The Days When Tujunga Rocked

Traveling west on Foothill Boulevard one evening, approaching Commerce Avenue, a driver pressed the brakes as the traffic light went from green to yellow. While idling at the red light, the sound of music permeated the car from the passenger side. Rolling down the window, the beat permeated from the brick building on the southeast corner. The singer’s voice rang out: “And I ran, I ran so far away. I just ran, I ran all night and day, I couldn’t get away.”

The singer that evening of Aug. 24, 1990 was Mike Score, performing with his band A Flock of Seagulls. The venue was the Nite Rock Club Café at 7179 Foothill Blvd. in Tujunga. The haircut, once described as being “stranger than anything you’d be likely to encounter in a month of poodle shows,” was long gone. The band that had once filled major arenas was now relegated to smaller venues like the Nite Rock Club Café.

Opening in the late 1980s, numerous groups performed at this foothills rock-and-roll club. Scanning through the bands, I could identify those that made an appearance there were mainly independent regional bands that had limited success. Bands like Tres Flores, The Innocent, X-Piracy, Nickel Slick, Tick Tock Bang, Dirty Money, Crystal Rain, Shark Island, Helix, Clean Slate, Civil Defiance and Babylon A.D., just to name a dozen. 

The 8,000-square-foot venue boasted a restaurant, an intimate stage, several pool tables, a large video screen and free parking and was located just minutes from La Crescenta, Glendale and Pasadena. Prior to its transformation into the Nite Rock Club Café, the building had served for many years as a Bank of America branch office. 

Of the names of those involved with the Nite Rock, one name caught my attention. She wasn’t a performer; she was responsible for rounding up the bands. At the bottom of many of the Club’s flyers was the text: “For booking information, call Gina.” Gina was Gina Zamparelli. Still in her 20s when the Nite Rock Club Café opened in 1988, she jumped right into the responsibilities of keeping this local club rocking, week after week.

While Gina cut her teeth at Tujunga’s small rock club, she went on to found Zamparelli Productions and became a trailblazing figure in the Southern California rock and heavy metal scenes. She established herself as the first female concert promoter to produce major venue shows with national touring acts in the United States. She is widely credited with helping put iconic bands on the map, producing early landmark shows for Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, RATT and Great White.

Under her guidance, international artists like U2, Tina Turner, Simple Minds, Fleetwood Mac and the Foo Fighters performed at Perkins Palace in Pasadena. Originally the Raymond Theater, this landmark 1921 venue was saved from destruction through the tireless efforts of Gina and others. For her efforts, she was presented with Pasadena’s Best Citizen of the Year Award.

Gina Zamparelli passed away at the young age of 59 after a short bout with brain cancer in 2018. I learned that as her family sorted through her large collection of rock memorabilia, several items emerged from her early days – when she was promoting and booking talent at the Nite Rock Club Café on Foothill Boulevard. The Nite Rock closed its doors for good in 1993 and the days when Tujunga rocked came to an end.