Jennifer Swann

William Onyeabor; Credit: "Fantastic Man" on Youtube

Why Are We Fascinated By Resurrected Musicians?

Jennifer Swann
Nigerian electronic funk musician William Onyeabor has jumped from obscurity to fame in the past year, due to a Noisey documentary (Fantastic Man - below) and the release of his first album in nearly 30 years, Who is William Onyeabor? by David Byrne's label.  Onyeabor's story is dazzling, but hardly unique......
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Neil Hamburger

Jennifer Swann
The bumbling, bow tie - wearing comedian with a greased comb-over, thick eyeglasses and a near-permanent scowl, Neil Hamburger rose to prominence as a regular guest on the Internet talk show Tom Green's House Tonight, and later as the opening act for Tenacious D's Pick of Destiny tour in 2007......
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Dadaismus

Jennifer Swann
Michelle Carr probably is best known for co-founding the all-ages Arlington Heights punk club Jabberjaw, which famously booked bands including Nirvana, The Gits and Elliott Smith in the early 1990s. Jabberjaw closed in 1997, but that hasn't stopped Carr from throwing wild parties in unconventional L.A. venues. Now an artist-in-residence......
Houston Brothers; Credit: Ryan Orange

Jonnie and Mark Houston: The Nightlife Impresarios

Jennifer Swann
One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2014 issue. Check out our entire People 2014 issue. Jonnie and Mark Houston are 35-year-old identical twins who own seven Hollywood bars, each of which feels like a fantastical theme park. The spots are known for their old-timey entertainment -......
Michelle Steilen; Credit: Photo by Ryan Orange

Michelle Steilen: The Moxi Roller Skates Founder

Jennifer Swann
One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2014 issue. Check out our entire People 2014 issue. Inside every box of Moxi roller skates is a quote from Michelle Steilen's mother: "Be passionate about what it is that you are doing and happiness will always fall at your feet."......
Aloe Blacc; Credit: Ryan Orange

Aloe Blacc: The Ethical Superstar

Jennifer Swann
One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2014 issue. Check out our entire People 2014 issue.  In the mid-aughts, Aloe Blacc was laid off from his job as a strategy consultant for hospitals and health care corporations. It was an upsetting setback, but it caused him to......
L.A. Kitchen's May 1 launch party; Credit: Photo: J. Swann

Can Robert Egger's L.A. Kitchen Revolutionize the Food Industry?

Jennifer Swann
"L.A. is where the future comes to happen" is one of Robert Egger's favorite sayings. The 55-year-old food activist and entrepreneur repeated the phrase several times during a phone interview with the Weekly last week and again during the May 1 groundbreaking ceremony for his ambitious 56,000 square foot kitchen......
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Found Footage Festival

Jennifer Swann
Comedian Nick Prueher rose to Internet celebrity earlier this year when he pranked Midwestern news anchors by posing as a chef on live TV and hosting an absurd cooking show (one recipe was for ice cream cones stuffed with mashed potatoes). The prank, as it turns out, was an elaborate......