New Texture Nights

Chris D. with Donna Lethal @ TKO Records July 15!

2011-06-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

Chris D. reads and signs A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die at TKO Records in Fountain Valley to celebrate of TKO's new vinyl-only release of 1978 Flesh Eaters demos (with original sleeve art by Chris D.)! He'll be joined by Donna Lethal, author of the forthcoming Milk of Amnesia, also from New Texture.

6 to 8 p.m.

TKO Records
18948 Brookhurst Street (@ Garfield)
Fountain Valley, CA
(714) 962-0500

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Josh Alan Friedman LIVE at Sideshow Books, Los Angeles!

2011-06-03T13:39:00.001-07:00

Writer/musician JOSH ALAN FRIEDMAN returns to Los Angeles for an evening of music and quality lit at Sideshow Books in West L.A. He'll be reading and signing his latest book, BLACK CRACKER, and playing a set of his famous atomic acoustic blues. Join us this Friday and paint the weekend BLACK!

Sideshow Books
11323 Idaho Ave
Los Angeles 90025
(310) 428-4631
Friday June 10, 8 pm

About Sideshow Books:

Used and Rare Books, Magazines, Original Art, with focus on Pulp Fiction, Crime, Art, Photography, Cinema, Music, Beat, Underground, Surfing, Esoterica, Erotica and Collectible Children's Books.

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Josh Alan Friedman LIVE at Alias Books East, Los Angeles!

2011-06-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

Writer/musician JOSH ALAN FRIEDMAN returns to Los Angeles for an evening of music and quality lit at Alias Books East in Atwater Village. He'll be reading and signing his latest book, BLACK CRACKER, and playing a set of his famous atomic acoustic blues. Join us this Thursday and paint the weekend BLACK!

Alias Books East
3163 Glendale Boulevard
Los Angeles 90039
(323) 661-9000
Thursday June 10, 8 pm

About Alias Books East:

Alias Books East is an open shop located in the heart of Atwater Village at 3163 Glendale Blvd. We carry a wide variety of subjects with an emphasis on literature, film and the arts. We're always looking to buy books, collections, and whole libraries. For more information feel free to email us at aliasbookseast@gmail.com or call (323) 661-9000 during business hours. The store is open 7 days a week from 10am until 10pm.

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Josh Alan Friedman LIVE in Los Angeles!

2011-06-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

Writer/musician JOSH ALAN FRIEDMAN returns to Los Angeles for two evenings ONLY of music and quality lit! Thursday, June 9 at 8pm he'll be at Alias Books East in Atwater Village, and Friday, June 10 at 8pm he'll be at Sideshow Books in West L.A. He'll be reading and signing his latest book, BLACK CRACKER, and playing a set of his famous atomic acoustic blues. Join us for both evenings and paint the weekend BLACK!

For details and driving directions to Alias Books East, click here.

For details and driving directions to Sideshow Books, click here.

The emotional finale to Rev. Branch's Special Service

2011-04-19T03:01:00.001-07:00

To view on YouTube, click the above image. To watch via Vimeo, see below.

The emotional finale to Sunday's Special Service fundraiser with Reverend Raymond Branch.

Clearly overwhelmed by the generosity of kind friends both in the pews and miles away, Reverend Branch closed 90 minutes of music Sunday with this emotional performance, "Love Lifted Me;" he almost doesn't make it through.

"I haven't cried for 55 years... I'm too tough to cry," he insists, wiping away a tear. Whatever your beliefs, if this doesn't move you, check your pulse.

Recorded at the Heavenly Rainbow Baptist Church, April 2011

© 2011 Rev. Raymond Branch, Wyatt Doyle

A Musical Service With Rev. Raymond Branch Sunday April 17 in Los Angeles!

2011-04-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

Reverend Raymond Branch and the Heavenly Rainbow Baptist church invite you to a special service and fundraiser to help defray the cost of much-needed repairs to the Heavenly Rainbow Baptist Church. All are welcome, and donations in any amount are very much needed and appreciated.

A musical service with Reverend Branch is an unforgettable experience, whether you share his faith or simply enjoy his music. Spend Sunday the 17th in South Los Angeles. No hype, no frills, just Reverend Raymond Branch singing his heart out at the Heavenly Rainbow. Services begin at 3:30.

If you're unable to attend but would like to contribute, please use the "Donate" button at the top of Rev. Branch's website here.

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photo © 2011 Wyatt Doyle

Josh Alan LIVE in Texas, Saturday April 9!

2011-04-02T14:55:00.001-07:00

Josh Alan plays live in Texas on Saturday, April 9 at Dan's SilverLeaf in Denton. Headlining the ABP Benefit Ball for Aaron Bennett Presley, Josh's set is scheduled for 5:30 pm.

Also on the bill: Foolish 2, Save the Humans for Later, NEEKS, KaiN the EverymaN. Catering by Big Fatty's. Silent auction and proceeds to help defray cancer survivor ABP's extensive medical bills.

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BLACK CRACKER in the Midwest!

2011-03-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

Josh Alan Friedman is bringing BLACK CRACKER to the Midwest in a big way, making four appearances in Illinois and Wisconsin this month. (Click on city names in for full details of each event, including maps and driving directions.)

Friday, March 25 he'll kick things off in Evanston, at Bookman's Alley. (7 pm; free admission)

Saturday, March 26 it's on to Chicago where he'll speak at the 22nd Annual Nelson Algren Birthday Party at the Wicker Park Arts Center. (Admission: $10 at the door, $7 for seniors and students with ID)

Monday, March 28 he'll be in Milwaukee for an evening at Boswell Book Company. (7 pm; free admission)

Tuesday, March 29 it's back to Chicago, where he says farewell with a bang at Quimby's Bookstore. (7 pm; free admission)

BLACK CRACKER in Chicago March 29!

2011-03-09T22:49:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, March 29 is Black Tuesday in Chicago as Josh Alan Friedman brings Black Cracker to Quimby's Bookstore! Join us for an evening of Quality Lit and atomic acoustic guitar starting at 7 pm.

Quimby's Bookstore is located at 1854 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622

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Black Cracker is available NOW; signed copies are available here.

BLACK CRACKER in Milwaukee March 28!

2011-03-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

Monday, March 28 is Black Monday in Milwaukee as Josh Alan Friedman brings Black Cracker to Boswell Book Company! Join us for an evening of Quality Lit and atomic acoustic guitar starting at 7 pm.

Boswell Book Company is located at 2559 N. Downer Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53211

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Black Cracker is available NOW; signed copies are available here.

Josh Alan Friedman to honor Nelson Algren in Chicago March 26

2011-03-07T22:54:00.000-08:00

The Nelson Algren Committee has invited Josh Alan Friedman to speak at their annual Nelson Algren Birthday Party on Saturday, March 26. The event will be held at the Wicker Park Arts Center, 2215 W. North Avenue in Chicago's Wicker Park/Bucktown neighborhood.

Festivities begin at 8 pm. Admission is $10 at the door, $7 for seniors and students with ID. Drink tickets are available to those wishing to toast Algren; complimentary snacks and door prize drawings add to the fun.

Full event details (and more on Algren) can be found on the Committee's website, here.

Algren's 1967 mugshot

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BLACK CRACKER in Evanston March 25!

2011-03-06T22:47:00.000-08:00

Friday, March 25 is Black Friday in Evanston as Josh Alan Friedman brings Black Cracker to Bookman's Alley! Join us for an evening of Quality Lit and atomic acoustic guitar starting at 7 pm.

Bookman's Alley is located at 1712 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201-3775

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Black Cracker is available NOW; signed copies are available here.

Get Your Freak on in L.A. With Drew Friedman and Wyatt Doyle!

2011-01-13T12:08:00.000-08:00

Drew Friedman premieres his new collection, SIDESHOW FREAKS (Blast Books), at Book Soup (8818 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood)! Join us Sunday, February 20 @ 4 pm for a signing and talk moderated by NT's Wyatt Doyle, author of STOP REQUESTED.

Can't make the event? Contact Book Soup to ask about purchasing signed copies by mail!

Los Angeles, Fourth Day: Mystery and Imagination (Saturday, 8 July 2010)

2010-07-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon we visited Mystery and Imagination in Glendale to read and pay tribute to the great George Clayton Johnson on the occasion of his 81st (!) birthday.

George is the writer of classic episodes of The Twilight Zone ("Kick the Can," "Nothing in the Dark," "A Game of Pool"), Star Trek ("The Man Trap"), Route 66, Kung Fu and more. He's also the creator of Logan's Run (with William F. Nolan) and Ocean's 11. He's a unique, agile thinker who, through his semi-annual lecture series on writing and creativity (events hosted by Mystery and Imagination at no charge) continues to educate, illuminate and inspire.

George Clayton Johnson

Josh Alan Friedman plays before reading from his novel
Black Cracker (Wyatt Doyle Books)

Chris D. reads from his collection, A Minute to Pray,
A Second to Die (New Texture)

Our warmest thanks to Malcolm and Christine, John and Eric at Mystery and Imagination. And of course, many, many happy returns to George Clayton Johnson!

photos © 2010 Wyatt Doyle

Los Angeles, Third Night: Alias Books (Friday, 9 July 2010)

2010-07-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon, Josh Alan Friedman met again with Luke Ford, this time for a wide-ranging, on-camera conversation in downtown Los Angeles. It's Josh Alan's My Dinner With Andre. You can watch the epic interview in full and read Luke's commentary on LukeFord.net here.

Friday night found us in West L.A. at Alias Books, one of the best-curated used bookstores in town. After readings by Wyatt Doyle, Josh Alan Friedman and Chris D., Josh Alan returned for a short but killer set on acoustic guitar. (You can see Josh Alan's performance of "Crossroads" from that evening on Black Cracker Online here.)

Chris D. reads from his collection, A Minute to Pray,
A Second to Die (New Texture)

Josh Alan Friedman plays after reading from his novel
Black Cracker (Wyatt Doyle Books)

Thank you Alias Books for welcoming us for your very first reading event! We hope there will be many more to come.

photos © 2010 Wyatt Doyle

Los Angeles, Second Night: La Luz de Jesus Gallery (Thursday, 8 July 2010)

2010-07-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

Our Thursday night at La Luz de Jesus Gallery got off to an auspicious start when we were named "Pick of the Week" by the L.A. Weekly. (Thank you, Michael Simmons!) You can read their enthusiastic recommendation in its entirety here.

Josh Alan Friedman reads from his novel Black Cracker (Wyatt Doyle Books)

Chris D. reads from his collection, A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die (New Texture)

Josh Alan plays "Famous & Poor" by request.

A fantastic evening, with a great audience. Our sincere appreciation to everyone at La Luz, especially Matt Kennedy and Billy Shire.

Josh Alan Friedman photo © 2010 Clayton Doyle; Chris D. photo © 2010 Sandee Curry; all others © 2010 Wyatt Doyle

Los Angeles, Second Day: Heavenly Rainbow Baptist Church (Thursday, 8 July 2010)

2010-07-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, Josh Alan Friedman and Wyatt Doyle traveled to South Los Angeles to visit the Reverend Raymond Branch of the Heavenly Rainbow Baptist Church at 10223 S. Western Ave.

Pastor Branch is the host of the Rainbow Gospel Hour, broadcasting from Inglewood since 1971. He can still be heard each and every Sunday morning, bright and early at 3:00 am PST on KTYM-AM 1460. (To listen to the Rainbow Gospel Hour online, click here and select the "Listen Live" button.)

After a lunch of Golden Bird fried chicken, fresh biscuits and collard greens, they adjourned to the pews, where Josh Alan picked out a blues and encouraged Rev. Branch to "put some church words on it":

To hear more music by Josh Alan, click here.

Visit Reverend Branch online here: PastorBranch.com

© 2010 Rev. Raymond Branch, Josh Alan, Wyatt Doyle

Los Angeles, First Night: Book Soup (Wednesday, 7 July 2010)

2010-07-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

We can only hope Mr. Wodehouse was pleased to share the shelf with us.

Book Soup made us feel most welcome for our inaugural event, blogging enthusiastically in anticipation. Book Soup's blog post was subsequently "borrowed" by an alleged book review site that deployed an automated "paraphrasing" software on the swiped post, thus lending an appropriately bizarre patina to an already unusual night.

Chris D. reads from his collection, A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die (New Texture)

The entire evening was exhaustively documented by Luke Ford of LukeFord.net. You can read his thoughts and watch the video(s) on his website here.

Our grateful thanks to everyone at Book Soup, especially Jen, Julia, Ted, Joseph, Rebekah and Alex.

Book Soup photos © 2010 Wyatt Doyle
Chris D. photo © 2010 Clayton Doyle

New Texture Nights in Los Angeles!

2010-06-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

New Texture Nights kick off in Los Angeles this July, with live readings and performances by Josh Alan Friedman (Black Cracker), Chris D. (A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die) and Wyatt Doyle (Stop Requested). At most venues, Josh Alan - Czar of Atomic Acoustic Guitar - will play. (Listen to Josh Alan's music here.)

There are more events to come - check back often!

Here's the current schedule:

Wednesday July 7, 2010

7 pm
Book Soup
8818 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles 90069-2125
Josh Alan Friedman, Chris D. and Wyatt Doyle reading

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Thursday July 8, 2010

6 pm
La Luz de Jesus Gallery / Wacko
4633 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles 90027-5413
Josh Alan Friedman, Chris D. and Wyatt Doyle reading

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Friday July 9, 2010

7 pm
Alias Books (West)
1650 Sawtelle Boulevard, Los Angeles 90025
Josh Alan Friedman, Chris D. and Wyatt Doyle reading

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Saturday, July 10

2 pm
Mystery & Imagination / Bookfellows
238 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale 91203
George Clayton Johnson Birthday Celebration
George Clayton Johnson, Josh Alan Friedman, Chris D. and Wyatt Doyle reading

6 pm - 9 pm
New Texture: Words & Music
@ The Echo
1822 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles 90026-3227
Josh Alan Friedman, Chris D., Wyatt Doyle and Georgina Spelvin reading
Musical performances by Reverend Raymond Branch and Josh Alan
Special guests Sandee Curry, Donna Lethal, Paul Silva and Matt Kennedy

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Sunday, July 11

7 pm
Beyond Baroque
681 Venice Blvd., Venice 90291
Josh Alan Friedman, Chris D. and Wyatt Doyle reading