The Baked Potato, Studio City, Los Angeles, California

[C]

.
The Baked Potato is a prominent jazz club on Cahuenga Boulevard in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, opened by Don Randi [His piano can be heard on Buffalo Springfield's "Broken Arrow"] in 1970. Randi formed his own group, Don Randi and Quest, as the house band.

Over the years it has hosted many live recordings from jazz fusion artists. Larry Carlton recorded Last Nite there in 1986 and the seminal Soft Machine also in 2019.

In 2010 The Baked Potato was named the Best Jazz Club in Los Angeles by Los Angeles magazine. They have cited it as a "mainstay for session players since 1975".

Nick Menza of Megadeth collapsed and died while playing here with his band OHM on May 21, 2016.

The club is mentioned in the 2016 musical film La La Land.



Anybody been there...?




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[C]

Surely our American friends have got out of their pits by now...?



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[toomanyhatz]

I have been there. I did NOT make it to the soft Machine shows in '19, though I intended to. I believe the late Zoomboogity may have attended; though I know he passed away soon after so I'm not sure.

It's really a hole-in-the-wall in an area with heavy traffic and rough parking; it's great precisely because it's an oasis of music and is not really there for any other purpose. I've only been there once or twice; it's not an easy place to get to for me, particularly now, but I should go back sometime.

[Six String]

I’ve seen the name before but C knows more about it than I do!

[Matt Wilson]

Never been there, though I live only a few miles away.

[C]

Never been there, though I live only a few miles away.

Why's that Matt - nothing on the bill that grabbed you our you just don't fancy the venue?



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[Matt Wilson]

I've never even seen it. You said it's in Studio City, which is the neighboring community to North Hollywood where I live. But if I've driven by the venue, It's never been noticed.

[Walk In My Shadow]

rough parking;

could you explain this a little?

[C]

I've never even seen it. You said it's in Studio City, which is the neighboring community to North Hollywood where I live. But if I've driven by the venue, It's never been noticed.

Ring any bells?







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[C]

rough parking;

could you explain this a little?

By that I assumed hatz meant 'a difficult place to park' - restrictions, no nearby street parking, no convenient car park...

Like trying to park directly outside the Lemmens Institute Yves....!




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[Six String]

rough parking;

could you explain this a little?

It might involve anal chugs.

[C]

rough parking;

could you explain this a little?

It might involve anal chugs.

Oh er missus




.

[Matt Wilson]

Nope, doesn't look familiar. I wonder if it still looks like that.

[toomanyhatz]

Some would call that part of town Universal City rather than Studio City. It's kind of on the border between 'The Valley' and Hollywood. It does look more-or-less the same. That's probably a fairly recent picture.

Point being, though it's actually fairly near to a subway station, nothing in LA is ever so simple as just going somewhere. You have to figure out whether it's easier to drive or take public transportation. Neither is easy, as LA is so spread out and freeway-oriented. It's not like NY or London where there's a subway entrance around every corner. They're pretty spread out, and the buses can get pretty skeezy. Either way, you're risking some sort of danger to yourself or your property. Don't mean to overstate the problem, and public transport has improved slightly within the last few years, but just trying to say it's a challenge anyway you slice it.

Why I moved out of LA, in a nutshell...

[C]

Some would call that part of town Universal City rather than Studio City. It's kind of on the border between 'The Valley' and Hollywood. It does look more-or-less the same. That's probably a fairly recent picture.

Point being, though it's actually fairly near to a subway station, nothing in LA is ever so simple as just going somewhere. You have to figure out whether it's easier to drive or take public transportation. Neither is easy, as LA is so spread out and freeway-oriented. It's not like NY or London where there's a subway entrance around every corner. They're pretty spread out, and the buses can get pretty skeezy. Either way, you're risking some sort of danger to yourself or your property. Don't mean to overstate the problem, and public transport has improved slightly within the last few years, but just trying to say it's a challenge anyway you slice it.

Why I moved out of LA, in a nutshell...

Thanks hatz - very informative

'skeezy' - I have never come across that word before




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[Muskrat]

Musical format is a little too fusion for me. The one time I was there was for the Duane Eddy appearance, where I may have been the only person in the audience who wasn't a guitar player -- Duane's band included Hal Blaine and Ry Cooder.

It's a well-regarded room; just not (generally) my taste.

[C]

Musical format is a little too fusion for me. The one time I was there was for the Duane Eddy appearance, where I may have been the only person in the audience who wasn't a guitar player -- Duane's band included Hal Blaine and Ry Cooder.

It's a well-regarded room; just not (generally) my taste.

Thanks Musky.

That's some line-up that you saw!

...and thanks for the link - I see the Randi's are still playing there so perhaps the ownership is still in Don's name.

Julian Coryell - that's Larry's son playing tonight!

oooof!




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[Charlie O.]

Julian Coryell - that's Larry's son playing tonight!

oooof!

I'm surprised you didn't mention this Friday's line-up:

MIKE MILLER B.P. SUPER ALLSTARS
MIKE MILLER…Guitar
JIMMY JOHNSON …SUPER BASS
CHAD WACKERMAN …DRUMS
WALT FOWLER …TRUMPET
BRANDON FIELDS …SAXOPHONE

And I see that Muskrat faves Jackshit are playing in a couple of weeks...

[C]

Julian Coryell - that's Larry's son playing tonight!

oooof!

I'm surprised you didn't mention this Friday's line-up:

MIKE MILLER B.P. SUPER ALLSTARS
MIKE MILLER…Guitar
JIMMY JOHNSON …SUPER BASS
CHAD WACKERMAN …DRUMS
WALT FOWLER …TRUMPET
BRANDON FIELDS …SAXOPHONE

And I see that Muskrat faves Jackshit are playing in a couple of weeks...

I have to admit Chas, I didn't scroll down that far!

Two of Zappa's lads!

[A very musical family: Walt, Tom and Bruce - they all played with Frank]





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[Muskrat]

And I see that Muskrat faves Jackshit are playing in a couple of weeks...

Surprised you remember that. Yeah, they're the greatest. I haven't seen them in a few years, but it's still the same guys. Val McCallum is David's son, and he's a fine, albeit unheralded guitarist.