A city of Contrast. A center of entertainment. A center of music. A center of cool trendy things and wealth? The city with the highest homeless population in the United States of America.
A little more information
The two main activities in my life: Helping the hungry in the late hours of the night and helping guitar players sound better one amp at a time.
I always try to remember that in order to do good one has to take action and actually do something.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I have watched the city and Southern California change for well over half a century.
As of late 2019 the music related links and prints noted on this page which had their links to by GAB (Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting) website are no longer accessible. I grew weary of updating my GAB website and let it go away. You can contact me on Facebook. Saunders Stewart Models continues full operation but we are not accepting new clients without a referral.
Los Angeles Architectural History
1935 Art Deco at some of its finest: No. 168 - Griffith Observatory- (click on the photo for information)
Over on my facebook page I have posted many links on this subject. I am now posting things here as well.
Bottom line .... if Union Rescue Mission cannot raise $2.8M by the end of June it may be necessary to shut down Hope Gardens. So far they have raised about $500k.
There are four ways YOU can help. Pick any one of them, any combination of them or all of them but please, do something - http://www.urmblog.org/critical-news/
The order of these points in this blog entry have no meaning. I just wanted to get down some of what happened in the last week. I am starting with the light hearted stuff and as you get further down into my writing it gets more serious.
My friend Jared Scharff was part of the band for Sting's Rainforest concert which is very cool. Jared tagged me on some of his photos. Some of you might have seen Jared if you watch Saturday Night Live as he is the guitarist in the SNL Band.
Jared's station at Carnigie Hall for the concert below.
Lots more cool photos that Jared has at http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=174804&id=529801052 If you are not on facebook the link may not work for you but I did post a few of the shots here along with the two that Jared tagged me on.
Jared is behind Sting and Debbie Harry. Under the head of his guitar is some of his 65 Amps stuff.
OK ... this is just a cool photo of Jared and "The Boss"
And I posted the above photo just because I think it is a great candid photo.
Jared plays a 65 Amps Monterey and Tupelo. There is a cool video on the Tupelo that I pasted here.
It was a busy week at 65 Amps. Wylclef's guitar player bought an Elvis and a Tupelo on Friday, guess he could not decide. Michael McDonald was at The Greek and their bass player Grabbed an Apollo bass amp, Sheryl Crow was on Late Nite with Jimmy Fallon with her own London if I recall, and Katy Perry's guitarist grabbed a Stone Pony to take on tour. Yes, busy week at 65 Amps and that does not even take into account the normal stuff that goes out the door.
Continuing on the musician front, Carl Verheyen made the official announcement that the Supertramp Tour will be in Europe later this year. Info and dates at http://www.supertramp.com/ Many of you folks know that Carl is perhaps my favorite guitarist and I could care less whether he is doing his Supertramp gig or touring with his own band. I just like listening to the guy play. Lots more info on his website at http://www.carlverheyen.com/
I know a number of amazing country players and the name Carl Verheyen may not come to many people's minds as a country picker but ....
On June 3 the Carl Verheyen Band will be at Musicians Institute in Hollywood from 4pm until about 7pm. A DVD may be shot at this show. I will be there as I was for the DVD shoot for Rumor Mill.
Here is a bit more on Carl that looks into some of his other work.
News of Homeboy Industries - lays off most employees as financial woes worsen. The economy takes another organization away.
Homeboy Industries, the venerable L.A. institution designed to provide jobs and counseling to former gang members, laid off most of its employees Thursday amid worsening financial problems.
Father Gregory Boyle, who started Homeboy Industries more than two decades ago, said 300 people were laid off, including all senior administrators. Boyle said he has stopped taking a paycheck as well.
"We cobbled together payroll since November," he said. "But it was not enough to save us or rescue us."
Officials said about 100 people will continue to work at Homeboy, including at the organization's cafe near Chinatown, which will remain open. Homeboy will continue to offer tattoo removal and counseling services.
The Times reported last year that Homeboy had an annual budget of $9.8 million. Its businesses -- including a bakery and cafe staffed in part by ex-gang members -- made about $2.5 million a year. The group needed donations and other sources of income to make up the difference.
Homeboy has also employed its clients in silk-screening, landscaping, solar power and other industries.
-- Hector Becerra
Another story last week - In a Job Market Realignment, Some Left Behind http://finance.yahoo.com/news/In-a-Job-Market-Realignment-nytimes-3478891081.html?x=0
The last part of the story caught my attention - “Sometimes I think I’d be better off in jail,” she says, only half joking. “I’d have three meals a day and structure in my life. I’d be able to go to school. I’d have more opportunities if I were an inmate than I do here trying to be a contributing member of society.”
More misleading information. Read the last two of the last three paragraphs. One reason the numbers are looking better is because many people have had their benefits come to and end. I also mistrust phrases such as "adjusted for seasonally ..... " Bottom line, more people than ever in the food lines at all the missions downtown and a population increase of homeless who had homes only a few months ago. - http://finance.yahoo.com/news/New-claims-for-unemployment-apf-1468613804.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=9&asset=&ccode=
Over at Union Rescue Misson the activity never slows down. The crew from The Sportsman Channel came in and served a meal based on their own thinking. On Monday night's dinner menu at the Union Rescue Mission: tacos made from elk, deer, sheep, wild pig, black bear and antelope. For pescatarians, there were yellow tail, tilapia and tuna tacos. Vegetarians were out of luck. About 250 pounds of fresh game meat was donated for the feast, sponsored by the Sportsman Channel as a part of its national "Hunt. Fish. Feed." initiative. More on this in a story in the L.A. Times at http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/topofthetimes/topstories/la-me-0511-game-meat-20100511,0,967757.story
Here is a behind the scenes look
There was a lot of support in email and on telephone calls for the folks in Nashville who lost so much music equipment, touring equipment, homes, property and the list goes on and on. I expect to be spending a lot of time in the near future in a support role with a lot of these folks. Some of my friends (many of them are in my friends list on facebook) were called in to help and many photos have been posted.
I spent a number of evenings in the skid row area of Los Angeles. No matter what the news reports about things getting better I see the number of folks on the street and in line at the shelters and mission increasing. More people are loosing their homes. As people run out their unemployment benefits they are dropped off the lists of the unemployed. This drops the reported figures. The first wave of folks whose benefits are over are falling off the roles of the folks counted. This makes things look better on paper if you believe what you read rather that what can be seen in front of your own eyes.
Below is a video from Union Rescue Mission about a cool fellow named Austin. He is an Eagle Scout who took matters into his own hands, came up with a plan and ran with his idea.
Roof BBQ at http://www.urm.org/ with a lot of help from the folks from Wells Fargo. Sort of makes me a bit more happy that they are the bank I use.
It has been a busy week and there was a lot I did not cover. On facebook I followed an amp through the final stages of assembly and test via photos and low res videos. I talked about the stereo system at the shop over at 65 Amps on facebook, talked to a noted food critic on his quest for the perfect Won Ton Soup and we have plans to go to a place together to check out a few things. I will stop now even though there is a lot more than went on last week.
Well, the market is down a bunch this week. I got a twitter update from the EDD that I follow with a link to a story about better unemployment numbers. I posted that story with the comment.
More nonsense! Maybe look at the number of folks who are at the end of their 99 weeks as extensions have run out on them. Now they are dropped off the roles of the unemployed and hung out to dry. Bailouts for big corporations yet let the person who has lost everything go hungry or loose their home. This sort of BS makes me sick. The story can be seen athttp://m.sfgate.com/sfchron/pm_21448/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=CbQiaA0q
There is flooding in Nashville where the photos look like a reinactment of Hurricane Katrina. Many of my good friends are scrambling to recover their instruments and equipment that is underwater. Most folks focus on the instruments and amplifiers and overlook things like computers, FOH consoles, monotor consoles, lighting computers, wireless systems and other boxes filled with software which has been dialed in over years on the road in some cases.
The economy continues to decline no matter what seems to be reported on Wall Street. I watch the population grow in the area known as skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, the city with the largest homeless population in the USA. More homeless folks in Los Angeles than the population count of Santa Barbara.
Today I spent the day at 65 Amps and spent a bit of time posting photos from my collections to help lift the mood out there in the world.
In an attempt to help some folks, and try to help the perspective for those folks that live in Nashville, those who are watching their fishing business and life work be threatened by an approaching oil slick, the families of the mine workers who have recently died, the families and loved ones of our military overseas far from home, the homeless, the hungry, those dropped off the ranks of the unemployed because their benefits ran out ... well ....
I am not an optimist or pessimist. I am a realist and I observe what goes on around me. So ... all you folks that can identify with some of what I have said above take comfort in this thought. Many of you do not live in Los Angeles. The worst traffic in the USA? The highest homeless population. And here is a bit of what has transpired in the last week or so when it comes to drug deals gone bad, gang activity, crime and drive by shootings.
Lets take a moment to look at the last week or two. The race of folks is noted in police reports for statistics as a side note.
5 shot, 2 dead in Hawaiian Gardens rampage [Updated]: A man carrying an AK-47 rifle and a can of gasoline....
Slain pregnant woman apparently in "wrong place at the wrong time," LAPD says: Jana Collins was a newlywed. Unborn baby of pregnant woman fatally shot in West L.A. dies: A pregnant woman and her baby died Wednesday
Erwin Ramirez, a 19-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Sunday, May 2, in the 300 block of S. Harris Ave. in Compton
Olga Martinez, a 33-year-old Latina, was stabbed to death Sat., May 1, in the 11000 block of Glenoaks Blvd. in Pacoima
Joel Leach, a 28-year-old white man, was shot to death May 1 in the 1100 block of N. Alexandria St. in East Hollywood
Rita Morales, an 87-year-old Latina, was killed Friday, April 30, in the 7000 block of Eton Ave. in Canoga Park
Manuel Reyes, an 85-year-old Latino, was beaten to death Fri., April 30, in the 7000 block of Eton Ave. in Canoga Park
Vincent Ramos, a 31-year-old Latino, died Friday, April 30, several hours after he was shot in Long Beach
Allen Alexander, a 48-year-old black man, was fatally shot April 29 in the 1000 block of E. Mission Blvd. in Pomona
Michael McCall, a 44-year-old black man, was shot and killed April 29 in the 1000 block of E. Mission Blvd. in Pomona
Dante Willis, a 24-year-old black man, was shot and killed Thursday, April 29, at Exton and Hazel streets in Inglewood
Jonathan Val, a 17-year-old Latino, was shot to death April 28 in the 300 block of North Avenue 57 in Highland Park
Bahati Dunbar, a 40-year-old black man, was killed Weds., April 28, in the 12000 block of S. Main St. in Willowbrook
I will stop for now. I think I made a point. It has not been a good week for a lot of folks.
I started this blog on December 13, 2009 to raise awareness on the homeless situation which is growing due to the current economic situation in this country. Two priorities at this period in my life are helping the homeless on the streets of Los Angeles and helping musicians sound better one amp at a time.
It is said that a picture is speaks a thousand words. Here are over three thousand random photos in a slide show. This is what I do, who I know, where I go.
An emotionally draining slideshow which mixes art, whimsy, low production values, a general lack of composition, sexual tension, nausea and the feeling of foolishness you have if you can watch the entire show from beginning to end.
What could be better than an album of nothing but low resolution shots taken with my cellphone (and a few from friends cellphones as well) ... and then, take these low resolution photos and upload them in real time to facebook where the quality and size is reduced even more?
Why I do what I do
To the folks who ask why I do what I do.
For many decades I worked in the corporate sector for very large companies. I worked many hours each week.
On some occasions I actually felt as if I made a change in a life. I could help somebody in their career. I could teach somebody something technical. Those sorts of things.
40-60 hours a week or more was generally not all that rewarding other than the friends I made along the way and the occasional change as I was able to make a difference.
I worked hard to make changes in my own life as most of us do. I made money to buy a house, raise a family. Family and friends are one side of our lives. The outside world is another.
I now have two main "jobs" each day. One is to help guitarists sound better, one amp at a time. I help folks in the music business and pass on what I have learned over decades walking this planet. I also try to help other people who are building their own career. That is one of the joys of being my age. You can help those on their path of building their own lives.
My second "job" is helping the homeless on the streets on Los Angeles. Five or ten hours on the street each week helping people makes more of a direct impact on more people than a month of work in my old life. Whether I feed people a snack, listen to what they have to say, give them a card from http://www.urm.org/ or walk them down to Union Rescue Mission I feel I am making life a little better for somebody.
In order to do something good one generally has to do something as in perform some sort of action. Los Angeles has the highest homeless population in the nation. Perhaps I feel as if I needed to do something.
Union Rescue Mission - What they do.
I talk a lot about Union Rescue Mission on this blog. I also talk a lot about them on facebook. I talk about them on my GAB website.
Many of my friends have become friends with Union Rescue Mission and members of their staff. I am sure many of you feel the same way I do about what they do and are a little bit better for knowing them. videos you may learn a bit more about the work these folks do.
This blog was created in December 2009. Statistics were enabled on July 1, 2010. From July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 there were more than 12 million reads of this blog.
As of 9/14/2018 there has been 36,395,500 reads. There were 189,708 visitors last month, August 2018.
Posts are also seen on facebook, twitter, google buzz, blogger, digg it, atom and many other services that have opted to distribute my antics for reasons that are at times a mystery to me.
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