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Ruben MacBlue
(Ruben Blue)
Ruben Grew up on a Farm (with a round barn) Middleton, Michigan Attended Mennonite Church Went to Fulton High School - 1953 - 1971  Excelled in High School Academics and Sports including basketball, baseball, golf, track and field, and cross country Eventually became a hippie Western Michigan University College Graduate BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (Behavioral Psychology, Philosophy, and Logic)  Western Michigan University is one of the largest colleges in Michigan. Ruben went there for math and science and ended up learning how to party. By senior year Ruben was throwing the best house parties in town. 1971-75 |
Ruben was still attending college back in Michigan, but hitchhiked to California on his summer
vacations and lived on the beaches of Southern California from 1970-1974 |
In 1975 Ruben moved into the Bubble House on Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills.
It was here that he joined the local Laurel Canyon hippies and dated the beautiful hippie actress Rainbeaux Smith (link) and hung out with all her friends, including David Carradine's daughter, Calista Carradine.
This close knit group of kids was basically the heart and soul of Laurel Canyon at the time, a community that became the nucleus to the party explosion and rock explosion that followed. 
 Rainbeaux also controlled the dangerous Laurel Canyon wild men, like Robin Hood, who lived in a cave behind the Log Cabin, and Travelin Travis, who used to get on the roof of the Rainbow Bar and Grill every night at closing and sing All Shook Up by Elvis. Laurel Canyon was the center of hippie activity in the late 1960s and early 1970s, becoming home to such famous rock musicians as . . . Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Jim Morrison, The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Buffalo Springfield, Canned Heat, John Mayall, The Eagles, Love, Neil Young, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and Stone Poneys, Bonnie Raitt, and Micky Dolenz & Peter Tork of The Monkees. Momma Cass's home was one of Laurel Canyon's biggest party houses with all-night, drug-fueled sleepovers, well attended by the hippest musicians and movie stars of the era. [Wikipedia] Frank Zappa lived in the Log Cabin and had lots of parties with a constant stream of musicians hanging out there at any given time, including . . . Mick Jagger, Alice Cooper, Roger McGuinn, John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Butterfield, George Harrison, Timothy Leary, and the GTO's with famous groupie Pamela DesBarres. The Bubble House was just a few houses down from the Log Cabin and the hillside complex where Rainbeaux Smith and her tribe of hippies lived. The Bubble House had a giant bubble skylight in the roof and was a like a boarding house for actors and musicians. |
SInce Ruben had majored in parties in college, he started throwing Bubble House parties every Saturday night, and soon became the king of Hollywood parties. Not only his parties, but knew where all the Hollywood Hills parties were too, and as a regular at the Rainbow Bar & Grill, it was where everyone found out where the parties were, and where everyone met at closing time to find the party of the night. Ruben with Michael and Tony of the Rainbow Bar and Grill Eventually my heart was broken by Rainbeaux, which made it all that much more important to keep on partying every chance I could. Bob Seger had a hit song on the radio at the time called "Hollywood Nights" (in those Hollywood Hills), and it seemed like it was written just for me. Every line in the song matched my life, and when "one morning I woke up alone, wondering if I could ever go home" I knew it was true. 
 Iggy Pop "Lust for Life" - Hunt and Tony Sales - Bob Seger's "Hollywood Hills" Eventully Iggy started hanging out at the Bubble House day and night while mixing Lust for Life at Capitol Records Studio, and one night he sideswiped his convertible "rent-a-wreck" into 20 cars coming up Laurel Canyon. They took his drivers license away after that, so I had to drive him everywhere. 
 Ruben at the famous punk club The Masque in Hollywood, and at The Zero One Club with Summer |
 Carrie White, Hairdresser to the stars, and Beverly Hills sign Ruben met famous hairdresser-to-the-stars, Carrie White at a party one night after the Dead Boys show the New Masque, and immediately moved in with her. She lived on Mullholland Drive between Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty, which was between Coldwater Canyon and Benedict Canyon - 1978-1979 
 Levi and the Rockats, The Blasters, and Rosie Flores and James Intveld 
 Pleasant and Levi get married and Pleasant and Limey Dave 
 Jeffrey Jolson Colburn, and Lisa and Mandy of the Lame Flames with Ruben "White" Ruben moved to the American Hotel, Downtown Arts District LA - 1982-1983, and was a draftsman @ Feldman Lighting, Downtown Arts District LA - 1980-1983 Ruben then bought a 1939 Dodge Coup, hot rodded it out, painted flames on it, and drove it around town, where it got more attention than a firetruck. 1981-1986  Ruben with his '39 Dodge Coupe Hot Rod |
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in his first book on Amazon (click here) "RUBEN GOES TO HOLLYWOOD" 
Well written with a good sense of humor and lots of fascinating stories, this pictorial coffee table book is thrilling from the get go and once you start reading you can't put it down. It paints a picture of California life with brilliance and excitement as well as down to earth events, both good and bad. The story has a soundtrack as well, consisting of songs that were influential during Ruben's travels. The reader follows Ruben's life through his transformation from a hillbilly farm boy to a Hollywood "Scenester" as his life soon becomes one endless party. Ruben discovers the abundance of beautiful girls, the art, the fashion, the nightlife, and mostly the bands. All the intriguing and colorful characters in the book are real people and real names. His friends, artists, and musicians who became Hollywood's underground celebrities are portrayed as they really were during this early time leading up to the start of Ruben's publishing career. |
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Publisher/Editor/Photographer SCRATCH MAGAZINE © 1983 - 1986 
 Ruben Blue - - - Germaine Pompeii, Violet Liquori, Iris Berry, & Jeff Bozem Ruben drew the first cover with a felt marker, and bought a Polaroid Camera to take pictures of all the Hollywood scenesters. The first issues were put together on Germaine and Violet's kitchen table. Germaine's friend Allison's mom worked at UCLA,where the pages were copied on the Xerox machine and then stapled together. The next day Ruben went down to Melrose and dropped off stacks at all the cool stores, and then to every club and passed them out to all the cool kids who wanted to see who was in it. After a few issues, Iris, Violet, and Germaine withdrew and it became only Ruben. SCRATCH MAG 1983 with every page of SCRATCH (below are some pages) 
SCRATCH was a photojournal of the local Musicians and Bands in Los Angeles, and was distributed to all rock businesses, record companies, record stores, fashion stores on Melrose, Sunset Blvd, Hollywood Blvd, and all local nightclubs throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. SCRATCH continued thru 1986 and featured photos by Ruben Blue, Denise, Moshe Brakha, and David Hermon. Below are the four "BEST OF" editions with the actual covers on their covers, and some of the issues that followed later 
 
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was the FIRST SOCIAL MEDIA before the internet was even invented It was also the first "FACEBOOK" 
 Brenden Mullen & girl - Connie, Merrill & Modi - Chili Peppers w/Michael Stewart 
 Danny Shades & Christina - David Jove, John Doe, Jane Cantillon Keith Levine, John Pochna, and Louie Lista - Don Bolles at Rajis 
 Flea, Nancy, Mark Mothersbaugh, & Ruben - Fur Hillbilly and Janet Cunningham Matt, Frank Infante, Rodney Bingenheimer, and Clem Burke of Blondie 
 Germaine and Jeff Bozem - Gexa X & Tomata - Henry & Joseph of Vinyl Fetish |
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was THE FIRST To Discover and Cover all the Best Bands and the Latest Clubs in Los Angeles Always on the Cutting Edge of Music 
 Keith Morris of Circle Jerks, Kat of Legal Weapon, Jeff Drake of The Joneses 
 Lee Ving of Fear, Henry Rollins of Black Flag, and Rozz of Christian Death Then Ruben started the second rap club ever, the CoCo Club downtown L.A. with J.C. and brought all the old school party hippies, the New Wave and Alternative kids, the Punks, the new Goth Kids that were hanging out at Vinyl Fetish on Melrose and their club, The Fetish Club, and the new Rappers and Scratchers from the Hip Hop scene, together. The pages of SCRATCH were the glue that tied it all together, plus since Ruben now lived with the Downtown Artists in the arts district, that was now a big part of SCRATCH too. So now add Melrose Fashion Stores to the mix, with SCRATCH promoitng Melrose every issue and producing the first Melrose Fashion Shows, and of course, all the 50s Rockabilly kids from that craze that had already taken over Hollywood, it's clear that SCRATCH Magazine was the nucleus for the explosion that started the greatest music scene ever. Ruben was also The First to discover, interview, and feature such bands as Guns and Roses, Poison, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, The Blasters, and many more, plus: L.A.s first after-hours clubs, the beginning of Melrose Ave and the famous Hollywood and Sunset Strip clubs Ruben also organized several large BENEFIT SHOWS for the Zero One Club, Telekin, Keith Morris, and more at the Music Machine, with the help of good ol' English Frank |
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SCRATCH TV © 
 
SCRATCH produced over fifteen Hollywood Trivia GAME SHOWS on Communicom public access television featuring Hollywoods most notorious scenesters, and hosted by Ruben Blue Over thirty SCRATCH TV SHOWS featuring some of the best talent of the past few years on Communicom CH 34. Ruben has also been mentioned on Two on the Town, Entertainment Tonight, Hour Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine, Bam Magazine, the L.A. Weekly, and was an actor in Alan Sackss skate-punk movie THRASHIN in 1985 |
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SCRATCH ART SHOWS At the Attack Art Gallery on La Cienega Blvd The Trendiest Art Gallery Street in Los Angeles  |
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THE SCRATCH OLYMPICS 
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Presents ANGELYNE 
 
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The Girls of Hollywood SCRATCH CALENDARS  MOSHE BRAKHA AND RUBEN BLUE 
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BOBBI BRATT AND JENNY PRICE 
 THE LAME FLAMES - IRIS, MANDY, AND LISA |
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MELROSE AVENUE  
 Presented THE MELROSE PAGES |
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Presents THE BOOK OF MELROSE © a 108 page book containing everything and everybody related to Melrose, 1985 |
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Presents THE MAP OF MELROSE 
 
In 1984 Ruben Blue published the Map of Melrose, enclosed in SCRATCH Magazine, and also distributed as a stand-alone double tri-fold map on glossy paper. This was part of the ongoing publicity and promotion that SCRATCH did to help make Melrose the hippest shopping street in town
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Presents THE GAME OF MELROSE ©  
 
The GAME OF MELROSE was designed and published by Ruben Blue in SCRATCH Magazine in 1986. It was also a stand-alone game available at select stores on Melrose. Printed on heavy glossy card stock, it featured board spaces and cards from the prominent stores on Melrose. |
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MELROSE FASHION SHOWS at Club Lingerie, Sunset Blvd, Hollywood Ruben Blue and SCRATCH Magazine produced three Melrose Fashion Shows, at the famous Club Lingerie on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. All these shows were organized with the numerous stores on Melrose and in Beverly Hills, and included live bands, video shoots, and massive coverage before and after each event 
professional video, and TV coverage |
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The Hollywood Designer Fashion Show and the Beverly Hills Fashion Show 
at Club Lingerie in Hollywood with live bands, professional video, and TV coverage |
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Presented The Weekly Artwork of  Atila Sikora On The Inside Back Cover From 1984 - 1986 
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Publisher/Editor/Photographer LA ROCKS! © 1986 - 1987 This Section is under construction and will be much bigger and better. That day will come soon. Stay Tuned. 
In 1987, Ruben changed SCRATCH Magazine into LA ROCKS and enlarged it from letter size to tabloid size. Using a different printer, a huckster from England named Ian Brodie, it was printed on a web press, which was more bang for the buck, and we published it weekly instead of monthly. Just like SCRATCH, it featured a ton of live photos and reviews of all the local up and coming bands, plus band interviews, club listings for the following week, and other cool stuff for the Hollywood in-crowd, and was distributed to all the same locations |
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Publisher/Editor/Photographer ROCK CITY NEWS © also known as ROCK CITY © 1987 - 2009 WWW.ROCKCITYNEWS.COM 
In 1988 Ruben Blue changed the name of LA ROCKS © to ROCK CITY NEWS © and was FIRST to discover and feature such L.A. bands as . . . there were thousands of bands in L.A. . . . It was THE LARGEST MUSIC SCENE TO EXIST ANYWHERE EVER Besides being the Publisher/Editor/Photographer, Ruben Blue also was a Promoter of countless Rock Shows, TV Shows, Art Exhibits, Events, Festivals, and Parties for the next 20 years in Hollywood, and then another 10 years publishing LA JEMM and putting on monthly cannabis festivals at his Rock City Railroad Complex on Hollywood Blvd ROCK CITY NEWS was published every two weeks in Los Angeles and Orange County from 1988 - 2008 Here's a few, but not all, of the covers for some of those years. Can you believe Ruben actually interviewed all those bands? You can find all the covers and the inside pages on the old Rock City News website, which is still being re-configured for the new phones, which show the type much smaller than on a computer. When Ruben built the website back about 30 years ago, it was inconceivable that a phone could go on the internet Rock City News Covers (This is just a partial list) 2001 
 2002 
 
 
 2003 
 
 
 2004 
2005 
2007 
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Ruben Blue Presents Fifteen Annual Hollywood ROCK CITY NEWS AWARDS SHOWS  "THE ROCKIES" © From 1995 thru 2009 The show moved from The Roxy Theatre to the Reseda Country Club to Paladino's to B.B. Kings at Universal City Walk, to Green Jello's Qtopia, to FM Station through the years, and featured live performances by top local bands, celebrity hosts, and beautiful girls presenting magnificent trophies. All shows were heavily covered by video and local photographers, and numerous pages of coverage were featured in Rock City News after each event. 
Producer Ruben MacBlue and Trophy Girl Cheetah Mama of the 1999 Rock City Awards Show at the Reseda Country Club 
 2001 Awards Show at Paladino's, Reseda, CA  2008 Awards Show at FM Station, North Hollywood  2005 Awards Show at B.B. Kings at Universal City Walk  2003 Awards Show at Qtopia, Hollywood  2007 Awards Show at B.B. Kings at Universal City Walk  2006 Awards Show at B.B. Kings at Universal City Walk  Floor Plan with Reserved Seating at B.B. Kings, Universal City Walk 
 
The 1996 Rock City Awards Show Brochure with Nominees, Categories, and Seating Chart at the Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood |
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President ROCK CITY RECORDS © presents< Founded in 1990, Rock City Records put out 6 Compilation Records featuring 100 of L.A.'s best new unsigned bands ROCK CITY RECORDS © presents COMPILATION #1 "HEAVY MILLENNIUM" w/ 15 of L.A.'s best local bands! 
  The following are photos of the bands on the compilation: blackonblond.jpg | chiggerredd.jpg | fractura.jpg | groovefoundation.jpg | helarage.jpg lazyjane.jpg | lovecraft.jpg | mindflower.jpg | monafornow.jpg | mygrain.jpg | phantomblue.jpg | rottenrod.jpg | roverspinky.jpg | strain999.jpg | torietyson.jpg COMPILATION #2 "ROCKY'S DERAILMENT" w/ 14 of L.A.'s best local bands!     -
 COMPILATION #3 "Marking New Territory" w/ 17 of L.A.'s best local bands!  CD release party - Wed, Aug 30th at the Coconut Teaszer 
 Click here for individual band pictures. COMPILATION #4 "Rocky Rescues Rocki" w/ 19 of L.A.'s best local bands!  CD release party - Thu, June 21th, 2001 at the Coconut Teaszer   
 Vol.19,No.13, Jun 28,2001 Rock City CD#4 Party at Coconut Teaszer Click here for individual band pictures. COMPILATION CD #5 "REVOLUTION" 
   
 COMPILATION CD #666 "The Mark of the Beast" 
Compilation CD # Release Party Thursday, May 13 at Club Vodka   
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Presents LA JEMM © L.A. Journal for Education on Medical Marijuana (also OC JEMM, IE JEMM, JEMM Mag, and Marijuana Magazine) 2005 -2014 However, it wasn't always so. Back before 2005 marijuana was treated like heroin. Nobody mentioned it to their doctor, or their employers, or any government official whatsoever. It was a danger ous drug according to the police, and for the last 100 years, it was a reason for cops to throw you in jail. Thousands of American citizens lost their freedom simply for having a joint in their car. Marijuana was a hush-hush topic at any social gathering (except for hippies of course) and you had to go to great lenghts to hide your stash and when you did smoke it, you had to lock all the doors and put a towel under the door so the smell wouldn't get out. So when marijuana became legal for "medicinal use" it was like Praise the Lord. 2005 was a great year for our freedom, and "medical marijuana" was the hottest topic in town. You couldnt get any "cooler" than to have your "medical license." When LA JEMM first started, as the FIRST public Medical Marijauna Magazine, there were only three dispensaries in the entire city of Los Angeles, and they were all in West Hollywood. THere were only about three doctors as well, that specialized in granting licenses for it, and you had to have a good medical reason as well. After LA JEMM started, it revolutionazed the entire matter. Everyone was talking about it, and LA JEMM promoted it quicker and faster than anywhere else. Even the LA WEEKLY refused to accept ads for it, for years, and so the only place the new dispensaries and doctors could advertise was LA JEMM. Ruben MacBlue was the guy that ignited the craze due to the fact that he already had his distribution in place with Rock City News and so the magazine went out every month to every music business and club in town, with a readership that would normally take years to establish. The results were staggering! Within a year there was a hundred dispensaries open, and with five years, there was a thousand. 
 2006 
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 2009 
 2010 
 Facebook.com/lajemm |
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Publisher/Editor/Designer/Distribution LA ACTOR © A Magazine for the Hollywood Movie Industry 2008 
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Model Railroad Enthusiest and Layout Builder Rock City Railroad © The Rock City Model Railroad is a 20' by 30' multi-scale train layout Built at the Rock City Railroad Complex in a refurbished old Hollywood Theatre at 5555 Hollywood Blvd, and then moved to the Save a Life Ranch, Antelope Valley 1995 - Present www.rockcityrailroad.com www.rockcitynews.com/railroad facebook.com/RockCityModelRailroad 
Above Photo: Ruben outside of the back Warehouse at the Rock City Railroad Complex on Hollywood Blvd  Ruben inside the Rock City Railroad Store with his model railroad in the front window  Ruben with his model railroad photo by Ross Feighery 
AI Image of Ruben Blue in his workshop as a boy |
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Rock City Railroad Store Rock-City-Railroad-Store In 2014, Ruben moved his store out of Hollywood to Lancaster, California, and changed the name to Ventura Treasures © (scroll down)  Ruben MacBlue in front of his Rock City Railroad Store Hollywood, CA  The Entrance to the Marilyn Monroe Building of the Rock City Railroad Complex, Hollywood, CA |
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Save-a-Life Cat Rescue © A 501c3 Non-Profit, No-Kill, Animal Sanctuary Saving, Managing, and Adopting Cats 10 acres, 10 buildings, 50 trees, 100 cats Antelope Valley (1 hour north of L.A.) 1995 - 2025  
Photo: Save-a-Life Non-Profit Board of Directors, Cherie Gillette, Me, and my girlfriend at the time, Geraldine Mitchell, who was responsible for getting me to move out here.  While managing the giant 10 acre cat rescue ranch, Save-a-Life, we found a veterinarian in Palmdale named DVM Gay Naiditch (Allegra) who helped us take care of all our feline critters. We also dated for 3 or 4 years, and since she owned dozens of properties around town, she let me open my antique store, VENTURA TREASURES, in a former grocery store in Lancaster. It was also fun hanging out at her mansion-on-the-mountain overlooking the Antelope Valley and her beach house in Ventura. She was quite a woman, a self-made multi-millionaire. 
Ruben and Allegra with her staff at a dinner party Visitors MAP of Save-a-Life's Magic Cat Ranch  Click Map to Enlarge Visit Save-a-Life Pages at www.Save-a-Life.org facebook.com/SaveaLifeNonProfit facebook.com/SaveALifeNoKillShelter |
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ROCK CITY MUSEUM ©  
 30 years of photographs, banners, flyers, etc, Plus, every issue of Ruben's weekly publications: SCRATCH Magazine, LA ROCKS, & ROCK CITY NEWS. 1,000 issues and a quarter-of-a-million photographs, documenting L.A.'s rock history from 1980 to 2010 |
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VENTURA TREASURES © (Formerly Rock City Railroad) Antique, Vintage, & Collectable Store 710 W. Ave L, Lancaster, CA 93534 Non-Profit Antique and Thrift Store for Save a Life Cat Rescue 2020 - 2024 Facebook.com/VenturaTreasures VENTURA TREASURES IS CURRENTLY CLOSED Stay Tuned for New Location in 2025 
 Laurie Johnson and Ruben in front Ruben's designed and hand-painted "Ventura Treasures" signs Antiques, Vintage Gifts, Collectables, Unique One-of-a-Kind Items! 710 W. Ave L, Lancaster, CA 93534 - Just off the 14 Fwy One block past Costco . . . Across from Kaiser Hospital |
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Musician, Sound Engineer at the Rock City Recording Studio located in the Rock City Museum at the Save a Life Ranch Antelope Valley, California Ruben's band is called . . .  BILLY THE KID © Country, Blues, and Metal Billy The Kid's first record is called "Coming to Your Town" Listen to it here Coming to Your Town Listen to other Billy the Kid songs on the Poetry/Songs Page and is available on Rock City Records Distributed through DIstroKid Distribution Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music for $.99 |
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Party Animal 
 Not only did Ruben attend more parties than anyone, but he was a regular at the Rainbow Bar and Grill where all the musicians went. Ruben threw parties every Saturday night at his "Bubble House" in Laurel Canyon, and soon became the go-to person for finding the ever increasing number of house parties in the Hollywood Hills during the late 70s. Matt Lee, Frank Infante, Rodney Bingenheimer, and Clem Burke of Blondie When the house parties started declining in the early 80s, Ruben brought all his friends, Rainbow regulars, and die-hard party people to the new clubs that were opening in Hollywood. Then he dyed his hair blue, started SCRATCH Magazine, and partied like its 1999 for the next 30 years. |
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Ruben MacBlue
The flood of new people attending these new clubs brought Hollywood back into the limelight after a long period of bad publicity and bad people. Suddenly Hollywood was cool again, and then Ruben started SCRATCH Magazine to document it, which also fueled it's growth until Hollywood became known as the party capital of the world. Along with Ruben's weekly promotion of Melrose Avenue, which also fueled the rise of Melrose as the shopping mecca of L.A., and his promotional TV shows, fashion shows, and bringing to life the billboard queen, Angelyne, as host of his shows, the Hollywood boom was now in full swing. And that was just the start, as Ruben then covered all the shows on the booming Sunset Strip which led to the sidewalks being packed with kids from Tower Records and the Whisky up to the Roxy and Gazzarries. The Hollywood music scene was soon in full bloom like never seen before.
Not only did Ruben ignite the music scene and fuel it for two decades through his ongoing photography and publishing empire, but he also documented it weekly in his publications as L.A.'s music scene explosion during the 80s and 90s and up to 2009 Click here for the Poetry/Songs Ruben delved into the world of poetry and songs last year and is now developing poems and songs for his band, BILLY THE KID, to play local gigs and showcases Ruben was a draftsman and designer of light fixtures at Feldman Lighting in Los Angeles from 1980 - 1983 
 Art Deco Light Fixtures Designed by Ruben Blue for Feldman Lighting Always on the Cutting Edge Rebeling against Corruption, Fascism, and our Decayed Version of Capitalism House and Yard Planning and Decoration, Gardening, Tree Trimming and Planting, Hydroponics, Aquaducts, and Rock Decor |
