Interview with Andre Mirapolsky, downtown LA artist

Also. Adam O. Adam O. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Breakfast show. Adam O. Adam O. Adam O. Adam O. Adam O. Adam O. Hello and welcome to the Adam O podcast. Hi, boys and girls. How's everybody doing? Missed you last week. I'm so glad to be back here at the wonderful Skid Row Studios. Today, I have a really special guest in studio. He is the king of Los Angeles downtown art. He goes by the name of Andre Mirapolsky. Please welcome, boys and girls, the famous artist who changed the face of the mural in downtown. Welcome, mean people from Japan, China, the Middle East, all over the world. I want to see his art. Really speak. To what this city is about. Please welcome Andre Mirapolsky. Fear no art. That's my life slogan and I think it's a great introduction to this show here at Skid Row Studios. And it's my great pleasure to be here today and battling through a day and kind of a special May Day in downtown L.A. Just getting here was a rather interesting Los Angeles adventure. Yeah, we're pretty much likeッed. Ground zero of what's going on outside. Right. I mean, this could be the next JFK assassination. Who knows? And we're doing a kid's show for adults here. Exactly. With a world famous entrepreneur, renowned artist who pushed the limits of many medias, creating his own brand, expression, painting sculptures, mobile graphics, sets, and costumes. He's a groundbreaking provocateur. He's right in front of me. Please welcome, once again, in Russian, his name means, Field of Peace, Andrei Mirapolsky. So what's up, Andrei? Well, what an intro. Thank you very much. Great to be here. Great to have you here. I have to say to the public out there that I love the Skid Row Studios, but these studios are pretty cool here. You've got great microphones going on. Yeah, this is one of a kind. I mean, we're very, very lucky to be doing this show here, Skid Row Studios. You don't see this too often, especially for the podcast. This is next level shit. Definitely. No, it really is. So I'm going to introduce you again, because it seems like all I do is introduce you. We don't need to talk about anything. Boys and girls, he's a sculptor, a painter, does posters, a lot of colors. Viva Los Angeles. Please welcome, once again, in minute three, Andrei Mirapolsky. Thank you. How are you doing, Andrei? So good. So good to be here. Yeah, it's good to have you here. So how do you like LA? I love LA. LA has become, you know, I've been here for decades. And I'd say in the last six years especially, Los Angeles has really become my life. And I've really found the city. And I really feel like I've been kind of embraced by the city. And I feel like I belong here. And I think LA can be very troublesome in that way. It can, you know, I think sometimes it's hard. It can be hard to meet people here. It can be hard to find a place where you feel comfortable. Because, I mean, you said, when we were talking earlier, you said you travel the city, you know, in the trans, with... Well, don't tell the chicks that, dude. I'm sorry. It's all good. Okay. So where did you grow up? Well, I was born in Paris. And I lived in France for a couple years. And then I lived in Austria, Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Iran even. Went all the way through high school, actually, in Korea. And graduated from high school. And then I went to college. And then I went to college. And then I went to college. So I went to high school in Korea and then came to LA to make my, in Hollywood, to make my fame and fortune, you know, and follow the American dream. And here I am. So your American dream is Skid Row Radio. Well, Skid Row Radio. I mean, we are champions here. I mean, you got to remember, this is going to be the next, you know, big thing, my friend. And you're going to help that. You're going to do a mural. Where would you like to do that mural of Skid Row Studios in LA? Where in downtown, I should say. Where in downtown? Yeah. Yeah. Well, there's a great, there's a great wall on Spring Street with a little mini park is going in. So if we were to stop this podcast right now, you'd still do a mural of Skid Row Studios because it's so nice. Oh, yeah, sure. That's what I'm talking about. Absolutely. That is good radio right there. Good internet there, my friend. You got me on tape. Please welcome boys and girls, Andre Maripolsky. So Andre, tell us about downtown LA. So you grew up all around the world. Started in Paris. I take it when you got to LA. That's when you discovered art. Well, no, actually, my father, my father's an artist. And so I started painting when I was about eight years old. And since we lived overseas and my parents were sensitive, creative types, I was exposed to, I was schlepped to every major museum in the world. And, you know, I feel a line that I say that I honestly, I think is true. I got Picasso by the time I was one years old. And he's had an impression. Ever since. You got Picasso, meaning you understood him or. I just, I felt him. I got him. Very cool. Yeah, because they say take your kids now to between one and three. Their personalities are formed. It's funny how I'm like joking with you. And honestly, you're, you are an artiste. You're very, you do multi-million dollar projects. And I'm a, I'm a kid talking to you. Thank you. This is an honor. I'd like, I'd like to do a few more of those million dollar projects, let me say. Andre Maripolsky. Thank you. Everybody. So, okay. So, Picasso, who else? Well, I, you know, it's Matisse and Chagall, you know, people that I, that I, from an early age. And then, and then I graduated, of course, in the 60s, the pop art movement with, with Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns and Klaus Ollenberg and Rauschenberg and all those bergs. That I, that, that married the commercial art with, with fine art, which, which I, I really seem to gravitate to. And I'll tell you. In that regard, there's one instance in my life that I remember as a defining, as a defining point. That when I was, let's see, it was the summer of 1964. Yeah. And I, I was, I happened to be in Venice, Italy at that time. And they were having the Venice Biennale, which is one of the most famous international art shows in the world. And that was the famous Biennale of 64 when this. Kind of the godfather of art, of American art dealers, Leo Castelli, who had all of the American pop artists in his stable. Warhol, Rauschenberg, Ollenberg, all of them that were in his stable. And he was introducing them for the first time to Europe in the, at this event at 64 Venice Biennale. And I went to that as a 13 year old kid and I'm dating myself. And what the hell? And so I, I. Was really, I was, I was incredibly blown away by that show. I, that was the first time I'd really seen this combination of pop art, which meant, you know, was putting commercial images together with fine art images and making it all okay. And with a tremendous sense of humor. And that's something that I, I feel that in my own work and whatever avenue it goes into, because I, I, I am, I do consider myself very much a multimedia artist. I have to have some kind of a sense of humor. There's some, there's some kind of a. Twist that, that makes it, you know, I don't want to use the word endearing, but it makes it, you know, a little bit more approachable because of a bit of humor involved. Very cool. Now, where could the folks in downtown LA see your art, your famous murals? Well. Viva LA. Well, actually, you might be promoting a bit, but when, when. I got involved with this renaissance of downtown Los Angeles about, let's see, well, seven years ago, 2005, when it was starting. And, and, well, the timeline actually is, is pretty much from when Staples Center came online, about 99. That's kind of the official beginning of this, of this renaissance redevelopment of the downtown, of downtown Los Angeles, which I'll tell you, by the time this decade is through, in the 20 year period. From. Basically 2000, 2020, it's going to go down as one of the biggest historical times in Los Angeles history of redevelopment. And throughout, throughout the, throughout Los Angeles history, there are, there are these groupings of about 20 year periods that come around every generation or so that were immigration comes in. And for some reason, there's a huge, there's a huge buildup in Los Angeles. And there's a, there's a big re redevelopment. And. And what's going on in downtown Los Angeles, what has gone on and what is going to go on for the next eight years is really quite astounding. It's really, really astounding. Now, were you friends with Rauschenberg and Warhol? Oh, no, they're, they're a generation way ahead of me. You were a kid when they were coming up. Right. You weren't hanging around the scene. No, I wasn't hanging around that scene. You hang around a scene now here in downtown. You're on the board of the Los Angeles downtown. Art Walk. Art Walk, which is pretty impressive. Well, and actually. A lot of kids are attracted to that Art Walk. Exactly. And a lot of kids do drugs on that Art Walk. Well, I don't know. Oh, sure you don't. Yeah, yeah. But it's good that you brought that up because I actually, one of the projects. Pretty amazing. One of the projects I am currently involved with would full be this month. It's a project with the down, it's a, it's a joint effort between Arts Brookfield, this development company and down in the downtown LA Art Walk. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. come up with something and there's these, and they will create a mural in various artist styles paying homage to the artists, I guess. And that image then will be blown up and made into a banner and placed on these 8 by 20 foot long fences around the 7th and Fig. They're doing a redevelopment of that complex there, that store complex, whatever. And so these will wrap around there. And they'll be up beginning of June. So that's something very contemporary. Nice. So downtown means a lot to you. Well, yes, it's become pretty much my life these last six years. And in branding, but not just downtown. I started by being commissioned by the Central City Association of LA, which is an organization that's been around for, I think, 83, 84 years. And they have two mandates. One mandate is to represent all the downtown business to the government and to be their liaison organization to work with the government from private to public. And the other one is the downtown bid, which is to beautify and to promote downtown Los Angeles. And I'll tell you, one of the biggest hurdles of this development of downtown LA has been to combat the fright factor. And I think that's pretty well done now. I mean, even five years ago, it was really hard for people. People were scared to come downtown. And after, you know, five o'clock, six o'clock, I mean, this place was dead. And it ain't that way anymore. Yeah, it's pretty happy nowadays. It's pretty happy. I really enjoy downtown. It's probably one of my favorite spots of Los Angeles. So to me, Los Angeles is a city that exists behind closed doors. And you find those pockets, such as Skid Row Studios, and you're like, wow, magic happens. Totally, great example. All over the place in the city. You don't see it like, you know, New York or San Francisco. You watch it. You watch it. You walk outside and it's right there. I mean, so was that what like art on the street means? When you see these beautiful murals, so we could see it right there and we don't have to go behind the wall to see it. Is that the meaning of like a mural? Well, that's a good question. No, a mural, you know, a public mural is something, obviously it should be for the public. It should be exposed to the public. It should be grand in its scope. It should be, you know, riveting. It should be entertaining. It should be exciting. In that regard, actually, there's another project. Maybe this could segue into a... We love those segues. The segues, yeah. But this would be my, this is my big project, a big time life project. And it started, I was invited in 2005 to City Hall to look around City Hall to see if there was any ideas that I had for beautifying City Hall. And I came up with this idea called the LA Historama. And when this was going to be in City Hall, it was a seven-paneled, 750-square-foot, 11 different panels, illustrating the history of Los Angeles, the past, the present, and the future, all done in stained glass, backlit by LED lighting. And at the last minute, it couldn't go there because of an ordinance. At the last minute, it couldn't go there. And then it moved to the West Hall lobby of the LA Convention Center and grew to 2,000 square feet and was all set to go there, privately funded, all set to go. And then all of a sudden, this NFL football stadium, or just the idea of an NFL football stadium showed up, which was enough to freeze that location. You're kidding me. So wait, I heard about this. So you're a part of the designing the new football field that's going to be in downtown. No, I'm not part of it. I'm designing the football field, but I could very well be. I'm part of the new convention center. There's a new addition because they're tearing down the West Hall and they're building a new version of it called Pico Hall. And this is really going to take place. Oh, this is happening. Because I've been hearing about this for like six years now. Well, yeah, yeah. Because now AEG has come out recently with the last two weeks. So I'm saying, you know, that they're going full force, full speed ahead in building the convention center, even without signing, actually signing a football team. And you're going to make it look, beautiful. So the city really, the city really has been, has been extremely supportive of this idea, this LA Historama mural. I have to, I have to give credit to Jan Perry and many people, the mayor, many people in the city for continuing. So you're friends with the mayor of Los Angeles. Well, I'm not friends. Let's say, you know, I'm acquainted. You're acquainted. This is getting good. I like this. I mean, this is how the blush here. No, no, it's fine. I mean, this is how, this is how we're going to get the studio out there. I mean, we're going to get the mayor involved and we're going to make the mayor some, is he, is he cool with the mayor? I'm not really, I don't know. I haven't gotten that close. I'm the person that has really, the person that has really been my angel in this project has been Jan Perry and she's running for mayor. She's running for mayor. She's running for mayor. And I, and I do think from everything that I've heard in my own experience with her, she's been a hundred, a hundred percent with me. And from everything else I've heard about her from other people, she would be the most, the best qualified to actually be mayor. But everybody still has, has to run. And so I'm, I am supporting. So let's move on from congressmen, mayors and politicians. Let's talk about Robin Williams. So you worked with Robin Williams. It's pretty great. What did you do with Robin Williams? Well, I, I, I created a, a portrait of him, a likeness of him. And through that, that likeness of him, that was for a cover for the, they were honoring him for American cinema tech, which actually is another segue for the American. It's two. It's two. For the American. For the American cinema tech. That's right. And so in my portraiture, when I do portraits of people, I try to, you know, get their essences because my stuff is kind of cartoony looking. So I tried, you know, to go more for the essence, the spirit, you know, of the person. And, you know, in that regard, I've, I've, I've worked with a lot of. And the Beastie Boys? Well, the Beastie Boys, they, they used a piece of mine for their, their video. I didn't know that they were doing that. It would just, it just happened. What video? You know, I can't, I can't remember. It was a while ago. Okay. Fair enough. They used kindergarten sex. The Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones. Yeah. Now, what did you do with the Rolling Stones? Well, they had a, they had a benefit for the, with the, through the, they were involved with the Director's Guild and doing a benefit when they were here during a, during, during their tour. And, and I did the artwork for this particular benefit with Director's Guild, which is another segue that just came in actually. That's three. With the Director's Guild. Boys and girls, you're listening to Skidwood. We're at the Rowe Studios and we have the world famous Andre Maripolsky here. It's funny though, but you really, it really is true. You stay around long enough and, you know, circles, you stand up and you stay, you stay centered. I hate clicks, man. I'm an outsider. Things just keep coming around. Yeah, I don't like it. Yeah, I like it. Probably why I can't be a fine artist. You have to hang around the art world. Well, listen, I don't really hang around the art world. I don't wear skinny jeans, man. Yeah. I mean, you seem like, you seem like you're above, you know, the line there. You're the real deal. You're not like a little hipster running around promoting his latest graphic. Well, when I, when I, on Twitter, I'm sorry. When I came here to go to school, I went to Cal Arts. I was, I was the, Get out of here. You're just like the rest of them. You're not a punk rocker. You're a Cal Arts guy. That's amazing. Tim Burton. You know Tim. No, I don't know him. I'm before him, actually. You know Paul Rubens? Yes, I do. I went to school with him. Okay. David Hasselhoff too. David Hasselhoff? All right. What's the chances part two when you come back in to get your old college pal David Hasselhoff on the show? Right. Well, I don't know. That's all right. I'd rather have the mayor in here anyways. I was just going to say that. Yeah. That'd be way cooler. Then we're up there in the high class artists at Skid Row Studios with the mayor. Not sure if I'd be comfortable, you know, like talking to a mayor. There's a lot of rules to follow. Well, not if it's your show. Ah. Very, very nice. Then it's your rules. Yeah. That's the way to do it. So this is the main project you're working on right now is this football field. Okay. No, not the football field. It's a mural. It's the mural called the LA Historama. And we're now in the process of looking for new locations. It's all about, you know, I said before the three things in life that are everything. Timing, lighting, and location. And that couldn't be any truer than in this particular situation right now. So I just recently, three weeks ago, you know, three weeks ago tomorrow, I had a big meeting with AEG and we're all looking for that special, because this would be a signature piece of the whole complex representing the downtown, representing the city. It would follow, it follows the, like I said, the past, the present, the future history of LA. I'm using the LA River as a through line between the past, the present, and the future. An interesting aspect of it too, I don't, honestly, I don't have much, I don't have that much stained glass background in my own experience. But the company that I'm taking on to do the fabrication of the mural is a stained glass studio named Judson Studios. Now the interesting thing about them, and remember this is called the LA Historama, Judson Studios. Sounds like a zoo. Well, could be. It's LA. It's all open to interpretation. But Judson Studios was founded in LA about two blocks from where the convention center is now in 1897. They're 115 years old, still family owned, fifth generation, family owned, and they're one of the most famous stained glass studios in the country and the world now. So I look at that as being kind of an honor. I've been very, very fortunate, blessed in my, my life, my creative experience that when I've collaborated with other people, entities, which has happened, that seems to be my career now. But I've been very fortunate always seemingly to start at the top first time out. You're such an elitist, man. Oh, I... Look at that. Look at that. What can I say? I mean, boys and girls, you've ever seen the Skid Row Studios and we have the world famous... It's the follow-up. That's the hard one. It's the follow-up. The follow-up. The follow-up. Of emails? Well, that too, but... And what's the follow-up? Well, like... Speaking an artist's language. Like I did, okay, so I did costumes for Elton John. I did the seven outfits. They were all embroidered. First and only costumes I've ever done. Pretty impressive. And one of those costumes is a piano outfit he wore in Central Park with a free concert, 400,000 people and in 30... That was 1980, so it's 32 years later. But that costume has become like a signature costume of all his costumes in his career. And I've never done a costume since then. So it's like I started, I did my first costume on that level and never did another one, which is kind of interesting. But I'm always looking, of course. Do you still talk to Elton John? No, I don't. About the costume? Is he still in good shape? No, he goes up and down, but, you know, he's had lots and lots of costumes. Sure. So that's the one. But that's, well, that's, yeah. Piano man. Piano man. There you go. And it was all, and it's interesting because it was an embroidery. I didn't realize, when I got the phone call, like at four o'clock in the afternoon, and then I did, like, 24 drawings overnight, and they were delivered to him the next morning, and within hours, that was all picked out. And what I didn't realize was the embroidery on the surface of the material, you know, is very opaque. But what I didn't realize was that also the thread, the embroidery thread, is like a satin thread. So when light hits it, it acts as like a reflector. It doesn't absorb light at all. So the color of the in the sky is like a reflector. an original team, or are they going to get a team from, say, Michigan and call them the L.A. Michigans? Well, from everything, that I've read and it seems to me like, yes, they will be able to buy a football team. An original football team that starts here? No. Not from Brooklyn? No, it'll probably, I would say it's probably going to be somebody else's football team. that's a bummer. Well. We want to start from the ground. Well, if they start from the ground, I believe, then they have to, they actually have to do two football teams. All right. If that really does happen, you know, maybe they get a little season tickets. We can do a halftime show, a live radio show. Who knows? Opening day. Anything is possible. Showbiz is my life. Who knows? Showbiz is your life. Right. Okay. My wife, not my wife. Okay. So, let's talk about Absolute Vodka. Yes. So, what's Absolute Vodka? It must have paid you a lot of money. Well, people would think so, but the money, the money part of it is okay. You did some beautiful artwork for a corporate vodka. The exposure, I mean, to be a part of, because I think, I believe that that ad campaign was probably the most successful ad campaign, one of them at least, in history. It's one of the most, it's one of the most famous ad campaigns in history. I think so. It's what I've done my research on. It's the Absolute Vodka. I mean, the colors in that picture, I wish. But starting with the name of the brand, Absolute, that's a great name for a brand to begin with. Absolute, yeah. But now they use like chicks blowing in the wind. Kind of sucks. They don't use art. They use like, everything looks like, a Gap commercial now. Right. Even for vodka. Right. I don't approve. When I see art, it makes me want to drink vodka. Well, you know, that's why that was such a great idea because, I mean, and they literally brought before Absolute, vodka was nonexistent, I think, practically in the States except for Stolich Night. So did you make like three million dollars on that ad campaign? That's my guess. I wish I had. I wish. The artist is always getting, yeah. I don't want to say that. I don't want to say that. You're friends with the mayor. But every, I'm getting screwed. She's getting screwed. Keep saying that. Keep saying that. All right. Yeah. But, at least everything looks good. That's the important thing. Is every, you know, at least everything looks good. So everything has to look good. Everything has to look good. You're a visual guy. No matter how much it costs, it doesn't cost or whatever, at the end of the day, it's got to, it's got to look good. I heard this great conversation on the city bus the other day. Yeah. Two guys were like, modern art? Yeah. Are you kidding me? I mean, what is it? What's, why are they charging $300 for a dot? So, when you say has to look good, is that, does it have to look good universally? Or does it have to look good just to you? Because I like those that connect to others. Right. Well, not just a dot. Well, that's a good, good thought because, I mean, I do like your dot, by the way, over by the 110. I'm just joking. Very good. Very good. But we know it's all very subjective, you know. It's all, it's all subjective. Art, art is a very subjective thing. It really is. But I do love, I do love your art. It's the colors, the expression, it's beautiful. Boys and girls, you're listening to Skid Row Studios. It's www.skidrowstudios.com. And of course, we're with the wonderful Andre Mirapolsky. And that's www.m-i-r-i-p-o-l-s-k-y.com. And that's www.m-i-r-i-p-o-l-s-k-y.com. Look at his art right there on his very own website. It's incredible. He has sculptures. Let's talk about your sculptures. They seem very dolly-esque. Well, I do. Off the painting. Yeah, I do these three-dimensional wall sculptures. In fact, I'm working on one right now for somebody's condo in Hollywood. And I take shapes and I construe them and position them in certain ways that, you know, they have a relationship with each other and they flow and they ebb and they flow on the wall. Now, how much... Do you sell your work online? There's no price tags here. No, I haven't set my... In many ways, I'm still a little behind. And I haven't set myself up with a store yet on my website. And there are several... And like I said, it's not quite updated. There are several projects that have just come in that I've just completed and are out there in L.A., which I can share with you tonight. Tonight as well. Please, let's start right now. Share that right now. Okay. Well, there's one project that only has another two days to go. And I probably... I think some... Your listeners have probably heard about this public art music program, Play Me, I'm Yours, where they put like 30... They got 30 pianos and they put them all around L.A. County. They get artists or groups to decorate them and then people can come up and they can play the piano. So through the Hollywood Arts... I'm... With the Hollywood Arts Council, through the Hollywood Arts Council and the American Cinema Tech, I did the Hollywood Piano. And it's currently residing for two more days at the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. And it's all... It's encased with hundreds of mirrored stars. It's only a couple yards from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. So I thought, you know, this is a Hollywood piano. I thought I should make it symbolic, you know, for the area, for the ambiance, for the physicality of the area. And it's a star piano. And it turned out pretty cool. And it's still there for two days. It's pretty amazing. And then another project which just came out within the last week, I was asked by Starline Tours, which is a big L.A. bus tour company. You annoying, obnoxious tourists that drive in the open van buses. Well, I designed the closed modern double-decker bus, their big bus, which is their six-hour, L.A. grand tour, which goes from Hollywood, Beverly Hills into downtown. They're a good company. They have insurance. They are, yes. And their offices are all around the Chinese theater. And then this year, I also designed these special commemorative tickets for Redline Tours, which is the only Hollywood walking tour company. And this ticket idea was really, really interesting. The owner of the company, Tony Hoover, had this, I think, really brilliant idea to do something special with the tickets so that people would keep them as a souvenir. And as it turned out, it got a lot of publicity because there's no other venue in L.A. of any kind that has done something special with their tickets. Well, I'll tell you what, pal. Yeah. Andre? Yeah. We're pals, right? Sure. Okay. Well, you do these tours for Starlines. They attract tons of hundreds of thousands of people probably a week. Right. Definitely, definitely thousands a day. Hundreds of thousands probably a month. Right. What if we were to design, like you were to design a cool little, like, graphic of Skid Row Studios and we were to give that out to every single guest that walked on those tour buses? That is how my brain thinks. What do you say, pal? Keep thinking. All right. I think that's a brilliant idea for marketing. Just, you know? Sure. Let's talk to Starline. But that's what, yeah, that's what they're all doing on the boulevard. They're handing out everything. Yeah, but, but here's the thing. We'll plug them on the radio show. I will, on my show. Mm-hmm. Right? They're a big company. You know, people from all over the country take these tours. Or from the world. All over the world. In fact, on the bus I have nine languages on the top ridge of the bus. I have welcome in nine languages. And so you're, you're in cahoots with those people over there. Let's get this going. Fortunately or unfortunately, I'm not sure yet. All right. That would be pretty cool. All I know is it was my first rap. And, and, and, I mean, physical rap, not rap, rap, singing, you know. But I actually watched the process of how they wrapped the bus, which was actually very, very interesting. And, and that I, I expected the vinyl that it's printed on, you know, with all the technology now, it's so fantastic. The quality of the color and the printing. But the, the rolls were four feet wide. And when they put, I thought they had to hold the things up like really kind of dainty or something. Because it looks like it's really thin when you're looking at the, at the, at the surface. But it is, it, it is thin. Not quite as thin as I thought. But boy, I'll tell you, when they're putting these, when they're putting those rolls on the bus, they take it off, they put it on, they take it off, they, they, they move it, they get it in place. And every time they do that, and every time they take it off, it just makes the most incredibly hard ripping sound. It just sounds like, you know, they're just really screwing it up big time. And yet, it, it, it, it doesn't. It, it stays, it holds. So, it's like it gives birth, you know, and then at the end of the, the birth thing process, you've got this big, covered, colorful bus. Very cool. Never heard of an artist that does buses. That's, that's. Yeah, I haven't either, actually. That's, that's something new for me too. Something new. Let's get a bus. Hey, let's do it. Let's do it. I have this idea. I want to, I want to get a bunch of like t-shirts and like put a logo. Like, so it would be like, the Adam O Show, Skid Row Studios. And I want to take like hundreds of t-shirts and get them from a factory, print it. And, I want to like, I want to dump them like four in the morning all over corners of Hollywood, all over LA, every single where, everywheres. Hang them in like, not nice, not like new, nice t-shirts. Just like throw them like a homeless person left their clothes. In the morning, the whole city will wake up and they'll see all these t-shirts everywhere's around LA. Just t-shirts. And it'll have the logo. Right. Well now, of Skid Row and Adam O. Right. And, everybody will see these t-shirts and it's not stickers. It's not posters. But it's just t-shirts. It's clothes. People are, and if they're smart enough, they'll pick them up and they'll start rocking these t-shirts. Bingo. And I think Skid Row, Adam Row, it all kind of rhymes. It all ties together. Very, very good. You got it going on. Thank you. Oh, hey boys and girls. So where in downtown do you live? Well, that's a good one too because I, I live in, I live in the brewery. It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's the largest creative, creative, creative colony in the country. It's the original brewery site of Los Angeles going back to the mid 1800s. And it's, I believe there's over a thousand people there. Not all of them live there, but I think at least 60% do. It's 320 units. They're all big lofts. It's really a village unto itself. There's a restaurant bar there called Barbara's. It's kind of a miracle. Oh, I've been, I've been to the brewery. It's pretty cool. No, it's fabulous. Yeah. And it's been a godsend to me since I've been there. And that I've, I've been able to utilize a lot of people's talents there. So when the phone rings, and there are a lot of things I don't know how to do. I can, I can conceive, you know, how to use them. But then I have to find the people that I can work with in order to, to collaborate and come out with a product. And, and, and over and over and over, I can't even say how many times, uh, that, that, that's happened for me at the brewery. It's been, it's been a fantastic experience. Well, let's start with the t-shirt, um, logo you could design. Yeah. Let's start with that. And let's just see what happens. I mean, that's, that's, I, I'm saying that right now, publicly. So now I know why you have me on this show tonight. Sure. Sure. Okay. Okay. Breathe into the air. I'm an artist. All right. So downtown LA is one of the best places to live in LA for the community, the art, the art walk though. When you say you're on the board, what does, what does, what does a board for an art walk do? Well, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, Viva LA. I have a question, actually. Oh, hi. What do you think about Burt Green leaving downtown Los Angeles? Well, I do think that that's a big loss. I personally knew Burt for a long time before he even moved to downtown. I personally always really, really, really liked him. And I'm not sure all the reasons for him moving to Chicago. But do you think that makes a statement? Was he trying to make a statement by leaving? I don't think so. I think in his life, I think it just happened. Everything came together. I mean, Chicago's a big art city, and it's just that it's colder there for me, for my taste. But I think in his personal life, too, I think that had something to do with it as well. I've heard from some gallery owners that Art Walk is the night you don't sell art. Well, you know, I'll tell you, from all these different Art Walks, there's a million Art Walks, we have two Art Walks at the brewery, two a year. And I have to say that, you know, it's kind of a numbers game. When you have so many people walking through, you never know. Sometimes you do sell. Usually it doesn't sell, but people get other things come in through the woodwork or something. And I say it's better to be exposing, it's better to have people talking than not. So, you know. The brewery Art Walks, I mean, those are great, and all the artists open up their space. But when you go there, I think there's almost an expectation that this is an artist community, you know, it's an artist commune, whatever. But downtown Art Walk, I don't know, sometimes I get the feeling that it's just kind of a free-for-all for people to come down and drink the free wine. I agree. Well, but, you know, to be perfectly frank. In that regard, as a viewer of what's going on with Los Angeles, and especially downtown, I think the Art Walk, the downtown Art Walk, was pivotal in helping to create this anti-fear of downtown. And that, I think, was the most important thing. And in that regard, I think the Art Walk was really important and a really, really good thing. Yes, definitely. I mean, to get that many people coming downtown, and then they tell their friends, and they're safe, you know, and this and that, and they had fun. So then they spread the word, and the people come down here during the day, they'll come down at night, and that keeps spreading the word that downtown is safe. But what do you think is going to happen when it becomes too safe? Well, we'll see, you know. That's the evolution, and, you know, we'll see. I don't know if it'll ever be, because there's Skid Row. There's still Skid Row, you know. But will there still be Skid Row if that happens, is what I'm saying. Will you like that, a resident of downtown? Well, I like doing a radio show in downtown. If that happens. If it becomes too hip? Well, it already reached. I mean, I'm just asking you, like, what's going to happen to the future of downtown from your point of view? Well, it seems that it is going to get to be more and more invested with more and more money. It's going to be, I mean, like the whole area of South Park, it's going to become like a Beverly Hills kind of place. I mean, when those condos were selling back five years ago for what I thought were just enormous, I mean, I thought, I thought, I thought, I thought, I thought, I thought, I thought, I thought, I thought, ridiculous sums. With the advent of the new convention center, because I'll tell you, the new convention center, that's what the football stadium is really about, because the football stadium is attached to the convention center, and the floor of the football stadium is used by the convention center. So L.A. right now is ranked, I think, either 15th or 18th in the country as far as a convention city. And with the new grouping there, it will place L.A. in the top five. With New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, and that's where, you know, that's really where the big money is for the city is the convention business, because that's a trickle down, and more hotels, more hotels. They still need, there's about 4,000 hotel rooms online, I think, now for downtown, and they still need 10,000, at least more. It's really quite remarkable. But all that stuff, with the football thing and the new convention center, I believe all that will fall in line. Yeah, I mean, I kind of have a love-hate relationship with the evolution of downtown, because on one hand, you know, all these great resources are popping up all over the place. You know, I love great restaurants and places to hang out. That's wonderful. But then some of the older places that I really enjoyed about downtown, I used to go to a bar on 7th and Main called Krabby Joe's, which, you know, kind of was consumed by the gentrification of downtown L.A. Right. King Eddie's Saloon, one of these more traditional skid row bars, whatever you want to call them, are kind of being swallowed up by that. And I hate to see that kind of thing go, because there's not many places left like that. Well, that's true. But like an example of, let's say, take Clifton's, which has been bought now by, I forget his name. The people that own the Edison. The Edison, right. Yeah. Who seems to be very, very sensitive to the historical integrity of buildings and everything. So there's a situation, which was, that's a great landmark, historical landmark that was running, really, really running down. And this guy's taken it over and, you know, it will be more than it was, but it will be. But even in the case of Clifton's, my worry is that they're going to go 24 hours. They're putting a bar in there. Right. Bars. Well, when I go to Clifton's, one of the things I like to see are the people that go there every single day. Right. And there's characters there that I'm worried they're going to get pushed out and, you know, it's going to become a different kind of place. And those people aren't going to feel like they used to when they went in there. So, yeah, I mean, I hear exactly what you're saying. It's just, it's a very interesting time to be in downtown Los Angeles. Amazingly so. Yeah. I think. I mean, who would have believed, really? Yeah. You know, and the people that I know that are really integral in doing this, in building and doing this. With downtown, they can't believe it. You know, even though they're doing it, they still think it's amazing. Yeah. You know. Do you have roommates? No, I don't. So you're successful? Yeah. Nice. Yeah. No roommates. You still never told us where we could find Viva LA in downtown. Well, Viva LA is actually a, you can't really, it's all over the place. It's, it's. I see it all over the place. Yeah. But, I mean. Isn't there like the big one in LA? In downtown? No, the, the biggest, well, the, the top of the roof of this bus is Viva LA. But then the, the, there's, there's citywide CBS Outdoor. They, I did, I designed a Viva LA billboard, electronic billboard that they're using citywide for two years. They're using as a, a screensaver. Because on these electric, electronic billboards, they, it's all computerized. So they, when they don't, when they haven't sold a space or whatever, they. They need something to drop in. And, and so these Viva LAs will, they come on every, you know, every once in a while. So what's left of downtown? I mean, you guys know a lot about the, the old downtown. I mean, what's, what's the hot spots to go to now that are like the old beautiful gems of, of bars and restaurants? Could you name a few? Well, yeah. One that comes to mind, I think is, I mean, you know, it's very, it's very, you know, it's upscale, but mostly everything new in downtown is, is upscale. But there's one place called the Perch, which is actually right over here on, on 5th and, I think it's on 5th and Hill. And it's on the roof of this 1920s building. And it has a fabulous view, skyline view of Pershing Square and mostly older buildings. It's a beautiful place. Oh yeah. It's just gorgeous. It's owned by the same people that used to own the Must that was there on. Oh, the wine, the wine shop. Yeah. Yeah. Great place. Yeah. Really beautiful. And I love the way they, they have, they have fence, well, it's like fencing around, you know, where the tables are, where you're standing on this roof thing, but it's all done in clear acrylic. And it kind of looks like there's nothing there, especially at night, which I think is really kind of really exciting. Pretty cool that you know so much about downtown and the history. Well, I'm, you know, I'm, I'm, you know, as I told you, I, once I got involved in, in researching this, this mural, this LA Historama mural, it forced me to get involved in, in researching LA history, which, which I honestly, I'd never, I hadn't done before. And it's really quite amazing. And now I, through my involvement now with Hollywood, I, I've learned a lot of history in, in Hollywood. Hmm. You got to come to my show this Sunday. You guys check out what I'm doing, because you're going to be doing the set for my show. Okay. It's going to be incredible. I think, I'm pretty sure Skid Row Studios is going to be covering the show with Bob Odenkirk this Sunday at the Echo at 1 p.m. That's with Bob Odenkirk at the Echo at 1 p.m. If you want tickets, then pretty much show up at the door. Get your tickets. I'd love to invite you to the show. Thank you very much. It's going to be pretty incredible. I look forward to it. Yeah. How do you know Bob Odenkirk, Adam? I'm just curious. To be honest with you, he's a neighbor of my friend, Tim. Wow. The mustache dude. Yeah. Yeah. In Hollywood, Bronson and Franklin. Tim lives in the apartment complex next to the house that him and his wife just bought. I shouldn't be saying that on the air of where that, where he lives. Have you got his phone number? What are the odds? What's the, what's the street address? Okay. I'm just kidding. Yeah. So yeah. So then they're just pretty much just. It's cool. Always seeing him, seeing him, just saying what's up. Eventually I had the guts to just go up to him. As long as we're promoting shows. I have a show that actually your, your mother and father and sister were at the opening of. It's a two man show. Is that in Pomona? No. No. Well, that was another show with my father that I had with father and son show. But this show, let's see, a week and a half ago at this elephant theater. On Santa Monica Boulevard in Vine. It's a kind of an art show and celebration kind of a cabaret thing. Which your sister performed at. Brilliantly. And we're having the closing night show. It's the show's called, it's a dog eat shark world. And it's the closing night is December 9th from seven to 10 at the elephant theater. I don't know the address. Oh, I know right there. Santa Monica and Vine. Pretty much Vine. Right. Right on the west side of Santa Monica and Vine. Right there. Right. Next to the Yoshinoya. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. That's awesome. Exactly. So that's on the 9th. That's next Wednesday. Cool. Guest list? No. Just show up. Just show up at the door? Seven to 10. So everybody could just show up at seven to 10. Yeah. And I've done a whole series of sharks, sharks in LA. And my friend Josh Rosenthal, he's done all these dogs. So there's dogs and sharks. Very cool. Something funny. Something funny about the combination. Very, very cool. Yeah. Yeah. The highlight of my career right now is I have my name on the billboard of Amiibo Records in Hollywood. Really? Yeah. They didn't put the name in my show. They just put my name. Adam O? Adam Shankman. Adam Shankman. It's so random. And I've never, that's pretty cool. I was just smiling because I was like, wow, I don't know why they did that. When did the O come into Adam? It was just a good, because it's a lot of cereal. It's a lot of cereal involved. It sounds very Japanese. Oh. It's like Cheerios. Adam O. Yeah. Adam O. It's fine. I like that. I'll take that. So that's kind of cool right now. I have some type of art going on around town. And I'm going to be on this awesome show on Sunday at the Echo. And then the coolest thing is on Saturday, this is where I'm going to need your help. I'm doing this amazing show through Pinata Hour at Los Globlos in Silver Lake. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I'm going to be having a big Cinco de Mayo show. So I'm going to be painting a chick naked. Oh, that's exciting. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so, but that's not all. That's not all. I have a big... Are there pinatas? What's that? Are there pinatas there that people are doing or something? No, no, no. The Pinata Hour is a show. There will actually be pinatas. He's going to smash a pinata like every hour. Dude, that's what I'm talking about. There you go. And you got to go. Whoa. Is there money in the pinatas? No. He puts all kinds of nasty stuff in those pinatas. Dang it. Dang it. Dang it. Dang it. That's pretty amazing. I'm looking for that $3 million. Skid Row is going to be covering that live. Yes, we'll be there doing a live remote for the Drinco de Mayo is what he's calling it. Over at Los Globos East Sunset. East Side Sunset. Nice. Yeah, because I'm going to be beating a girl in half. That sounds bad. I didn't mean that. I'm going to be taking a piñata, a female. I'm a painter. I'm going to crack her in half. Crack her in half. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I've been practicing this and we've been sculpting this casket of a female. One move? Yeah, she's going to have eight layers on like a cast. I'm going to beat her like a piñata. Dude, I can't get into this right now because I'm getting a little carried away with the beating language of a woman. But I'm going to have like a, you know, nice piñata. What is it again? Piñata. Piñata. Oh, yeah. I'm going to have a couple people blindfold and crack her until she breaks. She's going to become fully nude. Yeah. Then I paint. Then I'm going to have like. Fully nude, Adam? Well, we'll see when I get to the venue if they'll let me. I doubt it. I heard a chickster is going to make an appearance. That's what Chickster says. I had no idea, but he's thrilled. And he says he's going to do something live on the air for Chickster's Nest. That should be fun. Yeah. And you guys are going to be recording that? Yep. Oh, that's incredible. Chickster. Wow. Yeah. Uncle Chickster does a show here. And he's on Saturday morning. On Saturday morning. It's a wonderful program. Old time. The radio meets Insane in the Membrane. Uh-huh. That's Chickster's Nest at 11 p.m. A.M. Here at Skid Row. Hour as well. And so, yeah. Getting back to like the piñata hour. They do a show here in Dali. And it's an awesome show. And they're going to be throwing a big festival or show. Yeah. All day at Cinco de Mayo. Wow. Los Globlos. Globlos. And Silver Lake. Yeah. And Skid Row will be covering that. And so, you got to come out. It's a busy week. Yeah. May 1st. May. May Day. May Day. Happy May Day, by the way. All the protests. It is May 1st. Demonstrations. And then we have Cinco de Mayo. Yeah. So, there's a lot to look forward to. Yes, there is. A lot to just use the speech wisely and let it grow. Yeah. I don't know about you, but are you a rebel with your art? Or are you very cautious? Are you very protective of like your image? You know, I just do it. I just do it. Do you? I do it. And if it feels good, I do it. And whether it's cautious or rebel or whatever, then it just comes out. Yeah. I like meeting people on the street and bringing them into my shows and stuff. It's just, it feels natural. It gives them a little sense of hope. Yeah. And then, not all the time, just strippers. Well, I feel I've been lucky because I have been, March 1st of this year was my 30th anniversary of being self-employed. You're 30. 30, yeah. Thank you. I'm 30. And I look at that, I am like 30, yeah. Well, that's what I mean. You're 30. 30. It's not about the age. It's about how long you're self-employed. Right. That's the power. Right. We all want to get there. And I talk about that on every show. And I'm blessed. I feel blessed about that. But I, you know, because I have been doing my own thing. And whether that thing is, like you said, it's dangerous, it's cautious, it's everything. It just depends. And I don't, there's a vibe that I seem, that all my work seems to have is this energy, a certain vibe. But since I've worked in so many different mediums, and many of them I have no experience, previous experience in, I just say, you know, I can do that. And then I do it. And then it's a matter of. You know, how you do it. And I've been very fortunate that when I've, I've always been able to come through. Yeah. No, your work's incredible. And I'm sincere when I say that. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. I always have the, yeah, that's what I mean by like artist, is that you could, people probably take you serious. People don't take you serious. Well, I love how serious they take me either. But every word you're saying, I take you serious. Are you friends with Gronk? I have known Gronk for a long time. I used to live in his building, so. Oh, right. He's still there, too. I think, isn't he? I believe he is. Yeah. Yeah. He's one of the original pioneers of loft living in downtown LA. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Good guy. No, he's excellent. He's fantastic. And he also deals with lots of different mixed media. Right. Yeah. Gronk. What a name. Yeah. No, he's fantastic. He would be a great guest for you, actually. Yeah. But right now. No, you've been a fantastic guest. You got me in a natural state, very calm state. It's gone by so quickly. Not really forcing anything. Just kind of going with the flow. So, thank you very much. My absolute pleasure. Yeah. And we got to do some really good artwork. I mean, I really think that with this show and like the, I mean, this is, it's crazy because a radio show is so different from live shows. You could promote the shit out of a live show and you get 40 people to show. Right. On a radio show, people will listen and tune in, but they don't show, like they don't talk about it. Yeah. But the numbers are there. I love it. So, this is a focus of mine. This is a dream come true, but we need to make this happen with some of your Viva LA. Let's do some work together. Viva LA, baby. Let's do it, baby. Yeah. Right on. Andre, thank you so much for being on the Adamo podcast. Thank you for getting me through the riots here in downtown LA. Yeah, right. We still have to go downstairs. Yeah. I don't know what's going on out there. That's right. I'm taking the subway back. People are aggressive on the subways, too. Not too bad. Not too bad, but they're in a hurry to get up here and protest and fight. Yeah. There's a lot of police out there now. So, what's your final thought? Wow. The final thought for the day. Well, the final thought of the day is Viva LA. That's my final thought. I'm a promoter to the nth degree. So, you're going to be coming to- Right now, I'm promoting Los Angeles. So, you're going to be promoting Los Angeles this weekend, starting at the pinata hour. All the time. All the time. All the time. All the time. All the time. All the time. All the time. I'm promoting Los Angeles. That's Saturday. Right. All day. All day. Until 8 p.m. Yes. Los Globos. Then Sunday, you're going to be going to the Echo for my show, the breakfast show with Adam O. Bob Odenkirk. Skid Row Studios will be covering that. I knew there was a reason I came here today. Yeah. No, no, no, no. We're working together. Right. Working together. Do you have a website that people should go to to see your work? Mirapolsky.com. M-I-R-I-P-O-L-S-K-Y.com. Okay. Yeah. So, it's been an absolute pleasure to just somewhat understand, you know, who you are. I want everybody to go to your website. Check out his work. Okay. Do you have a Twitter? No, I don't. I'm sorry. Facebook? I am on Facebook, but I don't really work it that much. Not a problem. Okay. This is where it comes in. It hits me right now. Those who are not on Facebook don't need to be on Facebook. Yeah, well. Bingo. Well. No, you're absolutely right. I need, yeah, well, whatever. So, I'm going to ask you to come this Saturday before the Adam O. show at The Echo with Bob Odenkirk at 1 p.m. I'm going to need you to paint a naked chick for me because I'm going to paint her all shitty. Yeah. And I need a real artist to fine detail her. Is that something we could do? Possibly. Can I get a yes? It's at 2 p.m. On the radio. It's at 2 p.m. No, possibly. I have to check my calendar. No, because I have this idea. I mean, so stay tuned, boys and girls, to check us out on Saturday. This is the world famous Andre Miraposki on the Adam O. podcast here at Skid Row Studios. Thank you once again. I gave you three introductions and I'm going to give you three exits. It's been a pleasure. Thank you. World famous king of downtown LA, Art. Great. Peace out. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Adamo, Adamo, Adamo, let it rain, let it snow, here we go, start the show, breakfast light, take a bite, make it right, spaghetti, oh, no, no, no, wait till lunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, my cereal bunch, Adamo, Adamo, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, breakfast show.