90's Drag

Check out this Entertainment Tonight segment from the 90's about up-and-coming drag stars. They all look so young! Also, it features a few quick shots of my all-time favorite NYC club - Club USA (R.I.P.)

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Gay NYC Nightlife Loses an Icon - Marc Berkley

NYC party promoter, HX Magazine founder, and gay nightlife ringmaster Marc Berkley said in 1993 - "A few years ago there were maybe 500 fabulous people in New York. Now, everyone thinks they’re fabulous." And he was right. Every time I sashayed up to the Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium, or Club USA and entered one of Marc's parties, I felt like the hottest biatch this side of Trenton.

It really saddened me to learn that "Ms. Berkley" (as he called himself), passed away on Fire Island yesterday of an apparent heart attack. He was only 56 years old. My strong reaction to the news was surprising until I thought about it ... In actuality, I moved to NYC to be a part of Marc Berkley's world.

In the early 90's, after graduating college and moving back home, I visited NYC often. The clubs were awesome but sometimes hard to find since venues, promoters, etc. changed constantly. And remember, there was no Internet - the only way to find out about future parties was via flyers, which were handed to you while leaving bars/clubs.

But party promoter Marc Berkley (and his partner Matthew Bank) had an ingenious idea. They would put together a black-and-white pamphlet which listed bars/clubs/sexay places - with emphasis on Marc's parties. This pamphlet, called "Homo Xtra", soon became HX Magazine ... New York's premiere "bar rag"...

HX was basically ALL the party flyers put together.  So when I visited the city the first thing I did was find a copy of HX and plan my itinerary.  Marc Berkely and Matthew Bank's little magazine showed me a world that seemed fun, edgy, and VERY gay - just the kind of place I wanted to be in. So eventually I packed my bags, left Central Pennsylvania, and moved to the Big City.

After arriving, my nightlife revolved around Marc's parties - Limelight was on Wednesdays ("Lick-It") and Fridays ("Heaven"), and later there was Saturdays at the Tunnel, and Sundays at Club USA (my all-time favorite club/party) and then Palladium. If you got on Marc's mailing list, you were issued a "Fagtag" which got you reduced or comped admission to all these parties. And for a country mouse like me, it was like a VIP ticket to superstardom...

But, as all things do, gay nightlife changed - and we heard less and less about Ms. Berkley.  He promoted parties here and there - but finally sold his stake in HX before the magazine closed completely.  And over the past few years I hadn't read or heard a thing about him (go to a great article HERE which fills in some blanks).

Berkley was attending a friend's birthday party on Fire Island this weekend and complained of stomach pain on Friday night before going to bed.  He died peacefully in his sleep and was found by his friends on Saturday morning.

RIP Ms. Berkley.  When it's my time to go, will bringing my Fagtag to Heaven help me get in?  I bet it will ...

Afternoon Dance Break - Feel What You Want

When former beauty queen and Las Vegas entertainer Kristine W burst onto the dance music scene in the 90's, her song Feel What You Want immediately became one of my favorites.  And I can't help it - when I hear Feel What You Want I still think about the NYC club that played the song ALL THE TIME - Club USA.

Club USA was one of Peter Gatien's megaclubs (along with Limelight, Palladium, and Tunnel) - and their Sunday night "Bump" gay party was a weekly must-attend back in the day.  Club USA was housed in an old theater which had many levels, rooms and semi-private nooks in which clubgoers could find all kinds of trouble.  And I knew every square inch of that biatch.

And - quelle surprise - when I Googled "Club USA NYC", this video came up ... and GUESS what song is playing...

In case you're wondering, Club USA was closed after Peter Gatien's drug/tax troubles and the building was eventually demolished to make way for the W Hotel in Times Square...

{{sheds single tear...}}