Soundelux of Hollywood

Been musing lately about the changes on Hollywood Blvd. these past 23 years, which is how long I've been working at (what's now known as) Todd-Soundelux.

When I originally needed a sound editing gig, I really hesitated asking my pal Dan Rich to get me in here, because they were on Hollywood Blvd and I knew how sleazy and dangerous it was.

My fears turned out to be well-placed. I began working during a particularly cold February, and I was driving an extremely temperamental '70 Mustang at the time.  Most nights I had to sit while the car was warming up, which was a good 5 minute timespan for bums and homeless guys to come up and bang on the window, begging for money.  I got so freaked out that I started paying for parking below the building, which was anything but cheap.

We had a company man, Charlie Meister, who kept saying: "Hollywood's coming back! You'll see!"

It took many years and false starts, but Charlie was proven right. Eventually the store owners banded together and hired a private security force to walk the streets, and suddenly, all the homeless and the scary bums were gone! I don't know if that's good or bad, but it definitely felt safer. Instead of getting hit up for change 6 or 7 times a day, it happened almost never.

Meanwhile, they finally tore down the eyesore at Hollywood and Highland and created the new shopping complex and subway station.  Again, it has its good and bad aspects, but overall it was brand new and shiny and made for a much better tourist experience.  You could actually invite people to visit, knowing there was somewhere nice to go.

However, the street patrols seemed to disappear after just a few short years.

Now we've almost come full-circle: the bums, the homeless, and the scary drifters are back, and I'm getting hit up for change multiple times a day.  They are not literally pissing out in the open as they used to, but that doesn't seem far off. The only difference is that the surrounding buildings are better and more varied.

But I am mostly alone out there now, because almost all my friends left Soundelux for the Formosa Group. This morning I found out that the company's co-founder, Lon Bender, has also boxed up his room and is now an independent agent.

Not many of us left!