Killer Joe
New member
We rarely talk about family members but I just felt so good about this I just had to share:
My older brother is a DJ at several small clubs in the Pittsburgh area and I never seem to see him spin but this past Sunday I went and I was glad I did. We aren't what you might call "close" but when we do get together it's all about having a good time and not dwelling on how we don't see each other much.
He's 11 yrs. my senior but is way more youthful than most 30 year olds I know. He was DJing at this place on the south part of town called, get this, The Smiling Moose (been there Mooseman?
). It's generally known as an edgy place for punk and goth bands and on Sunday Nights my brother plays 80's Alternative Music like Depeche Mode, Ministry, The Cure and the likes.
I knew this ahead of time and so I dressed the part; thick black orthopedic type shoes, grungy blue jeans, black long sleeve thermal shirt, black hoodie and black leather biker jacket with my signature plain black baseball cap. I felt a little weird.
I get there at 9:30 and of course the place is near dead but by 11:00 pm the place was kicking! My bro said it was a typical crowd for a SUNDAY NIGHT!!!!! Don't goth-types work on Monday mornings?
The dance floor was barely big enough for 2 troglodytes to stand comfortably and calling it a dance floor is a stretch. But it was a typical bar for this part of town; thin from side to side (about 20 ft. wide) but really long to the back (maybe 80 some odd ft. deep). There was a 'bouncer' but no cover charge, there was a drink special: $1 for a draft of Pabst Blue Ribbon (bleech), I don't drink so it didn't matter to me but I did, however, drink a 12oz. can of Red Bull just before I went in the place.
ZOIKS!
I usually go to sleep around 9:30 pm on any given night but in order to stay awake at this place I knew I had to do something. So I slept from 6 - 8:30 p.m. then showered and left my house, my family was on their way to bed. Night-life is SO different from real-life, I don't think I could keep that pace more than once-a-month. No WONDER my wife and I don't go out that much. So that's when I went into a conveince store and got myself a sugar-free Red Bull. It tastes HORRIBLE but the zip in my step quickened quite hastily!
The stage (10 ft. by 8 ft.) is where I found my brother and he was playing something not too obscure for my taste but I still didn't know the song. A dirty white bed sheet was hanging from the side wall where a projector was pointed playing A Nightmare before Christmas without the audio and there two flashing disco-lights which didn't make any sense whatsoever to me since the ambient impact from them was miniscule. I guess it's a "club" thing. :yawn: The walls and ceiling were black with posters and stickers of punk bands names and/or gig announcements. I suppose that were meant to stay there since a group called the something Americans were playing somewhere on December 10,...........1998!
The bathroom was an attraction all by itself! No door, just two long urinals with the twist knobs to flush (neither of them worked) and a stall with no door and no paper. But hey, there were lots of phone numbers on the walls written in sharpie marker (the walls were as white as a scene from 2001: A Space Oddessy). I think I saw Jenny's number (876-5301?), I dunno.
The people that were there by midnight were strange to me but somehow interesting. Most of the guys were dressed as I was and the ages seemed to range from 20 something to 50 something, secretly I was glad, no offense to young folk but under 30 types kind of put me on the defensive, I know this because I was once a loose canon at that age and fearless to boot.
...really, so stop laughing.
I won't say much about the females at this place because small children might read this so use your own imagination!
...no, MORE IMAGINATION than that!
...yeah, just what you're thinking now buddy boy!
I love that Billy Idol song "Dancing with Myself" and that's exactly what went on at this place. No one danced with anyone but the floor was always packed. At one point it reminded me of that scene in one of the Matrix movies where they're at the underground last human city and there's a party going on and wild dancing,....yup, pretty much like that.
I danced a little, okay. maybe a little more than that but it was cool to watch the "Freak" parade and of course I guess I was a part of it also. After a while my brother's DJ partner started to spin and then we hung out all night. In PA the bars close at 2 am and that's when I left. The lights went on and WHOA! Being sober I got to see alot of what many others couldn't...REALITY!!!!!!
I hugged my bro and wished him a Happy Holiday and off I went back to Family-Town. I had a blast! The last time I saw him DJing was about five years ago at a now defunct place called The Upstage.
Last thought: one song that was played was called "Everyday is Halloween" by Ministry and I thought; how appropiate.
My older brother is a DJ at several small clubs in the Pittsburgh area and I never seem to see him spin but this past Sunday I went and I was glad I did. We aren't what you might call "close" but when we do get together it's all about having a good time and not dwelling on how we don't see each other much.
He's 11 yrs. my senior but is way more youthful than most 30 year olds I know. He was DJing at this place on the south part of town called, get this, The Smiling Moose (been there Mooseman?
). It's generally known as an edgy place for punk and goth bands and on Sunday Nights my brother plays 80's Alternative Music like Depeche Mode, Ministry, The Cure and the likes. I knew this ahead of time and so I dressed the part; thick black orthopedic type shoes, grungy blue jeans, black long sleeve thermal shirt, black hoodie and black leather biker jacket with my signature plain black baseball cap. I felt a little weird.
I get there at 9:30 and of course the place is near dead but by 11:00 pm the place was kicking! My bro said it was a typical crowd for a SUNDAY NIGHT!!!!! Don't goth-types work on Monday mornings?
The dance floor was barely big enough for 2 troglodytes to stand comfortably and calling it a dance floor is a stretch. But it was a typical bar for this part of town; thin from side to side (about 20 ft. wide) but really long to the back (maybe 80 some odd ft. deep). There was a 'bouncer' but no cover charge, there was a drink special: $1 for a draft of Pabst Blue Ribbon (bleech), I don't drink so it didn't matter to me but I did, however, drink a 12oz. can of Red Bull just before I went in the place.
ZOIKS!
I usually go to sleep around 9:30 pm on any given night but in order to stay awake at this place I knew I had to do something. So I slept from 6 - 8:30 p.m. then showered and left my house, my family was on their way to bed. Night-life is SO different from real-life, I don't think I could keep that pace more than once-a-month. No WONDER my wife and I don't go out that much. So that's when I went into a conveince store and got myself a sugar-free Red Bull. It tastes HORRIBLE but the zip in my step quickened quite hastily!
The stage (10 ft. by 8 ft.) is where I found my brother and he was playing something not too obscure for my taste but I still didn't know the song. A dirty white bed sheet was hanging from the side wall where a projector was pointed playing A Nightmare before Christmas without the audio and there two flashing disco-lights which didn't make any sense whatsoever to me since the ambient impact from them was miniscule. I guess it's a "club" thing. :yawn: The walls and ceiling were black with posters and stickers of punk bands names and/or gig announcements. I suppose that were meant to stay there since a group called the something Americans were playing somewhere on December 10,...........1998!
The bathroom was an attraction all by itself! No door, just two long urinals with the twist knobs to flush (neither of them worked) and a stall with no door and no paper. But hey, there were lots of phone numbers on the walls written in sharpie marker (the walls were as white as a scene from 2001: A Space Oddessy). I think I saw Jenny's number (876-5301?), I dunno.
The people that were there by midnight were strange to me but somehow interesting. Most of the guys were dressed as I was and the ages seemed to range from 20 something to 50 something, secretly I was glad, no offense to young folk but under 30 types kind of put me on the defensive, I know this because I was once a loose canon at that age and fearless to boot.
...really, so stop laughing.
I won't say much about the females at this place because small children might read this so use your own imagination!
...no, MORE IMAGINATION than that!
...yeah, just what you're thinking now buddy boy!
I love that Billy Idol song "Dancing with Myself" and that's exactly what went on at this place. No one danced with anyone but the floor was always packed. At one point it reminded me of that scene in one of the Matrix movies where they're at the underground last human city and there's a party going on and wild dancing,....yup, pretty much like that.
I danced a little, okay. maybe a little more than that but it was cool to watch the "Freak" parade and of course I guess I was a part of it also. After a while my brother's DJ partner started to spin and then we hung out all night. In PA the bars close at 2 am and that's when I left. The lights went on and WHOA! Being sober I got to see alot of what many others couldn't...REALITY!!!!!!
I hugged my bro and wished him a Happy Holiday and off I went back to Family-Town. I had a blast! The last time I saw him DJing was about five years ago at a now defunct place called The Upstage.
Last thought: one song that was played was called "Everyday is Halloween" by Ministry and I thought; how appropiate.