Lina Lecaro needs no introduction.. Author, Photographer, Journalist, Mother and a great human being... She is a true Hollywood Icon... I have been a long time fan of hers. I personally feel that she best describes herself in just four words... Loving, Loyal, L.A. Woman... I hope that you enjoy my interview with the incredible Lina Lecaro..

Thanks so much for the interview Lina. You were born in Los Angeles right?

Yes I was.

Can you give the readers some background on yourself?

LA native who grew up in the neighborhoods of Atwater, Silver Lake and later Hollywood. Moved back to Silver Lake about 10 years ago. I’m a freelance journalist with an emphasis on music, entertainment, fashion, art and pop culture.

Where did you attend school?

John Marshall High school in Silver Lake/Los Feliz. Then LACC for a couple years and then transferred to Cal State Northridge to get my BA in Journalism

You are probably best known for your work with The L.A. Weekly. Tell us how you got started with The LA Weekly?

I started there as an intern just out of high school while I was attending LACC. I lived on Hyperion Avenue near Rowena and the Weekly’s offices were down the road so it was really convenient. Plus, I always wanted to work at the Weekly, since Jr. High. I went to John Burroughs in the Wilshire district (I was bused for a Magnet Program) and when I joined the school paper there, I found my calling.

My love of nightlife and music was shaped as a kid by reading the LA Weekly in the late 80’s. So when I was put to work in the early 90’s for Belissa Cohen who had taken over the Weekly’s “scene” column La Dee Da from Pleasant Gehman, it was like it was meant to be. I started out fact-checking names and places, and soon I was doing light editing and going out with Belissa to shows and events.

At the same time, my “real job” was at the curio boutique called Y-Que Trading Post which started on Hyperion as well, then moved to Sunset Blvd. near Circus of Books. I still lived with my parents at this time, and you could say I was completely immersed in my little Silver Lake life... A coincidence of all this was my cousin and his wife, Jimmy and Rae Chavira, owned the store and Rae also worked at the Weekly before I came on board there. Y-Que is still around, on Vermont Ave. in Los Feliz, but it’s a different owner, Billy T. I also worked for him before I transitioned to full-time writer several years ago.

You have been so involved with the LA music scene. Have you ever been in a band?

Well, I always loved to sing. In high school I was in choir and drama. Some of the kids from school formed a band, and I did some back-up for them a few times. We played The Roxy and I think the Anti-club? That’s all kind of a blur. I remember wanting to form an all-girl band and looking in Music Connection for like-minded gals, but for whatever reason, I never really pursued it seriously. So yeah, the cliche about music critics being frustrated musicians has some merit. But I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think music writers should know the challenges and the rewards of making music themselves to really get it.

You have seen and written about so many bands.. Can you tell the readers a few of your favorites?

Well anyone who knows me or reads my stuff even a little probably knows I’m a Rolling Stones freak. Loved their music since I was a little girl, and Mick and Keith were probably my first rocker crushes, though being a lot younger than them, I always loved their style and looks from decades previous (60’s and 70’s). I love blues-based rock n’ roll best, so all the classics: Led Zeppelin, The Faces, The Stooges. I love soul and funk: Aretha, Al Green, James Brown. Punk, metal, new wave, disco, you name it. I’ve pretty much devoured music all my life and got into kinda every “scene” at some point: the Sunset Strip glam-metal thing, the new wave and then Goth thing, the punk scene, even the rave scene (I went to all the first warehouse undergrounds in downtown... did all the map-points, took the um, “intoxicants,” etc.) I still love to dance, but ultimately, I’m a rock chick at heart.

It seems like you are at all the parties as well... Tell us about some of the stand-out events that you have attended?

Well, there are way too many to really rate them like that. Some of the Grammy parties I’ve attended were unreal. Especially before the record industry went belly-up and they were spending excessively on entertainment. Hanging with or seeing intimate sets by Prince, The Strokes, X, White Stripes, Iggy... Corporate-sponsored soirees can still be really good because they can afford the best talent, gluttonous amounts of food and drink... just pure excess. So events during Coachella, South By Southwest, E3, and Awards Season have been quite memorable. As for clubs and parties in night-club venues, my faves are those which have most diversity: gay and straight, rockers, ravers, fashionistas, freaks, punks, old and young...

You also take some great photos .. How long have you been doing photography?

When I got my own column, Nightranger, in the LA Weekly I wanted it to be very much like La Dee Da since that was a big influence for me. (Belissa took her own pics back in the day, but it was before digital, so she would send them in to develop and the music editor would chose from physical pics).

Nightranger didn't have pics at first. Then, I met the Mark the Cobrasnake at Coachella when he was a teenager, and wrote about him (I sort of take credit for “discovering” him because of this), and soon he was shooting for the Weekly and was assigned to take pics for me. Only problem was, he didn’t always show up to shoot what I was covering. I decided to buy a small digital and snap the moments, then eventually invested in an SLR and starting shooting everywhere I went. Today, it’s one of my favorite parts of what I do, but I never call myself a photog. I’m a writer who takes pics as a compliment to my work.

I know that you released a book about dive bars in Los Angeles. Tell us about that?

“Los Angeles Best Dive Bars- Drinking and Diving in the City of Angels (Ig Publishing)” came out in 2010. So many of the bars in it have since shuttered, which really bums me out. But I encourage people to still buy the book because now, it’s like a historical record of what was. Being a nightlife lover not to mention a cocktail lover, I had been to most of the bars in the book, but about a fourth were either new to me or dives I had heard about but not actually entered. Surveying these diverse drinking establishments was a tough job but somebody had to do it!

How can readers buy a copy?

It’s available on Amazon. Also Stories, Skylight, Book Soup, Paul Smith and Wacko/La Luz De Jesus.

Have you ever thought about doing a book of all your photos?

Yes. And I have a few ideas for different themes I’d like to cover. Stay tuned.

Tell us who media outlets that you do work with?

LA Weekly, Hollywood Style Scene, Los Angeles magazine, Entrepreneur magazine, Paper magazine, Wehoville.com, Pleasekillme.com are the current ones.

For several years I also wrote for the LA Times quite frequently, covering nightlife and music-- mainly heavy stuff ... I was their punk and metal gal I guess you could say. I also wrote a few fun things for Rollingstone.com, Flaunt magazine some random blogs and stuff.

You also do your own online radio show Moheak Radio. How did you get involved with radio?

I wrote about Moheak radio for the Weekly when it first started. The station is the brainchild of “TK” best known as the main voice at Indie 103.1 when it was on the air. TK asked me if I wanted to do a show and I said yes because I thought it’d be a fun extension of my writing, and kinda help spread my “brand,” which is important in this social media age. Plus, I thought it’d be a good personal challenge, and it has been. But it’s been a lot of fun too.

Thank you so much for having me on the show prior to a White Trash Debutantes show at The Redwood. Have you always filmed the interviews for Moheak Radio?

Thank YOU Ginger! You were a great guest. Yes a lot of them are taped via webcams, but not all. Many are viewable on my personal blog, LASlush.com and more recent ones can be seen on Moheak’s Ustream page.

Who is involved with the show and what do they do?

It’s just lil ol’ me interviewing people making news that week in the music and nightlife worlds, and playing music related to them or what’s going on in LA. .

Can you give the readers a link for Moheak Radio?

www.moheak.com (click “Listen Live”) We are also on Iheartradio.com now which is HUGE for the station and allows our shows to be heard all over the world via a high profile network.

What other Internet addresses would you like to share with the readers?

Well, my Facebook is a great place to see what I’m up to. I allow subscribers and post all my work “public” so people can click my writings. https://www.facebook.com/la.slush
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LinaLecaro
Personal blog: www.LASlush.com
LA Weekly: http://www.laweekly.com/authors/lina-lecaro/
Hollywood Style Scene: http://hollywoodandhighland.com/blog/

Describe yourself in three words?

Loving, loyal, LA-woman.

What does the rest of 2013 hold in store for you Lina?

Well my greatest “work” so to speak isn’t a written one, it’s my amazing daughter Charlotte. She has grown so fast (she’s 6 years old now) and I realize that every moment is so precious. I want to savor each one with her. So I have been going out a lot less. When I do go out, I make it count. I find the night that I think will prove most fruitful coverage-wise, and then hit a few different things. I also take my lil one to any appropriate music and arts events I can.

Professionally, it has been a challenging couple of years. Writers do not get paid what they used to, and so, I have had to actively look for new projects and even expand what I do for work. I have ideas I want to pursue and people I want to work with and even after all these years doing what I do, new things I want to try.

You are always so busy! How do you relax?

Ha! I don’t. Well, I do veg out in front of the TV a few times a week! Don’t know what I did before DVRs. When I’m at concert or a show, that can be relaxing (sometimes). Time spent with friends having a great meal or even in the car on the way to an event. That actually means a lot to me. And of course, chilling, cuddling or reading books with my daughter. I love the contrast of my home life versus my work life. And I’m trying more and more to separate the two, and de-stress my life.

Any parting words for Punk Globe readers?

Do what you love, even if you don’t always get paid for it. It will come back to you in other ways. Never burn a bridge if you can help it. Always strive to learn and grow. Rock out daily.