Pomona is the new Austin. Could Fontana be the next Portland?

I grew up Pomona. There I said it. I guess it’s a hard thing for me to say because I had a love/hate relationship with P Town. In the 1980s growing up, it turned into a semi-ghost town after General Dynamics lost a Defense Department missile contract. Half the city was unemployed. It was not a fun place to grown up. Zero culture. Zero community. Tons of crime. All my friends at school lived in “posh” Diamond Bar or Phillips Ranch, which were places I would have needed a car to get to.

In 7th grade I had decided that I would basically give up on going to Catholic school as boredom and depression took over. I spent most of my 7th grade years ditching school and hanging out at the train station trainspotting and riding my bike around the old abandoned shops of downtown Pomona.

What I consider now to be a life-saving move, Mom moved us from Pomona to Orange County in 1990. I often wonder what I would have turned out like had we stayed in Pomona and I would have been “demoted” to the Pomona public school system.

Last weekend I was in downtown Pomona to watch my brother’s band play (more on this later) and I was shocked. Here, in the very place where I had spent years of my life ditching school and hanging out alone was an indie sort of Mecca.

I had previously known that the old Thrifty drug store had been turned into The Glass House concert venue and that there were some old buildings that had turned into bars or clubs. But what it has turned into is amazing. Indie record shops selling indie records – on vinyl. Arty cafes, a Starbucks (of course), a “bistro,” vintage clothing stores and get this – a store that specializes in Moog synthesizers! It reminded me of Austin a bit.

Where the hell was all this when I was growing up? It’s really amazing to me how the exact place where I escaped as a child; a place that was as polar opposite from cool and trendy has turned into “indie” hot spot. Over the years I have seen great shows at the Glass House, Pavement, Weezer, Modest Mouse, Promise Ring… and I still trip out on the whole thing. I guess life comes full circle sometimes.

Pomona Punks hang out across from the old Southern Pacfic depot.

Are kids buying records and CDs again? What happened to downloading?

The Emily Strange Store. Even stranger, it's in Pomona.

No need to fly to Soho in London, get your Fred Perry and Ben Sherman gear right here.

Where was the Moog store when I was in a band? WHERE?

French food - WTF?

Just a little off the sides

My cousin Pablo AKA Pops (Center of the photo, my cousin Erica to the left and some random guy to the right.) was awarded his barber’s license last week from the state of California after what was an intense examination of his hair cutting skillz, which were deemed to be “mad” by the examiner.

Someday soon Pops will be helping me “get my fade on” somewhere in El Monte, California. I can’t wait because my hair is starting to fro out right about now.

He also has a license for something completely different, which I can’t discuss on here. Besides his license to ill, of course.

Pops wants to open up a barber shop of his own soon, which knowing Pops, will be off the chain.

On a side note, Pop’s little brother Marcel is going to be a proud papa soon. No doubt his child will be better than at driving the lane or pretty much anything else you can do on a b-ball court than him.

Comic-Con 2006: They're just as nerdy as you.

This was my second time visiting Comic-Con International in San Diego. My first was when I was working on Mattel in 2004. I didn't feel as overwhelmed as I did the first year I went, but its an exhausting day. I walked through one of the most amazing displays of pop culture you can imagine.

I was really stoked to see (and buy) a ton of new urban vinyl stuff and some Star Wars Kubricks I really didn't need at all, but they were too cool not to take home. There also seemed to be a lot more independent comic book makers and toy dessigners there than in previouss years.

It's really not about comics and nerds, quite the opposite. It should be re-named to Pop Obsession Fest because it's full of everything anyone can become obsessed with. From artwork, to clothes, gadgets, TV shows (From Dallas to Battlestar Galactica), every movie ever made... you name it, you can find a ring of people with some obsession for the same thng you have.

Yeah there are some nerds there, including myself. But the cool or normal people and their passions far outweigh the freaks and nerds.

There's just no escaping Baby Milo. The whole designer toy world has grown to be about four times the size is had previously been at Comic-Con. That pretty much means its dead now.

I did some celeb-stalking! Rosario Dawon talks about her involvement with Occult Crimes Taskforce.


A company from Korea had a display of some very sweet looking phones that had the ability to download comic books from anywhere in Korea. They were there looking for a US partner. I later discovered you can get the same thing with Verizon Wireless. Sorry dudes.

I did some shopping at the UNKL booth. Cool stuff.


Debbie Huey, author of Bumperboy personalizes issues of her indie comic

Why don't they make real cars like this?


A Storm Trooper offers to shoot someone's child in the head for a photo op.

Sonic Youth, Shannon Moore and King Taco

Last month I took my cousin Mark to see Sonic Youth at Little Radio in Downtown LA. We had a great time - Filter magazine throws the best secret parties I've even been to. Standing next to Thurston Moore while he plays was an amazing experience. Gotta love the ad agency perks (Thanks Weezey!).


I also met Shannon Moore, we had a few drinks and a good conversation. She's a great singer, mom and real sweetheart. She told me a great story about when Radiohead opened up for her! Check her out on iTunes.

Afterwards we hit up King Taco in East LA - those are some tacos that must be tried once before you die. Saturday night at King Taco is kinda of like going to a Morrissey show.

Here a picture of Mark in his element.

You've got issues: My obsession with trains

Everyone's got something wrong with them, right? Maybe they're a little crazy, ugly, smelly, stupid or they have a third nipple. I'm not saying that I'm immuned to being any of those descriptions (except for the nips, I only have two - sorry), but I do have what I've been told is an unhealthy obsession with trains.

Now before you hit the back button on your browser, allow me to explain. Trains have played a very important part in my life and actually shaped my career in advertising and my ability to be an account planner.

My obsession with trains can be entirely blamed on my Dad, who's a conductor for the Union Pacific railroad. As a kid I grew up around, on, inside and even modeling trains. A hobby that has transferred into my... err "adult" life.

The thing is, when I was a kids I experienced the end of most of the last great railroads, especially in the west. Southern Pacific. Denver and Rio Grande Western. Chicago North Western. The list goes on forever.

When I was a kid Dad took me on rail fanning adventures, especially to Utah and Colorado to visit the daily operations of the D&RGW. If you've seen the movie The Station Agent, you'll know that visiting railroads means chasing trains through mountain passes and into cities and frieght yards. While that was fun and all, what really got me was the branding of the railroads and how each one of them truely lived up to their brand slogans.

The Rio Grande for instance: "Mainline Through the Rockies". Later they changed it to "The Action Road." Which is what it truely was. Their line traversed the toughest part of the Rockie Mountians. Their locomovites and freight cars and passenger literature was beautifully branded, just like the rest of Amerca's railroads at the time.
First rule of branding: Tell the truth.

Following trains with Dad taught me the the way brands could come alive. Our trips were brand expereinces where I saw, touched, smelled and fell in love with these brands.

I'd like a place to share my train crap, I think I'll be doing some of that here.

Evan's Blog Take Two

I've tried this before (cheers Mario) and it didn't work because I was swamped at work.

I'm even more swamped now than ever... but it's Saturday night and my girlfriend is away in San Francisco for the weekend - so I thought I'd try this whole blogging thing again.

I don't expect anyone to understand any kind of flow of thought or organization to it, which is why I've called it WTF?

Here we go...