By "Dance Club" , BTW , I just mean a BARN where DJs played Rock and Pop music of the day ('82 or '83.)....Already too square for me , but there is'nt much to do in a town so small
, that for years you had to buy your records at WAL-MART (They did have The Fleshtones' First LP.). I was accosted , and told to get off the floor , for dancing with myself (Uh - huh - huh - ho.).
John Battles said:
I guess I forgot to say what else I liked about The Hot Klub. There was a remarkable energy about the place , when the band would come on , you'd instantly have a packed dance floor , or , at least , a respectable showing. Now , it is'nt cool to dance to Rock'n'Roll .You can get people dancing like their nads are on fire , but , usually , only with totally UNdanceable music.But , The Hot Klub was the kind of place where people just wanted to rock out , and it did'nt matter if you were a very good dancer , or if you did'nt have a partner , or if you danced with a member of the same gender (None of these things would bat an eye , today , but , 30 years ago , sheesh !). I was told to stop dancing at a "Dance" club one time , why? Because I was'nt dancing with a partner. That , and the decor was kind of low rent , but artistically pleasing enough. Above the stage , the club's name was written in spraypaint (The spraypaint "Mural " , mostly of band logos , by the bands themselves, at the front entrance was priceless. Bands like X, Big Boys , Circle Jerks , Misfits , and others , sprayed their name in big "Fonts" on the wall. In fact , Black Flag spraypainted their own name (During guess which song?) below the "Hot Klub" logo . One witty individual painted out the "l" in "Flag". The walls , mostly black , with artistically arranged mirror glass shards , looked down on a cool black and white tile dance floor (Very 50's looking , tho the floor itself was probably laid out before talking pictures.). It had an atmosphere that was seedy but arty , too. Art should have a seedy quality , anyway.
John Battles said:Some of my faves , in this life , include The Hot Klub in Dallas. Not the first , but the second Punk/NewWave WHATEVER venue in Dallas (ca. 80 - 83.), and the first real club I got to go to , tho' nowhere nearly as often as I wish I had , because I was still underage.
The Purple Onion in San Francisco. This venue has undergone MANY changes , in terms of location and theme , and Many LONG gaps between different versions of the club.
But , I went there , once , in 1999 (I think.) while visiting friends and family in The Bay area.
I saw The Loons , Dukes of Hamburg and Tee and The Crumpets , great show all around , and yes , the club at that time was very cool - looking , but , the bottom line was , people came there to have fun , I mean a LOT of fun. Women were coming up to me and asking me to dance. That used to happen all the time in the early 80's , but , rarely today. I'm just as guilty , I generally don't ask ladies I don't know to dance anymore , tho' it's been known to happen.... The whole atmosphere was like being on the set of "Riot on Sunset Strip". The barmaid was go - go dancing up on the bar . Russell Quan was eating a banana and an orange , leaving the peels on the floor , pissing himself laughing whenever someone stepped on the banana peel , meeting Dominic Priore , and my good friends , Mike and Anja Stax (It was the first time we'd met in person , tho' we'd been in touch for a while.).
Anja looked stunning , of course , but also stunningly familiar , I could'nt place it , where I would have seen her or her picture before. She told me she had played in a band in England a couple of years previously , but , I misunderstood her when she told me the band's name. I thought "What's a nice girl like this doing in a band called DOG BOLLOCKS ?!". Twenty minutes into my ride back to my friend's house , it hit me. She said DIABOLIKS !!! No wonder I thought I recognized her , I have their records. But , even stronger and stranger deja vu occured when I saw this older guy , brooding , but enjoying the show. It was kind of dark , but , he looked very familiar , like someone I think I met in the early 80's. Well , he should have , that's when I met Jello Biafra.
