Club Kids Explained

The Club Kids were a group of young New York City dance club personalities. The group was notable for its members' flamboyant behavior and outrageous costumes.

Background

In 1988 writer Michael Musto wrote about the Club Kids' "cult of crazy fashion and petulance": "They ... are terminally superficial, have dubious aesthetic values, and are master manipulators, exploiters, and, thank God, partiers."[1] [2] The group was popularized by Michael Alig, James St. James, Julie Jewels, Astro Erle, Michael Tronn, DJ Keoki, and Ernie Glam in the late 1980s, and, throughout the 1990s, grew to include Amanda Lepore, Waltpaper (Walt Cassidy), Christopher Comp, It Twins, Jennytalia (Jenny Dembrow), Desi Monster (Desi Santiago), Keda, Kabuki Starshine, and Richie Rich.[3]

The group was recognized as an artistic and fashion-conscious youth culture. Several Club Kids have made long-lasting contributions to mainstream art and fashion. According to former Club Kid Waltpaper, "The nightclub for me was like a laboratory, a place where you were encouraged and rewarded for experimentation."[4] However, Alig was plagued by heavy drug use. He began adding drug dealers to the Club Kids roster and Peter Gatien's payroll, and increasing numbers of Club Kids became addicted to drugs.[5]

The movement began to decline when Rudy Giuliani took office as mayor of New York in 1994, targeting the city's nightlife industry with his Quality of Life campaign.[3] It eventually collapsed after Alig was arrested for the killing and dismemberment of his roommate and fellow club kid Andre "Angel" Melendez, and Peter Gatien was charged with tax evasion and deported to Canada.[3]

Members

The group, which Alig estimates included up to "750 in the early '90s at different levels",[6] consisted of Michael Alig; Julie Jewels and Michael Tronn (among others), who helped organize the early Outlaw Parties;[7] and Alig's mentor/friend/rival James St. James (born James Clark). Others were the following:

Prominent chroniclers of the club kids culture

History

Alig moved to New York City from his hometown—South Bend, Indiana—in 1984 and began hosting small events. In 1987, he supplanted Andy Warhol as a leading New York partier; in an article in Interview, Alig said: "We were all going to become Warhol Superstars and move into The Factory. The funny thing was that everybody had the same idea: not to dress up but to make fun of people who dressed up. We changed our names like they did, and we dressed up in outrageously crazy outfits in order to be a satire of them—only we ended up becoming what we were satirizing."[34]

The Club Kids' aesthetic emphasized outrageousness, "fabulousness", and sex. Gender expression was fluid, and everything was DIY. In Musto's words: "It was a statement of individuality and sexuality which ran the gamut, and it was a form of tapping into an inner fabulousness within themselves and bringing it out."[35]

As the group's influence grew, they spread from the back rooms of lesser-known clubs to venues such as Area, Rudolf Piper's Danceteria, and the Palladium. From there, Alig and his gang went on to run Peter Gatien's club network, including Club USA, Palladium, Tunnel, and The Limelight. To draw crowds into these venues, Alig and the Club Kids began holding guerilla-style "outlaw parties", where, fully costumed and ready to party, they would hijack locations like Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, ATM vestibules, the old High Line tracks before their conversion to a park, and the New York City Subway blasting music from a boombox and dancing until the police cleared them out. Alig even "threw a party in a cardboard shantytown rented from its homeless inhabitants", whom he paid with cash and crack cocaine.

He ensured that such events always happened in the vicinity of an actual club to which the group could decamp.[36] At the height of their cultural popularity, the Club Kids toured the United States (throwing parties, "certifying" those clubs for inclusion in the Club Kids network, and recruiting new members), and appeared on several talk shows, including Geraldo, The Joan Rivers Show, and the Phil Donahue Show.[37] [38]

As the 1990s began, the front line of the Club Kids became occupied by a younger group of dynamic personalities that were discovered and mentored by Alig, such as Waltpaper, Jennytalia (Jenny Dembrow), Desi Monster (Desi Santiago), Astro Erle, Christopher Comp, Pebbles, Keda, Kabuki Starshine, Sacred Boy, Sushi, Lil Keni, DJ Whillyem, Aphrodita, Lila Wolfe and Richie Rich. Many of these primary Club Kids lived together communally in large triplex apartments, and at the Chelsea Hotel and Hotel 17.[3] [32]

Prominent music personalities, such as Björk, then singer of the band Sugarcubes, were seen hanging with the Club Kids.[32] With techno and the incoming rave scene, fashion began to soften into an ambiguous gender-fluid style, which melded references to the Club Kids with skate, indie, hip-hop, and grunge. Brands began casting street models and club personalities in shows, campaigns and music videos. Actress Chloë Sevigny emerged from the group at this time, and frequently modeled with Waltpaper, Jennytalia, DJ Whillyem, and Karliin Mann for brands like JYSP Johnson, Calvin Klein, and Jean-Paul Gaultier and in various editorials that showcased Rave vs. Club Kid style for magazines, including Paper, Max, Project X, Interview, Details and High Times.[3] [32]

The movement's decline was marked by an event on Sunday, March 17, 1996, when Alig and his roommate Robert "Freeze" Riggs killed former Limelight employee and reputed drug dealer Andre "Angel" Melendez. After nine months, Alig and Riggs were arrested.[39] The group dissipated in the mid-1990s after Mayor Rudy Giuliani's "Quality of Life" crackdown on Manhattan's nightclubs.

Many of the members of the Club Kids distanced themselves from Alig as details of the murder were released and branded by the press and through documentaries such as Party Monster. Waltpaper stated in Interview: "I would say a lot of the community felt our experience of the time was hijacked by that Party Monster narrative...That's not the New York I knew. That narrative doesn't include the creativity, vibrancy, and cultural impact that I experienced." For his 2019 book, New York: Club Kids, Cassidy weaves an optimistic narrative where a bunch of misfits made a wonderland by being themselves.[32]

Depictions in art, entertainment, and media

Books

Films

Music

Ernie Glam and Jason Jay wrote "Party Clothes". It was released on the one year anniversary of Michael Alig's death.Later Ernie Glam and Jason Jay wrote "Fashion " and released it on May 21, 2022.

Greg Tanoose wrote and produced the song "What's In" with Michael Alig and DJ Keoki. It has Michael Alig on vocals.

Television

Melendez's murder case was featured on the TV series:

Theatre

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: NY Mirror. Musto. Michael. 2002-03-26. Village Voice. 2017-01-31.
  2. News: The Observer. Club Kids on the Skids: The Horrid, Lovely Alig Epic. Doonan. Simon. August 9, 1999.
  3. Book: Cassidy . Walt . NEW YORK: CLUB KIDS by Waltpaper . 2019 . Damiani . Italy/New York . 978-8862086578 .
  4. Book: Smith. Raven. 2008 . Club Kids: From Speakeasies to Boombox and Beyond. London, UK. Black Dog Publishing.
  5. Kurtis. Bill (host). 2000. Dancing, Drugs, and Murder. American Justice (Series 126). New York City.
  6. News: Interview Magazine. Bollen. Christopher. In a rare interview with Interview magazine, King of the Club Kids Michael Alig discusses the history of the Club Kids at length, his experiences in behind bars, his plans of life post-jail and why he thinks Lady Gaga would have been the perfect Club Kid. April 19, 2010.
  7. News: Bollen. Christopher. In a rare interview with Interview magazine, King of the Club Kids Michael Alig discusses the history of the Club Kids at length, his experiences in behind bars, his plans of life post-jail and why he thinks Lady Gaga would have been the perfect Club Kid. April 19, 2010. Interview Magazine.
  8. Web site: World of Film Geek. REVIEW: Glory Daze – The Life and Times of Michael Alig (2015). December 8, 2016.
  9. News: The New York Times. After Prison, No After-Hours: Michael Alig, the Former King of the Club Kids, After Prison. Graymay. Kevin. May 14, 2014.
  10. News: Paper. 'I Never Want to Stop Dressing Up': Talking to Nightlife Legend Kenny Kenny. Musto. Michael . May 18, 2016.
  11. News: The Day The Dancing Died – Catching Up With the Club Kids in True-Crime Indie. Turner. Megan. January 23, 2003 . New York Post.
  12. Web site: WorldofWonder.net. The History of Party Monster. Bailey. Fenton. October 28, 2014 .
  13. News: The Weekend Guardian. April 19, 1997. Death by Decadence.
  14. News: What Michael Alig's Club Kids Are Doing Now. Daily Intelligencer. en. 2017-01-31.
  15. Web site: O'Donnel. Kevin. Lisa Edelstein's Life as an '80s Celebutante Revealed!. Bravo. December 10, 2014. September 4, 2017.
  16. Glory Daze: The Life and Times of Michael Alig. 2015. Fernández. Ramón (Writer and Director). Electric Theater Pictures. Crime documentary.
  17. Web site: Interview With Richie Rich. Hruska. Rachelle. June 24, 2008. vimeo.
  18. Web site: Garner . Glenn . DJ Lina Talks Barbie Dolls, Club Kids & Whoopi Goldberg . Out . February 2, 2017 . 3 November 2020.
  19. News: Obituary: Cynthia "Gitsey" Haataja. The News-Press. January 16, 1998.
  20. News: The New York Times. Possible Trial Witness Dies. January 14, 1998.
  21. Web site: metroactive.com. August 16, 1999. Clubland Horrorcoaster (Celebutante Tell-All: 'Disco Bloodbath' is a drug epic spiked with celebrity and murder; James St. James illuminates the monsters of the club scene). Goldberg. Michelle.
  22. News: The Daily Beast. The Party Monster Lives for the Applause: Michael Alig's Second Act. Dickson. Caitlin . February 28, 2014.
  23. News: New York Post. Alig. Michael. Club Kid killer relives bloody crime. May 12, 2014 .
  24. News: Musto. Michael. Village Voice. NY Mirror. March 26, 2002.
  25. News: August 31, 2014. After Dark: Meet Kenny Kenny, Visual Poet And Nightlife Icon. Nichols. James Michael. Huffington Post.
  26. News: The Stories Behind These Striking Photos Show Club Kids Are More Than Just Pretty Faces. Mic. 2017-01-31.
  27. News: Honolulu Star-Bulletin. December 7, 2001. Superstar DJ Keoki keeps the party going. Chun. Gary C.W..
  28. Web site: Apollo Braun at Plaid. June 22, 2007. YouTube. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/lJfim4hc6WI . 2021-12-22 . live.
  29. Web site: A fashion show by designer Apollo Braun in NYC. October 1, 2019. YouTube. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/NQSfnpE1C8Q . 2021-12-22 . live.
  30. News: The Daily Beast. The Party Monster Lives for the Applause; Michael Alig's Second Act. February 28, 2014.
  31. News: Zaldy, Onetime Club Kid, Model and Costumer to Pop Stars, Returns to Fashion Week. NYTimes. September 2014. en. 2018-05-07.
  32. Bollen . Christopher . WALT CASSIDY WALKS US THROUGH THE WILD GLAMORAMA OF NEW YORK CITY'S CLUB KIDS . Interview Magazine . September 3, 2019 .
  33. News: Nelson Sullivan: Pioneering chronicler of NYC nightlife . dangerousminds.net.
  34. News: The Comeback Kid: Michael Alig's Return to New York Nightlife . Thump. en-UK. 2017-01-31.
  35. Web site: Michael Musto on the Prevailing Influence of Club Kid Fashion. The FADER. 2017-01-31.
  36. News: Party Monster: New Michael Alig prison interview. 2010-05-08. DangerousMinds. 2017-01-31.
  37. News: Michael Alig. Interview Magazine. 2017-01-31.
  38. (Complete TV show.)
  39. News: New York Post. Alig. Michael. Club Kid killer relives bloody crime. May 12, 2014 .
  40. Book: St. James, James. James St. James. Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland. August 11, 1999. 2222 . Simon & Schuster. 0-684-85764-2. 1999.
  41. Romano. Tricia . May 9, 2014. Michael Alig's Next Move? 'Club Kid Killer' Seeks Post-Prison Job. Billboard. December 22, 2014.
  42. Warner. Marigold. "New York Club Kids: Rewriting the Narrative". British Journal of Photography United Kingdom. 2019. August.
  43. News: Review: 'Limelight'. Andersen. John. September 23, 2011. variety.com. December 22, 2014.
  44. Book: Fernández, Ramón (Writer and Director). Glory Daze: The Life and Times of Michael Alig. Electric Theater Pictures. Crime documentary.
  45. Web site: IndieWire. 'Glory Daze' Exclusive Trailer & Poster: Explore the Rise and Fall of Michael Alig, One of NYC's 'Club Kids', The film will be released on VOD on August 16. July 26, 2018. Murthi. Vikram.
  46. Web site: Review – Glory Daze: The Life And Times Of Michael Alig. August 23, 2016. Bar. Daryl. Battle Royale With Cheese.
  47. Book: Haden-Guest, Anthony. The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night . 2015 . 978-1-4976-9555-9 .
  48. Alig and Rachael discuss the song and its inspiration in .
  49. Web site: Investigation Discovery. Becoming Angel.
  50. News: Revisiting two 'Deadly' stories that rocked NYC. Stasi. Linda. July 15, 2013 . New York Post.
  51. News: Sava . Oliver . Drag Race season 9 finally reaches excellence when the queens make TV pilots . December 9, 2021 . The A.V. Club . May 17, 2017.
  52. News: Nichols . James Michael . 'Drag Race' Queens Explain How Club Kids Changed Drag And Fashion Forever . December 9, 2021. HuffPost Canada . May 17, 2017 . en-CA.
  53. News: PHOTO CALL: Meet the Club Kids of the New Immersive Musical Adaptation of "Party Monster" at A.R.T.. Blank. Matthew . April 10, 2013. Playbill.

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