this is my job

I’ve been DJ-ing regularly at the Hole in the Wall and the Eagle Tavern for about 16 years now and prior to that off and on in a variety of clubs and bars for an additional 5  or 6 years.  I believe my first dj gigs were guest spots at the famous freak cabaret known as Klubstitute, and for awhile I co-DJ-ed with Jon Ginoli of  Pansy Division at a club we did called Rock and Roll Queer Bar until Jon decided to put all his energy into his band.  Another really fun gig i had was spinning at the Casa Loma, a wild bar frequented more by straight people than gay and managed by one of  SF’s most popular beloved bartenders LB Jones of The End-up.  At every club I played music for I played rock and roll instead of the more dance oriented or techno flavored music of choice for all gay clubs.  I just did it because rock and roll was the music that moved me personally and i knew there were other gays out there who were fans or respected the rock.  It was by no means a majority but I did it anyway because rock and roll was the music I heard in my head when i walked the city streets, it defined my teenage years and represented a certain freedom that I felt at my first ever concert at age eleven seeing T-Rex and Blue Oyster Cult.  Rock and roll was the devil’s music, it opened doors for me that my parents weren’t even aware of, and I knew there was no turning back.  I ran away from home at 15 just to see Led Zeppelin play the Seattle king-dome in august of 1977, one month to the day before  Elvis Presley died.  I was tied to it from very early on.  I devoured copies of Creem magazine and Rolling Stone and certain rock writers became my heroes.  It was like a dream come true when a writing gig fell into my lap after i had lived in SF for a couple years.  Suddenly i was a rock columnist.  I had every excuse i needed to see as many rock shows as i wanted and write about them and buy all the records I needed to hear but essentially i was already doing that because rock and roll was the greatest source of pure joy and happiness for me–it was a reason to live.  Nietzsche said a great thing that i’ll always remember, “Without music life would be a mistake.”  That quote hangs over the door of the DJ booth at The Eagle Tavern, where i spin every other Sunday beer bust, the largest instant gay crowd you’ll find assembled in SF on a Sunday afternoon.  And that’s what rocks about it–this huge crowd gets to hear a lot of music they aren’t necessarily used to hearing in other gay haunts and over the years i believe they’ve grown to like it and know it and learn about things they didn’t know were great.  I’m sure some just tune it out, some even listen to their own ipods and a few folks actively express their displeasure with the musical selections or volume regularly.  I generally try to be polite when getting dissed like that but i usually just punch them in the throat when they say things like “Dont you play anything good?” or ask me to pay Tori Amos, Madonna or Lady Gaga.  No offense to those artists but thats just not how we roll at The Eagle.  We play rock and roll, it’s what this city needed in their gay bars and exactly what The Hole In The Wall Saloon provided first , then the eagle as well.
so yeah, that is indeed what I do, i play rock and roll music for two of the finest bars/clubs in this city and couldn’t be happier with my job.  I’m so lucky to have one involving something I feel so passionately about.
Check out the sunday beer bust and the hole in the wall on thursday and friday nights to have a listen to the not so ordinary soundtrack of a night out in a gay bar.  It’s time to listen to the devil’s music, or just not disco, techno or show tunes basically.  Eventually I will start posting song-lists of my sets and even music to download directly as i learn how to present such features properly and legally