The Cactus Club was a

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

in the South of First Area (SoFA) of

Downtown San Jose Downtown San Jose is the central business district of San Jose, California, San Jose, California, United States. Downtown is one of the largest tech Business cluster, clusters in Silicon Valley, as well as the cultural and political center of Sa ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It was one of the first clubs to replace some of the 'red light' businesses on South First Street (across the street was the Pussycat Theater which later became F/X). The Cactus Club took over The Bachelor Club and went on to become a legendary live music venue in San Jose for close to 15 years. The concept of The Cactus Club was created by Sean Galvin and Mike Trippett. It was Producer/Promoter Ric Hines who made the opening of the Cactus Club possible with his business experience and professional network. Hines was introduced to lawyer partner Bob Cullen by Erik Foss, Lead Singer of Never Say Never whom Hines managed. That introduction was the lynchpin that financially pulled that venture together. Bob's nickname "Cactus Bob" was used to name the club. Mike's brother Calvin Trippett was brought in later as the booking agent for the club. The Cactus Club opened in 1988 and remained open until 2002. Emphasizing music, the club featured many local and national touring acts as well as themed dance nights. Among the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

bands that got some of their start from playing the Cactus Club are Terror Toys,

No Use For A Name No Use for a Name (sometimes abbreviated NUFAN or No Use) was an American punk rock band from Sunnyvale, California, formed in 1986 by Chris Dodge (guitar), Steve Papoutsis (bass) and Rory Koff (drums). The band's sound evolved considerably throu ...

Smash Mouth Smash Mouth is an American Rock music, rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994 and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). Harwell's ...

The Donnas The Donnas were an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1993. The band consisted of Brett Anderson (lead vocals), Allison Robertson (guitar, backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (dr ...

Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...

, Insolence,

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

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, Concerning Eye, Sloe, and The Odd Numbers. The Cactus is often noted as being one of the first clubs in the Bay Area to attempt an end of

pay-to-play Pay-to-play, sometimes pay-for-play or P2P, is a phrase used for a variety of situations in which money is exchanged for services or the privilege to engage in certain activities. The common denominator of all forms of pay-to-play is that one mu ...

practices that Bay Area clubs had been doing for a long time. Major touring acts such as

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, MC Hammer, Pigeon Project, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly,

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, System of a Down,

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and

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...

have all played the Cactus Club. A famous story went around when Nirvana played to around 10 people at the club, and merely months later they were on top of the charts. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were among the first bands to play Cactus Club, playing January 16, 1988 with their original line-up. After closing in 2002, Cactus Club co-owner Craig Yamato opened a new nightclub in downtown San Jose called The Blank Club.

References

External links

The Blank Club Website
{{Authority control Nightclubs in the San Francisco Bay Area Culture of San Jose, California