View Full Version : Laurel Canyon Book...
A very good read, so far.
The title: "Laurel Canyon...The inside story of Rock and Roll's Legendary
Neighborhood", by Michael Walker.
It's basically a history of one of West Hollywood's more artistic enclaves.
The book, written by modern day canyon dweller/veteran pop culture writer Walker, offers up a ton of historical tidbits and oddities about some of the famous (and sometimes infamous) inhabitants.
From Tom Mix, to Frank Zappa, to the Byrds, to Mama Cass, to the Monkees, to Crosby/Stills/Nash, to Jackson Browne and JD Souther, to the Eagles, to Joni Mitchell...on and on.
So far, so good. I'd like to go up there someday and take a look around.
I actually drove by it a few years ago after seeing Robben Ford at the Key Club.
It was too late at night anyway...but I think another trip is in order just to be a tourist.
I wonder if it's changed from the heyday of LA Folk Rock and later the SoCal sound?
Recommended,
S.
j
BlackStrat_Fan
07-22-2010, 03:07 PM
I got this for Christmas from my wife. I was just flipping through it while listening to the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo on my new turntable the other night. Vinyl!
Living in LA I have always been fascinated by this era. When I first moved here in '91 I waited tables while taking film classes at night. Joni Mitchell would come in and sit at the same table almost daily. Sometimes we were the only people in the restaurant and she would invite me to sit and have a smoke (you could back then). Man, the stories she told. It was like having a history lesson from Lincoln or Washington. She very well may be the most fascinating person I've ever met.
I go through Laurel Cny every once in a while. It's not really like that any more. That's pretty expensive real estate these days. But I imagine it does draw a more artistic , but rich artistic type. Topanga Cny on the other hand is what I imagine it was like back then. That's where I live. It is like living in a time warp - full on hippie enclave. Great outdoor arts and music.
Navigator
07-22-2010, 03:17 PM
Funny I should see this just now since just minutes ago I finished reading Hotel California by Barney Hoskyns (2006), which is also about the late 60s to 70s music scene and the Laurel Canyon area that was central to it, also a great read. I'll have to check out "Laurel Canyon" too. Thanks for the tip.
John H
07-22-2010, 03:28 PM
I really enjoyed that book (Laurel Canyon). I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and spent a lot of time, up in the canyons, getting involved in all kinds of misadventures. Those were great times, indeed.
A school chum got picked upby Gram Parsons, while hitchhiking over Laurel Canyon. Parson's manager lived a couple of blocks away from me. My friend was carrying his acoustic guitar. Parsons ended up swapping one of his acoustics for my friend's.
msr13
07-22-2010, 05:33 PM
It is a really enjoyable book. I was sorry it ended.
korby
07-22-2010, 05:36 PM
Film of the not so glamorous real thing .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAT2KldikME
kAT2KldikME
sfarnell
07-22-2010, 06:58 PM
I really enjoyed that book (Laurel Canyon). I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and spent a lot of time, up in the canyons, getting involved in all kinds of misadventures. Those were great times, indeed.
A school chum got picked upby Gram Parsons, while hitchhiking over Laurel Canyon. Parson's manager lived a couple of blocks away from me. My friend was carrying his acoustic guitar. Parsons ended up swapping one of his acoustics for my friend's.
I was hitchhiking in Topanga Canyon in '68 and was given a ride by Neil Young. A few years later he gave me a ride from Santa Cruz to Big Sir. He had no recollection of giving me a ride through Topanga.
I grew up in the San Fernando Valley during the fifties and sixties. I moved to the Bay ARea in '73. Laurel Canyon was a fun place to hang and meet all of the hippie girls on Sunset Blvd. I used to see the Doors at the Whiskey and ate a lot of meals at one of the original vegetarian restaurants on the Strip, The Source, which was later filmed by Woody Allen as part of Annie Hall. I have so many great memories of that time. It was a fun place to grow up in and it was an even better place to leave.
The Laurel Canyon area has always been expensive. There are some incredibly beautiful homes between Laurel Canyon and Coldwater Canyon.
speedtaco
07-22-2010, 07:50 PM
Drove through it once, it's really beautiful. I toured it because I knew Zappa had lived there. As a life long east-coaster, I love California. Farnell, you should tell us some more stories.
When I first moved here to LA (about a year and a half ago), I was fortunate enough to move into the first house ever built in Laurel Canyon. (Or so I was told..) It was built by the Van Nuys family! As in, Van Nuys, CA.
It's funny because I always have read about Laurel Canyon in regards to a lot of my favorite artists and the first time I drove up through there when dating a girl who lived in Studio City, I was just hooked! It may not have quite the same vibe of people. I think mainly because a lot of those same people from the 60's and 70's are living up there. So the youth is few and far between. (Probably because it's very expensive..) Back then I seem to imagine it was a lot cheaper and that is why it attracted all the musos.
It's just a beautiful place though and the architecture up there is so funky. Some of it's run down but has a definite bohemian charm.
I stop by the Canyon Country store throughout the week for coffee. My girlfriend and I also went up last year for the Laurel Canyon photo day which is pretty legendary and has been happening for a long time. They shut down the road and all the crazies came out of their houses for a big picture. So cool.
I think it's definitely the place I would like to grow old. Great creative atmosphere.
J
Oh and in regards to the OP. I've read that book and it just made me appreciate it all a lot more.
I was hanging with an old lady friend the other night who was telling me stories about going to Stephen Stills' house for parties all the time and rubbing shoulders with Joni at late night hangs.
J
fusion58
07-23-2010, 06:37 AM
Definitely need to score that book - sounds interesting.
I still have a lot of great memories of recording sessions in various people's home studios throughout the Laurel Canyon area over the last ten years. It's a really relaxing environment to work in - especially if you live closer to the hustle and bustle of L.A.
I was hitchhiking in Topanga Canyon in '68 and was given a ride by Neil Young. A few years later he gave me a ride from Santa Cruz to Big Sir. He had no recollection of giving me a ride through Topanga.
I grew up in the San Fernando Valley during the fifties and sixties. I moved to the Bay ARea in '73. Laurel Canyon was a fun place to hang and meet all of the hippie girls on Sunset Blvd. I used to see the Doors at the Whiskey and ate a lot of meals at one of the original vegetarian restaurants on the Strip, The Source, which was later filmed by Woody Allen as part of Annie Hall. I have so many great memories of that time. It was a fun place to grow up in and it was an even better place to leave.
The Laurel Canyon area has always been expensive. There are some incredibly beautiful homes between Laurel Canyon and Coldwater Canyon.
I envy you sir .. wow . .:bow
Did you ever see Arthur Lee and LOVE ?
Bobby D
07-23-2010, 06:46 AM
Joni Mitchell would come in and sit at the same table almost daily. Sometimes we were the only people in the restaurant and she would invite me to sit and have a smoke (you could back then). Man, the stories she told. It was like having a history lesson from Lincoln or Washington. She very well may be the most fascinating person I've ever met.
i used to see her at this very private tea room called Dragon Herbs in Santa Monica, and it took me a few times to build up the nerve to even say hello :bow
Lots of great stories, guys...keep 'em comin'!
The author is witty and sharp.
He describes modern day Laurel as "a mix of hazy existentialism and a quietly competitive work ethic...kind of like Topanga Canyon after a 12 step program.". :D
S.
j
sfarnell
07-23-2010, 12:42 PM
I envy you sir .. wow . .:bow
Did you ever see Arthur Lee and LOVE ?
No, but I saw the Buffalo Springfield, Van Morrison, Spirit, Buddy Miles, and the Byrds there. Mostly the Doors because I was a Doors fanatic in my early teens.
My father was an advertising exec so he used to get me free tickets to all of the great shows in the L.A. area. I've seen 'em all...the Beatles at Dodger Stadium, Cream, Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominoes with Duane Allman and Clapton, Led Zep, Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Dylan, Jethro Tull, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and on and on. The L.A. Forum had great shows almost every weekend, sometimes two, and there were many, many venues for live music.
laurelcanyon
07-23-2010, 01:12 PM
Hello from Michael Walker, the author of LAUREL CANYON.
Just wanted to say I've enjoyed reading everybody's canyon stories and really appreciate the kind words about my book. (And thanks to TNJ for starting the thread!)
If you're interested in further reading about the canyon I invite you to visit the book's website http://laurelcanyonthebook.com where you can listen to my original audio interviews with Graham Nash, Chris Hillman and others, as well as read more about the canyon then and now.
You can also follow the book's Twitter page:http://twitter.com/laurelcanyon2
Look forward to more of your stories on The Gear Page...
RickC
07-23-2010, 04:01 PM
this thread is tons of cool
/rick
Wow, that is what makes THIS place so cool!
I will definitely visit the website, to check out those interviews.
Thanks for the book...it's a winner.
:cool:
S.
j
musicofanatic5
07-24-2010, 10:24 AM
Wow, whatta long strange trip! Watching that CSN video sent me on a tangential utube odyssey that ended up with me spending the past hour (or so) looking at all the Byrds and Clarence White stuff on there. Lotta great clips: some Belgian festival stuff, Billy Ed Wheeler's "Country Suite" teevee show, Bob Baxter's "Gtr Workshop" teevee show...I was gonna do something today...?
Definately looking forward to the L. C. book, There was a movie a few years back of the same name with Frances MacDormand that was not exacxtly cinematic genius but okay.
JSeth
07-24-2010, 02:11 PM
I was raised in Orange County, in the 50's and 60's... got to see/hear a lot of amazing music in the 60's, no doubt. I did spend a bit of time in Laurel Canyon, Topanga Canyon as well - there was quite a scene there, you never knew who you'd run into if you were hanging around... I was pretty young, still, but managed to get out there, from time to time, anyway... I was a FULL PARTICIPANT in the 60's - and contrary to popular opinion, I remember much of it very vividly!
It would have to be quite different these days, I imagine, although I have not been back out there for decades...
BTW, if you enjoyed that book, you would probably get a kick out of "Hotel California", as well... even thoug I lived in that era and knew a few of the people involved, I read a lot in that book that I had no idea was taking place, way back then...
drewl
07-24-2010, 04:41 PM
Wasn't there a thread a while back about all the Laurel Canyon musicians and some secret military base near there and how alot of said musicians had family and ties to the military....think it was claiming that they secretly influenced all the pop musicians in the area or some crazy stuff.
korby
07-24-2010, 05:45 PM
Wasn't there a thread a while back about all the Laurel Canyon musicians and some secret military base near there and how alot of said musicians had family and ties to the military....think it was claiming that they secretly influenced all the pop musicians in the area or some crazy stuff.
This ?
http://www.illuminati-news.com/articles2/00201.html
Ed DeGenaro
07-24-2010, 07:25 PM
book was a great read...when I first moved to LA te after parties up there were awesome...
drewl
07-24-2010, 08:37 PM
This ?
http://www.illuminati-news.com/articles2/00201.html
yeah, that's it.
What say you, LC author....."BS" or major "BS":rotflmao
Trevordog
07-25-2010, 05:20 PM
Hello from Michael Walker, the author of LAUREL CANYON.
Just wanted to say I've enjoyed reading everybody's canyon stories and really appreciate the kind words about my book. (And thanks to TNJ for starting the thread!)
If you're interested in further reading about the canyon I invite you to visit the book's website http://laurelcanyonthebook.com where you can listen to my original audio interviews with Graham Nash, Chris Hillman and others, as well as read more about the canyon then and now.
You can also follow the book's Twitter page:http://twitter.com/laurelcanyon2
Look forward to more of your stories on The Gear Page...
I was a little annoyed that you left Judee Sill out of the book when you mentioned women singer/songwriters.
She was one of the best, and was admired by Joni, J.D. Souther, Carly Simon, CS&N, and was even the first artist signed by David Geffen for Asylum Records.
Barney Hoskyns didn't make that mistake in "Hotel California".
brain21
07-26-2010, 04:22 PM
Wow. Do we read the same book? I just finished it about a month or so ago (now finishing up Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards - which briefly mentions Al Koopers stay in the Canyon). Anyway, I read the book and was a little disappointed. It gives the 10,000 foot view, and only rarely comes down for a closer look. I checked out the pics and read the back & some parts and it sounded really cool. But it never really got into anything. For example, it talks about how people, including Eric Clapton (and including a picture) used to hang out at Mama Cass's place. But thats ALL it said. Wow. Thanks for the tease with no payoff. I wanted something to give me an idea of what it was really like on those days at Mama Cass's place, but I only got the basic information that people did hang out there. There was very little "meat" to the book, I thought.
Having said all that, I still enjoyed it, I just wanted more out of it. :-( It definitely did a good job of painting the scene of the Canyon in general, and the FEEL of the place came across (I can only assume since I wasn't there :) ), but I personally wanted more details and in depth stories rather than a lot of stuff remaining at the surface. I don't know whether this is because the author simply didn't get this information from the people that were there or what. I will definitely check out the website though!
I enjoyed reading it as a brief look into the history of that area and era, and I enjoyed how it did talk about how a lot of people ended up there (from places like NYC, etc.).
It does make me want to pick up the big coffee table photo book about Laurel Canyon (different author) as a soret of photo companion. It also makes me wish I had driven up there (and obviously known the significance at the time) the year that I spent living in Hollywood.
korby
07-26-2010, 04:29 PM
I hear Eric Clapton makes a mean ham sandwich . :BluesBros
"Well I hear that Laurel Canyon
is full of famous stars,
but I hate them worse than lepers
and I'll kill them in their cars"
Neil Young
Revolution Blues
SnidelyWhiplash
07-27-2010, 04:12 PM
I envy you sir .. wow . .:bow
Did you ever see Arthur Lee and LOVE ?
I'm glad they have been mentioned. It's sad,no one seems to care about
them much anymore.
I just got the book from the library..
I'm going to go read it ............
urizen
07-27-2010, 06:43 PM
"Well I hear that Laurel Canyon
is full of famous stars,
but I hate them worse than lepers
and I'll kill them in their cars"
Neil Young
Revolution Blues
Still a powerful piece of driving vitriol.
paulscape
07-27-2010, 10:44 PM
Read this recently - spent the whole read fantasizing about being back there in the late 60's...would have tried to shag miss Pamela too!
Trevordog
07-28-2010, 10:49 AM
I'm glad they have been mentioned. It's sad,no one seems to care about
them much anymore.
I just finished the new book by John Einarson on Arthur Lee and Love- "Forever Changes- Arthur Lee and the Book of Love" on Jawbone press.
Great read.
Tells you everything you ever wanted to know about AL and Love, and explodes many of the myths perpetuated by both AL and the press.
tonemeister20
07-28-2010, 02:44 PM
One of Laurel Canyons more famous residents Gram Parsons died of an overdose at the Joshua Tree Inn. One weekend a group of us got together and rented the entire motel and since it was my idea I drew whatever straw you want to call it and stayed in Grams room. It was a fantastic weekend with lots of jamming and spirits in the air.
Sitting outside the door.
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd349/tonemeister20/NAMM/07.jpg
SnidelyWhiplash
08-02-2010, 04:01 PM
I just finished the new book by John Einarson on Arthur Lee and Love- "Forever Changes- Arthur Lee and the Book of Love" on Jawbone press.
Great read.
Tells you everything you ever wanted to know about AL and Love, and explodes many of the myths perpetuated by both AL and the press.
I purchased this over the weekend at the local B & N. Great read so far.
JB Eckl
08-02-2010, 10:03 PM
I've always loved the atmosphere in Laurel. And that lady at the Canyon Store makes a great cup of coffee!
One time I made Lonnie Jordan from WAR drive me around the canyon and point out where everyone used to live. It was great... "That was John Mayall's place..."
I'm a Topanga guy nowadays.
Nick67
08-03-2010, 12:12 AM
I just finished the new book by John Einarson on Arthur Lee and Love- "Forever Changes- Arthur Lee and the Book of Love" on Jawbone press.
Great read.
Tells you everything you ever wanted to know about AL and Love, and explodes many of the myths perpetuated by both AL and the press.
I just finished this book as well. Great Read!
Balok
08-03-2010, 01:52 AM
You guys might like the move "Laurel Canyon" with Kate Beckinsdale and Christian Bale. Awesome sound track and some LC vibe and lore there. It runs on cable a lot.
After seeing and loving that film, I bought the book mentioned in this thread.
this tune is in the film..plus some soundtrack stuff thats stunning..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAb9ClVoZc
Trevordog
08-04-2010, 12:11 AM
I just finished this book as well. Great Read!
I was lucky enough to catch Arthur Lee live playing the entire "Forever Changes" LP backed by Baby Lemonade, a string quartet and brass section at Town Hall in NYC a few years before he died.
And not a synthesizer in sight!:bow
He sounded just as good as he did back in the 60s- well, maybe a little trouble hitting the high notes in "Orange Skies":love:
Nick67
08-04-2010, 07:45 AM
I was lucky enough to catch Arthur Lee live playing the entire "Forever Changes" LP backed by Baby Lemonade, a string quartet and brass section at Town Hall in NYC a few years before he died.
And not a synthesizer in sight!:bow
He sounded just as good as he did back in the 60s- well, maybe a little trouble hitting the high notes in "Orange Skies":love:
The Forever Changes Concert with Baby Lemonade was just amazing. I saw Arthur in the early 90's a few times, before his jail stint. While he was in rough shape, his voice was great even then. My all time favorite artist.
SnidelyWhiplash
08-04-2010, 10:29 AM
I was lucky enough to catch Arthur Lee live playing the entire "Forever Changes" LP backed by Baby Lemonade, a string quartet and brass section at Town Hall in NYC a few years before he died.
And not a synthesizer in sight!:bow
He sounded just as good as he did back in the 60s- well, maybe a little trouble hitting the high notes in "Orange Skies":love:
Lucky dog!
Grenville
08-04-2010, 11:18 AM
I read Barney Hoskyn's book 'Hotel California' too, very enjoyable.
Trevordog
08-04-2010, 12:43 PM
The Forever Changes Concert with Baby Lemonade was just amazing. I saw Arthur in the early 90's a few times, before his jail stint. While he was in rough shape, his voice was great even then. My all time favorite artist.
That must have been when he had Shack as a backup band.
Here's a website where fellow Love fanatics are talking about the book:
http://love.torbenskott.dk/forum/default.asp
Film of the not so glamorous real thing .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAT2KldikME
kAT2KldikME
Nash = Drama Queen!
brain21
08-04-2010, 05:31 PM
You guys might like the move "Laurel Canyon" with Kate Beckinsdale and Christian Bale. Awesome sound track and some LC vibe and lore there. It runs on cable a lot.
After seeing and loving that film, I bought the book mentioned in this thread.
this tune is in the film..plus some soundtrack stuff thats stunning..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAb9ClVoZc
Another one, Sunset Strip, has some LC scenes in it. The main character (well there are a few) rents a room in a house in LC.
That, and it has a cool soundtrack, and KILLER stuff by Robbie Robertson (the "Canyon Jams"), which is unfortunately not available on soundtrack or anything.
The trailer for the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UIwbvjJ4Jk
Or you can just watch the Canyon Jams right here :-)
lLLsRJeMwlA
dgjco0iE5jU
(no Canyon Scenes in this one, but its cool anyway, and I think thats Robbie Robertsons son w/ the long hair)
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