Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas is currently "camping out" in Los Angeles. As part of his excursion, he's doing a month-long residency of shows, playing every Friday at the Broadway Palace Theater. It turns out there's a lot of history at the venue. "I don't think there's ever been a rock show in that place," Casablancas tells Spinner. "It's where 'Thriller' was filmed and it's just a rad place, to be honest. It feels super-grand and kind of dilapidated, but in a charming way. [It's] super-intimate so even the worst seat you can see my expression."

When Casablancas chose the venue, he admits he wasn't aware of the historical significance, as it's the venue where Michael Jackson and his date are watching the movie. The venue even recently recreated the clip's marquee to honor the late pop icon. "I didn't know about it at first and I only found out after I started to fight for it," he says. But it was definitely an added bonus for him. "It's just the vibe is so great and as we're kind of debating, they were like, 'Oh, that's also where 'Thriller' was filmed,'" he recalls. "I was like, 'You're not arguing your case for not doing a show here.' The place feels special already and that definitely doesn't demystify it."

Casablancas is big right now on keeping the mystique, as he also uses the word demystify about his L.A. expedition, specifically why the frontman of one of New York City's most famous bands is launching his solo debut, 'Phrazes for the Young,' on the left coast. While he wanted to keep that mystery, we got him to divulge part of the reasoning. "To do this kind of thing with the set changes and all that, I wanted to find a special theater. It just seemed like it would be a lot easier and cheaper to do in L.A.," he says. "Also, if it was some complete disaster I feel like it'd be easier to have that happen in L.A. than in New York."

Either way, the city is happy to have him.