This halloween was the 5 year anniversary of White Girl Lust. Although we missed the final post landing on the anniversary we felt the need to share the final part of our story.
Although we DJed a few gigs previously together, we really consider Halloween the real kick off of White Girl Lust. We had stumbled on a random bar deep in the Park Hill area of Denver that was perfect for a Halloween kick off. It was a former speakeasy from the 30′s. At this time the upstairs was a multi-room brothel and had a very seedy reputation. After prohibition was lifted the place went legit but the upstairs remained a whore house. By the 70′s the whole area turned to shit and the place hit economic ruin. At some point the place was robbed and the bartender SHOT the guy on his way out with a shotgun. There was still buckshot in the wall! Rumor also had it that a girl was murdered upstairs at some point.
Soon the poor place went under and was unoccupied for the next 30 years. In the early 2000′s a dude bought it and literally just cleaned it up – otherwise the whole venue was untouched… except the upstairs. This was still in complete ruin with no working electricity. On my first trip there we were allowed VIP access upstairs with flash lights. The top floor was a series of rooms, all connected in a circle and a hallway. The original wallpaper was still intact but severely damaged with stains. Old newspapers were thrown throughout the rooms. It smelled dank and was very cold. Although I never experienced anything, the place was often visited by paranormal research teams. Supposedly the bartenders (who often had no customers for hours) would often hear odd footsteps upstairs. I am far from “that guy” who buys into this type of hype but it was hands down the most creepy places I have ever been.
We decided this would be the PERFECT place to do our first event. The bar never had more than 3 patrons and was hurting for business. This made it very easy to strike a deal. We first were going to call the event “Dead Disco” but realized “Dead Rock & Roll” was more marketable at the time. We promoted our asses off and by game night we had a huge buzz going. By 10:30 the place was packed wall to wall and the party erupted. We made the bar more money than they had ever rang in a evening. This turned into a series of events that continued until I moved to San Francisco – coincidentally because I was coaxed there by a girl I met at that party.
To this day I think it was one of the most fun gigs of my life. It is a shame that the bar soon closed after I left. I would pay money to go explore that upstairs one more time.
Here is the second half of the first WGL mix from around 2004. Starts off a bit intense but smooths out at the end into what would become more “our sound”.
Part 2 of the First White Girl Lust Mix CD (Era 2004)
Men1 – AFX
Right Way (Z Trip) – DJ Shadow
Gangsta, Gangsta – NWA
U Mass – Pixies
The Choice is Yours (Rmx) – Black Sheep
Come Out – The Avalanche
Light My Fire – Erma Franklin
Saturday – De La Soul
Love is the Message (Edit) – MFSB
Boys & Girls – Blur
You Remind (Ernest Saint Laurent Mix) – Royksopp
