In light of our recent gone-national screed, Donna Barnes-Roberts, the local doyenne of watercolor and Coffee Gallery booster, sends us an appreciation of the uniquely Altadenan:
I was glad to hear that yet another unique Altadena thing will stay a unique Altadena thing. Just like The Coffee Gallery. We don't always know exactly what is different here, but it sure is. Where else can you find the unconventional right next to your Orthodontist.
I was talking to Bob Stane this evening about some of the issues involved in putting on shows almost every night a week. And boy, does he put up an eclectic mix - tonight was Rockabilly from Austin, Texas, tomorrow night is Songnet - a group of aspiring songwriters who meet in The Coffee Gallery Backstage to hone their craft - Thursday is Incendio, a Guitar Fusion Trio (I have seen them and they are GOOD), Friday is Robby Longly a fabulous solo guitarist who plays with no shoes (I don't know why, but it does seem like a strangely Altadena-type-idiosyncracy) and then Saturday there is Janet Klein who does 1920's sassy feel-good-I-don't-know-
But it is a lot of work to bring a lineup like this all the way from Austin (or often further away) and plop them in Altadena. And all too often, the Altadena contingent in the seats is small - instead people come from Huntington Beach, West LA, Palos Verdes (can you imagine! Palos Verdes for God's Sake) to fill the seats and be charmed by these shows.
So come on down, and enjoy your evening. We don't bite intentionally. And even if we do, we have had all of our shots.
And of course, we have a bunch of free community-based shows in the Front on many evenings. To find out about them (some evenings we even stream), check out the Frontstage Blog - http://www.
Last but not least, I teach watercolor classes there, and still have an opening for Monday afternoon, beginning on June 21st. You can learn about that from http://barnesroberts.com/
