Toluca Hills Apartments By Avalon

Pretty cool that the Pixies apparently stayed here with their producer Gil Norton while recording 1990's Bossanova.

Nirvana stayed here briefly back in the day. It's not a bad joint.

I have a great memory from living at this complex. One evening I went to the laundry room and found Brad Gillis from Night Ranger loading a washer. He said the band was in town recording and that they were all staying there for a while. When I returned for my clothes, Jeff Watson, the other Night Ranger guitarist, was sitting on top of a washer with his guitar, waiting for his laundry. We had a cool conversation too. I lived there from March 1988 to March 1989 while attending Musicians Institute down the road in Hollywood. My efficiency apartment cost $700 a month, which seemed really steep at the time, but the location was perfect for me, so it was worth it.

I lived there in '88-'89 while we finished a job in Burbank. There were studios down the street and the Hollywood Hills nearby. We even climbed up to the Hollywood sign and took pictures standing in the O, which you can't do now. I ran into Eric Estrada several times at the store and laundry room, and saw Dawn Wells, Rita Coolidge, Jamie Farr, and Bob Hope when Barbra Edens received her star on the Walk of Fame. Good times. I loved the location.