THE LOS ANGELES READER OF YUCAIPA

August 1996 -- a time that will go down in infamy for those of us who worked at the Los Angeles Reader. That’s when we had the pleasure of getting our heads chopped off by the thoroughly unpleasant Phoenix carpetbaggers known as New Times. For those who don’t remember or weren’t yet in Los Angeles, the Reader was an alternative weekly that debuted in late 1978, at roughly the same time as the LA Weekly. Though always No. 2 in a two-paper market, the Reader was a beloved underdog (at least that’s what people always told me) and did nurture the talent of several well known folks, including Steve Erickson, Matt Groening and Richard Meltzer. When I worked at the Reader from 1993 to 1996, I had the pleasure of working with and getting to know amazing writers like Mick Farren, Jerry Stahl, Samantha Dunn, Danny Weizmann and Luis Alfaro.

Since, in America, we like to celebrate anniversaries, even those of the dubious variety, Reader owner and publisher James Vowell decided to throw a party to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Reader’s death. A fine idea, except for the fact that James and his wife Codette got the hell outta Dodge a few years after the paper’s demise, and moved way deep into the Inland Empire. That’s about a 100-mile trip for many of us, and the distance may have kept the attendance down. But Farren, Natalie Nichols (click on her name to read her account of this blessed event), Steve Appleford and I piled into my Volvo wagon and made an adventure of it. We figured the last Reader generation needed to represent. If you want to see more and better photos (shot by Eric Mankin), go to EditingCompany.com.

The drive out to Yucaipa was, of course, interminable, but thanks to a series of strategically placed signs with the old Reader logo to guide us to the Vowell abode, we found it without hassle. Once there, we enjoyed fine food, adult beverages and good company. Distinguished guests included Bruce Bebb, Kirk Silsbee, Eric Mankin, Teresa Owen, Judy Elliott and Greg Critser. Natalie and I were the youngest people there.

The Reader seems like a lifetime ago to me, but when I opened copies of the many issues James displayed inside his expansive pad, I could almost transform to a particular week’s deadline – whose copy was good, who sucked. But -- and I was reminded of this on the drive over -- I can’t say I’ve ever worked with a group of people I loved and respected more (and still do). Many have continued to fight the good fight, landing at Citybeat -– tear down the walls my righteous brothers and sisters. I’m rooting for y’all.

With a hypnotic Yucaipa sky to groove to into the evening, it was an occasion for a lot of great memories. And some not so great -- if you want to see Natalie’s head explode, mention Luis Alfaro and Los Lobos in the same sentence. Steve, meanwhile, pulled a cover with mid-90s Valley killer Glen Rogers, written by Kevin Uhrich. The cover line was “Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.” Turns out his hangout of choice was a bar on Vanowen and Hazeltine, a stones’ throw from where I live now. Good times.

To those who didn’t make it – I miss you. Maybe I’ll still throw something together here in Valley Glen when I get my shit together.

Captions (from top): Steve Appleford and Natalie Nichols; Sydney Weisman and James Vowell; Mick Farren; Kirk Silsbee