The L.A. Musical History Tour
Gazzarri's
9039 Sunset, Sunset Strip
Owner Bill Gazzarri first opened his club at 319 North La Cienega, presenting
artists like
the Standells, Jackie DeeShannon, and the McCoys (plus Johnny Rivers, whom
he hired
away from a club downtown, only to lose him to the Whisky).
Moving up here in the mid-1960s, he snared the Doors, the Byrds, Buffalo
Springfield,
and many other up-and-coming acts ( including the Walker Brothers, who made
their name
here and then left for England, where they became huge stars). During the
1966 Sunset
Strip "riots," Gazzarri led the fight against the city when it
wanted to close all rock clubs.
During the seventies this was the "other" rock club (though Van
Halen played here a lot ),
somehow second to the Starwood and the Whisky. But during the eighties it
came back
into its own as one of the premiere hard rock showcases, the club marking
the western end
of a hard rock strip that extended east to the Whisky.