Los Angeles: Where the Eucalyptus Smells Like Regret (and Rain)
okay, so. los angeles. i’m back. and honestly? i’m still processing. i’ve been bouncing around as a touring session drummer for, like, fifteen years now, and you think you’ve seen it all. you haven’t seen los angeles. it’s…a lot.
I landed a gig with a band playing at The Viper Room - classic, right? - and figured i’d extend the stay a bit. needed a recharge, you know? the kind where you don’t hear a single cymbal crash for more than three days. didn’t quite work out that way. the city just…vibrates. it’s a low hum of ambition and desperation, and it gets under your skin.
The weather? i just checked and it's drizzling. a proper, persistent drizzle. not the sunshine-through-a-thin-cloud kind of drizzle. this is the kind that makes you question all your life choices while simultaneously craving a really good burrito. the humidity is insane too, like 89%. my hair is a disaster. i’m pretty sure my drumsticks are absorbing moisture.
I spent a lot of time wandering around *Silver Lake, which is…interesting. Very curated. Lots of succulents and people who look like they’re starring in their own indie film. I stumbled upon a tiny vintage shop - “Echo Vintage” - and nearly lost an hour sifting through old band tees. Found a killer Led Zeppelin shirt for twenty bucks. Score! Check out their Yelp page: https://www.yelp.com/biz/echo-vintage-los-angeles. Seriously, go.
Speaking of interesting, i overheard some wild gossip at a coffee shop (more on that later). Apparently, there’s a turf war brewing between the pigeons and the squirrels in Griffith Park. Apparently, the pigeons are getting bolder. Someone said they saw one steal a croissant right out of a tourist’s hand. I’m not even kidding.
“Don’t go near the Observatory after dark,” a woman with a very serious expression told me, nursing a matcha latte. “The squirrels…they’re organized. They’re planning something.”
I also spent a day exploring Santa Monica. The beach was…crowded. Like, aggressively crowded. But the pier is classic. I even braved the Ferris wheel. The view was decent, but mostly i just felt slightly terrified of heights. TripAdvisor has some good reviews of the pier, if you're into that sort of thing: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33050-d227963-Reviews-Santa_Monica_Pier-Santa_Monica_California.html.
Food-wise, i’ve been living on tacos. Seriously. Tacos everywhere. I found this amazing little place in East LA - “Tacos El Gordo” - that someone (a very drunk guy at the Viper Room, naturally) swore by. He was right. Get the adobada. Trust me. https://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-el-gordo-east-la.
I heard that the traffic is even worse than they say. Like, apocalyptic levels of bad. I tried to avoid it as much as possible, mostly sticking to ride-sharing. Also, if you get bored, San Diego and Palm Springs* are just a short drive away. Escape the madness, you know?
Honestly, los angeles is exhausting. But it’s also…magnetic. There’s something about the sheer scale of it, the relentless energy, that’s hard to shake. I’m glad i came. I’m also glad i’m leaving. I need a quiet room and a very large cup of tea. And maybe a pigeon-squirrel-free zone.
Oh, and one more thing. Someone told me that if you see a coyote wearing a tiny hat, it’s a good omen. I didn’t see one, but i’m keeping an eye out. You never know in this town. Check out this local forum for more LA weirdness: https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/
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