Liz Ohanesian

Angelic Pretty fans with designers Maki and Asuka; Credit: Shannon Cottrell

There's More Than Just Anime at Pacific Media Expo

Liz Ohanesian
Pacific Media Expo isn't what you would expect from a convention. Yes, there are panels focusing on various aspects of the anime fandom and screening rooms showing new series, but PMX is much more than anime. The annual, three-day gathering brings together a wide variety of Asian pop culture phenomenon,......
The exterior of Albert Reyes' maze; Credit: Liz Ohanesian

Albert Reyes' Haunted Art Maze

Liz Ohanesian
I met artist Albert Reyes while standing in line to enter Giant Robot Biennale 2 at the Japanese American National Museum, where he has an installation. We began chatting and, after running into him again later on in the evening, I asked to interview him for LA Weekly. He said......
Venetian Snares at Darkmatter Soundsystem

Venetian Snares Tonight at the Key Club

Liz Ohanesian
The unsung influence of LA's noisy electronic underground is Venetian Snares. The one-man project of Winnipeg native Aaron Funk, Venetian Snares has been experimenting both with ambience and with aggressive beats since the late-'90s. For local artists like Baseck, Kawaiietly Please and Eustachian, he is the guy that helped make......
Comic-Con 2009; Credit: Shannon Cottrell

Comic-Con Founder Sheldon Dorf Dies at 76

Liz Ohanesian
San Diego Union Tribune reports that Sheldon Dorf, founder of San Diego's Comic-Con International, died today at the age of 76 after suffering from complications of diabetes. The Union Tribune obituary tells the fascinating story of a freelance artist whose life was changed by a trip to San Diego, where......
Burning Image live at The Wolfpak; Credit: Liz Ohanesian

The LA Deathrock Starter Guide

Liz Ohanesian
On Halloween, I stopped by Roberto's in Chinatown for The Wolfpak's holiday party featuring a live performance from Burning Image. The Bakersfield band first formed in the wake of California's early-'80s deathrock explosion and then reformed earlier this decade after Alternative Tentacles released a compilation of its initial work (you......