Licorice Pizza

Above, my "relic" from the original Licorice Pizza record chain. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A post was made in the Valley Relics Group about record stores of yesteryear. 

One of them listed was Licorice Pizza. I used to spend a lot of time (and money) at the Lawndale, California Licorice Pizza. They had a great selection of 45 rpm oldie singles.

The chain of Licorice Pizza stores were acquired by Sam Goody.

However, there is a Licorice Pizza store in Studio City, California that's not part of the original chain. According to their website:

Licorice Pizza Records, an independent label in Studio City, CA, is helmed by Kerry Brown, an award-winning, RIAA multi-platinum certified music producer, artist manager, and event producer. His wide-ranging career spans more than three decades, encompassing performance, production, and marketing, with total worldwide sales of more than 50M records including works by such iconic superstars and legendary artists as Smashing Pumpkins, Miley Cyrus, Cheap Trick, Courtney Love, the Afghan Whigs, the Twilight Singers, and Ziggy Marley.

The boutique record store of the same name continues the legacy of the original, famed Southern California chain opened by James Greenwood in July 1969. New releases & vintage albums line the walls, while handpicked playlists - and free licorice - add to the atmosphere. Nurturing the local music & art community in Studio City, fashion designers and craft vendors sell their art during monthly Flea Markets. At weekly Licorice Pizza Party in-store events, local artist showcases feature our staff and their friends, many of whom grew up hearing about their rockstar parents and how cool the original Licorice Pizza was in the 1970s and 80s.

Expanding to more than 34 area locations by 1986, the chain was an integral part of Southern California’s influential rock scene, featured prominently in 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High and later giving title to Paul Thomas Anderson’s critically acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated 2021 film. It was more than just a record store; it served as a meeting place and haven for fans of all ages, a club house where music obsessives – including a teenaged Kerry Brown – could hang out and discover a spectacular range of new and classic music, from punk and glam to hard rock, metal, and more. A new generation is rediscovering vinyl for the first time. It's the tastiest music in town, where you get it nicer.

I still have a 45 rpm singles Licorice Pizza rack that I bought back in the 1980s at the Lawndale store. 

Party Boss Days

This morning, I was scanning some old photographs from my days as the chairman of the 53rd Assembly District Republican Central Committee. Some were pretty faded, but I managed to "tweek" them a bit so they'll look better.

The 53rd Assembly District comprised of Hawthorne, Lawndale, Gardena and some portions of Los Angeles and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. It had about 24% Republican registration, so it was a matter of time the incumbent, Republican State Assemblyman Paul Bannai, would lose a re-election bid.

Up until 1980, we were lucky that Bannai faced carpetbagger Democratic opponents. In 1980, he faced off against Richard E. "Dick" Floyd, a rather uncouth and bombastic character who was an aide to the area's state senator, Ralph Dills.

The South Bay area had a number of quirky Democrats in the state legislature. Another was State Senator James Q. Wedworth.  One time, I was helping Dan Walker in his campaign for a seat on the Torrance City Council. When Walker held his campaign headquarters grand opening, Wedworth showed up (he was running for re-election that year). Walker had refreshment platters of meats and cheeses for the attendees. Serving forks were placed there for people to serve themselves with. At one point, Wedworth stood next to one of the platters and started eating from the platter with a serving fork. When he was done, he left the fork in the platter and walked off.

When I saw this, my mouth must have dropped in astonishment. Seeing my reaction, a friend (who was on Walker's campaign staff) came over to me with a big grin and said, "Well, Armand. Now you know why they call him Barnyard Jim!"

Anyway, back to Dick Floyd. Floyd beat Bannai for the assembly seat in 1980. Floyd later earned the antipathy of California bikers when he sponsored, and Governor Pete Wilson signed, the motorcycle helmet law.

Bannai later joined the Reagan Administration as head of the veterans cemeteries for the Veterans Administration.

Here's some photos (all by Kenneth Huthmaker):

Alondra Club, September 20, 1980

The 53rd Assembly District Republican Central Committee held a luncheon at the Alondra Club in Lawndale. Besides the usual political speeches, the luncheon featured a "Famous Persons Auction" of items donated by such luminaries as former President Ford, Sen. Barry Goldwater, Caspar Weinburger and others.

Above, Assemblyman Paul Bannai addresses the 53rd Assembly
District Republican Central Committee luncheon held in Lawndale.

Above, yours truly chairing the luncheon. Committee member Patrick Keller is at left.

Gung Hay Chinese Restaurant, February 5, 1981

After Assemblyman Paul Bannai lost his re-election bid the previous November, the 53rd Assembly District Republican Central Committee held the "Salute To Paul Bannai" dinner at the Gung Hay Chinese Restaurant in Gardena. The dinner had about 300 people in attendance and it drew some political heavyweights as Lieutenant Governor Mike Curb, San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson, L.A. County Supervisor Deane Dana, former Democrat Congressman Charles Wilson and many members of city councils of the cities in the district.

The restaurant was located at the former location of Bannai's campaign headquarters during the 1973 special election.

Above (from left), Mrs. Hideko Bannai, Lt. Gov. Mike Curb, former Assemblyman Paul Bannai and Armand Vaquer.

Above (from left), Wesley Bush, Lt. Gov. Mike Curb, Armand Vaquer and Bill Fernandez.

Above (from left), former Assemblyman Paul Bannai, L.A. Co. Supervisor Deane Dana, Armand Vaquer and Hideko Bannai.

Above, yours truly presenting former Assemblyman Bannai with a
 plaque in appreciation of his service in the California State Assembly.

Recall Campaign Against Centinela Valley Union High School District Board Started

Citizens in the Centinela Valley Union School District (the Hawthorne-Lawndale area of Los Angeles County) have taken the initial steps in recalling the district's school board members for fleecing the district's taxpayers by:

• Giving Superintendent Jose Fernandez a fat $663,000 salary.
• Giving Fernandez a sweetheart $900,000 loan at 2% for 40 years.

The district is comprised of only three high schools with a combined total of 6,500 students. This hardly warrants giving the superintendent a salary of $663,000. The superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District has a much larger district with many more students, yet his salary is nowhere near as much. The loan was granted at a time when the superintendent had already declared bankruptcy. He sure sounds like great risk for a $900K loan, doesn't he?

Although the board recently fired Fernandez, that doesn't let the board members off the hook for voting for the extravagant salary and the the sweetheart loan.

The recall campaign has set up a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Recall-Centinela-School-Board/1456803904593704

And, they have also set up a Twitter page: https://twitter.com/RecallCentinela

If you agree that these board members must go, visit either (or both) sites.

Exhibition Of Power

Clocking over another year in one's life causes a person to think back on past adventures or incidents (at least it does it to me). The following happened when I was 19 and living in Hawthorne, California. It came to mind this week. I posted this back in 2005 at my high school alumni Feedback forum:

For the borrowed car story thread, here's one: Cougar Mitch Geriminsky (HHS '72) borrowed his brother Les's (HHS '74) 1968 Chevy Bel Air. It was all souped up. One night in 1975, Mitch and I were driving home in it on Hawthorne Blvd. in Lawndale. We stopped at a signal near the Lawndale Pet Hospital. A guy in another souped-up car pulled alongside of us. Both drivers looked at each other and started revving up their engines. Suddenly, we get the red lights from a sheriff's car and both Mitch and the other driver were arrested for "exhibition of power" or some such. The officer told me to drive the car home. So I did. This was about 1:30 am. When I got home, I went to wake my parents up to tell them what happened. I was met with riotous laughter from both of my parents. They were both asleep and when I told them Mitch was arrested for "exhibition of power," they thought I meant that Mitch was arrested for exhibitionism. That's why they both started laughing. I ended up calling Mitch's dad and he had to go bail him out. The charge was later dropped, though. To his dying day, my Dad still laughed about that night.

Good times!

Back In The Day...

Above, with Assemblyman Bannai in his Capitol office in Sacramento, 1977.

The big news in California today about state Controller John Chiang's decision to withhold the legislature's pay brings me back to the 1970s when I worked off and on as a field representative to then-Assemblyman Paul T. Bannai.

Back in those days, there was more cooperation between the majority Democrat members with the minority Republicans. Bannai was first elected in 1973 in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the sudden passing of Democratic Assemblyman Larry Townsend. The Assembly District (first as the 67th and later as the 53rd) covered Gardena, Lawndale, Hawthorne and some parts of Torrance in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County.

Bannai, the first Japanese-American elected to the California legislature, was a realtor and Gardena City Councilman before he won the assembly seat as a Republican. After he won the special election, he asked me to be one of his two field representatives for his district office. I was a student at El Camino College at the time and lived in Hawthorne.

It was as a field representative that I learned press relations work and handled constituent matters. It was a great learning experience.

Bannai served as state assemblyman until 1980. After this, he joined the Reagan Administration at the Veterans' Administration.