Editor

Culture, Featured PHOTO

Bill Phelps – NY Photographer

By

Through his lens, there is a trust that occurs between him and his subjects that allows him access to their innermost self. Carefully and thoughtfully, Bill is able to capture that through his lens in a way that lends to a profoundly real understanding of human nature. He finds the beauty, the fear, the solitude, the playfulness, the fierceness, the joy, the passion, the spirit, and the honesty of every subject. Below is a look at the truly remarkable work Bill Phelps has produced.

Read More
A Drink?, Cocktails, Eat | Drink, Special Event, Wine & Beer

Supperclub + Wine Tasting

By

On August 2nd and 3rd, ATOD Magazine™ partnered with Los Angeles’ premier venue and nightclub, Supperclub in Hollywood to do a dinner + wine tasting with D’Alfonso Curran Winery. Wines created by Bruno D’Alfonso and Kris Curran, the lineup of wines expands well into any palate with a passion and love that can appeal to just about anyone. Below is a video of how the evening went. Thanks to Supperclub, the 4-Course dinner pairing was sublime.

Read More
Cinematography, Culture, Film, Limited Edition, OCMA Film, TV | FILM

Coast Modern, Architecture For The Soul

By

Is life composed of hard edges, or soft curves? In this elliptical documentary on the architectural wonderment of modernism and its steadfast metamorphosis over the last eighty-plus years, filmmakers Mike Bernard and Gavin Froome travel the Pacific Northwest in an effort to capture the essence of a spirituality we won’t find at the local synagogue or mosque, but in the very bones of our own homes. Coast Modern tries to establish not so much a style of living, but a way of life in its up-close-and-personal investigation of a series of homes and establishments belonging to the few who’ve decided to forgo the privacy and security of the enclosed enclaves most of us probably find ourselves in.

Read More
Music, Music | Theatre

WHY? and Serengeti

By

In the highly fickle and competitive world of music, bands that may be “great” individually but sound similar to other artists in their genre bracket, there’s a good change they get lost in the static. It is those musicians that straddle genre lines, blending influences to create a sound all their own, that are not only making themselves memorable, but becoming essential to staying relevant to listeners’ eclectic tastes.

Read More
California, Los Angeles, Music | Theatre

The Independents Vol. 1

By

Power, honesty, gritty self-awareness, passion, love, humor, sexuality, self doubt … Every artist must have all of these.

The Independents Vol. 1 is a compilation of extraordinarily talented artists acting out moments of their lives and each and every one of them embody the characteristics mentioned above. The evening air relents and lowers its obstructive heat to give us a moment of cool calm.

Read More
Culture, From the Editor, Videos, Writing Tips

Writing Tips with Editor – Dawn Garcia

By

I am a firm believer that everyone needs to be reminded to get out of their comfort zones – immediately – when it comes to creating. We get stuck in the mundane, the everyday routines, we commit to a single genre or – we simply procrastinate SO I created quick, very casual writing tip videos for you on our YouTube Channel to keep your mind fresh and encourage you to do weekly assignments. While I get to attend a lot of fun and glamorous events and outings and I’m usually dolled up, when it comes to writing – I’m not fancy. I’m real and just like you, I’m sitting in front of the computer or out for a walk and ideas come.

Read More
California, Culture, Los Angeles

La Descarga

By

As the night continues, another dance, a crowd of thirsty dwellers, a trip to the cigar room, a plentiful amount of beautiful people, dance floor flow, and a lot of thoughtful character. La Descarga is a place that reminds me of the “joints” once permitted in old time Cuba. The kind that Reinaldo Arenas dared to write about:

I pull off the cover, and stare at her dusty, cold shape I clean of fthe dust and caress her. With my hand, delicately, I wipe clean her back, her base and her sides. In front of her, I feel desperate and happy.

Read More
From the Editor, Letters to the Editor, Lifestyle, Limited Edition

Letter From the Editor – Issue No. 4

By

That said, this issue is just about the articles we’ve written this past couple of months that took place in and around Los Angeles. It will continue to grow and there will never be a shortage of things to write about in this city. So to the city that holds my heart, thank you for always embracing me even when you spit me out – because hey, that’s just part of being in this city – AND in this industry – thank you for showing me the world in one central location. Thank you for welcoming every ethnicity, every economic range, every color, every shape, every size, every smile, every story, every bite, every culture, every artist, every musician, every struggling actor, every wanting filmmaker, every theatre enthusiast, every remarkable human being.

Read More
COLUMNS, Culture, Film, Lifestyle, Limited Edition, Los Angeles, OCMA Film, TV | FILM

Smiling Through the Apocalypse

By

Smiling Through the Apocalypse, if you haven’t already Googled it yourself already, is a documentary that focuses on Esquire magazine during the sixties. Specifically, during the sixties under the helm of editor Harold T.P. Hayes. The story goes something like this: during one of the most turbulent decades unseen since the Civil War era, editor and provocateur Howard Hayes is remembered as having stepped up to take the falling star that was Esquire, and put it back in the sky. The film’s summary goes on to describe a man who not only led a team behind some of the most varied polemical writing styles and iconoclastic subtleties, but did so under the caveat that each and every day could easily lead to (and oftentimes did) disaster riddle in controversy.

Read More