PICTURES: LAUREL CANYON/ L.A.

An original Doors 1967 gig poster at the Canyon Country Store

Over the road from the Canyon Country Store.

Cielo Drive, just down the hill from the scene of the infamous Tate murders.

The back side of the Canyon Country Store, as viewed from Jim Morrison's former home.

Overlooking L.A.

Inside Room 105 of the Landmark Motor Hotel, scene of Janis Joplin's demise.

Jim Morrison's highly distinctive former house at Rothdell Trail, just behind the Canyon Country Store.

Weird scenes inside the Canyon.

An alternative view of The Log Cabin site, definitely a unique kind of place.

Site of The Log Cabin, Frank Zappa's former Laurel Canyon home. It mysteriously burned down and this was constructed on its place. It's now owned by Lady Gaga but seemingly disused.

Frank Zappa's former Log Cabin site, later inhabited by Eric Burdon of The Animals.

Atop Lookout Mountain.

Lookout Mountain with stunning views down over the city of LA.

The Lookout Mountain Laboratory, former covert military intelligence facility at the very top of the LC, now owned by Hollywood actor Jared Leto.

Inside Room 105 of the Landmark Motor Hotel, and at the shrine to Janis Joplin created by fans in the room's closet.

A side view of Jim Morrison's former home.

Memorabilia at the Canyon Country Store.

An alternative view of The Log Cabin, definitely a unique kind of place.

Outside the Canyon Country Store, a meeting-place hub for the counter-culture musicians of the late 60s. Note the cool map of the area.

An L.A. vista

A lunch break with our host Shentale at Mel's Diner on the Sunset Strip. 

Lunch break.

Across the road from the Canyon Country Store.

Cielo Drive, just down the hill from the scene of the infamous Tate murders.

The driveway to the former Tate/ Polanski residence on Cielo Drive, home of the horrific Manson Murders in August 1969.

Formerly 10050 Cielo Drive, the Tate/ Polanski residence. The house was demolished in 1994 and a new property rebuilt. It's now been renumbered 10066 Cielo Drive.

A glimpse of the Cielo Drive site of the Manson murders.

A Doors fan outside Jim Morrison's former residence.

The Viper Room live music venue, owned by Johnny Depp.

Whisky-A-Go-Go, one of the iconic live music venues on the Sunset Strip where the likes of The Doors and The Byrds played gigs.

I had an absolutely awesome time running around Laurel Canyon, Sunset Strip and other Hollywood Hills neighbourhoods in LA with Greg Carlwood of The Higherside Chats fame, his girl Teresa and our host Shentale. We got to see many of the legendary locations immortalised in Dave McGowan’s groundbreaking ’Weird Scenes Inside The Canyon’ book, including the Lookout Mountain Laboratory, Frank Zappa’s Log Cabin residence, the Whisky-A-Go-Go Club on Sunset Boulevard, the site of the Manson Family/ Tate murders, the Canyon Country Store, Jim Morrison’s former residence behind it, and the very room at The Landmark Hotel in which Janis Joplin died, which now has a shrine in its closet. When you read about these you form an image in your mind of what they’ll all look like, and I have to say none of them appeared as expected. A mini video documentary of our escapades will be coming soon, In the meantime, here’s a selection of pics. Each one carries a descriptive caption.