Ode to the Catalyst

When I moved to LA 3 years ago it was a quick decision. My good friend, Mike Russek who had been my LA connect for years informed me of an artist collective downtown which had a live/work opening. I submitted a proposal and was accepted. Within 2 weeks I was on my way. I knew very little about the new environment I was moving into and how it would change my life.

I moved into the Catalyst Artist Collective! The Catalyst was an amazing underground arts collective in the warehouse district downtown. A 15k square foot venue with almost a dozen loft/studios, a 5k square foot main room and a huge rooftop with epic views of downtown LA. If that wasn't enough I became part an amazing family. A dynamic family of some of the most talented people I have ever met.
I was home.

The Catalyst housed artists of every medium. Painting, sculpture, photography, welding, textile, film, culinary arts, fashion design, leather smithing and music. Being an art collective, we designed a wide variety of art shows. One of which was 100 under 100. A holiday season opening in which we hosted 100 artists all with works under $100. Another was Magic Garage. An amazing art show with over a dozen different of musical acts!

Aside from art shows we threw many customized events based on a vision from a specific member. One being, Jesse's "Stop Making Sense" party. It was a viewing party of the Talking Heads epic live concert. It was projected in 1080p with 5.1 turbosound surround sound. It was followed by dj's and live video mixing all over the place. There was a build your own sandwich bar and we shipped in a bunch of hay bales to have a hay covered dance floor. Another was my annual "Skate 'n' Boogie". We would convert the entire main room into a roller rink and bounce, rock, skate and roll. I also held a monthly supper club (post to come). Others include our annual 4th of July rooftop cookout and Rajiv's weekly figure drawing class which included a fresh model every week. We would also host underground dance parties of all flavors with some of LA's biggest promoters. Those parties brought in talent such as Mark Farina and Frankie Chan as well as the occasional celeb such as Prince and Lil Jon. In addition I enjoyed spinning some of the best sets of my life there. Most of which were after hours to just the family. They will always be my favorite audience.

These are just some of the hundreds of great memories.

The Catalyst shut down in January due to building renovation. It had a 6 year run which is legendary in the underground scene. Over those years, thousands of people past through its doors and many left with epic memories. Personally, I think I laughed more in the 3 years I was there than in my entire life. All the sweat and hard work we put in was well worth every moment.

So in closing, Jesse, Misty, Carson, Josh, Avner, Rajiv, Heidi, Grant, Judy, Sage, Flor, Mike,
Aaron Paul, Fitz, Caton, and my Juni, you have all enriched my life in so many ways.

I love you all!

P.S. Stayed tuned for the Catalyst late night dance party greatest hits post!