Irregular? Check. Irreverent? Double check. But the success of Vermin on the Mount is due to the eclectic mix of readers who take the stage. I'm willing to wager that Vermin on the Mount is the only reading series in town to feature a screenwriter reading a short story, a poet leading the audience in primal screams, a comedienne reading an essay, and a lawyer with the California Justice Department reading tales of the weird and the fantastic.
This is Jacob Forman reading from his excellent story "Lake Hollywood." His legs are long. He is probably a really good swimmer.
Here's the incomparable Lizz Huerta with the elegant one, Mark Sarvas. Mark is wearing a shirt that reads. "I'm blogging this." (Mark pretends to be a curmugeon, but deep down there's a hipster with a closet full of snarky t-shirts waiting to bust out.) Lizz is wearing, well, if you missed it, you missed it, but she's not called Scanda-Lizz for nothing.
After a brief intermission, Wendy took the stage and read a a hilarious send-up of Maxim magazine. Wendy is one of the most consistently funny contributors to the McSweeney's website.
Here's Daniel Olivas scowling into his book minutes after I revealed his other life as a crimefighter. Daniel, apparently, doesn't sleep, for in addition to writing books, he pens amazing reviews, and blogs.
Why this is this man so sad? This is Josh and he helps out with Vermin on the Mount. Handing out raffle tickets, minding the merch table, and generally being helpful when help is needed. On Saturday evening he got his bike stolen in Chinatown. This is a bummer because Josh is one of the good green citizens of LA who bikes to work, regularly uses the MTA, and doesn't own a car. The bike is a red Schwinn and was ganked in broad daylight outside a Vietnamese restaurant on Broadway. (Yes, it was locked.) If you have any info or, even better, a cheap/spare bike for sale/you're not using, please shoot me an email.
