"EQUILIBRIUM" AT TILT...WITH A BIT OF ROCKIT RAGS THROWN IN

In mid-1992 Neville from Limelight opened up a night at Tilt called "Equilibrium", recruiting a bunch of us regulars as co-managers and promoters.
I remember Rob Wong, DJ Jay and I were pushing for the name "Spahn Ranch" (before that awful band came out), but they chose "Equilibrium" instead. We were trying to get a Manson thing going on, and funny enough, just a month or so later the New York City version of "Helter Skelter" opened up at the Jackie 60 spot where "Troublemakers" used to be. Oh well, we tried...
To be honest at this point I can't even remember what night of the week "Equilibrium" was (I'm thinking Saturdays), but it was really packed and had us going down to Soho on the West side, which was kind of out there as far as the club spots were concerned for that time.
I remember a couple of good live shows held on this night, most notably a Loretta's Doll set that was fantastic.
Tilt was a huge space with a big dance-floor and if I'm not mistaken while we had the upstairs, there was another event going on downstairs that was more mainstream.
Anyway, here are a bunch of shots from one of the nights held there.
I don't know if these were ALL taken the night of the "Loretta's Doll" show, but nevertheless they would have all been withing a month or so of each other since the night didn't go on for very long (three months at best).

Aimee

Adam, Sheila and Rob Xian

Sheila

Bryan Doll/ Loretta's Doll

Ed and Jessica

DJ Jay Consoli

Randi

Around the time "Equilibrium" was going on, Jesse got a job at "Rockit Rags", which was the T-Shirt place everyone went to in the back of Bleeker Bob's on 3rd Street.
Soon after he started he managed to get me a job there as well, and I ended up working there for a couple of years before I switched over to the Bleeker Bob's side of the business until 1997.
"Rockit Rags" was an awesome job. It was the perfect location for your friends to come by and just chill with you until it was quitting time, and we would then jet off to whichever club was on that night.
This was when there was a club to go to every night of the week, even Sunday. It was insane since everyone made it out no matter what, every night. So it was one big family getting together night after night, clubbing until the sun came up, only to turn around, go home for a quick minute before heading out to work or school, just to do it all again later that evening. I don't even remember when I slept at this point. I think on the train or bus...An hour here, and hour there.
What contributed to the full club roster in NYC at the time was Techno. At about this time DJ Reese opened up a Techno/Trance night at Space at Chase up on 3rd Avenue, and it was awesome. This is when the Techno scene really hit NYC and a ton of us from the Goth/Industrial clubs were also hitting all the Techno spots as well. So besides the Goth/Industrial clubs going on, we now had the Techno clubs really beefing up the options to hit. Just amazing.
If I'm not mistaken, the week looked like this:
Monday: Black Lips at Pyramid
Tuesday: Communion at Limelight
Wednesday: London Dungeon at Zone Decay
Thursday: United States of Techno at Pyramid or Helter Skelter at Jackie 60
Friday: Stigmata at Pyramid
Saturday: Ward 6 (various locations at this time) or Equilibrium at Tilt
Sunday: the techno night at Space at Chase or Belfry at the Bank
Then of course you sprinkled in some time at the Mission (which became Ace bar), King Tut's Wah Wah on 7th and A, 7B's on Avenue B, Mona's up on Avenue B, Downtown Beirut on Houston, and a couple other dive bars in the east Village.
I remember Ian always showing up to Bleeker Bob's at the end of my shift with two 40 oz. bottles of St. Ides and we would crack those suckers open and drink as we walked to wherever we were going that night (ahh yes, when you could drink on the streets as long as the bottle was in a bag!).
Well, here are a couple shots I found from inside the store when we were working there: Summer hanging with us during one of our shifts and Jesse behind the counter ...

Summer

Jesse

"LET ME GET SOME LAST MINUTE DANCING IN..." (FAMOUS LAST WORDS)

So around June of 1991 Ward 6 in the Michael Todd room at the Palladium was really packed every Saturday night . There was always a line down 13th street at about 10pm every week as we were all antsy to get some good clubbing time in. It almost became a kind of "pre-clubbing" spot to kick off the night.
I remember one evening when we were all milling about outside on line, leaning up against the building waiting for them to let us go in, and suddenly Jessica starts screaming and pointing above us, about 15 feet over our heads, at the wall. Everyone was there, a good 50-60 people.
I was with Aimee, Helene, Andre, and Jesse and we instinctively ducked and ran away from the wall trying to figure out what the hell Jessica was pointing at. As we turned around and looked up we saw about a dozen flying water bugs circling overhead, then "bam", landing against the wall, walking around a little, then back into the air. Friggin' nasty! They were just hanging out with the rest of us, flying around in the middle of 13th street.
What was really funny was when everyone else realized what was going on and took off away from the building yelling and screaming. I can only imagine what people thought when they saw a bunch of goths and industrial kids running down the block towards Third Avenue like that.
Another night that stands out for me at Ward 6 was just classic.
It was around 2am and I was with Aimee, Helene, Dreamer, Jesse, Andre, Michael T and Amanda, really kind of winding down and getting ready hit a diner. Suddenly, as we were ready to head out, Father Jeff puts "Burning Inside" by Ministry on and I figured, "Fuck it, let me get one last stomp in". So I tell everyone to hang out a second and I run into the pit. I'm having a good time stomping around then "WHAM!", I see a bright flash of light and I wake up to Jesse patting my face asking me if I'm alright. I have no clue what just happened, and my first thought was "Damn someone just punched me out!"
It wasn't until I got up on my feet that I saw someone else staggering, holding their head. It was Eve (not "Psychotic Eve", another dude who was out a lot then, and an aggressive stomper like me), and I saw some blood on the side of his face.
I was still dazed but kept feeling my forehead, which oddly enough felt like a wet sponge. So I went to the bathroom to see what the hell was going on.
Remember those big Palladium bathrooms with the huge mirrors and bright lights? Well, they came in handy for one of my favorite scenes in my life! I got in front of the mirror staring at my face, and it just so happened there was a crew of hardcore guys in there, and they also were looking at my reflection because something was "off". (There were always a bunch of skinheads hanging at the clubs as well, like Frank from Step 2 Far and Summer Trenholm who was going out with Paul from Oxblood at the time. Totally cool group of guys and girls). Anyway, there was a weird thin red line across the right side of my brow, but no blood. So like an idiot I started poking at it, and thought the best thing to do was see if I could open it. Well, OPEN IT DID!! And just like that we were all staring at the front of my SKULL, and that's when the blood started pouring out like a faucet!
But the best part was, at that very moment, all these big skinheads recoiled with a collective "ewww!" as I started cracking up at the reflection in the mirror. Totally a moment I WISH I had a picture of!
All I could do (besides laugh) was turn to Jesse and say "Shit, I need stitches".
So we went out to the dance floor, got Aimee and Dreamer, and hailed a cab to Beth Israel Hospital over on 1st Avenue.
After a bit of a wait I got stitched up (24 stitches poorly done) and we all decided the best thing to do was head back to the club! Makes sense right? I mean, there was STILL about a half hour left before closing, so with me looking like some war casualty with this giant white bandage on my forehead, we went back to hang out for a few more minutes, then collected Michael T, and THEN finally went out to the Cosmo Diner on 23rd street and 1st avenue.
To make a ridiculous night even better, here we are, trying to eat, looking the way we do (a group of goths and a cabaret performer), when suddenly, about a half hour into it Michael T asks me if I'm going to wash my face. Seems like I didn't realize I had all this dried blood running down my face and back across my ear for the last hour or so. And to top it off, there was a older gentleman with some blond model type sitting in the booth next to us, staring, smiling a bit until he said, "Must have been some night huh?".
It was comedian Jackie Mason. Just perfect. You just can't make that shit up...
Anyway, just one of those nights back then when something always seemed to happen.
Here are a few scattered pictures from that time, including a shot of Aimee and me that was right after my bad stitch job. Enjoy...

Jessica and Renzo at Ward 6

Patrick and Reese at Troublmakers

Me with my favorite jacket

The front of Troublmakers at Jackie 60

Vanessa Miasma and Renzo

Jake

Rob Xian and Gerard

Mary, Marius and Debbie

Aimee and Me (Notice my bandaged forehead)

"TROUBLEMAKERS" at Jackie 60

When DJ Reese started "Troublemakers" at Jackie 60 in August of 1991 it quickly became one of my favorite clubs.
It was big enough to have fun dancing all night, but small enough to really be more of a bar hang -out than anything else.
Back then the Meat-Packing District was absolutely deserted at night. Except for tranny prostitutes and, if you were out late enough (or early depending on how you looked at it), the "meat" trucks that came to load up on the cow-carcass for deliveries, there really wasn't anything going on there.
Looking at the area now, especially with all the chic boutiques, the High Line, posh eateries, and the Gansevoort Hotel, it's hard to believe it's the same 'hood now.
Reese always seemed to have new tracks before anyone else, and really was one of the good guys DJing back then.
He even hooked me up with a sweet internship at Einsturzende Neubauten's management company through his job as a writer for Soundpool Magazine.
Anyway, here are some pictures from a few nights in Summer/Autumn 1991...

Brian and Craig Curiousity

Reade, Brian and Jen

Ian

Jesse

Reese and Michael T

Rob and Jake

Unidentified and Alex

Marius, Helene, Andre, AJ and Max

Rory and Genevive

Tommy

Chris, Gerard and Sean

CHARTERED BUS TO HELL...AKA LONG ISLAND

Does anyone remember when Neville Wells thought it'd be a great idea to get a bunch of his Limelight "regulars" to go out to some club in Long Island to support Dave Kendall (and maybe someone else), who were DJ'ing a night, in a chartered bus?
Complete and utter disaster!
I remember that besides me, we had Rob Fitzpatrick, Jesse, Rob Wong, Carrie, and maybe Samantha. But I do know there were more of us there that I can't recall at the moment.
We all met in front of Limelight where we'd board the bus and head out to what I think was Long Beach, Long Island.
This would have been in the Fall of 1991 and it wasn't until we got to the club and walked into what was Guido-Hell that we realized this was NOT going to go over well!
Needless to say once the music started and we all began to dance, one fight after another began to erupt, including yours truly with some big-ass dude who looked like he was right out of my neighborhood, wearing a ridiculous bright red leather jacket with that stupid "8 Ball" on the back.
I also remember a big girl-fight which included Carrie breaking out as things were calming down, which got me finally running over to Neville to tell him we needed to get the fuck out of there immediately.
The DJ's never spun their sets, everyone was pissed off, and we were back on the bus heading to the Limelight before we knew it.
Total waste of time...
Thinking back on it, I guess I can see why these Long Island people would have been a little put off by a bunch of clubbers from New York City just walking in there, comped on everything, and dancing around like we owned the place.
Oh well, funny thing to think about 20 years later...

A Little Background Before We Get Started...

Before we jump right into my blog I wanted to explain a little of why I created this.
If you were at any of the Goth/Industrial clubs in New York City in the early '90's, either a full-time club-goer or even a casual attendee, you'll know what I mean when I talk about just how special it all was.
If you were into Gothic, Industrial, early Trance/Techno, and even Punk, you had clubs to go blow off some steam whenever you needed to every night.
Some of the clubs you had then were: MONDAYS: "New York Nights" or "Black Lips" performances at Pyramid, TUESDAYS: "Communion" at Limelight, WEDNESDAYS: "Disco 2000" at Limelight or "London Dungeon" at Zone Decay, THURSDAYS: "Troublemakers" at Jackie 60, FRIDAYS: "Censored" at the Building, or "Stigmata" at Pyramid later on, SATURDAY: "Ward 6" at the Michael Todd room at the Palladium, and "Berlin" in Astoria, Queens as well.
There were many more nights that came along and disappeared just as quickly: the "Garage" (Literally a one-off night on Avenue B in the Spring of 1991 that played Wax Trax tracks all night long. I remember the DJ dying in a car accident a couple years later on the FDR Drive), the AWESOME Wednesday night that Brian Walters and Rustin Birch (from F.I.T.) did at Zap for a short period (forget the name), "United States of Techno" at Pyramid run by Brian Butterick aka "Hattie Hathaway" on Thursdays, the Friday nights at the Bank called "Damnation" that Craig Curiosity and Vanessa Miasma had, the short lived night at Danceteria on Wednesdays in 1992 (I think Neville and Dave Kendall had a hand in that one. I remember Gerard and Psychotic Eve putting on some great performances there), or even "Equilibrium" at Tilt down in Soho run by Neville Wells among others (including yours truly). Heck, I even had my own (short-lived) night on Sunday at the Bank called "The Belfry". And let me NOT forget those awesome "Night of Misanthropy" events that Bryan Doll from Loretta's Doll/Turning Wheels did every once in a while.
And I haven't even mentioned all the concerts and shows going on during that time as well!
I lived for nothing else back then.  To go out to whichever club was open that night and dance my ass off and hang out with all the other regulars was all I wanted to do.
Well, I could just go on and on at this point, rambling without even getting to what I really wanted to do: post some of the photos I was lucky enough to take back then.
For a good two years or so I never went out without my camera. I had it with me at all times and thank god for that, or none of this period in my life would ever have been documented.
It was the most fun, thrilling, exciting period for a kid out of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn who was desperately looking for a way out of his shitty neighborhood and seeking other people that were into the same music, style and way of life.
Now please bear with me as I slowly build on this blog and hopefully make it exactly what I want it to be: a place where anyone that was part of that time and place to come and reminisce while pouring over pictures of people they either hung out or clubbed alongside with, dancing to everything from Sisters of Mercy to My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult.
I'll try keeping my picture uploads grouped together, so if I post a group they should be from the same night and venue, and I'll try identifying not only the club, but the people portrayed in the photos. If you come across this and see a picture of yourself, and want me to take it down please let me know and I'll gladly do so.
But let me also request that if anyone has photos of their own and would like me to post them here please feel free to email me! I would love to beef up the collection and make it as full a documentation of these clubs as possible! Anything from 1988-1992 would be greatly appreciated!
Sadly, I can start right off and mention that I don't have a single picture of the Friday night at the Building back in late 1990/early 1991 called "Censored". That night was one of the best dance industrial nights of the time period. Great venue (on 26th street off of 6th avenue-no longer there), great DJ's, great early drink specials, and great shows like Crash Worship tearing the place apart...
Allow me to take a moment and throw out some names of regulars that were out every night, like me, roaming from club to club 'till the sun came up. How we managed to work and go to school while clubbing 'till dawn everyday is beyond me:
Aimee, Lauren Vile, Andre, Helene, Ian, Tommy, Renzo, Patrick, Jesse, Sharon, the Twins, Jessica, Michael T, Gabe and William, Jeffo and Peter, Father Jeff, Jake, Jam, Kristi, Joanne, Rob, Revo (Brian, Rustin and Rob), Eve, Art (R.I.P.), Prong, Reade, Alan, Craig Curiosity, Jahn Dean Egg (R.I.P.), Joyce, Naureen (R.I.P.) and Gilly, Ed and Jessica, Jen Kent, Mary, Marius, Randy, Alexis, Micki, Kenny Blade, Kenny, the "Hamster Twins", Oscar, Ash, Reese, Amanda, Leslie, Blue, Gerard, Eritch and Ali, Cassie, Vanessa Miasma, Samantha, Michelle Meow, A.J., Max, Robbie, Debbie and her sisters, Roxy and Karen, Rory, Genevive, Adam, Summer, Freda, Sonya and Sheila, Cairo, Hamster, Sean, Dreamer, Dave Kendall, Tony Fletcher, Tom and Rudy, Maho, Pixie, Brian Damage, Reuben Sandwich (R.I.P.), Sioux (R.I.P.), Dale, Laura and Jen, Billy, Kit, Rob Divine, Clifford, Carrie, Alex from Queens, Amber, Lauren, Eric, Ron, Rudy, Mike Page, Jarek and Jay. I am sure I missed a few here and there.
Now onto some photos...Keep in mind I'll be adding photos whenever I get the chance to scan in another batch.
I guess I should start off with a photo of myself, in case anyone out there is trying to figure out who I am...

Spring 1991

Okay. This first batch was from a Monday night at Pyramid celebrating DJ Eritch's birthday, around September 1991...

Alan Sanctuary

Ali and William

Gabe and Blue

Unidentified, Eritch, Ali and William

Eritch and Ali

Michael T and Jessica

Unidentified, Cassie, William, Mikey Slut and Sean

Vanessa Miasma

This next group of photos is from the "Troublemaker" night at Jackie 60 on Thursdays, around October 1991 or so. "Troublemaker" was a night run by DJ Reese. A really good guy and really great DJ!

Carrie and Karyn

Jam

Karyn and Jessie

Leslie and Michael T

Michelle Meow

Patrick and Renzo

Samantha and Rob Xian

Vanessa Miasma

Vinny Meatball

Here are some random pictures from Pyramid in 1991. I'm pretty sure these were all taken on the same night on a Friday. It wouldn't have been a "Stigmata" night, since that didn't happen until early 1992. Any help on who did Fridays at Pyramid in mid to late 1991 would be appreciated!

Aimee

Debbie and Ian

Gabe

George

Joanne and Maria

Lauren Vile

This next group of photos is from Ward 6 after Father Jeff moved it from the Michael Todd Room at the Palladium to some basement space near Union Square West. Can't remember exactly where it was. Anyone remember?

Helene and Andre

Father Jeff

Jake

Kenny

Marius

Michael T

Tom and Rudy

Mary

Me
(Remember those ceramic skull with dice necklaces Reese gave out to "Troublemaker" regulars?)