Summary

In this episode of the Highway 62 podcast, Danny Thompson interviews Cooper Gillespie from Mojave Gold, a new music venue, bar, and restaurant in Yucca Valley. They discuss the vision behind the venue, the talented team involved, the challenges of opening an independent venue, and the emphasis on creating a high-quality music experience. Cooper shares insights into the culinary offerings and the importance of community support for independent venues.

https://www.instagram.com/mojavegolddesert/

Takeaways

Mojave Gold aims to be a creative meeting place for the community. The team behind Mojave Gold has extensive experience in music and hospitality. Opening an independent venue requires significant capital and effort. Quality sound and lighting are crucial for a great music experience. The venue features a diverse range of events, from country nights to film screenings. Community support is vital for the success of independent venues. The menu focuses on locally sourced ingredients and caters to various dietary preferences. Mojave Gold is designed to provide a comfortable experience for both artists and patrons. The venue's capacity allows for intimate yet high-quality performances. The team is committed to creating a unique cultural experience in Yucca Valley.

Danny Thompson (00:02.049) All right, Cooper Gillespie from Mojave Gold. Thanks so much for taking some time out to be on the Highway 62 podcast. How are you today?

Cooper Gillespie (00:10.476) I'm wonderful, it's my pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me.

Danny Thompson (00:13.664) I'm excited to talk to you. This project's right up my alley. So I was really excited that you guys could find time to do this as well, because I know you just opened. So Mojave Gold, new music venue, bar, restaurant in Yucca Valley. Give us just the basic, you know, kind of rundown of what it is, what you guys are doing, and like what the vision is for this project.

Cooper Gillespie (00:38.604) Yeah. So we, we always drive by what was formerly the Abar and go, gosh, somebody's got to do something with that, you know, for about two years we did that. And then finally we were like, okay, we'll do it. And so our vision is really to create a beautiful meeting place for our community, for creatives, certainly for foodies, for people who love wine. mean, I remember when we moved to Yucca Valley.

Danny Thompson (00:44.685) Right.

Right? Mm-hmm.

Danny Thompson (01:02.894) Yeah.

Cooper Gillespie (01:05.326) about 10 years ago, you couldn't get a good bottle of wine even at Vons, you know? So, it's just that we wanted to create a space that feels really creative and where people can get good food, good meals, see a great show and just have a great experience.

Danny Thompson (01:08.354) Wow, all right.

Danny Thompson (01:22.07) Yeah, awesome. Sounds really exciting. I thought that same thing because I only moved out here, I guess I'm going on four years or something like that. yeah, I always thought that looked like a great location, really cool looking building and stuff. So I was really excited when I started to see like, you know, little glimmers of like, I think somebody's working on that place. This could be great, you know. So.

Cooper Gillespie (01:42.786) Yeah, it was funny to see people on Facebook going, hey, what's going on over there? Anyone know what's happening over there?

Danny Thompson (01:48.789) Yeah. Yeah. It's that it's kind of like a fun element that I like about being out in a little bit smaller, you know, community because, you know, I grew up in Chicago and I lived in Orange County for the last 20 years or whatever before coming up here. And it's like, you know, there's so much stuff that it's you don't notice little things like that. But I'm always

you know, I'll go away for a week and when I come back, I'm looking at like, hey, is that something new going in over there and what's happening over here? And it's easy to see those things and it's, you know, I think you feel instantly more connected to it and supportive as well.

Cooper Gillespie (02:26.689) Yeah, it's amazing how much our community has changed just in the 10 years I've lived here and I'm sure it's going to continue changing. there's just so many exciting shops and restaurants and happenings. I know that there's a lot of cool plans in the town. I don't know if you've seen the thing for the Aquatic Center, but Yucca Valley is coming up and there's a lot of stuff happening around here.

Danny Thompson (02:45.358) You sent me a little document that had your bio as well as, you know, everybody involved in the club there. And we can't go through everybody because it's a pretty involved group there, but give us a little bit just a rundown of your background and then maybe we'll touch on some of the key elements of the other partners.

Cooper Gillespie (03:11.511) Yeah, well, one of the amazing things about this opening this place was the synergy of the team. Everyone is an incredible, you know, A plus plus plus player in their own right. And we really got lucky in that way. So my background is I've been a musician for a long time. I was a touring musician. And of course I always worked in bars, you know, because bars you could work and then go on tour and then come back and work.

Danny Thompson (03:37.112) Sure.

Cooper Gillespie (03:37.882) And my husband too, Greg, is the GM and he was also a touring musician and worked in bars for a number of years. And then our partners, Dale and Brooklyn, come from more of the hospitality side of things, having owned Dive, which is a hotel in Palm Springs. And so together we just had this really unique blend of experience. But then we got so lucky when Liz Garrow, who's like a legendary booker, on to book the acts.

Danny Thompson (04:04.364) Yeah.

Cooper Gillespie (04:05.853) and then our chefs are world-class chefs. chef Brynn is, she came from workshop down in Palm Springs and she's up here and she just is bringing a whole new level of gastronomic delight to the high desert. Yeah. So we, got lucky because.

Danny Thompson (04:17.463) Yeah.

And also she's a drummer, I read, so that makes her extra cool right off the bat.

Cooper Gillespie (04:23.15) Yeah. Yeah. We got a, we got a lot of a rhythm section here because Greg is a drummer. I'm a bass player. So rhythm section unite.

Danny Thompson (04:29.806) All right.

Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, you know, that was something that really struck me when I was reading through the bio there because, you know, it wasn't like, some people that, you know, know a little bit about music and bands and kind of wanted to, you know, you always hear about people, especially anybody who comes into Money. It's like, I'm going to open a restaurant or I want to own a bar. You know, you always hear people with those dreams. And as I'm reading through this, I'm like, okay, these are...

talented and experienced serious business people and artists and chefs and like it's an A plus team. I was really impressed.

Cooper Gillespie (05:12.717) Yeah, everyone has got an enormous amount. mean, we've all spent our entire adult lives in the business, both either in entertainment and or in hospitality. And so the amount of experience that we all have is really, really wonderful because we all know what we're doing. And I worked, I worked at places where people didn't know what they were doing, but I can confidently, yeah, I did.

Danny Thompson (05:32.942) Yeah, we're gonna touch, that was something I wrote down here that we will touch base on as touring, you know, I'm still a touring musician. I just got back from Mexico this last weekend, you know, so yeah, we'll talk about the bad.

Cooper Gillespie (05:37.657) Yeah.

Cooper Gillespie (05:43.423) awesome!

Cooper Gillespie (05:47.573) Yeah, yeah. Well, once you've experienced it, you're like, okay, now I definitely know what not to do. And so I think I've always said, like, if it can't happen with this team, I don't know who it could happen with, because we all really know what we're doing. I can say that with confidence.

Danny Thompson (05:53.665) Yeah.

Danny Thompson (06:03.031) Now you touch base on the Booker, the talent buyer, and that was something that really stuck out to me. Tell me a little bit more about her and some of the venues and stuff she used. Because was a pretty, going down the list, I'm like, yep, I know that place and that place and that place, and I've played there and I've played there. She's not a rookie.

Cooper Gillespie (06:05.622) Yeah.

Cooper Gillespie (06:21.676) Yeah. no. is like legit. She's like a legend. I mean, I don't say that term lightly, but in the booking world, especially in SoCal and the LA area, especially, she's definitely like a booking legend. mean, she is, you know, I don't want to say single-handedly, but almost single-handedly responsible for the incredible Silverlake music scene that we had back in the...

Danny Thompson (06:46.101) Yeah. Wow.

Cooper Gillespie (06:47.576) late 90s, early 2000s. She booked the Echo for a long time and did a lot of booking for Space Land Presents. She books at the Regent Theater. She's booked so many different festivals. I can't even name them all, you know, and she just has so much experience. And the thing I love about Liz is that she is not afraid to go out on a limb. She's not afraid to take chances on artists or to put together kind of eclectic

Danny Thompson (06:51.213) Mm-hmm.

Danny Thompson (06:58.69) Yeah.

Cooper Gillespie (07:12.152) weird things that other bookers wouldn't even want to, you know, touch, you know, and I love that about her because she takes these chances and it makes, i...

Mojave Gold with Cooper Gillespie