1
00:00:15,808 --> 00:00:19,353
[cheering]

2
00:00:19,437 --> 00:00:24,859
[crowd] Lemmy! Lemmy! Lemmy!
Lemmy! Lemmy! Lemmy! Lemmy!

3
00:00:24,942 --> 00:00:26,861
[reporter] <i>A statue
of Lemmy Kilmister</i>

4
00:00:26,944 --> 00:00:30,114
<i>was unveiled last night
at The Rainbow Bar & Grill.</i>

5
00:00:30,197 --> 00:00:35,578
<i>The Los Angeles bar's outdoor
patio has now been dubbed
"Lemmy's Lounge".</i>

6
00:00:35,661 --> 00:00:37,997
[Todd] I just want to welcome
everybody here.

7
00:00:38,122 --> 00:00:40,875
[Todd] This is truly
an event from the fans.

8
00:00:40,958 --> 00:00:46,464
[Todd] Want to thank Mikeal,
the Maglieris here for putting
this on, and honoring Lemmy.

9
00:00:46,547 --> 00:00:47,298
[woman] Yeah.

10
00:00:47,381 --> 00:00:49,091
We're here
for a very special night,

11
00:00:49,175 --> 00:00:52,762
we're showing tribute
to one of our dear friends.

12
00:00:52,845 --> 00:00:54,889
[Mike]
Let's open up this statue.

13
00:00:54,972 --> 00:00:58,559
[cheering]

14
00:01:02,605 --> 00:01:05,107
[crowd] Lemmy!
Lemmy! Lemmy! Lemmy!

15
00:01:05,191 --> 00:01:08,944
Lemmy is always here, and now
Lemmy is permanently here,
not going anywhere.

16
00:01:09,028 --> 00:01:11,739
He's at home here,
and they've enshrined it.

17
00:01:11,822 --> 00:01:14,909
[Todd]
<i>And this to me is going to be,</i>
<i>basically, rock n' roll mecca.</i>

18
00:01:14,992 --> 00:01:18,287
<i>Everybody from rock n' roll's</i>
<i>gotta come here one time</i>
<i>in their life and pay homage.</i>

19
00:01:18,370 --> 00:01:22,124
[crowd]
<i>Lemmy! Lemmy! Lemmy! Lemmy!</i>

20
00:01:22,208 --> 00:01:24,418
<i>Lemmy! Lemmy! Lemmy! Lemmy!</i>

21
00:01:59,286 --> 00:02:02,706
Alright, we are Motörhead.
And we are going
to kick your ass.

22
00:02:02,790 --> 00:02:08,045
[rock song]

23
00:02:12,174 --> 00:02:15,469
[Steve]
<i>It was like a party</i>
<i>every night. It was crazy.</i>

24
00:02:15,553 --> 00:02:17,972
It was absolutely insane, I've
never seen anything like that.

25
00:02:18,055 --> 00:02:20,641
[Slash]
<i>If you were cool, you could</i>
<i>get away with anything.</i>

26
00:02:20,724 --> 00:02:22,810
I used to get away
with murder in there.

27
00:02:22,893 --> 00:02:26,438
[Mario]<i>I'd see musicians</i>
<i>getting head under the table</i>
<i>and shit like that.</i>

28
00:02:26,522 --> 00:02:28,566
I said do what the fuck
you want, I don't care.

29
00:02:28,649 --> 00:02:30,401
It was bacchanalia.

30
00:02:30,484 --> 00:02:33,195
It was exactly
how you'd picture it, times ten.

31
00:02:33,279 --> 00:02:34,822
It was the place to be.

32
00:02:34,905 --> 00:02:36,407
It was the rock n' roll café.

33
00:02:36,490 --> 00:02:40,494
I was here every single night
hanging out. All of us were.

34
00:02:40,578 --> 00:02:41,871
You'd see everybody here.

35
00:02:41,954 --> 00:02:43,664
[Mikeal] <i>Slash, Ozzy, Lemmy.</i>

36
00:02:43,747 --> 00:02:45,499
- [Matt] <i>John Bonham.</i>
- [Slash] <i>Motley Crue.</i>

37
00:02:45,583 --> 00:02:47,084
- [Ozzy] <i>Keith Moon.</i>
- [Steve] <i>Van Halen.</i>

38
00:02:47,168 --> 00:02:48,669
- [Matt] <i>Jimmy Page.</i>
- [Mike] <i>Janis Joplin.</i>

39
00:02:48,752 --> 00:02:50,838
- [Mikeal] <i>Jimi Hendrix.</i>
- The list goes on and on and on.

40
00:02:50,921 --> 00:02:52,381
Mikeal] <i>It was different then.</i>

41
00:02:52,464 --> 00:02:54,717
[Gene]
<i>There was a culture,</i>
<i>a glamorous culture,</i>

42
00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,595
<i>the likes of which
will not happen again.</i>

43
00:02:57,678 --> 00:03:00,514
[Gene]<i>And the watering hole</i>
<i>of all of it...</i>

44
00:03:00,598 --> 00:03:01,974
[Matt] <i>The one great hub...</i>

45
00:03:02,057 --> 00:03:03,434
[Mike] <i>The only rock mecca...</i>

46
00:03:03,517 --> 00:03:06,729
[Gene]
<i>The church of rock n' roll...</i>
<i>The Rainbow.</i>

47
00:03:25,956 --> 00:03:29,919
[Gene] <i>The Rainbow</i>
<i>somehow was sort</i>
<i>of when the planets line up.</i>

48
00:03:32,379 --> 00:03:34,548
<i>A special place
at a special time.</i>

49
00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,637
<i>It didn't happen</i>
<i>in the Valley, it didn't</i>
<i>happen on Ventura Boulevard,</i>

50
00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:41,680
<i>it didn't happen
in Iowa or Wyoming.</i>

51
00:03:43,057 --> 00:03:46,060
<i>It happened in Los Angeles.
Perfect weather.</i>

52
00:03:46,143 --> 00:03:49,021
<i>And up the hills,
everybody lived there.</i>

53
00:03:50,022 --> 00:03:52,650
<i>They all came
from all over the world.</i>

54
00:03:54,818 --> 00:03:57,655
<i>And at night they would all
come down and celebrate life.</i>

55
00:03:59,740 --> 00:04:01,784
<i>Anything was possible.</i>

56
00:04:21,595 --> 00:04:26,058
My name is
Mario Maglieri Sr.,

57
00:04:26,141 --> 00:04:28,519
<i>and I've been here 42 years.</i>

58
00:04:28,602 --> 00:04:31,105
I've fed more musicians
you can shake a stick at.

59
00:04:32,064 --> 00:04:34,441
[Mike]<i>My grandpa had</i>
<i>a restaurant back in Chicago.</i>

60
00:04:35,567 --> 00:04:38,737
[Mario]
<i>Know what, I had rock n' roll</i>
<i>in my bar in Chicago</i>

61
00:04:38,821 --> 00:04:40,572
before you ever heard
of rock n' roll.

62
00:04:40,656 --> 00:04:44,243
<i>Lots of people</i>
<i>have been critical</i>
<i>of rock n' roll for a long time,</i>

63
00:04:44,368 --> 00:04:45,744
<i>but if I may say so,</i>

64
00:04:45,828 --> 00:04:49,748
<i>I think for the wrong reason,</i>
<i>because they thought</i>
<i>it was bad music.</i>

65
00:04:49,832 --> 00:04:51,875
<i>Well, actually,
it is worse than that.</i>

66
00:04:51,959 --> 00:04:57,756
<i>As here used it is a cynical,</i>
<i>commercial exploitation</i>
<i>of the emotions of children.</i>

67
00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:01,051
<i>Rock n' roll music
in the United States is dying.</i>

68
00:05:02,845 --> 00:05:05,055
[Mike] <i>One of his partners</i>
<i>from the restaurant, Elmer,</i>

69
00:05:05,139 --> 00:05:06,640
<i>was gonna open
a business out here.</i>

70
00:05:06,724 --> 00:05:10,769
[Mario]<i>Elmer Valentine,</i>
<i>he saw the Whisky in France,</i>

71
00:05:10,853 --> 00:05:12,563
and he brought it to America.

72
00:05:12,646 --> 00:05:16,400
[Mikeal]<i>He went to Europe,</i>
<i>and in France saw a club</i>
<i>called Whisky A Go Go,</i>

73
00:05:16,483 --> 00:05:19,445
that had these girls
standing behind the bar
on the ledge dancing.

74
00:05:19,528 --> 00:05:21,864
That's where
he came up with the concept
of the Go-Go girls.

75
00:05:22,573 --> 00:05:26,368
[Mikeal] <i>So he opened the club</i>
<i>January 16, 1964.</i>

76
00:05:26,452 --> 00:05:29,580
When I went there about less
than 2 months after it opened,

77
00:05:29,663 --> 00:05:31,623
the guy couldn't run it.
They were robbing him blind.

78
00:05:31,707 --> 00:05:34,752
[Mikeal]<i>Elmer had called</i>
<i>my Dad and said "Come in</i>
<i>and straighten this out."</i>

79
00:05:34,835 --> 00:05:38,630
Yeah, I'll come down there.
$200 a week, a lot of money.

80
00:05:38,714 --> 00:05:42,551
My Father came in, to like,
reorganize the business
and run the business.

81
00:05:42,634 --> 00:05:44,219
I fired everyone in the place,

82
00:05:44,303 --> 00:05:47,181
got all new help,
and uh, I straightened it out,

83
00:05:47,264 --> 00:05:49,350
and it became successful
the way it is.

84
00:06:00,361 --> 00:06:04,239
[Mario] <i>We had I think</i>
<i>three cages of girls</i>
<i>dancing on the stage.</i>

85
00:06:04,323 --> 00:06:08,285
<i>And we had</i>
<i>more movie stars in there</i>
<i>than you could actually count.</i>

86
00:06:08,369 --> 00:06:11,288
Packed house every night.
Was like a hang out.

87
00:06:11,372 --> 00:06:14,083
<i>Here he is with a song
called 'Going to a Go Go',</i>

88
00:06:14,166 --> 00:06:16,293
<i>Smokey Robinson
and the Miracles.</i>

89
00:06:16,377 --> 00:06:18,879
[girls cheering]

90
00:06:18,962 --> 00:06:22,466
[upbeat music]

91
00:06:27,096 --> 00:06:30,432
We were the first club
to integrate that we brought
black acts in.

92
00:06:35,104 --> 00:06:38,357
[Mario]
<i>Los Angeles, they didn't</i>
<i>want blacks in the street,</i>

93
00:06:38,482 --> 00:06:41,568
so I fucked 'em all, I brought
'em all for the whole year.

94
00:06:41,652 --> 00:06:44,696
[Mikeal]
<i>Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves,</i>
<i>The Temptations, The Tops.</i>

95
00:06:44,780 --> 00:06:46,824
[Mario]
<i>You name 'em, I had 'em.</i>

96
00:06:46,907 --> 00:06:50,911
[Mario] <i>He's color, a human</i>
<i>being, you know, God put us</i>
<i>all here for a reason.</i>

97
00:06:50,994 --> 00:06:52,830
I don't care
what color you are.

98
00:06:56,041 --> 00:06:57,334
I don't give a shit.

99
00:06:57,418 --> 00:06:59,878
[announcer]<i>And the visitor</i>
<i>to Hollywood soon discovers</i>

100
00:06:59,962 --> 00:07:04,675
<i>that this small town has</i>
<i>a wealth of entertainment,</i>
<i>but much more.</i>

101
00:07:05,509 --> 00:07:07,928
My Grandpa moved out
to be a manager at first,

102
00:07:08,011 --> 00:07:11,306
and you know,
eventually over time started
buying into the business.

103
00:07:11,390 --> 00:07:13,517
<i>His whole family
at that point moved out here.</i>

104
00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,394
<i>Everyone, you know,
was living in LA.</i>

105
00:07:15,477 --> 00:07:18,272
I was 16 years
old when I started
at the Whisky A Go Go.

106
00:07:18,355 --> 00:07:23,235
He was a busboy, God,
in the 60's at the Whisky.

107
00:07:23,318 --> 00:07:26,363
[Mikeal]<i>I was a kid,</i>
<i>he did not want me there,</i>

108
00:07:26,447 --> 00:07:30,075
and I insisted that he bring me
in there, that I wanted
to come in and work there.

109
00:07:30,951 --> 00:07:35,038
I would come in and work,
maybe five, six nights a week,

110
00:07:35,122 --> 00:07:37,249
and I was still going
to High School, then College.

111
00:07:37,332 --> 00:07:39,751
But on my nights off
I wasn't allowed to go in there.

112
00:07:40,919 --> 00:07:42,713
He did not want me
in that environment.

113
00:07:42,796 --> 00:07:45,632
[Mikeal]
<i>It was an era of peace</i>
<i>and love and free drugs,</i>

114
00:07:45,716 --> 00:07:48,010
<i>and he just didn't want me
to become a part of all that.</i>

115
00:07:48,093 --> 00:07:51,763
<i>He thought I'd fall prey,</i>
<i>so to speak, of what was</i>
<i>going on around me.</i>

116
00:07:51,847 --> 00:07:53,348
I personally had a ball.

117
00:08:00,063 --> 00:08:03,275
[Mikeal]<i>My Father ran</i>
<i>the business as far</i>
<i>as the nightclub end of it.</i>

118
00:08:03,358 --> 00:08:04,568
<i>The booking was done by Elmer.</i>

119
00:08:04,651 --> 00:08:07,029
[Mario] <i>Johnny Rivers</i>
<i>was there for a year.</i>

120
00:08:07,112 --> 00:08:11,283
And then after
rock n' roll started in, then
we started with rock n' roll.

121
00:08:12,159 --> 00:08:13,785
[Mikeal] <i>The Doors started</i>
<i>as the house band.</i>

122
00:08:13,869 --> 00:08:16,330
<i>We're paying them
about 50 bucks a week,</i>

123
00:08:16,413 --> 00:08:19,833
a case of beer
a night, whatever,
just to keep 'em entertained.

124
00:08:19,917 --> 00:08:23,003
[Mikeal]
<i>How The Doors got booked</i>
<i>in the Whisky to begin with</i>

125
00:08:23,086 --> 00:08:25,797
<i>was Chris Gowdy, who worked
in our office as a bookkeeper,</i>

126
00:08:25,881 --> 00:08:28,175
and Charlotte,
who's a ticket taker
at the front door,

127
00:08:28,258 --> 00:08:30,385
<i>went to a club
called The London Fog,</i>

128
00:08:30,469 --> 00:08:33,222
<i>they saw Jim,
and they wanted to screw Jim.</i>

129
00:08:33,305 --> 00:08:34,973
That's why they got hired.

130
00:08:35,057 --> 00:08:38,310
[Micky] <i>The Doors</i>
<i>opening for Johnny Rivers</i>

131
00:08:39,603 --> 00:08:43,065
and getting
booed off on the stage.

132
00:08:43,148 --> 00:08:46,693
<i>♪ Try now we can only lose ♪</i>

133
00:08:46,777 --> 00:08:50,280
<i>♪ And our love become
A funeral pyre ♪</i>

134
00:08:50,364 --> 00:08:53,742
<i>♪ Come on baby
Light my fire ♪</i>

135
00:08:53,825 --> 00:08:55,494
<i>♪ Come on baby
Light my fire ♪</i>

136
00:08:55,619 --> 00:08:58,288
[Mikeal] <i>They learned</i>
<i>their trade. They came</i>
<i>and rehearsed all day.</i>

137
00:08:58,372 --> 00:09:02,167
<i>That 'Light My Fire' song</i>
<i>that became</i>
<i>12 and a half minutes,</i>

138
00:09:02,251 --> 00:09:04,211
I heard that for two
and a half hours at a time.

139
00:09:04,294 --> 00:09:06,922
By the time it came out
on the radio and became famous,

140
00:09:07,005 --> 00:09:09,132
I was like, "Oh my God,
do I have to hear this again?"

141
00:09:13,804 --> 00:09:15,055
<i>Mother.</i>

142
00:09:18,684 --> 00:09:24,231
<i>♪ I want to fuck you
All night, baby ♪</i>

143
00:09:24,314 --> 00:09:26,942
<i>♪ Come on, baby ♪</i>

144
00:09:27,025 --> 00:09:29,528
<i>Turn it off!
Turn these fucking--!</i>

145
00:09:29,653 --> 00:09:31,613
Actually when I met
Oliver Stone,

146
00:09:31,697 --> 00:09:33,782
this was years later, after he
did the movie 'The Doors",

147
00:09:33,865 --> 00:09:35,534
<i>I had to correct him.</i>

148
00:09:35,659 --> 00:09:37,160
Hey, come on, man!

149
00:09:37,244 --> 00:09:39,746
[yelling]

150
00:09:39,830 --> 00:09:41,164
Here's your act right there.

151
00:09:41,957 --> 00:09:44,251
[Mikeal]<i>My Father</i>
<i>did not throw Jim out.</i>

152
00:09:44,334 --> 00:09:47,045
Jim had a habit of like
kinda dropping his pants.

153
00:09:47,129 --> 00:09:50,424
<i>Now I know today, they wear
their pants below their ass,</i>

154
00:09:50,507 --> 00:09:52,259
in those days
you didn't do that.

155
00:09:52,342 --> 00:09:54,761
The girls would go crazy
in the audience.

156
00:09:54,845 --> 00:09:56,638
And one night in particular,

157
00:09:56,722 --> 00:09:59,016
and this is where the movie
got it misinterpreted,

158
00:09:59,099 --> 00:10:02,060
<i>is he decided
to do a frontal nudity,</i>

159
00:10:02,144 --> 00:10:04,438
<i>and kind of showed
his works onstage.</i>

160
00:10:04,521 --> 00:10:08,066
My Father got so ticked off
that he pulled the plug.

161
00:10:08,150 --> 00:10:10,110
<i>Jim jumped off the stage
onto the dance floor,</i>

162
00:10:10,193 --> 00:10:13,530
went down the steps
of the dance floor, went up
on the second landing,

163
00:10:13,614 --> 00:10:15,407
and peed over the balcony.

164
00:10:15,490 --> 00:10:18,910
Literally like,
to say screw you back
to my Dad for unplugging him.

165
00:10:18,994 --> 00:10:20,871
Went up
in the dressing room and hid,

166
00:10:20,954 --> 00:10:23,332
and at two
in the morning he came down
and apologized to my Dad

167
00:10:23,415 --> 00:10:25,876
and they were
back onstage the next night.

168
00:10:25,959 --> 00:10:27,544
[Mario] <i>Jim Morrison</i>
<i>used too many drugs.</i>

169
00:10:27,628 --> 00:10:30,505
He was not a bad kid,
he was a good kid.

170
00:10:30,589 --> 00:10:33,467
Like I'd tell him "Hey,"
you know I called 'em names,

171
00:10:33,550 --> 00:10:35,427
"You get out
on that stage at 9 o'clock,

172
00:10:35,510 --> 00:10:38,805
not 5, not 5 after, you're not
I'll beat the shit outta ya."

173
00:10:43,435 --> 00:10:48,357
The Whisky was the place
where the happening acts
were happening.

174
00:10:49,941 --> 00:10:52,944
[Steve]<i>If you come</i>
<i>out to LA as a band,</i>

175
00:10:53,028 --> 00:10:54,571
you really
want that on your resume,

176
00:10:54,655 --> 00:10:57,240
that you've played
at the Whisky A Go Go, I mean,
it's a big thing.

177
00:10:58,241 --> 00:11:01,620
[Mike]
<i>My Dad was 17, 18 years old</i>
<i>working in these clubs,</i>

178
00:11:01,703 --> 00:11:04,706
<i>and it's mind-blowing</i>
<i>the people he had</i>
<i>to have come across.</i>

179
00:11:06,083 --> 00:11:08,919
At the time you're not aware
of what's going on around you,

180
00:11:09,002 --> 00:11:12,631
you know, I'm hanging out
with Jimi Hendrix
and Arthur Lee from Love.

181
00:11:12,714 --> 00:11:14,633
[Mike]<i>I mean, just</i>
<i>to be sitting at the Whisky</i>

182
00:11:14,758 --> 00:11:17,761
<i>and have someone from</i>
<i>The Beatles or have Andy Warhol</i>
<i>sitting in there,</i>

183
00:11:17,844 --> 00:11:19,846
I mean that's just,
it's unbelievable.

184
00:11:21,264 --> 00:11:24,142
[Mikeal]<i>And I was the busboy</i>
<i>for probably six, eight months</i>

185
00:11:24,226 --> 00:11:27,104
and then I was the manager
when my Dad wanted
to take a night off.

186
00:11:27,187 --> 00:11:31,108
<i>I worked into bartending.</i>
<i>I learned the business</i>
<i>from the ground up.</i>

187
00:11:31,191 --> 00:11:33,944
Out of College, Law School,
everything else I did,

188
00:11:34,027 --> 00:11:36,655
the best education I had
was right here
on the Sunset Strip.

189
00:11:47,207 --> 00:11:50,085
[Mikeal] <i>Janis Joplin came in,</i>
<i>and her name's</i>
<i>Pearl by the way,</i>

190
00:11:50,168 --> 00:11:51,586
<i>Janis was her stage name.</i>

191
00:11:51,670 --> 00:11:54,798
And she sat down in the middle
booth of the Whisky,

192
00:11:54,881 --> 00:11:59,094
<i>she had like four glasses</i>
<i>of Southern Comfort</i>
<i>on the rocks,</i>

193
00:11:59,177 --> 00:12:01,012
and on or about
her fourth one,

194
00:12:01,096 --> 00:12:05,434
my Dad said put
a case of Southern Comfort
into Pearls trunk.

195
00:12:06,393 --> 00:12:07,686
<i>She leaves with her manager,</i>

196
00:12:07,769 --> 00:12:12,858
the next morning on the news
they said that Janis Joplin had
died of alcohol poisoning.

197
00:12:12,941 --> 00:12:16,027
<i>I thought, well,</i>
<i>the booze I gave her,</i>
<i>I must've killed her.</i>

198
00:12:16,111 --> 00:12:18,071
<i>She had all those drinks,
and I mean, I was a kid.</i>

199
00:12:18,155 --> 00:12:20,490
So for like three days,
I thought I killed her

200
00:12:20,574 --> 00:12:24,244
until the coroner's report came
out and found out
she actually OD-ed,

201
00:12:24,327 --> 00:12:25,787
and no, I did not
kill Janis Joplin.

202
00:12:25,871 --> 00:12:28,457
[announcer]<i>And here's</i>
<i>the world famous</i>
<i>Whisky A Go Go on the Strip,</i>

203
00:12:28,540 --> 00:12:32,419
<i>a favorite dancing spot for both</i>
<i>the mods and movie stars</i>
<i>who want to get it on.</i>

204
00:12:32,502 --> 00:12:34,921
<i>Let's drop in and see
what's happening tonight.</i>

205
00:12:40,051 --> 00:12:42,971
[Slash] <i>The Whisky</i>
<i>was pretty essential,</i>

206
00:12:43,054 --> 00:12:46,808
it was one
of the first great
rock n' roll clubs.

207
00:12:46,892 --> 00:12:51,229
[Steve]<i>It's the Old Marquis</i>
<i>in London, it's the CBGB</i>
<i>of the West Coast,</i>

208
00:12:51,313 --> 00:12:54,441
it's the place that you know
everybody's gone through.

209
00:12:58,445 --> 00:13:00,989
You thought it was
this big, massive concert hall,

210
00:13:01,072 --> 00:13:04,451
you can't fit more
than 200 people inside.

211
00:13:04,534 --> 00:13:09,456
<i>It was just a regular bar</i>
<i>with people, and yet anybody</i>
<i>who's anybody played there.</i>

212
00:13:09,539 --> 00:13:12,250
[Slash]
<i>A lot of great artists</i>
<i>over the years, Led Zeppelin.</i>

213
00:13:12,334 --> 00:13:14,377
[Mike] <i>Buffalo Springfield</i>
<i>is another big band,</i>

214
00:13:14,461 --> 00:13:15,962
Fleetwood Mac
is another big band,

215
00:13:16,046 --> 00:13:18,757
Alice Cooper,
you know, all these bands
when they were nothing.

216
00:13:18,882 --> 00:13:21,927
When you first start out,
and before you figure out
your game,

217
00:13:22,010 --> 00:13:23,428
The Whisky's the place to do it.

218
00:13:23,512 --> 00:13:27,057
I cannot tell you how many
thousands of people got
started on this street.

219
00:13:27,140 --> 00:13:32,270
[Steve]<i>Everybody, they've all</i>
<i>done their first tour</i>
<i>through the States in clubs,</i>

220
00:13:32,354 --> 00:13:34,773
<i>so they ended up
at the Whisky in LA.</i>

221
00:13:34,856 --> 00:13:37,859
The first time we ever
played in Los Angeles
was at the Whisky,

222
00:13:37,943 --> 00:13:41,238
and there was like a line
around the block twice.

223
00:13:41,321 --> 00:13:44,783
[Mikeal] <i>We had opening nights</i>
<i>probably two to three times</i>
<i>a week with major groups,</i>

224
00:13:44,908 --> 00:13:48,954
<i>and then you always had</i>
<i>the house band, Chicago,</i>
<i>CTA at that time.</i>

225
00:13:50,622 --> 00:13:52,415
<i>They were, like,
I think seven guys</i>

226
00:13:52,499 --> 00:13:55,085
<i>living in</i>
<i>a one bedroom apartment</i>
<i>on the Hollywood Boulevard.</i>

227
00:13:56,002 --> 00:13:59,506
We didn't have
much of anything. I mean
we're just trying to survive.

228
00:13:59,589 --> 00:14:05,345
We all lived together
in a little house
on Holly Drive under the 101

229
00:14:05,428 --> 00:14:07,973
and, you know,
coming to the Whiskey to work

230
00:14:08,056 --> 00:14:11,935
was a chance to make
some dough to feed ourselves

231
00:14:12,018 --> 00:14:16,565
and to possibly get, you know,

232
00:14:16,648 --> 00:14:18,567
a connection
to something even better.

233
00:14:18,650 --> 00:14:21,528
[Robert] <i>We were opening</i>
<i>for Velvet Underground,</i>

234
00:14:21,611 --> 00:14:23,947
they were promoting
their very famous first album

235
00:14:24,030 --> 00:14:26,616
with the Andy Warhol
banana on the cover.

236
00:14:26,700 --> 00:14:29,828
And not only did we,
sort of, become the house band,

237
00:14:29,911 --> 00:14:33,707
that would be on the off nights,
not the nights when--

238
00:14:33,790 --> 00:14:36,334
- Like the big names.
- The big names
would come through.

239
00:14:36,418 --> 00:14:40,380
But we did get access
to the club during the daytime.

240
00:14:40,463 --> 00:14:44,551
We were in here rehearsing
that was to become
Chicago Transit Authority,

241
00:14:44,634 --> 00:14:45,635
the first album.

242
00:14:49,514 --> 00:14:51,558
[Lee]
<i>This was a sounding ground,</i>

243
00:14:51,641 --> 00:14:56,396
and a place for us to really
write and arrange the music

244
00:14:56,479 --> 00:14:58,523
that put us on the map.

245
00:14:59,274 --> 00:15:04,321
<i>♪ As I was walking
Down the street one day ♪</i>

246
00:15:04,404 --> 00:15:08,450
Next thing you know, we had
record company executives
in here

247
00:15:08,533 --> 00:15:10,660
and bidding wars
were starting.

248
00:15:10,744 --> 00:15:15,498
And so we wound up acing a deal
with Columbia Records,

249
00:15:15,582 --> 00:15:19,085
which started here.

250
00:15:26,176 --> 00:15:28,053
[Slash] <i>West Hollywood's</i>
<i>a popular part of LA,</i>

251
00:15:28,136 --> 00:15:30,055
<i>you know obviously
you had Tower Records there,</i>

252
00:15:30,138 --> 00:15:32,015
<i>you had a lot
of nightclubs around there,</i>

253
00:15:32,098 --> 00:15:34,100
<i>and it just had cemented itself</i>

254
00:15:34,184 --> 00:15:37,312
even before the Whisky
as being sort
of the entertainment strip.

255
00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:42,734
You know, this is the Whisky
on the Sunset Strip
in Hollywood.

256
00:15:42,817 --> 00:15:47,030
Palm trees, suntan chicks,
and it was just, it was cool.

257
00:15:47,113 --> 00:15:51,076
Sunset Blvd was packed
with people strolling,

258
00:15:51,159 --> 00:15:53,244
you know, it was like
a party on the sidewalk.

259
00:15:53,328 --> 00:15:58,083
Going to a concert
was an event, it was
the gathering of the tribes,

260
00:15:58,166 --> 00:16:02,462
and the streets were just
filled with really interesting,

261
00:16:02,545 --> 00:16:04,631
attractive, glamorous people.

262
00:16:04,714 --> 00:16:08,843
And you'd just hop
from one club
to the next, you know,

263
00:16:08,927 --> 00:16:12,514
passing joints and just,
"Hey brother, what's happening?"

264
00:16:12,597 --> 00:16:16,476
You'd walk
up the street and people
would hand you a hit of acid.

265
00:16:16,559 --> 00:16:18,436
[Mario] <i>Every night there</i>
<i>was people on the street,</i>

266
00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:20,438
the street
was full of young people.

267
00:16:20,522 --> 00:16:24,901
[Mikeal] <i>Just strolling</i>
<i>up and down the street</i>
<i>you would meet movie stars,</i>

268
00:16:24,985 --> 00:16:26,987
<i>rock stars, everyone.</i>

269
00:16:28,947 --> 00:16:34,077
<i>A wandering band of members</i>
<i>of a so-called religious cult</i>
<i>with a leader they call Jesus</i>

270
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,830
<i>has had three
of its followers arrested</i>

271
00:16:36,913 --> 00:16:40,959
<i>in the investigation</i>
<i>of the murder of Sharon Tate</i>
<i>and six others.</i>

272
00:16:41,084 --> 00:16:42,961
[Mario] <i>Charles Manson.</i>

273
00:16:43,086 --> 00:16:46,339
<i>The girl called me at home</i>
<i>and said there's</i>
<i>a guy downstairs,</i>

274
00:16:46,423 --> 00:16:48,633
<i>we're closed, he won't get up.</i>

275
00:16:48,717 --> 00:16:52,679
So I'll be right down there,
so I drove down all the way
to the Whisky,

276
00:16:52,762 --> 00:16:55,640
and I go downstairs and said
"What are you doing here?"

277
00:16:55,724 --> 00:16:57,267
He said "You know who I am?"

278
00:16:57,350 --> 00:17:01,146
I stopped him,
"I don't give a fuck
who you are, okay?"

279
00:17:01,229 --> 00:17:05,233
"Now you
gotta leave or you don't,
I'm gonna kick your ass."

280
00:17:05,316 --> 00:17:06,568
<i>He says "I'm Jesus."</i>

281
00:17:06,651 --> 00:17:10,572
I tell him
"I'm God, motherfucker,
now get up from that chair."

282
00:17:10,655 --> 00:17:15,118
He got up, or I'd of had to beat
the shit out of him. Either one.

283
00:17:15,201 --> 00:17:18,913
<i>The Whisky was a club</i>
<i>where groups came to see</i>
<i>other groups play.</i>

284
00:17:20,123 --> 00:17:21,499
<i>That was a change in time,</i>

285
00:17:21,583 --> 00:17:24,419
<i>and if you give credit</i>
<i>to an individual,</i>
<i>it'd be my Dad.</i>

286
00:17:25,962 --> 00:17:28,840
<i>He literally came out</i>
<i>and stood at the front door</i>
<i>of The Rainbow,</i>

287
00:17:28,923 --> 00:17:31,217
<i>so the groups started
coming in here to hang out.</i>

288
00:17:31,301 --> 00:17:32,927
<i>The Rainbow was
originally the Villa Nova,</i>

289
00:17:33,011 --> 00:17:34,721
<i>which was
a famous restaurant in itself.</i>

290
00:17:34,804 --> 00:17:39,017
[Micky]<i>I was here</i>
<i>with my parents when it</i>
<i>was Villa Nova in the 50's.</i>

291
00:17:39,142 --> 00:17:41,478
[Mikeal]<i>It was loaded</i>
<i>with movie stars.</i>

292
00:17:41,561 --> 00:17:45,440
Marilyn Monroe dated
Joe Dimaggio in that booth
right behind us.

293
00:17:45,523 --> 00:17:47,525
[Ron]
<i>I was friends with Tony Curtis.</i>

294
00:17:47,609 --> 00:17:50,737
<i>I believe it was around the time</i>
<i>that they were making</i>
<i>'Some Like It Hot',</i>

295
00:17:50,820 --> 00:17:54,783
that Marilyn Monroe
and Tony Curtis would
meet here at The Rainbow,

296
00:17:54,866 --> 00:17:57,786
then called the Villa Nova,
and have their little liaisons,

297
00:17:57,869 --> 00:18:00,830
<i>and then went out</i>
<i>to the bungalows</i>
<i>up by the ocean.</i>

298
00:18:01,623 --> 00:18:04,334
She was cheating
on Arthur Miller,
her playwright husband.

299
00:18:04,417 --> 00:18:06,878
<i>Arthur Miller found out,
and wanted to fight with him.</i>

300
00:18:06,961 --> 00:18:09,672
<i>And then it was</i>
<i>either the director</i>
<i>of 'Some Like It Hot'</i>

301
00:18:09,756 --> 00:18:12,842
broke it up, or Arthur Miller
decided it wasn't worth
fighting with him.

302
00:18:12,926 --> 00:18:16,054
Tony promised
to stop the relationship
with Marilyn Monroe,

303
00:18:16,137 --> 00:18:18,681
<i>and they all agreed</i>
<i>and shook hands, and that was</i>
<i>the end of that.</i>

304
00:18:22,977 --> 00:18:26,064
[Mikeal] <i>The Whisky was a place</i>
<i>where groups came</i>
<i>to see other groups.</i>

305
00:18:26,147 --> 00:18:29,901
Now the groups were coming
up to The Rainbow to hang out,
to hang with one another.

306
00:18:33,363 --> 00:18:36,533
[Mikeal]
<i>We had a private club upstairs</i>
<i>called The Vampires Lair.</i>

307
00:18:37,283 --> 00:18:40,370
The Hollywood Vampires,
it was a club of people
that just all hung together.

308
00:18:40,453 --> 00:18:42,789
<i>It was Micky Dolenz,
and Alice Cooper.</i>

309
00:18:42,872 --> 00:18:47,752
[Mikeal] <i>You had Ringo,</i>
<i>John Lennon, these people</i>
<i>hung in here all the time.</i>

310
00:18:47,836 --> 00:18:51,256
The Hollywood Vampires were me,

311
00:18:51,339 --> 00:18:57,053
<i>Alice, Harry, Keith, and John,
that was kind of the core.</i>

312
00:18:57,137 --> 00:19:02,976
So they were hanging
out up there, and then...
Oh, I can't look.

313
00:19:03,935 --> 00:19:09,232
<i>Shortly after</i>
<i>it opened, we were kind</i>
<i>of a drinking men's club,</i>

314
00:19:09,315 --> 00:19:14,154
like you would have in England,
you know, call it
the Priars or something.

315
00:19:18,158 --> 00:19:20,743
I think maybe it might have had
something to do with the fact

316
00:19:20,827 --> 00:19:24,330
that this had such a cool, like
private, private, private--

317
00:19:24,414 --> 00:19:27,417
<i>you know, it was tough enough
to get downstairs,</i>

318
00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:32,255
<i>you know, and then to get up</i>
<i>here, over The Rainbow was</i>
<i>like another level,</i>

319
00:19:32,338 --> 00:19:35,341
and then to get up here was
basically impossible

320
00:19:35,425 --> 00:19:38,553
unless you were
one of those guys.

321
00:19:48,771 --> 00:19:51,357
Every kind of act
you could imagine,

322
00:19:51,441 --> 00:19:54,152
every kind of drug
you could imagine,
probably went through there,

323
00:19:54,235 --> 00:19:56,154
I'm not going
to point fingers at anyone.

324
00:19:56,279 --> 00:20:00,575
We were
just smoking and drinking
and laughing and puking.

325
00:20:01,451 --> 00:20:04,662
<i>There probably wasn't a whole</i>
<i>lot of people that even</i>
<i>wanted to go up there.</i>

326
00:20:04,746 --> 00:20:06,664
<i>It's like all those weirdoes.</i>

327
00:20:10,919 --> 00:20:12,962
<i>Contrary to a little bit
of urban myth,</i>

328
00:20:13,046 --> 00:20:18,760
<i>Alice and I,</i>
<i>we were into sports,</i>
<i>Harry was a basketball player.</i>

329
00:20:18,843 --> 00:20:23,181
<i>And Alice's idea was
to start a softball team</i>

330
00:20:23,306 --> 00:20:25,099
<i>called the Hollywood Vampires.</i>

331
00:20:30,813 --> 00:20:35,485
He got t-shirts made and we
would play these charity games,

332
00:20:35,568 --> 00:20:40,198
and we'd go out and raise money
and stuff, then we'd
come here and get hammered.

333
00:20:49,415 --> 00:20:51,960
[Micky]
<i>But The Rainbow is just</i>
<i>a great restaurant,</i>

334
00:20:52,043 --> 00:20:55,213
<i>and it got to the point
where it was probably</i>

335
00:20:55,338 --> 00:20:59,384
one of the premiere rock places
along the Sunset Strip.

336
00:21:00,426 --> 00:21:03,054
[Mikeal]
<i>The Rainbow became the home</i>
<i>of the moving stars,</i>

337
00:21:03,137 --> 00:21:07,934
<i>where rock stars and musicians</i>
<i>and the movie stars came</i>
<i>to see one another.</i>

338
00:21:08,017 --> 00:21:10,728
<i>Literally to be seen
or to see who's here.</i>

339
00:21:11,562 --> 00:21:14,107
It was more than instantaneous,
it was kind of unbelievable.

340
00:21:21,572 --> 00:21:25,660
Gene]<i>Anybody who was in town,</i>
<i>whether they were</i>
<i>recording or playing a show</i>

341
00:21:25,743 --> 00:21:26,536
<i>would come here.</i>

342
00:21:26,619 --> 00:21:30,415
[James] <i>This was the hub.</i>
<i>Main acts would come to LA,</i>

343
00:21:30,498 --> 00:21:33,001
they'd come here
on a night off to see
what was going on.

344
00:21:33,084 --> 00:21:36,629
Bands who were
actually the innovators
of all, of all music.

345
00:21:39,382 --> 00:21:41,551
James] <i>The Who, or The Stones.</i>

346
00:21:41,634 --> 00:21:43,553
Well, I met 'em all.
I talked to them.

347
00:21:43,636 --> 00:21:45,179
Give 'em booze,
whatever they want.

348
00:21:45,263 --> 00:21:48,182
<i>Was it James Brown wouldn't go
in any other restroom but here?</i>

349
00:21:48,266 --> 00:21:50,435
[James] <i>You'd never know</i>
<i>who you were gonna see.</i>

350
00:21:50,518 --> 00:21:52,395
[Wendy]<i>Zeppelin would come in</i>
<i>all the time,</i>

351
00:21:52,478 --> 00:21:55,940
<i>they'd put the big</i>
<i>round table in the middle,</i>
<i>all of Zeppelin were there.</i>

352
00:21:56,024 --> 00:21:59,819
Deep Purple would come in,
The Who, and it was packed,

353
00:21:59,902 --> 00:22:03,906
it was absolutely packed, and it
was really a fun different era.

354
00:22:11,164 --> 00:22:14,167
[Mikeal]<i>And it's really</i>
<i>a restaurant in a club.</i>

355
00:22:15,877 --> 00:22:18,338
I have a lot
of memories of that kitchen.

356
00:22:19,589 --> 00:22:21,466
<i>So busy, all the time.</i>

357
00:22:23,301 --> 00:22:26,846
Always having something to eat,
even if you had no money,
I mean he would--

358
00:22:26,929 --> 00:22:28,806
Mario was always,

359
00:22:30,308 --> 00:22:35,313
"Eh, pay me later, you know,
whatever, I didn't
hear anything."

360
00:22:40,318 --> 00:22:44,113
It's not just the location
of it, because it's right
in the middle of everything,

361
00:22:44,197 --> 00:22:45,573
but the food's really good.

362
00:22:46,866 --> 00:22:49,869
[Ron] <i>They have the best</i>
<i>damn soups, the pizzas</i>
<i>are notorious,</i>

363
00:22:49,952 --> 00:22:54,582
I always tell my friends
you get a Spago steak
at a Rainbow price.

364
00:22:54,665 --> 00:22:57,794
[Mario] <i>The steak, you gotta</i>
<i>pay 60, 70 dollars for a steak,</i>

365
00:22:57,877 --> 00:23:00,004
I've got the best steak
in this city right here.

366
00:23:00,088 --> 00:23:03,299
[Lita] <i>You feel sick, you gotta</i>
<i>eat some Rainbow chicken soup.</i>

367
00:23:03,383 --> 00:23:05,510
It's the only way
to cure your throat.

368
00:23:06,719 --> 00:23:10,348
My name is Miguel Murillo,
and I'm the chef at The Rainbow.

369
00:23:10,431 --> 00:23:15,686
Miguel is a mainstay,
without a doubt, he makes
sure this place runs right.

370
00:23:15,770 --> 00:23:21,359
[Miguel]<i>I started</i>
<i>working here April 1972,</i>

371
00:23:21,442 --> 00:23:23,986
started as a busboy,
I'd never cooked before.

372
00:23:24,070 --> 00:23:26,322
He used to clean toilets,
now he's the chef.

373
00:23:26,406 --> 00:23:30,451
[Mikeal] <i>Miguel did the movie</i>
Up In Smoke<i>, Cheech and Chong</i>
<i>used to hang in here.</i>

374
00:23:30,535 --> 00:23:33,329
<i>In fact, Cheech married
one of our waitresses.</i>

375
00:23:33,413 --> 00:23:36,207
[man in movie] <i>We smoked</i>
<i>this whole lid, man, and I</i>
<i>haven't even had a buzz yet.</i>

376
00:23:36,290 --> 00:23:38,709
[Mikeal] <i>We had a French chef</i>
<i>that we first opened</i>
<i>The Rainbow with</i>

377
00:23:38,793 --> 00:23:42,130
<i>and Miguel
watched him prepare the food,</i>

378
00:23:42,213 --> 00:23:45,508
<i>and then with my mother's
recipes he incorporated into it</i>

379
00:23:45,591 --> 00:23:47,218
<i>and developed
the menu we have.</i>

380
00:23:47,301 --> 00:23:49,595
The consistency
is unbelievable,

381
00:23:49,679 --> 00:23:51,973
since I was a kid it tastes
exactly the same.

382
00:23:52,056 --> 00:23:53,808
[Mikeal]
<i>Miguel's been here 43 years,</i>

383
00:23:53,891 --> 00:23:57,895
<i>we have not one or two, but many
long, long time employees.</i>

384
00:23:57,979 --> 00:24:00,857
It's not unusual for someone
to be here 25, 30 years.

385
00:24:01,816 --> 00:24:03,901
[Ron] <i>The same chef</i>
<i>and the same owner</i>

386
00:24:03,985 --> 00:24:07,029
<i>have been around for about 30,
at least 30 some odd years.</i>

387
00:24:08,030 --> 00:24:11,033
It was like, you know,
go in the kitchen.
It was like your house.

388
00:24:11,117 --> 00:24:13,494
[Mike]<i>I remember being there</i>
<i>as a little kid</i>
<i>running around,</i>

389
00:24:13,578 --> 00:24:16,414
my whole childhood
my Grandfather
would work late nights

390
00:24:16,539 --> 00:24:19,417
until three in the morning
every night, my Dad same thing.

391
00:24:19,542 --> 00:24:22,920
As kids we didn't go to bed
until two, three in the morning,

392
00:24:23,004 --> 00:24:24,755
because it was just
what our family was used to.

393
00:24:24,839 --> 00:24:28,926
I made it a family, I want
my family. What else you got
in life? Nothing.

394
00:24:31,971 --> 00:24:34,056
<i>I took care
of my people that came in,</i>

395
00:24:34,140 --> 00:24:37,018
<i>"Hello, how are ya, how's your
kids, how's your wife?"</i>

396
00:24:39,437 --> 00:24:41,272
[Ron]<i>It's like</i>
<i>that TV show</i> Cheers,

397
00:24:41,355 --> 00:24:43,483
people like to go where
everybody knows your name.

398
00:24:49,238 --> 00:24:51,991
[Mikeal]<i>And to this day,</i>
<i>we are now 43 years later,</i>

399
00:24:52,074 --> 00:24:54,285
<i>and they are still
coming here on a regular basis.</i>

400
00:24:54,368 --> 00:24:57,538
You can come on
a Monday or Tuesday, which
you wouldn't even expect it,

401
00:24:57,622 --> 00:24:59,999
<i>and you may have
five or ten rock stars.</i>

402
00:25:00,082 --> 00:25:02,418
<i>Ozzy's here
about three, four times a week.</i>

403
00:25:02,502 --> 00:25:06,631
Lemmy from Motörhead bought
a place right down the street
so he would be near The Rainbow.

404
00:25:06,714 --> 00:25:09,091
He makes no bones about it,
he has to be by The Rainbow.

405
00:25:17,558 --> 00:25:21,187
Lemmy is a God. Lemmy is
awesome, he's always
been a part of this club,

406
00:25:21,270 --> 00:25:24,357
<i>he loves</i>
<i>hanging out at The Rainbow.</i>
<i>He's always at The Rainbow.</i>

407
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:26,442
He's like furniture there,
he's always there.

408
00:25:26,526 --> 00:25:29,111
[Mike]<i>People call and they</i>
<i>think he owns the place,</i>

409
00:25:29,195 --> 00:25:32,281
you know, I get all these calls,
what does Lemmy have
to do with The Rainbow,

410
00:25:32,365 --> 00:25:33,699
<i>it's like
he just hangs out there.</i>

411
00:25:33,783 --> 00:25:35,993
Lemmy, he still comes here.

412
00:25:36,077 --> 00:25:38,746
<i>Plays the machine on the bar,
that's all he does.</i>

413
00:25:38,829 --> 00:25:41,082
But he minds his own business,
such a nice guy.

414
00:25:41,165 --> 00:25:45,002
[Steve]<i>He's in front</i>
<i>of the machine all the time,</i>
<i>drinking his jack and cokes,</i>

415
00:25:45,086 --> 00:25:47,505
and uh, you don't bug him.

416
00:25:47,588 --> 00:25:50,258
[Mike] <i>One of the coolest</i>
<i>things about The Rainbow</i>

417
00:25:50,341 --> 00:25:53,469
<i>is celebrities like to hang</i>
<i>out there cause they don't</i>
<i>get messed with.</i>

418
00:25:53,553 --> 00:25:56,973
<i>People who are</i>
<i>famous can hang there</i>
<i>and kind of sit in a corner</i>

419
00:25:57,056 --> 00:26:00,351
and keep to themselves,
and not get fucked with
by every person that walks by.

420
00:26:50,693 --> 00:26:54,488
That guy helped me out in Vegas
one time with another joint
we had there,

421
00:26:54,572 --> 00:26:57,950
and Lemmy's a good man.

422
00:26:58,034 --> 00:27:01,287
[Mike]<i>He's an amazing guy,</i>
<i>he's a great person,</i>
<i>and we all adore him.</i>

423
00:27:27,438 --> 00:27:29,315
[Ron]<i>It was the kind</i>
<i>of crowd that I liked.</i>

424
00:27:29,398 --> 00:27:32,526
I wasn't really crazy
about like the Sky Bar,
or the W.

425
00:27:32,610 --> 00:27:34,904
These places
struck me as a bit pretentious,

426
00:27:34,987 --> 00:27:38,699
you know, leisure suit attitude,
you know sports jackets,
it's just, I don't know.

427
00:27:38,783 --> 00:27:41,661
This is rock n' roll. This is
as rock n' roll as it gets.

428
00:27:52,380 --> 00:27:55,800
[Gene]<i>A rock star</i>
<i>is a peculiar thing,</i>

429
00:27:55,883 --> 00:27:58,427
<i>it's come to mean
you're extraordinary.</i>

430
00:27:58,511 --> 00:28:01,013
You can be Bill Clinton,
you're a rock star,

431
00:28:01,097 --> 00:28:04,433
<i>or Obama, or whoever
it is you think is cool.</i>

432
00:28:04,517 --> 00:28:07,103
You can't say,
"See that guy over there,
he's a hip-hop star,"

433
00:28:07,186 --> 00:28:08,521
it fucking means nothing.

434
00:28:08,604 --> 00:28:10,564
"That guy over there,
he's a country star."

435
00:28:10,648 --> 00:28:14,735
<i>Take your pick, "That guy's</i>
<i>a heavy metal star,"</i>
<i>it means fuck all.</i>

436
00:28:14,819 --> 00:28:19,949
There is only rock, because
as much as we love Sinatra,
and the Rat Pack,

437
00:28:20,032 --> 00:28:21,242
<i>it's not this thing.</i>

438
00:28:22,201 --> 00:28:25,579
<i>Mom and Dad</i>
<i>and outside culture</i>
<i>didn't effect it,</i>

439
00:28:25,663 --> 00:28:29,667
<i>so peoples</i>
<i>hair grew longer, they wore</i>
<i>more flamboyant clothes.</i>

440
00:28:29,792 --> 00:28:33,754
<i>Straight guys like Robert Plant
were wearing chick clothing,</i>

441
00:28:33,838 --> 00:28:38,092
<i>and the sort of ambiguous</i>
<i>nature of guys moving</i>
<i>like girls, and stuff.</i>

442
00:28:38,175 --> 00:28:42,680
<i>It was not judgment,</i>
<i>in fact, I don't remember</i>
<i>the word gay being uttered.</i>

443
00:28:42,763 --> 00:28:44,515
You just did whatever you
wanted to do.

444
00:28:45,516 --> 00:28:48,602
<i>When people</i>
<i>say tell us a story,</i>
<i>it doesn't have to be sexual,</i>

445
00:28:48,686 --> 00:28:52,022
if it's rock n' roll,
it's always about sexual.

446
00:28:52,106 --> 00:28:56,652
If it's country music it's
about your beer and your truck
or your hog or whatever.

447
00:28:56,736 --> 00:28:59,488
<i>That's why we picked up guitars
in the first place.</i>

448
00:28:59,572 --> 00:29:02,700
<i>What do you think, we have</i>
<i>some great secret to impart</i>
<i>to the world?</i>

449
00:29:02,783 --> 00:29:06,454
<i>I don't look like Bob Dylan,
nobody pretends to be that.</i>

450
00:29:06,537 --> 00:29:07,621
We just wanted to get laid.

451
00:29:07,705 --> 00:29:11,667
[Slash] <i>The Rainbow</i>
<i>was really a place</i>
<i>where rock n' roll musicians</i>

452
00:29:11,751 --> 00:29:14,587
<i>could go and hang out,
and just be themselves,</i>

453
00:29:14,670 --> 00:29:17,089
<i>and be able to you know,
have a good time.</i>

454
00:29:17,173 --> 00:29:19,008
The kind of good time
that a musician wants to have.

455
00:29:19,091 --> 00:29:23,262
You know, the reputation was
rock n' roll-- sex, drugs
and rock n' roll.

456
00:29:24,263 --> 00:29:28,225
<i>People want to live</i>
<i>a kind of a rock n' roll</i>
<i>gypsy lifestyle</i>

457
00:29:28,309 --> 00:29:30,227
<i>where you don't have
to apologize.</i>

458
00:29:31,771 --> 00:29:34,023
<i>There was
even a magazine called Star,</i>

459
00:29:34,106 --> 00:29:37,234
<i>and on the cover of every
issue of star were groupies</i>

460
00:29:37,318 --> 00:29:40,362
<i>who would tell their stories
of bedding down Robert Plant,</i>

461
00:29:40,446 --> 00:29:44,116
<i>or the Aerosmith guys,</i>
<i>or whoever.</i>
<i>They were celebrated.</i>

462
00:29:46,410 --> 00:29:49,955
We get to fuck
the prettiest boys, you get
to smoke the best dope.

463
00:29:50,039 --> 00:29:53,375
You get to meet all
the most far out people.
It's magic.

464
00:30:01,801 --> 00:30:04,678
You just had to be cool
about it. That was the sort
of fine line.

465
00:30:20,152 --> 00:30:24,156
[Matt] <i>Once I finally got out</i>
<i>of high school in 1978</i>

466
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:27,743
<i>my first thing to do</i>
<i>was to pack up the car</i>
<i>and come to Hollywood.</i>

467
00:30:30,788 --> 00:30:34,250
[Steve]<i>It was in the heart</i>
<i>of the disco era,</i>

468
00:30:34,333 --> 00:30:37,419
<i>rock was a secondary thing.</i>

469
00:30:38,546 --> 00:30:42,758
The very first night I came out
in '77 I came to The Rainbow,

470
00:30:42,842 --> 00:30:46,804
and then I came every night
after that for years.

471
00:30:48,180 --> 00:30:52,059
<i>There were all these guys</i>
<i>waiting for a chance,</i>
<i>going through different bands.</i>

472
00:30:53,644 --> 00:30:57,481
<i>I'm talking about me
and Nikki Sixx, Blackie Lawless</i>

473
00:30:57,565 --> 00:31:00,442
and we were all hanging
here wondering what was
going to happen to us.

474
00:31:09,243 --> 00:31:11,203
[Slash]<i>I was an aspiring</i>
<i>rock n' roll musician</i>

475
00:31:11,287 --> 00:31:14,373
<i>and hanging out at all
the various clubs in LA,</i>

476
00:31:14,456 --> 00:31:19,086
<i>you know, sort of doing</i>
<i>that thing that you do which is</i>
<i>going to check out bands,</i>

477
00:31:19,169 --> 00:31:21,171
going to sort of network
so to speak.

478
00:31:28,971 --> 00:31:31,599
[Slash]<i>I mean all kinds</i>
<i>of interesting stories</i>

479
00:31:31,682 --> 00:31:34,101
about things that have developed
at The Rainbow,

480
00:31:34,184 --> 00:31:38,063
<i>from record deals</i>
<i>to songs, to bands,</i>
<i>members of bands meeting,</i>

481
00:31:38,147 --> 00:31:40,900
<i>I mean all kinds of, you name
it, it's happened there.</i>

482
00:31:48,324 --> 00:31:51,577
Rock music
in the 80's all came out
of The Rainbow and The Whisky.

483
00:31:58,167 --> 00:32:02,880
I was a stalwart at The Rainbow.
I have a long history
with Mikeal and Mario.

484
00:32:02,963 --> 00:32:06,175
<i>I first met them
unbeknownst to them</i>

485
00:32:06,258 --> 00:32:09,553
probably when I was like 15.

486
00:32:09,637 --> 00:32:13,974
<i>I used to make</i>
<i>fake IDs and we'd go</i>
<i>in there on the weekends.</i>

487
00:32:14,058 --> 00:32:16,560
Mikeal was always
hanging around the door.

488
00:32:16,644 --> 00:32:19,021
He finally busted me
with my fake ID

489
00:32:19,104 --> 00:32:21,440
<i>and I'd gone down
there with Steven</i>

490
00:32:21,523 --> 00:32:24,276
<i>and he was using
the fake ID I made for him.</i>

491
00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:26,570
<i>He walked right in,
and I got held up.</i>

492
00:32:26,654 --> 00:32:30,532
<i>I was drunk too,</i>
<i>and I was pissed,</i>
<i>so I went back to my pad,</i>

493
00:32:30,616 --> 00:32:34,870
and I went
into my Mom's clothes,

494
00:32:34,954 --> 00:32:37,164
cause it was Tuesday,
it was ladies night.

495
00:32:37,247 --> 00:32:39,375
So I went through
a bunch of her shit

496
00:32:39,458 --> 00:32:43,045
and I put together
this makeshift female
sort of get up,

497
00:32:43,128 --> 00:32:46,173
and some make-up and that,
and I padded my chest up

498
00:32:46,256 --> 00:32:48,926
and did the whole nine
and went back
up there and got in.

499
00:32:49,051 --> 00:32:52,346
<i>But then suddenly I
realized the grim reality</i>

500
00:32:52,429 --> 00:32:56,308
is that I'm dressed
as a girl in The Rainbow.
It did work though. I got in.

501
00:32:58,352 --> 00:33:01,105
[Matt] <i>Well, I would</i>
<i>probably be breaking</i>
<i>the law by saying</i>

502
00:33:01,188 --> 00:33:02,940
<i>the first time
I was let in here.</i>

503
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,611
As a musician you could live
on a bowl of chicken soup
and a loaf of bread

504
00:33:07,695 --> 00:33:09,613
because they always gave you
a loaf of bread,

505
00:33:09,697 --> 00:33:12,157
which was like the thing
you fill up on

506
00:33:12,241 --> 00:33:14,785
but then you get a little bit
of nourishment with it.

507
00:33:14,868 --> 00:33:16,537
It was a big bowl too.

508
00:33:16,620 --> 00:33:20,457
There's so many that literally
give credit to my Dad

509
00:33:20,541 --> 00:33:24,461
<i>because yeah, he supported
them while they were coming up.</i>

510
00:33:24,545 --> 00:33:26,088
<i>And he always
took them under his wing.</i>

511
00:33:26,171 --> 00:33:28,841
If someone came in
and it looked like they were
down and out on their luck,

512
00:33:28,924 --> 00:33:32,302
or trying to get started,
my Dad was always like,
here, gotta feed you.

513
00:33:32,386 --> 00:33:33,637
Have a bowl of soup.

514
00:33:33,721 --> 00:33:35,973
[Lita] <i>I met Mario</i>
<i>in The Runaways days,</i>

515
00:33:36,056 --> 00:33:40,185
we had an apartment
around the corner
up here on Clarke street.

516
00:33:40,269 --> 00:33:42,980
And we would come
to The Rainbow every night

517
00:33:43,063 --> 00:33:46,692
and Mario would take care of us
every night 'cause
we didn't have any money.

518
00:33:46,775 --> 00:33:49,278
[Matt]
<i>You know, in those days I might</i>
<i>have had enough for a beer.</i>

519
00:33:49,361 --> 00:33:51,405
<i>Mario was always very,
very cool about it.</i>

520
00:33:51,488 --> 00:33:55,242
He'd hook me up with the next,
maybe, even a refill.

521
00:33:56,702 --> 00:33:59,329
You know, I don't know
why he was so sweet
to me but he was.

522
00:33:59,413 --> 00:34:01,999
And to this day
I always thank him for it.

523
00:34:02,082 --> 00:34:07,838
[Lita]
<i>Mario really gave us a place</i>
<i>to put a roof over our heads.</i>

524
00:34:07,921 --> 00:34:11,341
We were trying
to be rock stars, learning,

525
00:34:11,425 --> 00:34:15,679
and reaching out for different
people to help us,
and Mario was there.

526
00:34:17,931 --> 00:34:21,435
The Runaways had the largest
attendance record

527
00:34:21,518 --> 00:34:24,855
in the history
of the Whisky a Go Go

528
00:34:24,938 --> 00:34:28,317
<i>that wrapped around The Rainbow
four nights in a row.</i>

529
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:31,737
<i>♪ Can't stay at home
Can't stay at school ♪</i>

530
00:34:31,820 --> 00:34:34,865
<i>♪ Old folks say
'You poor little fool' ♪</i>

531
00:34:34,948 --> 00:34:38,035
<i>♪ Down the streets
I'm the girl next door ♪</i>

532
00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:41,205
<i>♪ I'm the fox
You've been waiting for ♪</i>

533
00:34:41,288 --> 00:34:44,374
<i>♪ Hello, daddy
Hello, mom ♪</i>

534
00:34:44,458 --> 00:34:47,920
<i>♪ I'm your
C-ch-ch-cherry bomb! ♪</i>

535
00:34:48,003 --> 00:34:51,340
[Mike] <i>Your Grandpa let me</i>
<i>in there, he'd buy me a meal,</i>
<i>I didn't have any money.</i>

536
00:34:51,423 --> 00:34:55,010
I've seriously heard
that story from a thousand
different people.

537
00:34:55,094 --> 00:34:56,637
It's me, it's my nature.

538
00:34:56,720 --> 00:34:58,597
I feel sorry
for the guy down there,

539
00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:00,224
not the guy up,
but the guy down here.

540
00:35:00,307 --> 00:35:02,226
You gotta
treat everybody well,

541
00:35:02,309 --> 00:35:03,936
no matter who they are,
it don't matter.

542
00:35:04,019 --> 00:35:06,855
Except Manson,
he's nuts that guy.

543
00:35:21,495 --> 00:35:24,665
[Matt]<i>Around that period</i>
<i>that I came up</i>
<i>to Hollywood, you know,</i>

544
00:35:24,748 --> 00:35:27,251
<i>that was the era of Van Halen.</i>

545
00:35:27,334 --> 00:35:30,587
You know, Van Halen
got signed out of the Whiskey
in the late 70s.

546
00:35:35,634 --> 00:35:39,263
I got to see them do
their first album at The Whisky,

547
00:35:39,346 --> 00:35:43,058
and it was insane,
I'd never heard of them.

548
00:35:45,894 --> 00:35:47,688
Me and my friends
were all into Van Halen

549
00:35:47,771 --> 00:35:49,898
and they were playing,
they were doing some
release party.

550
00:35:49,982 --> 00:35:51,775
<i>So I come down,
I was a little kid,</i>

551
00:35:51,859 --> 00:35:55,362
<i>and there's just thousands
of people in the street.</i>

552
00:35:55,445 --> 00:35:58,240
<i>I mean you've never seen
so many people in your life</i>

553
00:35:58,323 --> 00:36:01,243
<i>and they're all in front</i>
<i>of the Whisky trying</i>
<i>to get into the Whisky</i>

554
00:36:01,326 --> 00:36:02,202
<i>to see Van Halen.</i>

555
00:36:02,286 --> 00:36:04,496
And someone announces
that the tickets are on sale

556
00:36:04,580 --> 00:36:06,206
at Tower Records
down the street,

557
00:36:06,290 --> 00:36:08,667
so everyone runs from The Whisky
over to Tower Records

558
00:36:08,750 --> 00:36:11,670
<i>trying to get their tickets,</i>
<i>and then some fuck up</i>
<i>happened over there,</i>

559
00:36:11,753 --> 00:36:13,505
<i>the tickets end up
being sold here.</i>

560
00:36:13,589 --> 00:36:16,884
<i>Sold the 500 tickets</i>
<i>in about four seconds,</i>
<i>and it was just mayhem.</i>

561
00:36:16,967 --> 00:36:18,552
<i>I mean,
the SWAT team, you know,</i>

562
00:36:18,635 --> 00:36:22,764
<i>the whole nine yards was</i>
<i>out here protecting</i>
<i>the Sunset Blvd from this,</i>

563
00:36:22,848 --> 00:36:25,601
<i>like, potential riot
from this Van Halen crowd.</i>

564
00:36:25,684 --> 00:36:29,229
<i>I went up to The Rainbow</i>
<i>just to, you know,</i>
<i>say hi to my Grandpa and stuff,</i>

565
00:36:29,313 --> 00:36:31,148
and he made me walk
Weird Al Yankovich
into the show.

566
00:36:31,273 --> 00:36:34,151
<i>So I got to go see
Van Halen with Weird Al.</i>

567
00:36:34,276 --> 00:36:36,069
<i>And it was the coolest
night ever.</i>

568
00:36:40,908 --> 00:36:45,162
[Steve]
<i>When we saw Van Halen take off</i>
<i>and it was a local band,</i>

569
00:36:45,287 --> 00:36:49,041
and everybody was aware
of who they were,
and how good they were.

570
00:36:49,124 --> 00:36:52,294
We knew a door had
flung open on that.

571
00:36:59,301 --> 00:37:01,053
I've seen a lot of bands
at the Whisky.

572
00:37:01,136 --> 00:37:04,556
But one of the important gigs
for as far as The Whisky,

573
00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:08,143
<i>and LA and all that
was I saw Motley Crue there.</i>

574
00:37:10,437 --> 00:37:13,398
[reporter]<i>Motley Crue,</i>
<i>this leather</i>
<i>and chain clad band</i>

575
00:37:13,482 --> 00:37:16,360
<i>pushed their way</i>
<i>through the LA club circuit</i>
<i>just two years ago.</i>

576
00:37:16,443 --> 00:37:19,196
<i>Now with the release</i>
<i>of their second album</i>
Shout At The Devil,

577
00:37:19,279 --> 00:37:23,200
<i>Motley Crue has them</i>
<i>waiting around the block</i>
<i>for hours in the cold and rain.</i>

578
00:37:23,325 --> 00:37:24,993
Motley Crue!

579
00:37:25,911 --> 00:37:27,704
[Steve]<i>A lot of us</i>
<i>got record deals.</i>

580
00:37:27,788 --> 00:37:32,167
<i>Quiet Riot, Motley,
W.A.S.P., Ratt, Dokken,</i>

581
00:37:32,251 --> 00:37:34,711
that's when we really
took over the strip.

582
00:37:34,795 --> 00:37:36,797
It was just crazy here.

583
00:37:46,890 --> 00:37:51,019
<i>From right here at The Rainbow</i>
<i>down to the edge</i>
<i>of The Whisky corner,</i>

584
00:37:51,103 --> 00:37:53,188
<i>it was just packed.</i>

585
00:37:53,272 --> 00:37:56,775
Get set for three hours
of the loudest, rudest,

586
00:37:56,858 --> 00:38:00,362
crudest, heaviest, meanest,
music around.

587
00:38:00,445 --> 00:38:04,825
It's time
for the Headbangers ball.

588
00:38:07,661 --> 00:38:11,498
It was just total domination
on TV, radio, concerts,

589
00:38:11,581 --> 00:38:16,420
everything was dominated
from the bands that came
from this strip right here.

590
00:38:16,503 --> 00:38:18,755
I think Poison
are fucking great!

591
00:38:18,839 --> 00:38:22,676
And there were so many
signed bands living
here and all friends,

592
00:38:22,759 --> 00:38:25,470
so it was a real,
real community
and a really cool scene.

593
00:38:25,554 --> 00:38:30,559
<i>I was signed</i>
<i>with W.A.S.P. for four years,</i>
<i>all the way up to about '87.</i>

594
00:38:31,351 --> 00:38:33,395
<i>We were all touring so much,</i>

595
00:38:33,478 --> 00:38:37,691
we weren't even aware
that there was a second wave
of metal coming out of LA.

596
00:38:43,822 --> 00:38:45,324
<i>How the fuck are you doing?</i>

597
00:38:46,033 --> 00:38:47,993
<i>Is it fucking hot
in this fucking place?</i>

598
00:38:48,076 --> 00:38:50,954
[crowd cheering]

599
00:38:52,914 --> 00:38:54,374
<i>Been a long time.</i>

600
00:39:00,213 --> 00:39:05,385
[screaming unintelligibly]

601
00:39:06,053 --> 00:39:07,637
[reporter]
<i>Approximately one year ago,</i>

602
00:39:07,721 --> 00:39:10,307
<i>an LA club band
hoping to gain recognition</i>

603
00:39:10,390 --> 00:39:12,768
<i>released their first album</i>
Appetite for Destruction.

604
00:39:12,851 --> 00:39:17,064
[music host] <i>They say</i>
<i>the stones to the 60's were</i>
<i>the kings of their genre.</i>

605
00:39:17,147 --> 00:39:19,858
<i>They say Aerosmith in
the 70's was the same thing,</i>

606
00:39:19,941 --> 00:39:24,112
<i>they say in the late 80'</i>
<i>going into the 90's it is</i>
<i>Guns N' Roses.</i>

607
00:39:26,782 --> 00:39:29,159
[Steve]<i>It was</i>
<i>just Guns N' Roses, LA Guns,</i>

608
00:39:29,242 --> 00:39:32,579
<i>Faster Pussycat thing</i>
<i>happening and the whole city</i>
<i>was buzzing,</i>

609
00:39:32,662 --> 00:39:37,584
and I was fortunate,
I got right out of WASP
and right into LA Guns.

610
00:39:37,667 --> 00:39:41,630
I just watched that whole thing,
that whole second wave
take over too,

611
00:39:41,713 --> 00:39:43,507
especially GNR,
how big they got.

612
00:39:45,509 --> 00:39:48,845
Axl Rose,
he came on stage
and he started talking,

613
00:39:48,929 --> 00:39:51,807
he said we played
this town in Florida,

614
00:39:51,890 --> 00:39:54,768
and the Mayor said we'll
never play there again.

615
00:39:54,851 --> 00:39:58,855
Well he can suck my dick,
he grabbed his privates.

616
00:40:00,565 --> 00:40:02,484
[Mike] <i>One of my biggest</i>
<i>shows as a kid</i>

617
00:40:02,567 --> 00:40:05,570
<i>was Guns N' Roses and Metallica
at the Rose Bowl,</i>

618
00:40:06,863 --> 00:40:09,950
and I run into my Grandpa
at like 12 years old,

619
00:40:10,033 --> 00:40:11,701
and he's like, what the fuck
are you doing here?

620
00:40:11,785 --> 00:40:14,329
Like the last person
you'd think you're run into

621
00:40:14,413 --> 00:40:17,374
at a venue that holds
a hundred thousand people
is your grandfather.

622
00:40:17,499 --> 00:40:18,500
But that happened.

623
00:40:19,626 --> 00:40:20,377
He's hanging out.

624
00:40:20,502 --> 00:40:23,380
They invited him down,
he was there, you know,
he had his laminate on,

625
00:40:23,505 --> 00:40:24,673
you know,
he was going backstage.

626
00:40:24,756 --> 00:40:27,217
I was trying
to go to the bathroom
and I ran right into him.

627
00:40:27,300 --> 00:40:32,055
Guns N' Roses was
a good show, good group,
I like them.

628
00:40:32,139 --> 00:40:33,390
I still like 'em.

629
00:40:35,392 --> 00:40:37,811
[Slash]<i>In the early days</i>
<i>of Guns N' Roses,</i>

630
00:40:37,894 --> 00:40:40,063
we used to hang out
at The Rainbow all the time.

631
00:40:40,147 --> 00:40:43,316
[Matt] <i>When I joined</i>
<i>Guns N' Roses,</i>
<i>we always came back here.</i>

632
00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,069
You know,
we had our booth,
which is the corner booth.

633
00:40:46,153 --> 00:40:48,697
<i>Slash's name is on that booth.</i>

634
00:40:50,824 --> 00:40:53,285
We all sat there,
but he claimed it.

635
00:40:54,453 --> 00:40:57,622
[Slash] <i>You know the booth</i>
<i>thing is just something</i>
<i>that materialized,</i>

636
00:40:57,706 --> 00:40:59,833
I don't know
if it was intentional.

637
00:40:59,916 --> 00:41:03,378
<i>They just put this one picture
of me in the back booth,</i>

638
00:41:03,462 --> 00:41:07,883
and that sort
of just turned into,
like, Slash's booth somehow.

639
00:41:07,966 --> 00:41:11,178
<i>They probably thought maybe,</i>
<i>you know, with all</i>
<i>those pizza's and stuff,</i>

640
00:41:11,261 --> 00:41:14,181
maybe it's time to give him
some sort of a booth, you know.

641
00:41:20,770 --> 00:41:23,356
[Matt] <i>We always felt</i>
<i>protected in our booth</i>

642
00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:28,111
<i>and people didn't</i>
<i>really bother us</i>
<i>because this was our place.</i>

643
00:41:29,738 --> 00:41:33,575
<i>And Mario, the guys</i>
<i>and Mikeal would say,</i>
<i>"Hey, this is your home.</i>

644
00:41:33,658 --> 00:41:35,535
You could do
whatever you want here.

645
00:41:35,619 --> 00:41:37,621
You want
to film a video, do it."

646
00:41:37,704 --> 00:41:41,541
there was no contracts
or asking for money,
or any of that bullshit.

647
00:41:49,132 --> 00:41:52,385
[Matt] <i>The first video</i>
<i>that I performed</i>
<i>in with Guns N' Roses</i>

648
00:41:52,469 --> 00:41:54,429
<i>was shot right here
at the Roxy with Arnold.</i>

649
00:41:55,514 --> 00:41:58,725
We all sat in here
waiting for our scenes
to come up

650
00:41:58,808 --> 00:42:01,645
because as you know,
filming stuff,
you gotta set cameras or lights.

651
00:42:01,728 --> 00:42:05,482
<i>Arnold had a trailer that</i>
<i>was parked in the parking lot,</i>
<i>we'd all go over there.</i>

652
00:42:05,565 --> 00:42:10,320
I remember we went in there
and he's smoking cigars
and drinking Goldschlager.

653
00:42:11,404 --> 00:42:13,740
And we all did shots with him.

654
00:42:16,159 --> 00:42:19,162
<i>So by the time we shot</i>
<i>the last scene where Arnold</i>
<i>comes out of the Roxy</i>

655
00:42:19,246 --> 00:42:21,122
<i>and we're
all standing in a line</i>

656
00:42:21,206 --> 00:42:24,167
<i>where it's Slash, me,
Duff, Dizzy and Axl,</i>

657
00:42:24,251 --> 00:42:26,878
we'd been in here
for about four hours
drinking heavily.

658
00:42:28,380 --> 00:42:31,508
So, by the time we got
to the film set, if you watch,

659
00:42:31,591 --> 00:42:35,011
<i>we're very wobbly</i>
<i>on that last scene,</i>
<i>specially Slash.</i>

660
00:42:43,478 --> 00:42:45,355
<i>You know,
we shot many videos here.</i>

661
00:42:51,152 --> 00:42:54,864
[Slash] <i>When we shot part</i>
<i>of a video called Estranged,</i>

662
00:42:54,948 --> 00:43:00,453
which is one of a three
part epic video series

663
00:43:00,537 --> 00:43:01,913
that Guns N' Roses did.

664
00:43:01,997 --> 00:43:03,957
[Mike]<i>I remember</i>
<i>going to that,</i>

665
00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:07,335
<i>and that was just</i>
<i>amazing to see a video</i>
<i>being filmed at our club.</i>

666
00:43:07,419 --> 00:43:10,880
[Slash]
<i>And then I gave them a guitar</i>
<i>that I threw off a cliff</i>

667
00:43:10,964 --> 00:43:12,966
<i>for the "Don't Cry" video.</i>

668
00:43:13,800 --> 00:43:16,970
That was a good Les Paul too,
it went neck first
off this cliff,

669
00:43:17,053 --> 00:43:22,392
and it came back
in three pieces, and we sort
of tied it back together.

670
00:43:24,811 --> 00:43:27,439
[Mikeal] <i>We don't buy any</i>
<i>of this memorabilia</i>
<i>or the guitars and things,</i>

671
00:43:27,522 --> 00:43:29,357
they're given to us regularly.

672
00:43:30,191 --> 00:43:34,070
Phil Campbell from Motörhead
gave me the one that's over
my head somewhere here.

673
00:43:34,154 --> 00:43:37,574
That's like a $5000 guitar,
but he wanted it to be
in The Rainbow.

674
00:43:37,657 --> 00:43:40,702
We got Eddie Van Halen's guitar
up there, we've got tons
of drum heads.

675
00:43:40,785 --> 00:43:42,454
I mean all sorts
of cool memorabilia.

676
00:43:42,537 --> 00:43:43,913
[Ron]<i>And all</i>
<i>the pictures on the walls</i>

677
00:43:43,997 --> 00:43:46,166
<i>of all the famous rock stars
that have been here or--</i>

678
00:43:46,249 --> 00:43:48,043
<i>I've given
them their gold albums.</i>

679
00:43:48,126 --> 00:43:49,711
[Mike]<i>It's</i>
<i>a little bit of a museum,</i>

680
00:43:49,794 --> 00:43:52,380
it's like we're the real
Hard Rock Café, you know.

681
00:43:52,464 --> 00:43:56,259
[Micky] <i>The story I heard is</i>
<i>that the guys</i>
<i>who started Hard Rock,</i>

682
00:43:56,343 --> 00:43:59,137
<i>got the idea from The Rainbow.</i>

683
00:43:59,888 --> 00:44:01,306
I would not be surprised.

684
00:44:02,182 --> 00:44:06,478
So Mario, you know, I brought
him one of my Guns N' Roses
snare drums,

685
00:44:06,561 --> 00:44:11,066
which was like
a signature series
drum that they made for me,

686
00:44:11,149 --> 00:44:15,654
it says "To Mario
and The Rainbow, Matt Sorum,
Guns N' fucking Roses".

687
00:44:16,237 --> 00:44:20,158
And Mario says, "Matt, what's
with the language?

688
00:44:20,241 --> 00:44:21,993
<i>You know
I don't like it when you cuss."</i>

689
00:44:22,077 --> 00:44:26,289
You know, I'm like, "Mario,
I mean, we're in The Rainbow,
I mean, really?"

690
00:44:26,373 --> 00:44:30,251
<i>He takes a piece of tape
and covers up the "fuckin'."</i>

691
00:44:30,335 --> 00:44:33,880
He thought
I should be respectful
of what's on the wall,

692
00:44:33,963 --> 00:44:36,675
and not everybody wants to see
the word "fuckin'," okay?

693
00:44:37,926 --> 00:44:41,388
So, still up there and it still
got that old piece of tape

694
00:44:41,471 --> 00:44:44,432
from over twenty years ago.

695
00:44:45,433 --> 00:44:46,935
Are you still doing
rock n' roll?

696
00:44:47,018 --> 00:44:49,229
A few heavy metal
comedians around.

697
00:44:49,312 --> 00:44:50,814
Yeah, I had
a lot of fun with it.

698
00:44:52,774 --> 00:44:56,528
[Ron]<i>I was good friends</i>
<i>with Sam Kinison, who came</i>
<i>to The Rainbow all the time.</i>

699
00:44:56,611 --> 00:45:00,824
We used to come here,
and the funny thing is
that Sam would often drink,

700
00:45:00,907 --> 00:45:04,577
and yet we would be
called upon to help walk some
of the rock stars out the door.

701
00:45:04,661 --> 00:45:07,163
<i>Like Ozzy Osbourne,
he'd get a little tipsy.</i>

702
00:45:13,211 --> 00:45:16,881
And then me and Sam Kinison
would walk them out to the car.

703
00:45:22,262 --> 00:45:24,305
And it was an honor, here I am
with a legend like this,

704
00:45:24,389 --> 00:45:27,142
and I'm helping
him walk to his car.
Hooking up under his arm.

705
00:45:27,225 --> 00:45:29,227
[doing a raspy voice]
"Oh thank you Ron,
appreciate it.

706
00:45:29,310 --> 00:45:30,562
Thank you very much,
thank you Sam."

707
00:45:30,645 --> 00:45:34,774
And then of course, me and Bill
used to help Sam Kinison
get to his car.

708
00:45:35,692 --> 00:45:38,194
<i>He had this great car,</i>
<i>it was a corvette,</i>
<i>it said EX REV,</i>

709
00:45:38,278 --> 00:45:41,948
<i>'cause Sam was</i>
<i>a Pentecostal minister</i>
<i>in a former life.</i>

710
00:45:42,031 --> 00:45:44,826
Nobody ever
helped me out the door
and I'm kind of jealous.

711
00:45:44,909 --> 00:45:47,662
- What was Ozzy like?
- Oh Ozzy's great,
so funny, so mellow,

712
00:45:47,746 --> 00:45:50,457
you know I was expecting,
"Ah, you got any bats on you?

713
00:45:50,540 --> 00:45:53,543
Rawr! Can I get some
raw meat, you know?"

714
00:45:53,626 --> 00:45:55,253
And he's not
like that at all, he's so kind.

715
00:45:55,336 --> 00:45:59,382
You know, he's so British,
"Hello, how are you? I've always
been afraid to meet you."

716
00:45:59,466 --> 00:46:00,341
That's what he told me.

717
00:46:00,425 --> 00:46:03,553
"I'm afraid to meet you because
I heard you were too wild
for me to hang out with."

718
00:46:03,636 --> 00:46:06,598
Oh yeah, yeah, great,
Ozzy Osbourne's
afraid to meet me?

719
00:46:49,390 --> 00:46:53,144
[Mikeal]<i>I can't tell you how</i>
<i>many people that my father has</i>
<i>lectured on their drug issues.</i>

720
00:46:53,228 --> 00:46:54,479
Of using drugs.

721
00:46:54,562 --> 00:46:57,565
He will turn to customers here
that are regular drinkers

722
00:46:57,649 --> 00:47:00,318
still to this day and say
"You drink too much."

723
00:47:00,401 --> 00:47:04,030
We sell drinks for a living,
okay, he will sit down and tell
them "You drink too much."

724
00:47:04,113 --> 00:47:06,991
[Micky] <i>There's a few</i>
<i>characters like that in town</i>

725
00:47:07,075 --> 00:47:11,287
<i>who cared about the people</i>
<i>that frequented</i>
<i>their establishments.</i>

726
00:47:11,371 --> 00:47:14,707
That wasn't uncommon, it is now.

727
00:47:15,458 --> 00:47:16,668
Mario's an exception.

728
00:47:16,751 --> 00:47:21,798
That's why I didn't care so much
when my daughter Amy
would come around.

729
00:47:21,923 --> 00:47:23,925
Because I knew
that there was this

730
00:47:24,008 --> 00:47:28,012
protective almost family thing.

731
00:47:36,229 --> 00:47:38,273
Matt] <i>When I got some success,</i>

732
00:47:39,148 --> 00:47:41,901
I remember my drinking getting
a little out of control.

733
00:47:41,985 --> 00:47:43,736
'Cause now
I had money to buy beers,

734
00:47:43,820 --> 00:47:47,490
and buy beers for my friends,
you know, and do some shots too.

735
00:47:47,574 --> 00:47:50,451
And I remember Mario
pulling me aside one night

736
00:47:50,535 --> 00:47:53,913
and he literally gave me
that fatherly talk,

737
00:47:53,997 --> 00:47:56,291
<i>because my Dad wasn't around
up here in Hollywood.</i>

738
00:47:56,374 --> 00:47:59,252
<i>I was a kid running around
on my own, you know.</i>

739
00:47:59,335 --> 00:48:02,547
And he said "Matt, I don't like
how you're acting kid,

740
00:48:02,630 --> 00:48:03,840
you're drinking too much."

741
00:48:04,799 --> 00:48:06,467
I was like
"Aww, come on, Mario."

742
00:48:06,551 --> 00:48:11,180
"No! Listen to me.
I'm telling you you drink
too much, simmer down."

743
00:48:12,932 --> 00:48:17,520
And, you
know, that really stuck
with me, you know, because he--

744
00:48:18,688 --> 00:48:23,192
he was like a father figure
to a lot of us
who had come to Hollywood,

745
00:48:23,276 --> 00:48:24,861
you know,
looking for the dream

746
00:48:26,362 --> 00:48:30,909
and we were away from family
and any sort of grounding,
you know.

747
00:48:32,994 --> 00:48:35,580
[Slash] <i>Over the years, you</i>
<i>know, I had different issues,</i>

748
00:48:36,748 --> 00:48:39,959
and Mario had taken care
of me a few times.

749
00:48:40,043 --> 00:48:42,587
<i>He definitely
saw where I was at,</i>

750
00:48:42,670 --> 00:48:46,841
and he did give me sort
of a speech as to, you know,
what the fuck am I doing,

751
00:48:46,925 --> 00:48:48,301
why would I, blah blah blah...

752
00:48:48,384 --> 00:48:52,805
And, you know, and I listened
to him within reason.

753
00:48:52,889 --> 00:48:54,557
You know, I took it to heart.

754
00:49:00,355 --> 00:49:02,941
[Mike] <i>The grunge era</i>
<i>came in the 90's,</i>

755
00:49:04,317 --> 00:49:05,902
<i>it cut down
everybody on the streets,</i>

756
00:49:05,985 --> 00:49:08,821
<i>you know, it wasn't craziness
out on the streets in the 90's.</i>

757
00:49:12,867 --> 00:49:16,037
[bearded musician]<i>Because</i>
<i>it is more overcast here,</i>

758
00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:21,292
<i>we don't spend 300 days a year</i>
<i>playing volleyball like</i>
<i>they do down in California.</i>

759
00:49:21,376 --> 00:49:25,213
You tend to spend more time
indoors. Whether reading a book,
or seeing films.

760
00:49:25,296 --> 00:49:27,966
Or practicing
music in your garage.

761
00:49:47,527 --> 00:49:50,029
[Gene]
<i>Musical tastes changed,</i>

762
00:49:52,448 --> 00:49:55,660
<i>the glamorous part
of the scene came and went.</i>

763
00:49:56,744 --> 00:49:59,330
<i>Once the guys started
cutting their hair</i>

764
00:49:59,414 --> 00:50:03,584
<i>and looked like, let me see,</i>
<i>are you a Domino's</i>
<i>pizza delivery boy?</i>

765
00:50:03,668 --> 00:50:05,920
Do you work
for the sanitation department?

766
00:50:06,004 --> 00:50:08,131
Or are you in a band?
You're done.

767
00:50:14,220 --> 00:50:18,808
[Mikeal]<i>As far as the flow</i>
<i>when it comes to The Rainbow,</i>
<i>it kept a consistent thing.</i>

768
00:50:18,891 --> 00:50:21,811
The Rainbow was
still kind of catering
to the 80's people.

769
00:50:21,894 --> 00:50:25,356
You know, The Rainbow
kind of kept that rock n' roll,

770
00:50:25,440 --> 00:50:27,900
that old, you know,
80's rock feel alive.

771
00:50:27,984 --> 00:50:32,155
[Mikeal] <i>But, as far</i>
<i>as The Whisky, it definitely</i>
<i>affected the business.</i>

772
00:50:33,489 --> 00:50:36,951
The economy changed,
and when the economy changed,
the industry changed.

773
00:50:38,703 --> 00:50:41,748
<i>You had the record companies
that backed every group.</i>

774
00:50:41,831 --> 00:50:45,501
<i>When we threw a party</i>
<i>at the Whisky, you had Capitol,</i>
<i>you had Atlantic.</i>

775
00:50:45,585 --> 00:50:48,296
<i>You had all these major</i>
<i>companies that literally</i>
<i>came behind the groups</i>

776
00:50:48,379 --> 00:50:49,422
<i>and backed them up.</i>

777
00:50:49,505 --> 00:50:51,507
The record companies,
they weren't throwing out

778
00:50:51,591 --> 00:50:55,344
several thousand dollars
a night to promote a new group
that was coming out.

779
00:50:55,428 --> 00:51:00,016
[Mike]<i>And back in the late</i>
<i>90's when the record sales</i>
<i>started to drop</i>

780
00:51:00,141 --> 00:51:02,393
<i>and music became free,</i>

781
00:51:02,477 --> 00:51:05,021
the bands stopped making money,
so the bands stopped touring.

782
00:51:05,104 --> 00:51:07,231
That's when it got bad,
and that was my generation.

783
00:51:07,315 --> 00:51:11,319
Money got tight. There were
times that it was strained.

784
00:51:11,402 --> 00:51:13,029
[Mike]
<i>My grandpa got real sick.</i>

785
00:51:13,112 --> 00:51:16,157
He had cancer, and they had
to take him for chemotherapy.

786
00:51:16,240 --> 00:51:19,869
[Mikeal]
<i>He had a very rare type</i>
<i>of cancer that was in his face.</i>

787
00:51:19,952 --> 00:51:22,830
<i>They actually had to remove
his nose at one point.</i>

788
00:51:22,914 --> 00:51:27,043
<i>He had a 10 percent survival</i>
<i>rate, well he beat that,</i>
<i>he was tough.</i>

789
00:51:27,168 --> 00:51:29,045
[Mike]<i>And my Dad</i>
<i>was by his side,</i>

790
00:51:29,170 --> 00:51:31,172
so it was basically
my Dad and my Grandpa,

791
00:51:31,255 --> 00:51:33,758
for a long time,
were just non-existent.

792
00:51:33,841 --> 00:51:35,426
[Mikeal]
<i>When it comes to my son,</i>

793
00:51:35,510 --> 00:51:37,595
<i>at first it was like,
you have to cover the business,</i>

794
00:51:37,678 --> 00:51:39,764
<i>you know, you run the weekends
and answer the phone.</i>

795
00:51:39,847 --> 00:51:43,684
And I'm actually quite amazed
that he picked everything
up just like that.

796
00:51:43,768 --> 00:51:46,437
<i>Within two years</i>
<i>all of a sudden</i>
<i>he's booking groups.</i>

797
00:51:46,521 --> 00:51:49,857
[Mike]<i>I've been around</i>
<i>it my whole life,</i>
<i>so it was just natural,</i>

798
00:51:49,941 --> 00:51:51,859
<i>I just took over and started
doing everything.</i>

799
00:51:51,943 --> 00:51:54,153
No matter what was going on
in our personal life,

800
00:51:54,237 --> 00:51:55,738
no matter
what was going on at home,

801
00:51:55,822 --> 00:51:58,199
it was like, I couldn't let
that effect business.

802
00:51:58,282 --> 00:52:00,743
Like the business needs
to go on, this is
what we live off of,

803
00:52:00,827 --> 00:52:02,745
<i>the show must go on, literally.</i>

804
00:52:21,430 --> 00:52:24,684
[Mike]<i>I started off, I did all</i>
<i>System of a Down's</i>
<i>first shows here,</i>

805
00:52:24,767 --> 00:52:26,018
<i>all Hoobastank's first shows,</i>

806
00:52:26,102 --> 00:52:29,063
<i>I was booking Hoobastank</i>
<i>for 10 years before they</i>
<i>got a record deal.</i>

807
00:52:29,147 --> 00:52:31,566
Linkin Park, I booked
those guys for years,

808
00:52:31,649 --> 00:52:33,693
<i>we did Eminem's
first LA show.</i>

809
00:52:33,776 --> 00:52:36,487
<i>You know, we heard
about this white rapper Eminem,</i>

810
00:52:36,571 --> 00:52:39,365
<i>and it was all the big rage.</i>
<i>You know, he wanted</i>
<i>fifteen hundred bucks,</i>

811
00:52:39,448 --> 00:52:41,951
we were like, wow that's a lot,
but we'll give it a shot.

812
00:52:42,034 --> 00:52:45,121
<i>That show is the first show
that Dr. Dre saw him,</i>

813
00:52:45,204 --> 00:52:47,540
<i>and that's when he got signed,
right after that show.</i>

814
00:52:48,916 --> 00:52:53,421
<i>Anything out of that late 90's</i>
<i>early 2000's generation</i>
<i>we helped out,</i>

815
00:52:53,504 --> 00:52:56,841
<i>and we booked all their shows</i>
<i>and started them</i>
<i>from the ground up.</i>

816
00:53:01,053 --> 00:53:03,723
[Mario]<i>My grandson,</i>
<i>thank God he came along,</i>

817
00:53:03,806 --> 00:53:06,767
you know if it weren't for him
forget about it,
it wouldn't happen.

818
00:53:06,851 --> 00:53:10,479
I'm very proud,
proud of the fact that my son
was able to take over,

819
00:53:10,563 --> 00:53:13,149
and this kid was born
with a silver spoon,
or gold spoon in his mouth,

820
00:53:13,274 --> 00:53:15,568
doesn't have to work,
didn't have to do anything

821
00:53:15,651 --> 00:53:19,071
and he gets out and works
as hard if not harder
than I worked.

822
00:53:19,155 --> 00:53:20,156
Day and night.

823
00:53:20,239 --> 00:53:24,952
And that brought a joy
to my father, that was
his pride, was his grandson.

824
00:53:26,954 --> 00:53:28,998
[Mario]<i>He keeps that place</i>
<i>open seven days a week,</i>

825
00:53:29,081 --> 00:53:32,126
<i>when we used to open maybe
three, four days a week.</i>

826
00:53:32,793 --> 00:53:36,714
And he knows
the music better than my son,
probably better than me.

827
00:53:36,797 --> 00:53:38,507
He's a booker,
that's what he does.

828
00:53:38,591 --> 00:53:41,427
To me it was never
about the partying
or about the fun.

829
00:53:41,510 --> 00:53:44,972
Like I'm just a music freak,
I love music, I love concerts.

830
00:53:45,056 --> 00:53:48,476
[Mikeal]<i>And now he runs</i>
<i>the whole show over there.</i>
<i>He runs it all for us.</i>

831
00:53:48,559 --> 00:53:52,271
I don't really have an actual
position at either place,
I'm just the boss.

832
00:53:52,355 --> 00:53:54,607
I rarely will
walk into the Whisky,

833
00:53:54,690 --> 00:53:57,652
and to be quite honest with you
I'm at an age where I can't
stand the noise.

834
00:54:02,323 --> 00:54:04,450
[Mike]<i>I've had some</i>
<i>pretty crazy shows.</i>

835
00:54:04,533 --> 00:54:06,994
<i>I've had some shows
where they get pretty violent.</i>

836
00:54:07,078 --> 00:54:08,371
It just depends on the crowd.

837
00:54:08,454 --> 00:54:10,623
<i>I had a friend over
at Taang! Records,</i>

838
00:54:10,706 --> 00:54:12,500
<i>he was like, "Oh let's
put these British bands,</i>

839
00:54:12,583 --> 00:54:17,046
you know like really just
like Oi! type punk rock bands,"

840
00:54:17,129 --> 00:54:20,299
and I mean, this place
just broke out into a riot.

841
00:54:23,261 --> 00:54:26,305
<i>There was like skinheads,
and the non-skinheads,</i>

842
00:54:26,389 --> 00:54:30,935
they're fighting, I mean you had
every type of bad person
in the punk rock scene

843
00:54:31,018 --> 00:54:34,772
all at one place at one time,
literally just fighting.

844
00:54:34,855 --> 00:54:39,735
Somehow a gunshot went off,
the place was berserk,

845
00:54:39,819 --> 00:54:43,614
<i>SWAT team, the barricades,</i>
<i>the whole nine yards,</i>
<i>I mean it was insane.</i>

846
00:54:43,698 --> 00:54:47,660
<i>Another one,</i>
<i>it was like a hardcore show,</i>
<i>pretty rough crowd.</i>

847
00:54:47,743 --> 00:54:49,996
<i>These thugs came in
and started a big fight.</i>

848
00:54:50,079 --> 00:54:51,664
There's trash cans
getting thrown,

849
00:54:51,747 --> 00:54:53,499
people getting the shit
kicked out of them.

850
00:54:53,582 --> 00:54:56,544
We had it to the point
where all the security
guards were inside the club,

851
00:54:56,627 --> 00:54:58,212
and the maniacs were outside.

852
00:54:58,296 --> 00:55:01,173
<i>My sister's husband</i>
<i>was just hired</i>
<i>as a security guard here.</i>

853
00:55:01,257 --> 00:55:03,342
<i>He doesn't really know how
to deal with these situations.</i>

854
00:55:03,426 --> 00:55:06,554
He goes outside,
the second he walks out there
he gets clipped in the jaw.

855
00:55:06,637 --> 00:55:08,848
And I mean, there's just blood
gushing everywhere,

856
00:55:08,931 --> 00:55:12,226
so we go out to help him,
he goes around the side
trying to help somebody else,

857
00:55:12,310 --> 00:55:13,894
and gets hit again.

858
00:55:15,938 --> 00:55:17,440
<i>Fully destroyed his jaw,</i>

859
00:55:17,523 --> 00:55:20,276
like broken
every little piece of his jaw.

860
00:55:20,359 --> 00:55:22,320
And then that was
his last day of security.

861
00:55:24,488 --> 00:55:25,906
Um, he sells real estate.

862
00:55:25,990 --> 00:55:28,534
You know.
It's a lot calmer of a job.

863
00:55:33,748 --> 00:55:36,292
[Matt] <i>This is tradition</i>
<i>at its core, you know.</i>

864
00:55:36,417 --> 00:55:40,171
<i>And thank God,</i>
<i>because I'd hate it to fall</i>
<i>into somebody else's hands.</i>

865
00:55:47,303 --> 00:55:50,306
[reporter] <i>Sunset Strip</i>
<i>as we know it is being</i>
<i>stripped away a little bit.</i>

866
00:55:50,431 --> 00:55:53,309
[reporter] <i>You can find</i>
<i>construction going up</i>
<i>everywhere on the strip.</i>

867
00:55:53,392 --> 00:55:57,897
<i>Developers buying</i>
<i>old buildings to replace them</i>
<i>with luxury hotels.</i>

868
00:56:29,136 --> 00:56:31,097
[Slash] <i>The Rainbow</i>
<i>hasn't changed at all.</i>

869
00:56:31,180 --> 00:56:33,307
[Lita] <i>I came</i>
<i>back to Los Angeles,</i>

870
00:56:33,391 --> 00:56:38,145
<i>and I remember walking</i>
<i>into The Rainbow after</i>
<i>not seeing it for 15 years</i>

871
00:56:38,229 --> 00:56:42,108
and going
"It hasn't fucking changed."

872
00:56:42,191 --> 00:56:47,154
[Slash] <i>They've always seemed</i>
<i>to keep the integrity</i>
<i>of the club intact.</i>

873
00:56:47,238 --> 00:56:49,323
It's so real.

874
00:56:50,282 --> 00:56:52,701
And it has been--
I don't know how they do it.

875
00:56:52,785 --> 00:56:56,288
[Mikeal]<i>It goes back</i>
<i>to the atmosphere, you keep</i>
<i>that comfortable atmosphere.</i>

876
00:56:57,248 --> 00:57:01,669
<i>This is still the base décor</i>
<i>that you see around here</i>
<i>from the old Villa Nova.</i>

877
00:57:03,421 --> 00:57:06,048
<i>Finish the booths,
or redo the tops of the tables,</i>

878
00:57:06,132 --> 00:57:07,967
<i>but you have to keep it
looking the same.</i>

879
00:57:08,050 --> 00:57:09,844
If you change it--
my father taught me that.

880
00:57:09,927 --> 00:57:12,346
If you change it, you'll change
the face of the business.

881
00:57:12,430 --> 00:57:14,890
And so people today are
still comfortable being here.

882
00:57:17,017 --> 00:57:20,855
[Mike]
<i>We want people to feel</i>
<i>like they're in rock n' roll.</i>

883
00:57:20,938 --> 00:57:26,152
<i>Now we have</i>
<i>a whole revitalization</i>
<i>of the 80's rock movement,</i>

884
00:57:26,235 --> 00:57:29,613
and I love the fact
that you can go to The Rainbow,

885
00:57:29,697 --> 00:57:32,783
feel the rock vibe,
come to the Whisky
and see Dokken,

886
00:57:32,867 --> 00:57:34,994
<i>or see Warrant
still in this day.</i>

887
00:57:35,077 --> 00:57:36,620
That's what we're going for,

888
00:57:36,704 --> 00:57:41,041
I'm not really a fan
of music of today,
and where music's going.

889
00:57:45,921 --> 00:57:48,257
<i>♪ I don't care
About my make up ♪</i>

890
00:57:52,678 --> 00:57:56,307
Technology is
the new crack of music.

891
00:57:56,390 --> 00:58:00,352
<i>It's too easy to press</i>
<i>a button and sound better</i>
<i>than you normally do.</i>

892
00:58:00,436 --> 00:58:03,397
<i>So almost everybody
that gets up on stage,</i>

893
00:58:03,481 --> 00:58:06,859
I'm talking about big bands,
are not playing live.

894
00:58:21,916 --> 00:58:26,462
It really isn't this thing
of wanting to learn
how to play a guitar.

895
00:58:26,587 --> 00:58:29,798
<i>Wanting to master drums,
wanting to play bass or sing.</i>

896
00:58:34,261 --> 00:58:36,138
[Slash]
<i>It's part and parcel</i>
<i>of the digital age</i>

897
00:58:36,222 --> 00:58:38,432
<i>and also
the way the record companies</i>

898
00:58:38,516 --> 00:58:40,267
have decided the direction
that they've gone.

899
00:58:40,351 --> 00:58:43,187
<i>But I think that the magic
that you hear on a record</i>

900
00:58:43,270 --> 00:58:46,148
<i>comes from people really
interacting in the same room.</i>

901
00:58:46,232 --> 00:58:50,736
It's not something that you
can do from different people's
living rooms from a distance.

902
00:58:57,159 --> 00:59:00,204
<i>Having outlets, you know,
venues for young bands</i>

903
00:59:00,287 --> 00:59:03,415
<i>to get together and do
their thing is essential.</i>

904
00:59:03,499 --> 00:59:05,167
<i>Especially
if we're discovering music,</i>

905
00:59:05,251 --> 00:59:08,003
I mean that's an art
that is close to dead.

906
00:59:10,464 --> 00:59:12,049
[Micky] <i>I think it's a shame,</i>

907
00:59:12,132 --> 00:59:17,721
<i>it makes</i>
<i>it really difficult</i>
<i>for new young acts and artists</i>

908
00:59:17,805 --> 00:59:19,515
to get a foot in the door.

909
00:59:20,975 --> 00:59:24,979
[Slash] <i>The music business</i>
<i>itself is not catering</i>
<i>to rock n' roll at all.</i>

910
00:59:26,230 --> 00:59:27,773
[Micky] <i>I miss those times.</i>

911
00:59:32,653 --> 00:59:36,156
[Slash] <i>You know, as far</i>
<i>as rock is concerned,</i>
<i>it's not viable to make music.</i>

912
00:59:39,034 --> 00:59:42,371
Here, I'll play a game
with you and see if you
can answer this question.

913
00:59:43,163 --> 00:59:46,417
<i>From 1958 until 1988</i>

914
00:59:46,500 --> 00:59:52,172
name 100 classic,
iconic bands that will
stand the test of time.

915
00:59:52,256 --> 00:59:56,218
<i>Let me see, I've got Elvis,
The Beatles, The Stones,</i>

916
00:59:56,302 --> 01:00:00,055
Led Zeppelin, Hendrix,
in pop and R&B and stuff

917
01:00:00,139 --> 01:00:02,558
<i>you've got The Jackson Five,
Michael Jackson, Madonna,</i>

918
01:00:02,683 --> 01:00:05,311
<i>even disco,
Donna Summers on that level.</i>

919
01:00:05,394 --> 01:00:09,732
Motown, The Supremes,
it all happened
at the same time. Okay.

920
01:00:09,815 --> 01:00:13,319
From 1988 until today,

921
01:00:13,402 --> 01:00:16,530
<i>give me 5 bands that will stand
the test of time.</i>

922
01:00:18,282 --> 01:00:19,617
It's not on that level.

923
01:00:20,576 --> 01:00:22,244
Good evening,
thanks very much for joining us,

924
01:00:22,328 --> 01:00:24,163
the breaking news
tonight is sad.

925
01:00:24,246 --> 01:00:27,791
A founding member
of one of the most popular music
acts of all time has died.

926
01:00:27,875 --> 01:00:31,587
<i>Just 67 years old,</i>
<i>and he was quite simply,</i>
<i>a rock star.</i>

927
01:00:31,670 --> 01:00:34,882
[reporter] <i>The rock legend</i>
<i>David Bowie has died,</i>

928
01:00:34,965 --> 01:00:37,676
<i>he was 69 years of age.</i>

929
01:00:37,760 --> 01:00:40,554
[reporter] <i>Tributes</i>
<i>from around the world</i>
<i>this morning for Tom Petty,</i>

930
01:00:40,638 --> 01:00:44,433
<i>who died</i>
<i>overnight at the age of 66.</i>
<i>The legendary rocker--</i>

931
01:00:44,516 --> 01:00:48,187
[reporter]<i>Musician Prince</i>
<i>has died at his home</i>
<i>in Minneapolis,</i>

932
01:00:48,270 --> 01:00:50,314
<i>he was 57, and had been--</i>

933
01:00:50,397 --> 01:00:55,527
[reporter]<i>Paul Katner,</i>
<i>a giant of the 60's music scene</i>
<i>has died. He was 74--</i>

934
01:00:55,611 --> 01:00:57,029
[reporter]
<i>Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister,</i>

935
01:00:57,112 --> 01:00:58,906
<i>the front man for the heavy
metal band Motörhead</i>

936
01:00:58,989 --> 01:01:01,075
<i>has died at the age of 70.</i>

937
01:01:01,158 --> 01:01:06,705
[reporter] <i>Sunset Strip</i>
<i>rock club owner Mario Maglieri</i>
<i>has died at the age of 93.</i>

938
01:01:22,596 --> 01:01:25,557
[Mikeal]
<i>That day I was in such</i>
<i>a state of shock, there was--</i>

939
01:01:25,641 --> 01:01:27,893
I mean,
just people on top of people,

940
01:01:27,976 --> 01:01:29,520
and literally
in a state of shock.

941
01:01:31,313 --> 01:01:33,524
[Wendy]<i>He was the godfather,</i>
<i>he was the icon.</i>

942
01:01:34,274 --> 01:01:36,985
<i>And nobody
could ever take his place.</i>

943
01:01:37,069 --> 01:01:39,780
<i>He was my hero, my hero.</i>

944
01:01:42,700 --> 01:01:46,662
[Lita] <i>He gave us</i>
<i>this block of rock n' roll.</i>

945
01:01:47,538 --> 01:01:49,581
<i>I don't know where
we would be without it.</i>

946
01:01:58,132 --> 01:01:59,508
[Wendy] <i>An era is gone.</i>

947
01:02:05,848 --> 01:02:09,685
<i>But Mikeal will carry on
and become an icon too I think.</i>

948
01:02:09,810 --> 01:02:13,814
<i>And Mikey, the grandson,
he's just amazing.</i>

949
01:02:16,734 --> 01:02:19,361
[Mikeal]<i>I think my son</i>
<i>is the future of the club,</i>

950
01:02:19,445 --> 01:02:24,283
and he's done a tremendous
job of carrying on
that generational thing.

951
01:02:27,035 --> 01:02:30,289
[Mikeal]<i>My two daughters,</i>
<i>they keep it strong,</i>
<i>keep it alive,</i>

952
01:02:30,372 --> 01:02:32,708
we're a very close knit family.

953
01:02:32,833 --> 01:02:35,043
- She lives across the hall.
- She works down at the Whisky.

954
01:02:35,127 --> 01:02:36,420
- She works at the Whisky.
- I do.

955
01:02:36,503 --> 01:02:39,339
I worked here for many years.
Now I'm raising those cuties.

956
01:02:39,423 --> 01:02:40,966
[Mikeal]
<i>Now I have a grandson,</i>

957
01:02:41,049 --> 01:02:43,010
<i>I have another generation
that will come into it.</i>

958
01:02:43,093 --> 01:02:45,220
<i>And hopefully he'll be
the next one to come through.</i>

959
01:02:45,304 --> 01:02:47,097
I've got a daughter, we're good.

960
01:03:08,535 --> 01:03:10,954
[Matt] <i>The premise</i>
<i>of rock n' roll</i>

961
01:03:11,038 --> 01:03:13,749
<i>and the understanding
of what the word really means.</i>

962
01:03:16,001 --> 01:03:20,631
<i>Icon, which yeah, eventually
will we lose those icons,</i>

963
01:03:20,714 --> 01:03:22,841
<i>are they making any new ones?</i>

964
01:03:25,385 --> 01:03:29,890
<i>And I think</i>
<i>that's what Mikeal Jr</i>
<i>has holding in his hands.</i>

965
01:03:29,973 --> 01:03:32,726
<i>What kind of entertainment</i>
<i>is he gonna bring</i>
<i>to Sunset Boulevard</i>

966
01:03:32,810 --> 01:03:34,520
<i>that's gonna say
that's the next big thing?</i>

967
01:03:34,603 --> 01:03:36,355
Where's the next
Guns N' Roses?

968
01:03:36,438 --> 01:03:38,774
<i>Cause when you look
at Guns N' Roses,</i>

969
01:03:38,857 --> 01:03:41,777
<i>it wasn't just a band,
it was a cultural shift</i>

970
01:03:41,902 --> 01:03:45,489
<i>of music, fashion, style,</i>

971
01:03:45,572 --> 01:03:48,242
<i>as sense of being of who
you were as an individual.</i>

972
01:03:48,325 --> 01:03:51,036
<i>Like The Doors, like Van Halen.</i>

973
01:03:51,119 --> 01:03:54,915
Like any other band that came
out of the Sunset Strip.

974
01:03:54,998 --> 01:03:58,377
<i>The one great thing</i>
<i>that I learned</i>
<i>through rock n' roll</i>

975
01:03:58,460 --> 01:04:02,172
<i>is that something
big will happen,</i>

976
01:04:02,256 --> 01:04:04,174
<i>where everyone
all of a sudden,</i>

977
01:04:04,258 --> 01:04:08,720
you stop in your tracks
and go "Holy shit.
Something is exploding."

978
01:04:11,348 --> 01:04:14,017
<i>So if you're a rock</i>
<i>n' roll musician, you know</i>
<i>the history of rock n' roll,</i>

979
01:04:14,101 --> 01:04:17,271
<i>you know that rock n' roll
will never die.</i>

980
01:04:39,293 --> 01:04:42,087
[Ron] <i>The Rainbow is</i>
<i>a right of passage</i>
<i>for the world of rock n' roll.</i>

981
01:04:42,170 --> 01:04:45,048
This is the strip.
This is the home
of rock n' roll.

982
01:04:46,508 --> 01:04:48,176
[Slash]<i>I'd hate</i>
<i>for that place to go,</i>

983
01:04:48,260 --> 01:04:50,512
<i>it'd just
sort of kill what's left</i>

984
01:04:50,596 --> 01:04:54,474
<i>of a really iconic chapter
in music history.</i>

985
01:05:31,094 --> 01:05:34,640
[Gene] <i>This thing,</i>
<i>this small little place,</i>

986
01:05:34,723 --> 01:05:37,893
<i>just serves burgers
and beer and booze and stuff,</i>

987
01:05:38,894 --> 01:05:41,521
<i>but both Whisky
and The Rainbow</i>

988
01:05:41,605 --> 01:05:44,566
<i>mean bucketsful
for the culture.</i>

989
01:05:45,609 --> 01:05:47,319
[Mikeal] <i>This place</i>
<i>still breaks records.</i>

990
01:05:48,362 --> 01:05:51,365
<i>People from all over the world
come here just to see it.</i>

991
01:05:52,950 --> 01:05:56,328
<i>Major, major artists,
major, major movie stars</i>

992
01:05:56,411 --> 01:05:58,664
<i>still come through here
on a regular basis.</i>

993
01:05:59,706 --> 01:06:01,625
[Mike]<i>I don't think</i>
<i>rock will ever die,</i>

994
01:06:01,708 --> 01:06:04,086
<i>I don't think the music
will ever die so,</i>

995
01:06:04,169 --> 01:06:07,255
<i>The Rainbow and this strip</i>
<i>will be here forever</i>
<i>as far as I'm concerned.</i>

996
01:06:07,339 --> 01:06:11,551
[Steve]
<i>It's not the biggest place,</i>
<i>but it's the place.</i>

997
01:06:12,719 --> 01:06:14,763
[Matt]<i>For me it was</i>
<i>the greatest time of my life.</i>

998
01:06:17,683 --> 01:06:20,227
<i>Rock n' roll
is about celebrating life.</i>

999
01:06:35,033 --> 01:06:36,618
[Mike]<i>I want that feeling</i>
<i>to continue on.</i>

1000
01:06:36,702 --> 01:06:38,870
<i>I want them all to feel</i>
<i>like they can always</i>
<i>come back.</i>

1001
01:06:38,954 --> 01:06:40,414
<i>This is their home.</i>

1002
01:06:43,625 --> 01:06:48,380
<i>It's gonna stay,</i>
<i>and it is the history</i>
<i>of the Sunset Strip.</i>

1003
01:06:51,883 --> 01:06:56,805
[Gene] <i>This classical period,</i>
<i>where possibly the best records</i>
<i>of all time were made.</i>

1004
01:06:59,099 --> 01:07:02,602
[Matt] <i>Being in the atmosphere</i>
<i>of Hollywood and creativity</i>
<i>of that era.</i>

1005
01:07:03,395 --> 01:07:07,482
<i>It was just the coolest</i>
<i>feeling and vibe</i>
<i>that I ever experienced.</i>

1006
01:07:09,943 --> 01:07:15,866
<i>The idea of pursuing
your dreams, and that energy.</i>

1007
01:07:17,367 --> 01:07:21,580
<i>And I really</i>
<i>believe that The Rainbow</i>
<i>is the vortex for that energy.</i>

1008
01:07:23,123 --> 01:07:26,126
[Gene] <i>This is the history,</i>
<i>these are your roots.</i>

1009
01:07:26,877 --> 01:07:29,379
The next kid can come in here,

1010
01:07:29,463 --> 01:07:31,965
and some old guy like me
can sit him down and say

1011
01:07:32,049 --> 01:07:37,971
"Listen kid, once upon a time,
there was a special place,
it was called The Rainbow."

1012
01:07:44,686 --> 01:07:49,691
♪♪