About The Roxy
Of all the Los Angeles famed locales, nothing typifies the city's ever-evolving and anything goes aesthetic like the Sunset Strip. Since Lou Adler, Elliot Roberts and David Geffen opened its doors in the fall of 1973, The Roxy Theatre has chronicled a storied history unlike any other venue the city has to offer. Adler was responsible for bringing the stage play The Rocky Horror Show to the United States and opened its first American run in 1974 the year before it was made into the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The Roxy has hosted hundreds of other famous acts such as Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, X, David Bowie, Warren Zevon, My Chemical Romance, Chickenfoot, Nirvana, Korn, 30 Seconds to Mars, Brian Wilson, Tori Amos, Elisa, Foo Fighters, Meat Loaf, Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses, Al Stewart, Van Morrison, Avril Lavigne, Papa Roach, Linkin Park, Jane's Addiction, Jay-Z, Bad Religion, NOFX and the Pussycat Dolls.
The intimate 7,500 square foot spot has played host to everyone from Marley to MSTRKRFT, while its infamous upstairs bar--On The Rox--has provided respite for names like Carlin, Lennon, Belushi and DeNiro.
Headlines and headliners only tell part of the story. Independently owned and staffed with a group of bartenders, doormen, techs and managers that have worked together for the greater half of 35 years, The Roxy isn?t just a second home to its performers. It?s a familiar institution for locals who crave good tunes, great sight lines and drinks that aren?t watered down.
Since stepping into a full-time managerial role in early 2000, Nic Adler has put together eclectic, must-see line-ups that include debut gigs from Gnarls Barkley, Mickey Avalon and the first (and only) LA club performance by Amy Winehouse. The classic run of Hedwig and the Angry Inch in 1999 and the Pussycat Dolls? mainstream explosion a few years later further reinforce the venue?s status as a pop culture flashpoint. Consistent local band bookings, along with forward- thinking partnerships are reasons The Roxy took home the 2008 Citysearch award for "Best Live Music Venue." The Roxy?s marketing and publicity team produces over 200 unique pieces of art distributed through the venue and the community.
The Roxy Theatre is known as an innovator in bringing new music to the public. In March of 2010 The Roxy celebrated the third annual AustinRox during the SXSW music conference. We took over the venue, The Rusty Spurs, as a pop up for four days and the 7 hour events remained at capacity playing host to a handful of the hottest L.A. bands on the scene.
Nic Adler was drawn to the cutting edge concepts he found in the burgeoning field of social media. In 2007 he launched a blog that went on to win The VH-1 Rock Honors Award for Best Music Venue Website. Always an early adaptor Nic began tweeting in 2008 and is now the #1 Music Venue on Twitter in the world. The Roxy?s website, theroxyonsunset.com, is updated by Adler and his staff multiple times a day with photos, video, inside information on upcoming gigs, and rapid responses to visitor feedback, the site. "We?re always updating it, and we always talk to people like they?re our friends." The Roxy has over 270,000 Facebook fans, over 70,000 Twitter followers and over 16,000 Myspace friends.
Through his bold strategy to communicate openly with his public and listen to their feedback, he has re-branded the 37 year-old club as relevant in 2010s as it was in the 70s. The Roxy has seen and heard it all and the venue represents that rarest of things: a full-blooded institution whose forward-thinking future is as brilliant as the icons who?ve graced its stage over the last three decades.
"We want to take a chance on that band that, in eight months, could be the hottest band there is," says Nic Adler. "We want to have that special show that everyone talks about, even if we lose a little bit on the deal. That?s important to us. Everyone who comes here feels that it is genuine."