I will be working alongside Alan Picus, promoter and now my business partner extraordinaire, on all of our club nights together. We will be doing all of our own events, as we don’t plan to bring in outside promoters. Which events will you be offering and promoting for The Q? All of this shaped me for my experience of becoming an owner and operator of THE Q, a venue of my very own. I was Program Director for 3 Dollar Bill, getting them off the ground their opening year, and continued to consult for them after. Since then, I’ve been producing weekly parties everywhere–at the Jane Hotel, Rebar, Metropolitan in Brooklyn, both Dream Hotels and a multitude of one-off club nights in between. Clearly, I have an affinity for old New York. That night, she leaned over to me and said “Thank you for bringing me home”–the most amazing compliment anyone has ever given to me about a night I produced. Warhol superstar Holly Woodlawn (RIP) performed there once. Lady Miss Kier of Deee-Lite DJ’d opening night and that was quite a scene. In the main room, we had performers like Azealia Banks, Zebra Katz, Scissor Sisters and every beloved drag queen, both local and from television. It was sickening House beats in one room and Britney Spears and disco in the other. So it was glamour, but it was all sleaze at the same time. It was the same “everything and the kitchen sink” approach, but this time with a budget. WestGay ran for four years and changed my life. I won a Paper magazine award for Best New York Party that year, which caught the eye of the celebrity venue owners of the Westway (also of the Jane Ballroom) to produce their big gay weekly rager, which eventually became the infamous “WESTGAY”. It was a little dash of everything, which is why I called the night “EVERYTHING: A Party For Everyone”. It was about celebrating the queer spectrum in all of its nonbinary flow and to keep the vibe there cross-genre, cross-generational, cross-cultural. You had this sceney, intimate dance party, but with big guest DJs and performers like Hood By Air, Casey Spooner, Andy Cohen from Bravo, Mykki Blanco and Sky Ferreira, and we were one of the first parties to start booking the Ru girls.
It was a tiny hole in the wall party, but with huge personality. So I started organizing a small weekly night called “EVERYTHING” at the old Bedlam space in the Lower East Side, owned by the guys who now own Atlas and Club Cumming. I got fired from that job and eventually fell back on what I knew best: THROWING A PARTY.
It was a dreadful experience, only because I realized I’d rather be out till 4 AM at the clubs, and having to be in the office at 9 AM was NOT working for me.
I wanted to work in fashion, so I got a job assisting a designer showroom owner, which turned into some boring desk job selling fashion wholesale. I moved to New York on Sfrom San Francisco. For those readers that have not been to one of your events, tell them a little about you and your nightlife background. The three major owners agreed to give us a sneak preview. Owners Bob Fluet, Frankie Sharp, and Alan Picus are planning to open when things are safe enough, Sharp telling insider Michael Musto that the club will be in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s spawned from the need for the LGBTQ community to finally emerge from isolation and rock this town. The Newest New York Nightlife Phenomenon Photos by: Wilsommodels New York City’s newest nightlife phenomenon promises to be an immersive, innovative and exciting adventure.