Five Echo Park Things: Leslie Stevens

This week we hear from Echo Park country-rocker Leslie Stevens as she runs down some of her favorite neighborhood haunts.

When she's on-stage she's, of course, the Leslie in Leslie and the Badgers.

Here's Stevens and her favorite Echo Park things, in her own words:

: on Sunset can meet all your time travel needs, past and future. So while you’re waiting to get your flux capacitor fixed, find out what’s behind the black curtain at the back of the store. It’s a peep show of social responsibility.  is an inspiring place to give back in the form of volunteer tutoring. They also sell the Wholphin Short Film Series if all you need is a nice birthday present. Plus next door has good coffee, a patio, and real live books, so you can school yourself as well.  

Tribal tattoos blend Samoan motifs, hieroglyphics, Japanese characters, and barbed wire Ed Hardy. Tribal Café blends kale, apples, ginger, and various fruits and vegetables to make a real good drink. They are fighting the “epidemic of degenerative diseases associated with our modern diet,” and they do things their way, so it’s gonna take a minute.  The menu would take an hour and a half to read if you read the whole dang thing. The experience is not without its tweeker moments, especially if you drop in during the comedy open mic, but it’s all part of the experience. 

BEDROCK REHEARSAL: Everybody needs practice.  So take the band into the rehearsal studio at  They have both hourly rooms and monthly rentals and they house some great independent recording studios. If you ever need anything, they are very accommodating in the office. I’ve always appreciated that when I forget my capo. Plus, songwriter and Sam Peckinpaw enthusiast, Ben Reddell, and Olin and The Moon Drummer Marshall Vore both work there.   

LUCAS: Lucas is a pretty salon on Echo Park Boulevard that always has a fine art show on the walls and great music in the air.   I don’t get my hair cut often, (once a year?) so I can afford to spend a little bit more. I love Lisa there.  She won’t try to cut all your hard-earned split ends and she’s got an amazing wild cut that’s full of em. If you like a clean edge, she can do that too, as well as razor cuts.  She’ll make it better than you thought it would be. 

: It’s very unpredictable in there, and that’s the beauty of it. I was in there with my manfriend this summer and I watched some guy put his hand and then his shoulder in between us and ask  “Is this guy bothering you?”  People are picking fights and getting crazy in there. It’s not what it used to be and they tried to “take it back,” but the best thing to do is just accept it for what it is- the Spring Break Senor Frog’s of Echo Park.  There may not be any jello shooters or underwear on the ceiling (yet) but it’s an ass slapping party in there that spans age, race, social class and religion.  People will tell your long haired manfriend he looks like Jesus Christ. The place will ruffle your dum-dum feathers on the right nights when the dance music is pure greatness.

Read about/listen to Leslie and the Badgers here.