In nineteen eighty-eight,

after drummer Greg Mennie had left Missing Link Us and my living room rehearsal space for a prime recording studio to keep his drums in with none other than Bobbie Brat and her brother Mike, who was also a musician; Bobbi Brat was soon to later pass away; I started to audition new drummers for Missing Link Us including one who had strong abortion views that he could not leave apart from the band audition.

So it was time after not obtaining any other band members to join me,
to

start writing songs & then playing them alone on my guitar

as this approach was also then suggested from my then vocal instructor Kathy Ellis and to at least instead do depiction's of songs that would normally be performed with a whole band ensemble in that Kathy Ellis and I had both agreed my goal was to sell songs to other artists, not as much to be performing them and if another artist hears any of my songs they may in turn cover those songs.

So because I could not keep a band, could not get the production arguments out of the way for any further studio recordings with professional label signed artists like Jack Lee plus others, mostly about drum machine techniques, I instead then decided to start going to clubs, such as Be-Bop Records in Reseda CA and The Breakaway Restaurant in Venice CA, to there, put across my efforted depictions of new songs I wrote at that time.

So the songs here in, Hubs, are in this

recording form of usually

one vocal and one electric guitar, which

largely became another or second way of writing & preserving songs for people to hear, besides any 4-Track recordings. Between Nineteen Eighty-Nine all the way until Nineteen Ninety-Four many of my songs used this recording form.


In nineteen ninety-four...

I was given, a new outlook on my life, given a new way to look at life when becoming a Born Again Christian at thirty years of age.

articles.latimes.com/1991-09-20/entertainment/ca-2747_1_iguana-cafe

Coming Soon: Music: Valley coffeehouses such as the cutting-edge Iguana Cafe serve up some stimulating live blues and folk tunes along with the caffeine.

September 20, 1991 |DAVID WHARTON | TIMES STAFF WRITER

The Iguana Cafe will celebrate its second anniversary in October, and those two years of existence qualify the North Hollywood spot as a granddaddy of this city's coffeehouse revival.

When the Iguana opened, offering nightly selections of poetry and acoustic music, there wasn't much competition on this side of the hill. Now places like the

Cobalt Cafe in Woodland Hills,

Common Grounds in Northridge and

Coffee Junction in Tarzana

have sprung up, and the San Fernando Valley has a thriving circuit for blues and folk singers.

"If you want a big production, go to Vegas," said Tom Ianniello, owner of the Iguana. "My place is a working-class place. Slide guitar and blues, rockabilly--that's basic stuff, and that's what folks want to hear."

Though such Los Angeles locales as Highland Grounds and Mama Pajama may be better known, the Valley coffeehouses serve up music that is every bit as stimulating as a double espresso.

"Coffee Junction is like a little cabaret with positive music," said its co-owner, Sharon Benson. Six months ago, her 1-year-old establishment began presenting live entertainment once a week, then quickly expanded it to Friday through Sunday to meet the public demand.

The return of roots music has reverberated beyond coffeehouses. The Blue Saloon, a North Hollywood bar, attracts healthy audiences to its Wednesday through Saturday rockabilly shows. Country has become a bigger and bigger draw at the Palomino during the last year.

"They say that country is coming back," said owner Bill Thomas. "We're getting larger crowds for it."

The Iguana will celebrate amid all this by throwing a six-hour anniversary party Oct. 14. Veteran cafe poets such as Ellyn Maybe and Mike Mollet will read. The musical lineup includes Dan Bern, Liz Byrnes and Tom Winslow, who are regulars on the Valley circuit.

For the rest of fall, the cafe will continue to offer "Open Poets Circle" at 3 p.m. Sundays, and other nights musical and poetry performances at varying hours, except Mondays, when the place is closed except for occasional special events. Cover charges vary. Call (818) 763-7735.

Here's a glance at what some other Valley venues have planned for fall.

* FM Station: Rock 'n' roll still reigns at this North Hollywood institution. Electric guitars wail and drums pound, with performances by bands with names such as Psycho City and Mental Center. The power chords reverberate seven nights a week with a number of regular features.

Tuesdays are "F Night," with free admission and giveaways.

On Wednesday nights, Jani Lane of Warrant plays host to the Policeman's Ball, which in the past has featured surprise performances by big names like Poison and Eddie Money. Each week's lineup is a semi-secret, though, so fans take their chances when they pay admission.

Sunday night brings "Sunday School," where a $2 ticket buys 10 bands' worth of entertainment. And, on Mondays, FM Station is joining the roots movement with "Biker's Buffet," a blues night with food and one drink included for $4.

But don't get the wrong impression just because strains a la John Lee Hooker and B. B. King may drift from the place on those nights. "We're a rock club," stated Emily, the booking secretary.

Admission varies, depending on the band. Call (818) 729-2220.

* Cal State Northridge: CSUN's music department will again offer a semester's worth of classical and jazz performances. Highlighting this fall's schedule are three performances that are part of a countywide Mexican Festival of the Arts.

Oct. 31, the vocal group "Octeto Vocal Juan D. Tercero" will perform choral music by 16th- and 20th-Century composers including Juan de Lienas and Jose Pablo Moncayo. Violinist Manuel Enriquez and pianist Federico Ibarra will perform their own works Nov. 19. "Trio Neos," who play clarinet, bassoon and piano, will appear Dec. 6. The program includes pieces from a variety of Mexican composers.

An exhibit of Mexican folk art is running concurrently in the university gallery.

All three concerts will begin at 8 p.m. in the Recital Hall. Admission is $6 general, $4.50 for CSUN faculty and staff, $3 for students and seniors. For information about all music department concerts, call the university's 24-hour program line at (818) 885-3500.

* Monteleone's West: Owner Tom Monteleone insists that his Tarzana nightspot is the Valley's only true supper club.

"You dine and watch the show like a New York supper club," he said. "We're not into groups that just get up and jam. We want a show."

Among the featured acts this fall are: Jay Orlando, a saxophonist, on Friday and Saturday; legendary pop-jazz vocalist Buddy Greco, who has recently returned to his pop standards roots, Oct. 4 and 5; and the husband-and-wife team of Mia and Tommy Vig Oct. 23. He plays vibraphone and she's a percussionist.

"They have a very unique act," Monteleone said.

Sets begin at 7 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. On weekends, there is a two-drink minimum. Call (818) 996-0662.


NIGHT MOVES
The Iguana Cafe Is a 'Living Room' for Its Intellectual and Artistic Clientele
May 27, 1990 |MICHAEL ARKUSH

A middle-aged woman leafs through pages of a Duke Ellington biography. Two intense chess combatants contemplate the next move. Several dozen others sway to the sounds of a singer playing acoustic blues.

Just another night at the Iguana Cafe. Opened last October, the North Hollywood establishment caters to the intellectual--books from Charles Bukowski to Isaac Asimov fill the room--and the artistic--paintings, photos and ethnic artifacts cover the walls.

"I want this to be a living room," said Tom Ianniello, 39, of Van Nuys, who owns the cafe along with his wife, Pat. "I want people to come here and do whatever they want."

The place does breed intimacy. Well-lighted, with circular tables packed closely together, it has a lot of room for interaction among customers. Each night features musical guests, ranging from acoustic singers/songwriters to avant-garde jazz. Exene Cervenka, formerly of X, has played there several times; almost 100 people showed up for her March performance. Poetry is a regular favorite too. More than a concert, every show takes the shape of a mellow evening among friends. It feels like a student union at college.

Ianniello knows something about coffeehouses. For years, in his native Greenwich Village and Los Angeles, he traveled the cafe circuit, struggling with various day jobs while pursuing his passion--music--at night. After a hitchhiking trip out West in 1972, he was hooked on the Los Angeles night life. He was working for a fast-food company in Canoga Park when he heard about the chance to rent the space, which had been used by an American Legion chapter. So far, he and his wife have invested about $20,000.

Not surprisingly, it's a daily struggle to stay financially afloat. As Tom runs the club, Pat keeps her job at an electronics firm in Woodland Hills. During the week, admission to the cafe is free. On weekends, a small donation, from $2 to $4, is requested. The money is split with the performers. Musicians often pass the can for tips.

"This isn't a real wealthy neighborhood," Ianniello said. "You can't really put it to them. We don't want to drive people away, and yet we want to survive. It's a very tough balance."

Ianniello said the cafe makes most of its money from the sale of jewelry, paintings, records and books. Hundreds of records and books are scattered everywhere.

From late afternoon to when the music starts, usually about 9 p.m., most people who come to the cafe are looking to buy something. Neighborhood artists offer their works, ranging from $25 to $800. Ianniello regularly sells $200 a week in artwork, books and old records. The cafe keeps 40% of the sales, the artists get 60%.

The Iguana Cafe has few rules. One is no alcohol. "I don't want to go through the hassle," Ianniello said. Instead, there is coffee. Of course, a patron must walk next to the stage to get some, but few artists seem to mind the disruption.

The other is no partisan politics. Even though the store is filled with books, magazines and pamphlets promoting all kinds of political thought, Ianniello has refrained from the temptation to hold speeches or meetings here. "I don't want to be known as a place for a certain kind of people," he said.

Pat said political conversations take place all the time, but at other, less intellectual moments "the toughest issue is whether black or red checkers go first. We have great arguments over proper words for Scrabble."

The Iguana has already drawn its share of regulars. Most live in the neighborhood and come by after work.

"Initially, I came here to listen to the music," said R.C. Conklin of North Hollywood, "but as time went on, I realized there was so much else to do here. You can play chess. You can read. You can just sit."

Ianniello sees his cafe--it got its name from the family's pet iguana, Armando--as his own little kingdom. He has already put out two issues of a newsletter, "The Tale of the Iguana," which features offbeat poetry, prose and photos compiled by local artists. It costs $1.

"I don't want to go back to the '60s," Ianniello said, "but I'd really like to help develop the culture in this area. A lot of people who come here thought of the Valley as a wasteland, but realize here's a place where they don't have to go over the hill and battle the traffic."

On Sunday nights, from 7 to 10, the cafe provides an open forum for new musicians experimenting with their material. "We've gotten some really good talent out of that, and some that wasn't so good."

Meanwhile, the chess game goes on. A college student works fast to finish his homework. An elderly man reads the newspaper.

"You can be whoever you want when you come here," Ianniello said. "That's what I remember from the coffeehouse experience."

The Iguana Cafe
10943 Camarillo St., North Hollywood. (818) 763-7735.
Provides nightly musical entertainment from 4 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is free during the week. A small donation, usually from $2 to $4, is requested on weekends.


The Richard Bruland Bebop Records Art Posters Collection of alternative music, poetry and exhibit posters documents the performances at the now defunct Bebop Records & Fine Art in Reseda. Signaling the rise of independent labels, bands such as Los Lobos, Jane's Addiction, Minutemen, Del Rubio Triplets, Sam I am, Nels Cline Trio and spoken-word artists as Henry Rollins, Exene Cervenka, and

many others have taken the stage at this iconic venue.

Using existing and donated materials from the performers, artist Richard Bruland created original posters for each evening's performances. The collection also contains photographs, correspondence, clippings, and other documents from the archive.

History of Bebop Records & Fine Art, 1982-1990
Bebop Records and Fine Art was opened in July 1982 by Richard Bruland and René Engel in Reseda, CA. The business opened in a small storefront on Sherman Way near Reseda Blvd. in Reseda, on the west side of the San Fernando Valley. It was a combination record store, performance venue and art gallery. The name for the store came from the 1958 hit song by Gene Vincent “Be-Bop-A-Lula.”

Richard Bruland’s father, Raymond Bruland worked for Braniff Airlines. He had been a radio engineer and was working in the marketing end of the aviation industry. When Raymond was sent to South America for his job, his wife, Mary, went with him. It was during this time, 1946 in Lima, Peru that Richard Bruland was born. Mary Bruland was a homemaker. Richard had two siblings, a sister and a brother. The family moved to Seattle, Washington, when Bruland was three years old, and then to Dallas, Texas. Richard was ten when the family moved to Madrid, Spain. The family moved again when Bruland was eleven, to Geneva, Switzerland. Bruland attended high school at the international school there and by thirteen found his passion for art. Geneva is where Richard Bruland feels he was raised. After high school Bruland moved to Chicago, Illinois, to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Bruland received his draft notice to report to the U.S. Army, but chose instead to enlist in the Navy in 1967. He was trained by the Navy to be a photographer. During his four years in the Navy, Bruland was stationed in Florida, Georgia, and Keflavik, Iceland. Bruland served his overseas tour of duty at the NATO base in Iceland. He used an EH38 film processor to take aerial reconnaissance pictures, mostly of Soviet submarines and icebergs. Bruland was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1971. He continued his education at the California Institute of the Arts, where he studied painting.

René Engel’s background was as a musician and radio broadcaster and programmer. Engel had been a radio disc jockey in the Los Angeles area. He started his career in radio at California State University Northridge’s radio station, KCSU, 88.5 FM. Engels then went on to KCRW and KPCC, and eventually returned to KCSU as the general manager. Engel had also worked as a programmer in radio.

Richard Bruland and René Engels met at a record store in Valencia, CA where Engels was the store manager. Engels hired Bruland to work there in 1972, and after Engel left, Bruland became the manager. Bruland married in 1975 and moved to Northridge, where he and Engels met again. They lived on the same property in the San Fernando Valley. In 1981, Engel and Bruland started talking seriously about opening a store of their own. In 1982, they opened Bebop Records and Fine Art with the idea that the record store would also serve as a performance stage and art gallery. Bruland did not want to be disconnected from his passion - art, and though he did not paint during this time, he made the many original performance art posters donated to the Urban Archives Center.

Bruland and Engel ran the store together for a little over three years, from 1982 to 1985. At the close of 1985, René moved on. Bebop Records and Fine Art opened mainly as a record store, but over the years the store’s focus shifted to the performance venue and gallery aspects. After the Engel years, Bruland increased the number of shows per week and stopped purchasing and selling new records. During the Engel years, 1982 to 1985, 143 performances were held. During 1986 under Bruland, alone there were 148 shows. Music was at the forefront of Bebop Records and Fine Art when the record store opened with a performance by the band Los Lobos on July 22, 1982. Los Lobos was paid one hundred dollars to perform. Many other bands and musicians would follow them to the stage at Bebop, many who would pass quietly into obscurity, while others such as, Lucinda Williams, the Del Rubio Triplet, and Henry Rollins of Black Flag are still performing today.

Bruland created an environment that would allow “interaction between artist and audience.” Both René Engels and Richard Bruland were instrumental in the birth, foundation, and early development of the enterprise. The store became known as an alternative performance place for local musicians, poets, and visual artists. Bebop Records quickly became a cultural force in the San Fernando Valley.

Bebop Records and Fine Art was never a money making proposition. The store did not charge admission for performances, instead they asked for donations. The donations were split 50/50, with 50 percent going to Bebop and 50 percent going to the band. This system worked well as long as the band helped get the word out to bring people in the front door. Later, Bruland changed the arrangement to ensure his costs were covered. The first fifty dollars went to the store and the second fifty dollars went to the band, and any money after that was split 50/50.

Richard Bruland created posters, original works of art, to announce each evening’s show displayed in Bebop’s front window. “Each [poster]”, says Bruland, “was normally made the day of each event, usually in 3 or 4 hours. Often, finishing touches were being added as the audience was arriving for the show.” With as many as three or four performances a week, the art collection quickly grew.

In addition to a long list of musicians and bands that played, poets also found a space at Bebop Records. Poetry and “Open Mike Nights” were part of the creative environment at Bebop Records. Bebop Records was one among many distributors of Out Loud, a free monthly listing of Los Angeles area poetry events. Bebop Records made it onto the “Map to The Poets’ Homes” in The Moment, Spring 1990. Newsletters, flyers, and journals were how the word got out as to where poetry events and places were in pre internet days.

Bruland found there were lots of people who wanted to perform; as many as ten or more people a day would approach him. Bruland had unusual booking policies. He would ask for a tape, then not listen to it. If he liked the person who gave him the tape he would then let them play. Bruland called Bebop Records “an underground place that was out of the Hollywood loop.” What set Bebop apart was the control given to the artists. Creative censorship was not placed on the performers. Bruland booked performers one at a time. Once someone was given a date to play they could add people as they wished; it was their time on stage.

“Bebop became more important than any of the people running it.” Bruland said he learned new stuff all the time. “If you look at the percentages, things worked most of the time.” Bruland enjoyed the decision-making aspects of running Bebop alone. At times he would book the wildest punk rock bands and have punk concerts without problems. As Bruland explained, “There was nothing broken or stolen, and no fights.” Bruland felt that the respect he received was the result of the respect he gave to audiences and artists alike. Bruland said “It [Bebop Records] was the greatest experience of his life.”






Richard Bruland Bebop Records Art Posters Collection
October 08, 2013
Los Angeles is known for its music scene, with legendary clubs like the Troubadour and the Roxy hosting and even launching some of the biggest acts in the history of popular music. While many people think of Hollywood as the hub for rock music in LA, in the 1980s some of the best acts actually came to play half an hour away in Reseda in the San Fernando Valley. One block of Sherman Way in Reseda was home to some of the most iconic venues at the time, including Bebop Records and Fine Art, a small record store that doubled as a performance venue for the thriving underground music and art scene in the area. Special Collections and Archives holds the Richard Bruland Bebop Records Art Posters Collection, which documents both the numerous performers that appeared at Bebop as well as owner Richard Bruland's skill and vision as a contemporary artist.

Victor Banana Bebop Records and Fine Art opened in Reseda in July 1982. The owners, René Engel and Richard Bruland, had both previously worked in retail record stores and conceived Bebop Records as a space where local, new, and underground artists could be discovered or share their art. Bebop functioned during the day as a record store, selling used and independent records, as well as an art gallery devoted to showing contemporary fine art. At night, the back of the shop became a small performance space, holding 49 folding chairs for the audience, who could also browse the records racks during the show if so inclined.

Bebop held four or five performances a week of different music acts and spoken word performers, eventually adding in open mike nights once a month for locals to try their hand at poetry reading. While performers such as Jane's Addiction, Los Lobos, and Henry Rollins were among those who played at Bebop, most of the acts that performed were less well known, in part because of the small venue, but also because Bruland and Engel sought to book more personal acts that might not have found another venue willing to house them. The intimate space at Bebop soon became a favorite for both performers and audience members, who often likened a show there to having performers in your living room. As a result, acts were often booked months in advance and holding performances eventually became the main avenue for the record store to get people in the door and buying albums.

Bruland, who became the sole proprietor of Bebop after Engel left the business in 1985, was also a contemporary artist who studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as well as the California Institute of the Arts. For every show held at Bebop Records, he created an original poster to hang in the front window, with his favorite posters then gaining a permanent spot hanging on a wall in the store. The posters all fit on a standard 8½ by 11 sheet of paper, and utilize pen, ink, photocopied images, and other techniques to create a variety of styles of art tailored to fit the advertised act.

Bebop Records held performances until June of 1990, when after being cited by the police for holding performances without a permit, Bruland decided to close the store to concentrate on his art and family. In the course of its 8 years Bebop booked hundreds of music and spoken word performances, and Bruland's collection contains approximately 800 of his art posters. These posters are a great resource for anyone interested in Reseda's history, the underground punk/new wave scene in the San Fernando Valley, or Bruland's work as an artist.




Poets Let Their Meters Run Behind Bebop Shop in Reseda
June 24, 1985
|JOHN NIELSEN | Times Staff Writer

A bald musician from Canoga Park spoke the lyrics to a song called "Spank That Baby." A female machinist from Simi Valley talked about a woman who burst into flames. A 59-year-old businessman read poems about age, the sunset, his friends and his hands. A struggling actress told of driving at high speed in the middle of the night with no lights on.

"No pain, no gain," said the bald musician, who wore a pair of dark glasses.

"This is new to me," said the actress, who had never read her poetry out loud.

On the occasion of the monthly open poetry night at Bebop Records and Fine Art on Sherman Way in Reseda, it was pretty much standard fare.

For 2 1/2 years, this tiny shop has been carving itself a niche as the San Fernando Valley's only art gallery-record store-performance space-business. The shop, run by a former art student and a part-time radio announcer, is wedged quietly between a discount camera store and a janitorial supply outlet, across the street from a beauty school.

In Venice or Santa Monica, a place like this might not merit a second glance.

In the Valley, however, it is different. By their own account, the owners of this store are doing their best to kill a myth that the Valley is culture-starved, or at least a little malnourished.

"We are constantly getting people in here saying, 'What are you doing in Reseda? Why aren't you on Melrose Avenue?' " said Richard Bruland, a 38-year-old Silver Lake resident who runs the store along with Rene Engle, 35, of Santa Monica. "That's pretty dumb. We like it here. Reseda has character."

Eclectic Selection: Bebop Records is hardly a landmark, and probably not the beginning of a trend. Inside, the clean, narrow converted swap shop boasts an eclectic selection of records and a small gallery hung with avant-garde paintings and sculptures. Outside, the windows carry a sign reading "Next Window, Please" and a cutout picture of Mr. T, who exhorts passers-by to "Shop Here, Fool."

Along with the art and the records, items for sale include comic books depicting the "Battle for a 3-Dimensional Universe," and official "Bebop Records and Fine Art" T-shirts.

Several nights a month, professional poets and musicians perform on a tiny stage at the back of the store, in front of audiences seated in rows of folding metal chairs.

Aside from its role as a business, the shop also serves as a kind of hub for amateur poets in the Valley, who gather once a month to trade their thoughts with each other. For the most part, the open poetry nights are held on the third Wednesday of the month, before crowds that range from less than 10 to 25 or 30, Bruland said.

Two Hours of Poems

Last Wednesday was one of those nights. Beginning a little after 8, six Valley residents read or recited their works behind a podium at the back of the store. They included the musician, the machinist, the businessman, the actress and a young man who makes his living transcribing court records.

A woman in overalls sat listening, smoking cigarettes and wearing a hat with the words "Betty Boop" on the front.

The event lasted roughly two hours, as the poets took turns applauding each other when they weren't holding forth from behind the lectern.

The poems and their authors varied wildly in shape and delivery.

Richie Hass, the musician, paced back and forth while he talked, while Douglas Amiel, the transcriber, seemed relatively sedate.

Kathy Comenas, the machinist, looked glum and vaguely upset, while

Zan Overall, the businessman, looked absolutely delighted.

Helene Hodge, the struggling actress, passed rapidly from jumpiness to easy self-assurance.

The readings were mostly introspective, with titles including "Greyhound Bus Terminal at 6 a.m.," "My Good Left Hand," "One Day Roy" and "Alien." One included a lavish description of what was either a woman or a cat, depending on your point of view. Another described a large group of people who did not know they were dead.

"If you gave your heart for an organ transplant, no doubt it would be rejected," Hass declared in one of his poems. "We're all lost, we're all dying. But hey--at least we're trying."

Afterward, all of the participants scattered, returning to what one called "our regular lives." The machinist stayed to talk awhile about her job in Simi Valley, which consists of polishing bolts produced on an assembly line. The woman in the "Betty Boop" hat asked Bruland for a job.

"It'll be a lot bigger next month," Bruland said of the reading. "We'll be doing some advertising."

"But it's still important," Hass said as he was walking out the door. "It's not so much that it fits right in. It's more like it fills a void."




Hot Spots
Mar Vista's Breakaway a Place to Start
September 24, 1988 | MICHAEL WELZENBACH

Jay Tinski came to California with an agenda.

When he arrived here last year from Tampa, Fla., to take over as manager of Breakaway Restaurant & Bar in Mar Vista, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his new charge: start a club for budding musicians who write and perform original music.

More than that, Tinski wanted to create a place that would become as legendary on the music circuit as, say, Bill Graham's Fillmore West. That, of course, is a pretty tall order.

But the evidence to date indicates that he's not just talking through his hat. Yet talking about it gets him all worked up. His pencil dashes over a calendar of this month's Breakaway performers, circling various acts as he talks about them--in exclamation points. Pretty soon all of the names are circled.

'Happening Music'

"I want this to be a happening place where there's happening music!" he says. "This place is for people on their way up."

Breakaway, located on a site that had been a New England-style seafood restaurant since the '50s, is a huge place with three dining rooms, large patio, music bar and banquet room. You could practically play football in the main dining room, although the management probably wouldn't appreciate it.

Suffice it to say that there's enough space here to accommodate quiet dining on one end and lively original music on the other. There's even an in-between: On Sundays from 11-2 p.m., you can dine out on the patio to live acoustic classical and jazz guitar.

Breakaway, owned by Venice entrepreneur Robert Goodfader, who also owns the Sidewalk Cafe on the Venice boardwalk, hosted its first Songwriters Showcase last October at the suggestion of local singer/songwriter Mary Knapp and has subsequently become a pretty hot spot for songwriter/performers. The audience in the music bar obviously comes in for a good time, as well as an original artistic experience such as has rarely been seen in the contemporary music world since the '60s, when places such as New York's Bitter End in the Village hosted such folks as Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul & Mary.

You're likely to hear just about anything here--anything acoustic, that is--written and performed by musicians who believe that there is still more to popular music than Whitney Houston. Any subject is fair game: ballads about life on Hollywood Boulevard, humorous tunes about first love, even the IRS.

Fresh Lobster

Sure, Breakaway has kept up the tradition of serving all the best in seafood. It's a place where you may choose your own fresh lobster right from the tank. The decor, too, is strictly New England new wave. I mean, where else can you enjoy a drink at the bar while watching strange tropical fish in an aquarium made from the cockpit canopy of a World War II P-51 Mustang?

The Friday and Saturday shows are booked by Hollywood music promoter Mike Giangreco, and the stage sound is ably mixed and managed by a Mr. Bogie Hollywood. Tuesdays are singer/songwriter showcase nights, and Mondays feature open mike, when anyone with an original song to sing can get up and try it out on an audience.

There is a $3 cover charge for the music bar on Sunday evenings. Cover varies on Fridays and Saturdays.

Breakaway Restaurant & Bar, 11970 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista (corner of Venice Boulevard and Inglewood Avenue). Parking in rear. Information (213) 391-3435.








CLUB SCENE : Friendly Brew of Java, Talk and Music
July 29, 1994|CHERIE SAUNDERS
Despite the convenience of being in a shopping center with a Kinko's and a self-service laundry next door, Common Grounds in Northridge is more than just a coffeehouse to visit while your term paper is being bound, or your clothes are on the spin cycle. There is no cover charge, but there is a $2.50 minimum at the tables during live performances, which pack in the college crowd seven nights a week.

THE SCENE: Tables and chairs fill a medium-size room, with a tiny stage on one side of the entrance and a large sofa on the other. T-shirts of jazz greats such as Miles Davis and Dexter Gordon line the walls and also are for sale. In addition to coffee, the place offers tea, sandwiches, salads, pastries and bagels, but no alcohol. Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble and other board games are available for customers to play.

THE CROWD: Almost strictly CSUNers, with a smattering of high school students and baby-boomers mixed in. Lots of shorts, T-shirts, backward baseball caps, flip-flops and sneakers. A card game was in full gear at one table, while two guys were engrossed in their chess match at another. Owner Paul Solomon says crowd size depends on the act performing, but swells to standing room only most nights during the school year. "The people are nicer here," JoAnna Gadeke, 20, of Northridge said while waiting for her laundry. "I went to Ground Zero in L. A. near USC and the people there weren't that friendly."



THE MUSIC: Wednesdays are open-mike nights, with host Scott Edwards. Sign-up acts get a limit of two songs or 10 minutes. Open poetry is featured on the last Thursday of every month. Other nights, there's an eclectic mix of live alternative rock. By popular demand, jazz bands will be featured during August.

THE GOOD: The variety of music and the good coffee are cited by customers as the main attraction. "There's no other place like this in terms of the people and the laid-back atmosphere," said Valery Vargas, 18, of Van Nuys. Scott Stanley of Northridge has been to Common Grounds from Day One. "This is the kind of place where you can just hang and be cool," Stanley said. "Nobody cares how you dress, the music is different every night, the coffee's great and, during the school year, this place just fills up with college babes."

THE BAD: "I'm a smoker," Stanley added. "I wish I could smoke in here."

THE WORD: "Please excuse my fingers, they don't do anything I want when I'm nervous," prefaced a woman to the audience before her vocal and guitar performance at open mike.

Common Grounds, 9250 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, (818) 882-3666. Hours: 8 a.m. to midnight Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays, 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays, 9 a.m. to midnight Sundays.





Mama Pajama Parties Celebrate Caffeine, Rhythm and Rhyme : Nora Landrum's free, experimental and non-alcoholic West Los Angeles coffeehouse is a wish fulfilled, offering artists, poets and musicians support--and a place to ply their crafts.
May 06, 1990|JIM SCHMALTZ
The recent Los Angeles coffeehouse trend includes certain common traits, namely coffee, objets d'art and the occasional spouting poet.

That may seem enough to most, but at Mama Pajama, a West Los Angeles coffee house, that list lacks a few things--such as Elvis impersonators, for instance.

"I like to encourage artists," said Nora Landrum, owner of Mama Pajama. "It feels good to be a part of it."

Mama Pajama is a Los Angeles coffeehouse that refuses to act like one. Located at Durango Avenue and Venice Boulevard, this espresso house/vintage clothing store has branched out in recent months to become a haven for performers and artists of all kinds in need of a space to express themselves.



"It's very experimental here," said Mama Pajama regular Andy Manoff. "People really feel free to try new ideas."

It wasn't planned this way. Landrum, 52, opened Mama Pajama with her daughter two years ago, fulfilling a longtime dream of owning their own coffeehouse, which they named after a Paul Simon song. After 18 months of virtually nonexistent nighttime business, Mama Pajama began offering much more than caffeine and classic threads. Now, amid the clutter of clothes racks and hat boxes, visitors are treated to scores of creative endeavors, including monthly poetry readings, musical acts, art openings, performing theater groups and other miscellaneous events.

Along with providing a forum for fledgling artists and musicians, Landrum's eclectic store gives needed support to those seeking an alcohol-free environment.

"I would guess that one-third of my clientele is in recovery," said Landrum, who gives 10% of her profits to Felicity House, a nearby halfway house that offers a sober living environment for women with substance-abuse problems.

It was while her daughter was at Felicity House that Landrum sold her home and decided to open a coffee house. A small, soft-spoken woman with bright red hair, Landrum happily reports that her daughter, though no longer a partner at Mama Pajama, is in her fourth year of sobriety. Other graduates of Felicity House, some of whom jokingly refer to Landrum as a "normie," praise her for her constant support.

As a result, Mama Pajama has had a loyal daytime following, but the night activities were sparsely attended. Until recently, even area residents didn't know Mama Pajama existed.

"It was as if an energy field was hiding the place," said Jef Davis, who runs the open-mike music performances on Friday nights.

Landrum said the problem was more physical in nature.

"For months I complained to the landlord about a dumpster that was obscuring my front door and sign, but he wouldn't move it," Landrum said. Finally, six months ago the eyesore was removed.

Landrum said the increased visibility, word of mouth and development in the area, especially the opening of a popular fast-food restaurant and a video store, have all contributed to an upsurge in business.

Now it's not out of the ordinary to find 100 people taking in the diverse performances at night while sipping java.



"Up until two months ago, the business was mostly the clothes," said Landrum, who adds that the vintage apparel is still important to Mama Pajama. (Her customers include costumers for television shows that require old clothes, such as "A Man Called Joe," starring Robert Mitchum.) "But now, most come for the night."

The big draw at Mama Pajama is the music. An open mike is available Friday nights, and Saturday night features showcases with more experienced performers. Davis, who organizes and runs the weekly sessions, said the musical sign-ups on Friday have grown in popularity as guitar pickers, vocalists, and other amateur and professional-level musicians try out their acts on the small stage.

"We fill up every time," said Davis, who uses a lottery system to schedule the musicians. "I can accommodate 20 acts, and I fill up 20 cards every Friday."

Landrum said anything goes "except heavy metal" or other music too loud for the small club. But Mama Pajama will accommodate just about anybody else who arrives in time to get a card and who pays the $3 cover charge--even if it means spotlighting the occasional oddball, such as the aerospace engineer who thought he could do a pretty good Elvis Presley.

"There have been acts people here have begged me not to invite back," Davis said.

But he said that's the way he likes it. "I like people who can surprise me." He recruits many of the musicians, some of whom he meets at his job at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica.

Guitarist Andy Manoff, a mainstay at Mama Pajama and the architect of its surprisingly crisp sound system, said Mama Pajama is drawing many regulars from the more established open-mike venues.

"I'm tired of playing at clubs like the Breakaway who want you to bring people in to drink alcohol," said Manoff, 35. "You don't have to have a draw to play here."

Manoff compared Mama Pajama to a "New York, Greenwich Village kind of hangout." Others agree.









www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyQqCN1ames