In praise of Madame Wong

While we're on a bit of a music jag, Esther Wong was the godmother of punk in Los Angeles. Her restaurant-clubs in Chinatown and Santa Monica would be in the rock hall of fame if they did such things for L.A. venues. A blogger at You Offend Me You Offend My Family remembers the old days:

When the Polynesian bands she first started booking at her establishments weren’t bringing in customers, she turned to rock acts, saw her business take off and a legend was born. These are some of the acts that played at her clubs, many of whom got their first breaks there: The Police, The Motels, The Knack, Guns N’ Roses, X, The Go-Gos, Oingo Boingo, Black Flag, Fear and The Red Hot Chili Peppers....

I had to be a part of that scene. Music was my life. Music was what kept me sane. Music was my only friend as I moved from school to school; trying my best to fit in as (usually) the only Asian kid. The only problem was you had to be 21 to get into Madame Wong’s clubs and, well, I was barely in junior high. I won’t go into the highly illegal details of how, but I found a way in.

The other thing you need to know about Wong was that she may have looked like a demure Chinese grandmother but she had the meanest temper I’ve ever seen....

Interesting encounter with Debbie Harry later in the post. Wong, who died in 2005, didn't much care for female singers early on, calling them "no good, always trouble."