June 21, 2005 Go West Trawl the storefronts of hip boutiques around the city, and you're tapped into a sort of revolving calendar of events. Band gigs, art happenings, DJ driven warehouse parties — all beckoning to you from colorful little flyers. And nestled among the flyers, a new addition to L.A.'s media scene. The West Video Magazine is a bimonthly publication now on its third issue. Don't let the slick cover fool you — This is a postcard from the edge. The DVD inside tells the real story, its title scrawled by hand in black Sharpy. Pop in the DVD and you get a mix of original and acquired content. Snippets of jam sessions from this year's South by Southwest convention, for example, intermingled with music videos from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs (directed by Spike Jonze) and Beck. The original content is charmingly non-linear and experimental. Less about storytelling than about creating a vibe. There's a lo-fi interview with Sonic Youthster Thurston Moore. And an animated short called "The Writer." Based in Pasadena, The West's co-founders Paul Forney and Kate Hillseth chose DVD to avoid the control of network bean counters. And they're giving the mag away for free, securing its status as a treasure of the underground — which is to say, you're going to have to hunt for it. Dig around. It's buried somewhere, under a stack of fliers. Free copies of The West Video Magazine are available at Amoeba records and storefronts around L.A. — but in limited quantities. To avoid the hunt, subscribe for $20 at thewestvideomagazine.com.