the Skid Row “crowd” is largely it’s harmless, but exceedingly kind and eccentric residents. But as with any other big city, keep your wits about you(especially after crossing Main Street) and don't mistakenly miss it and wander over Los Angeles Street.

Weekday nights tend to be a little less eclectic and quiet, while Friday and Saturday nights tend to have that all too characteristic, KING EDDY-esque mix of both sides of Main Street. Appropriately, daytime(on any day) is when it really bustles.
And despite being an unparalleled social laboratory and an amazing bar, the only complaint that I have got about KING EDDY’s is that it’s not a place that you can hang out for prolonged period of time. This is my neighborhood bar, but it can be a bit like a good Fettuccine Alfredo: a small serving more than suffices. This is not to say—in any way shape or form—that you won’t be thinking about coming back for a second helping in the near future.

The Great Santa Monica Exodus

Santa Monica loves to tout itself as one of the nation's most sustainable, pedestrian friendly cities. What they don't tell you is that the burgeoning business parks in it's Mid-city section spawn an environmental and transportation nightmare come 5 o'clock each business day. Simply put, the number of available jobs abound, but affordable housing options--especially for families--are next to non-existant in Santa Moinca as well as the surrounding areas of Venice, Mar Vista and West Los Angeles. The end result is that the overwhelming majority of people who work in Santa Monica do not live there; In fact, recent surveys have put that number as high as 4 million.This lethal combination of abundant jobs and unaffordable housing has created such a pressing transportation and environmental nightmare that in 1990 the city enacted TMP Ordinance 1604: a measure which essentially forced employers to submit transportation plans and pay a per-employee fee that decreases with the size of the company.
And while studies have shown that this has kept this situation from reaching epidemic proportions, the map above still remains the reality: any eastbound route out of Santa Monica during rush hour is completely fucked. San Vicente and Ohio are your best options to avoid it, but if you notice Venice and Washington move at this time as they lead out of Venice, not Santa Monica. Though most of the routes highlighted in red are bad, Sunset can be especially shitty. As early as 4pm I have seen pretty heavy traffic starting at around Barrington; but like clockwork the traffic intensifies and stretches clear back to Bundy once 5 rolls around. I would love if there was some amazing shortcut I could give you to circumvent this clusterfuck, but unfortunately you're a bit up the creek on this one. Traffic is still bad on Wilshire, but at least you can cut the distance to the 405 a bit by taking San Viciente through Brentwood and making a left on Wilshire. If the 405 is your reason for traveling this way be prepared to hit even more bad traffic(especially North). If you're just looking to get to the other side of the freeway, sadly you're a bit screwed during this time too. Ohio St.(just south of the Veterans Center) is most likely your best bet, but traffic can be quite bad there too. However, if there's one moral, one morsel of information that is to be gleaned from this it is this: AVOID GOING WEST OUT OF BRENTWOOD AND SANTA MONICA FROM 4-730 ON WEEKDAYS!!!!

The Gold Room: Where Mexico and America make Menudo

This is the place where rectangular night skies shimmer over pump, red vinyl booths. The place where a sedan-sized coke mirror embossed with giant palms and the bar's logo in frosted glass adorn the backdrop of doting, buxom bartenders who display their ambivalence to the top 4 buttons on their blouses. Where Mariachi and Classic Rock play musical chairs on the jukebox, and the newly arrived hipsters rub elbows with tried and true, old school Mexican Rancheros. Where peanuts abound in wicker baskets on the bar and where free, authentic Mexican tacos keep appearing so long as you keep ordering your 4 dollar Tequila shot/Tecate combo. This is the Gold Room.
If not just for the kitsch, fantastic service, awesome jukebox and free tacos the Gold Room tells a story of a neighborhood(Echo Park) whose history is emblematically LA. As far back as the early 20th when it branded "Red Hill" because of the number of socialists and left-wing thinkers in the area, Echo park has always been a haven for those living and thinking on the fringes of mainstay. After World War 2, large numbers of Latinos began settling in the area and the inevitable white flight occurred: dropping rents and making Echo Park even more desirable to artists struggling to make ends meet. From Ayn Rand to Charles Bukowski, Jackson Browne to Elliot Smith, Echo Park's list of past(and even present) residents is a real who's who of the creative community despite having remained a predominantly poor Latino community. True, the 1993 gang film La Vida Loca was filmed in Echo Park partly because the line between the material in the script and the reality on the streets was virtually non-existant. However, much has changed since the early 90s: violent crime has plummeted, rents for apartments are among the highest in the city and rolled-up pant legs, fixies and ironic mustaches now abound
Nonetheless, Echo Park remains an amazing social experiment in relations between whites and Latinos; and(in my mind at least) there remains no better place than the Gold Room to witness how uniquely this confluence of cultures takes shape in this city. Any night is good at the Gold Room, but the ratio tends to tip toward hipsters on Friday and Saturday nights. I think the mix is best on Monday-Thursday nights. Daytime, however, tends to tip heavily toward the Latino element(you'll probably be the only person speaking English), but Dodger games at home usually make for a more mixed crowd.
And if the free tacos and peanuts aren't enough, do realize that on Friday and Saturday nights succulent Street Meat(bacon wrapped hot dogs with grilled onions and peppers) is just outside the door.