Motorcycle License

[Zot09]

So for the past few months, I've been thinking about getting my motorcycle license(one of my friends has been pushing me for the past year, and it's slowly starting to really interest me). So my question is, how do I go about getting my license? Do I take riding classes first? Or do I get some sort of permit first? I have no idea how to go about this.

I guess this question goes out to Minacious or Corpse_Grinder, where in SoCal would you go to take some classes? Any tips?

Thanks for all the help!