Bar Band Socks
Description: The Hewitt Street storefronts at the American Hotel housed many Los Angeles businesses over the years — the Golden West, Tony's Café and Joe Pirrone's to name a few. In 1973, Alfonso Vasquez opened a bar there, rather uncreatively calling it Al's Bar. Al's began as a hangout for local truck drivers and factory workers that would stop by after a long day for a cold beer and a game of pool. A shift in neighborhood demographics led to a change in the bar's clientele in the '80s. The hotel became a haven for artists in need of cheap live-in studio space, and Al's was happy to serve these free spirited souls, eventually adding a small stage and hosting bands. Al's quickly became known more as an intimate music venue than a dive bar.
Description: Outside of the United States, "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" topped the charts in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Austria, Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Russia.
Description: The Uptown Bar and Cafe was one of the neighborhood's most-loved restaurants. But Uptown was forced to close in 2009 to make way for new construction. The redevelopment is a financial boon for the estate of Frank Toonen, 88, who has owned the bar going back to the 1950s. Toonen isn't the guy who made it into a rock venue, though. He sold the place in 1984 to famed concert promoter Ray Colihan, aka Big Reggie, who helped turn it into a bustling music venue before he died in 1986. Frank's son, Kenny Toonen, took it over in the mid-'90s and killed live music there for several years. Business slumped, though, and bands were invited back. By all accounts, the bar has done well since then.
