Nathan Roth on Bill Gazzarri

[Nitro Express]

This is from Bill Gazzarri's memorial service. Dave's dad talks about Bill Gazzarri and Van Halen at 2:50.

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[vaijuju]

Never saw his father before! thanks

[Nitro Express]

I just stumbled onto it by accident. I was doing some research on the Sunset clubs and found it.

[GAR]

Whoa, nice find. That is/was the inside of the club, torn now and excavitated for the Key Club property - which by the way has been on the block forever without a buyer 2 years now.

Or was. I think I'd have heard of its' sale thru the grapevine by now if Keyclub was sold.. and I wonder likewise if Nathan received any respects from VH when he passed?

Cuz at the time Van Halens issued nothing presswise about Nathan's passing, but that's their problem.

[GAR]

Never saw his father before! thanks

Can't seem to find it: there's a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous episode with Nathan Roth interiewed by Robin Leach on Youtube but it seems they pulled it.

[Nitro Express]

Yeah. I watched that when it was on TV. Dr. Roth gave Robin Leach a tour of Rothwood. The home Dave currently lives in.

[Nitro Express]

I couldn't agree with the late Bill Gazzarri more. Dave was right, the man knew the music business.

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[Nitro Express]

It's Mario still holding the fort down at the Rainbow and Roxy? That guy has to be up there in age.

[GAR]

It's Mario still holding the fort down at the Rainbow and Roxy? That guy has to be up there in age.

No, the other guy Mike still doing it. I call him Mario everytime I see him just to mess with him though.

[Nitro Express]

I guess the name Rainbow came from the 60's peace and love thing that was going when they first opened the place up. Now it sounds like the type of joint where the gay waiter gives you a blow job under the table while you eat your spaghetti and meatballs. Of course Sammy Hagar would be greeting you at the door if this was the case. LOL!

[GAR]

I couldn't agree with the late Bill Gazzarri more. Dave was right, the man knew the music business.

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This guy Al the Limoman goes on about how Bill Gazzari was bitter and thought grunge killed glam rock.. oh nononono. Bill Gazarri killed it off all by himself - by letting the independant promoters take full fistfucking advantage of the local bands by forcing them to do presale tickets, after the Troubadour started doing it.

When Van Halen was doing the strip as up-and-comers, they didnt have to buy presale tickets (aka "pay to play").. which for those who do NOT know, meant you had to buy from 70 to sometimes 200 tickets for the venue, ranging anywhere from 3 to 7 dollars apiece.

Guys coming from Florida and beyond had no idea this was a new thing, so after about 1983 everybody round the fucking country who swarmed to Hollywood to be Van Halen and get a record deal would pay this extortion to the promoters.

Go up to Bill Gazarri sitting down, enjoying drinks with a couple whores and ask him "hey come on, we're good - give us a break, we're local don't do that shit to us (forcing your band to pay hundreds to play)" he'd say "I can't do anything about it. Of course it's my club and I like your band but just like I tell everybody talk to your promoter."

Bill was a grumpy old piece of boozemeat by the time I met him in '81 so when he croaked I could give a shit. He fell sick and boarded the place up a year before he fuckin' died too, which fucked anybody over who wanted to still do shows there even though it was the grunge age.

I'll never forget the last band left on the marquee was Urge Overkill, kings of pay-to-play who crossed over to grunge. Yeah they got signed, and dropped like poo-cones falling from the anus cedars of the music forest to be forgetten under leaf and twig.

So in retrospect: Urge Overkill, one of the worst bands in Gazarri history, held the marquee hostage longer than any other band, like 13 months till it was sold and torn down.

[GAR]

I guess the name Rainbow came from the 60's peace and love thing that was going when they first opened the place up.

Judy Garland's husband I think was part owner when they opened in the 50's, "Mr. Minnelli". It was Rainbow before the hippies, and before Blackmore left Deep Purple to use the name for his next band.

[Nitro Express]

I remember reading an interview with EVH and the interviewer asked Ed what he thought about the Pay to Play thing going on in the clubs and Ed didn't even know what it was. Then after it was explained that bands had to pay for their own tickets and then sell them themselves Ed thought that was horrible. He said VH barely cold afford equipment getting paid and they all had second jobs. Ed wondered how the new bands would make a go of it.

[Nitro Express]

I think most those clubs from day had the main objective of being a front for mob operations. The more busy the place the more you can fudge the books and of course prostitution is usually going on in there as well. Heck, my dad grew up in Montana and a lot of the lodges up there were ran by wise guys who later went into Nevada once the state up there started leaning on them. So basically they were pretty scummy joints in reality ran by guys with mob ties. They might be charming, they might help a band get promoted because they wanted their places hopping but they are scum never the less.

[Nitro Express]

Ha. I'm reading about the Starwood. The owners of that club were about as seedy as you could get. Porn stars, heroine and crack cocaine, mass murder. This is the club were Mo Austin discovered Van Halen as well as Gene Simmons the year before. I know one of Eddie's guitar techs said Ed can tell some stories about the music world's dirty underworld.