The Culture Files Blog - Los Angeles magazine

Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magick: A New Documentary About the Source Family

Posted on 5/7/2013 8:56:00 AM by Matthew Duersten

More than a decade before televangelist Jim Bakker reached the apex of his success, a lesser-known Jim Baker was building one of L.A.’s most enterprising and influential cults. Read More

Under the Bottle Tree

Posted on 3/5/2013 9:44:00 AM by Matthew Duersten

What do a Japanese butoh master and a free-jazz trumpeter have in common? Confusion, deliverance, and fundamental human emotions. Read More

Haden Family Honors

Posted on 2/13/2013 12:20:00 PM by Matthew Duersten

Two adoring crowds on two separate nights saw that talent (and a cheeky sense of humor) didn't skip a generation. Read More

Venice Says Goodbye to Austin Peralta

Posted on 2/8/2013 11:05:00 AM by Matthew Duersten

"I've never seen a line like this here before," said one early arrival to Venice's Del Monte Speakeasy last Thursday night. He, like so many others, had come for a tribute to late jazz pianist Austin Peralta. Read More

Spotlight on Oscar Docs: "Searching for Sugar Man"

Posted on 2/7/2013 10:06:00 AM by Matthew Duersten

In the late 1960's, a second-generation Mexican day laborer named Sixto Díaz Rodriguez released two albums before he was dropped by his label and, ostensibly, dropped off the face of the earth. Read More

Petra Haden's Love Letter to Cinema

Posted on 1/25/2013 1:15:00 PM by Matthew Duersten

Is L.A.'s best-kept musical secret finally about to become a household name? Released this week, musician/vocalist Petra Haden's Petra Goes to the Movies is already getting plenty of buzz. Read More

Hands on the Hard & Hollow

Posted on 1/22/2013 2:50:00 PM by Matthew Duersten

An evening featuring the intricate guitar interplay of Bill Frisell and Vinicius Cantuária. Read More

Petra Haden Returns With an Album of Movie Music Standards

Posted on 1/18/2013 1:27:00 PM by Matthew Duersten

"Petra Goes to the Movies" is an a cappella song cycle constructed from fragments of scores from such films as "Psycho," "8½," "Cinema Paradiso," and "The Social Network." Read More

Eric McFadden Gets By With a Little Help From His Friends

Posted on 1/17/2013 5:22:00 PM by Matthew Duersten

In mid-city, the 43-year-old New York-born, L.A.-based guitarist Eric McFadden's five night residency at The Mint continued this week with a loud and loose jam session featuring McFadden's bluesy, Hendrixian hard rock. And a few friends. Read More