Los Angeles Downtown News 03-14-22

March 14, 2022 I VOL. 51 I #11

No Name Salon Showalters’ salon is making a name for itself

Outlining His Platform City Attorney Mike Feuer is running for mayor

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Doctor’s Day Publishes March 28, Artwork due March 23 FROM PRESCHOOL TO POSTGRAD

For more info. contact Michael Lamb 213-453-3548 • mlamb@timespublications.com or Catherine Holloway 213 -308-2261 • cholloway@timespublications.com

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Covered NEWS California will help

Homeboy CEO: Everyone deserves forgiveness

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski LA Downtown News Executive Editor ew people have seen the benefits of second chances more than Thomas Vozzo, the first chief executive officer of Homeboy Industries, a gang intervention and rehabilitation nonprofit.

“You are not the worst thing that you’ve done,” he said. “Everyone deserves forgiveness and second chances.”

In the new book “The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life” (Loyola Press), Vozzo shares the life lessons he learned from founder Fr. Gregory Boyle and the Homies on fighting social, economic and racial injustices.

Homeboy Industries is the largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world. For more than 30 years, it has served as a beacon of hope in Los Angeles to provide training and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people, allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of society.

Homeboy Industries’ services include tattoo removal, anger management training, mental health services and parenting classes.

Vozzo, who went from billion-dollar revenues to an unpaid volunteer CEO at Homeboy Industries, built Homeboy’s portfolio of job-training businesses (including Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Café, and Homebody Electronic Recycling).

Combining his personal experiences and hard-earned insights with motivational and sometimes heartbreaking stories of former gang members determined to break free, “The Homeboy Way” gives readers practical ways to address these issues and helps provide a new path for those who need it most.

All proceeds from “The Homeboy Way” support the mission of Homeboy Industries.

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“I’m some ways, I pinch myself,” Vozzo said.

“I’m a business guy with a math background who wrote a book. That came naturally.”

Vozzo has been the chief executive officer for nine years and previously spent 26 years in corporate America. He ran $2 billion set of businesses, but deep down wanted to step away.

“I didn’t know what that chapter would be,” he said. “I just knew deep down inside that I wanted a different chapter in my life, not just corporate executive.

“Coincidence and divine providence that I got involved in Homeboy Industries. I’ve learned so many things now that I didn’t know in corporate days — not only business lessons but life lessons, too.”

He sees his life’s purpose as to be a witness to Homeboy Industries and translate it for the corporate world.

“Most of us grow up believing we should give back to people in need and help them out,” Vozzo said.

“At Homeboy, what you see is people who were thrown away. All these folks have such trauma in their lives. They’re able to find and lean on their God-given goodness to help with a lot of support services. It’s pretty special to be part of the transformation in somebody’s life and to be a part of a community of kindship. It just makes society a better place.

Poverty in America has been the same for 40 years. How do you change that? By helping people get out of tough circumstances.”

When he decided to write a book, he considered sharing business lessons.

However, the further he moved into the process, he wanted to share Homeboy Industries’ stories.

“I put it in the context of their stories and lessons,” said Vozzo, who lives in Thousand Oaks. “If they can move their

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Thomas Vozzo wrote “The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life” (Loyola Press).

Photo by Chris Mortenson

life forward positively, everybody plays havior. a part in it. I expose myself a little—my “We have to get below what’s causing spiritual growth in the corporate world. someone subordination—the problem “I move along my journey and Home- with baby momma drama, landlords, etc. boy helped me do that. Homebody’s very — what’s the cause of those behaviors, inspiring.” how us, as a community, can help peoHe learned this through Boyle. ple through these challenges of their life.

“He goes out of his way to say there are One of our aspirations is to stand with EXECUTIVE EDITOR: he Christina no bad people out there,” said.Fuoco-Karasinski “We’re the demonized until the demonization STAFF WRITERS: Andrew Checchia, Andres De Ocampo, Julia Shapero all good. We learn at Homeboy that the Kamala stops.”

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Sara Edwards, Kirk rest of society measuresArman people

by Stephanie beART DIRECTORS: Olivares, Torres STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Luis Chavez CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Myriam Santos ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Michael Lamb FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris

“The Homeboy Way: A Radical Approach to Business and Life” Loyola Press Available on Amazon and christianbook.com

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski DEPUTY EDITOR: Luke Netzley STAFF WRITERS: Connor Dziawura, Annika Tomlin CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Laura Latzko, Ellen Snortland STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Chris Mortenson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Mario A. Hernandez, Courtney Lindberg, Travis Shinn ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway (213) 308-2261 Michael Lamb (213) 453-3548 FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris

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Covered NEWS California will help

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer is running for mayor of Los Angeles in the 2022 election. Feuer is focused on tackling homelessness in the city, increasing the police force and expanding the public transit system.

Photo by Courtney Lindberg

Mike Feuer outlines his platform for mayor

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski LA Downtown News Executive Editor hen Mike Feuer was young, he learned people — or any entity for that matter — are defined by how they handle the toughest times.

Los Angeles is no different, according to mayoral candidate and Los Angeles City Attorney Feuer.

“The city is in a tremendous crisis right now,” he said.

“It’s really important to step in when things are at their most challenging. I decided to run for mayor, given the experience I’ve had with years of successful

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leadership here in LA. I can make a real difference.”

Feuer is focused on tackling homelessness as the city needs “a leader, not a follower in this issue.”

“On the record, I said my first day as mayor, I would declare a state of emergency on homelessness,” he said. “Other candidates followed. I pledged to appoint a single top deputy, like an earthquake FEMA field general, who reports to me. Again, my opponents followed.

“The homeless emergency is having a tremendous impact on Downtown. I

hear all the time from residents about how their quality of life and safety have suffered tremendously. I talk to property owners and investors who are describing how there is real reluctance to invest in Downtown right now because of homelessness and increasing public safety issues. After all the enormous efforts so many have undertaken to create a vibrant Downtown, we can’t let Downtown move backward.”

The answer to homelessness, he said, is not simply housing a number of people.

“It’s not a meaningful enough goal,”

he said. “The city did that and the streets didn’t look better in 2021. We need to dramatically diminish street homelessness.

“We need improved street engagement strategies. We should be saying to people experiencing homelessness, ‘The street is no place for you to be. About 1,600 people experiencing homelessness died on the streets. It’s dangerous for you and for many reasons. We need public spaces safe and accessible to everybody.’”

To solve the problem, the city needs to focus on mental health and substance

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abuse, Feuer said. The answers are found in unused substance abuse rehab beds in the county system and in transforming what is currently an open-air asylum on the streets.

“I want to have teams on the street and increase the beds available for those they engaged with,” Feuer said. “We need to have a robust response to this emergency.”

As for public safety, Feuer said he was the first mayoral candidate to say the police force should be increased, which goes hand in hand with reforming it.

“The stores that are grappling with organized retail theft need support right now,” he said.

“We have an increase in violent crime and gun violence. We can turn this around. I’ve been one of the leaders on gun violence prevention in the nation.”

In business, he’s a strong supporter of adaptive reuse.

“During the pandemic, downtowns around the world, including in Los Angeles, have seen commercial tenants say they were changing their business model moving forward,” he said.

“I want to see, when that happens, that we rely on the existing buildings we have as a key source of housing. I want to integrate housing, including affordable housing in existing commercial

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buildings.”

Expanding the public transit system, outside of DTLA, is important as well. He said he is laser focused on rapidly completing the Purple Line moving west.

“Downtown’s success is tied to people getting to Downtown, and not just when it comes to their workday,” Feuer explained.

“Getting to recreation, theater and arts is difficult for so many people on the west side. Some say, ‘I don’t want to drive Downtown. It’s too complicated in the evening.’ We’re building out the subway system.

“I think there’s no question at the top of my priority list for Downtown is successfully reducing street homelessness.

I’m deeply tied to that.”

Life-changing experience Feuer was raised in San Bernardino by Jewish parents. His father was a prisoner of war to the Nazis in World War II. According to Feuer, his father barely survived that experience.

When he did, he decided to work with children as a public school educator, a role he had for 60 years.

His mother was from Boyle Heights, which Feuer called the “quintessential melting pot in Los Angeles.”

“She spoke Spanish, Russian and Yiddish,” Feuer said. “She taught us about social justice. She told me to stand up for people when they’re under attack.”

Her Japanese American friends were suddenly gone when on Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the government to incarcerate Americans because they looked like the enemy.

Feuer is “extremely proud” of his wife and kids as well. For 37 years, he has been married to California Court of Appeal Justice Gail Ruderman Feuer.

His son has an education tech startup in Boston, while his daughter is a lawyer in Los Angeles.

“What matters to me most is that they are wonderful people,” he said. “That’s what counts.”

Feuer really learned to appreciate life after a near-fatal car crash when he was running for city attorney. He was driving Downtown to the swearing in of Jackie Lacey, then the Los Angeles County district attorney.

A truck ran a red light and hit the Prius he was driving.

“The force of the impact was so great, I spun backward for another block and hit another vehicle.

“They had to use the Jaws of Life to get me out of the car. My whole left side was creamed. I had six broken ribs and a collapsed lung. I realized when people said to me that’s usually a fatal car crash, how incredibly lucky I was to be alive.

“I was in tremendous pain two and a half months before election day. I went from ICU to campaigning, which was not what my doctor recommended. I spent five days in ICU and on a Saturday I said I had to leave because on Monday, I had a huge interview.”

He said he had to grit his teeth and forge ahead.

“I knew that I was very blessed to have survived,” he said.

“On the other side, it tested me. It was incredibly painful to move, let alone campaign. You can’t display weakness.

You can’t go before the voters on election day like that. That experience has deepened my sense of urgency. It made me tougher, too. I’ve never been through an experience quite like that before.”

Mike Feuer mikeforla.com

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Covered California CONSIDER THIS will help

The ides and tides of March

By Ellen Snortland LA Downtown News Columnist had the absolute pleasure of having to look up the definition of “ides” because of a lovely novel, “A Coin for the Ferryman,” written by Megan Edwards, a San Gabriel Valley daughter.

As an author, columnist, writing coach and public figure, I often receive author requests to review their book or write a blurb for it. I then pray, “Please, Goddess of Novels, let this book not suck.” Just because you can type doesn’t make you a writer. And, just because you wrote a book, it doesn’t mean that book should have been written. Happily, Ms. Edwards is a wonderful writer. I was grateful I didn’t have to write back and say, “Your book didn’t cut it for me, so I decline to review it,” but you know, more polite than that.

I don’t typically review books. However, I have read so many books that I have

nal plot, and is an absolute page-turner.

I read ACFTF about 18 months ago, and then it got shoved to the bottom of a pile of books because, you know, life. Edwards’ PR team reached out to me again, and I said yes because:

I am a sucker for historical novels, mysteries, and science fiction. This three-way mashup is right up my angiportum. A discredited female archaeologist discovers a 20th-century coin from a Las Vegas casino in a Roman ruin dig. A brilliant and beautiful student named Cassandra mirrors her namesake, as she is only nominally listened to. Twists and turns abound as the tension mounts regarding what will happen if they don’t send a wily — and now very angry — Julius Caesar back to his proper time. Yikes!

Edwards herself decided to personally research Las Vegas for the casino portion of her story and ended up making Vegas her adopted hometown. By the way, Megan is a potent example of what I tell all my students: “Stick to it!” It took her 20 years to bring “A Coin for the Ferryman” to fruition. Books are not built in a day. Accipe cor, et perseverent scriptores! (Take heart and persevere, writers!) For more info about Megan and the book, visit meganedwards.com.

Speaking of women’s history, be sure to block off 6 to. 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, either in person at Marshall Fundamental Secondary School or via livestream

• March is Women’s History Month • I have a keen interest in women’s creations • Upon second reading, I remembered how much I loved it the first time • The Ides of March are upon us, so how perfect is that?

• I wanted a good reason to actually look up “ides.” (It means ‘mid-month.’ Yawn.)

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Ellen Snortland a solid grasp of what constitutes excellent fiction and non-fiction. And I’m happy to report that Edwards’ “A Coin for the Ferryman” hits all the right notes for me. It has great characters, an intricate and origi-

Without spoiling too much, Edwards wondered, “What if Julius Caesar were to somehow visit the modern world? What would that be like for him? How could that happen?” Enter the somewhat mad scientist who invents a way to — a la Star Trek — “beam the Emperor down.” Shenanigans ensue. Worse, the science team must get Caesar back to his appointment with Brutus and the boys so he can be assassinated as planned. If they fail, time as we know it could possibly unravel.

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The first few years of a child’s life are critical for their development. Children at risk of a developmental delay, or showing any signs of delay, may qualify for intervention and services through the Early Start program of California.

Across the state of California, the Early Start program is coordinated by all 21 regional centers. With the guidance of service coordinators, an individualized plan for services and supports can make a difference in a child’s development.

For individuals over the age of 3, the regional centers also provide lifelong services and supports from the school age years through adulthood, including service coordination, individual service planning, education related advocacy and training In partnership with the Family Resource Centers, parents and family members may receive parent-to-parent support, guidance, information and referrals to community resources.

Due to the decline in referrals during the COVID-19 State of Emergency, it is important to know that your local regional center remains open and is accepting referrals. Although some regional center staff may be working remotely, they continue to work hard to ensure your child is receiving the services they need.

To find out exactly which regional center would serve your family, please visit dds.ca.gov/services or dds.ca.gov/listings Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center 3303 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90010 (213) 383-1300 or (213) 252-5600 kyrc@lanterman.org | www.lanterman.org

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a Advertising is Keep Great Way to rs Your Custome Informed The Los Angeles Downtown News publishes a wide array of special sections and quarterlies throughout the year on topics like Health, Education, Nightlife and Residential Living.

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GAMBLE’S OPINION

on KLRN, a PBS station in San Antonio.

The event is called “A Celebration of Women’s History Month — Honoring the Women’s Movement: Suffrage and Women’s Liberation,” created by the PUSD. The specially prerecorded keynote speech is

by Hillary Rodham Clinton, a historical figure in her own right. How cool is that?!

Hillary couldn’t be there in person, so she created a personal message to PUSD students, which is a great honor.

This is the fifth year that Marshall celebrates Women’s History Month with events such as this assembly. Besides Secretary Clinton, speakers will include Rep. Judy Chu, Pasadena City Councilmember Felicia Williams, PUSD Superintendent Dr. Brian McDonald, and PUSD Chief Academic Officer Dr. Elizabeth Blanco. Marshall students will share essays and art within the theme of women’s liberation. Who knows, some of the students participating or attending may become our future leaders, inspired by their participation here!

Getting Hillary was the brainchild of

event co-founder Jennifer Hall Lee. Full disclosure, I am a friend and admirer of Jennifer’s. She’s a gifted documentary filmmaker, an incredible mother, and a loyal friend. Although I don’t have children, I am happy she is on the PUSD board because my tax money gets spent on kids and schools. I am a product of public schools and honestly believe Ms. Hall Lee is a gift to taxpayers, parents, and students in this district.

Secretary Clinton states, “It fills me with hope for the future that you’re taking the time to study and celebrate the groundbreaking pioneers of the women’s liberation movement.” Me too, Hillary, me too.

For more info, visit pusd.us/marshall Ellen Snortland has been writing this column for decades and teaches creative writing. She can be reached at: ellen@beautybitesbeast.com. Her award-winning film “Beauty Bites Beast” is once again available for download or streaming at https://vimeo. com/ondemand/beautybitesbeast

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Hey you! Speak up!

Downtown News wants to hear from people in the community. If you like or dislike a story, let us know, or weigh in on something you feel is important to the community.

Participation is easy. Go to downtownnews.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Letter to the Editor” link. For guest opinion proposals, please email christina@timespublications.com.

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Covered LETTERSCalifornia will help LA County is a champion

Editor: Already, we are seeing the ramifications of climate change from intense heat waves reaching triple digits to the record-breaking season of wildfires.

LA County has been a leader in environmental policy and needs to keep making the necessary strides to pave the way for other counties, both in California and across the nation.

California has the ambitious goal of selling only electric cars by 2035, which could have an astonishing impact on the local environment that has been plaguing the residents of Los Angeles.

Right now, more than 38 million Californians — about 98% of the state’s population — experienced over 30 days of unhealthy air quality in 2020.

For California to meet this audacious goal, we need to build the proper infrastructure to support an increasing volume of electric vehicles.

Passing the GoEv city measure will accelerate the readiness for the massive transition to all electric vehicles by streamlining the process in building an EV infrastructure. LA County is the champion

we need to pave the way in making the country more conscious about the environment and illuminating the substantial benefits from transitioning to an environmentally friendly infrastructure Daniel Mora DTLA Learning from Viennese housing policies Editor: Currently, there is “...an estimated 553,742 people in the United States” suffering from homelessness on any given day (“National Alliance to End Homelessness,” 2017).

Specifically, cities in California like Los Angeles and San Francisco face extremely high rates of homelessness.

In Los Angeles, there are at least 63,706 homeless individuals on any given night (Ward, 2021).

This is due to the fact that these areas possess certain policies and migration trends that exacerbate the issue of homelessness like zoning laws and gentrification.

Overall, the U.S. as a whole and the po-

litical parties that make up the democratic system in the U.S. (Democrats and Republicans) do not possess enough urgency when observing the current homelessness crisis.

Areas with high-density homeless populations like that of Los Angeles and San Francisco have expressed “deep frustration over widespread, visible homelessness… (urging) the government to act faster and focus on shelter for people living in the streets” as suggested by recent polls (Lauter, Oreskes, 2021).

While recent LA efforts to limit housing scarcity have resulted in an increase in housing costs, worse traffic congestion, and higher levels of homelessness (Platkin, 2021).

However, cities like Vienna, Austria, have adopted policies like that of the Threefold Subsidy Housing Policy, which consists of an active land policy that promotes the buying of historical land reserves to be sold and leased to nonprofit organizations at a low cost to build social housing units (Ball, 2021).

Once these social housing units are built, tenants pay about “27% of their income on rent” (Forrest, 2019). Fiscally and in terms of rent, this is pretty manageable

considering the poorest individuals in Los Angeles pay about 50% of their income on rent (Goulding, 2022).

While other cities in the United States, like New York, have citizens spending about 58% of their average income on rent (Forrest, 2019).

Additionally, subsidies are available to low-income and median-income tenants that want to live in Vienna’s social housing units but still cannot afford the rent entirely, as these units are open to any economic class (although there is an emphasis and set amount of spaces set apart for specifically low-income individuals) (Ball, 2021).

Additionally, poor housing quality that is prevalent in the United States, in terms of social housing units could be resolved

by Vienna’s urban renewal policy as well.

Vienna’s urban renewal policy consists of the city’s requirements to constantly upgrade social housing units that are growing older in age and in areas that are experiencing gentrification.

Building upgrades consist of adding more levels to increase the number of tenants that could live in a unit as well as upgrading the quality in terms of ventilation, comfort, eco-friendliness, etc.

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Additionally, all social housing units made after the 1990s experienced higher quality requirements as new developments were made in the structure of social housing architecture.

New housing policies were introduced that required each person that wanted to complete a social housing project to submit their design to a developer competition.

Designs were favored based on architectural quality, how much the building would cost to build and how eco-friendly it was. These competitions are still in place today and continue to ensure maximum quality, lower costs and result in high-density buildings with high-level public transport access and eco-friendly spaces.

These social housing policies are possible to apply in countries like the United States — specifically in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles — in a tangible and fiscal sense, however, politically, this issue continues to be neglected by federal and regional governments.

Politically, in Vienna, all social housing is paid for by citizen taxes (Blumgart, 2020). This was made possible due to the power that Vienna had and continues to have over creating its own taxing policies and the consistent political success of the Social Democratic Workers Party that holds social housing at such a high priori-

ty (Blumgart, 2020).

In reality, voters in areas like LA are playing their role and expressing their concern over the lack of affordable housing in their regions alongside the growing homeless population scarcity as 94% of LA voters hold homelessness as “one of the most serious problems facing Los Angeles County” (Lauter, Oreskes, 2021).

They continue to express their “disappointment with the region’s leadership” as progress toward affordable housing continues to be “slow and expensive” while research continues to prove that providing permanent, secure housing alongside services to help address physical and psychological issues will lead to lower homeless rates (Lauter, Oreskes, 2021).

The solution lies among our most powerful regional and federal government leaders that have the authority to push for certain policies, tax laws and decide which issues hold the highest priority.

The fact of the matter is that housing is a human right and for as long as our leaders continue to see housing as a mere commodity, luxury good and asset, change will continue to stay stagnant. As responsible citizens, it is our duty to continue to push for policies that hold human rights to the highest regard.

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Covered California will help BUSINESS

Matt and Harlee Showalter opened No Name Salon, located behind Verve Coffee Roasters, in October 2020.

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No Name Salon staff uses Davines, which is founded in Parma, Italy, as its main product line.

Photo by Chris Mortenson

Photo by Chris Mortenson

Showalters’ salon is making a name for itself

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski LA Downtown News Executive Editor att Showalter and his wife, Harlee, dreamed of opening their own salon. After moving to DTLA, the couple found the perfect building but struggled with a name.

“When we signed the lease, we went back and forth on what we should name it,” Matt said. “We had all these names, so many names, most of which had ‘beauty’ attached to it.

“Our building is behind Verve (Coffee Roasters). I didn’t know where it was at all.”

The couple set up a tour and noticed it was “really hidden,” he said. “We had to go through two glass doors. The foyer of the building was bleak and dated a little bit. Then you go to our door and open it up and, I thought, ‘Oh wow. How is this

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hidden behind there?’

“I wouldn’t have guessed that the space existed back there. The ceilings 16 feet high with old cement columns. That was the ‘wow’ that Harlee and I had the first day that we looked at it.”

So, the Highland Park couple came up with an appropriate moniker — No Name Salon. Matt said it reflects the building’s history. In the early 1920s, it operated as a speakeasy and was raided by the DEA for servicing alcohol during prohibition.

“I was talking to Harlee and I said, ‘Well, how about No Name’ and it vibed with the whole thing. You don’t see it and you don’t know what’s going on.

You go through the doors and it’s beautiful. That’s what we ran with.”

No Name Salon signed the lease during the height of the pandemic,

July 24, 2020, when commercial leasing rates were decreasing. The Showalters opened their salon in October 2020. The salon had a rocky beginning, as it was forced to close due a pandemic mandate.

Now open and thriving, No Name Salon is a sustainable Green Circle Salon, a program that empowers salons to offset their emissions and recover up to 95% of their beauty waste.

That includes previously unrecoverable materials and hard-to-recycle items like hair clippings, foils, excess hair color, aerosol cans and color tubes.

No Name Salon staff uses Davines as its main product line. Founded in Parma, Italy, in 1983 by the Bollati Family, Davines group started as a research laboratory, producing high-end hair care products for renowned cosmetic companies

worldwide.

To offset the environmental impact, Davines has been using renewable electric energy from natural sources — such as sun, wind, water and soil — to supply its plants and offices since 2006.

By adhering to lifegate’s zero impact project, the carbon dioxide emissions generated by the production of the packaging are offset by the purchasing of carbon credits generated by operations of forests’ creation and protection in Italy, Costa Rica and Madagascar.

Their packaging choices are based on three fundamental points: the use of as little raw materials as possible, the use of recyclable materials and the optimization of logistics processes to avoid waste. The research charter favors ingredients of natural origin, organic or eco-certified and made from renewable

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No Name Salon is a sustainable Green Circle Salon, a program that empowers salons to offset emissions and recover up to 95% of their beauty waste from hard-to-recycle items like hair clippings and aerosol cans.

Photo by Chris Mortenson

sources. Also, all Davines products are never tested on animals.

“The packaging is very, very nice,” she said. “The oils they use are all grown in Italy on their farm. They use certain fruits and oils to get the product that they distribute. We like them. We like the company just based on that.”

The Showalters hail from Vernal, Utah — which has a population of about 11,000 — and opened their first salon in the state in 2016. They decided to further their dreams in DTLA in the summer of 2019. Harlee was immediately hired by a salon in the heart of DTLA. “We took a leap of faith and moved to LA, of all places,” he said.

“We had a lot of trial and error in finding our way, but to be where we’re at today, we’re super grateful to have built a clientele, for one. Our employees are amazing. We love all of them. They’ve been great to jump on board for us and establish ourselves in such a competitive area.”

The couple’s goal for No Name Sa-

lon is to hire additional stylists and host seminars for the staff.

“We’ll either have our stylists offer education or have stylists from elsewhere come in and teach classes,” she said.

Opening No Name Salon in DTLA was an easy choice, as it boasts a community of professionals, creatives, business owners and 85,000 residents, Matt said.

DTLA has one of the highest concentrations of hair salons in the country, according to Matt.

“I love this community. I love the different walks of life we get to serve and feel like we’re giving back to the community by boosting the confidence in our clients,” Matt said.

“We’re right across the street from California Market Center. Apple is very close to us. It has a sense of community, which we value. I really do like the area and the people who live Downtown — especially when I get to see them on a biweekly or monthly basis. I have built a rapport or friendships with clients who come in.”

No Name Salon 833 S. Spring Street, Suite 101, Los Angeles 323-302-7701 or nonamesalon.la

Harlee and Matt Showalter opened their first salon in Utah in 2016 before moving to DTLA in 2019.

Photo by Chris Mortenson

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MARCH 14, 2022

Covered DININGCalifornia will help

Kaviar Sushi set to open in Arts District

By Luke Netzley LA Downtown News Deputy Editor fter two successful years in Old Town Pasadena, Kaviar Sushi Bar’s elevated sushi experience is heading to Downtown Los Angeles this summer in the Arts District.

“When it comes to fine dining sushi in LA, it’s typically your omakases: the quiet, quaint types of small sushi bars where the Japanese chefs are silent behind the bar,” described Kaviar’s veteran sushi chef John Hans Yeo. “I figured I would bring an omakase-caliber menu with fusion elements from all around the globe and put it all together into this very Vegas-esque, New York-esque aesthetic package.”

With over two decades of experience in the food and beverage industry, Yeo and Kaviar Owner Tigran Oganessian are looking to bring a newfound energy and creativity to the city’s sushi scene through a voluminous menu of generational traditions and explorational experiments.

“I’m a firm believer in maintaining the integrity of what sushi is, both culturally and culinarily, so initially it was a little bit difficult for me when I was developing this menu because it was so different,” said Yeo, who began his prodigious career as a high school dropout with no classical training.

Yeo’s parents emigrated from South Korea to LA’s Korea Town when he was 1 year old before settling in Bakersfield six years later. When he was 16 years old, Yeo wanted to buy a car, so he dropped out of high school to work as a dishwasher at a Japanese restaurant. That was his formal introduction to the world of Japanese cuisine.

Yeo moved to Los Angeles in 2004 and began working in sushi restaurants, building up an arsenal of recipes and learning different skills from the chefs at each place he worked.

Today, Yeo stands as the executive chef of Pasadena’s Kaviar Sushi and as a culinary creative looking to combine modern techniques and an adventurous spirit with fresh ingredients and a reverence for traditional recipes by infusing his menu with opulence and artistry.

“Every individual ingredient must be able to stand on its own two feet,” Yeo said. “Every item that we do is enhanced

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Kaviar’s sushi is made with fresh organic ingredients with quality ensured by the restaurant’s “small-batch” ordering policy.

Photo courtesy of Kaviar Sushi Bar

rather than altered, so you’ll see that we don’t utilize very many sauces and all of our enhancements are natural.”

According to Yeo, this enhancement can be as simple as adding a fresh squeeze of lemon, dash of Himalayan salt crystals and coating of yuzu paste to a Japanese snapper.

Along with a traditional sushi and maki list that would be found in a typical omakase restaurant, Yeo utilizes simplistic enhancements and fusions pulled from his childhood and from the experiences he had moving across restaurants.

“I pull fusion inspiration from everywhere,” Yeo explained. “We have a 365-day-a-year test kitchen here, so all of my sushi staff and kitchen staff are continuously evolving. The menu is continuously evolving too and we’re continuing to pioneer new elements all the time.”

Kaviar’s test kitchen has produced such creations as the restaurant’s wagyu tacos made from certified American wagyu, wonton crisp taco shells and a jalapeno guacamole made in house as well as its pan-seared hotate served with a shoyu reduction, black caviar and a garlic aioli made in house.

Though the kitchen’s inventions can be unconventional, the team at Kaviar has showcased its traditional skills throughout the sushi menu, which includes staples like goldeneye snapper, kanpachi and yellow tail.

“We want to be innovative, but the point is that we care about everything that we do,” Yeo said. “Economic gain is not what drives us. What drives us is a true and untouched passion for what this is, and that’s what makes us special.”

All the ingredients at Kaviar are organic and can change at a moment’s notice due to the restaurant’s “small batch” ordering policy. This way, the kitchen avoids back stocking and ensures the quality of every product.

While the quality and creativity behind the food lies at the core of Kaviar’s mission, Yeo insists that all aspects of the restaurant and its service are important to creating a truly special dining experience for each guest.

“I call it an experience-based sushi phenomenon, from the first time you walk in to the time you leave,” Yeo explained. “I want my diners to come in

MARCH 14, 2022

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and have an ultra-fine dining experience with smoke shows and fire shows.

I want them to have food and drink and be able to smile, laugh and share beautiful, long conversations with one another, to stay and dine for three hours if they want.”

Along with its tableside fire and smoke shows, Kaviar boasts simple yet dramatic décor and customer service.

Yeo wants to entertain guests with amiable conversation and education about the menu so visitors can visit with no knowledge of sushi and leave as an expert.

“Sushi is typically a steppingstone between leaving the house and where

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you’re going to end up at night,” Yeo said. “I’m trying to create a main event.”

In addition to Kaviar’s normal business hours, Yeo will unveil a supper club concept at the Downtown location that will keep the restaurant open until 2 a.m.

“We’re looking to be best in class and we’re looking to be global within two years,” Yeo said. “I want to be able to share this with the world, and we’re very optimistic about that.”

To learn more about Kaviar Sushi’s mission and menu, visit kaviarsushi.com or stop by their original location at 70 N Raymond Avenue, Pasadena.

Kaviar Sushi Bar 449 S. Hewitt Street, Los Angeles 70 N. Raymond Avenue, Pasadena kaviarsushi.com

Executive chef John Yeo started his career as a high school dropout at 16 and mastered his trade by working his way up through sushi restaurants across Los Angeles until he finally opened Kaviar Sushi Bar with owner and business partner Tigran Oganessian.

Photo courtesy of Kaviar Sushi Bar

Kaviar’s menu features upscale and unconventional dishes topped with caviar and 24-karat gold flakes.

Photo courtesy of Kaviar Sushi Bar

The restaurant is not only praised for its culinary creations but also the atmosphere created by its décor as well as its tableside smoke and fire shows.

Photo courtesy of Kaviar Sushi Bar

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Covered DININGCalifornia will help

Bentley Hall is CEO of Good Eggs, an online marketplace that provides premium grocery products to residents in San Francisco and now Los Angeles.

Photo by Chris Mortenson

Good Eggs bringing the store to LA doors

By Connor Dziawura LA Downtown News Staff Writer hen the foundation for Good Eggs was laid over a decade ago, the idea on which the organic grocery delivery service was built was revolutionary and groundbreaking, according to current CEO Bentley Hall.

An idea he estimates few people agreed with just half a decade ago, he now feels the move toward online groceries, and quality ones at that, is validated by recent consumer shifts.

“It started back then really with one big thesis, and the thesis was that groceries were going online and grocer-

W

ies were going toward good food — and that Good Eggs would be at the intersection of those two big tail ends and we would make our way by having a really good, premium product sourced well and by using technology to achieve that goal,” explained Hall, who has been with the company for six years.

Founded in 2011, the online marketplace built itself up in the Bay Area, Hall said, as “we really wanted to build deep roots in one region; really perfect our model; continue to have exceptional-quality food; really, really good jobs that deliver convenience without

the compromise that comes with some other systems.”

After proving its concept in the San Francisco market, Good Eggs is finally branching out into other markets with its recent expansion to Los Angeles.

“That’s left us with a service that customers really love and keep on coming back to, a business model that works — and that was a very, very short summary of chapter one,” Hall said.

“But LA is the first market we’re coming into after that chapter, and we’re doing that because we feel like we have a foundation and great, great, great fit with our consumers and

a great service — and so now we’re in this stage of accelerating growth through thoughtful expansion.”

Solving a customer’s week, locally Good Eggs features an extensive online marketplace and flexible, seven-days-a-week delivery, including same-day options. No subscription is required, and orders can be placed via website or iOS/Android app.

The company’s offerings range from individual produce, dairy, bakery, pantry, meat and fish items, as one would see in a grocery store, to kits that provide customers all that’s needed for a

MARCH 14, 2022

well-rounded meal.

Also on the brand’s digital shelves, so to speak, are a number of prepared options, ranging from frozen pizzas to easy-to-manage salads and soups.

Additionally, Good Eggs’ catalog extends to alcoholic drinks, like beer, wine and spirits, as well as an array of nonalcoholic options, such as coffee, tea and soda.

Furthermore, customers looking for convenience can remotely order vitamins and supplements; skin care items; bath and body products; plus cleaning, laundry and toiletry supplies — and more.

“We are one of the only companies who has a combination of exceptional groceries and absurdly fresh produce; meal kits; seasonal ready-to-eat meals; and alcohol, wine and select spirits; and flowers,” Hall said. “So that idea of solving a full customer’s week, that actually is unique in this space.

“But what makes it more unique is that we’re doing all those things, but we’re still sourcing 70%, 80% direct from local producers — and to put that in context, average grocery is less than 1%. … I care a lot about how we source and why that’s good, but just for a customer, that just delivers a much fresher product,” he added.

More than just caring about producers, Good Eggs emphasizes people, offering good jobs, a living wage and strong customer service, and the planet, practicing sustainability initiatives, such as reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging. Good Eggs’ team will even pick up and handle leftover packaging for customers.

“We have great people who care taking those groceries, delivering them to your door, and the combination of that internally we talk about is quality without question and convenience without compromise,” Hall added.

That convenience is enhanced by the variety offered in Good Eggs’ catalog.

“There’s meal kits, there’s meals, groceries, there’s alcohol delivery, there’s all these little subgroups. I think a lot of companies see those as independent, but if I just look at that as a normal human being and a consumer myself who loves food, I want to know how to stock my fridge and my pantry or my cupboards, and I want to know what we’re going to have for dinner and breakfast and lunch, those meals, and I want to have a little bit of inspiration on that,” Hall said. “I don’t want to go to 12 different places. I want to have a onestop destination where there’s a third level to complete enough but curate it enough to meet our needs. I think

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that’s pretty standard.

“I also think people are not the same every day. One night you might want to cook for three hours; one night you can’t even heat a pan. And I think good people who really understand food and good retailers should give people a choice for whatever week or night it feels like for that customer.”

A force of change The food system is broken — so says Hall — with modern supermarkets prioritizing cost efficiency over quality.

Good Eggs aims for the opposite.

“Just to start off, the idea that a grocery store should have 60,000 or 70,000 items and miles of aisles is a completely new phenomenon that started in the ’60s or ’70s. Like, why do you need three aisles of sliced bread to choose from? I have no idea,” he said, noting a push for “shelf-stable, processed foods.”

“And for even the little fraction that is not shelf-stable processed food, which I would question whether that’s really food, the ‘fresh’ is coming from an average 2,500 miles away, usually picked 14, 15 days before it gets to a grocery store shelf, and they’re just prioritizing this consistency and this low cost. They don’t care about taste, they don’t care about quality, they don’t care about real freshness, and obviously we have a different point of view on those things.

“And for me, I fundamentally believe that good food is the most powerful force for change. And it’s one of the most important things that we consume every day and every week, and our choices make a big difference.”

Hall, who lived in London for two years prior to joining Good Eggs, saw a much larger demand for online grocery there — and in other countries — than in the United States at the time. America was trailing behind, he said.

Now, however, that’s changing. And while Good Eggs is not the only alternative to the traditional grocery model gaining popularity in recent years, it does aim to set itself apart from the competition.

“I think we used to actually joke that nobody wakes up in the morning and asks if they can break up with their grocery store and what do they need to do that is different than before, but really, I do think the combination of COVID, of Amazon buying Whole Foods, of DoorDash and Uber Eats and all those players” has led to a consumer shift toward online delivery, he speculated.

“I’ve never seen a bigger behavior shift in my life, and I think it’s just getting started,” he added. “I don’t think it’s done.”

Good Eggs’ market ranges from individual produce, dairy and bakery items to meal kits and more.

Photo by Chris Mortenson

One step at a time In its first phase, prior to coming to LA, the company focused on gradually strengthening its foundation, expanding its inventory from hundreds of items to thousands, all while improving its operations behind the scenes.

“We’ve changed a lot. Five, six years ago, we were really an occasional shop for most people. Think of it as an online farmers market only,” Hall said, noting that the focus on quality, local sourcing, on the other hand, hasn’t changed.

And while further growth is the goal for Good Eggs in the wake of its expansion to LA, Hall emphasized that the company remains focused first and foremost on the food. Other plans are in store, too, like continuing to work with

different delivery speeds.

“We want to do that right,” Hall said of incremental expansion across Southern California and the possibility of future markets. “So we want to do that and do that right and be focused on that, and also we will continue to expand across the top five to 10 West Coast markets.

“We love markets where there’s a dense urban core and a good suburban area and enough great suppliers and great customers. …

“We’ll continue to expand on the West Coast, and once we have real scale in the West Coast, of course we’ll look across the country and then beyond — but one thing at a time.”

Good Eggs goodeggs.com

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Covered ARTS & California CULTUREwill help

The Cirque du Soleil show “Ovo” features different insect characters.

Photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil brings insects to Microsoft Theater

By Laura Latzko LA Downtown News Contributing Writer irque du Soleil is known for combining fantastic environments and creatures with stunning acrobatic feats.

The company will show off its skills when the insect-filled “Ovo” moves into the Microsoft Theater from Wednesday, March 16, to Sunday, May 1. It hits the stage each spring for five years.

“Ovo” gives a glimpse into the eating, playing, working, fighting and mating habits of insects, which come together when a mysterious egg appears in their ecosystem.

The show’s central story is a relationship between The Ladybug and a fly called The Foreigner. The insect community is headed by the eccentric and intelligent Master Flipo.

Incorporating hand balancing, duo straps, the Russian cradle, slackwire and trampoline stunts, “Ovo” boasts colorful costumes that were inspired by armor and superheroes. The music blends genres like bossa nova, samba, funk and electronic.

The cast of “Ovo” has performers from 17 nations. French gymnast Kilian Mongey specializes in tumbling and portrays a cricket. Since Cirque du Soleil hired Mongey in 2016, he also portrayed a rock star in “Soda Stereo.”

A longtime performer, Mongey started in gymnastics at age 3 and saw his first Cirque du Soleil show, “Alegria,” at 11. He joined the French national team when he was 17. He competed in one European and three world championships.

To expand on his skills as a performer, Mongey took dance classes and dabbled in theater. At age 18, he gathered his show reels and sent them to Cirque du Soleil.

“In your show reel, they really try to see something special in you,” Mongey said.

“If you can only do tumbling, it’s good, but it’s better if you have a little bit of dance, a little bit of acting onstage, a good sense of humor, good energy.”

He sent videos to the company for more than two years before he was cast as a cricket in “Ovo.” “Every month, I would send them a new video with new tumbling passes, new choreo or a new presentation,” Mongey said.

“I managed to get what I was aiming for, which was my dream job working for Cirque.”

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In the Cirque du Soleil show “Ovo,” the central romance is between the Ladybug and the foreigner fly character.

Photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

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In the Cirque du Soleil show “Ovo,” the dragonfly character does hand balancing.

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Photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

Perfect match Mongey said the cricket character fits with his tumbling skills. The various roles in “Ovo” highlight the performers, who are some of the best in their specific disciplines.

As a cricket, he moves and behaves in a way that resembles his insect. When he started with the company, he spent time in Montreal learning his character. Before he started, he watched videos online, studying the creatures’ movements.

“All of the insects, they have their characteristics, and we try to do them as best as we can,” Mongey said.

“For example, the ants, they do super small, little steps. (The crickets) do more sharp moves. We have scarabs also that are more heavy and low to the ground.

“You have a lot of work on your character, how to walk, how to act, how to put tension in your fingers because you are a cricket, how to move sharply. It’s a lot of work at the beginning. And then you get to a point where you put your makeup on and your costume on, and you start to act like a cricket.”

Returning after a hiatus during the height of COVID-19, the performers went through months of workshops.

“The most challenging thing was building our body back in shape to be able to perform on a regular basis,” Mongey said.

“Most of us were working out during the pandemic. We were still training on the side.”

Mongey said during the hiatus, it was difficult being away from the other performers.

They were excited to reunite.

“It’s kind of like a second family with Cirque. We live together. We travel together. We work together. We know each other pretty well. You make a lot of friends,” Mongey says.

Through “Ovo,” Mongey learned how to apply his makeup like his castmates. He said it took some practice. Mongey perfected stilts as one of the wood insects.

“It was very hard at the beginning. It was a lot of hard work and a lot of hours and effort put in, but I’m super happy to learn every day,” Mongey says.

Recently, the show has been revamped, adding Chinese pole acrobats, who appear as ants. Another is a troupe of flying trapeze artists who represent fleas.

While the show is mainly focused on acrobatics, it does have moments of humor with the insects and three clowns.

“I love watching them every single night,” Mongey said.

“There’s something new that they can add. It’s amazing their creativity. The interaction with the audience is so cool. … It’s great to learn from them. Some of them have been in Cirque for 20 years.”

Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo” WHEN: Various times Wednesday, March 16, to Sunday, May 1 WHERE: Microsoft Theater, 777 Chick Hearn Court, Los Angeles COST: Tickets start at $44 INFO: 213-763-6030, microsofttheater.com, cirquedusoleil.com

In the Cirque du Soleil show “Ovo,” butterfly characters perform on aerial straps.

Photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil’s “Ovo” comes to Microsoft Theater Wednesday, March 16, to Sunday, May 1.

Photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil

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MARCH 14, 2022

Covered ARTS & California CULTUREwill help

LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes on Main Street is dedicated to sharing the untold stories about the history, cultures, values and traditions of Latinos in the founding and continuing evolution of Southern California.

Photo by Mario A. Hernandez

Art is a vehicle for social change at ‘LA Memo’ exhibit

By Luke Netzley LA Downtown News Deputy Editor t a time when their community had been caricatured and stereotyped while their voices were shut out of the mainstream narrative, Los Angeles-based Chicano artists throughout the 1970s and 1980s strove to scrutinize aspects of popular culture and advanced alternative narratives concerning race, gender, sexuality and citizenship.

The works of artists like Carlos Almaraz, Patssi Valdez, Teddy Sandoval, Dr. Judith F. Baca and other first-generation Americans, who would come of age during the expanding media culture of the 1960s, helped uplift the city’s Chicano community and inspired a wave of social movements. These works will be showcased in La Plaza

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de Cultura y Artes and AltaMed’s exhibition, “LA Memo: Chicana/o Art from 1972-1989,” which runs from Friday, March 18, to Sunday, Aug. 14.

AltaMed is the home to a portio of the largest collections of Chicano art in the world.

Curated by LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes’ Karen Crews Hendon and Rafael Barrientos Martínez, curatorial assistant at AltaMed, “LA Memo” brings together a diverse collection of works often considered cornerstones of Chicano art history. They explore how these artists adapted new modes of image making and self-expression to shape a new genre of art that shared their stories through painting, film, television, magazines, newspapers, theater and music.

“For this show, I approached this theme with the premise of trying to

expand the dialogue of how we talk about Chicana and Chicano art and really looking at a period that’s been underserved by a lot of scholarship being the 1970s and ’80s,” Martínez explained.

By showcasing more than 50 pieces of art from over 30 artists, the “LA Memo” exhibition offers a robust sample of the AltaMed’s collection of Chicano artworks to trace the journey of the Chicano art movement as a whole while also celebrating each artist’s individuality within it.

“When you bring a lot of these personalities and different artists together and their visual representations into the space, there’s a very high energy going on and there’s a lot of different unspoken conversations that are happening from work to work,” Hendon

said.

“When you walk through the space, you’re going to see relationships. You’re going to see similar references, yet each artist is so unique in how they not only represent themselves but what they’re representing in their own community, their own neighborhoods, and more specifically their own experiences.”

During the 1950s and 1960s, member Chicanos who were growing up at that time did not see themselves adequately represented in the image culture around them. Whether it was in newspapers or on television, they saw caricatures and stereotypes of themselves within the media. According to Martínez, much of the Chicano artwork during that time filled the gaps in how the world portrayed them.

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“These artists are not only experimenting with representing themselves but representing their heritage, representing the spaces that they live in and their history,” Martínez explained. “They’re trying to represent a shared connectivity via a shared ancestry.”

This concept of using heritage to unify is exemplified in the artistic depictions of Aztlan, the mythic motherland of the Chicano people. In this vein, the Chicano art movement began to explore and convey the history of Southern California not only as Mexican and Indigenous lands.

Many contemporary artists who were mentored by the visionaries featured in the “LA Memo” exhibit still experiment with this concept of identity and place.

They analyze their place in the fabric of Los Angeles and how they’ve evolved into the city but also how the city has evolved around them.

“I’m very grateful to these artists, and I’m very grateful to the activists that have been alongside them,” Hendon said. “A lot of these artists became real social warriors in order to open the door for other people.”

The work that has been done by the Chicano art movement is also for the LGBTQ community and demonstrates the power of people coming together for a common cause, battling evils such as racism and homophobia that have long been ingrained in many areas of society.

Martínez and Hendon both said artists have to bring communities together by pairing political and social awareness with artworks that people of all backgrounds can connect to and individually understand, generating a unified consciousness and conversation around common social issues.

“Art and the visual language are something that we all have in common,” Hendon said. “It was our very first language before we began learning any kind of language that could separate us, and so anybody can approach these artworks and their interpretation is not incorrect. They can have a very deep and personal conversation that’s unspoken with these artworks, and it doesn’t really matter what part of the world you come from.”

By starting an inner conversation and giving visitors the opportunity to have a reflective and transformative experience, Martínez and Hendon believe visual art can further inform people’s perceptions of themselves and the world around them, changing the way that they see both the past and the present.

“The way history is written can be very shortsighted, and the wonderful thing about these artists and individuals and historians is that they are changing the way we look at history and involving more inclusivity than ever before,” Hendon explained. “It’s been wonderful to see so many voices coming out and talking about these issues, because if they’re not talked about, then how can we create change? We all know that it just takes one person to make major change and that when people come together, just as the Chicano movement came together, that we can change anything.”

“LA Memo: Chicana/o Art from 1972-1989” WHEN: Friday, March 18, to Sunday, Aug. 14; noon to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays WHERE: LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, 501 N. Main Street, Los Angeles COST: Free admission INFO: lapca.org

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MARCH 14, 2022

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Gianmarco Soresi riffs on family through stand-up

By Laura Latzko LA Downtown News Contributing Writer ianmarco Soresi is a chameleon.

He can act; bring observational and self-deprecating humor as a stand-up comedian; switch characters at the drop of a hat; and get personal as a storyteller.

The New York-based entertainer will bring his comedy act to Dynasty Typewriter on Wednesday, March 30.

As an actor, Soresi has worked with Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish in “Here Today,” Jennifer Lopez in “Hustlers,” Tracy Morgan in “The Last O.G.” and Tom Selleck in “Blue Bloods.”

His resume also includes spots in “Deception,” “Bonding,” “What Would You Do?,” “The Real Housewives of New York City,” “Unforgettable,” “I Love You…But I Lied,” Comedy Central and TruTV. He serves as a spokesman for Baby Bottle Pop and General Electric.

Soresi said many of his characters are similar.

“I play a wide diversity of nerdy men in glasses, all sorts of glasses. … I think my range is someone who dropped out of a master’s program and settled for a mid-level job for the rest of my life,” Soresi said.

As an actor, Soresi has rapped freestyle and used a variety of accents. His influences, comedically, include John Mulaney and Anthony Jeselnik. He has imitated Jeff Goldblum for years, which he said has crossed over into his comedy.

“You can hear the musicality rubbed off in some of the way I talk onstage,” Soresi said.

Soresi became interested in comedy after taking a class at Carolines on Broadway the summer after his junior year of college.

“For a while, I was an actor who did standup on the side, which to real stand-up comedians is a nauseating thing to hear,” Soresi said.

“It’s like someone who claims they are a basketball player because they shoot hoops twice a year.”

Around six years ago, he decided to pursue stand-up full time and acting. Kicking off his career in the New York comedy scene was challenging. It was tough to earn respect as a comedian, but it came with opportunities.

“New York, if you really hustle, you can get a lot more stage time than most other places in the country,” he said.

“It forces you to be really good. You are only as good as your surroundings hone you to be. So, I think as tough as New York is, and

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Gianmarco Soresi became interested in comedy after taking a class at Carolines on Broadway.

Submitted photo

it is tough, it forced me to be strict with myself and disciplined to get better as quickly as I could.”

Soresi has performed in various venues and events, including comedy clubs, colleges, basements, a high-security prison, corporate outings, private bachelorette and bachelor parties, and a show featuring comedians and pole dancers.

Soresi was the season eight winner of Amazon’s “Comics Watching Comics.” He also took first place at the Laughing Devil Comedy Festival and competed in the Devil’s Cup and Empire State comedy festivals and Last Comix Standing Comedy Contest.

His comedy addresses a range of topics, including his parents’ divorce, therapy and men, his ineptitude at sports, stock photo modeling, his girlfriend’s music preferences, his acting career, QAnon and his mother’s meddling.

Sharing his personal life comes naturally to him as a comedian.

“I’ve always liked talking about my own experience,” he said.

“It’s not even really a choice. It just feels like that’s where my comedy comes from. I’ve always wanted to talk about my parents’ divorce. I’ve always wanted to talk about the problems with my dad and my mom.

“People always ask me, ‘Do your parents get upset about the jokes that you say about them?’ I say, ‘No. In fact, I get upset because it doesn’t bother them at all.’ I will say some vicious things about my mom and dad, and they could not care less.”

Recently, audiences have responded to his bits about growing up in a family of divorce.

“That’s an angle on family that I have a unique perspective on,” Soresi said.

“My dad and mom have both been divorced multiple times. … I’ve been working to dive deeper into that and the struggle of having a relationship with your parents as adults, which I think everyone can relate to.”

He’s a physical comedian, which stems from his background in musical theater and dancing. He was the lone 18-year-old in his 10-year-old sister’s hip-hop class.

“Even when I was a little kid, I used to dance in the living room,” he said.

“I was so narcissistic, I would tell my parents, ‘We’ve got to get our living room on a stage so people can watch this.’ Unfortunately, I’m a terrible dancer. Dreadful, uncoordinated, no musicality.

“But I feel like with stand-up, I’ve discovered in the last couple of years that I could

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Covered ARTS & California CULTUREwill help dance with the jokes in a way that was comedic and express myself in the fidgety, anxious way that I want, and I feel. More and more, I think of my stand-up as a little bit choregraphed.”

Soresi’s recent comedy special, “Shelf Life,” was directed by Emmy Award winner Andy Buck and is on Amazon.

The comedy special was shot in 2020 and features mainly COVID-19-related material.

“We filmed it outdoors, in socially distanced seating, had temperature checks,” Soresi said.

“We sat people in pods. It was not ideal in a lot of ways for a special, a small audience wearing masks. I was just so glad to get something done artistically during that hellish year.”

Storytelling helped Soresi prepare for stand-up. He learned how to pace and focus his stories and engage with audiences.

“I joke sometimes that a stand-up comedian is a storyteller who knows how to edit,” Soresi said.

“Before you learn how to write jokes, in the traditional sense of the word, storytelling lets you find comedy and narrative. You don’t have to have six punchlines every minute. It’s a nice transition from acting into stand-up.”

He started with “The Moth,” winning his first StorySLAM, and has gone one to do the “RISK!” podcast, PBS’“Stories from the Stage” and the “Suitcase Stories” performance series.

Soresi has a BFA in musical theatre from the University of Miami and has acted in local and regional productions.

In 2018, 59E59 Theaters produced his semi-autographical play “Less Than 50%,” which also ran at the New York City Fringe Festival and Fringe Encore series.

The show was written as a play-within-a-play, in which two scene partners rehearsed together. The production, in which Soresi starred, delved into the two characters’ lives and took audiences through the stages of their relationship.

Soresi said it showed him he was meant for stand-up.

“Stand-up lets you do what you want to do every night.

Doing a play, I found very hard,” he said.

“I was going crazy, doing the same show every night. I don’t know if I’d ever go back to doing the same thing every night, unless there was something I wrote that had a lot of room to play and explore. I feel like it wasn’t a bad experience, but it taught me that maybe theater in the traditional sense is not what I want to do.”

Before he became a stand-up comedian, Soresi started working with his sketch group Uncle Function, which does comedic sketches similar to “SNL.” He has also developed an online sketch series called “Matza Pizza,” which was inspired by his upbringing in a Jewish Italian family and explores larger societal issues.

Soresi tries to make time for Uncle Function’s monthly shows, even when he has a busy schedule. He started with the group about seven years ago.

“They are my best buds in the city. They have taught me so much about comedy and being funny,” Soresi said.

Gianmarco Soresi WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 30 WHERE: Dynasty Typewriter, 2511 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles COST: $20 presale; $25 at the door; 18 and older show INFO: dynastytypewriter.com; proof of vaccination required for entry

Pixies are Black Francis, Joey Santiago, Paz Lenchantin and David Lovering.

Photo by Travis Shinn

Pixies hope to keep mistakes to a minimum

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski LA Downtown News Executive Editor oey Santiago has high hopes about the Pixies’ show on Wednesday, March 16, at House of Blues, Anaheim.

The gig will be the second one since the pandemic-mandated break.

“Hopefully, we won’t make a hell of a lot of mistakes,” he said with a laugh. “We’re just going to be playing songs, including our new single, ‘Human Crime.’ That’s for sure. We’re going to give the people what they want.”

Available as a digital-only single and music video, “Human Crime” is Pixies’ first new release since September 2020. Written by Charles Thompson, the track was produced and mixed by Tom Dalgety, and recorded in Los Angeles in the fall of 2021.

“Charles and Tom presented the demo to us, and it came together easily,” he said. “Dave and I and the producer cut the tracks here in LA. Charles did it in Massachusetts, just because of the COVID protocols. It came out great.”

Pixies — which also includes David Lovering and Paz Lenchantin — also recently released on vinyl and CD “Live in Brixton,” a box set that recalls a 2004 series of shows in England. Each has eight discs.

Pixies emerged from an 11-year hiatus to play multiple sold-out nights at the Brixton Academy, where they started the show with the Neil Young rarity “Winterlong.”

“We whittled it down to the four best nights,” Santiago said. “I just got the box set, and it’s pretty impressive — pretty damn heavy. I did a live tweet recently. I had to write little tidbits on each song. It was very well performed. We were tight. The mistakes that are on there were keepers.

Those were good moments.”

During the show, Santiago accidentally broke his Les Paul

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during a performance of “Vamos,” while drummer Lovering opened the show with his electrical engineering/experimental magic show, The Scientific Phenomenalist, featuring a big trick that failed.

During the shows, Pixies played the hits and fan favorites from the albums “Doolittle” and “Surfer Rosa”; key songs and obscurities from the rest of their catalogue; plus covers like Peter Ivers’ “In Heaven” (from the David Lynch film “Eraserhead”) and The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Head On.” The vinyl box set is spread across eight discs of 180-gram vinyl, with each show split between two translucent colored LPs: June 2 is red, June 3 is orange, June 5 is green, and June 6 is blue. It is housed within a deluxe slipcase box featuring silver foil detail that depicts Brixton Academy venue.

Only 2,000 were made worldwide.

“Live in Brixton” will also be available in a second vinyl box set that is exclusive to select independent retailers.

Each show is pressed on the same colors as the standard version, but this time splattered on otherwise clear vinyl.

All formats include a 24-page booklet, which features photographs and new artwork, along with memories and paraphernalia from fans who attended the shows. The packages are completed by a 27-inch-by-19-inch foldout poster, which features the new “Live in Brixton” box set artwork.

Santiago said he is not sure why Pixies songs have resonated.

“They are timeless, and we’re not really considered this ‘pop’ band,” said Santiago, whose band will spend a week recording in Cardiff during its European leg. “I wish I knew why they’ve resonated. I think the style of the Pixies is on its own. If you want to listen to Pixies music, you’ve come to the right place.”

Pixies w/special guests WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 16 WHERE: House of Blues Anaheim, 400 Disney Way, Suite 337, Anaheim COST: Sold out; resale tickets available INFO: 714-520-2334; houseofblues.com

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Musician Elle King, the daughter of actor Rob Schneider, is coming to Fonda Theatre.

Submitted photo

Musician Elle King says she was made to tour

By Annika Tomlin LA Downtown News Staff Writer musician’s touring lifestyle is not suited for everyone.

But singer Elle King says she was born to do it.

“It is such a massive release for me,” the four-time Grammy-nominated singer said about touring. “I feel like that is what I was put on this earth to do: perform, create and make music, and bring joy.

King is preparing to “bring joy” to Los Angeles when she plays the Fonda Theatre on Monday, March 28.

Entertainment is in King’s blood, as her father is Rob Schneider. She was attracted to the lifestyle from a young age.

“I had an interesting childhood,” King said. “I knew that I had the bug, and I knew that I wanted to perform.

“I did a lot of musical theater. I had taken lessons with different musical instruments, and I just love being onstage. I didn’t do well in school. So, the only times I was celebrated was when I was in a play or musical or a music or arts class.”

At age 15, King used a fake ID — with her mother’s blessing — to “stay out late and play in bars.”

“I knew that I loved doing it, but I didn’t know that when I started performing that it would end up being my whole life and create this beautiful career that I have now,” King said. “I just knew I wanted to perform, and music was the best way that I could express myself and be myself. It’s beautiful.”

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Pandemic break With the world on lockdown, King took the time to focus on other things.

“It was very interesting to see my kind of routine waking up in a new city every day and just my whole routine of touring (go away),” King said.

“I didn’t know how to be in one place or how to make my house nice and keep a house.

Now it’s been a beautiful blessing because I was able to have a pregnancy and have a baby and I’ve had time to be a mother.”

Her son, Lucky, will join her on the tour.

“It’s hard to be away from your family, your friends and your home,” King said. “That’s why the people that you tour with, your band and crew, it’s so important that you have a

good attitude and that you get along together, because they become family.

“Most times, you live on mobile bunk beds with these people in very close quarters and it can be tough. Now I am a new mom, and my baby will be coming on tour with us.

“I know that there are difficult things about touring, but you kind of have to be made for it or not. If you’re not made for it, you’re going to be miserable and you’re probably not going to be touring very long. I definitely was made to do this, so I genuinely love and enjoy being on the road.”

The jaunt — dubbed “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” — is named after her Grammy-nominated duet with country star Miranda Lambert. To say she didn’t expect the nod is an understatement.

“I feel like kind of an (expletive) for saying this, but I didn’t even know that the Grammy nominations were coming out that day,” King admitted. “I couldn’t have thought that I was further away from being in the running.”

She found out about the nomination when her friend sent a congratulatory text message.

“I was knee deep into changing diapers and cleaning up frickin’ baby puke. It just wasn’t even on my radar,” she said.

“I just sat in disbelief for probably 45 minutes on the floor just staring at the wall because I couldn’t believe it. It was a beautiful thing to come out of an insane and very intense couple of years.

“When you get nominated for a Grammy, it’s like winning. It’s so cool just to be nominated and to have your peers in music. It makes you feel really seen. Win or lose, it’s such an incredible experience.”

Elle King w/Lola Kirke WHEN: 9 p.m. Monday, March 28 WHERE: Fonda Theatre, 6126 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles COST: Tickets start at $35 INFO: 323-464-6269, fondatheatre.com

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