Musonia North Hollywood, CA
I was in the area so I drove by to see the old Musonia, sure seems like 100 years ago I was there every week (for 2 years) taking lessons from Randy. I have written info on this somewhere on this blog, but we apparently played too loud, and when there were singing lessons going on, people learning the flute and other things that benefit from a quieter environment, Randy’s mom would have us play in the back.
I believe it was that door on the left, second photo. And even then, she still would sometimes stick her head in the door sometimes and ask us to turn it down🤣
I eventually got use to just going in through the back to that room, Delores would get mad at me and say I had to check in in the front first (she had a bulldog side to her😆), so sometimes I would go in up front, other times I just wanted to give Randy something first and we naturally would just start playing. I always brought Randy something, whether it was more guitar picks, I still have one from back then (purely by accident), or I’d bring him a new classical/spanish guitar record I knew he’d like. I saw a photo of his room at home and noticed the records are still there, I took classical guitar lessons from him at his mom’s house in Burbank (Killer & Zero was it?). When I was taking electric guitar lessons, those would be at Musonia and during the summer I would bring him those giant Big Gulp’s, always with Extra ice, he loved chewing on the ice.
Check out the cool old Musonia neon logo on the right side of the building, way back in the day, pre-1960′s, and probably before there was a building to the right (gate w/red sticker) there might have been an empty lot there and that sign would be glaring out on a busy main thoroughfare street, Laurel Canyon (yes that one).
I should probably contact Kelle and reconnect with him and let him know I was the guy that brought Randy those records, I use to work at Music+ in Glendale and the stickers are still on those albums, I also have my calendar from back when I was a teenager and it reflects my lessons scheduled with Randy. Lastly, in the 80′s one of my best friends was in a band with Kelle, I think they might have been named Black Rose, but truly can’t remember.
Update: I just wandered across the bottom photo (Google), you could see that neon sign from Laurel Canyon back in the day.