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FERTILIZER
I was just at the Newport Beach Hard Rock Cafe, and I noticed they still have a “local hero” plaque for Mossimo Giannulli. But Mossimo is not a local anymore. He fled Orange County for Los Angeles when his company got into trouble, and the local headlines about him turned from laudatory to scathing. And then he moved his professional offices to Santa Monica when he had to pursue the ignominy of an exclusive deal with Target. (And to think he arrogantly canceled dealing with Pac Sun shops because they were beneath him. Something tells me he might be regretting that now.)
I recently saw the new Mossimo offerings at Target, and I must admit I was underwhelmed. But then, I was there to buy a sack of fertilizer, not pseudofashion. My point being that Mossimo is no longer local, but even if he were, he might be worthier of a “local embarrassment” plaque. Which is why I wonder why the Hard Rock's local hero plaque has not been reassigned, instead, to Jim Washburn?
Mary Martin
Newport Beach Art director Heather Swaim responds: Mary, you're wrong about Mossimo's spring line. Just out in Target, it's alive with the colors of the season. I picked out a magenta and polka-dot silk top with a bow tie at the neck for just $20 and was left with more than enough for the $11.99 sack of steer manure a few aisles over. BANDINI
I was taken aback by Jeremy Scherer's characterization of Bandini Mountain (Calendar, Feb. 2). Bandini Mountain pride themselves on their musical excellence. Most of the members have been playing their instruments for months and even years and have reached an exceptional level of technical competence. Although they have no formal musical training, several of the members have taken a music-theory course at Riverside Community College, an institution not little known in circles of music academia. Pride and attention to detail are the hallmarks of their performances. Schedules permitting, they try to put in at least one practice before each performance. Much of their music is composed on the day of the performance, or even during the performance itself—a feat unlikely to be attempted by less-than-world-class musicians. Further, they insist that at a minimum, 80 percent of their equipment be fully functional, or they simply will not play. It is just these sorts of standards, preparation and forethought that make each performance a unique experience for the experimental-music connoisseur. I certainly would not attempt to contest Mr. Scherer's right to speak his mind, but the blanket remark “Bandini Mountain (who do suck)” is just plain irresponsible.
Eric Harnden
Harnden Artist Management
Orange Editor's note: Bandini Mountain perform on Feb. 24, at AAA Electra 99, 2821 E. White Star Ave., Unit D, Anaheim, (714) 666-1805. Show starts at 9 p.m. $5. BUM STEER
Re: Steve Lowery's review of Chocolat [“The Dark (Chocolate) Side,” Feb. 2]: I was so relieved to read that someone else on this planet didn't particularly like Chocolat. I thought it was highly overrated, attractive and not overly offensive—in other words, a chick flick. I am a female but not a very sentimental one. When people ask me how I liked it, I tell them it was very pretty and that they'll like it but that I kept waiting for something to happen. It will probably win several Academy Awards.
Carli Gargano
Laguna Beach SCOTT'S TURF
Thanks to R. Scott Moxley for his relentless coverage of the state's power crisis. I'm pleased to see the LA Times and the Orange County Register finally catch on to the truth—that deregulation is a joke perpetrated upon the people of California by the power industry and its puppets in Sacramento—but I'm more pleased to see Moxley reminding us that the news media, including the Times and Register, supported deregulation, attacked its critics and, therefore, contributed to this mess. Keep up the good work!
Michelle Bakin
via e-mail
ARE WE ON GRASS?
The fake story on the South Orange County Community College District ban on travel to LA was so convincing that I called the LA Times and told them of this outrageous situation in Orange County (Andrew Tonkovich's “LA? No Way!” Feb. 9). It wasn't until I went to your website that I saw the word “fake”! Would you be kind enough to call the education editor at the Times, both LA and OC, and unwind the story? I love humor, but this went too far. It fooled me, and I don't like to be fooled.
Larry Boland
via e-mail
LONG TOOL
In his article on A Perfect Circle (Calendar, Feb. 2), Michael Coyle writes, “Maynard Keenan's voice was the centerpiece of his first band, Tool, and since that outfit drifted into what seems to be a permanent vacation, Keenan has hitched his vocal cords to a new band.” On the contrary, Tool is alive and well and will release a new album in April. Maynard is currently the lead vocalist for both bands. Regarding Coyle's claim that Keenan has found in A Perfect Circle “a band that can wail with him, brood better with him and flat-out complement him better” than Tool, I don't know if “better” is necessarily the correct choice of word here; perhaps “differently”?
Jack Frost
via e-mail
