While Riki Rachtman may be best known for hosting MTV’s ‘Headbanger’s Ball,’ his roots and contributions to the rock scene run far deeper than you might imagine. In 1986, Rachtman and long-time friend Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat founded one of the most infamous establishments in rock history — The Cathouse! The legendary club was at the epicenter of the Hollywood Rock scene and hosted some of the genre’s biggest bands for unannounced shows. However, it wasn’t the performances by bands like Guns N’ Roses, Motorhead, Alice Cooper, Pearl Jam, Faster Pussycat, Black Crowes that put Cathouse on the map. It was the sleaze and debauchery, the raunch ‘n’ roll! During the club’s epic run, Rachtman enforced a no camera rule at the Cathouse, ensuring that anything could and did happen! Those stories have never been told… until now!
