A legacy of creative spirits (View Full Article here) Ali Simard, June 21, 2011

...The store, like Laurel Canyon itself, is steeped in music history. The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison and his girlfriend Pamela Courson lived just behind the store and watched the people come and go. Doors producer Paul Rothchild told Bina that this inspired Morrison to include the store in his song to Pamela, Love Street. ("She lives on Love Street/ There's this store where the creatures meet.")

Then there’s “Mama” Cass Elliott of The Mamas and the Papas who lived under the store for a short time in the '60s. Bina still has the flute she played underneath the shop in what is now a wine cellar. He believes she wrote the song Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon around that time. The Mamas and the Papas California Dreamin’ musical mementos have become part of the Laurel Canyon legend along with so many other canyon inspired songs, such as Crosby, Stills and Nash’sOur House and Joni Mitchell’s Ladies of the Canyon.

There may be a few more piercings and tattoos these days, but at Falakshahi’s coffee cart outside the entrance to this Hollywood landmark, the creative vibe of musicians, moviemakers, writers and fine artists can still be found collaborating, writing, drawing and bantering on any given day of the week.

On Saturdays, the tour buses slow down in front of the store, despite honking commuter traffic, to allow tourists to perhaps catch a glimpse of someone famous sitting with his or her neighbors, discussing Hollywood film projects, local school events or the political scene.

The reality is that the celebrity factor here is really the side effect of a living breathing community of freelancing artists, filmmakers, writers and musicians who work from home and come down to take their social bonding on the patio of the store. Musician and filmmaker Billy Jayne is a regular. “Everyone is so fast-paced that leisure is a commodity. People show up needing to connect to other artists. Like the old original coffee houses used to be. Lilly gives a sense of belonging, bonding and community. She became the excuse to let it happen all the time.”