Monday, February 18, 2013

Esotouric offers Pasadena and LA crime bus tours March 16 & 17

L.A. neighborhoods get the historic crimes they deserve in Esotouric's March
crime bus weekend

WHAT: Esotouric, L.A.'s most eclectic tour company, reveals the criminal
history of L.A.'s fascinating neighborhoods with the PASADENA CONFIDENTIAL /
EAST SIDE BABYLON crime bus tour weekend
WHEN: "Pasadena Confidential with Crimebo the Clown" tour Saturday, March
16, 12-4pm;  "East Side Babylon" tour Sunday, March 17, 12pm-4pm
WHERE: "Pasadena Confidential with Crimebo the Clown" departs from Fair Oaks
and Arlington Street, Pasadena, CA 91105;  "East Side Babylon" tour departs
from The Daily Dose, 1820 Industrial St., Los Angeles, CA 90021
COST: Pasadena Confidential or East Side Babylon tickets $58/person;.
Weekend pass for both tours $90/person.
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com, 213-373-1947

 Ask the average person to name a true crime location in Los
Angeles and you'll hear about Nicole Brown's Brentwood condo, the Manson
Murders scene in the Hollywood Hills, the Black Dahlia's disappearance from
the Biltmore Hotel or Bugsy Siegel's Beverly Hills death house.

But when the crack researchers of Esotouric, L.A.'s most eclectic bus tour
company, go crime hunting, they throw out the map to the stars homes and
cast their eye to less glamorous L.A. neighborhoods that prove to be packed
with bizarre crime histories. True crime buffs have already heard the famous
stories a dozen times before on cable TV, but the forgotten crimes Esotouric
digs up are fresh, fascinating and truly chilling. And now, Esotouric offers
a weekend double feature packed with the weirdest crimes ever committed in
two of L.A.'s most iconic communities: the old money suburb of Pasadena and
the gritty working class neighborhoods on the East Side of the L.A. River.

TOUR #1:
First up, on Saturday, March 16, it's Esotouric's very popular PASADENA
CONFIDENTIAL WITH CRIMEBO THE CLOWN tour, a true crime bus adventure delving
deep into the weird and horrible past of one of L.A.'s most exclusive
suburbs. Our special guest host on this tour is Daily Candy's favorite
strange entertainer, Crimebo the Crime Clown capering as only Crimebo can.

Crime fiends will enjoy a four-hour guided luxury bus tour to the darkest
recesses of Pasadena history, with vintage photos and film clips show to set
the scene. From celebrated cases like the Robert Kennedy assassination
(Sirhan Sirhan was a local Pasadena resident), "Eraserhead" star Jack
Nance's strange end, black magician/rocket scientist Jack Parsons'
death-by-misadventure and the 1926 Rose Parade grand stand collapse, to
fascinating obscurities, the tour's multitude of murders, arsons,
kidnappings, robberies, suicides, auto wrecks and oddball happenings provide
an alternate history of Pasadena that's as fascinating as it is creepy.
Crime Bus passengers will tour the old Millionaire's Row on Orange Grove,
boggle at the shocking Sphinx Murder on the steps of the downtown Masonic
Hall, thrill to the misadventures of one very poorly-behaved (but
beautifully dressed!) chimpanzee and discover why people named Judd and
rocket scientists should think twice before moving to Pasadena. They'll also
enjoy the offbeat charms of Crimebo the Crime Clown as he leads passengers
out onto Suicide Bridge for a personal look down into the gorge that tempted
dozens of tormented souls to their demise. Riders on this eye-opening, funny
and informative tour will forever see Pasadena in a new light. It is highly
recommended for natives and newcomers alike, crime and history buffs and
anyone who likes to seek out the unexpected.

Tour guide Kim Cooper, who researches and writes all of Esotouric's true
crime tours, says, "I believe every neighborhood gets the crimes it
deserves, and Pasadena's dark side is suitably rife with rocket scientists
driven mad by their work, wealthy eccentrics spoiling their pet chimps and
bears, seemingly respectable families misbehaving behind tall hedges and a
general air of genteel psychic decay."

TOUR #2:
Then on Sunday, March 17, a select crew of urban explorers will climb aboard
for EAST SIDE BABYLON, the latest addition to Esotouric's popular crime bus
tour series. Passengers on this unusual bus adventure will discover
fascinating, little-known historic neighborhoods and the grim memories they
hold. With crimes spanning the 20th Century, some hideously gruesome, others
weird and frankly unbelievable, the tour provides a new way of discovering
the city, via crime scenes and oddities that make ordinary houses and
intersections seem to vibrate with a mysterious energy. Come visit Boyle
Heights, where Night Stalker Richard Ramirez was captured and a mad dad ran
amok. Roam the hallowed lawns of Evergreen, L.A.'s oldest cemetery and home
of some memorable haunts and strange burials. Visit East Los Angeles, where
a deranged radio shop employee made mince meat of his boss and bride--and
you can get your hair done in a building shaped like a giant tamale. Explore
the ghastly streets of Commerce, where one small neighborhood's myriad
crimes will shock and surprise. Visit Montebello, for scrumptious milk,
eggnog and cookies at Broguiere's Farm Fresh Dairy washed down with a
horrifying case of child murder. All this, and so much more on EAST SIDE
BABYLON, Esotouric's exploration of L.A.'s most horrifying forgotten crimes
and offbeat oddities.

And if you're looking for offbeat L.A. history but can't wait to ride the
Esotouric bus, there's plenty of good stuff online. Esotouric's podcast You
Can't Eat The Sunshine launched in January 2013 and can be found at
http://esotouric.com/canteatsunshine and on iTunes. And in addition to this
and other historic Los Angeles bus tours, Esotouric's team created the
1947project "time travel blog" series of alternate history websites,
including In SRO Land ("lost lore of the historic core" at
www.insroland.org), On Bunker Hill (www.onbunkerhill.org) and the original
1947project ("a crime a day" from 1947, 1927 and 1907 atwww.1947project.com
and 1947project.blogspot.com).

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour and special event schedule (free events starred)
Sat Feb 23 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: Boyle Heights & the San
Gabriel Valley
*Sun Feb 24  - Back after a 15 month hiatus - LAVA's free Sunday Salon (info
at lavatransforms.org)
*Sun Feb - The Flâneur & The City: Broadway Tour #2 (info at
lavatransforms.org)
Sat March 2 - Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice
*Sat March 9 - Arroyo Culture Day for Mad March Hares with three free LAVA
tours: Lummis House, Southwest Museum and Judson Glass Studios (info at
lavatransforms.org)
Sat March 16 - Pasadena Confidential crime bus tour (weekend pass available)
Sun March 17 - Eastside Babylon crime bus tour (weekend pass available)
Sat March 23 - Weird West Adams  crime bus tour
Sat April 6 - John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill (weekend pass available)
Sun April 7 - Charles Bukowski's LA (weekend pass available)
Sat April 13 - The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California
Nightmare
*Sun April 14 - Neff Estate Tour in La Mirada (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat April 20 - SPECIAL EVENT: Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA
Sun April 21 - Crime lab seminar: Insights in Criminal Investigation and the
Secret World of Street Gangs with Nick Guskos (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat April 27 - The Real Black Dahlia
Sat May 4 - Blood & Dumplings crime bus tour
Sat May 18 -  Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles

Esotouric's Richard Schave, Kim Cooper and Michael "Crimebo the Clown"
Perrick are proud members of LAVA - The Los Angeles Visionaries Association.
http://www.lavatransforms.org

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

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