A Farewell to the Good Luck Bar, Where It All Began

Maria and I were sad to read about the impending closure of the Good Luck Bar, a Los Feliz institution that has been at the intersection of Hollywood, Sunset, Virgil and Hillhurst, around the corner from the Vista Theatre, for at least 25 years. Apparently the landlord is looking to tear down the building to build either condos or a hotel — and the Good Luck Bar has been given notice.

With just a few weeks (or if we're lucky, another month or two) left before it disappears, we headed there on Saturday — for the first time in years — in order to pay our respects and also reminisce.

The Good Luck Bar is where we met, nearly 20 years ago, and although the world and L.A. have changed a lot since then (not to mention our lives — two kids later!), it was always comforting to drive by the Good Luck Bar sign and know that it was still there.

On Saturday, the bar was packed. Clearly, a lot of people had the same idea. A line snaked down Hillhurst and we had to wait a bit to get in. But I'm glad we did. It's hard to believe that a chance meeting at a bar all those years ago set us on this path.

In 2009, on the 10th anniversary of when we first met, I wrote this:

Ten years ago, on the evening of July 3, 1999, I was lounging in my West Hollywood apartment -- flipping through channels -- when the phone rang.

It was my friend Pang-ni. She and a few friends were heading to the Good Luck Bar on Hillhurst in Los Feliz. They were also hanging out with some off-beat guys, and well, they needed to be rescued. Would I join them?

Hmm. I was already in for the night. And Los Feliz was a hike from West Hollywood. But I had promised myself to make more of an effort to get out and meet new people. Plus, it was the July 4th weekend, I thought to myself, and I oughta be out having a good time.

So I got dressed, hopped on the surface streets and headed to this "Good Luck Bar."

Inside, Pang-ni and Brenda -- two friends from my college dorm -- were there.. and yup, I saw what they meant by these guys. It was a busy holiday weekend night at the Good Luck Bar, but the group had managed to snag one of the last seating areas -- which had just been occupied by two girls. Pang-ni had struck up a conversation with one of them, and I wound up sitting next to Pang-ni.

Before long, I was talking to Pang-ni and the new girl to her left. And later, I wound up talking to that girl a little bit more. She seemed pretty cool, and we talked about all sorts of nonsense. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Where we grew up. And what we did for a living. She told me she designed CD packages at Rhino Records. Oh -- and her name was Maria.

She was there, having a mini "girls night out" with her friend Andrea. (Turns out she was in a similar "what the hell, I'm gonna go out into the world, and if I meet someone, I meet someone" phase as well.) At the end of the night, she wouldn't give me her number. But I gave her my card. I was intrigued.

Later, while leaving the bar, Pang-ni asked me what I had thought about another one of her female friends who had been there that night. But all I could think about was this girl I had just met.

I didn't want to be too eager, and I didn't want to be Creepy McStalker. But I knew her first name, and I knew where she worked. I was going to wait a week, and then call Rhino. (Probably too long in hindsight -- but again, I wanted to play it cool and not scare her off.)

But before I finally got the nerve to call... I was in the office on Thursday night (back at my old gig at the now-late Electronic Media) when the phone rang.

"What were you doing giving your number to a drunk girl?" laughed the voice on the other end.

It was her. I couldn't believe it. Honest, to this day, she teases me that I was never going to call -- but I was. She just beat me to the punch. And thank God she did, because it gave me a bit more confidence to push hard for a first date. Soon.

We arranged to meet the following week at Lola's on Fairfax for drinks. And that led to our first full-fledged date: Drinks at 360 (now long gone) and dinner at the old Luna Park (also long gone), where Pancho Sanchez also performed. That led to another date at Campanile's Grilled Cheese night. And so on.

It all led to now -- marriage, home and Evan -- plus another addition, just a few weeks away.

And to think it all started that night, ten years ago. It's crazy to think how so much has resulted from that phone call from Pang-ni -- and that split-second decision to get off my lazy ass and drive all the way to Los Feliz. And ditto Maria's decision to meet up that night with a friend at a bar that, like me, she'd never been to. (And yes, we've felt cheesy for years that we met in such a cliched fashion -- at a bar, and a bar named "Good Luck," no less.)

We're hoping to visit the Good Luck Bar at least one more time before it closes — and buy a T-shirt too! 

Go before it's too late: 1514 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Ten Years Ago: A Thanksgiving Eve Engagement

Yes, it was 10 years ago on the night before Thanksgiving that I dropped down and asked Maria to marry me... in the center of the ice rink at Pershing Square. In hindsite, a cheesy move. (My original plan was to find a historic theatre on Broadway and see about putting my proposal on the marquee. But hey, I was young!)

A few notes: No, despite my media whorish-ness, I didn't call the news media. I planned it out with the Pershing Square "Downtown on Ice" rink, and they called around -- managing to get both KNBC and KTLA out there! (I assume both stations were looking for quick, simple feel good news kickers the night before Thanksgiving, when things are pretty quiet.)

And also: I go to experience the laziness of local TV journalism first hand. No one ever came up to me to get any sort of information, so they just made things up. KTLA said Maria and I met at the rink -- not true. KNBC went a step further and called me an "L.A. Kings fan." Whaa? Because we were ice skating?

It didn't go off without a hitch. I had given the rink a CD of two songs to play. But when the rink cleared at 9, I waited for my musical cue. Nothing. I wrote about out engagement back in 2003:

Then it hit 9 p.m.--time for the rink to close for the evening. As they told everyone to clear the ice, I asked Maria if we could get our photo taken on the ice. So I gave my camera to one of the workers, and we went to the middle of the ice. And I waited for the music.

And waited.

The guy kept taking our picture and radioing to his bosses, "What's going on? Where's the music?"

He told us to go ahead and skate a few laps. I knew something was wrong, but Maria was just confused.

I made up something on the spot: "Oh, he probably just feels bad that all of those little kids were giving us trouble on the ice all night, and wanted you to skate a few rounds when no one was around." Whew, she bought it.

Finally, though, I couldn't wait for the music any longer. The cameras were on us. I took her back to the middle of the rink and dropped to one knee, while pulling out the ring.

The ring, sadly, is no longer with us. But that's a depressing story for another day.

Nine Years Later

And still going strong! Here we are on Oct. 26, 2002, at Union Station's old Fred Harvey room. (Coincidentally, we're heading there tomorrow night for a TV show launch party.)

Maria's M Press Cards at the Pacific Asia Museum

Maria writes: These two cards were printed recently here at M Press. I had the opportunity to design and print some cards for the Pacific Asia Museum Store and it was a challenge narrowing down endless inspiration to two cards but these are a good start.

Special thanks to Tai Ling Wong at the museum for making this happen.



Available exclusively at the Pacific Asia Museum Store. Read more posts from Maria's M Press Studio printing blog here.

Maria's Cards Featured in Real Simple Magazine

How cool is this? In a round up of "12 Creative Valentine's Card Ideas," Real Simple magazine's website includes Maria's letterpressed "Bee Mine" cards!

Check out the Real Simple piece here.

And there's a lot more where that came from. Check out Maria's letterpress and card portfolio at her MPRESS STUDIO site here, and check out her Maria Villar Design graphic design services here. (Hey, we've got mouths to feed over here, people!)

GIVEAWAY: Pasadena Museum Tix, Plus M Press Cards

Over at her brand new M Press Studio blog, Maria writes:

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that the first time I set foot at the Pasadena Museum of California Art was late last year, to see the Wayne Thiebaud exhibit. That first visit impressed me.

PMCA features smartly curated rotating exhibits focusing on California artists. Currently, the museum just opened their new exhibits. This post features a giveaway for two tickets to the museum, plus a couple of letterpressed cards sold only at PMCA's store.

To enter, go leave a comment at the M Press Blog on what you'll be making for Thanksgiving this year. The winner will be picked at random on Friday morning, November 19th.

KCRW's Good Food Blog Features Franklin Avenue's Kalamansi Tart

Earlier this summer we got a note from Evan Kleiman's KCRW Good Food Blog, asking us if we'd like to take part in Evan's summer Pie-A-Day feature. I turned to Franklin Avenue's resident cook, and Maria said she was up to the challenge. She enlisted pal Erin and together they spent one evening whipping up a tart featuring kalamansi -- the tiny, tart citrus fruit found all over the Philippines.

Life got in the way, and Maria and Erin only now were able to send the recipe and photos of the finished product to the Good Food Blog -- a week after Evan wrapped up her Pie-A-Day feature! The blog was cool enough to still post the Kalamansi tart, with the added caveat that it wasn't a pie anyway. Tart, pie, whatever, it's all good.



Check out the full recipe for the Kalamansi Tart with Candied Kalamansi here.

Mike and Maria: The First Decade

Mike and Maria in the now-demolished Ambassador Hotel lobby, 2003

Ten years ago, on the evening of July 3, 1999, I was lounging in my West Hollywood apartment -- flipping through channels -- when the phone rang.

It was my friend Pang-ni. She and a few friends were heading to the Good Luck Bar on Hillhurst in Los Feliz. They were also hanging out with some off-beat guys, and well, they needed to be rescued. Would I join them?

Hmm. I was already in for the night. And Los Feliz was a hike from West Hollywood. But I had promised myself to make more of an effort to get out and meet new people. Plus, it was the July 4th weekend, I thought to myself, and I oughta be out having a good time.

So I got dressed, hopped on the surface streets and headed to this "Good Luck Bar."

Inside, Pang-ni and Brenda -- two friends from my college dorm -- were there.. and yup, I saw what they meant by these guys. It was a busy holiday weekend night at the Good Luck Bar, but the group had managed to snag one of the last seating areas -- which had just been occupied by two girls. Pang-ni had struck up a conversation with one of them, and I wound up sitting next to Pang-ni.

Before long, I was talking to Pang-ni and the new girl to her left. And later, I wound up talking to that girl a little bit more. She seemed pretty cool, and we talked about all sorts of nonsense. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Where we grew up. And what we did for a living. She told me she designed CD packages at Rhino Records. Oh -- and her name was Maria.

She was there, having a mini "girls night out" with her friend Andrea. (Turns out she was in a similar "what the hell, I'm gonna go out into the world, and if I meet someone, I meet someone" phase as well.) At the end of the night, she wouldn't give me her number. But I gave her my card. I was intrigued.

Later, while leaving the bar, Pang-ni asked me what I had thought about another one of her female friends who had been there that night. But all I could think about was this girl I had just met.

I didn't want to be too eager, and I didn't want to be Creepy McStalker. But I knew her first name, and I knew where she worked. I was going to wait a week, and then call Rhino. (Probably too long in hindsight -- but again, I wanted to play it cool and not scare her off.)

But before I finally got the nerve to call... I was in the office on Thursday night (back at my old gig at the now-late Electronic Media) when the phone rang.

"What were you doing giving your number to a drunk girl?" laughed the voice on the other end.

It was her. I couldn't believe it. Honest, to this day, she teases me that I was never going to call -- but I was. She just beat me to the punch. And thank God she did, because it gave me a bit more confidence to push hard for a first date. Soon.

We arranged to meet the following week at Lola's on Fairfax for drinks. And that led to our first full-fledged date: Drinks at 360 (now long gone) and dinner at the old Luna Park (also long gone), where Pancho Sanchez also performed. That led to another date at Campanile's Grilled Cheese night. And so on.

It all led to now -- marriage, home and Evan -- plus another addition, just a few weeks away.

And to think it all started that night, ten years ago. It's crazy to think how so much has resulted from that phone call from Pang-ni -- and that split-second decision to get off my lazy ass and drive all the way to Los Feliz. And ditto Maria's decision to meet up that night with a friend at a bar that, like me, she'd never been to. (And yes, we've felt cheesy for years that we met in such a cliched fashion -- at a bar, and a bar named "Good Luck," no less.)

Here's to decade number one -- and the awesome fact that there are still several more to go.

Six Years Ago Today...

Yep, it's been six years... and they've been awesome ones. (Below, where we made it all official -- Union Station, Oct. 26, 2002.)

Dates + Bacon = Delicious

I'm not a big math fan. But over at Maria's Lemon Tart blog, she's got an equation that I can appreciate:



plus



equals

Retro Friday: Five Years of "For Better"

Well, we already outlasted Nick and Jessica, who got married the same day we did, so everything after that is just icing on the wedding cake.

Five years later, I'm still proud to say I've got a pretty awesome wife.

Above, video from our engagement on Nov. 22, 2001. (But Carlos gets it wrong, we didn't meet at the rink.)

Maria's Thursday Three

It's apparently still 1998, and "The Rachel" is still all the rage, at "Top Chef" contestant Casey's hair salon.

1. Really happy that the final three on Top Chef are Casey, Dale and Hung. Hung has gotten likeable in the later episodes and you got to give him props for his skills. Dale has the knowledge and Casey has the heart. I'm especially happy for Casey as she's proven herself to be a real contender in the kitchen. Plus (above), she's in a much better place now after Brad left her for Angelina.

2. Can't wait to check out Verdugo Bar in Glassell Park, which is a hop, skip and jump from our house. Verdugo Bar, 3408 North Verdugo Road, between West Avenues 34 and 35.

3. The frozen pie crust from Trader Joe's is my new best friend. There have been many, many frustrating moments in our kitchen with me trying my hand at making pie crusts. As far as store-bought crusts are concerned, the crust from TJ's is the best.

Maria's Thursday Three

Shell, Glendale, 1927. Photograph by Edward Weston. (From huntington.org.)

1. Must See: A tribute to the work of world-renowned photographer Edward Weston at the Glendale Central Library next Thursday, September 27, at 7 pm. There will be a film about Weston's life and work and this event, sponsored by the Glendale Historical Society and the Friends of the Glendale Public Library, is free. The Glendale connection? Weston opened his first photography studio on Brand Boulevard in 1911.

2. The Hollywood Bowl, still a really good thing to do in Los Angeles. You don't even need to get the pricier box seats, it's pretty fun in the nosebleed section. Bring a great picnic, some wine and don't forget dessert. With the stars above and the performance below, I still marvel at the experience everytime I'm there. Too bad Mike is hatin' on Rufus.

3. We recently tried the Flyaway Bus from Union Station to LAX and the ride went pretty smooth as a good alternative way to get to the airport. Just don't stand in the wrong area at LAX when you're trying to catch it back to Union Station 'cause you'll be very sad when it ignores you... waiting there for a half-hour... with your bags... and a toddler who was a good sport about it. So sad. Also, please note that the buses are located at the very back of Union Station so have your friend or the taxi drop you off there instead of you having to lug everything back there.

Shameless Plug: Introducing the All-New MPress Studio Website/Store!

Mike always asks me when I'm going to stop the boycott and start writing on this blog again. Truth is, he's just better at writing and I'm more interested in making things. Plus, between you and me, the guy is just obsessed about "feeding the beast." His words, not mine.



Anyway, for the past few months I've been very busy updating my letterpress site. If you can, please check it out. Poke around and you'll find some cool stuff that I've created for the site, like what kind of presses I have, a demonstration of the letterpress technique... and my new online shop.



Have you ever thought about ordering some personalized notecards for yourself or as a gift? Well, now you can from MPress Studio -- and they will be letterpressed to boot. Consider it a slightly more personal alternative than buying from a store.



I hope you enjoy the new site. Okay, now it's time to make Mike smile by posting a restaurant review or two.

Carlos Fund: Please Bid

An eBay auction is in the works for the last week of February to benefit a five-year-old child named Christian Carlos. (Image above from the Christian Carlos Fund blog.)

Christian was severely burned in a horrific accident that killed his mother, brother, grandmother and two aunts last month in Northern California. The car he was riding in burst into flames after it was rear-ended; Christian had to be pulled out of the wreckage by passers-by.

His story touched my heart and through a series of links, I found out that blogger Claire Green was organizing an online auction for him and his family. If you'd like to contribute any art or craft pieces to this auction, it is not too late to do so. E-mail greendoc@sonic.net for more information.

If you are interested in donating money, Nina Mehta, chief executive officer of NeilMed Pharmaceuticals, is establishing a memorial fund at Exchange Bank in Santa Rosa. Contributions made out to "Memorial Funds for Edith Carlos Medina" can be sent to this address: NeilMed Pharmaceuticals, 601 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa, CA 95403.

Another way to help is to bid on any of the items listed on the auction.

Here's a set of notecards I donated for this cause:



You can check out all the other items listed on this preview site.

USA Today Agrees: Maria Wuz Robbed!

Cheers to USA Today music blogger Ken Barnes, who had this to say about Maria's Grammy category:

The Chili Peppers' most undeserved win was in the Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package category. If you've seen either the Gothic Box or (especially) the amazing One Kiss Can Lead to Another girl-group anthology, you'd have to wonder how anything else was even in the running.

Agreed!

"It's An Honor Just To Have Been Nominated"

That's what you're supposed to say, right?

And indeed, it was quite an honor for Franklin Avenue's very own Grammy nominee, Maria.

I, for one, am beyond proud of Maria. And if Evan/Blogger Toddler were old enough to understand, I'm sure he'd be full of pride for his mommy as well. (That's Maria and me, above, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where the Pre-Telecast awards -- nearly 100 different categories! -- were passed out.)

It's been a career highlight for Maria to be recognized for her hard work in designing the Rhino box set "One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found." Leading up to the Grammys, Maria and her work were recognized by several magazines, which raved about the set's hat box-style design. Then came the nomination, and this weekend's Grammy events.



I really thought Maria was going to wind up on stage this afternoon accepting the Grammy. But I also worried about the real wild card among this year's nominees in the Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package category: The Red Hot Chili Peppers. (Above, the nominees in Maria's category flash up on the screen during the Grammy Pre-Telecast).

The Red Hot Chili Peppers members Flea, John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith were all listed as art directors on their "Stadium Arcadium," and therefore up for the award in Maria's category. Would voters, unfamiliar with most of the names in the category, wind up picking the one group of names that they did know?

Apparently, yes. Star power won out, and "Stadium Arcadium" picked up the award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.



Rhino Entertainment was actually nominated twice in the category -- the also-excellent "A Life Less Lived: The Gothic Box" was also up for the Grammy. Above, the Rhino designers celebrate their non-victories.

I reminded Maria and her co-workers that Grammy doesn't always get it right: Witness the coronation in the late 1980s of Milli Vanilli as best new artist. (Granted, they later had to return their award). I also came up with an idea that I should pitch the Recording Academy: The non-winners suite. If you don't win, you oughta be directed to a special lounge where the booze is flowing freely and the party is hopping. And if you win a trophy, you're denied entrance.



I'd been to the Grammys before, but never as the date of a real-life nominee. To actually experience what it's like to be apart of an awards show -- the adrenaline, the excitement, the recognition -- was awesome. And I wasn't even the one nominated! It was obviously even more exhilirating for Maria.

Maria spent the morning getting her hair and makeup done, followed by putting on the new dress she had purchased during the holidays at the BCBG store at the Citadel. (In the meantime, I dropped Evan off with the sitter and bought Maria some good luck flowers.) Then it was time to test out the shoes (the black ones won out). After that, we hopped on the freeway and sped downtown.

The Pre-Telecast runs from 1:30 to 3:30, and it moves fast. We weren't sure when Maria's category was going to be announced; but just to be safe, we opted for the first decent parking lot we found -- and at $20, it was (gasp) a steal. (Another lot down the street was charging $50; later, when I headed back to drop something off in the car, I noticed our own lot had jacked up their price to $30).

We treked to the Convention Center, and discovered that Maria's category was fourth -- fourth! After a quick introduction from Recording Academy leaders, hosts Steve Vai and Miss Universe Zuleyka Mendoza began handing out the awards. After Maria's category was announced, we went back out into the lobby, managed to grab some wine and food right before the bar closed, and proceeded to hang out and people watch.

After a while, we decided to head over to the Staples Center. We got there early enough to stake out our seats and relax. At 5 p.m. sharp, The Police were officially reunited on stage (Sting's gotta work on those high "Roxanne" notes) and the Grammy telecast had begun.

Highlights: Gnarls Barkley, dressed as pilots, handling a reworked version of "Crazy." Mary J. Blige, belting out the sound as always. Prince, walking on stage unannounced and introducing Beyonce with just three words. And more.

Later, we drove over to the old St. Vibiana's cathedral for the Warner Music Group party. Stay tuned for more pics from that event.

And one more time, congrats to Maria. When you think about the sheer number of CD box sets (anything with more than one disc) that are released every year, it's already quite a feat to wind up as one of five projects competing for the Grammy Award. Like I told her, let's do this again next year!

It's Been a Big Grammy Weekend for Our Own Nominee, Maria

Above, Maria shows off her Grammy Nominee medallion at last night's nominee reception.

The event, held at the Wilshire Ebell, is one of the highlights for the nominees. There's a energy to the crowd, made up of Grammy noms and their guests, as pictures are taken, food and drink are consumed, musicians perform and strangers with medallions around their neck excitedly talk to other strangers with medallions around their neck (a popular question: "What are you nominated for?")



We wound up talking for a while to someone nominated in the Best Children's Album category. We ran into Daniel Ho -- the Hawaiian musician and record label owner, up for another Hawaiian Music Grammy. The sightings were all over the map: "Weird Al" Yankovic passed right by us, as did Joan Baez.


Maria gets her portrait taken

Maria's category -- Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package -- will be awarded sometime during the pre-show ceremony (where most of the 108 categories are handed out) at the Los Angeles Convention Center between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. We'll then swing across the street to the Staples Center for the big telecast, which this year kicks off with the much-hyped reunion of The Police.



Here's what Maria's up against:



Keep your fingers crossed! I think Maria's got a good shot. As you may remember, her "Girl Groups Sounds: Lost and Found" box set has earned several sweet notices since being released at the beginning of last year; including this mention in Print magazine:

Burbank Newspaper Approves of Maria's Volunteer Work

(Pic: Burbank Leader)

Nice write-up today in the Burbank Leader about the "Everybody Wins! Los Angeles Power Lunch" program. Through the program, volunteers from Burbank businesses are partnered with a child who wants to read and spend one lunch period a week with them.

I say nice write up... because Maria is interviewed while reading to a boy at Disney Elementary School (where she volunteers through her job at Rhino Records):

Braven Davoud, 10, of Burbank, said he plans on sticking with the reading and his volunteer, Maria Villar, an art director at Rhino Records.

For the past three weeks, Braven and Villar, who are part of the original nine volunteer-and-reader duos, have read books about animals on a farm. "The program makes such a difference everywhere," Villar said. "So I figured it was a good thing to do."

Villar said she loves to read and has a 2-year-old boy at home who she reads to often. She is looking forward to getting to know Braven, she said.

Apparently there's a waiting list at Disney Elementary for kids looking to read with adult volunteers -- so if you work in Burbank, get on it!