Jean-Pierre Boccara

Jean-Pierre Boccara is a French-Italian-American nightclub and restaurant entrepreneur and artist known for founding several seminal clubs in Los Angeles, California. Lhasa Club, Lhasaland, Café Largo, and Luna Park were known for bookings across many genres, including: music, spoken word, comedy, cinema, cabaret, and pre-digital media art shows. These venues received critical acclaim not only for their range of groundbreaking acts, but also for their excellent cuisine and .

Born in Tunisia and raised in Paris, Boccara first came to Los Angeles in 1976 as a film student. He directed and produced two short films in Paris, L’Homme Désintégré (The Disintegrated Man) in 1978 and Par Exemple: Le Poison Dans l’ Eau (For Example: Poison in the Water) in 1979. Par Exemple: Le Poison Dans l’ Eau had its distribution rights revoked after being censored by the French government as "an apology for terror."

The three hundred person capacity multimedia space functioned as a stage, art gallery, cinema, special events venue, and café. The club was known for its eclectic and surprising bookings of original talent. Named by the LA Weekly "Best after hours hangout" in 1982, "Best avant-garde club" in 1983, and "Best cabaret" in 1984, the club was often covered in media outlets including KCRW, LA Weekly and the LA Times. The Lhasa Club emphasized visuals, film loops, slide shows, and handmade special effects.

It became a watering hole for both unknown and established artists, not only in all genres of music but also spoken word, comedy, cinema, cabaret, and painting. Some of the artists who appeared on Lhasa’s stage where: Ann Magnuson, Henry Rollins, Sandra Bernhard, Jane’s Addiction, Hubert Selby Jr., Nick Cave, Duran Duran, Christian Death, Kevin Costner, Exene Cervenka, Chris Isaak, Joey Arias, Thomas Dolby, The Kipper Kids, John Sex, Lypsinka, Lance Loud, The Fibonaccis, Lydia Lunch, Angie Bowie, John Lurie, John Fleck, Stray Cats, Llyn Foulkes, Jello Biaffra, and Rachel Rosenthal.

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