
Spaceland was an
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
/
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
in the
Silver Lake
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
neighborhood of
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...
, that existed between 1995 and 2011. The club was formerly a popular
disco to young locals called Dreams of LA. Spaceland's owner announced the end of the venue in late 2010, with the space continuing to operate under the new name The Satellite.
History
The first show ever held at Spaceland featured
Beck,
The Foo Fighters,
Possum Dixon and
Lutefisk. The list of acts who have played Spaceland is quite long, ranging from veteran performers from the 1960s and 1970s like
Arthur Lee and
The Dictators to current major acts such as
Supergrass,
Jet
Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to:
Aerospace
* Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines
** Jet airliner
** Jet engine
** Jet fuel
* Jet Airways, an Indian airline
* Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline
* Journey to Enceladus a ...
,
The Shore and
The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wi ...
. It was very important in establishing the career of Beck and the Silver Lake scene which followed in his wake.
Spaceland is considered "home" for many bands in the so-called
Silver Lake
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
"scene" over the years, including
Silversun Pickups, 400 Blows, Pine Marten,
Radar Bros.,
The 88, Biblical Proof of UFOs,
Patrick Park, etc.
The club features as the setting for the fictional band Munchausen By Proxy (lead singer Zooey Deschanel) in the 2008 Jim Carrey movie ''Yes Man''. One of the final bands to play there is the
New York Dolls, where they performed a rousing rendition of
Bo Diddley
Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...
's Pills. Photographer Kevin McCarty, in what is described as "advocacy criticism," featured the venue of the Spaceland in a series titled ''The Chameleon Club''. A photo of the stage of the Spaceland, and other empty gay bars, appears in
José Esteban Muñoz book
Cruising Utopia.
Alternative comedian Neil Hamburger held a regular show at Spaceland the last Sunday of every month, inviting both mainstream (Tom Green, Tim and Eric, Paul F. Tompkins) and obscure acts to perform with him. The show continues at the venue under its new management.
After 17 years, Spaceland came to an end in late 2010 when owner Mitchell Frank decided to open a new space that would focus more on dance and electronic music. Frank's Spaceland Productions would continue to book shows at
The Echo/
Echoplex
The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s—it is still regarded as "the standard by which everything else is measured." It was used by some of th ...
complex. Meanwhile, the space at 1717 Silverlake Blvd continued as an indie rock venue in 2011 under the name The Satellite, with shows being booked by former Spaceland booker Jennifer Tefft.
Spaceland recordings
Spaceland Recordings occasionally published live albums recorded at the club.
Live albums
*
The Drones - ''
Live in Spaceland'' - February, 2007
*
Liam Finn
Liam Mullane Finn (born 24 September 1983) is a New Zealand singer and musician. Born in Melbourne, Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child. He is the son of musicians Sharon and Neil Finn.
In 2020, he joined his father's band, Crowde ...
- ''Live in Spaceland'' - February 22, 2008
*
Darker My Love - ''Mondays in Spaceland'', 2006
Notable performers

*
The 88 (Monday, July 22, 2002)
* The Abe Lincoln Story
* 400 Blows
*
Air Traffic
*
The Airborne Toxic Event
The Airborne Toxic Event is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2006. It consists of Mikel Jollett (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Chen (guitar, keyboards), Adrian Rodriguez (electric bass, backing vocals), Daren T ...
* Allegro
*
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...
(Tuesday, December 7, 2004)
*
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
*
At the Drive-In
*
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz.
A m ...
*
Babyland (Monday, May 5, 2003)
*
Beck
*
Bell Gardens (Friday, March 26, 2010)
* Bad Poetry Minute
* Biblical Proof of UFOs (Thursday, June 20, 2002)
* Bigelf (Thursday, May 13, 2004)
*
The Bravery
*
Burning Brides (Monday, February 28, 2005)
* The Business Machines (Thursday, April 8, 2004)
*
Cake
Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...
*
Cibo Matto
*
The Clientele
*
Creeper Lagoon
* Damo Suzuki and Mikael Karoli
*
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...
*
The Decemberists
*
Deftones
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first f ...
*
Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name.
The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barl ...
*
The Dismemberment Plan
The Dismemberment Plan was a Washington, D.C. based indie rock band formed on January 1, 1993. Also known as D-Plan or The Plan, the name was derived from an industry phrase used by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the popular comedy ''Groun ...
*
The Drones
*
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of ...
* Extra Fancy
*
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have t ...
* Ferdinand
* Fiction Company (Sept. 19, 2010)
*
Fleet Foxes
*
The Fling
* Fluorescein
*
Fitz and the Tantrums (2009)
* Fojimoto (Wednesday, November 3, 2003)
*
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...
*
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, comi ...
*
Furry Things
Furry may refer to:
* Covered with fur
* Furry fandom, a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics
* Furry, Mississippi, U.S., a place
* Wendell H. Furry (1907–1984), an American ph ...
* The Fuzztones
*
Guided by Voices
*
Hopewell
*
Icebird
* JJ Paradise Players Club
*
James (Saturday, June 6, 2008)
* John Fahey
*
Julian Casablancas
Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of rock band The Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding ...
(Tuesday, November 3, 2009)
*
Jurassic 5
Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1994 by rappers Charles Stewart ( Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic ( DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas ...
* KaitO
*
The Killers
The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drum ...
*
Komeda
* Kryptonite Nixon
* Kittens for Christian (Thursday, April 8, 2004)
*
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
(
Dive Bar Tour)
*
Les Savy Fav
Les Savy Fav ( ) is an American indie rock band based in New York City. Their style is influenced by art punk and post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but empha ...
*
Local Natives
Local Natives is an American indie rock band based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. The band consists of Taylor Rice (vocals, guitar), Kelcey Ayer (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Ryan Hahn (guitar, backing vocals), Matt Frazier (drums) and Nik Ewing (ba ...
*
Lutefisk
* Mala Leche
* Malcolm Mooney
*
Mark Ronson
* Miss Spiritual Tramp of 1948
*
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenc ...
*
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. ...
*
Nebula
A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...
*
The Negro Problem
*
Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie roc ...
*
Of Montreal
*
Orange Goblin (Thursday, May 13, 2004)
*
Or, The Whale (Friday, May 28, 2010)
*
Patrick Park (Monday, January 20, 2003)
* Pine Marten (Friday, May 23, 2003)
*
Pavement
* Pleasure Forever (Friday, March 1, 2002)
* Popular Girl
*
Possum Dixon
* R.L Burnside
*
Radar Bros. (Friday, May 23, 2003)
*
Rivulets (Friday, May 23, 2003)
* George Ellias (Tuesday, June 24, 2009)
* ? and the Mysterians (August 29, 1998)
*
The Raveonettes
The Raveonettes are a Danish indie rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals. Their music is characterized by close two-part vocal harmonies inspired by The Everly Bro ...
*
The Red Aunts
*
The Rentals
*
Rilo Kiley
Rilo Kiley ( ) was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Dave Rock.
The group released their debut album '' Take-Offs and Landings ...
*
Rocket from the Crypt
* The Rogers Sisters (Monday, January 20, 2003)
* Rubyfish
*
Scarling.
*
Self
The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhood ...
*
Seneca Hawk
*
Shiner
*
The Shins
The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's c ...
* Six Volt Sunbeam
*
The Thrills
The Thrills are an Irish rock band, formed in 2001 in Dublin, Ireland. The band was founded by lead vocalist Conor Deasy and guitarist Daniel Ryan, guitarist and bass player Padraic McMahon, pianist Kevin Horan and drummer Ben Carrigan. Their bre ...
(Wednesday November 7, 2007)
Shack(Tuesday, September 26, 2003)
*
Silversun Pickups (Monday, July 22, 2002)
* Skeleteen
*
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
(August, 2003)
*
The Smiths Indeed
*
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, backing vocals), Jonny Quinn (d ...
*
Spacehog
*
The Spinto Band
*
Stew (musician)
* Totimoshi (Monday, May 5, 2003)
*
Useless Keys
* V3
* Velouria
* Visionaries
* VLA
*
Ween
*
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backin ...
*
The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wi ...
*
Will Haven (Wednesday, July 23, 2003)
*
Wondermints
*
Yob (Wednesday, July 23, 2003)
*
Zoobombs
See also
*
The Echo
References
External links
Spaceland official websiteSpaceland on MySpace1995 debut show with Beck, Foo Fighters and Possum Dixon.Spaceland Turns 15: An Oral HistorySpaceland Interview with Mitchell Frank, regarding 1995 debut with Beck, Foo Fighters and Possum Dixon.
{{Coord, 34, 5, 23.4, N, 118, 16, 5.7, W, type:landmark_region:US_dim:45, display=title
Music venues in Los Angeles
Nightclubs in Los Angeles County, California
Silver Lake, Los Angeles