Tag: Lina Lecaro

Tonga Hut’s 10-Year Reawakening Party

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k150_26heel iconWhen Jeremy Fleener purchased the Tonga Hut in 2005, he also bought a lot of history. The bar, with it’s Polynesian décor that was the trend in 1958 when the place first opened its doors, has endured a few rounds of generations rediscovering Tiki culture and coming to the otherwise sleepy strip mall in North Hollywood for fruity libations and a good dose of relaxed escapism. In the 10 years that Fleener has been in charge, the bar has grown in popularity, boosted by theme parties that include vendors and cookouots in the back parking lot, bands playing, a killer jukebox, great bartenders, and adding names to its Royal Order of the Drooling Bastard club who drink from the legendary “Grog Log.” They’ve even expanded to a Palm Springs location.

To celebrate the 10th year of its “reawakening,” Tonga had, what else, a big ol’ party with a parking lot vendor sale, coconut-themed art show, Durangos Tacos and DJ Tonga Tom spinning outside while DJ Dan Moses kicked off an evening 60s dance party inside. I went to check it out and came across some great Tiki fashion while hanging with pal and fellow writer Lina Lecaro. Check out the scene:Kastle Waserman, Lina Lecaro and Friends at the Tonga Hut, North Hollywood

at Tonga Hut North Hollywood

at Tonga Hut North Hollywood

Tonga Hut is located 12808 Victory Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91606

Tiki on!

Kastle

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Tag: Lina Lecaro

A Sinful Night with I AM SIN Cosmetics

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k150_25heel iconIt was a sinfully fabulous night in Hollywood when Masuimi Max threw a party to celebrate her I Am Sin makeup line, now available at the Hustler Store in Hollywood.

The store, named after the magazine, has been a staple on the Sunset Strip for sexy toys and clothes. Masuimi Max’s makeup line, which feature cosmetics to give you dramatic, sultry looks, will certainly fit right in.

I AM SIN Cosmetics

The party featured models dressed as the 7 Deadly Sins and burlesque performances from Ruby Champagne, Vanessa Burgundy, and Aziza Kyebasuuta. The place was packed with a mix of the pinup and rock ‘n’ roll crowd who lined up at the bar for free cocktails while DJ Lina Lecaro, writer for the LA Weekly, kept the party rockin’ with some sinfully good glam and punk tunes.

I AM SIN Cosmetics Hustler Party
Sinful Models
Sinful Model
Sinful Model
Lina Lecaro and Kastle Waserman
With DJ/Nightlife Writer Lina Lecaro

I had a great time hanging with gal pals, Jenni Black and singer/model Jenny Éloïse Rieu. And I was excited to meet YouTube Personality/ Pinup Model Pinup Doll Ashley Marie, who I’ve learned so much from by watching her hair and makeup tutorials. She’s just as gorgeous in person as on the web.

Pinup Model/YouTube Personality Ashley Marie
Pinup Model/YouTube Personality Ashley Marie
Hustler Hollywood I Am Sin Cosmetics Party
With pals Jenny and Jenni – Photo by Jason Kamimura Photography

 

Masuimi is proving to be quite the entrepreneur as a performer, pinup model and now cosmetics maven. She also throws a great party! Wishing her the best of luck!

The Hustler Store is located at 8920 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Stay sinful,

Kastle

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Tag: Lina Lecaro

Late Nights at Canter’s Deli

Posted on by stilettocity

k150_23SZDheel iconI recently stopped into Canter’s to grab a late night meal and a flood of memories came back to me. Canter’s Deli is a historical spot in Los Angeles. Opening in 1953 on Fairfax Avenue, its been serving up mile-high sandwiches, breakfast round the clock, coffee and cocktails to hipsters, the Jewish district and seniors who love it for its classic ambience and rock ‘n’ roll cool factor.

atCantersSZD

I spent many post-clubbing late nights in Canter’s when I first moved to Hollywood. I remember hanging with all my pals until we could see the sun coming up out of Canter’s glass doors. It wasn’t uncommon to see plenty of actors and rock stars also stopping in to grab a bite.

I’ve also rocked out in the adjacent bar, The Kibitz Room, seeing the Wallflowers, featuring Bob Dylan’s son, Jakob, before they put albums out. They made the place a really fun regular club night and you never knew who would show up for a jam session.

And of course, there’s Rodney Bingenheimer. The KROQ DJ who has broken bands from the Ramones to The Cure to Coldplay on his show Rodney on the ROQ, has been a fixture at Canter’s for what must be decades now. You can always spot him having dinner around 10:30 p.m. in his regular booth that now bears a plaque with his name on it.

RodneyLina
Flashback! With Rodney Bingenheimer and LA Weekly’s Lina Lecaro
at Rodney’s English Disco, 2000.

I got to bump into Rodney when I went there this week and it was great to catch up. I hadn’t seen him since I was clubbing regularly as a music journalist for the Los Angeles Times and he had reopened his club Rodney’s English Disco, an iconic hot spot in the early ‘70s where Bowie, The New York Dolls and Iggy Pop were regulars. Rodney brought it back for a short time in the early 2000s.

And one more rock ‘n’ roll sidenote, Guns N’ Roses also spent a number of late nights at Canter’s.  During those days Marc Canter, a member of the Canter family who runs the Deli, was a regular scenester taking photos. He put out a book about GNR called “Reckless Road.” I have a copy of it and it’s an excellent chronicle of those crazy times, with amazing photos of the band.  You can pick it up at the deli to have a great read with your meal!

recklessRoadGNR

Nosh ‘n rock,
Kastle

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Tag: Lina Lecaro

Like a Rolling Stone

Posted on by stilettocity

k150_19heel iconAs the Rolling Stones celebrate 50 years of rockin’, fans are coming together to share their love for the band and the music. As I came up in the club scene, almost every musician I knew wanted to be as cool as “Keef,” and every girl wanted someone with “moves like Jagger.” They were wild, sexy, dangerous and oh so stylish, so it’s not surprising that some of my favorite musician friends would join together to form an all-star band to bust out some classic Stones songs in celebration of the band’s upcoming tour and a photo exhibit at the Project Gallery.

Singer/guitarist Jonny Kaplan (Lazy Stars), bassist Bruce Witkin (The Kids), keyboardist Rami Jaffee (Wallflowers), drummer Clem Burke (Blondie, International Swingers), pedal steel guitarist Chris Lawrence (Lazy Stars) and violinist Jessy Greene (Foo Fighters, Wilco)  rocked out under the name “Bitch” and it sounded oh so sweet! Kaplan had the perfect voice to pull out that bluesy, hip shakin’, rock ‘n’ roll, and what can you say about an all-star band, they know how to bring it!

bitch1

Bitch

After the show, there were plenty of hugs between old friends. LA Weekly Writer/DJ Lina Lecaro spun a great e-mix of Stones tunes and we took pix like it was a rock ‘n’ roll high school reunion.

Spotted in the crowd: KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer, International Swinger Gary Twinn, Charlie from Custom Made Scare and Marko from Sugarcult and scenester Vinni Stiletto (gotta love the name!)

See the party pix below:

garyClem

Gary Twinn & Clem BurkestonesPhotos3

charlieMarco

Charlie & Markolina

Lina LecarobrianJones

party

vStiletto

Vinni StilettowKeef

You gotta roll with it,
Kastle

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Tag: Lina Lecaro

Social Media Week: Style and Substance

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Social media week took place across the globe last week with an action-packed schedule of seminars, parties and networking galore. In Los Angeles, social media went Hollywood with a majority of the events taking place at io/LA Collaborative Work Space and the Egyptian Theatre along Hollywood Boulevard. I attended several of the seminars throughout the week, including one out in the Venice offices for Google.

It was so great to share experiences and meet people who are as excited about this industry as I am. I was inspired in hearing about campaigns and new things that can be done in this fast-paced, ever-changing medium for communication. Most everyone was young (or young at heart), enthusiastic, friendly and I even spotted a few with great personal style.

Click the photo below to see the slideshow:

Here are some Tweetable nuggets I learned:

  • The three P’s of community building: people, passion, perseverance
  • Every brand needs to get real people saying real things about the brand all the time.
  • The degree of emotion your content provokes is important for viral sharing.
  • Design campaigns to get a reaction.
  • The more chatter on a product, the more sales increase.
  • When you are true to yourself, that’s going to get the most response.
  • You have to be in the conversation and claim your stories. If you don’t, someone else will.
  • If you need to do damage control, make it a conversation and ask your audience how you can do better.
  • Fans feel closer to a brand when they can see them being human and vulnerable. If a brand is being overprotective of their messaging, it’s a turn off.
  • There is value in surprise and delight.
  • Give people a reason to start talking.
  • By tapping into human emotions and having human encounters, you stand out in a sea of marketing messages.
  • It’s not about having more followers, it’s about the depth of relationship with your fans – from collecting to connecting.
  • If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead.

The closing party took place at Madame Trousads Wax Museum. At first I was just dazzled by the rooftop view over Hollywood and the cupcakes with glitter sprinkles from The Goodie Girls and gourmet flavored water from the Waterbar. But then I ran into my pals Watch the Stars photographer Gennan Shippen, and LA Weekly/Hollywood Style Scene scribe Lina Lecaro and things really got nutty. We realized the Wax Museum was open just for party-goers. We ran wild taking pictures with all the celebrities from J-Lo to James Bond, Alfred Hitchcock to Audrey Hepburn and we had so many laughs along the way!

Click the photo below to see the slideshow of us hamming it with the celebs, the wax ones that is:

I love my social life!
Kastle



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