VOTED BEST ART GALLERY FOR MUSIC
L’KEG Gallery
Straddling Echo Park’s south side and downtown, L’KEG sits tucked between a rotisserie-chicken restaurant and a vinyl–sign-making shop,downplaying its claustrophobic,punk-rock interior with a quiet exterior in the daytime but lighting up when night falls — long after the strip mall’s other tenants have left for the day. L’KEG — named after a line in the film Velvet Goldmine (L.K.E.G. is an abbreviation of “Lipstick Kissed Elbow Glove”) is,at its heart,a gallery/project space launched by members of the local band Blue Jungle. Exhibitions consist of crafty arts,pop illustrations,photography and heavy-on-the-graphic-design works on paper. But its founders — Cory Myrick,Leticia Llesmin,Nosebleed and Shannon Paley — know that rocking,too,is an art,so they’ve opened the space to homegrown bands of every persuasion,including Torches in Trees,Bi-polar Bear,Man’s Assassination Man,Foot Village,Puppy Dog,and the folksy Leslie and the Badgers,to name a few. In addition to the venue that L’KEG offers to spotlight great local bands,the space is also a distributor of records and publications for local artsy/musical folk,and hosts occasional outlying events,like Sunday hangover poetry parties and screenings of teenage snuff films. 311 Glendale Blvd.,Echo Park. myspace.com/lkeggallery.
—Wendy Gilmartin
