Have you always wanted to be famous, but know you don’t have what it takes to become a star (i.e. a sex tape where Ray-J pees on you?) Fear not — because on April 24th, we’re all getting famous. No, this does not involve guns, put those down. STOP THAT.

Full disclosure: I’m one of the guys throwing this event. Now here’s how it works: we meet at noon in front of the WME building, where we run a winding, three-mile obstacle course through Beverly Hills. Hidden throughout the course will be packs of photographers. Your goal is to make it to the finish line without them getting a picture of your full face.

Scattered along the way will be hidden caches of “identity concealers”, i.e. low-brimmed hats and those sunglasses that put a black bar over your eyes. (We were going to offer ski masks, and then remembered ski masks + sprinting through Beverly Hills in broad daylight = “Officer, these cuffs are too tight.”)

Got a camera and the ability to be sneaky? We want you. Got a pair of running shoes and a well-developed flight sensibility? We want you. (Costumes are also encouraged.) The race starts at noon, but paparazzi are required to show up at 11 AM so we can get you vultures in your respective hiding places.

Afterward, in a stirring tribute to something that would totally happen in real life, the celebrities and the paparazzi will meet up for a beer at the Writer’s Bar in the L’Ermitage Hotel.

Be sure to RSVP for the event on Facebook.

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WHAT: Celebrities Vs. Paparazzi footrace
WHEN: April 24th, noon-1 PM (Paparazzi to meet at 11 AM)
WHERE: Starting at the WME building
$$$: Free

I missed posting this yesterday. Sorrrryy. You guys missed knowing about the last Happy Hollows residency show. That’s about it. Now onto bigger and better things.

PICK OF THE WEEK

I graduated from USC, so I obviously have some sort of connection to the place. The (good) music community isn’t particularly huge, but it’s growing and getting bigger as the years go by. Pretty great acts come through and play shows affiliated by the campus and go completely unheard (just think back to that Dodos show I always talk about). So when a group of USC students, with the help of the college radio station KSCR, put together a pretty solid show, I’m obviously going to talk about it.

This Friday, KSCR and a group of students calling themselves The Sonic Gun are hosting a show featuring Pocahaunted, Nite Jewel, Slang Chickens, and L’eau Life at Gallery 1018 (10ish minutes away from campus).

The lineup really speaks for itself, but I’ll try to say a few words about some of the bands. Slang Chickens are a pretty good rock/punk band. Being friends of friends, I’ve had the pleasure to have seen them a few times and they put on a pretty fun show. Pocahaunted and Nite Jewel are well known names in the LA music scene. Pocahaunted underwent a slight transformation in their lineup, making them different than some of the recordings you may have heard, so checking them out Friday will be interesting. Nite Jewel keeps getting more and more buzz. She has that lofi dancey, recorded my music with a cassette deck sound which everyone is growing to love. Hell, even one of the most popular music blogs out there, Gorilla vs. Bear, just listed Nite Jewel’s Good Evening as one of their best albums of 2009 (awesome!).

You should go support the students and the artists. It’ll be fun.

Oh. and wembley [at] boredla [dot] com isn’t getting much activity..so uhh..let’s change that.

OTHER SHOWS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
12/1: Hi Ho Silver Oh w/Shakey Graves/Superhumanoids at El Cid. 8:00PM. $5. 21+. (Get there at 9 to catch Superhumanoids. You know we love them here.)
12/1: Vic Chesnutt Band w/Warpaint/Liz Durrett at echoplex. 7:30PM. $15. All. (Kind of a supergroup now.)
12/2: Helen Stellar w/Kav/Square on Square/Nightmare Air at the echo. 8:30PM. $8. 18+. (A good group of local acts.)
12/3: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band w/Dirt Dress/Spirit Vine/Allah Las at the echo. 8:30PM. $10. 18+. (Indie rock.)
12/4: Little Dragon w/Hecuba at the El Rey. 8:00PM. $17. All. (Pretty cool Swedish electro group.)
12/4: Cold Cave w/Abe Vigoda/Former Ghosts at Eagle Rock Center for the Arts. 8:00PM. $8. All. (If you can’t make the Nite Jewel show this is a good one.)
12/5: Stellastarr* w/Transfer at Spaceland. 8:30PM. $15. 21+. (Cool new wave band.)
12/5: I wish the Girls show at Troubadour wasn’t sold out. :(. You should try to go buy scalped tickets!
12/6: Cold Cave w/Nite Jewel at the echo. 10:00PM. $10. 18+. (Part Time Punks. Awesome lineup.)

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WHAT: Pocahaunted/Nite Jewel/Slang Chickens/L’eau Life
WHEN: Friday, December 4th @ 9:00PM
WHERE: Gallery 1018
$$$: $8 Presale (click here to buy) or $10 at the door
Ages: 18+