What many might not know, was that Lane was part owner of a nightclub in downtown Orlando for a couple of years in the early '90s called Jani Lane's Sunset Strip.
I was too young to go inside, but I do remember seeing it at the corner of Orange Avenue and Pine Street. It is where CityArts Factory now stands, it was also Bar Orlando and Rat Pack's over the years.
I reached out on Twitter and Facebook for some memories from Orlando residents who went to the club back in the day and this is what they had to say. Feel free to share your own memories of the club too in the comments section.
Will Walker, co-owner of Will's Pub and the Belle Isle Yacht Pub, remembers going there when he was 21:
"I saw Jani Lane perform there multiple times."
Local musician, Rickey Dickens, has this memory:
"I got the hook, literally and deservedly so, at an open stage when you could sing with the band at Jani Lane's on Orange Ave back in 1994. I was 21, trying to sing Roadhouse Blues. I had a sore throat and my "friend" told me NOT to sip, but shoot a SIFTER of…are you ready? BRANDY. Oh yeah, it was like the Apollo in NYC where someone w/ a huge "Hook" put it around me and gently pulled me off stage. I say "gently," because they knew if they pulled too fast, I would have fell face first into the guitar player or fell off the stage all together. It was one of the THE most of embarrassing moments in my life. I had no idea I was supposed to SIP the Brandy, I knew after that night though."
@fsulaw03 on Twitter: a highlight was Warrant actually playing the club…and just b4 open Jani played acoustic set at Light Up Orlando!
@JerrySteffen on Twitter: Waterballooning drunks on the street below from that tiny balcony after a Todd Rundgren show.
Betsi Scott on Facebook has this to say about the lead singer: "I actually met Jani at Jani Lane's. I remember that he was very personable; humble and just an all-around nice guy."
I also dug into our Sentinel archives and found this article by Nancy Feigenbaum from Dec. 2, 1993, right before the club opened. Here are some excerpts:
Webster Drug Stores Inc., a family-owned business with one other location, bought the four-story building (at Orange Avenue and Pine Street) for $1.2 million. The drugstore used to be part of the Liggett chain, which has disbanded. It is leasing the second and third floors to a nightclub, Jani Lane's Sunset Strip.
"Downtown really is the hottest place right now," said Carollynn Hammersmith, spokeswoman for for Sunset Strip.
Sunset Strip, atop Liggett, is the latest of dozens of nightclubs to open in the wake of Church Street's success. It is named for Jani Lane, a former Orlando musician who hit the big time with a heavy metal band called Warrant.
Jani Lane, who rose to fame as the singer of heavy metal band Warrant, was found dead at 47 tonight at the Comfort Inn hotel in a Woodland Hills, California.
Warrant, with hits like ‘Cherry Pie,’ ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ and ‘Heaven,’ was one of the top metal bands of the early 90′s battling it out with Motley Crue, Poison, and Guns N’ Roses.
Warrant’s Cherry Pie Video – In Memory of Jani Lane
Lane had a history of alcohol abuse, along with weight issues, and depression. He appeared on VH1′s Celebrity Fit Club 2 back in 2005.‘Cherry Pie’ will always be one of the most remembered videos of the past 25 years. It should also be noted that Lane married the hot chick in that video, Bobbi Brown. They divorced after two years of marriage. They had a daughter together, Taylar Jayne Lane.
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