One of the unseen benefits of focusing my artistic attention on music, or more specifically rock n’ roll, is the research I find myself doing. The start of most of my pieces begin by watching or reading a documentary and/or biography of some sort. When you read and see enough of these, you start to notice the same stories overlapping from different points of view–legendary moments or venues in rock lore that find their way into various memoirs.
One of my favorite examples of this also happens to be one of my favorite watering holes in the world. I never visit Los Angeles without at least one trip to famous Rainbow Bar and Grill. I could probably write a hundred-page essay about this legendary bar on the Sunset Strip. It’s where I’ve had milestone birthdays, spent Christmas eve, and mingled with various celebrities. It also served as home base for one of the baddest men on the planet, Mr. Lemmy Kilmister.
Seems every band from the 60’s to the 90’s has stories about the Rainbow. Bands such as Zeppelin, Sabbath and Motley Crue were fixtures there at one time or another.
Years prior to visiting the Rainbow for the first time, I had heard numerous stories about the loft/attic upstairs over the stage and its connection with a group of rock stars calling themselves the Hollywood Vampires. The upstairs loft became a thing of rock lore and was known as the Lair of the Hollywood Vampires. The Hollywood Vampires was basically a drinking club formed by Alice Cooper. Other members included Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Harry Nilsson and Micky Dolenz, among others.
These rock biographies often talk about the sordid events that have happened in that small crawl space, and every time I take someone new to the Rainbow, I never miss a chance to take them up there, put on my tour guide hat and share some of these legendary stories about legendary people in this legendary bar.
