The Masque is the granddaddy of them all. And remarkably well-preserved.
Looking at the video again, this blog is probably for people already familiar with the bands and the history. I'm not trying to make the series for insiders only, just saying it helps if you like the bands. Or maybe if you like Los Angeles and all it's crazy history in the tiny corners and neighborhoods. Avant gutter.
I fucked up one tag - and a great one. I don't know how, just looked through the viewfinder wrong and cropped out the top of it on accident. Not to mention I was spazzing out by just being there and didn't think straight. This is the full tag:
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| Photograph copyright Michael Yampolsky, all rights reserved |
The photo is by Michael Yampolsky, who was on the ground at The Masque in the 70s and took tons of vital photos, many of which are in Mullen's book (see below). This pic is from 1997, when he snuck back into the basement. It's a great series of color photos, which you can see right here. It's a freaking perfect reference point, right in between 1977, when the club opened, and today in the summer of 2012. This door is exactly the same, but lots of the smaller walls gone now.
For the history of the club pick up Live at the Masque: Nightmare in Punk Alley. It's compiled and edited by the king of the Masque himself Brendan Mullen, along with Roger Gastman, put out by Gingko Press. Funny, smart writing and insanely cool photos. The late, great Mullen is pretty humble about being the first punk rock club in L.A., but this was it.
contact us at: speedwayrandy at gmail
There are a few videos of Masque shows out there:
The Weirdos playing in 77 - part of a punk doc that looks amazing - Mullen is at the very end
and...of course...The Screamers
thx - Speedway Randy
