The Smell

The Smell is an all-ages, alcohol and drug-free,punk rock/noise/experimental venue in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The Smell, notable for its DIY ethic, is home to many of the area's avant-garde performers and artists. The venue is maintained by Jim Smith, one of the four original organizers of the club, and a number of volunteers.

The Smell continues in the tradition of Los-Angeles-based underground clubs such as The Masque and Jabberjaw. Aside from its primary function as a live music and performance art space, The Smell hosts a library, a vegan snack bar and a gallery space. The venue predates the conception of the Gallery Row district in which it is located. The Smell and the relatively new Gallery Row both border Skid Row.

The Smell was founded by Ara Shirinyan, Jarrett Silberman, and Jim Smith as one of the few all-ages art/performance spaces in Los Angeles, after the demise of two local venues, Jabberjaw and the Impala Cafe, during the same week in late 1997. The Smell opened just a short time later, on January 8, 1998. It was originally located by the intersection of Magnolia and Lankershim in North Hollywood, but when the cost of rent rose during the NoHo Arts District boom in 1999, the venue relocated to cheaper Downtown Los Angeles. Shirinyan gave up his ownership before the venue's move, so Silberman, Smith, and Mac Mann constructed the new space.

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