The Masque

The Masque was a small punk rock club in central Hollywood, California which existed intermittently from 1977 to 1979. It is remembered as a key part of the early L.A. punk scene.

History

The Masque was founded by a Scot named Brendan Mullen, and was the nexus of the Los Angeles punk subculture. It was located at 1655 North Cherokee Avenue, between Hollywood Boulevard and Selma Avenue. Many L.A. bands frequently performed there, including X, The Germs, The Mau-Mau's, The Weirdos, The Quick, The Avengers, The Dils, The Skulls, The Controllers (Punk), Charleston Grotto (Punk Rock), and others. The Go-Gos rented practice space there. Rhino 39, one of Long Beach, California's earliest punk rock bands played there often. At least two compilation records featuring live performances at The Masque have been released.

The Masque was closed by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1978, and briefly re-opened before closing its doors permanently in 1979. The building was renovated in 2006. Although most of the walls have been removed, much of the original graffiti in the basement still exists along the remaining walls.

Mullen went on to do shows at The Other Masque and later Club Lingerie, both also located in Hollywood. Bands appearing at The Other Masque included, among others, The Dead Boys (With local musicians backing Stiv Bators including Nicky Beat), The Cramps (probably their first show in LA after moving from NY), The Simpletones, Fly Boys, Mutants and others. The loss of The Other Masque resulted in punk bands having to move to the Sunset Strip clubs like The Whiskey or Gazzari's, or clubs like The Vex in East Los Angeles, The On Club in Silver Lake, or San Fernando Valley venues like The Country Club, Devonshire Downs. This change in performance venues contributed to the fading of the L.A. punk scene in the early 1980s.

First generation punk fanzines, like Flipside and Slash covered the scene at The Masque.

External links

* [http://www.tranceworks.com/masque.html Masque Archaeology 1997 Photos]