Zack Rosen, editor-in-chief of The New Gay, which he describes as an online publication for “alternative queers,” is also, in his spare time, a Washington, DC, party promoter of great creativity. Check out his Homo/Sonic–Equality Edition, at the Black Cat nightclub after the National Equality March.
If that’s not enough, he also happens to be DJing the GayCities/Homo Hotel Party on Friday night. GayCities caught up with Zack as he was preparing for the big weekend to learn how to have the most fun in the nation’s capitol while creating change at the same time.
The old joke is that DC is hollywood for ugly people, which of course is unfair because it actually has a great gay scene. Isn’t proximity to power the ultimate aphrodisiac?
Before anything else, people should be aware that DC is actually two cities. In Capitol Hill, and below M street, it is largely a provence of type-A, career-driven types who will try to impress you with their government job. The rest of the city though is filled to the brim with cute, smart, creative gay people that buck any stereotype that people propagate about the district. So if you like unctous men in three piece suits then yes, their power can be an aphrodisiac. But the key to enjoying DC is stop trying to be a superstar and just go enjoy yourself. Thats how to stay away from the “Hollywood for ugly people” world.
You do a great job covering events on your site. What’s the key to throwing a great party?
Thank you! The key to throwing a great DC party is to figure out what everyone is doing and then do somethign different. You have to fill the voids. For instance-there were no parties for gay people to dance to music from the 60s, 70s and 80s so I threw one called Transformer. There aren’t a lot of spaces for queer ladies and trans folk, so a party called Backdoor at the 930 Club fills that void, and it is one of the best parties in DC right now. If everyone in the world is throwing an electro party, do the opposite and you’ll probably see some new faces.
When there is not a special party, where do you like to hang out?
Again, this speaks back to avoiding the well-known areas of the city like the mall and the downtown and just sticking with the neighborhoods that people actually live in. The best bars in my opinion are the ones where you can just sit around and have a beer. So that would be Solly’s Tavern on U street, Fox and Hound on 17th, Wonderland in Columbia Heights, and The Raven and Tonic in Mt. Pleasant. And for dancing there’s always the Black Cat, which is where we’re throwing our Homo/Sonic dance party on Sunday!
Let’s say your ran into a closeted aid to an anti-gay member of Congress at a gay bar–or into a staffer for one of those dastardly types. What’s the appropriate response? Drink in the face? Something more subtle?
Seduce him and take pictures… subtly.
You are heading to dinner after HH on a Friday night? Where in the Dupont ‘hood would recommend?
I’d say get off 17th Street. Its good for drinking, but not so good for noshing. Bua Thai on P street, just off 17th, is the best. Thai Tanic on 14h is great too, and still in the hood. You can go up to 18th Street for Ethiopian at Meskerem or Falafel at Amsterdam Falafel. All this stuff is good bar fortification, though the Ethiopain can leave you too full and drowsy to do much partying after.
After a night on the town, where to head for brunch the next morning?
The hands down best brunch in the city is at Asylum. It’s a biker bar with a vegan and non-vegan brunch menu. I cure my hangover there every sunday with the vegan chili cheese waffle fries. Its always full of cute, ambigous boys and girls as well.
It seems DC now has more than one gay hub–with 14th and P streets in Logan Circle looking increasingly gay. What’s the difference between Dupont and Logan?
Dupont would probably be the Chelsea to Logan/Shaws Hell’s Kitchen or East Village. The farther east you go in DC, like 14th or 9th street, the younger the crowd gets. The parties can get slightly edgier as well, depending on the bar and the night. Generally, though, in DC some of the best parties are held at non-gay bars. Homo/Sonic at the Black Cat, Mixtape at Rock & Roll Hotel are examples of this. DC is such a gay friendly city that there are alot of queer folk to be found outside the queer spaces.
Even young people in DC come across as pretty conservative, at least when it comes to fashion. What’s a trendy guy or gal to do? Where would one shop?
I wait till I go home to Chicago and visit the thrift stores. DC is hardly a place for shopping. It’s great for everything else, but I buy my clothing elsewhere.
More Washington, DC, on GayCities
GayCities guide to the National Equality March weekend
