LAAC, Paco's, and More Haden Rehearsing

My good friend Nate is getting married in February and not only has he given me the honor of being one of his groomsmen, but he is also having my band Spain perform at it. On Friday afternoon I met with Nate, along with the conductor of the big band he's hiring and the wedding DJ, at the wedding venue, an old, historic building in Downtown L.A. called the Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC).

According to their website LAAC was established in 1880 as "a haven for up and coming members of the Los Angeles community". Originally it was a men-only club (Nate told me during prohibition they had secret rooms where alcohol was served), but with the modernization of humankind it became co-ed and smoking is prohibited.

I could still smell the cigar smoke in the air, history just oozed off the oak walls and original art deco furnishings.







The piano looked and sounded great.



Here is Nate deep in thought, his head full of guest-to-food ratios and square-footage statistics.



The LAAC website is great and everyone should check it out, its at http://www.laac.com

The Los Angeles Athletic Club is located at 431 West Seventh Street in Los Angeles, CA 90014. It's a members-only club but free tours are available by calling (213) 625-2211.

Later that night Lisa and I went to our favorite Mexican food restaurant, Paco's Taco's, for dinner. Paco's serves without a doubt the best Mexican food in Los Angeles and we eat there at least two or three times a month (it is a little bit of a drive from where we live). Make sure you try their homemade flour tortillas which are incredible (and don't forget to tip the nice lady who makes them). I almost exclusively stick to their chile rellenos, either in a combo with a taco or enchilada or in their signature Paco's Burrito, which is actually a chile relleno burrito (without meat, as they always remind me). I always get Paco's Burrito with their green sauce, which is incredibly tasty with overtones of cinnamon and goes great with the refried beans.

The atmosphere of Paco's Taco's is festive as you can see.



The happy couple enjoying a night out a Paco's Tacos!



On our way out I bumped into my old friend, former Los Abandoned guitarist Don Verde, who was standing outside waiting for a table (I forgot to say that on weekend nights the wait for a table could be up to 45 minutes). Don Verde is an amazing musician, check out his myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/donverde.



Paco's Tacos is located at 4141 S. Centinela Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90066. Their phone number is 310-391-9616, and their website is http://www.pacoscantina.com/.

Yesterday I went to rehearse with my dad and Mark Fain for the upcoming Haden Family CD. I won't spoil the surprise by telling you which songs I'm singing on but I will say my dad and Mark sounded great and it was really inspiring to me.

Mark is an incredible country bassist (although he plays in lots of other styles too), he has worked with Ricky Skaggs, Bruce Hornsby, Dolly Parton, and many, many others. Check out his myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/fainbass.

Here's a photo of Mark and I at the rehearsal.



Last but not least, the other day I uploaded a live video to youtube of footage from a concert my solo band played last April. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.