Sunset Boulevard may be the street of dreams, but it’s also its own kind of History Channel. In fact, the newly-opened Keys venue, which Los Angeles-based hospitality and lifestyle marketing company The h.wood Group debuted on the Sunset Strip in August, would make for an amazing chapter. Years before it became the latest dance club on the famed boulevard, the space was known as Gazzarri’s Hollywood a Go Go nightclub, where it hosted early performances by The Doors, Van Halen, and other bands before they were signed to major record labels.
Located at 9039 Sunset, a short stroll from the Whiskey, Roxy, and Viper Room, Keys – perhaps best known as The Key Club from 1998 to 2013 – is today a multi-hyphenate music venue that captures the pedigree, glamour, and vivacious energy that has shaped the city’s legendary nightlife culture for decades, through The h.wood Group’s signature lens. The site has long been a hotbed for hearing good tunes, which is now extended by Keys. And the fact that the venue chose Clair Global’s Eighth Day Sound integration team to install an L-Acoustics A Series professional sound system suggests that it’s very aware of its place in music history.
“Keys is a multi-level space, with very different room geometries, so it had some audio challenges,” explains system designer Demetrius Moore, who spoke of the L-Acoustics A15i loudspeakers and LA12X amplified controllers that power them on two of the venue’s three floors. “All of the levels are aimed at EDM and dance music, and two of them, which have the A15i, can also be used for live music and live events. It’s primarily a dance club, but one that can be as flexible as needed, thanks to its versatile professional sound system.”
Spreading 12,420 square feet across three stories, each of Keys’ floors is equipped with its own bar and has access to the full-service kitchen. The main floor further features opera box-style balcony fixtures, while the top level welcomes guests to relish in the club energy, with their concert sound systems able to be fully connected or independent of each other – two very different environments or one big party, as the moment requires. “The space can do live-music shows, and musicians will recognize and appreciate that this is an L-Acoustics venue,” says Moore, who is perhaps best known among the live touring community as Drake’s [an Eighth Day Sound touring client] longtime front-of-house engineer. “Dance music or live music, the sound there is fantastic.”
The main floor’s system comprises three A15i per side, bolstered by eight ground-stacked SB18 IIi subs mounted into the face of the DJ stage, configured in four stacks, two high, assuring a world-class dance environment with plenty of thump. Coaxial X8 loudspeakers are also installed as delays while smaller 5XT are used as fills for what Moore says are the space’s various “nooks and crannies,” such as the balcony, and which together create a surround sensation. “It’s a true 360 effect,” he says. The second level uses a dozen X8 split into a left-right system, paired with both SB18 IIi and SB15m subs. “Each space is unique, and we designed the systems specifically for them,” says Moore. “At the same time, they can also work together as a single, multi-level setup.”
Keys is ready to make history all over again, with sound for the ages. “It’s all about impact and flexibility in the dance market,” says Moore, “and the L-Acoustics professional sound system gives Keys plenty of that.”
That sense of history is important to the club and to its parent organization, The h.wood Group. “Patrons who have heard the new system at Keys are shocked to hear sound this good in this part of town, which has a huge legacy in the entertainment business,” says Steven Kanemoto, audio visual manager for Keys and The h.wood Group. “There is nothing else like it in the West Hollywood area,” a place, he reminds, where musicians and industry celebrities traditionally have come to dance and have fun. “We wanted to build on that past and make it contemporary again, and that’s what the L-Acoustics system does.”
Kanemoto adds that he’s able to sense the joy that the reinvigorated Keys has brought to the storied neighborhood and to a new generation of clubgoers. “The h.wood Group is keenly aware of the history and legacy of its venues on Sunset, so the choice of L-Acoustics was carefully considered and confidently made,” he says. “After all, this is a city where people dream big, and you can’t dream any bigger than this.”
For details on Keys, visit www.hwoodgroup.com/portfolio/keys. Eighth Day Sound and Clair Global Integration can be found at www.8thdaysound.com and www.clairglobal.com/integration.
