It's been a week and a half since Hurricane Sandy ravaged New York and New Jersey and the cities and beach communities there are still working to recover from the storm. To top it all off, they have just been hit with a snowfall and many homes that just had their power restored are back without electricity. A group of Los Angeles residents have formed a collaborative to help grassroots organizations in New York with their relief efforts.

LA Hearts NY is throwing an emergency benefit this Sunday, November 11 at Space 15Twenty in Hollywood (right across from Amoeba). The event runs 2-6pm and will feature DJs from KCRW (Chris Douridas), Cat Power (Gregg Foreman and Nico Turner) & others, along with a silent auction, bake sale, Intelligentsia coffee and more. They still need help too so if you want to donate anything (including auction items) please email them at laheartsny@gmail.com.

 

Amoeba Hollywood has started regularly selling tickets to local shows, with the added bonus of charging low service fees (if you're into saving money and who isn't really?).

All tickets can be purchased at the registers (while supplies last) for a $2 service fee. We take cash and credit cards for all ticket sales.

Please note that on the day of the show, we will stop selling tickets for that show at 5pm.

If you have a question about whether we've sold out of a specific show, please call the store at 323-245-6400.

On Saturday, November 3 we were all excited to have the inimitable Billy Calhoun step up to the mic and charm the dollars out of the peeps....and....he....DID ! :) Billy did an amazing job of being funny, sincere, and charming while reminding people WHY we do this and what it means---and how each dollar is matched so it feels good. He was also gracious enough to donate several cool, kitschy vintage items from his own collection to spice it up even more. This month's recipient was a new partner for us, Good Neighbors, and they do amazing work around the world. Billy made sure to educate us about the works they do as he was auctioning off Dennis Rodman dolls (with switchable heads, no less! :). So it is even better since we are happy to be involved with what these guys are doing.

 Here are some of the highlights, which are especially impressive since there was a small crowd this time around. Several people overbid and doubled their own bids---which was just the spirit we needed:

 
** Pee Wee Herman Vintage T-shirt and Button Pack  -- $17.00

** Cat Power Concert Tickets and Signed CD -- $30.00

** Patti Smith Signed Horses CD and Poster -- $17.00

** Steve Martin T-shirt -- $5.00

** Monkees Concert Tickets -- $40.00

** Urban Outfitters Gift Card -- $45.00

** Lana Del Rey Signed 45 -- $25.00

** Dolly Parton Doll -- $30.00

** Minus The Bear Concert Tickets -- $25.00

** Gene Simmons Mask -- $25.00

** Amoeba VIP In-Store Pass -- $35.00

** Signed Doctor Who Blu-ray -- $40.00

** Trader Joe's Gift Card with Lunchbox -- $55.00

Here is a first glimpse of Amoeba’s Icon Series, artists we consider to be the greatest and most important musicians of all time.

We’re starting with Louis Armstrong, indisputably one of the finest and most influential musicians ever. We’ve put together and remastered his lifework from thousands of difficult to find sources and we’ll be making his entire catalog of over 4,000 unique performances available on Amoeba.com soon. Amongst these are many performances that most people have never heard or had access to, particularly in beautifully remastered form.

For now, here is a sampling of Louis’ material from the '20s. We have remastered all these songs from pristine original 78s generously made available from the collections of some good friends of Amoeba including Terry Zwigoff, Sherwin Dunner, and Robert Crumb.

The remastering was done by our sound team headed by the renowned Shai Fishman. The team has spent countless hours doing a truly masterful job of bringing forward the warmth, clarity, and resolution of these sides.

Here is Louis as you’ve never heard him before. All songs are available in MP3, M4A (ALAC), and WAV. We hope you enjoy these! There are many more to come.

Halloween is a week away and that means it's nearly time for our second annual Pet Costume Contest!! Bring your spooky pooch in costume to Amoeba Hollywood on Wednesday, October 31 at 4pm and you might win the grand prize gift basket from Catts & Doggs or other cool treats. Plus, we'll have creepy DJ sets 2-4pm with DJ FANG FACE and DJ LEW SIFFER, candy for the kids and lots more fun.

Amoeba Hollywood will also close at 7pm, so be sure to get your shopping in early.

Need some inspiration? Check out a few of the contestants from last year's inaugural competition: