Brendan Mullen
| Brendan Mullen | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | October 9, 1949 Paisley, Scotland |
| Died | October 12, 2009 (aged 60) Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Nightclub owner, author |
| Known for | The Masque, Club Lingerie |
Brendan Mullen (October 9, 1949 – October 12, 2009) was born in Paisley, Scotland and moved to Manchester, England when he was 8. He spent his early teen years writing for various British music magazines. In 1973, Mullen moved to the United States where he remained for the remainder of his life. Mullen had just started working toward U.S. citizenship at the time of his death. Through Mullen's support at various nightclubs in California, the scene gave birth to such bands as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Go-Go's, X, The Weirdos and the The Germs.
Mullen is best known as the founder of The Masque, a small punk rock club in central Hollywood, California, which existed intermittently from 1977 to 1979. Mullen originally only wanted a place to practice music however the owner of the building offered him the 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) basement for $850 a month allowing him to set up numerous rehearsal spaces for the burgeoning punk music community. The Masque became ground zero for punk music in Los Angeles however city officials refused to approve permits required to run it as a legal nightclub and shut the club down in 1978. Fire marshalls sued Mullen to end the lease and many bands came to his aid with two nights of benefit concerts to raise money to pay legal fees. Both shows culminated in rioting.
After the closure of The Masque, Mullen spent much of the next decade booking shows for another popular L.A. club called Club Lingerie. Club Lingerie was known more for its eclectic bookings that ran from punk and pop to jazz and blues, as well as the first West Coast appearances by several New York-based hip-hop acts. In 1983, Mullen had his first encounter with Anthony Kiedis and Flea who came to into the club with their newly recorded demo tape demanding Mullen listen to it. The duo proceeded to play the demo on a boombox they carried around and danced around like maniacs to their music. The stuff Mullen heard impressed him as did the duo's energy. He offered their band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers an opening slot on a upcoming Bad Brains show. Kiedis and Flea ended up becoming longtime friends with Mullen until his death. The band credits Mullen with being one of their first major supporters and giving them their start. Mullen also booked a wider range of performances at the Variety Arts Center downtown in the mid-to-late '80s. Mullen would later work for other popular clubs in the area such as The Viper Room and Club Luna.
On October 12, 2009, the website Media Bistro reported that Mullen had been rushed to a Los Angeles hospital, having suffered a serious stroke. The Los Angeles Times confirmed his death at the Ventura County Medical Center shortly thereafter.[1] At the time of his stroke, Mullen was celebrating his 60th birthday by traveling through Santa Barbara and Ventura with Kateri Butler, his companion of 16 years. Doctors were surprised by his stroke saying he had none of the indicators, his cholesterol was perfect. One of the neurologists summed it up best when he said, 'Sometimes, your number is just up.' [2] Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea, wrote a two-page article for the Los Angeles Times on the passing of Mullen.[3]
One of Mullen's last projects, which he was unable to complete before his death, was helping the Red Hot Chili Peppers co-author their biography. The book was released on October 19, 2010, a little over a year after Mullen's death.[4]
The Red Hot Chili Peppers' 2011 album, I'm With You features a song titled "Brendan's Death Song" which is a tribute to Mullen. According to Anthony Kiedis, he was told about Mullen's death on the first day of rehearsals for the album. He went to rehearsals and informed the band of Mullen's death and without talking, the band quickly started to play music and the song came to the band quickly out of a jam. Kiedis described the song as having the feel of a death march but "it's more of a celebration than a bummer."[5]
Contents |
[edit] Selected bibliography
- We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of LA Punk (2001) with Marc Spitz
- Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs (2002) coauthored with Germs drummer Don Bolles and Adam Parfrey
- Whores: An Oral Biography of Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction (2006)
- Live at the Masque: Nightmare in Punk Alley (2007) with Roger Gastman, and Kristine McKenna
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers: An Oral/Visual History (2010) - coauthored by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Mullen
[edit] Selected filmography
- X: The Unheard Music (1986) himself
- We Jam Econo (2005) himself
- Punk's Not Dead (2007) himself
[edit] References
- ^ Lewis, Randy (October 12, 2009). "Local punk champion, Masque founder Brendan Mullen dies". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/10/local-punk-champion-masque-founder-brendan-mullen-dies.html.
- ^ Lewis, Randy (October 13, 2009). "Brendan Mullen dies at 60; founder of influential Masque punk rock club". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-brendan-mullen13-2009oct13,0,4056471.story.
- ^ "Brendan Mullen". Los Angeles Times. October 14, 2009. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/14/entertainment/et-mullen-appreciation14.
- ^ http://www.redhotchilipeppers.com/news/news.php?id=1010
- ^ http://anthonykiedis.net/info/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Q-302-RHCP-September-2011-81.png
