Keo Nozari, interviewed by GayCities New York editor JJ Keyes
Occupation: popstar/rockstar
Sexuality: Gay
Home: New York City
Hails from: Minneapolis
Relationship Status: Single
Favorite City: New York
Spotted on a typical New York Friday night: DJ-ing at ROCKIT @ Amalia
JJK: Hey Keo, what’s going on? We hear you just got a new gig at Club 57@ Providence. When can we find you there?
KN: It’s been amazing – we just had Kylie Minogue and Fergie show up for Halloween! I’m there downstairs in the Triumph Room every-other week. My next dates are November 14th & 28th.
JJK: Jealous! I’m such a huge Kylie fan. Hey Keo, you’re a recording artist, producer and DJ. You must be crazy busy these days. Club 57 aside, where else can we find you?
KN: I DJ most nights—everywhere from Barracuda, Therapy, Splash, a new
night at Bartini, Fire Island Pines in the summer. But my favorite is
Rockit @ Amalia where you’ll find me every Friday on the upstairs
mainfloor. The crowd is packed with gorgeous gay guys, and I love how much
fun everyone has!
JJK: We’ve been following you since your steamy video Question of
Monogamy last year. What have you been up to since LOGO voted it the
network’s #1 ultimate sexiest video?
KN: Well the next single after that, Rewind, was a huge hit for me – it
was a Billboard Top 20 song on the dance charts last fall. That was a
thrill to be on a chart I’d idolized as a kid! Since then I’ve been
working on my new album—for next summer! The first “buzz” single came out
last week on iTunes called Like Lightning. And we’re shooting the new
video this week.
JJK: How long have you been in New York?
KN: I’ve been in New York since I was 18 when I went to NYU to study music
technology. A long time.
JJK: When you were first getting started out, who did you look up to?
KN: As a recording artist and producer—being from Minneapolis—I was
inspired by the big time local acts like Prince and Janet Jackson and
producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. And as a DJ I was inspired by New
York DJs I now consider friends—Lina, JonJon Battles, Honey Dijon and Gant
Johnson. I loved their parties and what they were spinning—and it was fun
to watch them develop and grow.
JJK: What have been some of your favorite gigs in the past few years?
KN: As a recording artist: it’s two venues that have since passed—R.I.P.(lol). It was my solo show the big Virgin Megastore in Union Square and my very first NYC gig at CBGBs. As a DJ: summers doing High Tea in Fire Island Pines are always a blast! I did a big birthday party at The Box where Deborah Cox also performed a concert. A private party for Vanessa Williams. And of course Fridays at ROCKIT have been amazing.
JJK: What are a few songs on your playlist this fall?
KN: Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance (both the Starsmith and Chew Fu Club Remixes), Timbaland’s Morning After Dark, UK artist Alexandra Burke’s Bad Boys and of course Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind (featuring Alicia Keys) which is an amazing love letter to New York City.
JJK: You know, the New York club scene has changed so much in the last five years. Do you know of any good places to go where you can stay out late and dance all night?
KN: Club 57 is the place to be on Saturdays nights. Even when I’m not spinning, that’s where I am to party! And Fridays at ROCKIT.
JJK: You’re in amazing shape. Where do you work out?
KN: I work out with my trainer Luca at a private gym a few times a week, plus I go to Crunch (which I love).
JJK: Favorite place(s) to shop?
KN: I’m admittedly not much of a shopper. But for inexpensive chic I love TopShop. I love the skater shops on Lafayette. And I own a lot of Diesel (though they’ve been off their game the last few seasons).
JJK: Favorite “New York moment”?
KN: A few weeks ago I had a chance to do a small part in the new Sex and the City II. It was truly a living fantasy—in part for me to inhabit the world of these make-believe characters that I’ve been watching on TV, video and movies for a decade; in part to be on set interacting with the four extraordinary women.
Photos courtesy Keo Nozari
