A couple days ago I had a random encounter with a man named Mark Francis while having coffee just off the boardwalk with some future photo subjects. When I was in college cigarettes were a great way to start a conversation with someone. Later it was a camera. Turns out having a dog works really great as well. Mark spotted my friend’s dog and couldn’t help but to come over and talk. Turns out he’s a former LA resident and founding member of a late 80s-early 90s post-punk band Francis X & the Bushmen, named after the late Francis X Bushman, a famous actor from the early 1900s who later donated his land to Sid Grauman, upon which he erected his famous Chinese Theater. Francis is now living in Mendocino, occasionally returning to LA to check out the music scene. The conversation ranged from dog breeds to Shamanism to his days in Venice Beach in the mid-70s. Cool guy and a nice break in the day. It’s great never knowing who you’re going to meet around here!
