Plus ca change...

That ad from the Whisky ran in 1978, I'm pretty sure. It was right smack-dab in the middle of what are known as "halcyon days," though its not about the drug "halcyon," its about a dreamy time... when everything seems to good to be true. Then not long after these days start having more of the mundane, boring, even downright bad moments that we'd forgotten about and then we start to say, "the more things change, the more they stay the same..."

Change is the only constant.

That great moment in the 20th Century - from 1976 to about 1979/80 is really the heyday of LA punk. After that...well, it was less new, less cutting edge, less exciting and challenging.



Black Randy and Stan Lee are pictured here - they fit in nicely with the ad... I've been thinking about Black Randy all day and what a crazy man but genius musician he was. "Trouble at the Cup" was one of the coolest records ever made. I've been looking for all the old haunts, only to find many of them are just plain GONE. Like the Gold Cup. Of course, I also did think that the Famous Lobotomy Apartment was gone, but Randy Detroit assured me it was still there and drove me past it for verification.... Thanks Randy!

Part of me is really thank ful the Whisky A Go Go still stands. I spent a LOT of time there. I worked there. I saw shows there before, during and after I worked there. I spent as much time there as I spent at home... in my apartment behind the Whisky. Yeah - 30 seconds tops to get to work. We all need that kind of convenience.

On the other hand, I hate what's become of the Whisky and the Sunset Strip in general.

When it was a self-booking venue, we did our fair share of industry showcase gigs....but we also supported the local scene across all genres. Now the Whisky is four walls you pay for - pay to play.... like a lot of gigs on the West Side.... boo hoo, I say....




























This old Whisky menu should make your eyes pop.... the prices are so low... and back then, sometimes it was a stretch for us....the cost of living --- always just that much out of reach... THAT never changes!