L.A. Dispatch - Saturday, 7/18

Alright, so maybe the idea of doing DAILY dispatches was wrong-headed to begin with. Alas, here are the high points from the last few days followed by pictures below...

Wednesday:
Had lunch in Los Feliz with my old Diner Theatre co-star Colleen Cavanaugh and her ADORABLE little boy Jasper. Very nice to touch base after 15 years.

Wednesday Night:
Went to see The Veils at Spaceland in Silver Lake. I'll start with the venue. Great space. Just a straight up rock'n'roll bar with a small stage and an enclosed upper area where you can actually SMOKE without having to leave the building. Great vibe, accessible, no pretense. My kinda place.

Moments after entering, I noticed Veils bass player Sophia (small crush) setting up the merch table. A reminder that the band is not as big as I keep thinking they should be. We rapped briefly about their last two NY shows and she was happy to oblige a cellphone snapshot. (Which turned out brilliantly as you'll see below. We desperately need a new camera. Ours is basically the digital equivalent of a goddamn daguerreotype.)

I gave each opening band one song with which to impress me, but each failed miserably so I hung out mainly in the upstairs lounge through both sets.

Then, The Veils. AMAZING show. Finn was on fire. And even though the band doesn't have quite the fan base here that they do in NY, the place was still enthusiastically packed. I'd give you a full play-by-play, but this L.A. Times review of the show pretty much nails it. Exhilirating.

The bulk of the crowd left immediately after the show, so when the band bellied up to the bar I had a chance to chat with Sophia again and briefly with Finn, who also graciously granted a blurry cell snap. Amazing band, great venue, really satisfying show.

Thursday Evening:
Dinner with Drew and family in Toluca Lake. Really good to catch up after, like, 6 years?? Bonkers. Drew made manicotti stuffed with herbed goat cheese and a bunch of random vegetarian materials during which we polished off a bottle of chianti. Both the meal and the wine were pretty great.

Friday:
At this point I'd been in L.A. for two weeks and hadn't yet made it to the beach. There's something truly unnatural-feeling about spending an entire day at a computer when it's in the upper 70's and sunny out. This was starting to wear on me and I decided that a trip to the ocean was becoming a moral imperative.

The 10 dumps out right by the Santa Monica pier and since I'd never been, I figured it was worth a wander. I'd heard the beach at Santa Monica wasn't the best but, frankly, compared to the Rockaways it was paradise. After a stroll on the pier, I parked myself in the sand and spent a few hours vacating.

Friday Night:
Raf hatched the idea the other night to have an impromptu mini-AADA reunion. I was dubious about what kind of a group we could cobble together on such short notice, but figured even if it was just me, M.J., Raf and Eion, it'd be worth doing. Raf suggested Delancey on Sunset, which turned out to be a great pick. I was able to reserve a table outside. Ended up being an intimate group, but we had a blast catching up.

A friend of Eion's joined us and after drinks we ended up at his surprisingly NY-feeling recording studio/loft space on Hollywood and Cahuenga. A good time was had by all. Some nostalgia was inevitable, but the conversation centered mainly on the present and we all reconnected with ease.

Today:
Workshops today with Jeffrey Drew from Patrick Rush Casting (Chuck, Privileged, Men in Trees, The O.C., Everwood and the new series Human Target) and Katie Piel from Webster/Weisberg Casting (Criminal Minds, Leverage, Lost, CSI, Alias and Dylan McDermott’s new series Dark Blue. They also cast films including the new Star Trek). Both intensives were at TVI (blech).

My sides for Jeffrey Drew were fun and he responded with particular enthusiasm to my work. Honestly, I don't see how he couldn't given how low the bar was set by the rest of the participants. He said his office casts 60-80% of their episodic co-stars and guest stars from these kinds of workshops.

Katie Piel was straight-forward and no-nonsense. Silly scene, but she said it was "perfect" and didn't give any adjustments. Feels good to at least finally be plugging in in a tangible way.

Tonight:
Solo beer at Little Bar after an unexpected evening nap. I was nodding off all day, so I figured I'd close my eyes for a bit when I got home. Woke up at 8:30. I hate naps. They're completely disorienting. Not at all refreshing. They make me feel oogy.

Tomorrow is essentially free despite some personal errands, budgeting, a run, etc.

Monday begins some hardcore door-knocking. Have to try and follow up more aggressively with the folks I met in March and let them know that I'MHEREANDI'MNOTFUCKINGAROUND, so CALLMEIN,FUCKERS.

Jury's still out on what I'm actually accomplishing here professionally. Only time will tell if it was worth the time and effort. Bottom line is, I simply can't concern myself with that. The ONLY thing I can do is hustle in as focused a manner as possible and then LET IT GO.


Easier said than done.


The clatter of my daily N.Y. life seems very far away, which I'm finding simulatneously refreshing and heart-wrenching. The dichotomy of my life there - The Missus, our animals, our apartment, the City VS. the dayjob/career struggle - is coming into even clearer focus out here. I am very acutely missing my wife and our shared world and at the same time am also feeling deliciously distant from the grind. How that feeling will evolve and what it will eventually ask of me, I don't know.

But I do know this... Something in me is beginning to dislodge.

I'm not sure I can put a name to it. But I'm hoping whatever it is is something I've needed to let go of for a long time.

- IMBA

Colleen and the superadorable Jasper.

Finn of The Veils doing "The Letter".

Sophia of The Veils during "Larkspur".

Me and my girlfriend Sophia.

Me with The Missus' boyfriend Finn.

Drew's daughter Gabriella. Cutey, much?

I decided to take the day off from directing porn to get a little sun.

Santa Monica pier.

Laura breaks it down for M.J.

Kara regales the boys.

Eion

Eion, Raf, Kara

M.J. and Laura