Rock history tour set for Oct. 21

Esotouric, the eclectic collective whose offbeat bus tours expose LA's secret history, returns to founder Kim Cooper's rock and roll roots on Sunday, October 21, with the launch of WHERE THE ACTION WAS. This new tour, co-hosted by pop critic Gene Sculatti, explores the musical history of Hollywood and the Sunset Strip through visits to celebrated nightclubs, recording studios, record label offices and other places of subcultural importance.
As a special treat for passengers on the tour's debut excursion, gelatomaster Tai Kim of East Hollywood's cult favorite Scoops is creating a suite of new flavors inspired by the mind-altering, hard-living spirit of the1960s and 1970s Sunset Strip scene. It's a playful opportunity to imagine: if Jim, Janis, Jimi and Iggy ate gelato, which flavor would they pick? Tai's special flavors, available for a very limited time and free to tour passengers, include Hemp Oil and Honey, Vanilla and Jack Daniels, Pomegranate and Poppy Seeds, Mint and Jim Beam, Nicotine and Peppermint (made with crushed Nicorette gum), Juniperberry and Pear Sorbet, Guinness Tiramisu and in a bizarre take on the 1970s health food fad, Avocado and Beer Sorbet.
On Esotouric's WHERE THE ACTION WAS bus tour, passengers will make a fascinating journey back in time, from the mid 1960s through the punk era, when Hollywood was ground zero of a series of cultural explosions that started in the music industry, but quickly spread to film, publishing, fashion and lifestyles. The area covered is packed with important spots including nightclubs (Whisky A Go Go, Pandora's Box, Rodney's English Disco, The Masque), record labels (Capitol, A&M, RCA), teen hang-outs (Ben Frank's, Canter's, Tiny Naylor's) and some familiar locations with unexpected rock and roll connections.
Artists featured include Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass, Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, Doors, Bobby Fuller 4, Germs, Jan & Dean, Janis Joplin, Arthur Lee & Love, Mamas & Papas, Monkees, Elvis Presley, Rolling Stones, Sonny & Cher, Phil Spector, Iggy & the Stooges, Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, and many, many more.
Illustrated with an elaborate onboard slide show featuring rare vintage photos, album art, concert ads and ephemera, and hosted by a pair of historically minded music fiends eager to share fascinating tales, WHERE THE ACTION WAS is a must for rock fans or Hollywood dwellers who've heard the famous names, but need some help figuring out where is all happened. The tour visits the unassuming intersection where teens rioted over a curfew(inspiring Stephen Stills to write "For What It's Worth"), the hotel where Janis Joplin died, the one-time roller disco parlor where Prince made his L.A. debut, the notorious Continental "Riot House" hotel in which Led Zeppelin partied with teenage groupie queens, the Hullabaloo Club, Ciro's, PJ's (later The Starwood), the Troubadour, and many more.
WHERE THE ACTION WAS is a long overdue celebration of the people and the venues that made Southern California the center of the rock and roll world for more than two decades. Available for purchase on the tour will be autographed copies of Gene Sculatti's "The Catalog of Cool," Kim Cooper's books and back issues of Scram magazine.
ABOUT THE HOSTS:
KIM COOPER is the editrix of Scram, the acclaimed journal of unpopular culture that over 22 issues has celebrated neglected musical genius, and spawned the anthologies "Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth" and "Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed." Her latest book is the best-selling volume of the 33 1/3 series of little books about great albums, on Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over The Sea."
GENE SCULATTI is a writer, editor and music-business veteran whose work has appeared in USA Today, Rolling Stone and Creem. Gene was Editorial Director of Warner Bros. Records and Director of Special Issues for Billboard magazine. His book "The Catalog of Cool" was the bible of pre-internet hepcat exploration. Gene is also author of "Too Cool," "San Francisco Nights: The Psychedelic Music Trip" and "The 100 Best Selling Albums of the 60s."

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule:
Sat Oct 20­ The Real Black Dahlia tour
Sun Oct 21 ­ Where the Action Was (rock history tour)
Sat Oct 27 ­ Haunts of a Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski's LA
Sun Oct 28 ­ Hallowe'en Horrors featuring Crimebo the Clown
Sat Nov 10 ­ Hotel Horrors and Main Street Vice tours
Sat Nov 17 ­ Pasadena Confidential tour

For more info on Esotouric, visit http://www.esotouric.com