Watch Lee Spielman Talk Building a New Kind of Community in L.A.
“A lot of kids are lost and looking for somewhere to go,” says Trash Talk frontman Lee Spielman in the latest episode of Foundation, a series of mini-documentaries from FADER and Alpha Industries. “There’s kids kicking around Hollywood that have nothing to fucking do. But they can come here, skate, and be themselves.”
Here is Babylon LA, a combination “skate shop, gallery, hangout, and youth center” that Spielman founded in 2012 as a way to give the community of kids, punks, and outsiders that surrounded his band a real home – the kind of home that shaped him growing up. As Lee tells it, “For me right now, it’s all about taking the things I loved as a kid, and using the resources we have now to do my own version of it.”
“If we could inspire kids to go out and just do whatever the fuck they want, that’s amazing. We all had that spot when we were a kid. And hopefully this spot is that for these kids.”
Shot on site on the L.A. streets that surround Babylon, the documentary captures the energy and spirit that led a legendary local punk band to become an essential part of their community, now and for years to come. Watch the full vid above.