#005 - A Revival House in Granada Hills? A DIY Venue in Reseda? Weird Records in Winnetka?
Plus the feds attack our city, and this might be the best pizza in The Valley.
Welcome back to IN THE VALLEY WITH JOSH HELLER. If you’re enjoying this please consider subscribing! and sharing with a friend!
This Monday, masked federal agents returned to terrorize our city. They arrived on horseback disrupting a summer camp and a health clinic. At a press conference Mayor Karen Bass said:
“ I do not believe that anyone was detained. Maybe they were. But then again, I don't think the goal is to detain. I think the goal is to spread fear.”
California State Assemblymember Isaac Bryan points out that…
“On the sixth month anniversary of the LA fires the federal government is choosing to spend millions raiding MacArthur Park instead of approving disaster aid we requested months ago for families who are still displaced."
The Feds plans were leaked in advance, and community members were able to alert people who might be victimized by ICE raids. For more ways to support on-the-ground mutual aid efforts in MacArthur Park, check out this wishlist compiled by Eva Woods who was recently featured in Tasbeeh Herwees’ No Bad Days.
Over the long-weekend, ICE was spotted at multiple Home Depots in The Valley. The Van Nuys location on Roscoe near Balboa was targeted three times in the last five days. On Tuesday morning an alert was sent out requesting people to show-up to confront a white ICE van that was spotted in the parking lot. A community organizer, Ernesto Anaya was detained by the feds. A press conference was held on Tuesday evening at the Metropolitan Detention Center, demanding Ernesto’s release along with the kidnapped jornaleros.
The Midnight Hour in the City of San Fernando hosted a Bash the Fash Piñata Smash “to release some stress during these difficult times.” Also in San Fernando, people have been boycotting the Tacos Way chain because the owner wears a MAGA hat. He has since issued a half-hearted apology which was not well-received by the comments section.
But it’s not all defending our neighbors against emboldened federally-funded fascists here in The Valley.
Last week, we were talking about the new Prime Pizza location in Woodland Hills.
Before I even got a chance to try a pie, I got a text from Anuja, an ITVWJH reader and fellow parent at our kids’ school. She said “we followed your advice and we’re eating at Prime Pizza for lunch today” and reports “it was a hit!”
We stopped in last Friday afternoon. The pizza was delicious, the service was great, the vibes were chill, and it’s a solid destination for my family. We ordered slices, which works really well because one kid wants cheese, the other wants pepperoni, and me and Maureen want to try it all. We ordered a white slice, a vodka slice, and a Hawaiian slice which comes with fresh pineapple and Kevin Bludso’s legendary pulled pork. It’s available til the end of the month.
I also got a text from Country Cutler, who went there for dinner on Saturday night. He says that it was “Out-fucking-standing.” That’s a pretty big deal because Donnie has a lot of opinions about a lot of things. “The only downside is no fountain soda, otherwise it’s perfect.” Donnie liked it so much he went back on Monday. “The Hawaiian was out of this world. I would eat that over almost any fancy pizza ever. I hope they put it on the permanent menu.”
Is this the best pizza spot in the Valley? What are some other worthy contenders?
I know it was a pretty huge weekend for heavy metal fans.
It not exactly my scene, but I showed my support for the local heshers at a doom / deathmetal show on Sunday night. I went with a few fellow Valley dads to check out our buddy Will’s band QAALM at Harvard & Stone in Thai Town.
It totally rocked!
In proof that we all contain multitudes QAALM’s drummer is currently on tour with the dude from Herman’s Hermits. They’ll be playing at the Iowa State Fair on August 12th and 13th.
Over the weekend en route to a pool party I saw a cool sign that sparked my interest! On the southwest corner of Tampa & Vanowen next to The Canby and across the street from See’s Candy, I noticed a huge banner for something called Valley Rox.
You know I had to investigate.
I reached out to Valley Rox over Instagram…
ITVWJH: whoa i just drove by — very cool— tell me more about this place!
Valley Rox: Hey boss! It's strictly a music venue, with some possible recording studio aspects to it but I'm still not sure about that part? So for now it's just strictly a music venue. No food or alcohol will be sold. It's an all ages venue. But people will be able to bring in or order pizza from the pizza joint next door to us.
ITVWJH: so cool ! any shows coming thru this summer?
Valley Rox: It's gunna be September hopefully! I have to clear a few hurdles with the city first. But hopefully by September it'll be ready I'll let you know
ITVWJH: Dope ! have you done venues/studios before? are you in band? What’s your name?
Valley Rox: My name is Andrew Castaneda... I'm a musician myself, specifically a guitarist for over 30 yrs. I've been a home studio engineer for 20yrs. This is my first business
ITVWJH: good to meet you! i’m josh heller. very cool that you’re bringing this type of space to the valley. we need it! were you ever a Cobalt Cafe dude? feel like the spot is gonna fill the void.
Valley Rox: I’ve never been there or knew about up until recently. I hope Valley Rox becomes “the spot” in the valley
ITVWJH: hell yah!
In more DIY-related music news…
My old piano teacher Gary is offering piano and singing lessons. Four 30-minute weekly sessions for $125/month. Remote or in-person from his Beachwood Canyon studio. He helped me navigate the keyboard and find my voice. I highly recommend it.
Last week, I took Maureen to the Regency Granada Hills 9, a lovely time capsule from the late nineteen nineties. They usually show standard new release blockbusters. It’s a little cheaper than AMC (and only $6.50 on Tuesdays!) On Wednesday nights during the summer they show older movies, we were there to see Batman Begins (2005).
There are so many repertory cinemas throughout Los Angeles, but where’s our revival house? Maybe it’s here in Granada Hills.
Maureen loves the movie because it’s very good and also contains Christian Bale. It turns out I had never seen it before, and apparently I’ve been faking my appreciation for that Key and Peele Ra's al Ghul sketch.
We ran into Eric and his teenage son Ari. It was very cool, because Eric and I had just been chatting on a group thread, and we totally surprised everybody with an epically unexpected photo from the theater. Eric had been telling Ari for weeks that they were going to be seeing The Dark Knight (2008). So they were both pretty disappointed when Batman Begins appeared on the screen.
Me and Eric are heading back to see Kevin Bacon and Reba McEntire in Tremors (1990) next Wednesday, July 16th. See you there?
It’s not an issue of IN THE VALLEY WITH JOSH HELLER, without some archival tangent, so I present you with a few weird “sales records” that I saw at the Goodwill in Winnetka.
Have a great week, and remember to share and subscribe!
Absolutely loved this issue. It was like a dispatch of news meets public access for a very special place. Thanks for all your hard work.