Billboard Live sets new club standard

Sunday, August 4, 1996

Owners plan to build other sites around the world that will be
linked onlineBy Kristin Fiore

Summer Bruin Senior Staff

Interactive monitors, palm identification sensors, fiber optic
stairways all lit with an eerie neon glow … It’s not Star Trek,
but it’s definitely The Next Generation ­ of nightclubs, that
is.

Billboard Live, whose Aug. 4 opening commanded the rare closing
of a portion of the Sunset Strip, aims to lead clubs into the 21st
century through interactive media, high-tech production and
post-modern ambiance.

The club, which replaced the 30-year Sunset standard Gazzarri’s,
is nestled among such legendary and familiar haunts as The Whisky
and The Roxy. But its futuristic glass and metal facade, with two
colossal Jumbotron monitors (like those in New York’s Times
Square), seems like a Porsche among horse-drawn buggies.

The 9 by 12 Jumbotron monitors loom 22 feet above the crowded
street, and their projections of the club’s live music
performances, student films, Billboard chart listings and film
trailers are visible from 125 yards in each direction. Those
driving by can tune in the sound on Billboard Live’s own radio
station. Eventually, these live shows will be on the Internet.

This aggressive display of technology is meant to parallel
Billboard magazine’s role of showcasing new talent. The goal is to
support music by giving new artists local exposure on the Sunset
Strip and worldwide exposure online, according to Billboard Live
President Keith Pressman. Owners plan to book bands on Billboard’s
"HeatSeekers" and "Bubbling Under" charts, which point out
up-and-coming acts. But instead of targeting those who stroll by
the newsstands, Billboard Live reaches the millions who inch by on
Sunset Boulevard by day or cruise it by night.

This spectacle is only a taste of what goes on inside the club’s
three levels. Aside from a monstrous revolving stage and
state-of-the-art sound system, the club has a dance floor, two
large bars and a dining room. The interior atmosphere blends velvet
walls, industrial metal surfaces, neon tubing and iridescent,
theatrical lighting that constantly changes with the music.

This "Chameleon Color Technique," designed by three-time Emmy
winner Jeremy Railton, is only one example of the club’s desire to
be able to change as times and moods change. Monitors throughout
the club ­ in the bathrooms, at every table, overhead in the
lobby ­ show current and past performances and other
arts-related clips on Billboard Live’s eight channels.

Interactive monitors at each table allow guests to place food
and drink orders, play music trivia games, select videos to watch
and even interact with other guests. Billboard Live plans to build
11 more clubs around the world, and one in cyberspace, beginning in
Las Vegas and Manhattan. Eventually, all of the clubs will be
interactive. Billboard magazine is already online
(Billboard-online.com), and Billboard Live will soon have its own
page on the Internet.

Members of the club’s exclusive Board Room will even have their
own Billboard Live e-mail address. The Board Room is a downstairs
area where its members, industry big-wigs and celebrities, can go
to conduct business or just escape the crowds. Members enjoy a
special menu, reserved seating at shows and teleconferencing
capabilities. The VIP entry actually has palm reader access.

All this makes you wonder how much Billboard Live will cost and
who will be able to get in. Many Hollywood clubs are closed to
those who are not on the A list or who can’t spend $30 for an
evening out. Club restaurants are also notoriously pricey and
impossible to get into. Hopefully, Billboard Live will live up to
Vice President of Operations Steve Strauss’s comment: "No matter
how slick, how cool, how hip the club might be, at the end of the
day it’s still about how you treat people."

Club: Billboard Live is located at 9039 Sunset Blvd. in West
Hollywood.