Natural History Museum: First Fridays – June

“L.A. Backstory” with NHMLA History Department

TOURS: 5pm | 5:30pm | 6pm

Los Angeles has influenced the growth and development of American culture and technology for over 160 years. Tour guests will go behind the scenes to view seldom-seen History Department artifacts from the evolution of the automotive, aviation and aerospace industries to sports, early oil exploration, SoCal architecture, and local design studios that have affected global lives.

Tour tickets are available on a first-come-first-served basis in the Museum’s Grand Foyer.

Behind-the-Scenes After Hours: The Seaver Center will keep its doors open after the tours for guests to stop by: 6:30pm – 8pm.

“FOUR WHEELS, TWO WHEELS, NO WHEELS”

DISCUSSION: 6:30pm

L.A.’s first car hit the street 120 years ago, and through the smog and spaghetti-bowl freeways, L.A.  is renowned for its car culture (and traffic). But we’re starting to shift gears around here. We flirt with electric cars, pile into ride shares, trick out our bicycles, and hop aboard the Expo Line. In a city built for internal combustion, are we changing the rules of the road?

Following the discussion join Patt Morrison for a book signing of her newest book, Don’t Stop the Presses: Truth, Justice, and the American Newspaper. Click HERE to purchase your copy in advance.

Brian D. Taylor

Brian D. Taylor , PhD, FAICP is Professor of Urban Planning and Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies and the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies in the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA. He studies travel behavior and transportation equity, finance, politics, and history. His research has most recently examined the causes of falling public transit ridership, the travel behavior of Millennials, and the economic effects of traffic congestion. A native of Long Beach, California, Professor Taylor holds degrees from UC Berkeley (MS Civil Engineering; MCP City & Regional Planning) and UCLA (BA Geography; PhD Urban Planning).

Seleta Reynolds

Seleta Reynolds is General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) appointed by the Administration of Mayor Eric Garcetti. Ms. Reynolds is responsible for implementing Great Streets for Los Angeles, a plan to reduce traffic fatalities, double the number of  people riding bikes, and expand access to integrated transportation choices for Angelenos and the region. Ms. Reynolds has over 18 years of transportation experience throughout the United States. She has advised transportation technology companies like WalkScore, contributed to the state-of-the-practice as an Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals Board Member, mentored young professionals through Women’s Transportation Seminar, and nurtured research on Transportation Research Board committees. Ms. Reynolds serves as the President of the National Association for City Transportation Officials.

Dan Koeppel

Dan Koeppel is organizer of the BIG PARADE and author of two critically acclaimed books. His first, To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, A Son, and A Lifelong Obsession was published by Penguin/Hudson Street Press in 2005. Dan Koeppel’s second book, Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World, was published in 2008, and is now in a fourth printing; it has been translated into five languages. Both Banana and To See Every Bird on Earth were based on magazine features; the former from a 2006 story in Popular Science, and the latter on a 2003 story in Audubon.

Moderator: Patt Morrison

Patt Morrison is a Los Angeles writer and newspaper columnist who has a share of two Pulitzer Prizes. She has won six Emmys and eleven Golden Mike awards for her work hosting public television and radio programs. She also hosted the nationally syndicated television program “The Book Show with Patt Morrison,” and her seminal nonfiction book “Rio LA, Tales from the Los Angeles River” was a best-seller. Her writing appears in both fiction and nonfiction anthologies. And Pink’s, the legendary Hollywood hot dog stand, named its vegetarian hot dog “The Patt Morrison Baja Veggie Dog” in her honor.

PERFORMANCES

DJ Anne Litt

6:00-7:30pm/ 8:15-8:45pm/ 9:30-10:00pm

Anne Litt has been anchoring Saturday and Sunday afternoons for 89.9 KCRW since the early 2000’s. The sound-track she creates — timeless, inclusive, eclectic — has become an essential component of the weekend for countless Angelenos and listeners worldwide online.

At KCRW, Anne has been a key contributor to the station’s musical profile, interviewing such artists as Gary Clark, Jr, Patti Smith, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, Jim James, Marcus Mumford, Norah Jones, Ty Segal, Trombone Shorty, Spoon and Sylvan Esso. She’s also been a large part of KCRW’s coverage of events such as SXSW and Sundance – whether interviewing Jonathan Gold about his award winning documentary or Gabriel Garzon-Montano about his breakthrough album of 2017. Additionally, she has hosted events for KCRW at such diverse venues as a barn and a backyard in Austin to the Hollywood Bowl.

She contributes regularly to NPR Music’s Heavy Rotation series spotlighting essential new music, and is a frequent guest on NPR/WBUR’s syndicated radio show “Here And Now”, sharing the newest records she’s spinning. Recently she has been the station voice for WNKU, Cincinnati, and the digital station voice for KCRW. She has done outside voice work for iTunes, Capitol Records plus various commercials and educational documentaries. During her career in music, she has also music supervised for film (Oscar nominated Little Miss Sunshine), television, and commercials, and consulted for brands.

She knows of no activity more satisfying, in this world, than hosting her radio show — unless it’s skiing with her young son, Guy… or perhaps that time Josh Groban wrote a song about her. (https://soundcloud.com/kcrw/josh-groban-tribute)

Madame Gandhi

7:30pm-8:15pm

Kiran, who performs as Madame Gandhi, is an electronic music artist and activist based in Los Angeles. She studied mathematics at Georgetown University and worked as the first ever data analyst at Interscope Records before going on to receive her MBA from Harvard. Having gained recognition as the former drummer for artist M.I.A., and as the viral free-bleeding runner at the 2015 London Marathon, Madame Gandhi now produces music that elevates and celebrates the female voice.

In 2016, she released her first EP “Voices” and in 2017, she toured as the opening act for Ani DiFranco. Madame Gandhi is currently working on her debut full-length album.

Duckwrth

8:45-9:30pm

Fresh off the release of his 2015 collaboration, project “NOWHERE”, Bay area via South Central rapper, singer and visual artist Duckwrth is more than ready to release his new offering I’M UUGLY, an EP that merges the most unique parts of Duckwrth’s talents to create a sound and visual palette that indicates he has not only grown as an artist but is well on his way to being a music icon and visionary for this generation.

Duckwrth was first exposed through Teambackpack, the freestyle collective and network with Youtube videos that garnered over a million views, collectively. He went on to release a few indie projects including his 2015 collaboration titled ‘NOWHERE’. On that project, Duckwrth showed he wasn’t just unafraid to share the world as he sees it, but bold enough to create new ones. With songs that played on hip-hop clichés without ever coming off preachy while quickly becoming recognized for creating dynamic visual pieces that led to him creating artwork and branding for artist like Hodgy Beats, T. Mills and IAMSU! to name a few. His work has been featured in Wild and Artsy magazines and sold in galleries across California.

His face and personal style can be seen in ad campaigns with major brands such as Levis and Facebook to niche brands like RarePanther and Japanese hipster line, Monkey Time. It is hard to imagine, this is only the beginning.

With each release, it is abundantly clear that Duckwrth is growing not only as an artist but becoming a musician in his own right. I’M UUGLY combines the relentless lyrics and consistent story telling of his first release, Ducktape with the consciousness and social awareness of his 2nd release, TaxFree V1 and tops off with the high energy and crossover appeal of his last project “Nowhere”.

He’s a rude boy skanking in the mosh pit, a musician who paints his music in primary colors; the man who made a song about strippers and called it “Unagi”. Duckwrth born Jared Lee, in both his persona and his music, defies easy categorization. If you can’t catch him hovering three feet above the ground in the Bay Area or on his skateboard weaving through the traffic of a busy New York City street, you can certainly catch him this summer on tour with Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals. Look out for ‘I’M UUGLY releasing late summer 2016.

Tuxedo

10:00pm-11:00pm

“The only time you wear a Tuxedo is when it’s time to party.”

So says legendary West Coast player Snoop Dogg on the opening track of ‘Tuxedo II.’ The blessing of the Doggfather is of special importance to Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One, whose second album as a duo finds them at the forefront of a new wave of gangster boogie — one that owes as much to G-funk as P-funk. This is the territory of pre- and post-hydraulic low riders: a me?lange of Cali boom-bap, analog synth bass and elegant disco that resonates truth and authenticity in an era where so many are faking the funk.

Bonding over a shared love of Chic, Parliament, and the other signs in the greater funk Zodiac, Mayer Hawthorne (Aquarius) and Jake One (Taurus) were early predictors of the sea changes that American music would undergo in 2016. Their first release in March of 2015 debuted at #1 on iTunes America’s RnB charts, christened as “Dance Floor Catnip” by the Boston Globe, and “Pure disco-funk hot fire” by Okayplayer. Considering their individual successes (Mayer’s four solo albums, Jake’s production work for the likes of Drake, Future, The Weeknd, and De La Soul) and five GRAMMY nominations between the two of them, it’s no surprise that their powers combined have yet again yielded a bevy of absolute slappers that are packaged perfectly for dance parties in 2017. The material here, while wholly original, is an exercise in honoring its forebears. Tuxedo’s ‘II’ recalls the future- funk wobble of Zapp, Gap, Jam/Lewis and Junie Morrison, while nodding lyrically to Mtume, Jodeci and Cameo. The crystallization of the album’s concept comes courtesy of its message of universal love; thanks to the signature combination of soul and pop sensibility that have come to define Mayer’s hooks.

“You gotta do what you love…” says Mayer in a recent interview with Nordstrom’s style blog, one of the many fashion outlets to cover Tuxedo’s rise. After all — the transcendental ritual of the party and the rippling self-affirmation of the funk are of one spirit: the spirit of self-love… of self-expression. ‘Tuxedo II’ is a modern testament to unity and positivity in trying times. It is a reminder that the dance floor will always be there to welcome you, whoever you are.

Do you Fux with the Tux?

DJ LOUNGE

Kristi Lomax

5:00-8:00pm

Kristi Lomax is originally from New York, but now calls Los Angeles home. She’s a driving force in the soulful sound of the Los Angeles underground, as host of the weekly music program, One Track Mind, heard on progressive radio station KPFK. Her adventurous mix of music earned her an L.A. Weekly Music Award Nomination for Best Radio Show, L.A. House Music Award for Favorite Mix Show, and a feature in the 2016Best Of L.A. issue of the L.A.Weekly, for Best Dance Music Show

A champion of house music, Kristi keeps listeners on point with the latest dance records, artist interviews, and guest mixes. From the airwaves to the dance floor, Kristi’s passion for house music keeps her DJ’ing at various clubs, and events throughout Los Angeles.

One Track Mind can be heard every Friday night, from 10:00pm to midnight, or archived at www.kpfk.org.

Smile Davis

8:00-11:00pm

Named by Time.com as one of the “Most Creative Women in Los Angeles,” Smiles Davis is an artistic tour de force. She is a curator, a DJ, a music producer and she is having a game changing year in 2018.

Smiles Davis performed at Coachella, Afropunk Brooklyn, Pitchfork Music Festival, The Emmy’s and landed her second official single “Morning Blues” Feat. Bosco & Tola in the season premier & soundtrack of HBO’s “Insecure” Season II.