GRAND CANYON NEW VALLEY VENUE OFFERS A PLACE FOR BOOMERS TO FIND THEIR MUSIC.Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer Tucked in suburban Agoura Hills off the Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. is a small club that has an eclectic hipness that might remind you of the House of Blues House of Blues (HOB) is a chain of music halls and restaurants founded in 1992 by Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett and his friend and investor Dan Aykroyd. It is a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine, whose clubs celebrate African-American culture, specifically . It should - the founder is an investor and former manager of that high-profile West Hollywood West Hollywood A community of southern California northeast of Beverly Hills. It is mainly residential. Population: 36,600. venue. But where the House of Blues programs for trendy Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades. types, the Canyon has a different game plan. Rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. dinner theater, anyone? Dr. Dre may live in Calabasas, but don't expect to see the rap star perform there. The Canyon, the area's top venue, instead welcomes acts from the '70s and '80s - music that appeals to baby boomers See generation X. who don't want to hang up their blue suede shoes
"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955. just yet. As music fans age, marry and move to suburbia, few want to face the ribbon of packed highway that leads to Hollywood night spots like the Whisky, Roxy, Key Club or Troubadour troubadour One of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians, often of knightly rank, that flourished from the 11th through the 13th century, chiefly in Provence and other regions of southern France, northern Spain, and northern Italy. and their DKNY-sporting clientele. Now, Valley residents and beyond have another option. Launched five months ago to steadily increasing business, the rustically hip Canyon brings music and memories from the likes of Kansas, the Doobie doo·bie n. Slang A marijuana cigarette. [Origin unknown.] Brothers, Pat Benatar Pat Benatar (born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski on January 10, 1953) is an influential four-time Grammy Award-winning American rock singer with many million and multi-million selling records worldwide. and Toto to the 'hood, if you'll pardon the expression Pardon The Expression! was an ITV sitcom that ran from 2 June 1965 to 27 June 1966. The sitcom was the only spin-off from the highly popular soap opera Coronation Street – not counting The Brothers McGregor . ``We're a forgotten demographic,'' says Canyon co-owner and manager Lance Sterling, 38, of Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . ``Nobody cares about married 40-year-olds. Corporate America thinks they go to TGI TGI Tribunal de Grande Instance TGI Target Group Index TGI Thank God It's Friday (US restaurant chain) TGI Tracheal Gas Insufflation TGI Tumor Growth Inhibition TGI Trato Gastrointestinal (Portugese) Friday's and that's it. But the reason we don't go out on dates is there's no place to go. Movies are marketed to 18-year-olds. Your choices are to eat in a restaurant and go home or go to a movie and go home. ``For those of us who live out here, it's a terrifying ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. experience to drive downtown.'' ``Terrifying'' may be too strong a word. How about ``tiring''? However you cut it, a trip to the House of Blues and its wildly diverse booking policy amounts to an odyssey even under the best circumstances. Over the hill might as well be over the rainbow. ``The Canyon was smart to open in Agoura,'' observes John Bitzer, editorial director of CDNow, a popular Web retailer whose award-winning Allstar news service covers the concert industry. ``The market is large and wealthy, and many of these acts have been doing quite well on the summer circuit for years. These musicians know their main job is to play the hits. I'm not sure a booking policy like the Canyon's would work as well on the Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile and a half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's east border with Hollywood at Marmont Lane to its west border with Beverly Hills at Phyllis street. .'' The Canyon strives to maintain a local vibe. Audience is drawn from within 25 miles of the club, ``from the Conejo Grade to Camarillo to the 405. And Malibu is a big market for us, too,'' Sterling said. He added: ``People that live over the hill refuse to believe the Valley exists. But the people we advertise to don't live in West L.A.'' While a glance at the Canyon's summer lineup resembles a long weekend of VH-1's ``Behind the Music,'' the 1,000-capacity club itself is a chart-topper. There just isn't a lot of competition. Anywhere. ``Everyone told me I was out of my mind because it's very difficult to make money in venues like this,'' Sterling said. ``But how we know we're a success is, the average customer comes in two or three times a month.'' The cavernous Canyon, tonight featuring the Robert Cray Robert Cray (born 1 August, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia) is a blues musician, guitarist and singer. Career Robert Cray was among artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and George Thorogood, who got wider radio airplay and regular MTV video exposure during the late 1980s. Band, looks like a mix between an Asian flea market and a New Orleans bordello. A huge statue of Buddha sits in the doorway. Paintings of blues greats decorate walls above overstuffed o·ver·stuff tr.v. o·ver·stuffed, o·ver·stuff·ing, over·stuffs 1. To stuff too much into: overstuff a suitcase. 2. To upholster (an armchair, for example) deeply and thickly. couches, comfy chairs and strange artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. . There's a large dance floor, tables for dining and cozy areas for drinking alongside two 100-foot bars. TV monitors afford views of the action on the club's roomy stage. ``There's really nothing else like it in this neck of the woods,'' says Rick Elmore, 52, a Thousand Oaks contractor. ``It's got atmosphere and a nice ambience along with the entertainment.'' Frequent Canyon patron John Kreis, a Thousand Oaks restaurant owner, agrees. ``You're not crammed into a room where you can't move. There's a very comfortable atmosphere, and they know how to treat the customers.'' Kreis, 41, whose family owns Jack's Deli and Cafe Sienna sienna: see ocher. , happened to be at the club Tuesday afternoon buying tickets for a Benatar gig July 8. Before the freeway was built, the location was the main stopping point between Los Angeles and Ventura. Over the past 30 years, the 10,000- square-foot building, located smack dab next to a shooting range (Sterling promises the walls are reinforced steel), housed a grocery store, an all-you-can-eat buffet and a children's theater. ``I walked in one day and said, 'You can do concerts here,' '' Sterling said. Sterling knows about concerts. As vice president of operations and development for House of Blues Entertainment Inc. from 1995 to 1999, he oversaw nearly every aspect of the company launched in 1992 by Hard Rock co-founder Isaac Tigrett and Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd. ``I knew my time was limited when I looked up and suddenly there was a senior vice president of operations and development,'' the New York-born Sterling said with a wry smile. After moving to Atlanta for a few years, Sterling, who is also experienced in hotel and restaurant management, returned to Los Angeles and opened the Canyon. He doesn't view his former employer as major competition. ``House of Blues does very well with hip-hop and rap, but out here, that type of music has no support,'' he said. ``I'm not enemies with them. It's a good company, and I want them to do well.'' The Canyon has four co-owners: brother and sister Billy and Melissa Richardson, whose family partially owns Las Vegas hotels such as Mandalay Bay, Circus Circus, Excalibur and Luxor; Jeff Lapin, chief executive of THQ THQ Toy Headquarters THQ Territorial Headquarters THQ Tehsil Headquarters (Pakistan) THQ The Holy Quran THQ Theater Headquarters Inc., the Calabasas game software developer and distributor; and Sterling, the club's managing partner. The Roadside Drive venue opened with 40 employees and a Beatles tribute band. Shortly afterward, an Eddie Money concert unexpectedly packed the place, forcing Sterling to turn away a few hundred at the door. The '80s hitmaker is returning for two nights in December. ``We're the kings of diggin'-'em-up,' '' Sterling says, adding that many musicians, including Benatar, Money and members of the Doobies and REO Speedwagon live in the area. ``These bands have loyal, die-hard fans.'' That sturdy fan base is the result of a curious phenomenon whereby people often cling to the music they loved in their youth, Bitzer said. In fact, the Canyon has proven so popular, it's expanding. A 2,000- square-foot adjacent space for 100 persons will be used for private events like wedding parties and banquets. The club's menu is basic steak and fish. Sterling promises he won't be adding white truffle truffle (trŭf`əl) [Fr.], subterranean edible fungus that forms a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship with the roots of certain trees and plants. The part of the fungus used as food is the ascoma, the fruiting body of the fungus. pizza anytime soon. ``We do food people actually want to eat,'' he says. Sterling also plans to return the club to one of its previous incarnations as a theater for productions of ``Peter Pan,'' ``Fiddler on the Roof'' and ``The King and I,'' produced and staged by the Canyon. ``We're like a privately owned community center,'' he said. ``When I was growing up, we had plays and concerts at the local community center.'' But if the Canyon is making waves by accelerating into reverse, what will the future hold when a gray-haired Dr. Dre becomes the Neil Diamond of 2025? ``Hey, today's hip-hop stars are the nostalgia performers of the future,'' Sterling says with a satisfied grin. ``I can imagine booking them into a place just like this in 25 years' time.'' 10 CANYON CLUB Where: 28912 Roadside Drive, Agoura Hills. When: Tuesdays through Saturdays. Tickets: Usually $10 to $23.50. Information: (818) 879-5016. CAPTION(S): 8 photos, map Photo: (1 -- 4 -- cover -- color) Boogie nights Agoura Hill's Canyon Club offers boomers a place to call their own (5 -- color) ``Everyone told me I was out of my mind because it's very difficult to make money in venues like this. But how we know we're a success is, the average customer comes in two or three times a month.'' Lance Sterling co-owner and manager Canyon Club (6 -- color) no caption (sculpture) (7 -- color) Members of the band Boogie Nights - who use the stage name J.J. Vernon Woods, left, Danny Gibleone and Corderius Washington - perform at the Canyon Club. (8 -- color) The Canyon Club's productions range from well-known plays to big-band and ballroom dancing. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer John Kennedy/Special to the Daily News Map: Canyon Club |
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