1993. River Phoenix, 23, is the Kurt Cobain of US cinema, subscribed to the right roles for great directors, overflowing with talent and purity but resisting success and the system. To forget all this, as well as his childhood in a cult, Joaquin Phoenix’s brother goes to the Viper Room, a nightclub located on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood that his friend Johnny Depp has just opened (he will be the co-owner until 2004) on the night (Halloween) of October 30 to 31, around 1 a.m. Depp describes the place as “a little underground club where you can listen to good music without having to endure the bad taste of others and the stupid songs of a stupid DJ.” He named it the Viper Room after a bunch of pot-smoking buddy musicians who called themselves the “Vipers.”
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That evening, River invited some acquaintances to come see Flea, the bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, play. The evening progresses and River has fun in his own way, either by taking various substances in the bathroom with his friends and drug dealers. Johnny Depp and Flea are performing on stage when they see their friend staggering away. They follow him but it is already too late. In front of the club, the blonde head collapses following violent convulsions. Phoenix succumbs to an overdose on his helpless sister Rain, brother Joaquin, girlfriend Samantha Mathis, actress Christina Applegate (who ran the bar that night) and Flea. River was officially declared dead at 1:51 am His body was found eight times the lethal dose of cocaine and four times the lethal dose of heroin as well as marijuana, valium and ephedrine. Can the Viper be reborn from the ashes of the Phoenix, while the place becomes the sordid playground for tourists and paparazzi wanting to see the scene of the crime?
The exterior of the Viper Room the day after actor River Phoenix died – Getty Images
Place to be
But no, the death of the young actor adored by a whole disillusioned generation will not prevent the place from becoming the epicenter of all hip Hollywood. On the contrary, it only becomes more mythical. To return, it is better to be part of the young elite of promising actors or popular musicians, the room can only contain 250 happy few. Kate Moss, Jennifer Aniston, Sean Penn, Lisa Marie Presley, Jared Leto, Jim Jarmush, Naomi Campbell, Hunter S. Thompson, Angelina Jolie, Chris Rock, Marilyn Manson, Michael Keaton, Ellen DeGeneres, Rosario Dawson, Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio walked through the completely black painted storefront to vibrate to the sound of rock, punk, hardcore and metal concerts. It is said of the Viper that its audience is more famous than its musicians. It was not quite true. Among the lives, the club invited, at the request of Depp, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers during the opening night. He also hosted in 1997 the rare solo lives of John Frusciante, the genius guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers then in very bad condition because of his drug addiction. The hall closed its doors after the new year 1999 for a small facelift, and for its reopening, it was Courtney Love who gave a wild concert in the new decor, gone from black to creamy white. Among the audience, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, Drew Barrymore, Rosanna Arquette and Jennifer Aniston. The Pussycat Dolls performed their burlesque performances from 1995 to 2001. The last year of their residency, Gwen Stefani accompanied them on stage and Cameron Diaz, Christina Aguilera, and Alicia Silverstone danced in the crowd, among the girls in heels and red lipstick. The night Johnny Cash sang in 1993 was in front of Sean Penn, Tom Petty, Juliette Lewis, and Johnny Depp. Beside unknown formations, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Corgan, John Mayer, Oasis, Green Day, Billy Idol, Sheryl Crow, The Knack, Run DMC, Iggy Pop, and Lenny Kravitz took the microphone, often for shows improvised. Some bartenders were also celebrities. Adam Duritz, the singer of the Counting Crows, served pints from 1994 to 1995, when he was already known, so much the place had such a cool aura.
Haunted house
But those who go there know it. The Viper Room has a reputation for being cursed, and its venom can prove deadly. In addition to the drama Phoenix, one of the former co-owners, Anthony Fox, died in his office in 2001, while Michael Hutchence and Timothy Leary both died shortly after performing within the walls of the Viper. Four months after River’s disappearance, the celebrity columns recounted the fight between the star of “Baywatch” Nicole Eggert and another girl over a boyfriend in common. On October 1, 1996, a paparazzo photographed Mick Jagger shoveling Uma Thurman. The photographer is pushed violently towards the exit by the bodyguard of the singer of the Stones who confiscates the film from him. That same year, rocker Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe) was found guilty (and convicted) after violently freeing photographer Henry Trappler from the club who had tried to film him with his wife, Pamela Anderson. It must be said that the place has a troubled past. In the location where it is today, there was a jazz bar called the Melody Room in the 1940s. Mafiosi Bugsy Siegel and Mickey Cohen dragged their chic suits there while drinking liquor. In the late ’60s and early’ 70s, it attracted hippies under the name Filthy McNasty’s, and in the ’80s it became the Central, a punk / new wave venue popular with alcoholics that was the backdrop for the movie Valley. Girl, with Nicolas Cage. In 1991, Oliver Stone shot scenes from his film The Doors there to recreate London Fog, a nightclub less known than Whiskey A Go-Go (but located next door), where Jim Morrison’s group premiered. performances in 1966. The Viper Room was already shaping up to be the scene of blood, tears, scandals and the abuse of toxic substances.
Viper to the point (unbridled atmosphere)
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And who says Thanatos says Eros. Next to tragedies, the Viper is renowned for its very erotic atmosphere. It must be said that its intimate side and its dark walls lend themselves to this. Inside, there were only five vinyl benches in a long time, and one of them was permanently reserved for Depp’s agent and friends with a bronze plaque warning kindly: “Don’t f *** with it. “In addition to Johnny’s knowledge, people came for the girls, starlets in need of rock’n’roll it seems very beautiful and stylish, Hollywood obliges. Wednesday (and some Monday) nights were the most popular, with themed nights called “Mr. Moo’s Adventure,” after Depp’s dog’s name. The night “women in prison” transformed the VIP corner into a cell. Another night, the club was completely changed into an airplane, another, its walls were covered with aluminum, or it was decreed that it was carnival when you did not meet men disguised as snowmen or mimes. Anything big. Among these evenings, the “Dating Game” parties in the 90s remain the hottest. For one of them, bartender Richmond Arquette asked his younger brother, actor David Arquette, to be the bachelor of the night. In a very “turn round” atmosphere, Richmond had written questions for her brother to ask the other girls, including this one, who made David burst out laughing: “I like to masturbate for hours until I risk dying. dehydration. And you, what do you like to do with your free time? “. Another night, the handsome and dark comedian Norman Reedus (seen in “The Walking Dead”) lent in the game. One of the singles was actually a Mexican transsexual but she had the best answers. Suddenly, a good player, he would have kissed him wildly. You have been warned, if you are passing through California soon, it is better to come single, and remember this sentence well: “Everything that happens at the Viper, stays at the Viper.” “
The Viper Room
8852 Sunset Blvd,
West Hollywood
California 90069
http://www.viperroom.com
Open from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Instructions: you must be over 21 years old to enter, and it is better to make a phone call first.
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