Parade fit for a king (Continued from page 9)
on the Westside, “this has been going on for hundreds of years” in India, Das noted of the celebration. Das, who grew up Catholic in Chicago, eventually hit a wall with his birth religion. He first attended the Krishna festival in Denver in 1973. Das took the vows eschewing eating meat, gambling and alcohol. Twentyseven years ago, he became president of the West L.A. temple, based at 3764 Watseka Ave. “We’ve been here since 1969,” Das said of his 2,000plus congregation, adding how on Sundays, the center welcomes all people to its weekly open house from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. for food and inspiration. Das called Festival of the Chariots “one of the larger religious activities in that area, if not West L.A. This is our biggest (annual) event.” He estimates “more than 30,000 people that come” to celebrate the parade and festival each year. In fact, there are 50 such celebrations nationwide in the U.S., including in North Carolina, where the American Hare Krishna movement is based. There are also celebrations in every major Canadian city. Worldwide, millions celebrate Lord Krishna’s ancient journey. “It also gives us an opportunity to bring the Lord Krishna for the public to see,” Das said. “We turn it into a big festival.” Fun for the entire family, Das continued,
“it’s very cultural, a snapshot of Indian culture and an idea behind the science of Krishna consciousness and to taste it in the form of our (vegan) food.” Das promised that those who keep an open mind will be culturally, even spiritually, rewarded. He is highly aware that the Hare Krishnas have been the butt of bad airport jokes from the 1980 spoof “Airplane!” to myriad comedians dotting the late-night TV talk show terminals. “People just see guys with shaved heads and some robes on, handing out pamphlets,” Das said. “There’s more to us than that. The misconception is that we’re just out there distributing books.” For instance, the temple’s Food for Life program assists those in need. Visitors can expect music and dance on three different stages (including performances of the Bharatnatyam dance in costume), as well as food kiosks, informational booths promoting meditation and art, a children’s activities tent, and complimentary vittles for visitors. In addition to the annual festival, the temple will celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna on Aug. 28, from 6 p.m. to midnight with a program including food, dance, chanting and cultural presentations. The Festival of the Chariots takes place Aug. 4 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Santa Monica Civic Center, with activities at Windward Plaza in Venice running from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Revelers replicate and celebrate Lord Krishna’s epic Information, festivalofchariots.com, lalive.us. § journey to Vrindavan at last year’s Festival of the Chariots parade in Venice. Michael@argonautnews.com
All that (free!) jazz (Continued from page 9)
salsa, boasting “more challenging harmonies and structures,” caters more to musicians. For bandleader Andy Comeau and singer wife Dawn Lewis, Overstreets New Orleans Jazz Band started two years ago as an offshoot to their ongoing Vaudevillains orchestra cabaret show (which formed in 2008). About a dozen musicians strong, the jazz band first gigged at Ariel in Santa Monica. At their Aug. 25 show, they’ll play traditional New Orleans jazz, mostly standards culled from 1915-30: “Tiger Rag,” “Bei Mir Bist Du Schon,” “That’s a Plenty” (sung by Louie Armstrong), and “Ain’t Gonna Give You None of My Jelly Roll.” While Comeau recognizes his group plays “early New Orleans jazz that is a dying art form,” he says the band is not as concerned about the advancement of jazz music as much as they are on preserving it. “We play what we think is entertaining to people and what would be fun to watch,” Comeau told The Argonaut. “It’s something a little more dynamic than a guy with a guitar.” His strain of jazz reached its apex in the 1930s, following the New Orleans flood of 1927 and the Great Depression. “After that, (the musicians) went to Chicago,” he says. “Kids today don’t think of it as jazz, they think of it as
Latin jazz and salsa combo Conganás will open “Jazz on the Lawn” Aug. 4.
old timey music. When we think of jazz, you’re thinking of Miles Davis or John Coltrane. (New Orleans-style jazz) sort of predated that by many decades,” Comeau said. Comeau said Overstreets New Orleans Jazz Band is one of L.A.’s very few practitioners of this style. “There’s a couple other bands that do it (in L.A., however) I’ve never actually seen them,” he said. “If you go see (audiences at these types of concerts), they’re all old folks.” And yet, he says a “young kitsch factor” has set in with the appreciation of this type of jazz routinely found on the soundtrack of a Woody Allen film. For Comeau, the joys of New Orleans jazz amount to a generational transmission of ditties his father used to play on the organ and the banjo
SHERMAN GALLERY & FRAMESTORE 4039 LINCOLN BLVD. MDR 310 305-1001 WWW.SHERMANGALLERY.COM
*WHILE YOU WAIT
FRAME SPECIAL
$19.99
MON—FRI METAL FRAME UP TO 16 X 20
SEE US ON YELP *VERIFIED FASTER/MORE AFFORDABLE THAN: FASTFRAME, FRAMESTORE & AARON BROS. PAGE 16 THE ARGONAUT August 1, 2013
when he was a kid in New Boston, NH. “They’re songs which have withstood the test of time,” he said. “They’re a throwback to the bands of the 20s and 30s. They’re fun.” Moraga feels jazz in L.A. in 2013 feels its most vital at clubs such as The Blue Whale in downtown L.A. and Upstairs at Vitello’s in Studio City, “which has some cool stuff happening all the time.” He also loves Hollywood’s Catalina Bar & Grill and La Descarga near Western Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. “That’s where we started,” Moraga said of the latter, (Spanish for “jam session”). “That’s where we created our sound.” The Westside’s free twin concert series should, at the very least, provide some nice aural ambiance as the sun sets on summer and August segues into autumn. “We love doing (the festivals) because there’s not a lot of exposure today to live music unless you’re that way and you go and look for it,” Comeau said. “It’s good to have it in the community.” Jazz on the Lawn at Stewart Street Park will include a variety of amenities: a children’s playground, restrooms and nearby parking. Stewart Street Park is at 1836 Stewart St., Santa Monica. Information, smgov.net/jazz. Westside Jazzfest runs every Saturday night in August at the Promenade, 6081 Center Drive, Westchester. Information, hhpromenade.com.§ Michael@argonautnews.com