Icehouse owner hopes to avoid eviction as music scene rallies around Eat Street venue

Table Of Content

• It’s back! Fan-favorite taco sauce returns to Arcadia’s Taco Lita
• Cocaine, heroin, mushrooms, 4 guns, $30K found at Pasadena home
• 'Fluffy' to headline Ice House comedy club grand reopening
• The Conga Room welcomed Latin luminaries for 25 years. Why club founders say it’s time to let it rest
• PASADENA EVENTS & THINGS TO DO CALENDAR
• Meet the Owner
• Virtual Schools Pasadena

"Pandemic support money ran out, and the club community has taken awhile to rebuild, both in terms of event bookings and getting big crowd turnout." Congress' Shuttered Venue Operator Grant program (aka SVOG, aka Save Our Stages). That helped make up for lost revenue during the COVID-19 shutdown, but it did not cover more recent challenges. Many comedians go on to star in other improv style comedic ventures, such as “Saturday Night Live.” Enjoying a show at The Groundlings is kind of like getting a look at a future star.

It’s back! Fan-favorite taco sauce returns to Arcadia’s Taco Lita

With the club’s revival, Buss says live music and other events will play a role in the monthly bookings including jazz, reggae and country nights. Buss has had a long and distinguished career in professional sports, serving as president of the Los Angeles Sparks, the team that won back-to-back WNBA Championships. He was also president of Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League, and hopes to bring his decades of business experience to America’s longest-running comedy club with the intention of giving it another 60 vibrant years of life. For Margaret Cho, the club’s first big headliner to perform Thursday night, the details in a comedy club make the comic’s experience and the fan experience feel like they're being taken seriously. Finally, burnt out on sports and other ventures before the pandemic, Buss decided to revive the comedy club dream, buying the Ice House in 2019 from longtime owner Bob Fisher, who was retiring. The club sat in limbo until recently — during which time Buss' mother, JoAnn Mueller, also passed away, before the club reopened.

Cocaine, heroin, mushrooms, 4 guns, $30K found at Pasadena home

The Lakers team co-owner Johnny Buss is now the owner of the Ice House. "I just wanted it to survive in the spot where it originated," he said. "It's a beautiful venue now," said Kevin Dorse who was at a show Friday night. The VIP room, which can also view the main showroom, can hold up to 20 people.

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'Fluffy' to headline Ice House comedy club grand reopening

Talking with patrons at the bar after the gig, Icehouse owner Brian Liebeck said he remains hopeful a lawsuit threatening to evict him over unpaid rent is not the end of the line for his supper club-style music venue. Cobb’s Comedy Club is one of two dedicated comedy clubs in San Francisco. Comedians that appear are often recognizable from their comedy specials or cracking jokes with Late Night TV show hosts or appearing in roles in movies and TV shows.

The team’s name stemmed from the up-and-coming laser light show industry which he believed would depict a perfect synergy of the lightning-fast pace of indoor soccer. It became a pre-game ritual for every Lazer’s home game to have a laser show displayed on the walls of the Forum. This even intrigued Neil Diamond enough to visit the Lazers offices in order to investigate and ultimately incorporate this new laser technology into his own onstage live performances. Now Buss is bringing all of his successful, trail blazing experience to the Ice House with the intent to increase the legendary status that is already a part of this iconic comedy club while living out his lifetime dream of owning a comedy club. Though the Ice House is known as a place for comedy, it was also a stage where folk acts, magicians and other performers wielded wands and banjos, honing their craft in the ‘60s and ‘70s before stand-up emerged as the entertainment of choice.

Johnny hopes the Ice House will invigorate Playhouse Village’s entertainment scene, and will spill over into activation and fun at Playhouse Village Park as well. The Ice House sponsored the hugely successful Summer 2022 Jazz at the Park concert series in the newly opened Park. Johnny Buss capped the evening with an auction of exclusive items for the benefit of Playhouse Village Foundation.

An Open Letter from Johnny Buss, Owner of Ice House Comedy in Pasadena - US Rocker®

An Open Letter from Johnny Buss, Owner of Ice House Comedy in Pasadena.

Posted: Sun, 06 Feb 2022 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Meet the Owner

Among performers who have recorded some of the more than 75 live albums at the club are the Smothers Brothers, Gallagher, Lily Tomlin, Pat Paulsen, Richard Jeni and George Lopez. Since 2009, Cool Beans Comedy has become the gold-standard in teaching comedy. Past graduates have appeared on America’s Got Talent, Netflix, Nickelodeon, Disney, FOX, Comedy Central, SiriusXM, as well as comedy festivals and clubs across the country. Industry and casting directors regularly observe our classes and shows to discover the next crop of top comedic talent. Mike Michel, guitarist for the Orange Goodness, called Icehouse "a lightning rod for many" and said Liebeck "championed underground music in every genre.

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After a year and a half of supply chain-riddled construction delays and permit delays through the city of Pasadena, Buss expects the Ice House to be ready in early February. His new renovations come with a new era for the Ice House that will include not just comedy, but live music, dancing and stage-show productions. Growing up in the age of early television, watching comedy icons like Bob Hope and Jack Benny, Buss recalled that stand-up was something his family could enjoy. So, when Buss retired from co-owning the LA Lakers, he purchased Pasadena’s iconic Ice House Comedy Club off North Mentor Avenue. To mark the special occasion, a ribbon-cutting ceremony organized by the Pasadena Chamber will take place followed by a weekend of sold-out shows featuring headliner Gabriel Iglesias.

As fans of comedy, Johnny and Jerry had seriously discussed opening a comedy club together in the past. So after purchasing The Ice House in 2019 — and giving it a $4 million facelift during a three-year closure, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic — Buss finally has the club he and his father had always dreamed about. PASADENA, Calif. — The Ice House, regarded as the oldest comedy club in the country, has been given a new lease on life under the new ownership of Johnny Buss.

In 2019 The Ice House increased its LEGENDARY status when it was purchased by Johnny Buss. Son of Dr. Jerry Buss and co-owner of LA’s most iconic professional sports team the Los Angeles Lakers. While president of the Los Angeles Sparks the team brought back-to-back WNBA Championships to the city of champions. Prior to the Sparks Buss served as president of Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

From 1960 to 1978, The Ice House, originally managed by Keith Pearce, aka, O'Brien, was a folk music club with acts coming from around the country to perform. In 1978, the original owners were bought out by a trio of investors led by Bob Fisher who changed the format of the club to stand-up comedy. The Ice House, known as the oldest comedy club in the United States, features a brand-new inside that is completely renovated.

When the lights hit the stage and he was finally able to open the doors to the legendary Ice House comedy club in Pasadena on Feb. 16, new owner Johnny Buss admitted that while the audience was laughing, he was getting a little emotional. Originally opened in 1960 as a folk music venue that occasionally hosted comedians, the Ice House transformed into a stand-up comedy club in 1978. Since opening in 1960, many well known comedians have graced the Ice House Comedy Club stage. As the oldest comedy club in the nation, Ice House Comedy Pasadena recently saw a renovation under new ownership from Johnny Buss, featuring updated interiors and a whole new entrance while preserving the historic structures and design elements. Headliner Johnny Buss shared his 40-year passion for comedy clubs, beginning as a pledge with his father, the late Dr. Jerry Buss, to whom the reborn Ice House is now dedicated.

As COVID-19 shut down business after business, Johnny took this as an opportunity to launch The Ice House into a whirlwind of amazing renovations. “When you’re almost the pinnacle of sports ownership, what do you do? And my dad and I used to sit around and say, what we need to do is buy a variety club and have comics and magicians and maybe a singer, come out and just really have a really great evening. And we used to talk about that literally for the last 40 years,” he recounted.

Since the club originally opened as a live music venue in 1960, Buss also plans on bringing live music back, too, with weekly jazz, reggae, pop and country nights starting in the next few months. Buss brought back the laughs in February and plans to broaden the club’s offerings with live music and other events in the future. PASADENA, Calif. — One of the oldest comedy clubs in the country will celebrate its grand reopening Friday after quietly relaunching in February. The walls of The Ice House are adorned with photos of comedians who have graced its stage, and the venue boasts a new menu and updated bar offerings.