"My whole approach is to have a conversation with the listeners. The words have to mean something to me." 

I first heard Larry sing c2010 at The Other Side, the long-closed piano bar in Silverlake. His voice is a little rough-edged, which grabs your attention, and he almost speaks many of the lyrics of his songs - whether it's "It Isn't Easy Being Green," "Lush Life," or one of the highly suggestive songs the crowd always loved to hear.

Larry's past includes stints in the Air Force and at ABC-TV as a graphic designer, and his story proves F. Scott Fitzgerald was probably drunk when he said, "There are no second acts in American lives." Larry is on his third act ... at least.

This piece originally aired in 2012; sit back and enjoy. And then go buy "Close Your Eyes," "Larry Davis Too," or any of his other albums on iTunes.

Happy New Year!

Support for this podcast comes from Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Off-Ramp's Chistmas present to you is our annual holiday special, A Christmas Carol Redux, which combines the old time radio version - starring Lionel Barrymore - with new versions of the perennial holiday production. Enjoy!

Support for this podcast comes from Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

New GM Farhan Zaidi, Dodgers Stadium's arborist, Roz Wyman brings Dodgers to LA, the "ball hawk" saga continues, Nancy B strikes a chord, and much more.

Batters and Stanton, plain brown envelope artists; Abe Lincoln and California; Grandma Nazimova had a trunk, and inside ...; Bogart's son on Film Noir

Kevin Ferguson talks about the hot new app game 'Survive Mola mola!' with Molly Peterson and Milton Love; John talks with Assemblyman Gatto about avoiding the horrors of probate.

We go to Bakersfield to sample a few gems in a city with a bad rap; Jim Tully, "the most hated man in Hollywood;" Brains On and living with a volcano.

James Franco's collaborative USC film class winds up with real movies ... a jazz pianist who uses sci-fi movies to inspire music about Mars ... Damian Kevitt runs the LA Marathon.

14yo Destiny Rodriguez co-hosts Brains On! Patt Morrison interviews Broadway icon Patricia Morison. We uncover the true facts behind the Rose Hills cemetery's neon sign.

Icons! John meets and rides through Hollywood with Angelyne, and Kevin interviews former Minuteman bassist Mike Watt, who'll be on the punk Mt Rushmore.

Thousands of supposedly lowbrow Angelenos lined up for hours last weekend to get inside a new architectural marvel and an old icon: The Broad museum and Hollyhock House.