Industry Insiders: Jason Scoppa, Party Princeling

LA party maestro Jason Scoppa gets down with Prince, protects his guests from Cali’s rabid paparazzi, name-drops his newest venue, then crashes on the couch with a slice.

Point of Origin: My friend and current business partner Alexi Yulish asked me if I wanted to run a door with him to make some extra cash. It was a Rodeo Drive kosher steak house called Prime Grill. At the time we both needed the bread, so I told him to set up a meeting. We took the meeting, and I said, “Why don't you let us throw our own party?” We broke the patio dining furniture down and brought in any lounge furniture we could find. We brought in DJs and photo booths. It ended up being one of the most interesting Saturday nights in town for that summer.

Occupations: Green Door, Hollywood. When we started Green Door, it was your typical night in LA. I found it to be unfulfilling. Same DJs, same crowds, and it was boring me. When I moved from Detroit to Los Angeles, I expected that the crowd of influence in film, music, art, and fashion were one. Not so. I decided that there was a huge opportunity to approach nights differently and do something I was actually proud of. That’s when I put together Jazz Tuesdays. It has been an amazing success for us.

A few months later, another idea spawned—Lo Hi Fi Saturdays at Green Door. I wanted to do a throwback night inspired by rock. Chateau Marmont 1968, China Club New York City, you get the idea. It’s a rotating set of songs and accomplished musicians covering everything classic and everything that will be a classic. Guests can feel free to get up and play. Many of them have their instruments in the trunk of their car. “Can I get down with the band tonight?” or “I want to sing.” Jazz Tuesday is kind of the same thing. Prince shows up and gets down often; John Altman shows up with his midget sax when he’s in town. One of my favorite nights was when Rick Astley got up and blew everyone away.

Side Hustle: I have always had a better ear for listening to music than actually playing it. It’s nice to be working with somebody like Deron Johnson (Miles Davis’s protégé) on Tuesdays. I’ve been putting my ideas into his head about an album. I don’t fluently speak on his level of music language, but somehow he gets it. Hopefully, we will have something out by Inauguration Day.

Favorite Hangs: Honestly, I like to be on my sofa. If I’m not doing one of my nights and want to unwind with a drink I go to the Bronson Bar on Monday nights. My friend Sean Patrick has had that night running forever. I love the DJs, and it’s one of the only places in Los Angeles that reminds me of Detroit.

Industry Icons: Hahaha! There’s a lot of people who throw shade on this business. I’ll say that my admiration will always rest with the musicians that inspire the business and the guests that support different, interesting, and quality programming in an establishment.

Known Associates: Ryan Gosling is a great supporter of Jazz Tuesday. Jack Nicholson comes by. Prince loves to come and jam with the band. Robert Downey Jr. is a huge music guy and loves what we do. Last Tuesday, Ann Hathaway and Emily Blunt got up and sang. Actually, one of the toughest things to do is protect our guests from media and pap. So many weak stories can come out of a person going out and having a good time. Once a celebrity leaves, they get followed to their car. It’s fucking ridiculous. They find side, back, under-entrances and -exits. We probably have the best publicist in the world working with us though. At the end of the day, people are going to write what they want. We are grateful to have a publicist who understands that these are our guests, and we have to protect them. Nothing is pushed out on a PR level. If media contacts us, we respond with positivity with regard to our guests.

Projections: By the time this comes out, we will have already launched our new space, Bardot, in Hollywood. [Surprise! Bardot is slated to open the second week of September. -Ed.]

What are you doing tonight? Sofa and pizza.