Confessions of a Disco Dancer : Remembering The Party
When I was in high school, I was "that guy" who wore the "Disco Sucks" t-shirt proudly. As a fan of all things rock and jazz and protest and non conformism, I thought Disco represented the end of the world. It was in early in college that one of my musical heroes said something simple, funny and profound that change my perspective and made me burn my Disco Sucks T-shirt.
It was Frank Zappa -- who was having a bit of hit record, ironically with a disco parody called "Dancin' Fool" -- who was quoted in an interview talking about the role of Disco in our society.
The quote went like this (from the http://wiki.killuglyradio.com/wiki/Disco )
"Disco music makes it possible to have disco entertainment centers. Disco entertainment centers make it possible for mellow, laid-back, boring kinds of people to meet each other and reproduce. People who think of themselves as young moderns, upwardly mobile, go for the fusion or disco - that slick, cleaned-up, precise, mechanical kind of music. And they tend to dislike everything else because it doesn't have its hair combed. Three-chord fuzztone music is not exactly the kind of thing that you'd expect a young executive to be interested in. He wants something that sounds like it might be really good to listen to riding around in a Maserati. So ultimately, that cheapens the music and whatever the musicians have done. ... But like I said, it's a good thing that all that music is there for all those people. Because without it, their lifestyle would lack something."
The first part of the quote was prime Zappa, scathing commentary and sarcasm for days some of which I appreciate but don't fully agree with in retrospect. Yet it was the the latter part of the quote that made me realize that, yes, in fact, disco was making many people happy and who the hell was I to judge anyone???
Now, I didn't suddenly drop everything and don a white disco suit and start doing cocaine and all that stuff the REALLY HIP kids were doing. No, I followed my own trajectory and eventually did get to appreciate disco (via the Talking Heads/Eno/Bowie/King Crimson connections) first getting into funk -- still kicking myself that I didn't go with friends in high school to see P-Funk at Madison Square Garden -- and eventually even owning some (gasp!) dance records! I have the first Bee Gees disco album in my collection -- Main Course -- as its a great record. Though I admit that I have NEVER yet seen Saturday Night Fever. I do not own the album. I don't even have Thriller in my collection. (gasp!) I DO however own numerous Bohannan albums (which is where Talking Heads' drummer nicked a lot of his grooves). But I digress...
* * * * *
Last year, a friend I was dating for a while, got me onto the dance floor for the first time since New Years Eve 1986! I had been to some decent sized dance clubs before I was out of course. But nothing prepared me for that New Years when I found myself in London at The Hippodrome -- actually it was technically December 30th, 1985, an all Gay New Years celebration -- alongside some 3,000 other dancin' fools like myself, all having a jolly grand time!
For reasons numerous, I never quite got into the dance scene even though I did like a lot of the newer dance music of the time. I still believed rock and roll was king and eventually led my own band and put out several albums, all basically in the indie rock realm. I had even gone to some of the dance events hosted by a famous indie rock star who had started DJing, but they left me kinda flat... more on that later...
So when David dragged me into the infamous Castro-area Gay dance club "Badlands," it was with more than a bit of trepidation:
Here I was overweight, twice the age of most in the club and not entirely sure if my old moves from back in the day would translate to the newer tunes.
The cool thing is everyone there was really supportive and I soon found my groove.
I even had a couple hot young alterna-chicks nuzzling up to me, bumping butts and such at one point on the floor, which was surreal but oddly welcoming. Dave is a big guy -- and a great dancer -- too so the two of us on this tight little dance floor packed mostly with 24-inch waists was probably quite an image! LOL
Dave got me out on that dance floor a few more times that year.
But I would never have gone on my own.
* * * * *
Until last Sunday,that is, I went to a big disco event called "Remember the Party," organized by a couple of friends of mine, where they recreate the vibe of vintage San Francisco dance events of 20-30 years ago -- which as I've indicated I missed the first time 'round.
I'd promised Richard and Chris FOR YEARS that I would come to their events, but something always came up usually me being out of town or the crap of life stomping all over my buzz.
This time I was determined.... THIS TIME....I had blocked out the time, bought my ticket in advance and dragged my sorry little disco-free carcass over there to see what it was all about.
Even if I never got on the dance floor it was worth it to see the smiles on Chris and Richard's faces when I walked through the doors of the club. They immediately counseled me on what to do, what to expect and to remind me to just have a great time. Not always easy for me, believe it or not, especially as a single man these days.. but I won't go down the the spiral into all that stuff.
Instead, I focused on the music and the people. The first thing that got me was the sense of joy and abandon that people were enjoying at this event. What was it that was going on here that I, frankly, hadn't seen quite as much at other more modern dance events?
As I mentioned earlier, I'd HAD gone a couple times to some dance parties (which shall remain nameless) here in SF but the crowd seemed fairly downer both times I went. Maybe it was because I wasn't doing any drugs (I don't do them).
Or maybe it was something else that was making me feel this way ....
Within the first half hour at Remember The Party, I had a revelation: there was something very different going on in the music -- it had a lot of musical feel to it.
Old school disco, in comparison to much of the extremely mechanical loop and sequence based dance music of the now, was actually some pretty musical stuff and not that all that terrible after all.
There were sassy horn sections, vocal harmonies, badass bass lines, smokin' grooves and even some killer lyrics delivered.
For the most part in terms of mainstream appeal, those sounds have mostly been replaced with more electronic driven beats, from hip hop and rap to ambient and dubstep.
Even the early sequenced dance tracks -- like Giorgio Moroder's groundbreaking Donna Summer hit "I Feel Love" -- had more feel to them -- perhaps because they were done with old analog synthesizers which had flaws and a less perfect pulse. I don't know. Maybe simply the songwriting was better....
Sure there are pockets of cool around today -- with DJs spinning old "Northern Soul" 45s and the like -- and moments of retro pop bliss like Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" (not a dance track per se but it could have been a soul hit in 1971). Thank God for artists like Sharon Jones and the rediscovery, reinvention and ascension of Bettye Lavette!
Yet... old school disco and newer variants march onward...
Anyhow....
So, there I was. Initially a wallflower as I'm want to do in situations like this, but eventually finding my groove and courage to approach someone to dance with.
That it was someone I'd oft admired and never knew he was a dancing bear (if you will) was a pleasant surprise. And you know what? I had fun! And as you can see by the pics it was quite a party.
So yeah, I Remembered The Party I never really participated in in the first place.
* * * * *
Many years ago, I'd been referred to a friend of a friend to go through this fellow's record collection and help him figure out what he had there. As a thank you, he said I should go through the some 10-15,000 LPs and pick out a stack that I'd like. I got some cool things I'd always wanted and a handful things i never would have bothered buying but was curious about (15 Ike and Tina Turner albums!).
One thing I got was a record I'd never heard or even seen in the stores. It was clearly a regional California release from "back in the day." But the cover was so priceless and simultaneously funny and offensive (depending on your perspective) I had to have it. In fact, I have it framed on display proudly when you first walk into my office/studio -- few even notice it.
Frankly, I've never played it. Perhaps now, with my newfound perspective, I will finally give it a spin.
Front Cover ---- >
And while I do that I will indeed, "Remember The Party."
Inside gatefold ---->
Thanks again Chris and Richard for inviting and encouraging me.
And to Charlie for being a great dance mate. :-)
Above: Richard (left) and Chris (right) at Remember The Party with some friends.
Below are a bunch of great photos that i did not take but which were posted on FaceBook.
Great images in much higher resolution than mine.
