Phoenix Theater
Encyclopedia
The Phoenix Theater is an all-ages club located in Petaluma, California
which has been in existence since 1905, and has been subject to many changes in both structure and purpose, mostly due to severe damage caused by multiple fires.
, Enrico Caruso, and Lily Langtree, etc), it was nearly destroyed by a fire in the early 1900s. Consequently, the theater had to be shut down. By 1935, it had been restored and opened as a movie theater. The building was purchased by California Movie Theater around 1935 and was continued to be used as such. On August 5, 1957, another fire took the roof of the building. The building was restored and renamed the Showcase Theater by the Tocchini family and soon after, the first live concert was put on at the theater by Petaluma native, Jeff Dorenfeld. The Tocchinis employed a boy named Tom Gaffey, who managed to get rehired by Ken Frankel after Ken bought the theater in 1982. Gaffey was then the theater manager. He renamed the theater the Phoenix
because the building seemed to ‘rise from the ashes.’
In the early 1980s, movies continued to be shown at the theater and live music was played late at night. There were performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
and The Ramones, along with then-local bands Metallica
, Farallon, Mr. Bungle
, Green Day
and Primus
. Other bands like Victims Family, The Conspiracy
, Disciples of Ed, the Circle Jerks
and The Distillers
drew audiences. Sublime
played their last show at The Phoenix, and a memorial to lead singer, Bradley Nowell
, can be found backstage, tagged on a wall by the Long Beach Dub Allstars
. Sir Mix-a-Lot
played at The Phoenix, as did The Specials
. To this day, the Phoenix continues to bring in established artists as well as local favorites such as Resilience, The Velvet Teen
, and Toast Machine.
In the late 1990s, its landlord announced plans to sell the Phoenix Theater for demolition and reconstruction as an office building, despite public opposition. The sale was in escrow
when four employees from Cerent Corporation
, whom were all musicians and two of which were former Phoenix Theater frequenters, intervened and took over the escrow. With other leading local citizens, they established the non-profit Petaluma Phoenix Center, Inc, to not only own The Phoenix Theater, but preserve and expand the services the Phoenix provides to its community. These services include, but are not limited to, a free weekly health clinic for teens, free music and art programs, even an informal job mentoring program (for the past 20 years, most of the Phoenix staff has been teenagers and young adults).
Petaluma, California
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. In the 2010 Census the population was 57,941.Located in Petaluma is the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San...
which has been in existence since 1905, and has been subject to many changes in both structure and purpose, mostly due to severe damage caused by multiple fires.
History
The Phoenix Theater first opened in 1905 as the Hill Opera House. Although the theater had good business, and many famous acts of the day performed there (Harry HoudiniHarry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
, Enrico Caruso, and Lily Langtree, etc), it was nearly destroyed by a fire in the early 1900s. Consequently, the theater had to be shut down. By 1935, it had been restored and opened as a movie theater. The building was purchased by California Movie Theater around 1935 and was continued to be used as such. On August 5, 1957, another fire took the roof of the building. The building was restored and renamed the Showcase Theater by the Tocchini family and soon after, the first live concert was put on at the theater by Petaluma native, Jeff Dorenfeld. The Tocchinis employed a boy named Tom Gaffey, who managed to get rehired by Ken Frankel after Ken bought the theater in 1982. Gaffey was then the theater manager. He renamed the theater the Phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
because the building seemed to ‘rise from the ashes.’
In the early 1980s, movies continued to be shown at the theater and live music was played late at night. There were performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
and The Ramones, along with then-local bands Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Farallon, Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle was an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records and...
, Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
and Primus
Primus (band)
Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...
. Other bands like Victims Family, The Conspiracy
The Conspiracy
The Conspiracy is a 1916 drama film featuring Harry Carey.-Cast:* Harry Carey* Edith Johnson* Lee Shumway - * Edwin Wallock -...
, Disciples of Ed, the Circle Jerks
Circle Jerks
The Circle Jerks are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Los Angeles, California. It was formed by Black Flag's original singer, Keith Morris, and future Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson. They were among the preeminent hardcore punk bands of the L.A. scene in the late 1970s.The band...
and The Distillers
The Distillers
The Distillers were an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1998. They released their first two albums on Hellcat Records/Epitaph Records before moving to Sire, part of the Warner Music Group. The Distillers were originally formed by Australian-born Brody Armstrong , a woman with a...
drew audiences. Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
played their last show at The Phoenix, and a memorial to lead singer, Bradley Nowell
Bradley Nowell
Bradley James Nowell was an American musician who served as lead singer and guitarist of the Californian band Sublime. He died at the age of 28 from a heroin overdose shortly before the release of Sublime's self-titled major label debut.Raised in Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an...
, can be found backstage, tagged on a wall by the Long Beach Dub Allstars
Long Beach Dub Allstars
The Long Beach Dub Allstars were a dub reggae/ska/rock band formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2002.-History:Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh met in childhood and later started their first garage punk band, consisting of drums, bass and vocals. They later formed Sublime with Brad Nowell...
. Sir Mix-a-Lot
Sir Mix-a-Lot
Anthony Ray , better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an emcee and producer based in Seattle, Washington. The founder of the Nastymix record label, he debuted in 1988 with Swass...
played at The Phoenix, as did The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
. To this day, the Phoenix continues to bring in established artists as well as local favorites such as Resilience, The Velvet Teen
The Velvet Teen
-History:The Velvet Teen was founded by Judah Nagler and Logan Whitehurst as a side project from their other bands, Tin Circus and Little Tin Frog. Judah and Logan recorded the EP Comasynthesis, which had a prominent electronic sound, in 2000...
, and Toast Machine.
In the late 1990s, its landlord announced plans to sell the Phoenix Theater for demolition and reconstruction as an office building, despite public opposition. The sale was in escrow
Escrow
An escrow is:* an arrangement made under contractual provisions between transacting parties, whereby an independent trusted third party receives and disburses money and/or documents for the transacting parties, with the timing of such disbursement by the third party dependent on the fulfillment of...
when four employees from Cerent Corporation
Cerent Corporation
Cerent Corporation was an optical equipment maker based in Petaluma, California. It was founded in 1997 as Fiberlane Communications with three divisions: Systems in Petaluma, Chip Design in Redwood City, California and Network Management Systems in Burnaby, British Columbia...
, whom were all musicians and two of which were former Phoenix Theater frequenters, intervened and took over the escrow. With other leading local citizens, they established the non-profit Petaluma Phoenix Center, Inc, to not only own The Phoenix Theater, but preserve and expand the services the Phoenix provides to its community. These services include, but are not limited to, a free weekly health clinic for teens, free music and art programs, even an informal job mentoring program (for the past 20 years, most of the Phoenix staff has been teenagers and young adults).
Information
- The interior walls of the theater are covered in graffitiGraffitiGraffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
. A review on networkoftheapes.net describes them:
"The walls are tagged up and painted with everything from the simplest one color tag to entire paintings of mushrooms and other Alice in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in WonderlandAlice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
-themed drug references that gave the place a raw feel."
- There are skateboardSkateboardA skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
ramps on the sides of the two walls that run perpendicular to the stage. - The number of steps from the dressing room to the stage is three. This is usually satisfactory to national bands whose tour rider designates a certain number of stairs.
- During the day, the Phoenix serves as a safe place for local kids to hang out after school. After-school tutoring as well as a free health clinicClinicA clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
are offered a few days a week. - The Phoenix is also rumored to be haunted. Ghosts have been seen in the bathrooms, on the balcony, and in the backstage area. These sightings are rumored to be a reason why the balcony is closed and locked for most performances.
- AFIAFI (band)AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...
wrote a song about it called "The Days of the PhoenixThe Days of the Phoenix"The Days of the Phoenix" is a song by American rock band AFI. It was the only single released from their fifth studio album The Art of Drowning in 2000.-Background:...
", referring back to when they got their start at this theater. Members of the band have mentioned The Phoenix and even the manager, Tom Gaffey, in numerous interviews. In one such interview, Adam CarsonAdam CarsonAdam Alexander Carson is the drummer of the rock band AFI. He and Davey Havok are the two original members left in the lineup. Carson also filled in as drummer for the band Tiger Army. His drumming can be found on Tiger Army's Early Years EP as well as their debut album Tiger Army...
, after being asked his favorite venue to play, proclaims:
-
"The Phoenix in Petaluma is probably my favorite just because that is where I saw most of my first punk shows and there will always be a special place in my heart for it. Tom Gaffey, the guy that runs it, is a really, really good person who has given so much to Petaluma and the Nor Cal scene. He gave me five bucks for gas once before I ever knew him when I was stranded..."
- According to the band's lead singer, Davey HavokDavey HavokDavid Paden Marchand , more commonly known by the stage name Davey Havok, is the lead vocalist of the American rock band AFI and the electronic music band Blaqk Audio....
, The Phoenix is where the band had their initial reunion show in the 1990s; an event which would inspire the band to get back together and give full devotion towards a musical career as a band.