To commemorate our return to the Viper Room on March 28, I’ve put together some fun facts about its history and our history with it.
The last time we played at the Viper Room, we did three shows in 24 hours: we drove down to LA for the show, did our first photo shoot with Aaron Blumenshine, drove back up to Piedmont to play UC Berkeley the next morning and then down to San Jose for a show that night. Brian Graves flew off in a private plane at some point during this trip and even formed a doo-wop group in the process.
We also had an incident with some intoxicated English women who chased me down the street after I had convinced them to “pay a fiver” to go into the show and see Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon, who were drinking at the bar. Our van was parked for us in a spot that also seemed impossibly small by a parking lot attendant who was a professional Tuvan throat singer.
Knowing we are probably in for another bit of weirdness, I decided to look into some other oddities of the Viper Room and the chance that they’ll happen to us:
The singer of the Counting Crows supposedly worked at The Viper Room as a bartender in 1994 in order to escape his overnight fame. “Mr. Jones”, their biggest hit and widely remembered as “one of those funny 90s songs” is actually about the possibilities of what this fame may entail, written at a time before singer Adam Duritz even thought it possible. The irony is the song about fame is what made him famous and ultimately seek escape.
Chances of Adam Duritz making my vodka: 10 to 1.
The Wikipedia article on The Viper Room describes it as a hangout in the mid 90s for musicians and Hollywood actors, including Jennifer Anniston and Angelina Jolie. There’s got to be a Brad Pitt joke in there somewhere, but I’m not TMZ; I own a chair.
Chances of Brad Pitt being my real father: 20 to 1.
Finally, the group Brian Jonestown Massacre had a hilarious fight on stage at the Viper Room during an industry showcase in 1996. The video below almost seems like it was staged, it’s that ridiculous.
Chances of the guy from the Brian Jonestown Massacre attacking us while we play: 2 to 1.
Our set at the infamous Viper Room in Hollywood, CA is on March 28. Doors are at 7:30 and we play at 8pm sharp. You can purchase tickets for the show here. We hope you’ll join us for what will inevitably be a strange and wonderful night!
-RB