One of the big news items for Paradise Lost this week is that (Drum roll, please. What's that? You don't have any drums? Fine, just tap your fingers on the desk.) Boots and Saddle has invested in a new sound system. Things had gotten progressively worse sound-wise, coming to a head last Friday when it sounded like we were listening to Lady Gaga play a concert from outer space, and no amount of knob-twiddling, kicking up the treble, or knocking out the mid-range could bring her down to earth. I heard the new speakers/board this week and it's like a different bar--crystal clear, ready to stream forth with the new Hercules and Love Affair remix of "Bad Romance" and Kelis' new, hot "Acapella."

Our friend Stephen, recently plucked from obscurity (meaning, um, being a successful, gallery-shown visual artist) by Daniel Nardicio to be a famous go-go dancer, will be gracing the party with his underwear-clad ass-shaking. Danny will be back adorned in, I assume, ginch gonch and a santa hat.

So bundle up, get to Boots, and get naked. If you will, I will. See you tonight.

Decemberween Ball

We are gearing up for another spectacular Paradise Lost tomorrow. We got another shout out at AntiTwink.com. See it here. Also, this time, we have even more reason to congregate

As many of you heard, the New York State Senate shot down the bill that would allowed gay marriage in our state. Tonight, there was a rally in Union Square starting at 6pm to show our disappointment and anger at this attack against equal rights. Thank you for all who came out in support of our wounded spirits.

Tomorrow, come by Paradise Lost to join in our Decemberween Ball, which now has a new meaning. Come dance away your frustration and be around others who feel the same way. Although we know marriage equality will be a reality very soon, it's okay to get angry now. Come vent it in a healthy way.

Hope to see you all there!

Well, danceteriums, somehow we survived the weekend. At least I think we survived. This could all be a strange fever-dream that I'm having from my hospital bed at St. Vincent's. There's really no way to tell.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out last Friday. We had one of our biggest nights yet, and I can't tell you how excited I get when I hear people do the Gay Gasp when I start spinning a song. If you're clutching your pearls I know I'm doing something right.

And that makes it all worthwhile.

Paradise Lost just got two big ups:

One from Time Out New York: "The weekly nod to the legendary Paradise Garage has been bringing this old-school watering hole back to life. Come for the new and classic dance music, $5 top-shelf drink specials and friendly vibe." How extremely cool is it that they totally got the connection to Paradise Garage? The answer: extremely cool.

And another from a new punk-rock gay listings site called Antitwink.com, which is right up my ol' alley. No, not that alley. Perverts.

This Friday's party is gearing up to be momentous. My super fashionista friend Ashleigh is in town from Toronto and has already promised to break out some of her ridiculous YSL 7-inch stilettos for the event; we've got an incredible co-host in fierce fierce drag queen Dallas DuBois; we're having our first-ever go-go boy contest (with a cash prize of $50, okaaaaaaaaay); and I tracked down this gem to spin at some point in the night:



Excited? I am.

Feelings about emotions about disco

I know, my little chickadees, that I've only posted on this thing once and have left my partner in crime, the illustrious Austin, to do most of the posting. I blame it wholly on the fact that compared to Austin I'm basically a grandpa and am just now learning how to use the interwebs. What's that you say? I have another blog that has been going on for years, that I grew up with a computer in my house, that I have extensive interwebs experience from my online porn browsing alone? Shh, go to sleep.

I suppose I haven't really known what to say when it comes to Paradise Lost. The last time I wrote to you we were on the verge of the first event, and now, suddenly, it's three parties later. Everything that I'd hoped about PL has come true so far: we've packed Boots and Saddle to the gills thrice, people have been really receptive to the music, and the atmosphere in the bar every single time has been positive, fun, friendly. We've made friends with Boots' employees and I've started to feel frighteningly at home behind the DJ board.

Funnily, the first time I DJ'd the party I thought I was going to die by the end of the night. I was so married to it that I only had time to pee once, much less mingle. Austin picked up the art of the board incredibly quickly, though, and has started to give me a reprieve when I need to go flirt with someone I mean relieve myself.

Speaking of being behind the board, I'll share a funny quirk with you. There are two buttons in the DJ booth that I call the "party kill buttons." One is a power strip that, if you switch it off, darkens the bar and brings the music come to a screeching halt. Austin, bless his heart, tripped the party kill button at our first party and it was literally like, "REEEEEEEEEEE" (that's the sound of a record scratching). The other party kill button is much tricker: it's the power button on the amp, which is (apparently) incredibly easy to lean against and turn off, especially if you're my friend Scott. When that happened I had literally no idea what was going on: one moment I was dancing to the absurdly awesome Kelis disco remix I'd dug up, and the next...I was still dancing but there was no music. The owner had to come back into the DJ booth and turn the power back on, at which point he looked at me and said, sternly, "WATCH OUT FOR THIS BUTTON."

Words to live by.

What's better than a hot biweekly party...

A hot WEEKLY party!

Great news everyone! Paradise Lost has been so successful, that the owners of Boot & Saddle have asked Robert & I to double our time at their place! We will now be doing Paradise Lost every Friday night!

We are very excited about this party upgrade, and I know you are too. So the next party will be this Friday, November 6th!

See you all there!

Nor'Easter Be Damned!

Second Paradise Lost come and gone!

Last night was another successful party with more people than last time! Robert and my friends came back and had an amazing time again (I assume--correct me if I'm wrong). Robert added even more music to our ever growing playlist. So all the boys were dancin' hard to classics like Rod Stewart's "If You Think I'm Sexy" and to new songs like Annie's "I Don't Like Your Band" (yeah, I know it's not supposed to be released till next month, but Robert's just that good).

It was a personal achievement for me, as I learned how to run the DJ board. It was very nerve-wracking, but exhilarating as well-- especially since we were having sound system issues early in the night.

Around 1am, the crowd started to thin, much to my dismay. However, at that point, a group of about 25 fratboy-looking gay football and soccer players showed up on a Christopher Street Birthday Bar Crawl.
Yeah. It was as hot as it sounds. All the sudden, we were back in business. All the then-tired patrons woke up and started paying attention to the eye candy that happened upon our party. Goooood times.

So now, here I sit--back at my day job after a scant 3.5 hours of sleep. Good thing I'm a seasoned party monster.

We're looking forward to the next Paradise Lost on October 30! There's going to be a costume contest, as is appropriate on Halloween Eve.
There's $100 cash going to the first place winner. Second place gets a
$75 bar tab, and third gets a $25 bar tab. Pretty sweet deal. It's too bad that I can't win! But if you're competing, be forewarned--my costume will be setting the bar high. ;-)

So hopefully I'll see you all then! This time, I'll remember the camera.

Keep on dancing on!

Monday, Monday...

What a crazy night we had this past Friday! The first Paradise Lost was a huge success. Boots & Saddle never saw it coming. The place was packed, and the beer was flowing like wine. Robert was treating that DJ booth like it was his bitch (which basically, it was—in fact, it was really hot… the way he flipped those discs and bounced to the music… and putting drunk patrons in their place… very sexy indeed…).

Um… anyways! Everyone had a great time, and it’s thanks to them that we got to set the laid back, non-pretentious attitude we were looking for. Hundred of you packed into the historic bar while giving a giant “F--- you!” to the rain that threaten to ruin your perfect hair. The Malibu rum girls were there handing out free drinks, and there $5 Stoli drinks all night!

Robert and I had a touching moment with man who has owned Boots & Saddle for the last 3 decades. He was so happy to have so many young guys in his bar who were having a genuine in good time. He said it reminded him of what it was like when he first opened the place. Even the regulars were happy to see the bar being rejuvenated, if even for one night. The bartenders were very excited as well. Tom jumped over the bar at the end of the night to give Robert and me a giant hug of gratitude.

So can we get back to Robert and his sexy DJing? I mean, people were making silly song requests just to be near him. We had to kick some people off the stage for excessive flirting through the DJ window. What a hard life that Robert has! ;-)

Okay, enough of that. All in all, a great success! Hopefully all of you will come again on Friday, October 16 to keep the party going! As for me, I have another week and a half before once again having to sacrifice my beauty sleep. But let’s be honest… I don’t really need it anyway.

Dance like you mean it!

The Inaugural Gala

Well, folks, tonight is the night. It seems like just yesterday that I was washing my hair making coffee laying in bed doing laundry brainstorming while listening to a totally sick live Madonna song that incorporates "I Feel Love" into "Future Lovers" (Have I ever typed a gayer sentence? Let's throw something about Liza, throw pillows, and track lighting into there and call it a day.) when I thought, "God, there is really no dance party in this city that I want to go to." I've been to Santos and found it overwhelming, especially since I don't do party drugs (unless you count accidentally inhaling whip-its while getting ready to eat apple pie); Hell's Kitchen bars play nothing but grinding pop remixes of Heidi Montag songs; and there's nothing we found that we liked in our favorite neighborhood, the West Village.

I knew that I wanted it to be disco, I knew I wanted it to be in Greenwich, and I knew I wanted it to be intimate. I started thinking about doing something that was a nod to Paradise Garage when Austin, who I'd quickly brought on board to be my collaborator, suggested the name: Paradise Lost. It was perfect: not only did it dig up all kinds of Biblical issues, it eluded to something that made me want to throw the party in the first place: places like Paradise Garage have completely died out in New York City. A DIY, underground temple to dance doesn't exist in today's New York, with its 24-year-old hedge fund babies and secret Marc Jacobs warehouse parties. Paradise (Garage) has been Lost.

If all of this seems like so much heady bullshit that will be completely lost in the swirling melee that is actually throwing a dance party, well, you're probably right. But it's why our first poster features a picture from a dance held at the Firehouse, the headquarters for the Gay Activists Alliance, and why we're playing everything from "Don't Leave Me This Way" through The Gossip and Sam Sparro, emphasizing music that's been important to queer people--especially when those queer people want to sweat--for 30 years.

If nothing else, it'll be a wonderful experiment: to see if we can get people to come back down to Greenwich Village, get them to come to a bar they don't associate with dancing, get them throw off their inhibitions and dance their asses off, shooting up a positive energy the likes you don't often see in New York City. Someone has to.

It's All Happening!

Welcome to the official blog page for Paradise Lost, a new gay dance party starting out in the West Village's historic Boots & Saddle!

Keep checking out the page for updates and the latest information on the party. Also, look for your friends in pictures from our party!

So don't worry, your hosts Robert and I will keep you dancing as long as we can.