Scream (music Club)
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Scream was an underground music club in Los Angeles, CA from the mid-80s and into the 90s focusing on
glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...
,
death rock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, prima ...
and
industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten and Chrom ...
. Founded by Dayle Gloria, the "Queen of the Sunset Strip" and Michael Stewart, Scream hosted many of the larger rock bands, such as
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
,
Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...
,
Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...
,
Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...
,
45 Grave 45 Grave is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. History The band was founded during the punk rock movement by Paul B. Cutler ...
, TSOL (True Sounds of Liberty),
The Pandoras The Pandoras were an American all-female Garage punk (fusion genre), garage punk band from Los Angeles, California, active from 1982 to 1991. The band is among the first handful of all-female rock bands to ever be signed to a major label. From t ...
, and Human Drama. It was considered one of the more influential clubs/outlets in L.A./Hollywood due to the signing of many of its of local musical group bookings to major label record companies and its hosting of many of the larger touring acts of the goth/industrial scene. Scream started in the fall of 1985 on Monday nights at the Seven Seas nightclub in Hollywood, where Mike Stewart and Dayle Gloria were DJ's. It then moved to Friday nights at the Berwin Entertainment Complex (now the site of the
Hollywood Athletic Club The Hollywood Athletic Club is an office building and event space in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Since it was built in 1924, it has had a varied history as a health club, bar, music venue, and billiard room. It is located on Sunset ...
) at 6525 Sunset Blvd, featuring two rooms: a dance floor with DJ on the left and a bar on the right featuring horror films projected on the wall. The décor in the dance room featured black toulle netting with images of Spanish Inquisition monks inspired by the 1961 Roger Corman film ''
The Pit and the Pendulum "The Pit and the Pendulum" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe and first published in 1842 in the literary annual ''The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1843''. The story is about the torments endured by a prisoner o ...
'', rendered with UV paints that glowed under the black lights. Fans blowing the netting made the images waver in a ghostly manner. These were created by Cleve Hall, subsequently known for the 2012 television show '' Monster Man'' on Syfy channel. Hall also coordinated the horror films projected in the bar area (as well as performed with his band Exquisite Corpse, featuring Sean Brennen of London After Midnight). Club owner Michael Stewart came up with the name based on the famous
Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( ; ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work ''The Scream'' has become one of Western art's most acclaimed images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inher ...
painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
and his best friend Steve Elkins created the logo. Advertising was largely based on unique illustrated flyers produced by "Mad" Marc Rude left on store counters throughout Hollywood. After being shut down by the Fire Marshal for being over capacity, Scream relocated in 1986 to the Embassy Hotel in downtown Los Angeles at 9th Street and Grand Avenue. While there it encompassed three floors of the building, including the basement, where it featured a stage with live bands in one room and horror films in the other. There was a long, narrow staircase which led to the basement, walls and stairs painted black which, due to the high probability of someone pitching headfirst down the stairs in darkness, was dubbed "The Descent into Hell" by clubgoers. The upper floors featured rooms with DJs and dance floors and a room where underground videos were projected. In the summer of 1987 Scream was kicked out of the Embassy Hotel, gathering around 4,000 "mourners" on closing night, and re-opened later the same year at the Park Plaza Hotel in the Wilshire District. Other acts to play Scream included
Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...
,
Revolting Cocks Revolting Cocks, also known as RevCo, are an American-Belgian industrial rock band, and sometimes supergroup, that began as a musical side project for Richard 23 of Front 242, Luc van Acker, and Al Jourgensen of Ministry. History 1984 ...
,
The Sugarcubes The Sugarcubes () were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk Guðmundsdóttir (vocals, keyboards), Einar Örn Benediktsson (vocals, trumpe ...
, Wiseblood,
Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...
, Sea Hags, The Nymphs, Caterwaul,
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Specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...
, and
Christian Death Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religion ...
. Scream was used as a shooting location for several 80s films, including the club scene in '' Less than Zero'' and the club where Dr. & the Medics perform in '' Maid to Order'', both 1987 releases. In 1987,
Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
released ''Scream: The Compilation'', a collection of bands that had become staples at the club, including
Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...
, Human Drama, and
Kommunity FK Kommunity FK is an American post-punk/gothic rock band which formed in 1978. The band helped establish what came to be known as the deathrock scene in Los Angeles. History The band was formed in 1978 by singer Patrick Mata, who was influenced ...
.


References

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