GAYLETTER

Oh Julius, we love this local bar. It’s an institution, but unlike many institutions there’s nothing stuffy about this place. It’s alive and popping. Maybe not on a Wednesday afternoon, but whenever they throw a party it’s generally crammed to the rafters. Which is maybe annoying for some people, but I find it wonderful. I love been crammed against a bunch of warm bodies. Back to the party. “Winter is HERE! Time to snuggle tight into your leisure-wear and dance the cold away at After Dark! Your monthly disco-rock-new wave dance getaway (from REALITY) celebrating the best music from the best years of After Dark Magazine! Come on down to Julius and grab a cocktail, one of their 'AMAZING' burgers, or other super snaxxx!” The party After Dark- A Discovery! has no cover, and there’s also a happy hour from 8pm-9pm! What more can you ask for???  —tom

Of course I grew up in the Dominican Republic hearing the word “maricón” around town, and I always pretended that I didn’t hear it whenever someone was saying it to another as an insult. For those of you that don’t know, “maricón” best translates to “faggot,” which we all know is not very nice. Sometimes Dominicans use to use the word and add ‘azo’ at the end, “mariconazo,” because I guess it sounded more dramatic and you know we Latinos love some drama. I personally never thought about the word when I lived there, it didn’t really haunt me, it just sounded ugly to me and I just decided to ignore it. But, after I came to NYC and I started to learn more about the power of words and the effect that they can have on others, I started to pay more attention and realized that language has way more power in America. Egos are also bigger in America and it’s easier to activate their collective pain bodies… All kinds of words get too much publicity here, and people give them bigger platforms, but I understand not everyone is able to remove the power from a word and just ignore it. People seem to just be more sensitive in the USA. I spoke to José (one of the organizers of this party, who's also DJing) because I was curious about why he called it Maricón. “I called the party Maricon because that’s a word that growing up I would hear constantly that I actually really hated, I just wanted to reclaim the word.” He told me that the party started about three years ago with his friend Sam, but he didn’t have time to really focus on it. Now he’s bringing it back! He told me to expect “lots of reggaeton, dembow, baile funk and more.” He seems very excited about it, I am too. “What I can hope for is lots of dancing, sweating, loving and celebrating of our roots…” Music by Stud1nt, Draqué, Hon2ou and Joselo. Los Maricones!  —Abi

Lots of people hate when others use “Yasss” and I am not sure why because I find it simply fun. So, for those of you out there that hate it, stop hating, it’s just a fun, light, gay, word to say! Just relax… The name of this party made me smile so much that I had to include it in this week’s letter. What makes this party’s name the best is that it’s a combination of two super gay exclamations: “Yas” and “Mama.”  When you add the word Mama to the end of anything it takes the carry to a whole new level. Mama gets it lit! I sound like a millennial, I know… but, yas mama. That’s the t t Mama. The party is presented by the lovely Horrorchata who also will be DJing along with Hanna Lou and guest DJ Sol Nova. Expect salsa, hip hop, Cumbia, Reggaeton, and more, it’s Latina night Mama. The flyer is written in Spanish and the legendary Selena Quintanilla is on it, so that is a big plus. I just got back from DR and so my English sounds super ESL again, so this party is perfect for me too. The girls are saying that it will be “una noche de baile y puteria,” that translates to a night of dance and whoring? Sounds good. Shows by Jenn D’Role and surprises. Esa es la que hay, Yas Mama.  —Abi

Gio Black Peter is probably one of the funnest people we know. He’s also a lovely guy and a proud whore. Which is great since he created a party named after his life of whoring. The Whorer Party is held in a 2,000 sq.ft. private dungeon in Brooklyn (you’ll have to email to receive the address). “You can dance, you can chill, you can watch or you can fuck. It’s great being an adult.  We are expecting 200-250 hotties so arrive early. Music is by Gio Black Peter, Tyler Stone,  _ \ • / _ jeaneon and Rembrandt Duran. Video installation by Brian Kenny & Rich Juzwiak. Performance by Boy Radio. Live photo sessions all night by Tayte Hanson.” We’re told that they will have a special guest for the night, the amazing Straight To Hell magazine. Gio told us to invite all our readers and “the whole GAYLETTER crew of hottie twinks that work for you.” I’m not sure who he’s exactly referencing, as some of our team are aging out of the twink category, but I’m sure they’re still welcome to attend. This party is very adults only (duh) if you’re not comfortable with nudity and people fucking in front of you, you probably shouldn’t show up. Whatever you do, please just practise safe sex: condoms, PrEP, whatever that is for you, take care of it. The thing that is great about these parties it how respectful of everyone people generally are. People are super conscious about consent and boundaries, which is amazing, and as it always should be.  —tom

Four rooms. Ten DJs. If that doesn’t ring any bells, you must have never been to the Holy Mountain. And if you haven’t, or even if you have, this is a perfect opportunity to “Climb up the mountain and fall down the rabbit hole to a kaleidoscopic land where words drip from the page and the line between real life and imagination begins to blur.” Sounds like the last time I dropped acid, tbh. But this edition of Holy Mountain is special — it’s the third anniversary of the party, as well as a celebration of the iconic Amanda Lepore’s birthday. Everyone’s gunna be there: La’fem Ladosha, Aquaria, Boomer Banks, Jordan Stawecki, Kyle Farmery, Linux, and a ton of others. There will be performances by Ian Isiah and Love & Hip Hop’s Dreamdoll as well as sets by numerous DJs. It’s safe to say it’s going to be lit as hell. If you’re looking for an excuse to trip balls, gargle balls, or simply get into some mischief à la Alice and her Wonderland adventures, look no further. Important to note is that this is not a budget party, aka you gotta pay to get in, queen. The cover charge goes like this: $10 before 11:30. $15 before midnight, $20 after. Or, if you come in full psychedelic giddyup, your cover will just be $15 no matter how fashionably late you pull up in the trippy ass fairytale pumpkin carriage of yours that is Lyft (or Uber, if you’re that bitch).  —Connor Atkins

Most of the parties we profile in this newsletter follow the same general formula — there’s a specific genre of music (typically something danceable), there’s drinks, and queers throwing looks, both fierce and not-so-fierce. Clone breaks that mold a little bit. Sure, there will be drinks and queers, and probably a fair amount of controlled substances, but the point of this party doesn’t seem to be dancing, its essence is “old-school sleaze as physically close to the old Piers as possible.” To go along with the vintage porn playing inside, there will be music sourced from “the cruise bar heyday, 1976 to 1984” and spun by DJs Martin and Damian. There will be an optional $1 clothing check as well! Very yassy. So if you’re tired of the mainstream Something Special-esque parties and you feel like being a shmessy whore, check this one out. Also important to note is that the mood will be a “lax, friendly vibe” (how can it not be lax when there’s a clothing check, papa?) and you get a free shot with your $5 cover. Don’t forget your poppers. Don’t forget your kiki. Miss me with the Tina but hey, if that’s ya game, I won’t stop you from playing it. And remember: lax and friendly — so sharing is caring!  —Connor Atkins

Something about basements just makes parties better. Black Flamingo is a taco joint that harbors one of nightlife’s best kept, but also not so best kept, basement dance floors. When I first visited, I ended up dancing with a bunch of British tourists who didn’t offer me any coke (rude) and struggled to not take my shirt off, so I settled for the next best thing: exposing my chest for indefinite periods of time and doing poppers alone. Parties here are intimate as fuck, considering the basement is just about as large as some apartments and can really hold maybe 70 people comfortably? I think. Luckily, it’s a true dance crowd, so everyone moves in waves, gyrating near each other, exchanging sweaty looks in the strobe light and gallivanting upstairs because that’s where the only bar is, so it never feels too blobbish when you’re dancing. This new weekly Thursday party is all about funk and I’m here for that. Expect to be familiar with nothing you hear from the night’s DJs, which is a good thing because you’ll feel free from the known and able to totally settle into the groove for the evening. The bar has a knockout cocktail menu, so don’t make the same mistake as me and end up with tequila sodas all night. As I said, it’s in a basement space and you’ll feel like a silly teenager about to rub shoulders with the cool kids in school… or maybe that’s just me fetishizing my third-tier popularity. (Everyone knew me because I was gay, hunny.) Usually we’re covering parties that are for turbo-gays, and while that’s fabulous, this is a terrific option for a lowkey night out. I mean, it’s Brooklyn, so everyone’s sexy and looks sharp, you can still find a mouth to kiss. Try the tacos and let me know how they are!  —Chris Stewart

Daddy’s Dirty Disco presents: Underground Bushwick — a brand new party for Daddies, their friends and the boys and girls that love them. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? I emailed Sweet Daddy who sent us information about this party. I don’t really know who Sweet Daddy is but he told me that he’s “nobody famous, just a horny daddy with good taste in music.” I think that daddy sounds fun, that’s pretty much all we need from a daddy, well and hopefully a good budget to daddy away. “Daddy, daddy me please, I want Prada” sounds funny because I am in my 30s, but I think it’s all relative, as long the daddy has enough to be my daddy and can afford my taste then it’s all good. It looks like Johnny Dynell, Tommie Sunshine and Casey Spooner (pictured) will be playing disco, house, techno and tech house, the venue is “like if Yaffa Café and the old gay club Crow Bar had a baby,” lots of daddies and no cover. “No drink specials this time, but there’s some cute signature cocktails and cheap beers.” OK daddy!  —Abi