A champion for good live local music in Los Angeles, Jeb Milne, died earlier this week. He was a stupendous performer, and his venue, Witzend, is the best listening room in LA.
Jeb created Witzend as a place where the performers felt encouraged, special, and loved, and he did the same with the audience. He put his love and energy into every aspect of Witzend, and because he would make us all feel so good, everybody at the shows connected through the music and the whole experience. Every venue and music booker should learn from Jeb’s example.
Witzend is a beautiful listening room with clear sound and a comfortable and classy vibe, Jeb cared about every little detail. Before Witzend, Venice performers had spent the previous years playing in local coffee shops, bars, speakeasies (shut down by cops), house parties (also shut down by cops!), etc. These were are all good and great fun, but we needed a nice venue to perform in when it was time to rise a little bit above the bohemian grunge and find out what we sounded like through a good sound system.
In the first weeks when Jeb was just starting Witzend as a venue, sometimes he would call during the day when it was closed and I would come over and we’d sing a few songs together and talk about great songwriters etc, and just hang out for while. We dug many of the same bands, and disagreed about plenty of artists, but more often than not, we’d geek out over The Beatles. He often requested that I play ‘Mercy’, one of my songs that he liked to sing along to, and eventually we worked it out with him on piano. He told me about his times in London, and we joked about being in the Canadian Mafia. Jeb sparkled when he sang, it was great to watch. It’s funny, now that I’m thinking about it, many of my memories of Jeb and Witzend are from when the doors hadn’t even opened yet.
I could never thank him enough for making such a beautiful space for music performance, but believe me, I tried. I miss being in Venice during times like this, I wish I could be there for his memorial. Jeb cared about artists and he cared about the audience. He was one of the best venue owners and talent bookers, and also one of the kindest and most encouraging people I have known. Jeb Milne cared about music deep down in every fiber of him.
I hope he knows we love him for it.
With much love and gratitude,
Saint John
I really only know Jeb through his timeless 1987 Radio Earth song ‘Distant Land’ which was the finest single released in the 1980s as far as I am concerned. It HAS to be released on CD or at least a digital download from original masters at some point in the future – come on Warners! Andy Hill did an incredible production job on this, and the 12″ ‘Atomic Dance Mix’ is exceptional use of studio technology to create an extended version which is actually the definitve version of the track. RIP Jeb and good to learn about your detailed history.
Thank you for your memories of Jeb! I’ll see if I can dig up ‘Distant Land’.
I rented his cottage last year behind the club. What a nice soul and a great music venue. Thanks Jeb for all the wonder vibes and kindness. â¤ï¸
You are here. Your note is your presence, and deeply valued by us who knew only one side or another of Jeb and his journey. We in his neighborhood know how hard he worked to make WitzEnd into a positive local influence before even opening the club.
As I watched the club develop, visiting a couple of times but mostly driving by while en route to or from work or walking to some local meeting, I could see the continuing results of Jeb’s dedication to creating a good music and neighborhood gathering place.
The world’s a complex place, and Jeb showed his understanding of how to make it better. Thanks for sharing your story with us.