Esotouric to launch curated Downtown LA Art Walk shuttle

Announcing THE HIPPODROME, Esotouric's Curated Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle

WHAT: The Hippodrome, a rolling curated salon on a custom vintage school bus

WHEN: Every Second Thursday (June 12; July 10, Aug 14, etc.) during downtown LA Art Walk, 6-10pm nightly

WHERE: The shuttle route circles Gallery Row (Main and Spring Streets between 9th and 2nd Streets)

COST: Free shuttle and entertainment

FEATURING ON JUNE 12:
1) Hosts Kim Cooper & Richard Schave of Esotouric bus adventures sharing tales of historic downtown vice and answering visitor questions,
2) guitarist Lucas Gonze, playing lowbrow 19th century American music trash picked from sheet music in historical archives,
3) Mike The Poet rockin' poems about LA authors and the city's underground,
4) Luca Spanioaka Queen Acoustic, performing the music of Freddie Mercury & Company.

INFO: http://www.esotouric.com/hippodrome, 323-223-2767

The Downtown L.A. Art Walk, held every second Thursday year round, is one of the great success stories of the neighborhood's revival. Launched in 2004 by a small group of independent gallery owners in what was then the western edge of Skid Row, the event now draws upwards of 4000 people, and includes live music, a thriving bar and restaurant scene, book signings, and of course art exhibits.

Starting June 12, Kim Cooper and Richard Schave of Esotouric, the eclectic bus adventure company whose tours reveal L.A.'s secret history, transform what's been a sleepy free city DASH bus shuttle into something more appropriate to the Art Walk: The Hippodrome, a curated rolling salon. Art Walk visitors can still use the Hippodrome to get from Bert Green Fine Arts to The Hive -- but with so many interesting things happening on the bus, they may find they don't want to disembark when they arrive.

The Hippodrome shuttle is named in honor of promoter Adolph Ramish's legendary Hippodrome Theater, formerly located at 4th and Main. With 3000 seats, it was the biggest theater west of the Mississippi when built in 1913, and featured Toddles the Elephant on opening night. In 1952, the theater was demolished for a parking lot, and the site is now under development as the mixed-use Medallion project.

The Hippodrome is a customized former school bus brightly painted on the outside with lively graffiti-style scenes of beautiful women. Inside, passengers and performers sit face-to-face in a comfortable nightclub-style setting, with checkerboard flooring, cocktail tables and softly blinking lights. Every month the Hippodrome will feature interesting performers channeling the spirit of the neighborhood's storied past.

Appearing during the June 12 Art Walk is guitarist Lucas Gonze, playing lowbrow 19th century American music trash picked from sheet music in historical archives; among the copyright-free tunes in Lucas' repertoire are "Satanella," "Rough on Rats"and "Celebrated Shoo Fly Galop."

Writer, neon tour guide and educator Mike Sonksen, aka Mike The Poet, presents live poems about LA authors and the city's underground. And Luca Spanio, already a favorite of downtowners in his day job as waiter at Colori Kitchen, presents his solo tribute to Freddie Mercury & company, Queen Acoustic.

Link for musical guest Lucas Gonze: http://soupgreens.com/
Link for Mike the Poet: http://www.myspace.com/mikethepoet
Link for musical guest Queen Acoustic: http://www.myspace.com/queenacoustic
Link for Hippodrome info: http://www.esotouric.com/hippodrome