Senor Amor

* The co-host of the “Molotov Cocktail Hour” on KXLU-FM (88.9), Tuesdays, 11 p.m. to midnight. He has also been a DJ at 3 Clubs, Liquid Kitty and Encounter.

Books and Shampoo: On Friday night, I like to see what’s happening at the Soap Plant on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Feliz. They have the greatest selection of books there, everything from fetish stuff to noir to every sort of subculture to books about design and architecture. They really have built up a nice library and likewise with all their weird knickknacks and toys from all over the world. So, if you want that hard-to-find Power Rangers shampoo or weird masks from the jungles of Mexico, that’s where you go to get it. And their gallery shows are always really great too. I love all their artists, you know, that’s where Robert Williams and Joe Coleman and all those guys were first shown. And they have good candy too.

The King of Bangkok: I like to go to the Palm on Hollywood Boulevard, where Kevin, the Thai Elvis, performs. It’s a great Thai restaurant. Unfortunately, it’s really brightly lit. It sits in the corner of a mini-mall. They have a little stage and he takes turns with a guy who is maybe Armenian, who sings popular songs from back in the day. And then they have this woman singing in Thai. But of course, the star attraction is Kevin. He’s just unbelievable. He sounds a lot like Elvis and he’s got the phenomenal wardrobe--the jumpsuits with the high collars and the rings and the big glasses and everything.

The Lounge Bus: One thing that a friend, Julian, and I like to do is we rent a bus and get, like, 60 people to go to lounges and piano bars all over Southern California. Last time, we went to Crabby Joe’s downtown, this dive bar that’s right next to a residence hotel. We had everybody dress in formal attire, and we just completely took over the place and the bartender--his name was Phil--couldn’t have cared less. Then we went to this really amazing restaurant, Dal Rae, in Pico Rivera, an old-style surf and turf place. They have a beautiful dining room and a nice bar area, where on the weekend they have live entertainment. Apparently, the Rat Pack guys used to hang out there. And then we went to this other piano bar-restaurant called the Brass Dolphin in Downey, where the locals are swinging seniors.

Another Bus Stop: We also went to the Commerce Casino, which is a taste of Vegas 10 minutes from downtown L.A. They just renovated the place and the lobby has these 15- or 20-foot-tall horses pulling this chariot. I couldn’t figure out the theme, but it’s a sort of a pantheistic thing--some Greek stuff, some Roman. They also have a really great lounge there and every week, there’s a different Top 40 band like the Super Sevens.

If I Was a Japanese Man: One of my favorite stores is Record Surplus on Pico in West L.A. They have a really great selection of stuff and the prices are good. And for the hard to find stuff--but you pay the price--I go to Atomic Records in Burbank. Whenever I go out of town, I make it a point to go record shopping, and those are typically my souvenirs. I was just in New York, and I got the original Japanese cast of “Fiddler on the Roof.” I have a lot of “Fiddler” stuff. I’ve got “Fiddler on the Roof Goes Latin,” and Cannonball Adderley did “Fiddler on the Roof,” and I have another Japanese thing, “Fiddler on the Roof Goes Pop.”

Two Rings on Each Finger: By far, the greatest entertainer in Las Vegas is Cook E. Jarr. He looks like a cross between Elizabeth Taylor and Gene Simmons, and he wears spandex pants and has a codpiece and every finger has rings. Some fingers have two rings. He does soul, funk, ballads and contemporary stuff, and he’s really funny. He works the crowd and the greatest people go to see him. He always plays late. He starts at midnight and goes to 4 a.m. and plays at different casinos around town.

Seoul Food: Sunday night, I’ll go to the Prince, on Catalina in between 8th and Wilshire. It used to be an old-school surf and turf place, with the dark wood panels and paintings of 18th century royalty. Now, it has turned into a Korean place and it has the same exact decor, but it’s like it was plunked down in Seoul, South Korea. They play really loud Korean pop music and they have a really great menu, all kinds of weird stuff.