The Comedy Store, Hollywood Museum, and El Compadre

Yesterday was a big day.

I filmed a segment about The Comedy Store for my reel with my friend and trusted videographer, Jessi Marsh - look her up, she's legit. (The video wouldn't upload here, so please check it out at: http://vimeo.com/33753169).

Then we headed over to Hollywood, to visit the Hollywood Museum, as the Lucille Ball exhibit had been extended. Hollywood Blvd reminds me of Times Square but worse -- hard to describe, but I get more of a slimy vibe from the Hollywood bums and husslers than I do from the NY ones. If you've been to both, you might know that I mean. Anyway, the museum was great and the Lucy and Desi exhibit was really good and so interesting. What was also kinda weird but cool was they had stuff on show from "today" too -- High School Musical costumes, Twilight costumes, and Glee costumes in the mix of the legendary things, including Michael Jackson. Then there was some movie exhibits, and even original Max Factor make up rooms - pretty cool! -- TIP: if you go to the museum, it closes at 5 - get there at 4 and they will probably discount your ticket price. If not, make sure to bring your student ID and you can get a student discount. If not, just go whenever and pay full price.

Then since I was already in WeHo and had a dinner there that night, I had more time to kill. So I dropped off the cupcakes I had just gotten for the bday girl at the restaurant so they could be kept a surprise, then meandered across the street to some audio store. The sales guy was really nice, and showed me around. I pretended like I knew what I was talking about, or more like I understood what HE was talking about. I just nodded and said "cool" a lot. Then I inquired about a "start up DJ kit" - what would he recommend. Basically the cheapest way was slightly under $400 - including a device if you wanted to record any of the mixes you made, which you could easily exclude, but then it's like what's the point. Then I asked if they sold free standing microphones. They had a decent one for only 30 bucks, but of course I would bling it out. The sales guy asked what I need a mic for so I told him I film some random segments about cool things around LA and he actually got a piece of paper for me to write down my name and where he could find my work online -- I have to admit, I felt pretty cool. I asked him where he DJs, after getting the feeling that he did that on the side. He said at "HAWT" - I think I spelt that right .. some club off of Roberston that I've never heard of nor have any desire to go to (if you're reading this, sorry I faked an interest, I just didn't know what else to say). After a good 20 minutes schmoozing my way through the tiny tiny store, I hadda get outta there. But with more time to kill before dinner, I kept walking around. Found myself entering The Guitar Center - yeah that huge one that you always pass on Sunset Blvd but never go in to because you're not a musician. But with my leather boots and cut-off fingers gloves, I totally fit in. The store was actually pretty cool - they have this whole handprint in concrete thing on the entryway to the store of famous 80s bands and musicians. So after staring down at the ground for a good 5 minutes like a homeless person looking for change, I finally entered the store. It looks way more massive from the outside than it actually is, but I was astounded at how many guitars they had - correction - astounded at how many different and unique guitars they had. And they aint cheap! Even the ones that were on sale or "gently used." Prices ranged from $350 - $1200 (from what I was able to see).  Then upstairs is all percussion instruments -- really took me back to my middle school band days - I played the drums. There was one drum kit that I would've bought in a heartbeat if I was rich and still a drummer -- it was pink/champagne colored sparkles - perfect. I looked down at my watch - time for dinner :)

We got to the restaurant, and if you've ever been to El Compadre on Sunset Blvd, you know how amazing the food is and how fun the atmosphere is. After waiting about 30 mins for our table to be ready, we were seated at the best table in the house -- cute cozy booth in the corner - very intimate, although we still hadda talk really loudly to hear one another over all the background noise and mariachi music. Endless amounts of hot tortilla chips kept a steady rotation coming onto our table, so by the time the main entrees came, I was already full -- although I still of course ate my ENTIRE quesadilla (and then dessert). Then a piece of flan with a candle came unexpectedly to the table, with the mariachi band, to wish Klare a happy bday. ENTER: confusion - those are not the cupcakes we brought ... so Rachel slyly exited the booth, got a handle on the situation, and minutes later the band came back with the cupcakes, but Klare was in the restroom!! So we shut them down, and told them to come back -- awkward haha. ... Then Klare returned and shortly after, so did the band and the cupcakes. AND THENNNNN - at the table next to us?? ... Michael Rapaport - yeah you've guessed it - Gary, Phoebe's boyfriend from Friends (amongst a shit ton of other roles) but that's how we recognized him. But we didn't get a picture or anything cuz we didn't wanna bother him at dinner. What's the rule when you see a celeb? When is it right or ok to ask for a photo or autograph?..

All for now, thanks for reading!
-Harley's Hype