Pasadena Confidential crime bus tour with Crimebo the Clown July 14, 2012

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, July 14, 12-4pm; "East Side Babylon" tour Sunday, July 15, 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, July 14, 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, July 15, 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.

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour and special event schedule
Sat June 16 - The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare
Sun June 17 - El Ranchito: Tour of Pio Pico's Historic Whittier Adobe (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat June 23 - Weird West Adams
Sat July 14 - Pasadena Confidential (weekend pass available)
Sun July 15 - Eastside Babylon (weekend pass available)
Mon July 23- The LAVA Salon at Musso & Frank: Dorothy Parker & F. Scott Fitzgerald (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat July 28 - The Real Black Dahlia
Sat August 4 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: Route 66 (weekend pass available)
Sun August 5 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: South LA (weekend pass available)
Sat August 11 - Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles
Sat August 18 - Haunts of A Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski's Los Angeles
Sat August 25 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: Boyle Heights & The San Gabriel Valley

Esotouric's Richard Schave, Kim Cooper, Joan Renner 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