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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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 OBITUARY 
5

Brendan Mullen, Who Gave LA Punk a Stage, Dead at 60

His club, Masque, hosted some of scene's top acts

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(Newser) – Brendan Mullen, owner of a club that helped launch Los Angeles’ punk-rock scene, died today of a stroke at age 60. Mullen also authored books on the musical movement, Variety notes, including We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. The native Scotsman opened the Masque in 1977; it hosted the likes of X, the Germs, the Go-Go’s and the Alleycats.

"You may not know his name, or his face, or the sound of his voice," Jeff Penalty noted for Swindle, "but Brendan Mullen’s status as an icon was cemented long ago by one simple thing: his ability to be 'in the wrong place at the right time. Or is it the other way around?'"

Brendan Mullen, left, founder of the Hollywood club Masque.
Brendan Mullen, left, founder of the Hollywood club Masque.   (Kip Brown)
Brendan Mullen.
Brendan Mullen.   (Wikimedia Commons)
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5 comments
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thejanet
Oct 13, 09 12:07 AM CDT
So right, I didn't know his name or face, it's not the kind of music I follow, but we owe a debt to Brendan Mullen.Any genre of any art form needs a place to grow into whatever it is meant to be. We're all connected, and in the arts, anything stifled is something lost. So thank you Brendan Mullen. May you rest in peace and rise in glory. Reply
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riffran
Oct 13, 09 6:58 AM CDT
wonder what caused him to stroke at only 60?..Bless his heart, that's young Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
mainlander
Oct 13, 09 7:19 AM CDT
You can have a stroke at any age. I had one at 55.
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IN RESPONSE:
jagerhans
Oct 13, 09 8:10 AM CDT
once we were drinking something outside a pub. the young owner (in his thirties) approached and started hollering at us because we could not carry glasses outside, menaced us and forced us to pay and leave. one of us told him his karma was going to get really bad in a very short time. after 2 days the bar owner had a stroke and died quickly . we are still laughing and pissing over the grave of that dipshit in a bum power trip. of course we also never, never get into an argument with the spooky karma guy.
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riffran
Oct 13, 09 9:17 AM CDT
sorry about that early stroke..I hope there were no lasting residual effects...maybe I should have quantified my general question a little better...I was curious as to what might have precipated a stroke at that age....underlying factors can be numerous, life style, factors such as drug abuse, obesity, anger management (as in Jagers example) coupled with something else can do it. A arterial venous malformation in the brain (AVM) severely fubarred a nurse I worked with when she was in her 20's, and pregnant..uncontrolled igh blood pressure, plaque build up in the caratoid artery, certain heart conditions such as A-fib (top part of the heart doesnt pump, just quivers..and throws clots on occasion)...the list could go on...just wondering
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