Rasputin. Dead or alive? We’re not talking Grigori Rasputin, who those with a passion for Russian history know took some nine or ten hours to die at the hands of assassins in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Dec. 30, 1916. We’re talking about the much younger nightclub event of the same name staged weekly for the past year at Robertson by promoters Andres Rigal and Luke Nero.
Rigal and Nero’s “Rasputin” has been a major Saturday night destination for gay partiers and their friends along with celebrities such as Katy Perry and Christina Aguilera. Rigal and Nero announced Sunday in a post on Facebook that the event was over. That announcement prompted responses on social media from Robertson, the club at 665 N. Robertson Blvd. south of Santa Monica where Rasputin was staged, that Rasputin was still alive.
Joe Sparks, the in-house promoter for Robertson, emailed WEHOville.com to say that Rasputin “is in fact open and WILL be open this Saturday. Anything (and anyone) alluding otherwise and stating that Rasputin (more so Robertson Nightclub) is closed for business has acted in actions (sic) causing damages that will be pursued to the fullest extent of the law.”
Asked for comment, Rigal and Nero issued a statement that read: “The promoters of Rasputin are Luke Nero and Andres Rigal. They are the registered owners of the event, as evidenced by United States Trademark Office Registration No. 4316962…
“Individuals who formerly provided event space to Rasputin have announced their intention to promote an event which infringes the registered trademark of Mr. Nero and Mr. Rigal. The planned infringing event may also infringe the trade dress of the event. Such trade dress is also owned by Mr. Nero and Mr. Rigal.
“This event is unauthorized and Mr. Nero and Mr. Rigal reserve all of their legal rights and remedies against the former providers of the event space.
“Mr. Nero and Mr. Rigal are actively looking for a new space to revive their event and look forward to welcoming back their friends and extended family to their one of a kind party.”
On a less contentious note, Nero and Rigal are moving “Evita,” their Tuesday night event formerly staged at Blok in Hollywood, to DBA, the new nightclub at 7969 Santa Monica Blvd. near North Laurel. Evita opens at that location tonight with DJs Casey Alva and Derek.
