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, Charleston Grotto, and others. The Go-Go's 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. While most of the walls have been removed, the remaining walls in the basement (which now houses the World of Wonder archive) continue to display much of the original graffiti.
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 Red Army,The Simpletones, The Flyboys, 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 Klub 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.
On October 12, 2009, the website Media Bistro reported that Mullen had been rushed to a Los Angeles hospital, having suffered a serious stroke. Variety confirmed his death shortly thereafter.
External links
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