It's rare to be a native, but I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I'm gone eight months of the year touring, but I miss the weather, the smell of the air, the laid-back lifestyle. I'm in love with my city.
Growing up, I first lived with my mom in Hollywood, and later with my dad in the Valley, where we had a ranch with horses and chickens. These are the different LA lifestyles people don't know about. Think of LA and you think of the Standard Hotel, Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood. But this is one small fraction. Yes, there's the film community, but you have all these nooks and crannies that make up what LA really is: the beach, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Los Feliz, Santa Monica, even Downtown LA, with its incredible scene with restaurants, bars, and exciting art. The Gorbals is Downtown and it's a meat lover's paradise, really rich, and it has a great atmosphere. It's the lower level of the Alexandria Hotel, right in the thick of it.
My LA is the east side — Hollywood and Los Feliz. For shopping, everyone knows Sunset Boulevard and Beverly Hills, but those are like an alien planet to me. If you want one-of-a-kind stuff and thrift stores, go to Hillhurst in Los Feliz — that stretch is really cool. You don't even have to go to the snotty part of town for Barneys. The Barneys of the east side is Confederacy. They have Sass & Bide and Rag & Bone, basically anything cool is in that shop. And go to Vamp Shoes on Hillhurst. I love it! Affordable and gorgeous.
Franklin is a fun street. For a night's entertainment, you needn't leave this street. It has great restaurants, including Bird and Real Raw Live, which also serves gourmet vegetarian cuisine. I go there almost daily. Next to that you have this improv comedy group called Upright Citizen Brigade — there's always a queue out the door. And you can get a great glass of wine at La Poubelle.
If I am going out, I'll see who's playing at the Troubadour, Wiltern or the El Rey — that's my favourite music venue. I played there last year and had hearts in my eyes.
The Amoeba Music store and the Arclight movie theatre are adjacent, and you could spend five hours in that corner. I have a record player so I get vinyl at Amoeba. The Arclight makes going to the movies an experience. There's a bar upstairs, and an usher comes out and introduces the movie beforehand. There's an elegance to the whole evening — it makes it more fun than just seeing a movie.
Juliette Lewis stars in Conviction out this month, her album Terra Incognita is out now.
WAY TO GO
British Airway flies to Los Angeles. Vist ba.com.
