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The Catacombs Nightclub was a gay after-hours club in Philadelphia that played underground dance music, a precursor to house music. [1] Additionally, Catacombs was responsible for the creation of the dance music genre "Philly Classics". The club was a cultural center for music industry professionals and artists of diverse backgrounds in the early 1980s. [1]
Second Story, Philadelphia's premier nightclub, was located at 12th and Walnut Streets in Center City Philadelphia. Known to regulars as The Story, it was inspired by the vision of brothers Barry and Wayne Geftman. [2] The Geftman brothers' original concept was to create a private, gay club with an environment featuring unique interiors, superior music and sound, and innovative lighting. Under the banner of Disco Design, LTD., Wayne oversaw most of the creative and technical aspects of the club, while Barry performed administrative duties including staffing and promotions.
Before Second Story was opened, Wayne and Barry had created their first nightclub, the Music Box. The club was one of the most popular spots at the Jersey Shore during summers in the 1970s. New York's Discoteckin magazine called it "a club worth leaving New York for".[ citation needed ]
The sound system was designed by Rosner Custom Sound and was installed by Rosner's lead engineer, Donald Carucci, known as an expert in the field of nightclub sound. The Music Box's sound system was unparalleled, and Wayne and DJ Frankie "Who" Sestito frequently turned the music up, which further cemented the club's popularity. With the success of the Music Box at the Jersey Shore, the Geftman brothers decided it was time to bring their concepts to Philadelphia with Second Story.
Second Story opened its doors on December 6, 1976, after three years of intense design. The facility was in a former church, and elements from the original building were utilized in its interior design. Rosner designed a state-of-the-art sound system, featuring components that, at the time, were rarely used in the nightclub environment. [3] The light show was also designed under Barry's close scrutiny. The club opened as a private, gay nightclub. It changed to a more mainstream format after 13 months, which led to unprecedented success and to its reputation as "Philadelphia's Studio 54". [4]
Although Second Story was a commercial success, Wayne's love of music compelled him to build another club—one that featured "hardcore" dance music, then popular in after-hours gay juice bars. Later, this style of music was recognized as the precursor to house music, and this music helped shape the dance genre Philly Classics.
The Geftman brothers opened Catacombs in the fall of 1978 in the basement of the 12th Street structure. The club typically opened on Saturdays at midnight, and often would not close until noon on Sunday. The first record played at Catacombs was "The Impossible Dream".[ citation needed ]
The sound system in Catacombs was the original system from the Music Box. Wayne updated the system by doubling the number of loudspeakers and amplifiers. Designed and installed by Donald Carucci, the modified system created a 360° field of sound, further enhanced by the club's low ceiling. The result was a sound system with crystal-clear music, in a room without dead spots.
Catacombs earned a reputation as a nationally recognized after-hours club, and it became known for being frequented by music-industry professionals from both Philadelphia and New York. Catacombs' most significant contribution to the music industry was its creation of the dance genre Philly Classics. Catacombs closed its doors in December 1986. [1]
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars.
House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's Black gay underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.
A video jockey is an announcer or host who introduces music videos and live performances on commercial music television channels such as MTV, VH1, MuchMusic and Channel V.
Lawrence Philpot, known as Larry Levan, was an American DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern dance club. He developed a cult following who referred to his sets as "Saturday Mass". Influential post-disco DJ François Kevorkian credits Levan with introducing the dub aesthetic into dance music. Along with Kevorkian, Levan experimented with drum machines and synthesizers in his productions and live sets, ushering in an electronic, post-disco sound that presaged the ascendence of house music. He DJ'd at Club Zanzibar in the 1980s as well, home to the Jersey Sound brand of deep house or garage house.
Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. The 10,000 square feet (930 m2) club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and occupied a building formerly located at 84 King Street in the SoHo neighborhood. It operated from 1977 to 1987 and featured resident DJ Larry Levan.
Francis Warren Nicholls Jr., known professionally as Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer, and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music, a genre of music that began in Chicago during the early 1980s and subsequently spread worldwide. In 1997, Knuckles won the Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical. Due to his importance in the development of the genre, Knuckles was often called "The Godfather of House Music".
The Saint was an American gay nightclub, located in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It operated from 1980 to 1988.
Todd Norton Terry is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. His productions helped define the New York house scene in the 1990s and used extensive samples that blend the sounds of classic disco, the Chicago house sound, and elements of hip-hop. He has remixed a wide variety of artists.
The Loft was the location for the first underground dance party organized by David Mancuso, on February 14, 1970, in New York City. Since then, the term "The Loft" has come to represent Mancuso's own version of a non-commercial party where no alcohol, food, nor beverages are sold. Mancuso's vision of a private party is similar to, and inspired by, the rent party and house party. Unlike conventional nightclubs or discotheques, attendance is by invitation only. In the late 1970s, Mancuso abandoned the generally accepted and expected practice of beatmatching, preferring to play songs in their entirety on his renowned audiophile-quality sound system. The Village Voice wrote that Mancuso's sound system was the best in New York and even described him as "more of a party engineer than a DJ." Mancuso required that the music played had to be soulful, rhythmic, and impart words of hope, redemption, or pride.
Cafe con Leche was a weekly Sunday night party held at various nightclubs in New York City. The party's span as a weekly event was over seven years and continues to be celebrated, with its 28th anniversary having taken place at The Q Club in New York City on Sunday, June 27, 2021. As a weekly, Cafe con Leche began at the Danceteria nightclub on January 1, 1993, and ended at Cheetah on July 11, 1999.
Leonard Warren Borisoff, known professionally by the stage name Len Barry, was an American singer, songwriter, lyricist, record producer, author, and poet.
The "What Time Is Love?" Story is a compilation album by British electronic music duo The KLF, comprising six versions of their techno track "What Time Is Love?".
John Creamer & Stephane K are an American international DJ duo, electronic music and house music production team based in a New York City. They are perhaps best known for creating original dance singles as well as dance remixes for artists such as iiO, Moby, New Order, Rosko and Sinéad O'Connor.
Garage house is a dance music style that was developed alongside Chicago house music. The genre was popular in the 1980s in the United States and the 1990s in the United Kingdom, where it developed into UK garage and speed garage.
The Glow of Love is the debut studio album by Italian/American ensemble Change, released in April 1980. It includes the singles "A Lover's Holiday", "Searching" and "The Glow of Love"; all three singles simultaneously topped the US dance chart for nine weeks from May to June 1980. The album reached number twenty-nine on the US Billboard Album Chart and ten on the US Billboard Black Albums chart.
David Todd is an American disco and house musician and remixer. He was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Todd began his career in the music industry at a small retail record store in New York around 1970.
Raymond Randall Bettis is an American DJ, remixer, and producer of dance music.
One Half of a Whole Decade is a DJ mix album released by the eponymous record label of house nightclub Ministry of Sound in 1996. As the album's subtitle suggests, the album celebrates and documents the first five years of the Ministry of Sound as a nightclub. It is a box set and contains three discs, the first disc, Rulin', is based around the club's Rulin' garage nights and is mixed by CJ Mackintosh and Todd Terry. The second disc, Frisky?, is based around its Frisky? house nights and is mixed by Seb Fontaine and Jon Pleased Wimmin. The third disc, Logical Progression, is mixed entirely by LTJ Bukem and is based around his Logical Progression drum and bass nights.
Jean-Philippe Aviance is a French American house and techno DJ and producer from Washington, D.C. His career took off in 1990 when he started DJing for Mother Juan Aviance's voguing house and weekly Kindergarten Parties at the Vault Nightclub in D.C. These weekly parties were frequented by U.S. nightlife personalities like Kevin Aviance, New York City's Club kids such as Amanda Lepore, James St. James and Kenny Kenny. Jean-Philippe was the House of Aviance's first ever DJ.
Richard Long (1933–1986) was an American sound designer. He is known as the preeminent sound designer of the disco era, having installed systems at clubs including Paradise Garage, Dorian Gray, Studio 54, City Hall, Max's Kansas City and Roxy Roller Rink.