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Oh hey John Lennon

So, who came by Mr. Brainwash’s studio? Best friends, x boyfriends, promoters, agents, your mother, and Urkle include: Mr. Brainwash, Johnny Wujuk, Zac Efron, Brent Bolthouse, Kevin Connelly, Gabe Saporta, Chad Muska, Eli Roth, John Stamos, Travis McCoy, Paris Hilton, Miley Cyrus and boyfriend, Guy Starkman, Rex Lee, Ashley Madekwe, Dane Cook, Serena Williams, Ronnie Ortiz, Ace Norton, Myles Hendrik, Nick Cannon (where is Mariah?),Vincent Piazza with girlfriend Ashley Simpson, + everyone else you know.

the deets:

Performances: DRAKE, Maroon 5 (Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael LA natives) Travis McCoy, Busta Rhymes, and Dirty South

“Today the climate changes!”- Busta Rhymes

Considering Busta Rhymes was HUGE during high school – it was only fitting that the crowd went nuts for him as a large portion of people I went to high school with were in attendance.  He did the smart thing by only performing older hits such as Touch It, Break Ya Neck, I Know What You Want, Wait,  Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See.

Maroon 5, La Natives, did a fine job performing their old hits (much better than their newer stuff) from their unreleased greatest hits album.  We all know Adam Levine is hot and every girl is in love with him, but let’s be honest here, one comparing themselves to rock legend, Mick Jagger, is a no no in my book.

I really have no words for Drake or shall I saw Aubrey Graham’s from *cough* Degrassi performance…When someone says ‘the icing on the cake’, they were refering to Drake’s surprise performance.  I heart him and could not have been happier to see him perform, let alone the the DAY after his sophmore CD, Take Care was released.  Not only did Drake perform, but he actually interacted with the audience which is more than Maroon 5 did..#justsaying

Food glorious food: After a few drinks, on our way out it was VERY needed to have a lil midnight snack.  Our faves were the Mac and Cheese and Chow Mein but there was also a hot dogs cart (no, NOT street meat), popcorn, chicken wings, slushies, tacos, and more.

Activities: Photo booth area Photo’s taken with Tmobile Android phones (Pre req for events these days), Live graffiti installations, Interactive kiosks such as T-Mobile Music Store, T-Mobile Discover Bar, Ask Desmond Station, and photo booth using an Android phone.

Tmoible Google Music Party in numbers

1000 attendees

80,000 square foot compound – and yes, every inch of this place is COVERED.

Google Music is expected to soon offer 13 million songs from three of the four top record labels (Warner Music, which shares a parent company with CNN, balked) as well as independent bands and includes free cloud storage for up to 20,000 songs.

• All songs get a free 90-second preview
• 99 cents per song.

Here at the Truffle, we could care less about million dollar renos and what tourists find appealing. Our question for the newly opened ‘Bel Air’ is not which new restaurant you may install, or what interior designers you used, but will you manage to re-gain the favor of the locals?

What some don’t realize about the Hotel Bel Air is that it is more than just a romantic weekend get-away. For those few and fortunate living in a 1 miles radius of the hotel, the bar and restaurant was the neighborhood watering hole and eatery. House accounts were the norm for those living on Bellagio and Bel Air Roads, who came here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and most famously – ‘apres dinner’. That’s the kind of bar scene we’re into. We’ll let you know how this developing story pans out. Guest check-in opened this past Friday following a few formal previews, and there will be an opening party this coming Thursday …

We try our best here at the Truffle to let you know about all L.A. has to offer it’s more discerning city dwellers … so if you don’t know by now what Club 33 is, you simply aren’t reading. Our little Truffle Hunters were down at the park this weekend and notice some construction work going on outside the resto/club.

Club 33 is a semi-secret restaurant at Disneyland that few people know about – unless you are a member or have been to some very special events at the park. It is also used as the green room anytime there is filming at the park … ie. this is where the cast from “That Thing You Do” hung out during filming of the Matterhorn scene. Any good Disneyland guide will be able to make a reservation for non-members. If they say they can’t, you hired the wrong person.

The restaurant is located within the Pirates of the Carribean ride and the entrance is somewhat to the left when you exit the ride. The door is designed to look like a facade (not a real door) and is painted a color the park thought would be un-noticeable. If you do not have a reservation, they will not answer your call on the secret buzzer.

September 3rd * F*ck Yah Fest at 1st and Main featuring Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids, Simian Mobile Disco, Cults, Smith Westerns, Death From Above 1979, Explosions in the Sky Yacht, twin Sister, The Head and the Heart, Nosaj Thing, Chromatics, and many more.
September 8th * CULTS at Phillip Lim store on Robertson for Fashion’s Night Out
September 9th * Bassnectar
September 10th * The Kills at The Wiltern
September 13th * The Vaccines and Tennis at The Music Box
September 14th * Fleet Foxes and The Walkmen at the Greek Theater
September 21st * Twin Shadow at Troubadour
September 22nd * Two Door Cinema Club with Grouplove at The Wiltern
September 30th * Neon Indian, Com Truise, and Purity Ring at Troubadour
September 24th * Ladytron at the Wiltern
September 25th * TV On the Radio, Arctic Monkeys, Panda Bear, Warpaint, and Smith Westerns at the Hollywood Bowl
September 27th * Kaiser Chiefs at The Music Box
September 29th * Pepper Rabbit at the Echo

Quack Quack

#TruffleMath:

A-Trak + Armin Van Helden = Duck Sauce

Dave 1 + P-Thugg = Chromeo

A-Trak = Alain Macklovitch

Dave 1 = David Macklovitch

Alain + David = Brothers

Bro's A-Trak and Dave 1

#funfact: Dave1 is currently studdying for his PHD in French Lit AND teaches French classes at Barnard College.

Math with Lauren

Aug 2nd 2011 • The Naked and Famous at The Music Box
Aug 3rd 2011 • Lykke Li and Best Coast at The Greek Theater
Aug 6th 2011 • Hard Summer Music Festival at the LA Coleseum featuring Ratatat, Chromeo, Skrillex, Boys Noize, Odd Future, Digitalism, James Murphy, Busy P, Duck Sauce, Destructo, Juan Maclean, Holy Ghost, Dj Mehdi, and many more!
Aug 9th 2011 • Deerhunter at the Wiltern
Aug 13th 2011 • Pacific Festival in OC at the Oak Canyon Ranch featuring Snoop Dogg, Calvin Harris, Cut Copy, Phantogram, !!!, Ghostland Observatory, Toro Y Moi, Classixx, Afroman, Black Lips, Fred Falke, and more.
Aug 27th 2011 • The Dodos at the Autry in Griffith Park
Aug 28th • Dum Dum Girls

Eating lollipops

Trufflers, you don’t need to be 5 years old to plan a group trip to Disneyland! All you need are good-looking friends who won’t mess up your pictures and a little advice from us. Last week, a group of us skipped work and headed to the happiest place on Earth for Kari Feinstein’s birthday. Here is our guide to a successful, stress-free, no-lines, trip to Disneyland!

Step #1. Pick Your Group Wisely! Here was our group …

For those of you unfamiliar with the first two members of our group, Kari Feinstein, and Mike McGuiness, are the two principles behind the Los Angeles based firm FMPR aka Feinstein / McGuiness that specializes in product placement, gifting suites, event planning, publicity, branding, celebrity outreach, and special events. Mike Barzman also joined who runs a DJ placement service called “Table Manners.” Chris Masterson (aka DJ Chris Kennedy) came along who is on the Table Manners roster (you can visit him at his Hollywood residencies listed on the TM website or at his bar Harvard & Stone bar in Hollywood). Ethan Embry,who you may know as Bobby Ray from “Sweet Home Alabama” or Clark Griswold’s son in “Vegas Vacation” but has also been in over 100 TV shows and films, came too. (Connecting some dots for you: Ethan played the role of bass player in “That Thing You Do” with Tom Hanks where he skips out on the band to go to Disneyland with a group of Marines he meets in their hotel lobby while on tour  in Los Angeles. The park shut down the Matterhorn for a day to film this scene in 1995). Also on our crew was Julius Friedman who we all know from the original Hyde days, and now-a-days, the Sayers Club. Last but not least, the lovely Veronique Vicari, creator of Jewelry by Veronique  and a blogger for LoveWeCanSee.com. Not a bad group, all of whom took these photos for us at the Truffle.

In this pic: Kari Feinstein, Mickey Mouse

Step #2. Hire a VIP Guide

LA people don’t like lines, so get a guide. Here (pictured below) is what you will look like walking in through the exits of all the rides at Disneyland. A good guide can make this happen. If you are a major celeb, Disneyland has guides you can hire through the park. If you are not a major celeb, the guides you will want to look for are all going to be unaffiliated with the park and found by referral and word-of-mouth. These guides are not park endorsed, don’t advertise and work their “magic” with tactics we couldn’t fully follow. These guides will run you around $80 an hour for a group of 8 with a 4 hour minimum (that means $10 per person per hour, which is nothing). Bottom line: If you can find one, they get the job done. Don’t be cheap. Get the guide.

(Reasons why an unofficial guide will not take you on? They suspect your group is rowdy, problematic and will give them a bad name at the park.)

Have your guide make you a reservation at Club 33. This is a semi-secret restaurant at the park that few people know about. A good guide will be able to do this. The restaurant is located within the Pirates of the Carribean ride and the entrance is somewhat to the left when you exit the ride. The door is designed to look like a facade (not a real door) and is painted a color the park thought would be un-noticeable. If you do not have a reservation, they will not answer your call on the secret buzzer.

There are two other gems at Disneyland you guide can get you to – the first is Walt Disney’s old apartment, where he lived during construction of Disneyland, and the second is his “new” apartment at the park which was unfinished at the time of his death. His first apartment was above the Fire Station on Main Street and can be view by special request. The second apartment is now called the Disneyland Dream Suite and is located in New Orleans Square above the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (as is Club 33) and has a living room, open-air patio, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The dream suite is available to spend the night for 5k and is also given to winners of Disney contests and is sometimes offered to Disney employees as a reward for good service.

This is what you will look like when you walk in through the exits of of Space Mountain at Disneyland. In this pic: Mike McGuiness

Pirates of the Carribean

Ringing the secret bell outside Club 33. In this pic: Ethan Embry, Kari Feinstein

Waiting for our VIP Guide to show up

#3. Give Everyone a Job

If you have a friend in your group who is a team player, make him the driver. Rent a big car so everyone can fit and stick together. Someone in the group is bound to have a handicap placard somewhere – try to get him to bring it along.

Make sure you have a group photog. Ours was Veronique. Veronique is huge on Facebook because of her hipstamatic iPhone app. If you don’t have a photog in your group, just invite anyone with a camera. Even if you don’t know them that well. Even if you have to pay for their ticket. Do it.

In this pic: Chris Masterson, Mike Barzman

4. Follow Disney Etiquette

Photobombing is always acceptable. Don’t worry about ruining people’s picture. They will think it’s funny every time. Trust me. Note: there is only one person who does a better job at photo bombing than Michael Cera, and that is Mike McGuiness.

If you have a  friend in your group who is famous, don’t listen to him when he says “I’ll be there in 5 minutes.” Just go on the ride.

Eat the crap and buy the toys. Here is a list of treats you should get at Disneyland: cotton candy, pop corn, kettle corn, carmel corn, lollipops, marshmallow lollipops, mouse ears with sparkles, Mickey Mouse pancakes, guns from Star Tours, black light string machines and chariactures of your friends.

Eating lollipops

Note: If we are on the phone don’t bother us. We like our phones and we are not ruining our day. Yes, even inside the rides, sorry!

On Pirates of the Carribean

On A Small World

In this pic: Veronique Vicari

In line for Small World. In this pic: Julius Friedman

Yes, I can walk and text, thx. In this pic: Veronique Vicari

Doing business at Disneyland. In this pic: Mike Barzman

Pics from Veronique Vicari, Ethan Embry, Kari Feinstein and moi!

If you are a true LA native, at some point in your childhood, you had a tag name, sagging pants and a can of spray paint.

Pic – Harvard-Westlake-r behind American Rag on La Brea … circa 1992

People say I fiddle with the bill but they keep coming back for my fried seaweed and green shrimp. I am not a fan of menus and if you need to use the bathroom during dinner, prepare for an epic table move by ten waiters. My owners are huge in the art world; their children are LA natives. There is a shady man with a boom box out front selling techno color grills – for your teeth. Where am i?

People always ask us at the Truffle for more music news! Well you asked and we listened! Here is our curated guide to shows this June 2011 in Los Angeles – hand picked by our in-house music aficionados Lauren Brokaw (Beverly High) Ingrid Chang (Harvard-Westlake) and Ethan Mark (Harvard Westlake) …

Foster the People @ The El Rey july 7

Washed out and Class Actress @ The Echoplex july 8th

John Doe w/ Jill Sobule @ McCabe’s Guitar Shop july 9

Best Coast @ Getty july 9th

The Generationals @ The Echo july 14

Avicii @ the Music Box july 14-15

Group Love and Milo Greene @ Hammer july 21st

Daniel Johnston @ El Rey july 22

Memory Tapes @ Troubadour july 23rd

Maroon 5 @ the Bowl july 25

Cult @ Skybar july 26

Cults @ The Echo july 27

Cold Cave + Austra @ the Ukrainian Cultural Center july 27

TiRon & Ayomari, Warm Brew and more @ The Airliner july 28

The Henry Clay People @ Hammer Museum july 28

Kurt Vile & The Violators/Thurston Moore @ Troubadour july 28 & july 29

Yuck and Unknown Mortal Orchestra @ Troubadour july 30

Rage Aganist The Machine, Muse, Rise Against, and more @ LA Coliseum july 30th

Audiotistic (electronic music fest) @ NOS Event Center july 30

Peter Frampton @ SB Bowl july 31

Bear Hands @ Bootleg Bar july 31st

- Written by Lauren Brokaw, Ingrid Chang and Ethan Mark

Special treat this month: Check our friends Amika Akaya and Austin Wood (Tribe of Zebra’s) first video for their song Strangers. We are excited for the LA native duo who are very talented djs, producer, and mix masters extraordinare.

Tribe Of Zebras – Stranger from Tribe Of Zebras on Vimeo.

A friendly service reminder to our friends living in Bel Air this weekend to use the West Gate, as the 405 traffic will be re-routed to Sepulveda. However, that’s where problems END for those of us living on the west side…

Amidst the hype sounding out around LA leading up to ‘Carmageddon’ (lamest name ever) we feel compelled to end this run-away trainwreck of delusion. We are about to enter the best weekend the west side of Los Angeles has seen since the 405 was installed.

This weekend is essentially a one-time city mandated ban on all those coming from OC, the valley and beyond to shop, see and party. Streets will be clear of tourists who aren’t from this immediate area. Parking will be easy, restaurants, bars, clubs, and stores will be pleasantly easy to get in and out of … all because we won’t have the massive influx this part of the world sees every time ‘other people’ get two days off work.

I might even go out on a weekend night (for those of you not from LA, it’s standard knowledge week-day nights are better to go out than a weekend night – exactly because of this – you can actually observe this if you notice any major parties, openings, brand launches, etc. will always be during the week. You will also find all the newer bars and clubs will always have a hierarchy on what nights are their ‘best’ nights and those are never on a Friday or Saturday – just ask Brent Bolthouse, etc). Basically no one in LA wants to move on the weekend because of traffic and out-of-towners. Ever wonder why bars and restaurants have a two year life span in LA? It’s because the 405 doesn’t close often enough.

I am a chain of restaurants but I have an original location on Sunset Blvd. I am super old school. I have red booths and TVs. I am where Ari Gold goes to not be seen and stages his Coup d’états.

Leave a comment with the correct answer to be entered into our Angeleno Magazine Restaurants Awards give-away on July 24th.

Remember when people use to say “let’s do lunch” … ? Well, I think tonight I heard the replacement phrase for that while at an after party for the Foundation Polo Challenge played today in Santa Barbara. The after party was held in Room 64 at the Chateau, more commonly known as the penthouse even though it’s not the top floor.  ON his way out, a friend I’d not seen in ages came flying by at the elevators, without stopping, grabbed me, kissed me, pointed his finger and said “I am SO calling you tomorrow” …

The party was hosted by the Duke of Argyll - the social ambassador for Royal Salute Whiskey who throws international glitzy after parties for the brand’s polo team – aptly called Team Royal Salut. Team Royal Salut won 5 to 3 on Saturday afternoon with the players comprised of Prince William who has been in town on a royal visit, Glen Holden Jr, Andy Busch of the Anheuser Busch family, and Santi Trotz. Prince William scored 4 out of the 5 goals that brought the team to victory which led to an on-going topic of conversation at the after party: “I wonder which teammate tossed the Gentleman’s Agreement to let Will get ALL the goals  …”

Spotted at the party … Brent Bolthouse who DJed, Grace Fernandez, Tamsin Lonsdale, Brett Gursky, Matt Donnelly, Rachel Krupa, Angie Banicki, Lauren Conrad, Tracy Bjelland, Dylan Otto, Dylan McDermott, Anya Varda of the Chateau Marmont, Lane Garrison, Beau Swayze, Julia Verdin, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, Rosario Dawson, Jayson Blair, Joe Jonas & Kevin Jonas, Sam Waterston, Lawrence Bender, and Billy Zane.

I saw mini hamburgers, mini cupcakes, bite-size beef wellingtons, mini grilled cheese and 2 bars with Royal Salut and Pierre Jouet champagne. Brent Bolthouse had a very interesting playlist going full of 50s songs including tracks from Dirty Dancing (“Stay”) and Grease (“Summer lovin”). He then moved on to the time wrap song from Rocky Horror picture show and threw in a little Neil Diamond (“Sweet Caroline”) and The Stokes (“Last Night”). Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd (and I believe Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann) came to the Chateau after party dressed in tuxedos from the BAFTA Brits to Watch event which was held earlier this eve downtown.

Ladies and Gentleman ... DJ Brent Bolthouse

LA Native Jonah Hill who went to Crossroads and is Max Winkler's writing partner wore a Hugo Boss tuxedo to the BAFTA Brits to Watch event and the Chateau Marmont after party

Chateau Marmont Room 64

Royal Salut team winning today in Santa Barbara today

The BAFTA Brits to Watch event held downtown was sponsored by our friends over at Grey Goose and Audi … Chef Joachim Splichal of Patina Restaurant Group catered with party with a 3-course menu and 280 other guests including Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Barbra Streisand, Jack Black, Zooey Deschanel, James Gandolfini, Quentin Tarantino, Jennifer Garner, Juno Temple, Paul Rudd, Mary Louise-Parker, Blake Lively, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Elizabeth Moss, Gordon Ramsay, Ed Westwick, Chris Evans, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Nigel Lythgoe, Piers Morgan,Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and tennis star Anna Kournikova who were all in attendance at the BAFTA event to meet and talk to Prince William & Kate and the following industry royalty:

• Producer Judd Apatow
• Producer Harvey Weinstein
• Producer Brian Grazer
• Director Brett Ratner
• Director Bill Condon (“Twilight”, “Dreamgirls”)
• Director Quentin Tarantino
• Sony Corporation Chairman, CEO and President Sir Howard Stringer
• Co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Filmed Entertainment Tom Rothman
• Chernin Entertainment’s Peter Chernin, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht
• Co-chairman-CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment Jim Gianopulos & Ann Gianopulos
• Fox Networks Group Entertainment Chairman Peter Rice & Megan Rice
• President of HBO programming Michael Lombardo
• Co-president of HBO Richard Pepler
• Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios Rich Ross, CBS President and CEO Les Moonves
• CEO of Showtime Matthew Blank
• Co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC Television Group Anne Sweeney

BAFTA aka the British Academy of Film and Television Arts planned this event to promote up-and-coming British talent in the industry. Prince William is president of BAFTA  and Nigel Lythgoe is the BAFTA Los Angeles Chairman. A couple of the BAFTA Brits to Watch showed up at the Chateau after party including Gugu Mbatha-Raw(“Larry Crowne”).

Seated at the royal table were Nicole Kidman, Barbra Streisand, James Brolin and Donna Langley co-chairman of Universal Pictures, Duncan Kenworthy as well as the prince’s private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, diplomat Sir David Manning and British consul-general Dame Barbara Hay, who hosted a private party for the royals at her Hancock Park home on Friday evening.

Prince William and Kate at the BAFTA event downtown sponsored by Audi and Grey Goose

Prince William talking with Palisades and Malibu dwellers Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson at the BAFTA event downtown sponsored by Audi and Grey Goose

Jack Black and Tanya Haden

Brit Ed Westwick aka Chuck Bass aka my future husband

Juno Temple in a custom MIU MIU navy cady silk heart-neckline peplum-waist dress enriched with micro-sequin 'dandelion' embroidery. Shoes and clutch from PRADA.

Harvery Weinstein and Chris Evans at the BAFTA event

Piers Morgan, producer Brian Grazser and Sony Corporation Chairman, CEO and President Sir Howard Stringer

Dana Delany, Co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Filmed Entertainment Tom Rothman and the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa

Zach Galifianakis, Jason Bateman and Ed Helms attend the champagne reception at the 2011 BAFTA Brits To Watch Event at the Belasco Theatre on July 9, 2011 in Los Angeles, California

Our friends at the Patina Group sent over the menu for the BAFTA event (below) and told us Patina Catering plans to repurpose the ‘BAFTA Brits to Watch’ menu as a “Royal Menu” for special events and weddings throughout the country in the coming weeks. For additional information, please contact Nichole Van Allen at Patina Catering at 213.814.3051 or visit www.patinacatering.com.

~ First Course ~

Courgette and mint tian with a lemon and pine nut gremolata

and shaved manchego, garnished with a courgette blossom flower

~ Entrée ~

Filet of beef with creamed leeks, pickled spring garlic, asparagus, turnip,

baby onions, potato fondant, and a red wine sauce

~ Dessert ~

Eton Mess

English rose meringue served with fresh picked strawberries and cream

Petit Four

Opera chocolate cake with a touch of gold leaf

~ Wines ~

Champagne Taittinger

Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc

Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

Evian Water

Patina Catering at BAFTA event

The next morning – Sunday, July 10, 2011 – Prince William and Kate were over at producer Steve Tisch‘ house for a reception to mark the launch of the US Patrons Circle of Tusk, an African wildlife conservation charity which strives to preserve Africa’s natural heritage and culture, of which Prince William has been Royal Patron since 2005. Tusk’s US donors, Reese Witherspoon, Catherine Keener, Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, LA Huff Post editor Willow Bay, Kristin Gore (daughter of Al Gore), Peter Morton & Linda Evangelista, asset manager Willy & Eileen Ma, Tusk CEO Charlie Mayhew MBE, TUSK USA Director Meredith Ogilvie-Thompson and President of Jaguar Land Rover Andy Goss. Jaguar Land Rover sponsored the event and donated a new Land Rover Defender to the charity to help with its work in Africa.

Willow Bary, Bob Iger, Kate Middleton

Peter Morton, Linda Evangelista and Princess Kate

Regulars around the Colony (residents, some visitors): Jim Carey, Nicky Hilton, Brent Bolthouse, Jared Leto, Jenny McCarthy

For years, one of our neighbor in the Malibu Colony and former chairman of Univision, Jerry Perenchio, graciously hired major fireworks company Pyro Spectaculars to create one of the best offshore fireworks show in the world (and spent over $60,000 to do so). This show provided an extravaganza not only to his guests he would invite to the beach on July 4th, but also to every house in the Malibu Colony, including the likes of Sting, Jim Carey and Tom Hanks, who would invite all their friends over to watch (as did anyone within a mile radius of the Colony).

Malibu Colony July 2010

Three years ago, Perenchio stopped doing the holiday show and left residents in the Colony frazzled for high-octane entertainment. Families canceled their get-togethers and headed to the Hollywood Bowl and the L.A. or Hillcrest Country Clubs instead.

Well, the next year, we were ready. One of the Colony residents (who happens to be my father) began fundraising for the show in late spring and raised the amount needed put the show back on. This family then became the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, meaning Pyro Spectaculars provides them with a radio walkie talkie to instruct the barge on where to stop and when to begin.

Further North up the coast in Paradise Cover, Ron Meyer of Univeral Studios gets together with his neighbors and does the same thing every year as well. That is why you will see two barges this Monday on the 4th of July.

Based in Long Beach, Pyro Spectacular is a family company and the only pyro-technicians granted a permit to load explosives from the Port of Long Beach, giving them the exclusive on offshore fireworks shows. For the Malibu Colony show, pyro-technicians spend 3 days loading a 150-ft barge at the Port of Long Beach with 33 tons of sand which prop up dozens of iron plastic tubes called “guns” where the fireworks will launch out of, like cannons. The barge is then towed by a tugboat up the coast to Malibu. Pyro Spectaculars provided us with a few photos of their pyro-technicians loading a barge at the Port of Long Beach.

Pyro Spectacular spends 3 days loading 150-ft barge off the Port of Long Beach before making the voyage to the gated Malibu Colony to preform the night's show.

loading 10" guns/shells, the ones Disney wished they had

Fireworks usually shoot off from the barge in Malibu Colony at 9pm - weather permitting!

Pyro Mike Crow at the Firing Board - on a walkie with my dad

I am in Beverly Hills, I am new to town, I have quite the pedigree, I can see the ocean and hills, I have a restaurant and a pool, my name is short, I am very chic. Where am I?

Picture from Lady Victoria Hervey

People always ask us at the Truffle for more music news! Well you asked and we listened! Here is our curated guide to shows this June 2011 in Los Angeles – hand picked by our in-house music aficionados Ingrid Chang (Harvard-Westlake) and Lauren Brokaw (Beverly High) … Lez do this!

June 1- Architecture in Helsinki at the Music Box

June 2- Givers at Bootleg Theater

June 3- Milo Greene at Teddy’s (2 members are LA natives)

June 3- Grouplove at the Satellite (2 members are LA natives)

June 4- The Bird and The Bee at Bootleg Theater

June 6- The Vaccines at Amoeba Music

June 6- Agnes Obel at The Hotel Café

June 7- Death Cab for Cutie at the El Rey Theatre

June 7- Band of Skulls at the Bootleg Theater

June 9- White Arrows and Milo Green at The Echo

June 11- Fedde Le Grand at the Music Box

LA gets a taste of Dutch House when Fedde Le Grand returns to Hollywood this month. “Put Your Hands Up For Detroit”!

June 11- Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Stephen Marley (and more) Dr. Greenthumb’s Spring Gathering at NOS Events Center

I’m not even going to make a weed joke. This is the best hip hop lineup you’ll get anywhere near LA until Rock the Bells.

June 14 – Chief at the Troubadour (LA based native band’s last show for forever, SO SAD!)

June 18- Odd Future (Tyler the Creator) at the House of Blues Sunset Strip

June 22- Friendly Fires at the Pantages TheaterJune 23- Flying Lotus at the Music  Box

Pissed that Flylo was missing from the lineup at Coachella? Didn’t get your fix at the afterparty? Come see him at the Music Box.

June 23- The Kooks private show at The Troubadour

June 24- Dada Life at the Avalon

Swedish Electro House duo will be taking the turntables at the Avalon for their weekly event Control Fridays. Check out the video for their new single Fight Club Is Closed.

June 25- Laidback Luke at the Avalon

After blowing up the stage at Coachella in April and at Electric Daisy Carnival last year, Laidback Luke’s highly anticipated return to LA will draw major crowds and will have the Avalon packed. Get your tickets early.

Artspace Warehouse has a juicy event coming up on Tuesday, June 21, 7-9pm … Author Debra Ollivier will talk about her book “What French Women Know | Love, Sex and kick-ass Lingerie.” French Champagne and Savory Bites will be served.

Artspace Warehouse
7354 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles CA, 90036
323.936.7020
Tues – Sat 11am – 6pm and by appointment
www.artspacewarehouse.com

Friend of the Truffle Claudia Deutsch is the owner of this darling gallery on Melrose Avenue and the President of the Beverly Hills Womens Club. I go into Artspace Warehouse a lot and love the fact that they have little mini shopping carts where you can toss in art and push it along. The concept behind Artspace Warehouse is that you should just as easily be able to buy some art for your friend, a house party or your apartment as easily as you are able to go into Rite Aid and buy wine, flowers, gift wrap or a card. The art is organized by price range starting with $5 and going up. Most importantly, Claudia has every imaginable snack and drink on hand she keeps behind her desk – espresso, champagne, yogurt, cake, etc. She is super gracious with all her friends and clients and her selection is very interesting and includes lots of European Street art, posters, nostalgic L.A. scenes and other smaller framed works for your desk or wall. Her brother owns a Zurich branch of Artspace Warehouse which gives it a lot of “street cred” unusual to L.A.

Claudia Deutsch speaking at the Beverly Hills Women's Club during a holiday tea with Tiffanys last December 2010

Artspace Warehouse is one of the world’s leading galleries for savvy contemporary art collectors. With galleries in Cologne, Zurich and Los Angeles, Artspace Warehouse specializes in guilt-free international urban, pop, graffiti and abstract art. The gallery is unintimidating and gives a new meaning to shopping for museum quality art within one’s budget. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About the book/author:

WHAT FRENCH WOMEN KNOW

About Love, Sex, and Other Matters of the Heart and Mind

By Debra Ollivier

________________________________________________________________________

“It’s not their shoes, scarves, or lipstick.  It’s this: French women don’t give a damn.”

This is author Debra Ollivier’s unique perspective on the powerful allure of the French female. An American writer with deep roots in France, Ollivier has written the  national best-selling WHAT FRENCH WOMEN KNOW: About Love, Sex, and Other Matters of the Heart and Mind.

This witty, insightful exploration goes way beyond the surface glam normally associated with French women. Ollivier delves into the mindset of French women to explore what really makes them tick, and what’s behind their intriguing, seemingly easy but no less infuriating sexiness. In so doing, ‘What French Women Know’ is a delicious and provocative counterpoint to our own assumptions and judgments about love and sex.

So what does make French women tick – and how are they different from their American sisters? Ollivier found the answers after many years of living in France: First, she studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. Later, she married a Frenchman (she knew he was French immediately when she met him because he ate a hamburger with a fork) and lived for over a decade in France, where she raised a family. The longer Ollivier lived among French women, the more she felt she understood how they differed from American women.

Ollivier concludes that French women are completely unlike American women – which isn’t to say they are better than us – just that they can learn a very beneficial thing or two from the French. Ollivier offers us a refreshing new perspective on the stale ooh-la-la stereotypes about French women, revisiting and challenging old notions about sex, love, dating, marriage, motherhood, body politics, and seduction.

WHAT FRENCH WOMEN KNOW debunks long-established myths in its attempt to convey a sophisticated picture of French sexuality. It also offers life-affirming alternatives for American women, from the land that created the “art of love.”  As Debra writes, “French women don’t grow up picking petals and pondering love with ‘He loves me, he loves me not.’ When French girls pick and ponder, they do so with this refrain: ‘He loves me a little, a lot, passionately, madly, not at all.’ How unfair. While American girls grow up stuck in the absolutes of total love or utter rejection, the French girl is already primed to think in nuances. While we lust after full disclosure and happy endings, they are comfortable with emotional subtleties and ambiguity. While we grow up thinking in black and white, they grow up inscrutably gray.”

WHAT FRENCH WOMEN KNOW reminds us of the simple yet important things that are easily lost in the every day chaos of our lives: less is more, you don’t need permission to be who you are, there is no such thing as perfection, let go, enjoy the experience, and always remember that nothing lasts forever.

About the author:

Debra Ollivier lived in France for ten years, during which time she married her French husband and had two children. She is also the author of “Entre Nous” and her work, in addition to being anthologized, has been published in Salon, Playboy, Parents, the Huffington Post and Le Monde, among others. Ollivier lives with her family in Los Angeles and Paris.

Gone are the days when I’ll show up empty-handed to Father’s Day or my Grandma’s birthday or an engagement party … The gift that fits everyone and has a little bit of class to it. The LA Phil & the Hollywood Bowl get a Gift Card unveiled the card today –  it can be used to purchase tickets, concessions and retail merchandise on site, on the phone or online from the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.

Project Runway’s spin-off, “Project Accessory” on Lifetime is now casting for it’s 1st season. A brand-new series, “Project Accessory,” will follow enterprising artists who will be put to the test to create the newest and hottest trends in accessories as they compete for a cash grand prize to help them launch their own fashion accessories business.
For more show and open call information, please visit: goodbyepictures.com/casting.html

The Weinstein Company and Goodbye Pictures will produce “Project Accessory”. Executive produced by Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein, Meryl Poster, Barbara Schneeweiss, Sarah Emanuel and Rich Bye (“Project Runway”).

Casting Directors Alex Shaw and Erika Dobrin
projectaccessory@yahoo.com
310-405-7971

PS – If you have anyone who would be good for TOP judges and mentors, please email The Daily Truffle directly at info@dailytruffle.net – we are filtering replies for them.

If you go to one premiere in your lifetime, let it be a Pirates premiere – these are the most epic premieres in existence and scoring a ticket can be hard if you are not in the ABC/Disney family.

Basically, four times and counting, every time Johnny Depp, Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney chief Bob Iger come out with a new Pirates movie, they blow up a gigantic screen on Tom Sawyer’s Island at Disneyland and invite everyone they know to snuggle up with blankets, eat some pirate themed food, walk down the pirate black carpet on Main Street and watch the film outdoors with all of Hollywood.

This sequel (number #4) was no exception. A massive pirate-black carpet is set up on Main Street to get guests in the mood and all of Main Street is decorated in pirate theme. Park staff hand out Pirate Mickey ears to park-goers who are able to watch the carpet arrivals from behind, and in between, the press and media. Disney sets up the press (in order of importance) down Main Street all the way to the “It’s a Small World” castle, making it the longest red carpet in the world. After the carpet wraps around flower beds and store fronts, it lets you out at Frontierland where you are handed blankets, pirate-themed food and are guided to bleacher seating for an outdoor premiere with the cast and crew; fireworks included.

There are strict rules about the carpet because every news agency has 300 people they need to bring, therefore carpet space is a hot commodity.

The most important rule is from Johnny Depp’s camp: Stay off the carpet!

If you have ever been around Johnny Depp in person – this makes complete sense. For some reason, people get really crazy around him – especially girls. At the Pirates 3 premiere I saw a couple fans who literally jumped over the rails when Johnny Depp sort of acquiesced to hug one girl. She also cried. A lot. Johnny Depp had to like pry her off him and was trying to be nice about it and obviously felt terrible about the whole thing. So, I think I agree it’s probably better to skip the trusting 3000 people (even the media, particularly the young female interns) to not rush him and just keep it under control.

Our friends over at E! News gave us a break-down of how their set-up works and they are the best media outlet to explain this because they have an intimate relationship with the Pirates franchise. The E! News team Platform #1:

E! host (Guliana, Catt Sadler or whoever), her make-up person and hair person
E! Talent executives who coordinate interviews with publicists and celebs
E! executive producers
Camera men and cameras
Engineers who build the platform stay to make sure it doesn’t wiggle or break

2nd string host midway down the carpet in case someone is missed:
Ben Lyons (or whoever)
More cameras
More E! producers

E! historically does a 30 minute ‘LIVE from the Red Carpet Special’ for all the Pirates premieres which was originally set up by friend of the Truffle Katrina Wan, a former producer at E! News who had been a publicist at Disney prior to that and had worked on Pirates 1 premiere with them. *(Katrina is semi-famous in L.A. and in the film publicity circuit). Katrina proposed the idea of 30 minute special to then E! News head Bob Lifton and produced a 30 minute special for both Pirates 2 and Pirates 3. Along with that came the the #3 spot on the Black Carpet press line (before Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood). Katrina also acted as the talent executive who’s soul purpose is to know and bring celebrities to come talk to E! News. In this case interviews had been arranged way in advance because of the special. Multiple E! cameras were also set-up throughout the park and a news truck with a massive edit bay to stream in all the feeds was parked in the Disney parking lot.

In 2007, E! also did a ‘first look’ at the new Pirates ride on Tom Sawyer’s Island (build to compliments the films) with Pirates cast members Mackenzie Crook (aka Ragetti, the guy whose eye kept popping out) and Lee Arenberg (aka Pintel) who gave E! News a private tour.

This year, the Pirates 4 premiere brought out all the leads … Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Ruh, Keith Richards, Penelope Cruz (with husband Javier Bardem), all the mermaids including lead mermaid Astrid Berges-Frisbey and her sea-sisters Gemma Ward, Daphne Joy, Antoinette Nikprelaj, Toni Busker, Sanya-Hughes, Jorgelina Airaldi, Breanne and Beth Berrett.

Pirates premiere on Tom Sawyer's Island at Disneyland - Pic from John Brown / Disney

Pirates premiere on Tom Sawyer's Island at Disneyland - Pic from Patrick Wymore / Disney