Eastside Babylon crime bus tour March 17, 2013

L.A. neighborhoods get the historic crimes they deserve in Esotouric's March crime bus weekend

WHAT: Esotouric, L.A.'s most eclectic tour company, reveals the criminal history of L.A.'s fascinating neighborhoods with the PASADENA CONFIDENTIAL / EAST SIDE BABYLON crime bus tour weekend
WHEN: "Pasadena Confidential with Crimebo the Clown" tour Saturday, March 16, 12-4pm; "East Side Babylon" tour Sunday, March 17, 12pm-4pm
WHERE: "Pasadena Confidential with Crimebo the Clown" departs from Fair Oaks and Arlington Street, Pasadena, CA 91105; "East Side Babylon" tour departs from The Daily Dose, 1820 Industrial St., Los Angeles, CA 90021
COST: Pasadena Confidential or East Side Babylon tickets $58/person;. Weekend pass for both tours $90/person.
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com, 213-373-1947

LOS ANGELES- Ask the average person to name a true crime location in Los Angeles and you'll hear about Nicole Brown's Brentwood condo, the Manson Murders scene in the Hollywood Hills, the Black Dahlia's disappearance from the Biltmore Hotel or Bugsy Siegel's Beverly Hills death house.

But when the crack researchers of Esotouric, L.A.'s most eclectic bus tour company, go crime hunting, they throw out the map to the stars homes and cast their eye to less glamorous L.A. neighborhoods that prove to be packed with bizarre crime histories. True crime buffs have already heard the famous stories a dozen times before on cable TV, but the forgotten crimes Esotouric digs up are fresh, fascinating and truly chilling. And now, Esotouric offers a weekend double feature packed with the weirdest crimes ever committed in two of L.A.'s most iconic communities: the old money suburb of Pasadena and the gritty working class neighborhoods on the East Side of the L.A. River.

TOUR #1:
First up, on Saturday, March 16, it's Esotouric's very popular PASADENA CONFIDENTIAL WITH CRIMEBO THE CLOWN tour, a true crime bus adventure delving deep into the weird and horrible past of one of L.A.'s most exclusive suburbs. Our special guest host on this tour is Daily Candy's favorite strange entertainer, Crimebo the Crime Clown capering as only Crimebo can.
Crime fiends will enjoy a four-hour guided luxury bus tour to the darkest recesses of Pasadena history, with vintage photos and film clips show to set the scene. From celebrated cases like the Robert Kennedy assassination (Sirhan Sirhan was a local Pasadena resident), "Eraserhead" star Jack Nance's strange end, black magician/rocket scientist Jack Parsons' death-by-misadventure and the 1926 Rose Parade grand stand collapse, to fascinating obscurities, the tour's multitude of murders, arsons, kidnappings, robberies, suicides, auto wrecks and oddball happenings provide an alternate history of Pasadena that's as fascinating as it is creepy. Crime Bus passengers will tour the old Millionaire's Row on Orange Grove, boggle at the shocking Sphinx Murder on the steps of the downtown Masonic Hall, thrill to the misadventures of one very poorly-behaved (but beautifully dressed!) chimpanzee and discover why people named Judd and rocket scientists should think twice before moving to Pasadena. They'll also enjoy the offbeat charms of Crimebo the Crime Clown as he leads passengers out onto Suicide Bridge for a personal look down into the gorge that tempted dozens of tormented souls to their demise. Riders on this eye-opening, funny and informative tour will forever see Pasadena in a new light. It is highly recommended for natives and newcomers alike, crime and history buffs and anyone who likes to seek out the unexpected.
Tour guide Kim Cooper, who researches and writes all of Esotouric's true crime tours, says, "I believe every neighborhood gets the crimes it deserves, and Pasadena's dark side is suitably rife with rocket scientists driven mad by their work, wealthy eccentrics spoiling their pet chimps and bears, seemingly respectable families misbehaving behind tall hedges and a general air of genteel psychic decay."

TOUR #2:
Then on Sunday, March 17, a select crew of urban explorers will climb aboard for EAST SIDE BABYLON, the latest addition to Esotouric's popular crime bus tour series. Passengers on this unusual bus adventure will discover fascinating, little-known historic neighborhoods and the grim memories they hold. With crimes spanning the 20th Century, some hideously gruesome, others weird and frankly unbelievable, the tour provides a new way of discovering the city, via crime scenes and oddities that make ordinary houses and intersections seem to vibrate with a mysterious energy. Come visit Boyle Heights, where Night Stalker Richard Ramirez was captured and a mad dad ran amok. Roam the hallowed lawns of Evergreen, L.A.'s oldest cemetery and home of some memorable haunts and strange burials. Visit East Los Angeles, where a deranged radio shop employee made mince meat of his boss and bride--and you can get your hair done in a building shaped like a giant tamale. Explore the ghastly streets of Commerce, where one small neighborhood's myriad crimes will shock and surprise. Visit Montebello, for scrumptious milk, eggnog and cookies at Broguiere's Farm Fresh Dairy washed down with a horrifying case of child murder. All this, and so much more on EAST SIDE BABYLON, Esotouric's exploration of L.A.'s most horrifying forgotten crimes and offbeat oddities.

And if you're looking for offbeat L.A. history but can't wait to ride the Esotouric bus, there's plenty of good stuff online. Esotouric's podcast You Can't Eat The Sunshine launched in January 2013 and can be found at http://esotouric.com/canteatsunshine and on iTunes. And in addition to this and other historic Los Angeles bus tours, Esotouric's team created the 1947project "time travel blog" series of alternate history websites, including In SRO Land ("lost lore of the historic core" at www.insroland.org), On Bunker Hill (www.onbunkerhill.org) and the original 1947project ("a crime a day" from 1947, 1927 and 1907 at www.1947project.com and 1947project.blogspot.com).

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour and special event schedule (free events starred)
Sat Feb 23 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: Boyle Heights & the San Gabriel Valley
*Sun Feb 24 - Back after a 15 month hiatus - LAVA's free Sunday Salon (info at lavatransforms.org)
*Sun Feb - The Flâneur & The City: Broadway Tour #2 (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat March 2 - Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice
*Sat March 9 - Arroyo Culture Day for Mad March Hares with three free LAVA tours: Lummis House, Southwest Museum and Judson Glass Studios (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat March 16 - Pasadena Confidential crime bus tour (weekend pass available)
Sun March 17 - Eastside Babylon crime bus tour (weekend pass available)
Sat March 23 - Weird West Adams crime bus tour
Sat April 6 - John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill (weekend pass available)
Sun April 7 - Charles Bukowski's LA (weekend pass available)
Sat April 13 - The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare
*Sun April 14 - Neff Estate Tour in La Mirada (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat April 20 - SPECIAL EVENT: Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA
Sun April 21 - Crime lab seminar: Insights in Criminal Investigation and the Secret World of Street Gangs with Nick Guskos (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat April 27 - The Real Black Dahlia
Sat May 4 - Blood & Dumplings crime bus tour
Sat May 18 - Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles

Esotouric's Richard Schave, Kim Cooper and Michael "Crimebo the Clown" Perrick are proud members of LAVA - The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. http://www.lavatransforms.org

For more info on Esotouric, visit http://www.esotouric.com

Official Website: http://www.esotouric.com