ON THE TOWN !

August 30th ~ Minneapolis

What a night full of events in the great city of Minneapolis. Despite an already full day, the evening got even better ! At 5:30 PM I headed over to Oceanaire Restaurant in the Hyatt. If you haven't been to this place, I would say its a must do at least for Happy Hour.

Check out the menu - they've got great pricing on really good appetizers and for the money... you can't go wrong. Fresh Oysters all the time ! Now Im not mixed drink fan, in fact those that know me know I only drink Vodka Coke. Period. But my manager, Sam says the 007 James Bond Martini is the best in town at Oceanaire.

We went there for a networking event hosted by Scott Thompson. It was a Rockin' evening and I met quite a few people.

This photo is taken with Diana Pierce from KARE 11 News. It was a pleasure to talk with her.

Here are a couple more new friends that I met at Oceanaire last night. Ann (left) and Lu Ann Walters

Then we carried on to G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park, where a semi-final round of Rawkzilla's Battle of the Bands was happening. Though last night was not being filmed for TV, I am a judge in this competition and wanted to make an appearance.




This (I believe) is Donnie Smith from the band Breaking Day. Metal hardcore is not my thing; I can't get into the rough vocals, but the music itself was pretty good. This guitarist hooked me the minute I walked in the door.

These guys are an alternative rock band called Aiming for Aurora. The lead singer is pictured above (Kelsey Chewning). These guys have some great potential - go check em out.




Lastly, I spend a lot of these ventures with my business partner Sam and his much better half Jessica Mae of WarPaint International. I ended the night with MY better half Nancy walking the streets of downtown and stopping by our favorite places. In future blog updates, I'll let you know what some of those places are and why !

In the meantime the DOWNTOWN PHOT CONTEST is just about officially underway and people are already submitting photos. Look for more information at Rockin This Town !!!

A Busy Weekend in Minneapolis !

The Great Minnesota Get Together:

You know, it really is amazing how many festivals and public events Minnesota puts on for it's people. Being born in Philly and living most my life in Los Angeles and on the road on tour, I've missed out on much of this my entire life. L.A. has millions of people, beyond where Minneapolis will ever have for population, but the amount of people that come into this one single space of the state fair grounds is pretty unreal.

Machinery Hill is my favorite area of the fair. I love autos and machinery, specifically after owning a custom auto shop in West Palm Beach, Florida. I can pick out any car and year (or at least get close), even given just a cropped shot of it. The tractors actually interested me the most - those are sweet machines.

Im not a fan of large crowds and tight spaces.. at the end of a long Friday, I was happy to find some solitude on an empty bench.

Next up. WHEELS OF ITALY at lake Calhoun on Sunday afternoon.

I must admit, I've owned half the cars at this event and driven them all. What a cool thing for local people to come show off their collectables and see the new stuff that the dealers bring off the lot. There was a hot, blue Lamborghini that I would've driven right out of that place but the car that intrigued me most was a 1970's something.. Citroen. These things were all over L.A. back in the day. Its such an oddity ! I would love to have one.



THE AMERICAN LEGION'S 93RD NATIONAL CONVENTION

Sunday came to a close with an honorary parade at my favorite place - Nicollet Mall.

"The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation’s largest veterans service organization, committed to mentoring and sponsorship of youth programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting a strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow servicemembers and veterans."

The American Legion exists as a non-partisan, not -for-profit organization that is a grass roots, political influence. There's a lot of history behind this organization - what a pleasure to have this convention in our backyard.

RAWKZILLA MAGAZINE: The Judging Continues

Last night Dave Hitchcock and crew at RawkZilla continued the "Battle of the Bands" filming for the reality TV show "Stage Fright".  We were in Apple Valley at Bogarts - nice place and pretty big venue.

I sit on the Judging panel for the show with Lance King of Nightmare Records, hosted by local spokesperson Meisha Johnson.  Its encouraging to see over 80 bands that have submitted to compete in this contest to win professional recording time and marketing packages. The semi-finals start this coming week and you can catch some of it at G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park on Tuesday night.

There are hundreds of local bands / musician groups just in the Twin Cities area alone.  Last night we saw groups that had been playing together for years, all the way down to a family band where the members were all around 14 years old, with a female lead.

Im not saying they're all good; in-fact many of them need help.  That's what this show is designed to do - separate the true talent from the rest of the masses and give some criticism and feedback.  Here are a couple of photos from last night.

Green Screen filming left to right: Dave Hitchcock , L.A. Nik, Lance King, & the lovely Meisha Johnson.

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TAKE A PIC OF L.A. NIK. WIN $1,000 CASH.

 Its pretty simple Minneapolis, and YOU could win!  We live in a great city here and more people need to come out and enjoy it and see what this epicenter of arts, fashion, and music has to offer!

September 1st - November 30th you'll see updates on Twitter @RockerLANik and on the Downtown Business Coalition Facebook fan page as to my whereabouts. https://www.facebook.com/DowntownMinneapolis

It is your mission to catch me enjoying downtown Minneapolis and make sure your picture has something in it that really shows off the City of Minneapolis. It can be the restaurant or bar that I am in, an interaction with a D.I.D. worker, a purchase from a local vendor, helping the elderly, or even petting someone's dog !

Look for signs, buildings, and anything that makes for great downtown composition. Cell phones, pocket cams and even professional cameras are encouraged. We'll post the photos to the Downtown Business Coalition fan page weekly.

Tell your friends to "like" them and share them. The judges will select 1 lucky person and award them $1,000 Cash right during the holiday season. You should spend it ...DOWNTOWN.

L.A. Nik's Rock Against Breast Cancer

Minneapolis Minn -- August 12th.  Fine Line Music Cafe.

We rocked Fine Line with four bands in a charity effort for Treasured Chests.  It was a glamour-ensemble of Hip Hop, Rock, Funk, and Punk.  Downtown was a bit slow on Friday..   I noticed that even the dance clubs weren't packed; considering the mood, I'm proud of every band member and concert goer that came out for support.  We did manage to clear expenses and donate several hundred dollars to Kelly Moore at Treasured Chests of the Twin Cities.

Donations to this charity go directly to a hospital that works hard to find better ways to detect early breast cancer.  This disease kills 40,000 women per year in the United States - the second largest killer in our nation.  L.A. Nik and Rockin This Town support this cause.

Special thanks to :
MOMMY S3Z NO
Chosen Robot
The Japhies
Xavier Marquis

For more information or to help their cause please visit www.treasuredchests.org

Vans Warped Tour 2011

A few weekends back I visited the Vans Warped Tour out at Canterbury Park.  There were dozens of bands and probably 30,000 people at the fest.  Most of them young were younger people and it was about  102 degrees that day.  Let me tell you it stunk in that place !

My objective was to look at the Black Veil Brides.  There's a shot of the lead posted just below.  Great L.A. Rock band with a killer presence.  It was good to see some real rock and roll !  This concert festival has really changed over the years.  When I was playing in L.A. all through the 80's and 90's, the Warped Tour was not sponsored by Vans and it hosted the biggest, baddest bands they could find.  Some of the biggest names have played in the Warped Tour.  These days, its more about alternative music and smaller names, touring for months at little to no pay - just trying to get their name and stage presence in front of younger crowds.  It's a different business now but fun none-the-less, to be surrounded by thousands of rock fans.

For more information on the Vans Warped Tour visit http://vanswarpedtour.com/