Keeping The Wheels Turning, Pt III (LA)

April 17. 2020 | By Wayne Jessup

Here at the the Nest, we’ve been trying to shine a light on how we can aid the crucial building blocks in the music scenes of San Francisco and then Oakland. This time out, we’ll turn the focus to Los Angeles and take a moment to shout out some of those nearest and dearest to us.

Starting with the big picture, the Grammy Museum announced their MusiCares Covid Relief Fund. Learn all about MusiCares, donate to the fund, or apply for relief here. City-wide, Los Angeles has established an Arts Emergency Relief Fund to provide aid to a spectrum of performing artists. Guidelines and details can be found here.

Established in2015 on Hollywood Blvd, Faye Orlove’s Junior High serves as a critical space dedicated to showcasing the artistic pursuits of marginalized voices. It’s run by volunteer labor and has expanded to include a magazine, book club, and podcast.They are a 501c3 organization and donation information is available here.

Photo by Jim Newberry

The Permanent Records LA family had been growing exponentially before disaster struck, expanding to include the Permanent Roadhouse, in addition to the traditional shops. The web store is still doing as much mail order business as you can give them, with merchandise and gift cards available as well. The best option to browse stock is their amazing Instagram account. An additional way to support them that’s a total win-win: rent the new documentary about NYC’s legendary Other Music on April 17th, and it will kick back $5 to support Permanent LA. The support link for that will be posted in their Instagram Story.

At this point, generations can pinpoint their own special Troubadour memories, as the West Hollywood powerhouse continues to write its own story. Since 1957, Doug Weston’s Troubadour has served as a beacon, hosting starmaking performances from Elton John, Carole King, James Taylor, Tom Waits, and as one of the spots where Donny Hathaway Live was recorded. To keep the light shining, the Troubadour Employee Relief Fund can be found here.

The Bootleg Theater on Beverly Blvd has been a valuable indie showcase, between the Bootleg Bar stage and the actual theater. In an act of perfect synchronicity, its become the home base of Sid The Cat Presents stamping it with an indelible identity. In a rare silver lining, we’re just pleased as punch to pass the word that the Bootleg has reached it’s initial fundraising goal. With the future very much unknown at this point, we can only encourage continued support. You can donate directly here, or help spread the news of the Bootleg covers project.

To finish, we’ll fittingly highlight an institution that straddles all three parts of our series, Amoeba Music. While the shops in Berkeley, SF, and Hollywood are currently closed, Amoeba is still doing mail order. Your help is needed, and they have just announced a fund here. Amoeba Hollywood is already in the process of uprooting to a new location, details of which can be found here.

We’re only just scratching the surface here, but the underlying theme we wish to highlight is: support how you can, and know that every effort you make, big or small, is insurance to ensure that we’ll have a home to come back to when this is all over.

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