HOLLYWOOD. The road to rock and roll immortality twists and turns right through the heart of Hollywood. It's called Sunset Boulevard, and as you follow its path you can retrace the steps of legends. You can almost hear The Doors or Janis Joplin as you spin past the Whisky a Go Go. You can picture Tom Petty inaugurating the Viper Room. You can even pick up a new guitar at one of the many music shops, and then imagine your fame paying off as you get a lap dance at Motley Crue's namechecked strip club, 7th Veil.

But all of this, the ghosts of the past and the hopefuls of the future are under one roof, in a fascinating place called Mr. Musichead, a rock art gallery.

Before I could even shake hands with the very personable owner, Sam Milgrom, I met the gallery dog, Emma. I don't know if you'll find an art gallery that has more personality than this one, and both Sam and Emma are pieces of that.

Sam got his start in a record shop in Detroit, called Sam's Jams, and his eyes light up when he starts talking about things that interest him. He can tell you about each artist and piece on the wall as you wander past. "That's Storm Thorgerson's wall over there, who you may recognize as the artist who created a lot of Pink Floyd album covers," he says. His passion may be music, but his mind has a visual bent, and a Picasso or a Dali is just as inspiring as a Clash song. The logo for the place came to him in a dream, and that's certainly what I was doing as my journey through the gallery continued.

The rock photography, by Chris Cuffaro, had me imagining myself on a photo shoot with Nirvana. A giant picture of the group was against a back wall, just having come from the front window. In massive detail, their young faces stared back in such clear black and white. When they are looking at you from a picture that could cover most of your bedroom wall, you surely want to tell them how their lives will turn out, and to avoid Courtney Love.

Neither the owner nor the dog would understand if you started talking to a picture, however, so your dreams move elsewhere. The mantra here is that there are pieces from $30 to $30,000, and you're bound to see something that you'd love to take home.

There are some pieces from Brandon Boyd, who I had no idea was so multitalented. There are also some famous concert posters from Emek, and some psychedelic prints from Arnaud Azoulay that caught my eye.

The next event here will be on April 29, a book signing event for Alan Aldridge and his work entitled "Kaleidoscope Eyes," a masterful collection of his pieces for luminaries like The Beatles.

Yes, the road to rock and roll immortality runs through Hollywood, and passes right through the middle of Mr. Musichead. The road to recovery? That's in Malibu.

THE DETAILS: Mr. Musichead
7511 West Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90046
323.876.0042
www.mrmusichead.com

Story by Alex Storch.