Johnny Rotten was "a pain in the ass," Chip Conley says. "Sinéad O'Connor, when I babysat her baby, was very nice," he continues, drumming his fingers on the wooden table. "... MC Hammer was nice." Conley is sitting in the bar of the Phoenix Hotel, which he founded in the '80s, scanning through his mental Rolodex of celebrity guests. He rattles off the names casually, as if a run-in with Sinéad O'Connor was an everyday occurrence. Because at the Phoenix, it was.
We keep it moving, hustling with the changes, thinking outside the margins. Saying farewell to venues calling it quits and acknowledging local labels and artists on the rise.
The Phoenix hotel and the Tenderloin are synonymous. They belong together. It's a rock and roll hotel in the heart of the city surrounded by all the music venues, and that's exactly where it belongs.