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LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Long Beach Playhouse
May 25, 2013 at 8pm to June 29, 2013 at 8pm
May 25 - June 22, 2013Fridays & Saturdays 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. Seymour, a down-and out skid row floral assistant becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood. Soon "Audrey II" grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore who offers him fame and fortune in exchange for feeding her growing appetite. A sadistic nitrous-oxide inhaling dentist is just one of Audrey II’s gustatory delights as she eats her way…See More
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Pookey Wigington Presents:Chocolate Sundaes Comedy Show@ the Laugh Factory8001 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CAHosted by: Ron GMusic by: DJ SidekickTo RSVP for Chocolate Sundaes Comedy Show contact Pookey Wigingtonemail: cs@chocolatesundaes.com or text: 310-600-7992, space is limited.Hey if you haven't already, connect with us!!!www.chocolatesundaes.comwww.facebook.com/chocolatesundaes…See More
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To Weave A Name: E Haku Inoa Long Beach Screening at Long Beach Art Theater
May 11, 2013 from 3pm to 4:15pm
In this hour-long documentary film a young multi-racial Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) woman, filmmaker Christen Hepuakoa Marquez, sets out to discover the meaning of her incredibly lengthy Hawaiian name from her estranged mother whose diagnosis as schizophrenic in the 80′s caused their family separation. Christen discovers not only herself within the name, but gains a whole new perspective on the idea of sanity and how cultural differences can sometimes muddle its definition.See More
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Robin & Linda Williams at Carpenter Performing Arts Center
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From their many appearances with Garrison Keillor on A Prairie Home Companion and The American Radio Company, to performances at The Grand Ole Opry and Austin City Limits as well as their tours with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Emmylou Harris, and The Seldom Scene—Robin and Linda Williams have thrilled audiences throughout America for more than twenty years with their distinctive folk, bluegrass, and country sound! See More
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Pookey Wigington Presents:Chocolate Sundaes Comedy Show@ the Laugh Factory8001 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CAHosted by: Ron GMusic by: DJ SidekickWe showcase a powerful and flavorful mix of comedic talent, from seasoned veteran comedians to the hottest up and coming comedians. Our talent comes from the world of entertainment, television, and film. You've seen them on Def Comedy Jam, the David Letterman Show, Late Night, Comedy Central, HBO, and Showtime. Our star studded talent that keeps you…See More
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Legendary V.I.P. World Famous Records Closes Shop
It's seems like times are definitely changing. Not sure if it's for the good or bad or whatever. But definitely, the closing of the world famous V.I.P. record store is in my opinion, another defeat in Long Beach's small business scene.
For those who don't know (which I hope aren't many of you CIty Lifers), V.I.P. is home to many old school hip hop videos that featured Warren G, Snoop, Nate Dogg, and more. Remember this video?
To be fair, I know it's not the City of Long Beach's fault and apparently owner Kelvin Anderson would agree. In a recent Press Telegram article he's quoted, "I doubt there is anything in this store you can't download from the Internet, but to top that, there's nothing in this store you can't download for free."
I remember playing pop warner for Poly Pacers back in the days and I would always see the iconic V.I.P. sign when driving to our football games. It's always been a spot to me, that helped put Long Beach on the map. I didn't go inside too often, but the times I did go in, it felt very real and realistic to the Long Beach scene I grew up with. It wasn't on a some corporate status, but a real hometown music store.
What do you think of the closing of this place? Any memories or cool stories that you can remember? That fish market next to it smelled bomb all the time!
Whatever takes it's place, it has some big Chucks to fill.
Leave your comments below!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by U.L. Harper on -
Yep, businesses like V.I.P. Records are going to have issues with even keeping open nowadays, trying to compete with free internet downloads, and even Amazon.com. At the same time, look down the road to Fingerprints. I don't know their financials but I did notice a change in their business model, at least the look of it, and it's probably worth noting since they're still open. I'm scratching my head wondering why I hadn't gone inside V.I.P. seriously in about 20 - 25 years. Seriously. But I've gone inside Fingerprints all of two weeks ago. As a matter of fact, I stop in there whenever I get the chance. Why is that? What do they do that V.I.P. didn't?
Here's one thing. Fingerprints attracts people inside by hosting events, as small businesses do nowadays. For instance, Gatsby Books, Open Book Store to name a couple. While other book stores have been closing, these are still open. Likewise, while V.I.P. is closed Fingerprints is still open.
From my vague understanding, V.I.P. couldn't be turned into a hangout for several reasons: one of them being the size of the place and secondly there isn't really anything around it to where one would want to kick it. Also, let's face it. Nobody wants to go kick at night anywhere near MLK ave. On the other hand, FP has all of downtown to work with for other hangouts as well as a food place directly next door. Plus they have plenty of store space. They even added books to the mix.
I'm just sayin. V.I.P. closed for more reasons than just its content being stripped away by the internet. It's business model probably was a bit outdated and it didn't necessarily invite the public to its door. I went to Poly when that video was shot. Nobody, even then, stopped by V.I.P. unless of course Snoop Dogg was on the roof.
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Permalink Reply by The Man on -
I agree man, with the way technology is going, you can go into any store and download any movie, music, book if you know how. I know cats that walk into Best Buy, look at movie titles and save the name in their phone, just so they can download them at home. Same w/ music...
The music industry is undergoing a lot of changes, and business models need to be adjusted. Like not many people are putting out albums, instead in my opinion, I see them putting out singles and one time hits instead of solid albums. Sell one hit song on iTunes for $.99 and get 1,000 people to buy it, is easier to make money.
I'm interested to see where it's all gona go.
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Permalink Reply by Sheri ' Gal Vanized' Zampelli on -
I went into VIP once to get a t-shirt. I like the sign and the concept of local business but I haven't purchased music inside a store for well over 15 years. The last time I bought something in a store it was Fingerprints on 2nd st. My husband used to own Zed Records (over 25 years in Long Beach) and he closed his doors over 15 years ago because he knew he couldn't compete with the Internet. His store really catered to the collector and with all media being digitized, there really is nothing to collect. Nothing becomes "rare", nothing is "limited edition". I'm not sure how the music industry itself can even survive in times like this but I agree with U.L. Harper, a completely new business model is probably in order if anyone expects to make money selling recorded music. P.S. to be honest, even in the days when Zed was very popular, the money came from the T-shrits and buttons, not the records. There isn't enough of a mark-up for anyone to make money to support a retail outlet, look at all the large stores that went under: Tower, Licorice Pizza, Wherehouse, etc. etc.
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Permalink Reply by U.L. Harper on
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Your husband owned Zed's. Wow! I have history there. As a matter of fact, a good friend of mine, Rusty, worked there for quite a while. On the down low, Zed Records was a landmark.
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Permalink Reply by JulsnMatt1028 on -
Sheri's a boss.
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Permalink Reply by Sheri ' Gal Vanized' Zampelli on
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I am Gal Vanized ;)
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Permalink Reply by Brandy on -
You called it! Defeated.:( Before we know it that corner will be empty as the opposite corner is now bare. There are vacancies from PCH & MLK to PCH & Lemon. Times are changing & so is our community. Time to take a closer look at where our "few lil" dollars are going & where they'll go now. VIP & other record/music stores are victims to the "online luxury" of music downloads, but what about other local small business that has vanished from our populated community? Its time to come together to address how we can resolve our fallin' resources because we're still here and capable of a resolution. Many people are out off work, many business are facing the threat of closing, and the resources are still needed.
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Permalink Reply by GDub on -
Thanks for getting that info out there. Will definitely need to go get some photos to at least preserve another piece of LBC history on film. So sad to hear that another landmark is going to disappear.
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Permalink Reply by The Man on
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yup. That would be cool if we can get some fresh photos for historic reasons. I wonder if the Historic Society of Long Beach would put something like this in their archives.
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Permalink Reply by ben smith on -
I didn't live or grow up in the area, however, whenever I was around that way to visit friends, I would always find some time to swing by the V.I.P. Ithink the other posters here have just about covered everything. Downloading digital music for free has pretty much contributed to the downfall of both the corporate and mom-and-pop record store. I'm 30 so I remember going to swapmeets and record stores and buying physical albums. That whole concept is prehistoric to the younger crowd. That probably explains why much of the music nowadays is microwavable, gimmicky and has no timeliness to it. You get what you pay for. I'll miss the V.I.P. and stores like it because they also gave local artists a chance to shine and get thier product out there. Now, you have to wade through a sea of generic artists via youtube and the internet to find new, independent acts.
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Permalink Reply by Ryan Ramos on -
I'm not sure if this option would help keep VIP Records active and open but how about keeping it as a full state of the art recording studio? Lots of local artists can utilize it for reasonable rates. Just a suggestion.
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