TOPANGA
Topanga Canyon connects suburban Woodland Hills and Malibu. The highway slithers down the hills with homes, nearly invisible behind the thick and dark leaves, on both sides. Back in the day, Topanga was just as important to the musical tribes of Southern California as Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills, and in the 60s and 70s countless bands and songwriters found a home in one of the (often) run-down shacks that covered the steep canyon walls. Names like Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Neil Young lived and created their music there, and it was a natural place for depresleys to launch an attack on America when we arrived in the US in the mid 90s.
The air is saturated with creativity in Topanga (yes, you may insert a cheap joke here), and those who have lived there for a while have stories to tell--stories of greatness and tragedy, of success and despair. And so do we. Not that we will tell them all; some would bore you, and some would be too revealing, but some have become part of the band’s history. We simply wouldn’t have become what we are today had Topanga Canyon not opened up to us and invited us in. Most people who visit Southern California never go to Topanga, and that’s the way the Topangans want it. If you’ve found paradise, why invite the crowds? Things change, however, and today the shacks are being replaced by mansions such that only the truly successful can afford to make Topanga Canyon their home. We are happy that we arrived in time to get a taste of what was still a thriving community of actors, musicians, writers, and hippies. We will always treasure the memories.
