On the Scene - RUBY walk's across America

Walk on Ruby, Walk on.

Earlier today the "Ruby Walk's America Tour" made an appearance at the Santa Monica Pier. Ruby Gettinger has lost over 100 lbs since her debut on the style network last year as a 500-pound woman working to change herself. Since then she has made quite an impression in the hearts of many who struggle with obesity.

Currently Gettinger is traveling across the country working to motivate & inspire others to take the initiative to exercise as well... which happens to be a lucky break for the freeloader staff since exercise is always free. (unless you have a gym membership I guess)

It was warm, those real sunny California days are upon us, but no need to worry because water guy's got our backs.


There were teary eyed smiles everywhere as Ruby's fans anxiously awaited their chance to hug their heroine. You could really feel the love in the air & I have to admit I was a little awestruck by the woman's inspirational charm.


All in all, it was a pretty ordinary stroll through the pier, minus the mob & media. Ruby's next stop will be in St Louis. Check out the style network for more information.

Free This Weekend: Echo Park Community Festival

Well, its Saturday, hopefully you have the day off. If so, you should head down to the Echo Park Community Festival. the Festival is in its second day today, and will last until Sunday. the festival, which replaces the long running Lotus Festival, will feature lots of live music throughout the day. Bands include,

Saturday:
Electric Skychurch
LA Ladies Choir
The Parson Red Heads
Tom Chasteen
Efren Ramirez
Moonrats
Treavor Moontribe
The Delta MirrorKung Fu Demo Team (Martial Arts Demonstration)

Sunday:
Mezklah
Domingo Siete
Ynez
Chocolate Rice Ent. Raheem Cohen
The Frimps
Capoeira Brasil Los Angeles

There will also be an acoustic stage featuring

Saturday:
Queen Victoria -
Warm Climate -
Chapa -
Tommy Santee Klaws -
Metal Rouge - LA Fog -
Chuck Dukowski Sextet meets Insects Vs. Robots

Sunday:
Ilo Mar -
Emily Lacy -
Auto Da Fe -
El Inganni -
Matthew David -
Hop Frog Kollectiv -
HowardAmb

Admission to the festival is free Hours are:
Sat., July 11th, 12pm-9pm
Sun., July 12th, 12pm-8.30pm

7/11 Free Slurpee

Good Morning... Up Early?

Head on down to your nearest 7/11 today and see if you can snag yourself a free one! They are giving Slurpees away for free to the first 5 million folks.

Get something for nothing. What do you have to lose?

Free Today: Friday July 10th 2009

Hey everyone, I hope some of you made it out to the downtown art walk last night. There were some great new showings by some really talented folks.

Today seems a little slower than yesterday in respect to the sheer number of events going on, but theres still a few happenings worth mentioning.

Head on down to the Original Farmers Market to hear some live music featuring the musical sounds of Bobby Matos. The show starts at 7 on the West Patio. Eat some amazing food and enjoy the nice summer evenings while jamming to some tunes.

LA Farmers Market
633 W. 3rd st
LA, Ca 90036
323.933.9211

Also tonight, Barnsdall Art Park will be hosting a performance of Shakespeare's Henry V. The performance starts at 7:30.

Barnsdall Park
4800 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027

Stay tuned this weekend for a whole bunch of updates to the calendar and some new leads on some current shows happening around town in the coming weeks. As always, if you have any leads on some cool free events happening around town, shoot us an email at lafreeloader@ gmail.com

.kyle

On the Scene - A walk through the downtown Artwalk

what: Downtown Art Walk
when: second Tuesday of the month, every month
times: noon-9pm
cost: FREE

The LA Artwalk was launched in 2004 in an attempt to bring people back to the streets after dark. Half a decade later, things are well underway as thousands flood the streets seeking their next affordable & accessible artistic wall piece.

The Freeloader staff caught the subway in to tour the scene
and my oh my what a scene it was...
There were Free Looks & Donation Drinks galore as we toured
through some of the downtown area's most interesting spaces.
The streets were wild with art in all it's various expressions, bands, djs, & street performers set the musical mood as you wandered through visual splendor. It's hard not to admire the hands of anyone who can build something beautiful.

Taking place just a block from the Historic Pershing Square, this is most definitely an event worth writing down.

Free Today: Thursday July 9th 2009

Good Morning Freeloaders. To say that today is busy would be an understatement. Today is seriously off the hook. If you cant find something that interests you today, then wow.. dude..

Ok first off, The Hammer Museum is hosting its weekly free day starting at 11:00 today. Go check out thier new exhibition featuring Artist Larry Johnson's photography.

Secondly, Tonight the Hammer will also be hosting its second installment of its Series Also, I Like to Rock. This free concert will feature the musical sounds of Everest and Red Cortez.

The show is all ages and starts at 8:00. GET THERE EARLY! Last weeks show reached capacity and there were people waiting in line for people to leave. Go early and check out the exhibits. you'll enjoy it.

Speaking of shows, The Santa Monica Pier is also hosting a concert series entitled the 25th Annual Twilight Dance Series. Tonights show features a free concert from Joan Baez (go ask your parents). Opening for her will be Tift Merritt.If you're in a woodstock mood and want to get your folk on, head on down to the pier at 7:00 pm tonight.

Yet another show (possibly) happening tonight, features the band Tortoise. The Show is supposed to be happening at Amoeba Records, but its saying its a live stream from their website... I would call before I showed up... Something is strange here.. If you have more info, let me know.

Also tonight, the Museum of Contemporary Art is having their free night from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, so if you are in the area, have a look around.

Almost done!

For you economic minded folks, The Zocalo Public Square Lecture Series will host a lecture entitled What does Armageddon Look Like?. The lecture will focus on the local government's budget crisis... heavy stuff. The event will take place at:

The California Endowment
1000 N. Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012


And Finally... Its the second Thursday, so the Freeloader crew will be hanging out down at the Los Angeles Downtown Art Walk. This event is a great way to check out some of the new showings at some of the coolest galleries in the city. Go to their website for a map of participating galleries in the area. This one is going to be a blast.

Ok.. I think we're done now... whew. Have fun!

.kyle

Updates

Well Guys and Gals, Thanks for checking in with us lately. This thing is really taking off. I updated the calendar to include some new events so you should check it out here. There's actually a bunch of cool things coming up, including a Squirrel Nut Zippers show in a few weeks!

Also, we now have a myspace! so add us up over on that web portal if you'd like.

Finally thanks for supporting us so far! Keep telling your friends about us. And if you have any suggestions for free events around LA, give us a shout at lafreeloader@gmail.com.

Thanks everyone..

lost of updates on some exhibitions around town coming tomorrow (hopefully) and maybe a trip to the Getty this weekend..


wow busy.

.kyle

On The Scene: Aperture Foundation: Abstraction in Photography Forum

So, as mentioned earlier today, I attended the Aperture Foundation's forum Abstraction in Photography, at the Hammer Museum. I was actually surprised to see the strong attendance. The seats were nearly filled as the 7:00 hour came.

The forum was moderated by Lyle Rexer, who recently authored the book The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography. His panel consisted of artists James Welling and Susan Rankaitis, and UCLA professor and art critic George Baker.

The forum began with an ambling outline of the history of abstract photography, as told by Mr. Rexer. While informative, it seemed -through no fault of Mr. Rexer- to be a bit like trying to condense Homer's Odyssey into two paragraphs.... Its just too big of a topic.

Following our crash course in photography's abstract history, The panel was opened up to a discussion about what exactly abstract photography encompasses, where it began, its meaning, etc. To say the least, it was deep, it was wordy, it was very difficult, and it was ambiguous.

Thats not to say that it wasn't informative, or interesting.. Its just to say that these four extremely well read individuals could have easily harped for hours on a singular question, much less a subject as broad as this. By the time the panel was finished, it felt as though the surface had hardly even been scratched. I would have loved to spend an hour interviewing each panel member individually on the subject as they each carried a vast ocean of knowledge on the topic... But thats not going to happen.

Overall, I left feeling perplexed, intrigued, and entirely exhausted. This panel was deep... real deep, but it definitely got me thinking. Driving home in the darkness (all the power was out in Westwood.. even stop signs) I began to think about what had been discussed. My thoughts are uuh.. abstract at best at this point, but still, things are formulating.

If anything, this forum made people look at the subject of abstract photography in a different way. Urging us to look deeper. That, in and of itself is a success in my book.

Thanks Hammer... Thanks for being so deep.

.kyle

Celestial Ash; Trashy made Classy

FREE TODAY:
(CAFAM) Craft & Folk Art Museum: 5814 Wilshire BLVD

Joseph Cornell (Dec 24, 1903 - Dec 29, 1972)


















the Celestial Ash assemblage features the works of...

Michael C McMillan
Exene Cervenka
Matjames
Gall Greenfield Randall

these artists have collaborated to celebrate Cornell's legacy as a pioneer of "assemblage."

CAFA Museum
5814 Wilshire BLVD
Los Angeles CA 90036
info@cafam.org
323.937.4230

Hours:
11am-5pm (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday)
noon-6pm (Thursday & Weekends)

Cost: $5.00 mandatory donation $3.00 student
but...
Free on the first WEDNESDAY of every month
Free every SUNDAY till 2010

-brian

Free Today: Events at the Hammer

Today, theres going to be a few interesting events going on at the Hammer Museum. First off, for those of you who arent currently employed, or are lucky enough to have an extra long lunch break, the Hammer will be hosting a lunchtime art talk.

The talk, will concern the current exhibit on display on the first level, entitled, Urban China: Informal Cities . The talk, which lasts 15 minutes, will take place at 12:30 this afternoon.. Better Hurry!

If that seems a bit early, at 7:00 pm tonight, the Hammer will also host a discussion panel on the topic of Abstraction in Photography. This should be an interesting one for all of you photo buffs like me. Heres a link to the Hammer's official write up HERE.

This event is also hosted by the Aperture Foundation, so you know it will be good.

I'm actually going to be there tonight, so come find me.

.kyle

-Before OH BAMA!!! ...the Barry Years-

Free: until August 29th

Barack Obama: The Freshmen by Lisa Jack
Hosted by the M+B Gallery
@ 612 N Almont Dr, LA CA

As another reminder that we really can accomplish our dreams if we work for it. Early Barry Obama portraiture from his college days is on display @ the M+B Galley.



M+B Gallery
612 North Almont Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90069
310.550.0050
Hours: Tues-Sat 10a-6p

-brian

Funeral of the King - Moon-Mournwalk

Today millions mourn the the legacy left by M.Jackson. Hosted in the Staples Center, all 11,000 seats were filled during the funeral celebration for the undisputed "Pop King"

THE MOONWALK of Mourning

Michael Jackson first performed this move in 1983 during a concert celebrating 25 years of motown. He learned the move from a man named Jeffrey Daniels.

Teach yourself this signature move, & put it to good use every M.Jackson Day (June 25th) from now on. It doesn't cost a thing to grieve, (aw. I just made myself sad; I'm going to go listen to a bunch of Jackson 5 till I feel better)

-brian

The New Eastside Sunset Residencies, July

FREE TONIGHT:

XXXXX ROCK, ADULTS only!
(5x rock. wow, thats 2 x's more than regular rock, what a deal)

Today marks the start of the new free residencies hosted by many of LA's great venues. Every Monday you can catch Japanese Motors, Andy Clockwise, & the Last American Buffalo, but each week will feature a new set of special guests.

Club Spaceland 21+ (doors 8:30pm) 1717 Silverlake Blvd

Andy Clockwise
The VLA
Globes on Remote
Miniature Tigers

The Echo 21+ (doors 8:30pm) 1822 W. Sunset Blvd

Japanese Motors
My Pet Saddle
Audacity
Gestapo Khazi

Silverlake Lounge 21+ (doors 8:00pm) 2906 Sunset Blvd

Last American Buffalo (11pm)
Eastern Conference Champions (10pm)
Globes (9pm)


so give them a listen, why not? who knows, you might find your new favourite band.

-brian & kyle

FREE TODAY: July 5th 2009

Hello all, hope you made it through the fourth more or less intact. For those that are not too tired or hung over, here's a list of some free things going on around town.

Bowers Museum Free day in the OC

Craft and Folk Art Museum Free Day

There's also a free concert at Amoeba Records today, featuring the bluegrass band Five Deadly Venoms. The show starts at 6.

Have fun

.kyle