Gazzarri's

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Gazzari's
Location	9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood
Type	Nightclub
Genre(s)	Rock and roll
Opened	February 21, 1967
Owner	Bill Gazzari
Closed	1995
Demolished	1995
Seating type	Standing room only

Gazzarri's was a nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. The Key Club opened in 1996 at the same location after Gazzari's was demolished.

It is most notable as the location where both The Doors and Van Halen were the featured house bands for long stretches before being discovered. It was also the LA club featured in 'Huey Lewis and The News' MTV video for their hit "The Heart of Rock and Roll."

The club reached its peak of popularity in the mid-1960s through the late 1980s, and was owned and operated by the "Godfather of Rock and Roll", Bill Gazzarri. Gazzarri himself was known for dressing up as a Chicago-style gangster and frequenting the club on performance nights. Located near the corner of Doheny and Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, and just several dozen yards from both the Rainbow Bar and Grill and The Roxy Theatre, Gazarri's became famous as a home of future rock and roll stars.

Along with The Roxy Theatre, The Whisky a Go Go, Troubadour, The Starwood, and other nearby nightclubs, it was a staple of the Los Angeles music scene in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Bands that played at Gazzarri's either prior to or during their mainstream success include The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, Huey Lewis and The News, Tina Turner, Van Halen, Ratt, Cinderella, Quiet Riot, Stryper, Mötley Crüe, Poison, Guns N' Roses, Warrant, and Faster Pussycat. Other notable local, Los Angeles area bands to play there included Redd Kross, Destiny, Shark Island, Taz, Tuff, Foxx, Reinkus Tide, D'Molls, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Many giant, hand-painted pictures of these bands adorned the side of the club's outside wall for many years, acting as yet another over-sized billboard in the already-crowded West Hollywood billboard vista.

The 100 yard stretch of sidewalk on Sunset Boulevard that ran from the front steps of Gazarri's, to the parking lot between the Rainbow Bar and Grill and The Roxy Theatre, was the national center of the 1980s glam metal movement that spawned dozens of MTV bands and radio hits. Aspiring bands and musicians from around the world, coming to Los Angeles to make it big, eventually found themselves on this small stretch of sidewalk passing out their flyers, watching the competition in the clubs, or enjoying the scene packed with thousands of other musicians, famous rock stars, porn stars, groupies, and Los Angeles teenagers.

The bar was also a dance club, and Gazzarri's would often combine the strip-club-like dancing of attractive, young girls in between live band performances. The bar became a favorite hangout for rock n' roll celebrities.

[edit] Trivia

Bill Gazzarri liked Van Halen so much that he would tip lead singer David Lee Roth after performances, a rare act for a club owner. However, he thought Roth's name was "Van Halen." Roth was quoted as saying, "He'd come up to me, slip some extra money in my pocket, and say "Here ya go, Van. It was a great night.'"

According to David Lee Roth in his book "Crazy From The Heat", Gazzarri lured young girls to his club office to have sex while Roth watched.

In 1987, Guns N' Roses, who had agreed with their record company not to perform locally, played a sold-out show at Gazzarri's under the secret moniker "Fargyn Bastydges".

The club features prominently in director Penelope Spheeris's documentary of the late 80s Heavy Metal scene The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years.

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