Famed Los Angeles Party Ends

Take a look back at 17 years of iconic monthly party Dragstrip 66 before its farewell blowout this weekend.

The Los Angeles nightclub landscape will become a bit lonelier after this weekend as iconic monthly party Dragstrip 66 ends its 17-year reign on Saturday, January 9, at the Echoplex. Founded in 1993 by two Boston transplants, club promoter and DJ Paul V. and theater producer-performer “Mr. Dan” Der Kacz, the popular Eastside party offered L.A. revelers not only a respite from what was then a predominantly West Hollywood–based scene, but the opportunity to dress in outrageous drag costumes.

“We needed a vehicle for an alternative music club and for Dan’s incredible talent as Gina Lotriman [his drag persona],” Paul V. tells The Advocate of the club’s modest beginnings. “The first evening was a Hillary Clinton and Tipper Gore look-alike contest.” A month later, when actress Karen Black attended the second event, titled the Karen Black-Valentine Ball, the pair sensed there was a market for the demented sensibility they shared. Subsequent theme nights such as One Million Years B.C. (Before Cosmetics), Hot Pants Explosion, Florence of Arabia, and Tranny Get Your Gun not only drew faithful clubgoers (including a pre-fame Adam Lambert) but curious celebrities such as Drew Barrymore, Roseanne Barr, and Alan Cumming. Soon their creative, no-budget productions, which took place onstage during breaks in the DJ sets, became a sensation.

The success of Dragstrip 66, which until 2004 was held at Rudolpho’s, a Mexican restaurant in Silver Lake, and has since moved to the Echoplex, surprised both men. “We made a pact that if it didn’t take off after six months, we would stop,” Paul recalls. “From the third one it was obvious that it had become bigger than we imagined. Swarms of people would join us. We soon realized how important the club was and how special an experience it was for people and the crowd became as much a part of the show as anything we put on stage.”

Dragstrip was noted for its friendly vibe and welcoming atmosphere. “We had every age, size, gender, and no one was better than anyone else,” Paul says. “You didn’t have that diversity then. As an alternative to what was available to gay people, particularly the music, the crowd makeup, and age parameters, we blew those norms out of the water.”

“We invited everyone to come and play with us and they felt safe and comfortable,” he adds. “They knew they’d run into friends and probably get laid. We had the hottest guys in L.A. You could go up and talk to people without fear of the stand-and-pose attitude.”

Take a look back at some of the most memorable moments of 17 years of Dragstrip 66.

For information on attending the final Dragstrip 66, click here.

DRAGSTRIP66 5TH ANNIVERSARY X560 (COURTESY DG66 PHOTO LARRY TONYDIMAIO) | ADVOCATE.COM

Gina Lotriman, Sharon Needles and Gender at the 5th anniversary event.

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Reader Comments

Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Mike
Date posted: 1/9/2010 6:45:28 PM
Hometown: Riegelsville, PA

Comment:
Wow! The creative genious! Steven Walker, are you out there? Leather and Feathers are so hot! In the militant stride for the civil rights of us sexual minorities, I sometimes forget to celebrate our magic fairy element. The "gay" gene, you know, our "designer" gene that we use for fabulosity in makeup, hair, costumes, accessories .. . we also use it to solve problems like world hunger, race intolerance, homophobia .. . That's why some Native American Indian cultures celebrated us as a 3rd gender, the Berdache - often the Witch Doctors and sages of the community to bring newness to life, so it wouldn't stagnate and die. The breeder men were the hunters, the women the domestic engineers, and the berdache (the gay men) were revered and respected for their creativity. The photos in this article celebrate our uniqueness. There's a place for assimilation in the movement, but individuality and radical movement are so important, too.
Back to top Post a Comment Report Abuse
Name: Stephen Vara
Date posted: 1/9/2010 5:28:49 PM
Hometown: Brooklyn

Comment:
That's me, Sharon Needles, with the big Adam's apple and white kitten in the background as Sylvia Rank (Anita Ekberg's character in Fellini's "La Dolce Vita.") Drew Barrymore was so nice to me. She sat on my lap and we talked for a long time. For months after I got nothing but grief from everybody saying things like, "How's your new best friend Drew?" "Has Drew called you yet?" It was a circus-themed night. I remember I sang "Paper Moon." Drew kept shouting my name from the audience, and I was on top of the world. I love you Drew! Call me!

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