Ana Matronic on Scissor Sisters, Fame & NYC Nightlife

Welcome to Trigger Warning — my intentionally chaotic NYC nightlife podcast.

Adam and I kick things off in our new Summer “studio” at the Ice Palace where we sit down with the iconic Ana Matronic — DJ, Scissor Sisters legend, and self-proclaimed “pop star with the soul of a librarian.”

And yes… we go there.

What We Get Into:

✨ Broadway diva lore (Patti, Liza, Carol — obviously)
 ✨ Scissor Sisters blowing up in the UK before the U.S. caught on
 ✨ Fame and “upward dehumanization”
 ✨ “Let’s Have a Kiki” and dance-floor history
 ✨ Motown mixtapes & Ana’s DJ origin story
 ✨ Queer roots and nightlife legacy
 ✨ Regine and the invention of the modern discotheque

We also talk about Ana’s podcast Part-Time Sallies, where she dives into nightlife history and icons like Regine and Brick Top.

BUT- this was such an iconic conversation we decided we HAD to do it on two parts.

So if you love:
NYC nightlife, queer culture, DJ history, Fire Island, Scissor Sisters, or Broadway legends — this one’s for you.

@triggerwaringnyc

@redeye_ny

@pridehousemedia

Write to us at: Questions@TriggerWarningPod.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

What happens when you let Enfanturible, now just terrible, Daniel Nardicio, off his leash to say and do whatever he wants? The man who has offended everyone is back.

SPEAKER_02 0:16

Along with my brother from another mother, Adam Klesh, we're back with our latest creation, Trigger Warning. A podcast that is not for the faint of heart. Prepare to be offended, enlightened, and highly entertained. Trigger Warning is not a safe space podcast, but answers the questions no one wants to ask. Serves deep in vodka and a dash of bitter.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Each week we'll bring you the highest and lowest in NYC nightlife. So buckle up, you've been warned.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

What are you playing? So Josh, our um uh our missing uh producer sent me this because he knows I have an obsession with clowns, which is one of the reasons I love Jimbo, but I just love clowns in general. And this is a clown hotel that he says that you can stay at for, I don't know, a few hundred dollars a night. That sounds terrible. Oh, but I this music is so fucking creepy.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

I love it. It's not that it's creepy, it's that it's like warpy annoying.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

That's what I love about it. This is like what I hear at night when I think about my childhood. That's what I think about when I think about Painesville.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Is this yeah, that is very Ohio. That is that is the soundtrack to northeastern Ohio. This is Paynesville, Ohio at like 2:35 in the morning when I was a kid. My drive home from Rockies after doing like karaoke. Oh my god, you and karaoke. Of course you did hallelujah. Hey, no, I don't even think that song was out yet. Um, you're watching and listening to Trigger Warning. Now live from the Ice Pals with our new set. This is wild. I want the lava lamp to work.

SPEAKER_02 1:57

I'm so used to you like aiming low and missing.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

And for you to not even underpromising and over-delivering, underpromising.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

You aim in the middle or low middle, and you go usually and I do aim for the middle of life. This took an hour to set up. I'm so impressed.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

Well, only because it was the first time. I think when I light a match, it'll take less time to take it down. And I think it'll take less time to set it up. I will say this, Josh. I am missing you. Never, yeah, Josh, never have I appreciated the work you do more. Um, if you watch trigger warning, like the angles are gonna be often different. I have no idea what's going on.

SPEAKER_02 2:33

But also, you gotta fucking you would look at it.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

How long do these take to work?

SPEAKER_02 2:37

It's working actually. It's working. Yeah, it's uh what's it called? Lava lamp. Yeah, it's a lava lamp. Lava impression.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Maybe it doesn't have enough wattage.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

I just never know with you. Like, I never know with you what you're gonna excel at and what you're gonna like fall flat. I never know.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

You know, when it comes to the ice palace, it's full go for me. I like the ice palace.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

Go, like meaning you're not here. On my way to Berlin. It's full go away. By the way, I have to say, uh, the we're gonna have our guest on in a few minutes, but I want to say last. Who I'm so excited for speaking of the ice palace. Totally. I've been wanting to have her as a guest for a while, but we wanted to wait for the right moment when we actually had listeners. By the way, someone came up to me last night while I was standing by the DJ booth and said, I fucking love your podcast. He lives in LA. And he was like, I listened to it. Of course, he was like, I love hearing Adam's voice in my ears while I'm walking through Runyon Canyon or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Listener, why don't you write in and tell me whose voice you love listening to it? Yeah. I mean, he's easier on the eyes, but I think I'm better to listen to. You were way easier on the eyes. But you come up with those Oh totally. That's what I love. Like caliper legions. Ooh.

SPEAKER_02 3:42

You know, um, no, you uh you're easier on the eyes.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

You know who's got good words? Our guest has good words today. I won't really say that.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Oh, totally. I totally. She's incredible. Yeah, yeah. Um, I love, by the way, we're both wearing weird pants. I'm wearing the um, what's weird about my pants? What you're wearing, I dream of Weenie is what I call those.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

You know what's funny? These are like Japanese engineer pants that are actually like really kind of fat and whatnot. Uh-huh. And the first time I got them was last year. And I was like walking around feeling myself. You're like, oh, cute pants. Thanks. Everyone told me they were cute. When you're hooking up the jenny. But then I had to come over here.

SPEAKER_02 4:14

They always make fun of him because he always says, instead of generator, he says the jenny.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

And when the genie's hooking up the jenny. But no, so I was like, oh, everyone's complimenting these pants. I don't want to ruin them. And I had to come over here, and we always walk through the rack, and it can get muddy and thorns and whatnot. So he tucked him into these boots. And when I got to the other side, a lesbian whose fashion I I um enjoy was like, work that look. And I was like, Really? Wait a minute, let's go back. What lesbian? Uh her name's Molly.

unknown 4:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

You know Molly? Molly's a fierce little bitch.

SPEAKER_02 4:48

Oh, Molly from we used to work at Sandcastle.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

I love Molly. Yeah, yeah. I just love her swagger, and I'm not saying she's coming in like it's a Met Gala, but I mean she's got a she's got a vibe. She's totally got a vibe. I love Molly.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

She's great. Um, I love um the whole staff at Sandcastle is so great.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

I love the orchid over your shoulder.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

It's really so bizarre to me that you did this. I love it. Literally, I have to go back to the city and do a party. We did the underwear party last night. Which was a banger. Which is our guests spun and opened the season. Yes, she spun, and we're gonna talk about her in a minute. I can't wait. And then you gotta go into the city and do Devil Wears Nada.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

Devil Wears Nada tonight. Which I have to do with you.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

We have to do another podcast. We have to do another podcast.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

With one of our set it all up. I gotta set it all up. Doesn't look like this. Does not look like this. Are we doing a visual? I won't even be wearing my genie pants. Are you gonna be naked? I don't know if we'll do a visual. Because I think everyone's gonna be in their their God givens, right? Yeah, probably, yeah. That's a good point, yeah. Devil Wears Nada, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

By the way, everyone is stealing the name Devil Wears Nada now because the film came out. First of all, everyone keep sending me all these things.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Everyone is stealing the names of everything we do. Winter Party had an after hours. I used to do a party with Guy Smith and Roberto Montenegro in Brooklyn called Body Shop. And they, and it's all like trucker themed, and blah blah blah. Winter Party also did a party called Truck Stop. And now uh Paul Nichols in Los Angeles, who's like a West Hollywood promoter, which is like which is totally yeah, is now doing Devil Where's Nada.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

You know what's weird about it? I'm not I don't even know, I'm not sure if they even heard of the one that I do, but like it it's always so weird to me because I think to myself, like I just always try to think of something like original, right? And then like you see stuff where people just kind of like don't even think about it. It's just always is weird for me because like I kind of pride myself on not copying anyone. Once in a while. Oh, by the way, Stella came up with Devil Wars Nada. We love that Stella, but she didn't do a party, so I like it.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

And she's also never attended.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Can you imagine?

SPEAKER_01 6:51

With those big old knockers swinging around, those flapjack. Oh, another bottle of water and just flapping them up on the bar.

SPEAKER_02 7:00

She's our listener, by the way. When we describe the listeners, we have when we say listener, we're talking to Stella. Actually, Jason's also a listener. By the way, we have a lot of listeners. I just kind of joke around about it. But um, yeah, anyway. Um speaking of um listeners, how do I describe it?

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Are you going into an intro for our guest? Is that what's happening? Okay, I thought you were stroking out.

SPEAKER_02 7:22

No, speaking of I don't even know. I mean, this is the weird thing about our guest today, because she's uh multifaceted. Like, and I'm really fascinated by her because she could be a superstar. She could, you know, she could do a million things. And um, I'm fascinated by how she chose where she's going and what her decisions were.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Right. Yeah. Because I think it's always like a happy life decision, is what I've what I get from our guests. Because we hang out a lot. I'm very fortunate to have our our guest in my life a lot. I love that we keep talking about it. No one's gonna talk about it. Well, you know what really gets me, and I mean I'll I'll praise her when she comes out of the green room. Uh her level of intelligence, like this, like this library of knowledge that she carries around with her, yeah, is wild. It's it's it's it's also like um she has a nickname I'm gonna get to when she gets it.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

It's like um, it's like gay uh, you know, encyclopedia.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

It's queerdo.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

Queirdo, yeah, totally. So should we bring her on? Do you want to?

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Yeah, we might as well. I mean, do you want to take a break or you just want to bring her on? Let's bring let's take a break real quick. All right, right back at the time. You'll be right back at Trigger Warning.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

Listening, Trigger Warning. Years ago, I went into a party at Slipper Room. It was called Knockoff. Okay. And I saw someone perform I'll be your mirror from Nico. And I this is so weird. I don't say this very often. I'm not like someone who's like, you know, I had a premonition that person is going to be famous. Don't touch my knobs.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

You don't know what you're doing over here.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

I know.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

I was just like, you just gave Anna more, and she just asked for a little juice. Yeah. Oh, I just gave away. I guess for the listener. Anyway, sorry, you're at knockoff. You're at knockoff.

SPEAKER_02 9:12

I'm in the slipper room, and and I saw her perform I'll be your mirror from um Nico, and I was like, that person's gonna be famous. And I kid you not, a couple years later, um, Sweetie says, I'm working with this band, and I would love to book them for you know, high life, low life. And lo and behold, it was for the low life part. It was for the high life. Yeah, it was totally anyway. Let's and I saw her there. I've known her for God, it's been a quarter of a century practically. Anyway, I'm so excited to have you here. I love her so much, ladies and gentlemen, animatronic. That's what you gave.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

No, I wanted this one, but I accidentally. So this is actually Patty Lapone. That's Patty's here. Yeah. Hi Anna.

SPEAKER_05 10:00

Hi.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

Every podcast we talk about Patty Lapone.

SPEAKER_05 10:03

I was there. I saw her. I actually have a Patty Lepone impersonation from that night.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Really?

unknown 10:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Really? You want to do it right now? Are we putting you on the spot?

SPEAKER_05 10:11

Uh I I need a hat.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

Oh, I've got a hat for you.

SPEAKER_05 10:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

Okay. While you do that, uh while you get that, I'll do mine of her. Okay, great. Don't put me in a bad mood. She said in the uh the green room. And I don't blame her because we were trying to get a photo, like, you know, in the back in the green room, and um she was like sitting there getting ready to go out on stage, and she was like, Don't put me in a bad mood. And that was like really intense. But other than that, she was incredibly I mean, I love her.

SPEAKER_05 10:40

Oh, she's amazing. I mean, you know. This is my Patty Lapone presentation. And scene.

SPEAKER_02 10:57

Meanwhile, you know that she nailed it. You know that she knew the song she was gonna do.

SPEAKER_05 11:03

Of course. Incredible.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

I love she kept pulling songs out, and she was like, this is from a show I was in.

SPEAKER_05 11:08

Yeah. Always. It's like, well, I was in this show with Steven Son Tom. And then and you know, and then the story goes, and then the song goes, and it's amazing. And you're, you know, you drink up every moment. And uh she's utterly entertaining.

SPEAKER_02 11:25

You know, she knows what she's doing.

SPEAKER_05 11:27

Phone book. Give her a phone book, she'll sing it, I'll watch it.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

The best is when Jeff Eason tried to come in and get a photo right before the show. That was the impersonation you were doing, and then the actual quote that I love, she's like, Come on, guys, it's showtime. Yeah, totally.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

Love that. Liza, when I have Liza here with Alan, I'll never forget this. Like Alan was singing around. Were you here for that too?

SPEAKER_05 11:47

I was not. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

I missed that. You were here though for uh Carol.

SPEAKER_05 11:50

I was here the very first time I came to Fire Island was 2013 when Justin Vivian Bond and Carol Channing were performing together. And I'm not much of a Broadway person, but I am a massive Carol Channing fan. I remember that, yeah. Yeah. How could you not be? Oh, how could you not be? And at the end, I was one of six people in the crowd in tears, in absolute bits, in bits.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

When she does that monologue.

SPEAKER_05 12:22

Oh God, I died. And and uh and the the she she she goes to leave and then she turns back around and takes another bow. And and there were this the like six of us were still like in our seats when and everybody else is filing out and we're just looking at each other, going, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Right? Oh my god, right?

SPEAKER_05 12:45

And then I got to meet her, which was it was a moment, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:50

It was incredible. You know the story, you know the story about that, right? But right before um I love Carol Channing, but I also know that she's uh a cunning stage animal, is what I would call her. Cunning stage animal, yes. You know with the story about this? So uh the chairs, there were two chairs here. You know this, right? Yes, there were two chairs on stage, and during the Justin Vivian Bond went on for uh half an hour, 45 minutes and did a set. And then it was Carol coming out to like rapturous applause, and then she was gonna do like a QA with Viv and then you know maybe do a song or whatever. And right we're backstage, and right before she comes out, she says, um, boss man, which I just I mean I melt. I mean Carol Channing calling me. She worked with David Merrick anyway. She said, Do me a favor, would you move she said his, she missed you know, whatever, uh, his chair downstage about five feet. And I was like, What? She had me move Viv's chair downstage five feet so that Viv had to turn around around the entire show. But Carol could just sit here like sit there right dead of now.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

That's a professional woman.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

And then I had to tell Viv. I was like, by the way, just so you know that Carol had me chair. I'm not gonna not Carol Channing could tell me to do anything and I would do it. And then the show went on, and and um, and uh Viv said, Um yeah, by the way, Carol, I noticed that you had the chair moved down so that everyone just sees the back of my head. And Carol Channing said, Well, it is your best feature.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

I had a girl. Oh no. No, there it is. That's what I was looking for.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

I need to label these. I know totally. This is my take on that whole thing, and I'm sorry, I know we're we're off on a tangent. We'll get to Anna. We have so much to talk to you about.

SPEAKER_05 14:36

You're talking about Carol Channing. Carry on.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

What I what I what I feel like A legend knows a legend. People like her, um, she had to claw and fight her way to get to where she was. And they learned how to do it. And some were like Dolly, and they kind of like made this sort of persona and it was big tits.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

I mean, Anna, you'd agree, it's like most women in the industry have to claw their way. It's unfortunate, but it's the truth, right? I mean, there's not a woman in the industry that has it easy, right?

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Well, especially that age, that age. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

She'd uh, you know, this would be a good thing. All of them that came up when they were like 17, 18, you know, and then it's well, and imagine it's starting from what Judy Garland on.

SPEAKER_05 15:13

Hello Dolly was written for her. Barbara Streisand played her in the in the film. Uh Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She was Marilyn Monroe's character. Uh, and was it Gentlemen Prefer Blondes or How to Marry a Millionaire? Uh she was Marilyn Monroe's character on stage. They brought Marilyn Monroe to the show to see Carol Channing. Jesus. And then cast her in Carol Channing's role in the film.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

So This is the knowledge I'm talking about. We call her Anipedia.

SPEAKER_05 15:46

So imagine, well, and this was another masterful piece of shade from Carol in that show. She talked about them bringing uh Marilyn Monroe to watch Carol Channing do the role to teach her how to be funny.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Because Marilyn, Marilyn famously was not a social butterfly, like holding a room funny person.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

No, I heard she was like the cover girl, and then in Norma Jean was just this kind of Elton said that he would walk down the street with her and she'd go, What you want to see her? And she would turn like internally turn a button and like all of a sudden walk down the street and people would notice her. Wow. She had that thing where she could just be like, I'm gonna her posture, yeah, yeah. But anyway, um, that was the first time that you came to the island. And I have to say, like um that was one of the first times we really kind of hung out. Um, I obviously we worked together a little bit before when you were with the scissors.

SPEAKER_05 16:44

Um we did one of one of the first underwear parties on John Street.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

I remember Oh my god, I remember those.

SPEAKER_05 16:54

2002, maybe?

SPEAKER_02 16:57

Yeah, somewhere. Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. Oh my god, I remember that.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

Did you did you do the the spa parties too, Anna? When they were like, what was that? Was it done on Gold Street that you did like those weird Russian?

SPEAKER_02 17:09

No, no, no, Scissors never did that. I did have Viv do that one time though, yeah. But um no scissors uh never did that. They did the um Highlight Love Life in Sweetie. And uh but what famously would I one of my favorite stories about the scissors and uh was when I had them open for Margarita Prakaton because I thought it was funny at Joe's pub. So me, this they weren't that. You do a lot of things because you think it's funny, but you're the only one in on the gym.

SPEAKER_05 17:35

Oh, I thought it was funny, I thought it was funny. They were hilarious.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

Yeah, they weren't big yet, so it wasn't like I was being, but I thought it was also kind of funny because Margarita Praqueton was like a novelty act. Yeah, and here they're so amazing, and um, and that was a fun night at Joe's pub. That was amazing.

SPEAKER_05 17:50

I'm so glad that you brought us there because I I probably would have never seen her otherwise. And wow.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

Yeah, she was a trip. You also did Sweetie stuff. Um, you did um what was her party? Um the slide? The slide, uh, high life, low life. But we also did something in the West Village. She did something near Gen C60.

SPEAKER_04 18:12

Star Tartare.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

That was I mean, I never went, but the stories Sweetie used to tell about Star Tartar and I went. Yeah, on the I did go. I remember this now. It was like in the meat packing, it was just right on the West Village meat packing where it used to be.

SPEAKER_05 18:33

Yeah, it was like a more like a sex club by you know, day to day.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

And then it was like a cruising joint, like no wheel sound system, no nothing.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

Yeah, it was like a kind of a It was like year one at the Ice Palace. It was just like two Mackeys facing outward, turned to 12. Totally, totally. No, totally. But it was that's not for Austin. Derek Austin told us exactly what we needed. We just couldn't cut the check yet.

SPEAKER_02 18:56

Yeah, but then it like you know, then the weird thing was is that I knew them, you know, obviously a little bit, and we worked together a few shows and stuff, and then all of a sudden it was like one of those things that um you experience once in a while with your friends. Boom. All of a sudden it was like they're internationally famous. It was the wildest thing for me.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

Well, you guys hit in the UK first, right?

SPEAKER_05 19:17

Yes, yeah, totally, yeah. We signed our record deal in the UK. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

Like most big things in the UK.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

To this day, it's really the UK is where you would be better known, right? Yes, yeah, yes. By the way, last night I was.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

I mean, well known Virgin Radio. Virgin Radio Star. Yes. We were on the BBC for a while.

SPEAKER_05 19:37

Yes, I was on uh I had I had a show on BBC Radio 2 for five years, and I did a lot of work for the BBC um starting in 2013 with the Eurovision Song Contest. Oh doing the semifinals. How do I love Eurovision song contest? Oh, I love Eurovision in the States, and I I had one of my best, best lines. The host was wearing this god-awful dress that it was like a mullet dress where it was short in the in the front and long in the back. And um, and it was uh it was like velvet and the the but the underskirt was ruched satin. And so it I said, uh gosh, is is that how is the host gonna wear that dress for the rest of the night? Because I sure hope not. I feel like I'm in an open casket funeral for her legs. It was really good.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

Because now all I can see is the satin inside of a coffin. Yeah, you should just like it. I love ruched. I heard that word for the first time.

SPEAKER_04 20:45

Oh, I love a ruch.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

I heard ruched, really? Yeah, for the first time. Like, I think five years ago, my friend's my friend Maddie is uh he's like a just a designer extravagant one. I think you know Maddie and Andy. And he was like, I love this blouse I'm wearing, but this this ruching in the center just isn't framing my deglotage properly. I was like, Juge and Deglotage.

SPEAKER_02 21:07

I was like, yeah, let me juge a rouche.

SPEAKER_04 21:09

Let me juge a rouche.

SPEAKER_02 21:10

So uh you know good to go back to your ascent, um everything took off for you. Um uh I always get the feeling with our friendship and our working together that there are obviously uh great things about stardom and being in that world, right? But I think we both can agree that like that world is a double-edged sword. Oh, yeah. And I feel like with you in the time I obviously we've talked, I'm not gonna give up anything we've talked about privately, but like you had that thing that so many people want. And you kind of walked away from it. And why and you don't have to give like detailed details about like you know, people, but I'm not talking about like friendships or relationships or bandmates or whatever. I'm talking about the fame thing.

SPEAKER_05 22:01

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

You look you you could ostensibly right now kind of parlay into something, you know, but but I don't ever really see you doing that.

SPEAKER_05 22:11

No. I don't want that because I've had a taste of it and it's uh it makes me deeply uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

Um is it like the life is not your own? Is it the way people are treated?

SPEAKER_05 22:24

Is the direct the way people treat me? Um it's so I call it I call it uh upward dehumanization. So it's like it's like deification, but it's still like it's still I I don't want to be treated like a goddess or any of that. And we do that to celebrities. I remember seeing once like a thing on social media. Is David Bowie a god? No, he's a man. No. Um I mean I'd worship him, but yeah. Yeah, I I my relationship to star uh to stardom and to fandom really changed once uh things got big for the band. Um I never but and I never really wanted that level. I was never never really um interested in stardom and and in fame. Um I my idol and my sort of you know, North Star, muse-wise, creatively, is Anne Magnuson. And like who, you know, like barely barely anyone from our generation knows Anne Magnuson and uh nobody younger than us knows Anne Magnuson, and that's a goddamn shame.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

Yeah, no, totally, yeah. But I also don't think she wanted that big thing.

SPEAKER_05 23:54

I you know Well, I I mean I think I I don't you'd have to ask her, um, and I'd love to. Um she she acted in huge, huge films.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

She was in also in you know, she was in um The Hunger. Yeah, she was in tons of stuff, you know Frasier. I mean, she was in everything.

SPEAKER_05 24:15

Yeah, yeah. Clear and present danger. She was in glitter, yeah. She was in glitter, she was in Panic Room. Yeah, she was the real estate agent in Panic Room. She was on Picard.

SPEAKER_02 24:28

Yeah. Oh, Picard's another great show. Ann Magnuson is super cool, but she also maybe has that fame where she is happy. You know, John Waters says that like he has the kind of fame that you want, which is when he comes off the boat here on Fire Island, maybe one of like every ten people recognizes him.

SPEAKER_05 24:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:49

Because he's a cult. But he's famous enough to fill a room and do what he wants to do, but he's not like, you know, yeah mega famous, which is annoying. And you guys were mega famous for a while.

SPEAKER_05 25:02

In the UK.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

But you were doing arena tours in Europe, you know, like filling 20,000, 30,000 seats is is mega famous.

SPEAKER_05 25:12

18.

SPEAKER_01 25:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 25:14

18, 20,000. Yeah, 20,000.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

I have a problem getting 18 people into my living room.

SPEAKER_05 25:19

So do I, trust me. But not your bedroom.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

Um sold-out show. You know, it's interesting because years ago when uh Kylie came out with Time Bomb, you know, the song. I remember that her uh people that gave us a bunch of time bomb crap to throw out here. Swag, I think they call it. No. Or crap. Excuse me. They were like, you know, she really wants to break America. And I always thought that was so interesting because I was like, yeah, Kylie had that kind of amazing. Do you mean break into America? Break America. Well, break America. Yeah, break into America. Trump's breaking America. She had that kind of fame that like I thought was really amazing. I remember hearing a story where Kylie would uh was in LA and she was dating that that actor, Olivier uh oh yeah, yeah, that French actor, really hot, and she went to go buy uh a apartment or a house or something, and the realtor was like, You need to get pre-approved. And she was like, I'm Kylie Monogue. I'm Kylie fucking Minogue, isn't it? Kylie Minogue. And the realtor's like, I don't know that, you know, and it was just so interesting.

SPEAKER_01 26:16

She's like, do the locomotion, bitch. Give me the house.

SPEAKER_02 26:19

She's Madonna in most of the world, right? Oh yeah. And and but she's not, you know. So any, well, yeah, no, but you know what I mean. I love I love Kylie, but my point is that she's got this kind of like they wanted to break America, her people. Yeah. And I think Padom did it, weirdly, for her.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Yeah, I mean, you're talking in like the in the like large general consensus, right? Because like she had broken the gays in America well, well before.

SPEAKER_02 26:45

Yeah, but the gays are really such a small, you know, she couldn't fill high uh Hammerstein like three nights before, but now she's like doing big things because of Padom. It's interesting. I'm fascinated by that. But I love that kind of fame when you're famous in England because you can Britain.

SPEAKER_05 27:04

The United Kingdom.

SPEAKER_02 27:05

The United Kingdom and Ireland of Northern Ireland because you can walk the streets in New York and be relatively but let's fast forward to today's gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

Yeah, yeah. You opened up the uh D World Famous Underwear Party last night.

SPEAKER_05 27:20

I did.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

You killed it, you fucking smashed it last night. Thank you. Thank you. I'm so excited for the rest of the season. Daniel's put in this nice rotation of DJs and it's so weird because it's so cold, it was so cold last night.

SPEAKER_02 27:33

Yeah, I was like, oh my god, I don't even want to go out. But I was kind of like when I got in here, it was a really great vibe.

SPEAKER_05 27:38

Yeah, I uh have been coming to the underwear party for as long as I've been coming to Fire Island, and I love it, and I love Johnny Dynell and I love Corey Craig. Um, and when I got the chance to play the underwear party, I thought, what is my niche? Because Johnny and Corey have theirs, and I can't I can't you need to play pop, you need to play house, you need to play disco. We got those unlocked. Right. But I thought if I'm being honest, the underwear party needs 100% more hoe tracks.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 28:24

We need I want to see slutty bogue twerking in their panties.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_05 28:30

I was like, and so I I have taken it upon myself to be the brat ho of the DJ roster.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

I live. So that's my goal. Well, it it was achieved last night.

SPEAKER_02 28:45

I was walking in and I was slut that song called Um From Head to Toe, uh Sweat Through All My Clothes.

SPEAKER_05 28:52

Oh yeah, disco tits, Tovlow.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

I was like, oh my god, you said four words. She's like, yeah, that's true. And it's such a fucking sexy track.

SPEAKER_05 29:01

Now, and and that is part of my part of my MO for Underwear Party is does it make me want to fuck? If the song makes me want to fuck, it goes in the set. And and um, and of course, you want those pop moments and those hands in the air, everybody singing along, those sorts of things, but it I want it to be sexy. Right.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

And that's why you used to love like Avenue D, right?

SPEAKER_05 29:33

Like guess I just put them in the set for next time.

SPEAKER_01 29:40

Yeah, totally. And it was just that kind of like, you know.

SPEAKER_03 29:43

Shut up.

SPEAKER_01 29:44

Yeah, exactly. Like that kind of like just because I'll fuck you doesn't mean I'll dance with you. That kind of vibe. So amazing.

SPEAKER_03 29:49

And like last night, the one, two, three, four, scream if you want some more. I'm like, uh, push it, push it, watch me work it. I'm perfect. It's just so kids were loose and love it. But they love it.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

Love it because they're in here and they're twisted, and like you you so get the assignment of what the underwear party is. It's like it's people are in their underwear, so they're already cutting it loose, and they just want stupid slut tracks to be drunk and high.

SPEAKER_02 30:14

I agree with you, but the problem with the underwear party, and historically speaking, is I've had DJs that went really dark, like peaches, like kind of like you know, you know, fucked, you know, and then it becomes a sex party. And the whole thing, what I love about that party and greeting, it's a meet and greet event. You know, it's like it's a dance party. Yeah, it's like, you know, when you have a thousand people in this room, which you know, we can fit, yeah, um, then you know, really 700 are dancing, and 300 are doing whatever they're doing.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

But like there's a hundred doing meet and greet, there's a hundred in a bathroom line, there's a hundred at the bars. Yeah, and that's what they love.

SPEAKER_02 30:50

But the problem I've had in the past is when people go like not dancey sexy, but like, you know what I mean? They go to, you know. Yeah. We've talked about this. And that's the trick is I want to keep it like happy and fun, but sexy. You can't get too like vibey, you know.

SPEAKER_05 31:05

My whole thing is play when they know, when they don't know, when they know, when they don't know, when they know, when they don't know, and keep coming back to the things that they know. And and I I think we can trust the trust the audience a little bit more. I try to. And I dropped some experiments in my set last night, and I'm really happy to say that they all fucking worked, yeah, which was great.

SPEAKER_01 31:31

You're very happy at the end. You're like, it all worked.

SPEAKER_05 31:34

It all worked, and like I'm gonna do it.

SPEAKER_01 31:36

My knees, my knees and my hips plays.

SPEAKER_05 31:40

What? Like, I was like, okay, well, I'm gonna throw this in because twigs is huge.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

But that's like something we listen to when we're having dinner at Yorin Seth's house, and we're all like into it. But there's like six of us who are like into that. She dropped it for these random underwear kits. Everyone was like just killed. Yeah, it was.

SPEAKER_05 31:59

And it's a and you know, it's a remix and it sounded great. And I I mixed out of it into Rihanna, only girl in the world, which was fucking great. And so it I was really happy that all of my all of my sort of experiments where I was like, oh, is this too hard for the underwear party? But my whole thing is once you go hard, you you you you start to take the pressure off with uh with something uh you know, fun, sexy and up being.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

Yeah, my whole thing is as long as it's happy. I don't care as long as it's happy because it's like Friday and we're also you know dealing with um question I have um I have two questions. Uh one is how did you go from animatronic to DJing? And the second question is last night I thought it was interesting in all the times that we've worked together, you threw on your most famous track. And I was really surprised because I well, I've seen you do it at Sam's wedding, and I've seen you do it here once. Yeah. But uh it's one of those things that I was standing next to. It's such a good fucking track. It was a banger for an entire summer, and Sakuita was the one that played it for me first. She performed it, and I was like, oh my god, I love that track. She's like, It's a sister's sister. Oh my god, I know the anyway. Um, it's that's a kiki. But my point, it's other listener viewers. But the point is, is I've not really seen you.

SPEAKER_01 33:26

It's happening.

SPEAKER_02 33:26

Sorry. Play it. And what was so interesting to me is I was sitting next to this guy and he goes, Um we're talking, and I was dancing. He goes, You really like this song? I was like, Yeah, because that's her song and she's my friend. Yeah. He goes, What? Yeah, I love it when people are. But that's you. And he goes, What? And then he puts his phone out and he goes, This is iconic. And I thought it's like you just figured it out. From not knowing to this is iconic.

SPEAKER_05 33:56

Iconic. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:57

What is your relationship to, first of all, how did you get into DJing? And is what is your relationship to that track?

SPEAKER_01 34:03

I think you were a DJ before you were animatronic.

SPEAKER_02 34:06

Well, you've always loved music.

SPEAKER_05 34:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:08

Yeah. Yeah. And gay culture. We're gonna get to that soon. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 34:11

I mean, I I started DJing in my bedroom because I used to make mixtapes for my mom. My mom was a paint, my mom was a painter, and she liked to listen to she either liked to have the home shopping network on, just like noise in the background, or she liked to listen to really high-energy Motown and Stacks like RB from the from the 60s. Um, and she didn't want to hear ballads, so she wanted all the bangers. So Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Jackie Wilson, all of those. Um, Jackie Wilson. I know, yeah. Um that's the one. That's the one. My mom loves that song. And so uh Mitch Ryder in the Detroit Wheels. You know, Devil Devil in a blue dress. Muddy Waters. Muddy Waters in Bo Diddley. And um, and so that what I I started making mixtapes for my mom. I made mixtapes for my friends, all that. And then I started DJing before I was in Scissor Sisters, and it was just like rock and roll DJing. You know, I did it in in uh like East Village, like yeah, and I I mean I did it in San Francisco at fetish parties with like two CD players, like going from one to another.

SPEAKER_01 35:29

If you want a good sex party DJ, uh Avatronics a good sex party.

SPEAKER_05 35:34

Um that was one of the best texts I've ever gotten. Was at a at a I'm at a gig, I'm playing at 5 HTP on the beach, and then I get this text from Adam, and then this unknown number. Hey guys, I think Anna is a great sex party DJ.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

I got this text from these boys that we're just like they ran out of the treehouse. They're like, we're thinking of throwing like an open door orgy tonight. Like, you know anybody that can DJ? And I was like, let me just group these people in now. So everybody was like, hey guys, uh, this is Anna's number. I think she's a great sex party DJ. No, you didn't say that.

SPEAKER_05 36:09

You just said, hey guys, I think Anna's a great sex party DJ. No introduction. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

And I'm just like Because you were doing you were doing flag it.

SPEAKER_05 36:18

Yes, I think.

SPEAKER_01 36:18

You were doing flag it here, and Anna basically made this. We'll get into it, hopefully, but like she made the legendary Ice Palace feel like a San Francisco cruising bar. Well, that's what I actually want to talk about in a few minutes.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

I'm gonna we're gonna come back in a minute, but I want to talk about your break? Your yes, I want to talk about your relationship to the Ice Palace because you like me, we have very different relationships, but it's it runs deep. Yes. So we're gonna take a break. We'll be right back in just a moment. You're listening to Trigger Warning. Welcome back to Trigger Warning. We're here with Animatronic. I'm Adam Flesh.

unknown 36:53

Hi.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

So now we know a little bit about your history with DJing and music, your love of music, but I'm also really fascinated by your history in terms of gay history as a cis woman, yes, who is arguably as gay as I am.

SPEAKER_05 37:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 37:12

Who also parenthetically has the gayest anthem that the gayest, you know, let's have a kiki, which which is what I wanted to mention before. What is your relationship to this song? Like, you know, Jennifer Holliday has, and I'm telling you, Donna Summer has, you know, uh all of the Donna Summer songs.

SPEAKER_05 37:30

Yeah, I was gonna say more than one. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:34

Actually, there's a lot of I love her. I actually saw her live and she was incredible.

SPEAKER_05 37:38

But anyway, Donna Summer has State of Independence. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Joking. But I fucking love that song.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

Um you wrote it, right?

SPEAKER_05 37:49

Kiki?

SPEAKER_01 37:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 37:50

I wrote it with with Jake and Baby Daddy, yes. Yes. I the the and probably one of my proudest lines ever is bid adieu to your ennui, let's have a kiki. That I just yeah, shave that lid and will I bid adieu to your ennui.

SPEAKER_02 38:06

It's such a banger. It's such a great song. And last night I was so happy to see you embrace it, you know, because I've never not embraced it.

SPEAKER_05 38:14

I know I love it.

SPEAKER_02 38:15

I love let's have a kiki. I've never felt like, but you don't really play it that often, which I guess.

SPEAKER_05 38:20

Yes, I do. I play I play it at almost every single set. Every set she has, she plays it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Almost every single set.

SPEAKER_02 38:29

I can't correct it.

SPEAKER_05 38:29

I'm sorry. Sometimes you sneak in. And here's why. Yeah. Because gays who come see me have a fantasy of dancing to Let's Have a Kiki DJ'd by me. Usually.

SPEAKER_00 38:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 38:45

They want that's the song they want to hear. If they come see animatronic, they want to see animatronic either sing or spin let's have a kiki. It's it's the thing. And every single performer, every performer, every musician, everyone who's working wishes and works and hopes and dreams for a let's have a kiki. That's exactly what I meant. Yeah. And I will always put money in every single performer I see in the subway. I will give them money. I will Venmo them if I see their thing.

SPEAKER_01 39:27

The buskers, I love the bus.

SPEAKER_05 39:28

Always. Always. Because those people would kill for Let's Have a Kiki.

SPEAKER_01 39:36

Absolutely. And so that's your relationship. One of them just won an Oscar. Um, the the the New York City busker who ended up being the um the blues guitarist in Sinners.

SPEAKER_05 39:48

Oh yeah. Oh god, and what an amazing voice he has. I feel terrible. I can't remember his name right now. I'm blanking on it as well. He was amazing, wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

And he used to play at 42nd Street, which is where I always get off to go to Red Eye.

SPEAKER_05 40:00

So, like there was this amazing man uh who used to busk in the subway with a he would play a bass that was a broom handle on um on an upside-down wash basin with like a like a jug band base. Like a jug band bass. And it he was incredible. He was incredible. And then another time I was on a crowded six train and this man, and this was way before scissors, this is when I was working, I think, at Estee Lauder.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

And like at the like at a makeup counter? No, no.

SPEAKER_05 40:37

I worked, I worked in the um international fragrance division.

SPEAKER_01 40:41

Um we love our stinks.

SPEAKER_05 40:44

Assisting two uh two heads of marketing, uh two really, really, really intense Eurofags, one from Germany, one from Spain, Gonzalo and Werner. Werner looked like um the professor from Powerpuff Girls. He was so angular and just like not a hair out of place, and really like like so his his uh suits were perfect, but then he was also like had that like freaky German thing, like where he was just like, Oh, I like your boots, and they're like, you know, they're like r this is like or you know, they're kind of like. Yeah, I there there was like I was I'm like, oh, you're a secret freak. There's uh there's something freaky about you.

SPEAKER_01 41:37

Laying in the urine all at Bergheim. Germans are like that all the time.

SPEAKER_05 41:39

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that's and that's why I love them.

SPEAKER_02 41:42

I love the button-up freaks. So what interests me is is um your fascination with uh queer culture.

SPEAKER_05 41:50

Well, okay, for first of all, I'm pansexual.

SPEAKER_02 41:53

Right. Uh no, but but I'm I'm gay, and I'm your fascination is beyond mine. Is that's I'm not saying that it matters if you're yeah, I suppose.

SPEAKER_05 42:02

I mean, my I do have half the chromosomes of a gay male. My father was gay.

SPEAKER_01 42:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 42:07

Um and uh I realized you had a gay dad too.

SPEAKER_01 42:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 42:12

Yeah. Didn't your father He passed. He died, he died of HIV AIDS uh related pneumonia in 1990 when I was 15. And so I say this that I uh it's kind of you know, pause posthumously, I think partly me moving to San Francisco was sort of a a desire to understand him or to get to get to sort of know his world. Although he was not uh he was not the kind of gay who'd be out at the club. He was not that kind of guy. He was he loved musicals and and uh you know really nice dinners and was kind of preppy and and uh you know definitely not a leather queen by any stretch of the imagination, not at all.

SPEAKER_01 43:02

Khakis and polos.

SPEAKER_05 43:04

Khaki and yeah, uh yeah, and like eyes odds. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was double collar? Yeah, no double collar. It wasn't he he died in 1990, so I think that was a little pre-double.

SPEAKER_01 43:15

You missed it by like 11 years, something like that.

SPEAKER_05 43:18

Yeah, but anyway. Um and uh yeah, he was quite straight-laced. So I don't think that um, you know, I uh I was always freaky, I was always dramatic. I was in the drama club, you know, most of the guys that I was attracted to were gay growing up, go figure. Same here, yeah. Same thing. Listen, I blame Duran Duran. A hundred percent. I blame the 1980s. The 1980s ruined a generation of women for uh for heterosexual men because we want them in eyeliner and soupy hair.

SPEAKER_01 43:54

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:57

And okay with dangly earrings and yeah, yeah. Exactly. Some sort of interest is one thing. But your knowledge is encyclopediac.

SPEAKER_05 44:06

Yeah. Is that the right? Is that you say encyclopedic?

SPEAKER_02 44:10

No, and it's a adjective. It's encyclopediaic. Whatever. Encyclopedic. It's encyclopedic. All right, whatever. All right. Sorry. I had a drink. Um, all right.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

So your knowledge is so like you know everything from the start of Cherry today.

SPEAKER_02 44:27

You know a lot, and that's really intense. I'm like, I thought I knew a lot. And then you all of a sudden are saying stuff, and I'm like, oh fuck.

SPEAKER_01 44:34

But often I've heard you credit it to your to your mom, right? As because she's an educator.

SPEAKER_05 44:39

My mom was a teacher. My mom was an icon painter. So, like, my mom was, you know, she's into like Byzantine things. And so she was a nerd, and my father was a nerd. My dad, number two, also an artist and a nerd. I was raised partly by my grandmother. So she was born in 1904. So I just had this larger scope of history, you know. I was 10 years old and obsessed with film noir. What? My 10, my 10th birthday party. I had a private detective fancy dress party. And we watched the Maltese Falcon. What? 10 years old. 10 years old. What?

SPEAKER_01 45:28

People are like just doing that now for their 40th.

SPEAKER_05 45:31

Right? So bizarre.

SPEAKER_01 45:33

But I was like, I was also the nine-year-old, like cross legs holding court with like my entire family on like current events and World War II.

SPEAKER_05 45:39

Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:41

And we had a cafe next to, I went to a high school called St. Ignatius in Cleveland, Ohio. And right across from the football field is kind of where like Ohio City begins. And we had this little, there's Great Lakes Brewery, and then across the street from Great Lakes Brewery is uh Cafe Noir. And you could sit and get those like fishbowl-sized cappuccinos as they played like old silent films and whatnot. And they had like um a little like uh three rows of four of like old vintage. Remember the bijou? They had like these vintage velvet chairs, and you could say, and they were just playing black and white films. I love it was amazing, and so that I would like everyone would go to the cafeteria. I'd go to Cafe Noir as like this little 14-year-old flag, like I was watching the latest Charlie Chaplin.

SPEAKER_05 46:24

I'd watch Bugs Bunny cartoons with my grandmother, and my grandmother would sing all the songs that are in it because you know, she'd be like, uh, she'd be like, We're in the money, we're in the money. Because they're they're um all the all the music of Bugs Bunny cartoons is were current pop hits of the day. So it's like Benny Goodman and uh, you know, Artie Shaw songs and things like that, and uh Cole Porter songs and all that.

SPEAKER_01 46:48

It's all like 30s, 40s stuff, right?

SPEAKER_05 46:49

All that, all that 20s, 30s, 40s. And so um, I was really into that growing up.

SPEAKER_01 46:56

Oh, tucked it under the apple tree, Andrew sisters.

SPEAKER_05 46:58

Oh, yeah, with anyone else but me, but me. And um so so I had this really large scope of of history growing up, and I also have a really good memory for things. Crazy. I have a cr I have a really weird memory for dates and and names and facts like that. So it kind of comes naturally to me. I this is what I say. I'm a pop star with the soul of a librarian.

SPEAKER_02 47:27

So which leads me to what yeah, totally, which is leads me to what I wanted to ask you about, which is you know, your podcast. Yeah. I'm so fascinated by this podcast because um, have you it's so you listener, watchers like go run Bricktop. You know, Bricktop is one of those those people that I've always wanted to like do a party, like a tribute to Bricktop. Oh, yes, please. But I'm like no one knows these people.

SPEAKER_05 47:53

Yes, that's why I started the podcast because when I'm fascinated by nightlife, I'm fascinated by nightlife history. How did we get here with with this culture?

SPEAKER_02 48:04

And and and we're in the actual space where a lot of that culture happened right now at the Ice Palace.

SPEAKER_05 48:11

Which is incredible, and we'll we'll get we'll get to that. And and when I read about history, all these amazing people show up that can't be categorized neatly into your standard arts and entertainment biography. So, and I find that we get so wrapped up in in pigeonholing and being very specific. So your um biography podcasts tend to be people who are artists or fashion designers or um work in cinema in some respect. So I wanted to start a biography podcast about um influential people and have it be uh geared mainly toward women, not exclusively, but uh telling the stories about women and and people from marginalized communities who moved the needle of culture in a way that uh you don't get to um you don't get to hear about with your standard arts and entertainment biographies.

SPEAKER_02 49:16

There would be no ice palace without regines.

SPEAKER_05 49:19

That is correct. Yeah, without regime full stop.

SPEAKER_02 49:24

Without regime full stop. Explain that to me. In what way? So regime started the discotech.

SPEAKER_05 49:33

So when we talk about disco history, I'm gonna hear this. It comes in two waves. So discotheque as a as a as a word uh has its origins in the 1940s. There was a a venue called La Discotech in Paris that uh people could bring their records. You you entered with a key, so they didn't need a doorman, members got a key, and you could either you could check out a record to play. Uh-huh. And so the it's bibliothek, bibliography and the word discount.

SPEAKER_01 50:11

The disc.

SPEAKER_05 50:12

And right when record collecting first started being a thing that people could do, when they would market shelves to put your records on, they would call it a discotheque in French. So here's your your bibliothèque is your collection of books, your discotheque is your collection of records. So then in the 1950s, the Paris is all about small nightlife spaces, really teeny tiny little boats.

SPEAKER_02 50:45

Smoke-filled, beautiful rooms. And I love that word, by the way, boats. Oh, me too. That's what we do whenever it's a word that our listeners are.

SPEAKER_05 50:54

And it's got that on the over the eye. Sexy. Sexy.

SPEAKER_02 50:57

It's like an umlaut. What is it?

SPEAKER_01 50:59

It's like the little carrot, right? What's it? Yeah. Anyway.

SPEAKER_05 51:02

It's a hat. It's a little witch hat. Oh, witch is here. Um, and um the blots of in the 1950s, they would have live bands, and live bands take up a lot of space. Right. And so it was the it the whiskey a gogo in Paris had a jukebox.

SPEAKER_01 51:28

Is that the namesake of the one in Los Angeles?

SPEAKER_00 51:30

No.

SPEAKER_05 51:31

Yes. Well, yes, it's the original. It's the original. Started by Paul Picini in in Paris. And it's just like started at the original whiskey go-go. There were two locations then. There was one on the Rue de Beaujolais, which is still a speakeasy to this day. And um, and then there was the second one uh that Paul Pacini uh ran, which had um like safety deposit boxes. So you could buy a bottle, write your name on it, and put it in a safety deposit box. And um, and so Regine took over the original whiskey location, and she put two turntables next to each other. Yes, now was she the first? Maybe no, not necessarily, because there were weird zeitgeisty moments. There's zeitgeisty moments, and there are there's um, you know, in Jamaica, uh sound systems were already going on in the 1950s and 1960s. But but Regine is 1954. So this is 1954, the original Whiskey of Go-Go. She puts two turntables next to each other, she puts down linoleum on the dance floor and puts the lights on the dance floor. And so she really created dance culture as we know it. Um, kind of endless, endless music. Focus on the dancing.

SPEAKER_02 53:02

Yeah, because one song would end and then the next one. And instead of like a jukebox changing it or putting another record.

SPEAKER_05 53:07

She hated the sounds of the clinking glasses and the people snogging in the corner and all that stuff. So she was just like wow, boom, getting rid of it. Well, it was it was already happening. It was already happening. It was already happening, it was happening at Arthur in 1965.

SPEAKER_01 53:29

Do you think she found herself like in the French Caribbean at some point and saw that happening and brought it to Paris?

SPEAKER_05 53:34

No, no, no. She no. Um, I th it was zeitgeisty. People were I think people were already kind of doing it. The it was it was very trendy.

SPEAKER_01 53:47

Uh not have a break in the music.

SPEAKER_05 53:50

It was very trendy to just start playing records. So, so it and we get we're too focused on who was the first, who was the first, who was the first. 100%. So who cares who was the first, but Regine is the person that I believe every DJ owes a massive debt to. And she's the person without she opened Regines, the upscale disco, one year almost to the day before Studio 54. And hers was the first upscale disco. She is I also responsible for the disco deco thing. She was retroing Deco in in the 1960s. It was like her and Biba were the were the I think the the purveyors and the ones who really kicked off that that deco retro thing that that was so popular in disco and and it continues. I mean, her, yeah, I love her. I love her. And so anyway, I started my podcast to go into this history of nightlife and entertainment. And the children should know. And I really wanted to highlight people who were interesting and and um that people should be talking about with more respect. And um, and in the first season, it was all about nightlife. It was all about three ladies whose lives basically through tell the story of of the genesis of nightlife as we know it. So Madam Spivy, Bricktop, and Regine.

SPEAKER_02 55:46

Hey, listen, at this point in the interview, Adam passed out. So we're gonna have to continue our interview with Animatronic next week. But I have to go now. I'm gonna have to carry Adam to bed now, and I can tell you she's a heavy load. See you next week.

SPEAKER_01 56:06

Trigger warning, hosted by Dalen Ardiccio and Adam Meathammer Clesh, is a Pride House media production and produced by Josh Rosensweig. Please note the views reflected in this podcast do not represent the views of Red Eye, the Ice Palace, or any of its subsidiaries. And any reference to scat, triming, upper ducker, skank, smash baiting, rump riding, wolf bagging, piglet steamers, jiggly puffing, rusty trombones, cosby sweaters, Mexican pancakes, and Alabama Hot Pockets are the views of Mr. Ardicho, Mr. Clesh, and his listeners, not the establishment. If you are offended, please seek immediate psychiatric attention.

SPEAKER_02 56:35

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SPEAKER_01 56:48

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SPEAKER_02 56:53

And you can send us your questions or hate mail to trigger at triggerwarning.com.