Band's Wild Ride Down the L.A. River and Through the Legal System

While researching rivers to paddle down during the cold Canadian winter months, David Fort, founder/guitarist for the folk band, Twin, came across the declaration that the Los Angeles River was deemed “traditional navigable water” by the Environmental Protection Agency. 

But while the river had been deemd "navigable," it has not yet been .

Fort said he was excited to come to Los Angeles for this journey with band members Lesley Brown, the violinist, vocalist and saw player; Ally Leenhouts, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist; David Enns, lead guitarist, Luthier player; Eva Klassen, performer/writer; and videographer and local resident, Danny Louangxay.

Their purpose was to explore the obvious-places that had been left for dead.

“Humans travel the globe, climb every mountain, go to the bottom of the sea, and yet they don’t realize there’s adventure right where they live,” Fort said.

Fort and friends were looking for a way to help people develop a relationship and reconnect to their environment, even after being consumed by the depths of pollution and overpopulation. They wanted to unite the Los Angeles community with their river.

“We felt like we were being called to the L.A. River to help celebrate the change not only in Los Angeles, but in the United States,” Fort said, “It’s a turning point in American geographic history, the way it viewed urban space.”

Fort confirmed, “It was not a publicity stunt, but a public event as we invite people to come on these journeys if they are able.”

During the month prior to their tour, they scouted the river for any dangerous sections. Coming out of the mountains, the Los Angeles River has some white water elements to it, as well as a lot of hard surface, metals and sharp garbage in and out of the area.

“Many parts of the L.A. River should be paddled only by knowledgeable boaters since there’s fast water comparable to light mountain river flow, and being in concrete, if you crash you crash hard,” explained Fort.  “Other parts are slow and manageable by novice paddlers.”

Being experienced boaters and having paddled dozens of rivers before, they knew they could paddle safely down the river.

This was Twin’s second river armada, the first being the “Assiniboine River Music Armada” in Canada, which they will be doing again the fall. Enns and a crew completed the entire Mississippi a year and a half ago.

Nevertheless, the Los Angeles River was a challenge because of all the cement and trash, especially in the San Fernando Valley area.

Upon arrival, two canoes were purchased and at 5 a.m. on Thursday Feb. 17 at the Sepulveda Park underneath the Balboa Bridge. They then embarked on their trip down the Los Angeles River.

At that location, there were lots of trees and reasonably flowing water. From the dam, however, it was pure concrete and the water too shallow to paddle, requiring them to walk most of the way.

It took several hours to get from the dam to Studio City. As the group approached Studio City, the water became quite deep, moving so quickly they only had to paddle for steering purposes.

After going under a couple of bridges, spectators started gathering, giving the participants funny looks as if to say they shouldn’t be doing this. They assumed one of the onlookers called the police.

Earlier in the trip, everyone along the way had been walking, jogging, and smiling alongside. 

“The mood had changed indeed [when they hit Studio City],” Fort observed.  “We know it got called in because the fire department told us.”

About 300 yards before the Vineland/Ventura overpass, a helicopter circling above transmitted a loud screeching siren. The canoers were told they were being arrested and they would be taken downtown. There was a lot of laughing and picture taking from the sidelines.

Several Los Angeles Police and firefighters drove in from a southeast vehicle access point facing downstream, forcing the boaters to stop at an awkward point in fast water, “just when the river was getting fun,” Fort said.

Even though it was hard to stop, because the water was moving really fast,  they immediately ended their trip because they were scared by the deafening shrill whistle. Fort said they didn’t know the intent of the police. They got completely wet and so did their equipment, but everything was salvaged by throwing it all onto the embankment.

The firefighters were very helpful, taking the passengers and their belongings out of the riverbed. They put the heavy canoes (which took at least three strong men to carry) on top of their truck and later drove everyone home.

The police seemed to have to deliberate about what to charge them, and no one was clear about jurisdiction. The LAPD got a call from a superior saying there had to be citations for something, hence, tickets were given for violation of LAMC 41.22, "loitering on a river bed" and Penal code 555, "unlawful entry upon posted property."

In April, when they appeared at the Van Nuys Courthouse for their court date, they were told that no charges had ever been filed.

Nevertheless, according to the statute of limitations, the prosecutor has one year to file charges, which per legal consultant, Steven White, thougth had only a slim chance of happening.

Having felt incomplete about not being able to paddle the entire way, Twin held a Los Angeles River cleanup at their Sepulveda Park entry point. They had gotten the opportunity to see the huge amount of garbage on the river, dead birds in plastic bags, an awful smell and they wanted people to know about it.

“We were hoping to open the eyes of Los Angeles residents to see that this is their public space, their river, to take care of it, and not let it go to waste,” Fort explained.

Fort said the band members said they are grateful for their experience in Los Angeles because it inspired them “to think and dream big in a beautiful way.”  They met wonderful people and created incredible friendships. Fort called it, “empowering, emotional, and difficult at the same.”

Twin is planning to return to Studio City and Los Angeles as soon as they can for another tour and reunion. But, they recently discovered that there are bench warrants for the arrest.

Fort expressed that they can’t wait to come back for an extended stay since “we found something meaningful to do in a place with an amazing history, a place in transition, and a place with a river that’s ready to run clean for the people of the L.A. River watersheds.”

The Twins website is at www.twintwa.com or they can be contacted at  twintwa@hotmail.com.

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