Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Marty and Elayne: L.A. s Inexhaustible Lounge Act

01/04/2016

Marty and Elayne Roberts at the Dresden. | Photo: Gijs van der Most.

Los Angeles is a city where cultural treasures arent just places or things, theyre people too. Inside a martini-stained, mid-century bar in Los Feliz, indefatigable couple Marty and Elayne Roberts have been performing jazz and endearingly kitschy takes on modern hits for 35 years. They are truly iconic Angelenos, living landmarks that are a constant in our ever-evolving town. On any given night, Marty perches behind his drum kit, clad in a sequined jumpsuit that matches his wife, who helms the keys. When Elayne isn't singing lead, she sometimes picks up a flute, or hums the melodies of instruments that are missing, la-la-ing a trombone part, or be-boping a trumpet line. Marty occasionally saunters up to the mic, serving up swaggering one-liners and a casual Sinatra tune or two.

For 28 years, they performed two-hour sets, six nights a week. Only recently have they scaled back to five nights. They ceaselessly deliver classic jazz hits to a loyal audience of original polyester-clad lounge-lizards and present scenesters, who often sport similar polyester, salvaged from vintage stores. They are stalwarts of local television broadcasts, reality shows, and movies too. For some, the couple was first revealed to the world in the early 1990s indie film, Swingers, which cast a new light on Los Angeles nightlife, away from the 1980s hyperbolic hair, postured punk, and angular power suits, instead embracing the return to the cool aesthetic of the end of the millennium, where new wave film, mod angst, and 1960s style resurfaced.

Today, Marty and Elayne show no signs of stopping and on April 1, they perform their 35th anniversary show at the Dresden.

Artbound recently caught up with the jazzsters to talk about how they ended up at the Dresden, Elayne's psychic powers, and the time Keifer Sutherland recorded one of their albums.

--

--

How did you end up at the Dresden?

M: We were working by the Derby before it was the Derby. It was called Michaels restaurant.

E: It was in the same place as the Derby. It was so beautiful. The boss used to come in every night and check us out and he finally said one night, When you leave this place you can come work for me. I own the Dresden down the street. Give me a call, when you are leaving here. So we did.

What was this neighborhood like back then?

E: It was quiet. There were opera singers down the street. There was Sarno's and they also had opera singers and that was about it. Other than that there was offices and older people.

M: So we tried to change the situation because it was completely different from the other job we were on.

E: Well, at the Derby they were older and they all followed us and it was really nice. The first night they all came in and there was no room for them and I asked the boss if he could get more tables because all of our friends are there. He said, They can sit down, but if there is not enough room let them leave. I don't want anyone around here who isn't seated and I want a dress code. Everyone has to dress. When the kids started coming in, we did a Tom Petty video in 1990 and all the kids started coming in with jeans, with holes in the knees and they said, that is the style. He said, Well, I have to relent if that is the style. If that is what they want to do, let them do it.

M: He was fine with it because he was making more money.

E: He heard the cash register and said, OK. He kept his word -- he had a lot of integrity.

Who were some of the other musicians you worked with at the time?

E: In 1987, we got on jazz radio and all the little rock bands wanted to jam with us so we had Frank Zappa's bass player and one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers come jam with us. We had a lot of young rock musicians come and play jazz and it was beautiful. From 87-'90 it was the best because it was a respectful crowd that listened to jazz radio and they were wonderful. When we did the Tom Petty video the trendies came in and it got mobbed in here. It was difficult to hear what we were doing and we were shocked for a while. We still have to get used to it. If there is a wrap party and they just did a movie they are going to be excited and they are going to be screaming and you have to just learn to sing above it. I have to figure out whether they want us to be louder than they are or quieter than they are. I am pretty good at feeling the crowd because I am psychic. I am psychic.

I told my sister and she asked, Why are you calling this guy Marty. I said, If I don't call him I will marry Ray and ruin my life so I have to call him. She said, You don't know him what are you talking about. I said, I don't know, it is the way I feel. I was right on the money. I know a lot of things before they happen.

M: You should have called Ray. No, I am kidding.

E: He calls me a witch.

What is the secret to keeping your relationship going after all these years?

E: It is either ESP or soulmates. We were saying the exact same things at the same time and finishing each others sentences. When we meet people I would start telling them, Oh, Marty just told me that. I think we think alike.

M: I have one of those [hidden microphones] attached to her, she doesn't know it yet. It picks up everything.

Marty Roberts at the Dresden. | Photo: Drew Tewksbury.

When did you realize that the Dresden would be your homebase?

E: We have always felt comfortable here because it is like a party every night. It is a relaxed party atmosphere. We did the Shrine, once. We opened for Sarah Mclachlan and Jewel. There was 6,000 people, it was so dark in there that you couldn't see the crowd and Marty was so cool, he acted like he was home in bed. I prefer an atmosphere where you can see the faces and you can tell what they are thinking a
LINK: https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/marty-and-elayne-the-dresden-los-f...
See more stories from kcet

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

11/09/2026

TV Usage Kicks Usual Summer Slowdown, Fueled by World Cup and Streaming in Nielsen's July Gauge Reports

FIFA World Cup 2026 and Peacock's Love Island USA' Power NBCU-Versant ...

11/09/2026

Atomos Debuts New HDR Monitors at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Calrec to Unveil Type RT Compact Console at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Lightware Launches LARA 2 with New Architecture for More...

Lightware has announced the launch of LARA (Lightware Advanced Room Automation) 2.0, a major upgrade to its built-in room automation platform, introducing impro...

11/09/2026

MusiMap launches latest technology unlocking new commerci...

10 September 2026 - MusiMap, the B2B music intelligence company that is transforming how companies can harness the emotional power of music to reach consumers a...

11/09/2026

Matrox Video Integrates Matrox ORIGIN with NVIDIA Holosca...

Matrox Video today announced an integration between Matrox ORIGIN and NVIDIA Holoscan for Media, enabling Matrox ORIGIN media services to be provisioned, config...

11/09/2026

Net Insight brings cloud-native live media orchestration...

Net Insight today announced that its cloud-native live media orchestration is now available through Oracle Cloud Marketplace, providing broadcasters, production...

11/09/2026

Calrec to Unveil Type RT Compact Console at IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Biggest functionality boost yet makes Buttons the perfect...

Version 1.8 will bring advanced routing control, new workflow tools, boosted control panel flexibility and ease of integration into IP networks...

11/09/2026

Ikegami Announces Four New UNICAM XE Series Cameras

Ikegami announces four additions its UNICAM XE range of 4K-UHD cameras with the introduction of the UHK-X700VN, UHK-X750VN, UHK-X600VN and UHK-X650VN. Developed...

11/09/2026

DHD Launches New MX3 Consoles - Modular to the Core

DHD.audio has chosen IBC2026 as the launch venue for a major new addition to its broadcast sound production platform: the MX3 console range. MX3 retains the mod...

11/09/2026

Sony To Showcase Latest Production Technology At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

EKT To Feature New Linux-Based ATSC 3.0 STB At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Jimmy Kimmel Shifts Political Interview to YouTube Over FCC Worries

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Remembering 9/11: 25 Years of TV Tech Coverage

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Tiger Group To Auction Equipment from a National Broadcasting Studio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Grass Valley Launches AVORA at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Survey: Low Latency for Live Streaming Is Industrys Top Challenge

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Atomos Debuts New HDR Monitors at 2026 IBC Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Grass Valley Launches AVORA at IBC2026 Bringing All in On...

New standalone solution gives production teams everything they need to create, produce and deliver live content from one flexible system. Grass Valley today an...

11/09/2026

Wave Central a Domo Broadcast Company Named Recipient of...

Recognition honors the development of FPV drone camera systems for live sports broadcast coverage Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company that develops advanced...

11/09/2026

Teradek Launches Bolt 7 A Unified Wireless System for Zer...

Teradek, the industry leader in zero-delay wireless video solutions, announced the launch of Bolt 7, which now includes a unified wireless video and data system...

11/09/2026

ACT Pixel Academy Announces Autumn Courses

The ACT Entertainment tvONE and Green Hippo Pixel Academy has released its autumn course schedule, with hands-on training dates in September, October and Novemb...

11/09/2026

Scientists discover a new way that a disease-linked protein comes apart

LA JOLLA, CA-Transthyretin amyloid disease (ATTR) is a progressive, life-threatening condition caused when the protein transthyretin (TTR) breaks apart and aggr...

11/09/2026

Major Update to Blackmagic Cloud

Major Update to Blackmagic Cloud Brie Clayton September 10, 2026 0 Comments Blackmagic Design has announced a major update to Blackmagic Cloud which a...

11/09/2026

Dalet Helps Media Organizations Navigate the Rise of Synthetic Content with NVIDIA AI

Dalet Helps Media Organizations Navigate the Rise of Synthetic Content with NVID...

11/09/2026

A Decade of Innovation: AMP VISUAL TV Builds on Ten Years of MediorNet Evolution

Wuppertal September 11, 2026 A Decade of Innovation: AMP VISUAL TV Builds on Ten Years of MediorNet EvolutionAMP VISUAL TV is continuing the evolution of its ...

11/09/2026

Mediacom Deploys Riedel Easy5G for Wireless Camera Coverage of La Vuelta Cycling in Monaco

Wuppertal September 11, 2026 Mediacom Deploys Riedel Easy5G for Wireless Camer...

11/09/2026

Touring Video Expands Flexible Production Workflows With Riedel MediorNet and hi

Wuppertal September 11, 2026 Touring Video Expands Flexible Production Workflows With Riedel MediorNet and hiRiedel Communications today announced that Tourin...

11/09/2026

Riedel Technology Powers Record-Breaking Esports World Cup Production in Paris

Wuppertal September 11, 2026 Riedel Technology Powers Record-Breaking Esports World Cup Production in ParisFrom July 6 to Aug. 23, 2026, Paris hosted the Espo...

11/09/2026

From Digital Production: Baselight 8 The feature list is the easy part

Article courtesy of Digital Production Read the article With Baselight 8 coming in 2027, the interesting part is not the number of new buttons. Some features...

11/09/2026

Get ready to experience iPhone\u00A018\u00A0Pro, the new Apple Watch lineup, and AirPods 5 - UPDATE - Posted on 11 September 2026

It's almost iPhone Pro time. Starting Saturday, September 12, at 1 p.m, cust...

11/09/2026

Agility Beyond Space and Sonema deepen their long-term partnership to strengthen resilient connectivity across Africa

Agility Beyond Space and Sonema deepen their long-term partnership to strengthen...

11/09/2026

Benetti Menswear Tees Up for 2026 Amgen Irish Open on RT

RT has today announced Benetti Menswear as the sponsor of its 2026 Amgen Irish Open coverage for a sixth consecutive year, further strengthening the heritage c...

10/09/2026

First AI-Generated Golf Announcer To Debut During New Mexico Open

Duff Foreman is an AI-generated announcer who will add color to this month's New Mexico Open...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: Bitmovin Rolls Out Encoder Version 3

Bitmovin is rolling out Encoder Version 3, the next major release of the technology behind its VOD and Live Encoders. Version 3 is built on a premise every stre...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: Net Insight Highlights Open Live Media for Controlled Live Services

At IBC2026, on booth 1.B47, Net Insight will showcase Open Live Media, its architecture for delivering resilient live media services across networks, partners, ...

10/09/2026

PWHL, Scripps Sports Sign National Television Deal for 2026-27 Season

The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and Scripps Sports have announced a national broadcast rights agreement for the 2026-27 season, a landmark par...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: Trusted Partner Network Debuts Fix It or Risk It to Tackle Everyday Security Risks

The Trusted Partner Network (TPN), the global content security initiative powere...

10/09/2026

NFL Brings Back Creator Programs to Deliver Access, Original Storytelling During the 2026 Season

The NFL is launching its most expansive creator programming yet, bringing togeth...

10/09/2026

Sportsnet Removes 150 Blackouts for More National NHL Games Than Ever in 2026-2027 Season

Sportsnet is set to deliver its biggest hockey season ever with a national sched...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: LiveU Showcases Starlink for News and Sports Broadcast as Clarus Integrated Reseller

LiveU is now a Clarus Integrated Reseller, bringing Starlink's fast, reliabl...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: Mimir Develops Single Layer for Content, Metadata, AI Orchestration

Mimir is the cloud-native media production platform built for teams that need to move media fast across live, archive, web, social, and broadcast workflows. At ...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: ATSC 3.0 To Receive Technology & Engineering Emmy Award for Significant Advancement in Television Broadcasting

ATSC is being honored with a 2026 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award by the Nat...

10/09/2026

Audio-Technica Presents BP880R Contact Transducer for Immersive Sports Broadcast, Production Audio Enhancement

Audio-Technica has introduced the BP880R Contact Transducer, a specialized micro...

10/09/2026

ESPN, ION Team Up to Broadcast WTGL Starting on Nov. 8

TMRW Sports in partnership with the LPGA, today announced multiyear U.S. media rights agreements with ESPN and Scripps Sports/ION to bring WTGL, the new women&#...

10/09/2026

SportsNet Pittsburgh Honors Roberto Clemente Day With Second-Annual Live Spanish-Language Pirates Telecast

SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) in partnership with Major League Baseball and the Pit...