MADONNA : AP PHOTO ; RUN-DMC : AP PHOTO / MARK LENNIHAN ; DEPECHE MODE : GETTY IMAGES ; DURAN DURAN : AP PHOTO / AMY SANCETTA ; BASQUIAT : AP PHOTO / RICHARD DREW ; HARING : AP PHOTO / ELKE BRUHN-HOFFMANN through the platform ’ s chat function . “ I ’ m not archiving the shows ,” says Gomez . “ You have to tune in .”
Not only are the Danceteria REWIND sounds all over the musical spectrum , but Gomez seamlessly blends them — just like the club ’ s fabled DJs Mark Kamins and Sean Cassette — into a continuous flow of non-stop sound . Shows attempt to replicate the feel of being at the club down to the clink of glasses at the bar and Gomez ’ s allusion to co-founder Rudolf Pieper giving him the sign to get his broadcast started .
HOTSPOT
The short life of the 21st Street Danceteria , 1982 to 1986 , coincided with the peak ofthe New York clubbing era , when trendy folks in their 20s would don their funkiest clothes , wildest jewelry and greenest hair extensions , and head for the roped-off queues of At the time , these destinations were the nerve center of youth culture . When Talking Heads ( in the song “ Life During Wartime ”) wanted to picture the apocalypse , they pictured aworld without clubs : “ This ain ’ tnoMudd Club , or CBGB , Iain ’ tgot time for that now .”
But Danceteria had its own particular mystique . For one thing , itwas bigger than any of the other clubs . For another , the creators of the place , Pieper and talent booker Jim Fouratt , were going for aparticular vibe .
They weren ’ t looking for celebrities , like Studio 54 . Nor were they looking for ordinary bridge-and-tunnel partiers . They wanted people who seemed hip , self-styled , idiosyncratic . Tastemakers . The kind ofpeople who weren ’ t famous now , but might be two years from now .
“ Studio 54 was about money and class and fabulousness ,” Gomez says .
ALMOST FAMOUS
The original Danceteria was frequented by many artists who would later become well-known around the world , including ( clockwise from top ) Madonna , Run-DMC , Depeche Mode , Duran Duran , Jean-Michel Basquiat , Cyndi Lauper and Keith Haring .
“ At Danceteria , that was never the currency . The currency was : Are you interesting ? Are you emerging ? To use the term we use now : Are you an influencer ?
The guys at the door had asense .” And that sense was usually correct . Among those who spent their nights , orlaunched their careers , at the venue were Madonna , Cyndi Lauper , Sade , Billy Idol , Run-DMC , RuPaul , Sonic Youth , Depeche Mode , Duran Duran , Violent Femmes , Keith Haring , Jean-Michel Basquiat , Karen Finley . Those were the people that , ayear or two down the road , the masses would discover onMTV and in stadiums and expensive art galleries .
But anybody who looked like they belonged atDanceteria was likely to get past the velvet rope . “ It was anybody who was on the wavelength , who was going to embrace this
WHEN THEY WERE
and add to the atmosphere ,” says Gomez .
Originally from Jersey City , Gomez has a background in both sales and music . As a musician , he produced so-called “ library music ,” stock soundtrack material that was used in videos and films ( including some by MTV ). AsaDJ , he hosted shows on SiriusXM Radio and the New York smooth jazz station CD 101.9 ( his show “ The Groove Boutique ” ran from 2003 to 2008 ).
But with the pandemic sidelining him in 2020 , he decided he needed a hobby . And he had always been fascinated by the way the best of the DJs , like the ones at Danceteria , became virtuosos of the turntable , keeping the music interesting and the dancing continuous . So he decided to become a virtual DJ , streaming out of his home studio .
“ What I was fascinated with is when you have aDJwho has a vision of what he wants to share with the clientele ,” he says . “ The DJ says , ‘ You may not know alot of the stuff I ’ mgoing to play . But let me take you there .’ And the audience said ,‘ OK .’”
@ montclairmagazine MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE FALL 2022
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