MP3 It’s 1982 And You’re At The Monastery….
posted by on September 11 at 14:22 PM
Remember The Monastery? You don’t?
From 1978 through the mid ‘80’s The Monastery was Seattles premier gay disco/underground nightclub. It was hot. There were men. There were drugs. There was sex.
Very few women were allowed in the club at the beginning. So those that made it in had a special place in the hearts of the queer crowd who lived it up inside.
The biggest memories I have of the club were the stories my friends would come back to Spokane and tell me after a weekend of debauchery in the ‘80’s. They were all about showing off the new music they heard and “recovering” from the strong drinks and smooth drugs (mdma seemed to be the drug of choice back then).
My good friend Sean Wolcott, who runs a fantastic blog about making, producing, recording and listening to music here in the NW called The Red Room, just uploaded this amazing mix from a party held at The Monastery in 1982. I have no idea how tapes like this can survive 25 years of storage and being moved around without getting lost or trashed in the mean time. However, each side of the 90 minute cassette is a fantastic overview of what club-goers in Seattle were dancing to in the early ‘80’s.
Listening through this mix brought back so many memories! It’s amazing how many of these tracks migrated over the pass to Spokane!
What’s also amazing is the amount of early 80’s disco that’s come back in vogue. You’ll notice tracks by Tantra, Kano, Madleen Kane and Cerrone that have all been mentioned on this very blog by me or TJ.
The DJ for this mix was Dana Andrews, who was a staple in the Seattle club scene for years and years. I love his choices! And the primitive mixing and few glitches only make these live mixes that much more awesome!
So put on your red clothes, turn down the lights and take yourself back to Seattle’s most imfamous night spot circa 1982, The Monastery.
The Red Party (Live At The Monastery) Pt. 1
01. An American Dream (Medley) - Hot Posse
02. His Name Is Charlie -Laser
03. Dance - Night Force
04. Top Shot (Remix) - Tantra
05. Now Baby Now - Kano
06. [UNKNOWN]
07. Exotically - Peter Jacques Band
08. [UNKNOWN]
09. Walk Right Now (12-Inch Version) - The Jacksons)
10. Fire In My Heart (Remix) - Madleen Kane
11. Trippin’ On The Moon (Remix) - Cerrone
12. Tainted Love (12-Inch Version) - Soft Cell
The Red Party (Live At The Monastery) Pt. 2
01. Spirit Of The Dancer - Evelyn King
02. On The Beat - BB&Q Band
03. Me No Pop I - Kid Creole
04. Table Manners - Kid Creole
05. I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) (12-Inch Version) - Hall & Oates
06. I’m In Love (Evelyn King)
07. Double Dutch Bus (Special Remix) - Frankie Smith
08. Hard Times/Love Action (12-Inch Version) - Human League
09. Step On Out - Companion
10. Disco Train (12-Inch Version) - Dance Reaction
If it's 1982 and I'm at the Monastary, everyone is in a shitload of trouble because I'm 12.
Sean sent this to me a few days ago and I loved it. It's nice to see that Seattle was representing an italo/disco scene when it was actually in it's prime. I wish I could go back in time and attend this club just once!
Isn't the Monastery where this whole TDO business got started?
yup, ari. the TDO had it's roots in the aftermath of the monastary. the local media had a heyday with scare stories about the owner george freeman, and all the underage drugging and sexing that was happening there. although there was a shady element to the monastery, it was heaven for a young, barely out fag like me. my friends and i would sneak out and drive 3 hours from eastern washington just to try to get in. thanks terry, your post brought back some great memories.
actually it wasn't until the final years of The Monastery wwhere it actually got bad.
If i remember correctly there was talk of homeless kids making it in, then basically being pimped or pimping themselves to the older/richer crowd.
and i think the drug thing finally got out of control (when is a drug thing under control at a club...i dunno.)
but as i've heard via the grapevine, that was really towards the end. in it's first five years though it was supposedly a safe loving family place. and by family i mean, everyone knew eachother, stood up for eachother and watched out for eachother. that all faded, as it always does. (see NY's club scene for a grander scale of that whole loop.)
the monastery was bonkers. the few times i went always felt so dirty and dangerous. it was great, much better than skoochies. plus, MDA was legal.
and, i might be making this up in my mind, but wasn't sidran's kid a monastery regular/teenage runaway? isn't that when sidran started losing his shit with regard to all ages clubs?
can anyone confirm?
RIP Dana, here's to your mix living on.
Not much else a good DJ can hope for after life!
Thank you. This is great. I wish I could remember enough from certain... eras to google the people who'd provide the links.
Thanks to Paul at outlab.net who identified the unknown tracks on the first set:
06. [UNKNOWN]
Is "Flight To Fantasy" by Linda G. Thompson
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JSIVjqIUoiY
08. [UNKNOWN]
Is "Don't You Believe That" by Hot Shot
Be sure to checkout outlab.net, a great site in the Netherlands (current electro-disco mecca of the world).
A fucking mazing.
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