ENCINO, CALIFORNIA 1992.

I can think of 3 films that immediately come to mind when picturing how my fascination with California lifestyle and California state-of-mind started and those films are The Lost Boys, The Wizard and Encino Man. When TNUC was a young brut, these movies shaped my vision of California, or what I at least could imagine the coastal state being like. The Wizard marked the beginning and birth of the fascination, with the little Nintendo wiz-kid’s struggling journey to California seeming almost dreamlike. Lucas Barton’s trench coat, oversized Vision Street Wear shirts, puffed blonde hair and of course his blessed POWER GLOVE became TNUC’s pubescent-era essentials. Things rapidly change course with The Lost Boys. This film gave TNUC the sleep all day/party all night/never grow old/never die attitude that was previously described in full detail here.

Finally we come to Encino Man. The sun-drenched shots of this Valley city that are portrayed in the movie combined with the day-to-day action that these characters engage in were enough convincing to realize that this was home. Mini-Mart mornings and Magic Mountain afternoons were the essence of my upbringing. Without raiding these local mini-marts to stock up on junk food, harassing the foreign employees and combing Ventura Blvd for Betty Nuggs (babes), I would be a ship lost at sea. Lastly, lets not forget Blades, a place where one could play ice hockey, find an endless supply of Betty Nuggs or play arcade games such as Rad Mobile. Ahhhh, home sweet home. Now watch the above video of Vince Neil’s ‘You’re Invited (But Your Friend Can’t Come)’ from the Encino Man soundtrack.