Interview With Drew Lesso

Composer Drew Lesso moved to Downtown Los Angeles in the 1970s after hearing of the burgeoning art community taking hold in the warehouses and empty factories of what is now the Arts District. He and a partner leased a whole floor of a building on Los Angeles Street and split it into four units, renting out the extra spaces to subsidize their own expenses and make a small profit. It was just the first of several artist loft buildings Lesso would helm in more than four decades downtown.

Lesso was the founding president of the Los Angeles River Artists & Business Assn. (LARABA), and he collaborated with local artists and poets in creating soundtracks for spoken word and visual presentations. Lesso was interviewed at the American Hotel on Feb. 13, 2014, for “Tales of the American,” a documentary feature about the Downtown L.A. Arts District, Al’s Bar and the American Hotel. He has since moved to Frazier Park in northern Los Angeles County.

Filmmakers Pamela Wilson and Stephen Seemayer interviewed more than a hundred artists, musicians, writers and others who lived, worked and partied in and around the American Hotel. They are periodically releasing (in alphabetical order) edited versions of these interviews on this channel.

To watch "Tales of the American" on Amazon Prime, go to https://amzn.to/2MyARcA.

For links to other streaming services and a message from “Bosch” creator Michael Connelly (executive producer of “Tales of the American”), go to https://www.talesoftheamerican.com.