We've known and admired Joseph Brooks from afar and later as a friend for over 20 years now. From his stints spinning at our first and maybe all-time fave rock club, Scream in downtown LA circa 1986 to his seminal record shop Vinyl Fetish (subsequently sold to Scream creators Michael Stewart and Bruce Perdew) to his later parties (Club Makeup and Bang!), JB's stamp on LA nightlife is unmatched.

Last week, we joined him and his pals at former Women's Wear Daily editress Rose Apodaca's groovy shop A+R (the Venice location) for a display of his latest endeavor, his new jewelry line, with a trunk show and soiree. After reading Apodaca's bio on Brooks, we were reminded of just how much this impresario has done over the years, and though he's pretty much given up that part of his life to focus on his designs, it bares noting that his import show with Dusty Street on KROQ back in day broke pretty much every UK band you can think of in LA, and often the US itself, and that he helped get Guns n' Roses signed during his tenure as DJ at the infamous hair metal haunt The Cathouse, and Makeup (along with Club Cherry where he also deejayed) single-handedly brought glam rock back to Hollywood in the mid-90s. His last “new” club concept was the all-ages free music night at the Key Club called Ruby Tuesday, which has now been taken over by Spin magazine.

Though he's not technically working in music like he used to, his exotic pieces (inspired by his global travels) are all the rage with the likes of Madonna and The Jonas Brothers. Check out this rockin' shot of a fella sporting it all, ala classic crotch/torso rock album covers like Sticky Fingers and Too Fast For Love. The model is actually an equally accomplished LA scene-maker. Can you guess who he is? See this week's slideshow and find out.

law logo2x bAlso read about Gidget Gein's memorial, John Roecker's gay porn doc and Pleasant Gehman's “Underbelly” in this week's Nightranger.

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