Columnist Michael Musto recently gave a nod to seminal dance music club Paradise Garage in “The 13 Best NYC Clubs in History” for PAPER magazine.
 
While he doesn’t formally rank the Garage in his “glittering list of the 13 greatest nightspots I’ve ever known in this town,” that’s only because it wasn’t one of Musto’s frequent haunts. “I wasn’t a regular at Paradise Garage,” he writes, “but I could see the passion there, so let me include it on the list for all the people who found it heaven.”
 
For a more up-close portrait of that heaven, we’ll turn to DJs Joey Llanos and David Depino, who will be at LPR for Paradise Garage: The Reunion on Sunday, August 31st. Earlier this year Llanos and Depino shared memories of the Garage with the New York Times‘ T Magazine.
 
Llanos recalled Garage owner Mike Brody asking him to carry Grace Jones to the stage:
 
“I was honored to accept. What he neglected to tell me was that she planned to whip me like a horse when we got to the stage. I found this out at the last minute, so I sent word back to my boss that if she whips me, I will throw her off my shoulders. Luckily, they got word to her in time, and she changed her surprise entrance. I’m sure our crowd would have loved it, but not me.”
 
Depino remembered meeting a certain British singer:
 
“When Boy George walked in, I was tripping over my tongue, tripping over my feet — I didn’t know what to do or what to say, I was so excited. I brought him up to the booth to introduce him to Larry, who was a big fan of Michael Jackson. He had Michael Jackson posters on the wall and a little M.J. doll with the one glove sitting on the record console. Boy George looked at me, put his hand over his mouth, and whispered in my ear, ‘Somebody in here is a big Michael fan.’ I started to laugh because it was so real. He wasn’t acting like a star or a celebrity. He was just George.”
 
For more recollections from Llanos, Depino and others, check out the rest of the T Magazine piece, as well this Rolling Stone interview.
 
Paradise Garage’s enduring legacy was on full display this May, when thousands filled King Street to dance to Llanos, Depino and François K during the Larry Levan Street Party. VICE has a good recap, and you can also listen to this two-part recording of the celebration:
 

 

 
More great times are surely in store for later this month. Go ahead and grab your tickets for Paradise Garage: The Reunion at LPR on Sunday 8/31.
 

 
posted by John