Desperados Under The Eaves: A Tour of L.A.’s Best Songwriter Haunts

Genghis Cohen

One of the best listening rooms in the city is also a Chinese restaurant. Genghis Cohen, which booker Jay Tinsky describes as “church-like and intimate,” is one of the most respected venues in the entire city for new solo acts looking to break it big. Over the last 25 years, Tinsky has hosted many soon-to-be-famous singer-songwriters’ first ever shows at the 60-seat capacity room, including Sara Bareilles and Lissie. With its prime Hollywood location, it’s not out of the ordinary for huge names like Jackson Browne, James Taylor, and Bonnie Raitt to sit in and perform.

On most nights, though, you’ll find a slew of young solo acts trying to make a splash. As Tinsky explains, to land a gig you’re going to want to prove you can draw a crowd. As a piece of advice, he suggests not spreading yourself too thin by overbooking. “You don’t want to play a million shows around town, because your friends aren’t going to come out to every single show.”

Tinsky likes his booking requests to look professional, but not excessively so. “I don’t want some hack submission saying, ‘Hey, I want to play there,’ but I also don’t want a submission with a 20-page document attached to it.” The sweet spot, he says, is a simple, slick, one-page submission with Youtube links (video preferred) and an “honest estimate” of how many people they can bring to the show. Another tip: don’t bother asking for an opening slot for a big act. For a venue this small, the big names always play unannounced, so focus on bringing your own crowd, rather than relying on someone else’s.

Cinema Bar

Over on the west side of town, the must-play destination for any traditionally minded singer-songwriter is the Cinema Bar, a tiny dive with great acoustics that hosts live music seven nights a week. “It’s a home for Americana artists in L.A,” says Grant, who has been visiting the bar for years. “Every Americana artist that comes to town either visits or plays there.” Part of the bar’s glowing reputation comes from its storied history: Dwight Yoakam, Randy Weeks, and Lucinda Williams are just a few of the past frequenters of the dingy Culver City hangout. “I remember Lucinda drunk off her ass and still fantastic,” says Chuck Saltzman, who has been performing, bartending, and hanging around at the bar for the past twenty years.

The one major tip for getting booked at this country music mainstay is to avoid e-mail entirely. The bar’s owner, Rod, doesn’t use the internet and only books shows in person (and occasionally, via telephone). “Come in and meet Rod, get to know the place, meet some of the bands that play here. You’ll be an opening act for someone in no time,” says Saltzman, who has a regular gig at the bar. “Cinema Bar is pretty much about booking good people, because good people make good musicians.”

Honkytonk Hacienda

Local booker Suzanne O’Keeffe began organizing a weekly night of country, folk, and roots music at El Cid in Silverlake in the fall of 2013. Each Thursday night at 9:30, the 200 capacity bar and restaurant hosts one of the city’s best Americana nights, featuring unproven local singer-songwriters and national touring bands alike. There are usually two acts per night, and O’Keeffe works hard to ensure she creates a cohesive night of music, so she is constantly looking for local opening acts that fit with her headliners.

O’Keeffe prefers to meet potential acts in person or see them live for herself, but she does take email requests for bookings, and has a few suggestions: include links to performance videos, and show off your basic online presence, even if it’s just a Facebook page. “They don’t have to be posting every day. I’m just looking to see that they’re proud of what they’re doing. If they’re not excited about playing my show, how am I supposed to get people excited?”

If you’re new to town and haven’t yet developed a reliable local fanbase, Honkytonk Hacienda might be a good place to try to land an opening gig: Because the venue charges a small cover (usually $5), O’Keeffe doesn’t have to rely as heavily on her acts bringing their own audience, like many of the free-admission clubs do. “Between learning their own music and rehearsing, they’ve got enough else to do without worrying about ensuring a big crowd,” she says. “My main focus is, ‘Are they good?’”

This article appears in our November/December 2014 issue. Subscribe here.