“Of all the bands who came through here says Doug Schultz, the former Director of Operations at 4th and B. “It was the guys in Ratt who had the biggest egos.”
Schultz, also known as “Dutch” is the only employee who has worked at 4th and B from its very first concert (Crosby, Stills and Nash) until it was recently acquired by House of Blues in August.
“I was first hired as a security guard. My job was the artist dressing room door. One year later I became Assistant Manager to Billy Bob (Bill Buhrkuhl). When Billy would go out on doctor related leaves, I would run the club . . . . Eventually I became responsible for all aspects of the business during the events.”
4th and B opened for business in 1995. They hosted approximately 1900 shows and almost 2 million people walked through those doors. Through it all there was Dutch. He gave me the rundown of the best and worst of the people, bands and events that rolled through there:
Coolest Artists (Ringo Starr, BB King, Eddie Money, Berlin, Cheech Marin, The Cult, and Tommy Lee): “Tommy Lee showed up a few hours prior to his DJ club night. He was very polite in asking me for a drink and we had a great conversation. Throughout the evening he was very accommodating to meeting people and signing autographs to those who requested with no attitude whatsoever. He even joked about the fact that he was not the best DJ.”
Biggest Disappointments (Quiet Riot, Vince Neil of Motley Crue, The Amazing Kreskin): “Kreskin’s mind reading was way off and his show became embarrassing. He did one skit where someone wrote a number on a piece of paper and he predicted the wrong number. There were no oohhs and aahhs that you would expect, just silence, and some laughs when his predictions and answers were not correct. Most of the audience left before the end of the show.”
Biggest Egos (Don Dokken, Vanilla Ice, Dio, Bon Jovi, Dwight Yokum, and the aforementioned Ratt): “During sound checks, Ratt tried to bully the opening act, a local band called Cage. For instance, as the two bands crossed paths at the back door, Ratt expected the guys in Cage to stand aside and let them walk out. They ended up bumping into one another which almost caused a fight in the parking lot. Ratt demanded that the opening band be scratched after both bands had already sound checked.”
Biggest Asshole (Zack Wylde – Ozzy Osbourne’s former guitarist):
“Zack came into the office along with his band and some of his crew with open beer bottles yelling at Billy Bob about the venue being 21-and-up. He kept threatening Billy that he wanted his younger fans to come to the show. He didn’t ask or anything, he just came in and shouted, ‘Hey motherfucker don’t you know my fans are under 21,’ and ‘What do you think Ozzy is gonna say about this? You wouldn’t tell Ozzy he couldn’t have his younger fans in here.’
I was at my desk at the far end of the office. I finally stood up and approached Zack and yelled, ‘Who the fuck do you think you’re shouting at? This is a 21-and-up venue and there is nothing we can do about it. You’re just pissed because of low ticket sales! . . . ‘ He continued to be difficult to work with throughout the night.”
Biggest Entourage (Too Short): “He must have had about 50 or 60 people with him. They all just pulled up in an entourage of SUV’s. Everyone expected to get in the back door and when they couldn’t, they forced their way in.”
Most Lascivious Raves (Gay Pride): “Every year, during Gay Pride weekend, we catch about half a dozen patrons having illegal sexual contact, usually oral, in the upper part of the Mezzanine or in the restroom stalls. We generally just kick them out. When the event is over we find dozens and dozens of used condoms on the floor.”
Most Paranoid Performer (Greg Allman): “From the first time he played there, he acted paranoid. He said that someone was trying to kill him. We tried to find out what he was talking about but he wasn’t making any sense. The second time he came, he told me there was a woman in the crowd who was stalking him. ‘She’s been following me all over the country,’ he said. He had a good description of her though, so I went into the crowd and found her. I went up to her and asked who she was and she said she was his daughter. I asked to see her driver’s license and sure enough her last name was Allman.”
Most Out-of-It Performers (Eddie Griffin, Courtney Love, Leon Russell): “Leon Russell was a total burn out, totally unable to carry on a conversation, just mumbled. He fell asleep in his car for five hours and had to be woken up to do his show.”
Most Weed Smokers in Audience (George Clinton):
“Everyone who comes thinks it’s part of the show to light up a bomber. It’s a ritual when you see George. He plays for 3 or 4 hours so the smoke builds up so much you can’t even see the stage.”
Most Drug Overdoses (Club Rubber):
“About 8 years ago, the after hours exotic club scene was peaking in San Diego. The king of all clubs back then was Club Rubber. . . This was a time when designer club drugs were new [on the scene] and information regarding them and their interaction with alcohol and other drugs was not well known. At our first of several Club Rubbers [we had] four overdoses. [The girls] were found either passed out or lying on the floor, their bodies twitching. They were young leggy girls with very short skirts. Each time it happened, an ambulance, fire truck, and police car would arrive and treat the victim. . . . After the fourth call, a SDPD detective told me, ‘One more overdose and this event is done.’ At the next Club Rubber the SDPD vice conducted a sting operation. They had a command post set-up down the street with an operative wearing a wire who would solicit patrons for drugs. When a buy would go down, several of the officers would run in through the back door and arrest the person selling the drugs.”
Weirdest Acts (Boy George, Dr. Michael Dean, Gwar, The Cramps): “Dr. Michael Dean is a famous hypnotist with a large ego and onset of Alzheimer’s. Boy George was a gay cross-dresser who came on to our male staff. Gwar had skits involving famous people being beheaded, testicles being cut off, hearts being pulled out, and fake blood squirting into the crowd. Their show consisted of 4, fifty gallon drums of fake blood and guts which squirted out from the bodies of different characters during the show. The clean-up was enormous. It involved 6 janitors and took 3 hours with large Wet Vacs and mops. At least they covered the walls with plastic and moved the couches out of range.”
Most Surreal Undercover Operation (Whiplash Bash): “We rented the venue to someone who put on a fetish event called, “Whiplash Bash.” About 350 people from all over the world paid $50 each. They all came dressed in leather and fetish attire. There was a fashion show and booths with photographers and people selling fetish items. An undercover sting was taking place with the SDPD. They had two undercover officers present. One was a female officer with high heels and a leather leash attached to a collar around the neck of a male officer who was dressed with an all leather and spiked outfit. Toward the end of the show the event was raided by several plain clothed police officers who issued citations to 2 female patrons, one for having her breasts exposed and the other for engaging in sexual contact with another patron. 4TH & B ended up closing for a two week period as a result.”
Scariest Moment (Tony Yayo, Super Bowl Party): “The Super Bowl party was in January 2003, when the Raiders played the Buccaneers in San Diego. 50 Cent was the biggest name playing. People rushed the back entrance. Some people who appeared to be in his entourage pulled automatic weapons to try to get into the club and VIP area. When they couldn’t get in they started throwing bottles at those who were inside. Fights erupted. SDPD surrounded the venue with 75 officers with riot sticks. They closed down the street, and had helicopters flying overhead.
“Another scary moment was during gangster rapper Tony Yayo’s show. Yayo was a member of the Crips. SDPD told me [after the fact] that San Diego is more of a Blood city. 50 Cent came onstage flashing his signs and wearing his colors. We had an all out riot and some patrons were hurt. The bar staff were scared, some to the point of crying. Some hid behind their bars. It was an ugly scene that cost Wayne Reynolds [in house urban promoter] his job.”
Shortest Performance (Big Pun – 20 minutes).
Highest Paid (Crosby, Stills and Nash, Kenny Loggins, Ringo Starr, The Doobie Brothers).
Stupidest/Weirdest Customer Complaints: “The person who wanted their money back after the show because it was too loud, or the one who wanted me to stop the show to find the person who pushed them. Another good one was when a woman and her friend stole somebody’s seats. When they returned they asked the woman and her friend to move. The woman called for management and I came over and told her to relinquish the seat.
‘Then I want my money back,’ she said.
‘let me see your tickets,’ I asked.
She showed me the tickets and I saw they were comped so I told her, ‘OK, no problem, just return these tickets to your point of purchase.’ That seemed to satisfy her.”
Ed Decker
11/03/06
Thanks for this article Ed. I used to go to 4th and B quite a bit but things aren’t the same there anymore. Fun article though.