all had something in common; a constant drive
towards their goal of making a name for
themselves but living here means working hard
Actors balance time rehearsing scripts or
preparing for auditions whilst earning money
valeting cars running a bar or sliding up and
down a pole in order to afford to live or work in
Hollywood The majority of creative people here
spin plates and maintain multiple jobs but above
all behave very professionally and do what they
set out to achieve with a mutual respect for each
other
Being in California doesn't guarantee success
though; the sight of a man pushing around a
trolley drinking the leftovers of the Monster
Energy drink I moments beforehand threw in to
a nearby trash can certainly highlighted this; one
of the taxi cab drivers I spoke to claimed to be a
former millionaire An alleged "Best friend" of Dr
Dre who I watched pimping himself on the
Hollywood strip tried desperately (and failed)
to sell me his demo tape for and ignored my
offer to review it in a British magazine until I
handed over cash; he's probably still stood there
right now as I write this looking shameless
whilst doing his utmost to convince anyone with
a wallet or pulse that he can part the sea with
his mouth
Most of the musicians I talked to have a game
plan of some kind; when you're on the doorstep
of Tinsel Town then it's obviously insane to
ignore the music opportunities available here
Touring is still regarded as very expensive so
many of the bands in California are quite drawn
to the concept of music licencing in order to
expand the advantage living in Hollywood is
that its easier to negotiate your band's music for
Television or commercials if you're in the same
vicinity as the studio Hustling here is
commonplace and a large part of the ladder
towards success
Sand from Santa Monica beach is caked in my
boots and a tear slowly roles down my cheek as I
prepare to leave Los Angeles and return to
England I am happy believe it or not Before I
arrived I was skeptical curious and uneasy; my
views changed after a week of being here and
now I know why California is regarded as a place
where dreams are considered to be achievable
realistic goals
Normally when an outsider hears Hollywood
mentioned they paint it with a dollop of all the
American movie stereotypes they've already en
countered and don't actually think about what it
is Every state is like a separate country and
California is very different to other parts of
America I came here with my Scottish personal
assistant Debbie to investigate the culture and
discover why people go out of their way to travel
here like I had Like most cities Los Angeles has
good and bad areas but I made sure that I saw
more than just the tourist traps
I hooked up with Musicians Actors and Writers
scattered across LA; all with different tales
explaining why they were here As I interviewed
each person it soon became noticeable that they
NICK
J TOWNSEND
Nick J Townsend is the frontman and
guitarist for British band Weak13
An experienced Underground
musician and music promoter
Supporter of original music
RGG October 2014 - p.6
r
gg
since 1995
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