by : Ralph Curtis Life Adventures

The Paradise Garage

A Night Club Like No Other. ~ Part V

This section was originally written by myself in 2005 and is a retrospection of the Lighting System at the Garage Based on my 30 years as a Lighting Designer and Technician

Lighting System

The Lighting system at the Paradise Garage was tremendous to say the least. No other club in the city had a system like this. The Dance-floor alone had over 730 lighting fixtures rigged from the ceiling. The stage and other lounges had a base set up of about 40 fixtures minimum. During special parties and events the number of lighting fixtures in the lounges would increase in size depending on the complexity of the design.

Dance-floor: The 730 fixtures were broken down into 10 effect elements which had a power consumption of 1087 amps. Now this is a basic figure of amperage use as an actual reading was impossible, but the combined wattage of the majority of fixtures on the dance-floor came close to this number. If we broke this down into a 3 phase power distribution, that would distribute the load to 362 amps per leg. Now remember that this is power consumption base on the assumption that all the lighting would be turned on full, which as we know was not the case, my point here is just to give you an idea of the potential power that was being generated on dance-floor lighting alone.

As awesome as the lighting system turned out to be, it was not so in the beginning. From what I understand the design started off very small with a dozen or so pin spots and a basic wash. This earlier system was before my time at the club, so I really couldn’t tell you who installed it or what was put in first. However I can tell you that the lighting system and its design evolved constantly right up until the time the club closed. The final look of the dance-floor lighting towards the end in 1987 was deigned by Peter Munoz and put in place by him and I.

The Lighting system on the Garage dance-floor consisted of 4 separate lighting elements: Color Washes, Streak Effects, Psych Effects, and Mood Lighting. By using 10 separate lighting methods, these 4 main effects were put together to make a very interesting lighting plot.
Ok. . .
let’s start by setting up a visual image of the dance-floor => (space.)
. . Now the first method used to light the dance-floor was called a color wash. The main purpose of this color wash was to saturate the dance floor with as much color as possible. The lighting fixtures we used to create this wash effect was the 14″ scoop. There were (32 scoops) hung from the ceiling that were separated into 4 zones per string. Each string contained 8 lamps that were further divided into 4 pairs. To give the design versatility each pair of lamps was a separate color producing a 4 color schemed wash: (2 cool colors,) and (2 warm colors.) The lighting board that ran the scoops was able to take full advantage of this crisscross pattern. The lights would either chase on the outside spurs of the star in pairs, or bounce around on these spurs in random order. Or they could take full advantage of the entire string running the length of the dance-floor, and spin pin-wheel fashion or spin in random order. The wide variety of chase programs on the board made it possible to have a multitude of patterns multiplied by 4 colors. . . This effect was massive in scale and it proved to be very dynamic visually.

   The second color wash method used was the (Strip Lighting) that ran along the perimeter of the room. These lights had just a 3 color wash that did a very effective job. The concept of the strip light goes back to the earlier days of theater to their distant cousins called ‘foot lights’. This design was mainly used as front lighting for stage performances and in some extreme cases, the only lighting on the stage. Anyway what we used at the Garage was a bit more advanced than the candle powered version of days gone by. The strip lights we used were not a very elegant fixture nor did it have a gamete of running programs but it did do a quick flood of blue, red and magenta at a moments notice, and I myself got a kick out of using them in a pinch.

   The next lighting technique used at the Garage was spot lighting or streak effects. This method wasn’t use to saturate the dance-floor but rather highlight the base color wash with a complimentary accent.
The streak effect was also used as an atmospheric effect which produced a shaft of light that was able to cut through the crowd at all angles, spot lighting different areas of the room. The main system we used for this effect, and one the Garage crowd will remember, is the Ring System. There were (9 Rings) on the ceiling at the Garage, 8 were set in an oval pattern, and the 9th ring was centered. The Rings were designed to cover the dance-floor area and be used as a rigging device for lighting. The most common lamp to be rigged on a Ring system was the Pin Beam. On each Ring we used a total of 64 pin beams, (512 total .) “Very nice”!
These 64 fixtures were broken up into sections of 8 with 8 lamps per section. In this 8 lamp section we used 4 different colors, so you had 2 pairs of matching lamps for every 8 lamps, for every 8 sections.
( don’t get lost . . . stick with me ).
The Board that operated this ring system was phenomenal, and the chasing sequences were unlimited. Not only were you able to chase each lamp one by one, you could chase them in pairs or in color pairs, or by fours, or by four pairs, times 64. Not only could you chase the individual lamps on each Ring, but you could chase the Rings as well. You could chase them one by one clock-wise, or clock-wise in pairs, opposing pairs or side by side pairs. You could chase the rings at random or chase them inverted. You could chase them with all 64 fixtures on or just one fixture on, or whatever color you wanted. The Ring System was the baby of the Paradise Garage, it was versatile and an awesome effect, you could go the entire night just using this system and never get board.

   The second streak effect used at the Garage was the (Spinners.) The spinners were not a very intense effect like the Rings but they had a niche’ of their own. They used the same bulb as the Pin-Beam producing a shaft of light which cut through the crowd, but instead of pointing in a single direction the spinners job was to rotate on it’s axis in a 360 degree pattern. The spinners were also set in pairs of 2 that could chase in sequence, or come on all together. This really depended on the song and the type of effect you wanted to produce, but that is another discussion..

   The last streak effect was a favorite of all of us, it was the (Beacons.) The beacons (police beacons) were a huge effect, when they came on, you knew about it. Their main function was to cut the room into sections in rotating angles so that no inch of the dance-floor was untouched by them. The double-beacons that were in the center of the rings were mounted on rotating motors to achieve this coverage effect. The chase program for these lamps were fairly simple, they either chased in random sequence ordered sequence or all on full blast..

   This next section we will move into the Psych effects used at the Garage. First let us start with your favorite and mine, The Strobe light.. yes where would we be without the strobe effect.
The Paradise Garage probably used more strobes than any nightclub in history. . and we used them well. There were 2 basic types of strobes hung on the ceiling. The first was the (Super Strobe) which had an out put of 1 thousand watts, we put these fixtures on the ceiling in a circular pattern around the Rings.
   There were 2 chase pattern for the strobes, sequential (clock-wise) or in sync. This first set was in (White.) The second set was in (Yellow) and chased in the opposite direction. All together there were 12 Super Strobes mounted on the ceiling, and when these babies started going it was totally insane. . . The second kind of strobe used was called the Egg Strobe. We had these mounted on the center Ring. The (Egg-Strobes) were a subtle strobe effect, the flashes were not as bright as it’s larger cousin. However the placement of these units on the center ring gave a nice popping effect you could see throughout the room and it was a good hazing effect for trancing.

We’ll move into the Mood lighting section now and talk about my all time favorite lighting effect at the Garage, . . . The Gobo Rotators.
The (Gobo- Rotators) were mounted on the center Ring, their main function was to sweep the room in a slow and deliberate pace gently spotlighting medium sized areas. We used a total of 12 fixtures and set them into 3 groups of 4. The Gobo Rotator was the initial idea of today’s “intelligent lighting fixtures”. The Intelli-beam, Vari-lite, Martin, Clay-Paky, all the modern moving light fixtures are derived form this basic gobo rotation idea.
   This lighting effect just looked cool when they came on, very smart, very elegant. I loved to use them by themselves with a small amount of smoke on the dance-floor. The image of these lamps sweeping the room from the booth was *Awesome*. Larry enjoyed this effect also, it filled in the orchestral melodies of songs very well.

Ok, another mood effect we used at the club were (The Black lights.)
I wish I had tons to say about these fixtures, but they were black lights. You know the funny neon blue glow.. it made your teeth really bright. The only neat thing I can say about them is, we sure did use a lot of them and they burnt out often.
  (just a small note here, our bulb order for the entire club was about 5,000 dollars every 5 months or so)

   The last mood effect we will talk about is the (Mirror Balls.)
And boy oh boy did Larry love these things. . . big shinny Balls, . . just kidding. . . The 30 inch mirror ball was the work horse of an era gone by. Most night clubs put a single pin beam or a small spot on the ball, this would give you a nice pin shard effect you remember, but not us..
At the Paradise Garage, we used big ‘ole fixtures. We use 1000 watt wide beam par 64’s and we sure did use a lot of them. It wasn’t good enough to have just one light on the balls, we had 6 of them, which meant we had 6 different colors to choose from. (Times 4 mirror balls.)
( Trivia: Larry was the only one who could use the Mirror Balls during the evening. It was at his request that the effect was saved until he got there.) I never turned them on unless it was a night that he didn’t come in, but the balls were hands off for everyone, just Larry could touch them.. The Mirror Balls.

And so there you have it, the lighting on the Paradise Garage dance-floor. I am sure I left out an effect or two, but those are the major ones. No I won’t let you down.. Here is a (complete visual)

Lightman at the Garage

From 1983 until it closed in 1987, if we talk about who was the “Lightman” at the Garage I can say to you officially that there wasn’t one. In reality what you had was the tech crew who were in charge of the maintenance and lighting design, and then you had the man who ran the parties Larry Levan.
    Larry Levan pretty much did the lighting for himself as he was a lighting guy before he started to DJ. However, he did have a few people in his entourage who would from time to time stand on the lighting pedestal and do the lighting for him during the evening. However, in the end Larry almost always did the lighting when he would play.
   What happened mostly on the weekends was I did the lighting during the opening hours for David Depino and Joey Llanos as they warmed up for Larry. . . . . On the nights that Larry didn’t come in I or Peter Munoz usually stayed and played for the night.

   With that being said let me segue into the next section. . . .


The Lighting Boards and Controls.

Standing at the lighting controls in the DJ booth of the Garage was like standing on the bridge of the Enterprise. For someone who didn’t understand it, it could have been a bit over-whelming.
Just imagine staring at 15 lighting control boards laid out on a console that was over 5 foot long and 4 foot wide . . Truly awesome.

This is an image of Michael DeBenedictis standing at the (Lighting Console,) this was the console layout prior to my employment in ’83. Additions were added to the dance-floor lighting which required more lighting boards to be added to the console. The LED panel you see in the bottom left of the image was for the Ring System, this was moved to the position on the wall to the left just in front of Michael’s face.


The reason for this visual complexity were the 10 effect elements on the dance-floor. So the first thing we understand is there were 10 different lighting control boards, plus 4 sub controllers That did the color switching and things like strobes and Cannons and the smoke machines. And lastly there was the Master controller called the ND5, which was the conduit for all of the lighting controls to the dance floor.

Lighting boards in those days were more user friendly than they are today. The analog boards back then were built to take a pounding, the constant toggle switching, and the brute force a light man uses when he is in the midst of doing a light show. You can’t put the newer boards of today under this sort of punishment due to the fact everything now is computer oriented, touch sensitive and digitized. I have laid many a light board to rest since leaving the Garage, so I have first hand experience. Now-a-days every lighting board has gone theater . . Bah!

Anyway, The concept behind the lighting (flow) at the Garage was this. Each controller was linked to the ND5 (main controller) which gave you a preview option on that particular lighting effect. This preview option enabled you to make speed and intensity corrections before sending the effect live to the dance-floor. To assist you in this preview, each effect controller had a system of LED’s on it’s face which made the previews easy to read. If the DJ was in the middle of his mix, you could easily match the incoming song tempo perfectly and when the DJ laid the mix in, you could fade the lighting in with the music.
That to me is the best and only way to do lighting in a nightclub, seamless. . .

The Paradise Garage was definitely ahead of it’s time in regards to the sound and lighting systems, The concepts used then are a basic footprint of how clubs are made today.
I hope I succeeded in bringing some of the Garage’s technical aspects to light. I tried not to make this section too boring.
…….. if it was entertaining and informative then I did my job.
~ Ralph ~

originally published in 2005 on my website “A Garage Tribute”

Part I

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by : Ralph Curtis Life Adventures

The Paradise Garage

A Night Club Like No Other. ~ Part IV

This following discussion will be in two parts:
Sound and Lighting.
The Audio portion of this section is technical data received from Alan Fierstein from Acoustilog Incorporated.
Richard Long Assoc. along with Mr. Fierstein are the original designers and installers of the sound system at the Paradise Garage so his input in this discussion is critical?
The Lighting portion of this discussion are ideas and technical data from me Ralph Curtis who was one of the lighting technicians at the Paradise Garage, with experience as a lighting designer for over the past 3 decades.

The information I am presenting to you now was first introduced to the internet in 2005 by me. Prior to this the Audio data was available only via image. With the permission of Mr Fierstein in 2005. I retyped the data an presented it text format on my original website dedicated to the Paradise Garage.

Audio System

   World – Class Discotheque Sound Systems are engineered to fit each unique space with it’s own design criteria. To achieve maximum impact, the system designer and the acoustician work in close harmony. The designer determines equipment requirements, while the acoustician considers interior acoustics and noise isolation. Impulse testing, equalization, T60 fine tuning TDS tests, etc. complete the installation, examples will be presented.

   The sound system to be discussed is currently installed at the “Paradise Garage” in New York City. The disco is located on the second floor of a 2-story garage and contains approximately 20,000 square feet of space. An attempt to locate a disco here was made 2 years prior to the current installation. However at the time the entire 20,000 square feet of space was utilized with no subdivision into smaller areas, no acoustical treatment and an entirely inadequate sound system. The result was disastrous and the club went out of business in a short time. The current owners did not want to make the same mistakes and therefore subdivided the 20,000 square feet into a larger number of smaller areas, which included a 5000 square foot dance floor and a 2000 square foot lounge.

   Initially do to lack of funds, the decision was made to hold a number of “construction parties” in the lounge while work was continued on the large dance area. The sound system from their previous location consisted of 4 horn-loaded home speakers passively crossed over, 4 scaled-up pseudo-Klipsch corner horns using 18″ for sub bass crossed over electronically and 2 tweeter arrays also crossed over electronically. However this system was inadequate to handle 800 to 1000 persons in the lounge at the sound pressure levels desired by the disc jockey. At this point we were retained to design a new sound system which could be expanded as finances permitted, and eventually completely replace the old system.

   The first part of the new system consisted of 4 “Waldorf” bass speakers. First used in a rental at the Waldorf Astoria, it is similar to the JBL double 15″ scoop enclosure but is based on the old Jensen Imperial design. The enclosure was made larger to accommodate a larger rear loaded horn, which was designed with a hyperbolic rather than an exponential flare. The high end consisted of the largest JBL horn lens for smooth wide dispersion and the system is electronically crossed over at 80hrz These replaced the corner home-type speakers.

   The next area to be improved was the sub-bass Klipsch-type speakers in the existing system. We found these speakers to be incapable of clean bass reproduction, particularly the very deep bass, at the high sound levels required. The problem was due to the exponential flare used in the design, the particular 18″ driver installed in the cabinet and the small mouth area of the cabinet.

   To solve this problem we designed a special sub-bass horn which is now a standard item in our line of speakers. The horn called the “Levan Horn” after the DJ consisted of 2 parts: The main cabinet which is a large “W” type hyperbolic folded horn using two 500 watt custom built 18″ drivers and an extension which bolts on to the mouth of the “W” horn. The mouth of the extension is a full 8 feet wide and 3 1/2 ft high or 28 square feet. The horn is capable of awesom reproduction at very high sound pressure levels down to 30hz. One of these speakers was found to overwhelm four of the scaled-up klipsch horns all playing together.

   The tweeter arrays were the only part of the original speaker system that was retained. For those of you not familiar with this item, the most common tweeter array consists of four JBL tweeters mounted on a plate at 90-degree angles to each other and hung at a height of approximately 9 feet above the dance-floor. These arrays are controlled by a special electronic crossover with gain that allows the DJ to play them at a level even higher than the main system for special effects.

   The next consideration was give to designing a special full range speaker system to be used in addition to the Waldorfs when the move was made onto the 5000 square foot dance-floor. The result of this was the Ultima, which is of a modular design in three stack-able sections. The base sections of the Ultima is similar to the Waldorf except it is designed with a W type horn configuration rather than single sided.

   Prior to moving into the large room, the speakers location was designed as follows: Each corner of the room would contain 1 Levan sub-bass horn and one complete tri-amplified Ultima and the larger sides of the room would have at their corner point 2 Waldorfs and 2 smaller sub-bass woofers. Six tweeter arrays would be hung over the dancefloor in appropriate positions. The double amp rack to power all of the speakers was installed in the balcony area DJ Booth which overlooked the entire dance-floor.

   As the main room was nearing completion and speaker locations were being chosen, it became obvious that there were serious acoustical problems with the room. The reverberation was so pervasive that workmen could not communicate with each other across the room. The reverberation curve was measured and is shown. This is an empty room T60 and would of course be lower with a crowded dance-floor. The Garage was previously a parking garage and the mostly concrete construction provided very little bass absorption.

   A computer print out of this recommended treatment to the room yielded the requirements of almost 3000 sabins of broadband absorption, as shown (here). It was determined that the high exposed sidewalls would need broadband absorption to tame horizontally -traveling reflections above the dancers heads. The 1″ thick 3 lb./cubic ft. destiny fiberglass used was predicted to have near perfect absorption down to 500 Hz. To reduce low-end reverberation, an arrangement of V shaped panels of the same fiberglass were hung from the ceiling. This was done with some difficulty, as the concrete ceiling required the installation of over 1000 shot-in hooks with support wires.

   To achieve the desired acoustics as accurately as possible, Acoustilog usually uses a three-step measurement and adjust program with regards to the T60. This way the inevitable variation in the installation technique and materials are measured and compensated for. This doesn’t cause inconvenient interruptions to the workmen because the measurement of the reverberation curve takes only 15 minuets and can be performed during lunch hour. Recommendations for absorptive treatment are deliberately made slightly shy, to avoid having to either over order material, or rip down material already installed.

   After secondary tests showed T60 to be high at 63 HZ. And 125 HZ, the thickness of the side wall absorption was increased in certain areas. Additionally the skylights were used for bass absorption by significantly thickening their fiberglass treatment. By the 3rd T60 measurement session, the desired T60 of 1 second was achieved with a deviation of not more than 5% from 250 Hz. To 2 kHz. And not more than 25% from 125 Hz to 8 kHz.

   The Paradise garage used a special electronic crossover designed to our specification by Alan Fierstein of Acoustilog Inc. it is a 4 way crossover with a subsonic filter at 20 hz. All filters are 18 dB/octave Butterworth. The output impedance of the crossover is necessarily low as the amplifier racks are remotely located from the DJ console, and the high cable capacitance could otherwise take it’s toll in high frequency roll off. Stability consideration is also important for the same reasons. All critical elements of the crossover circuit are extremely derated for negligible heat build up and therefore high reliability. The standard ranges are 20 to 100 Hz. For sub-bass, 20 to 800 Hz for main bass, 800 to 20,000 Hz for mid range and 7,00 to 20,000 Hz for tweeters. It’s most unique feature is that the two extreme ranges of 20 to 100 Hz and 7k to 20k Hz are controllable in volume by the Disc Jockey with up to 16 dB of gain built into the circuit.

   The initial reaction of most audio engineers to the idea of a non-technical person such as a DJ controlling the frequency response of a sophisticated sound system is complete shock and disbelief. In order to explain our concept of a disco system, let us give this analogy: In a discotheque a sound system can be considered to be the orchestra while the DJ is the conductor. The conductor’s job is to stimulate and entertain the audience; the DJ must entertain the dancers. The DJ is not reproducing the works of Bach or Brahms as performed in a symphony hall, but is instead playing music which was created in a multi-track studio under artificial conditions mixed by an engineer also attempting to create the most exciting sound possible.

   There can be no doubt that many people, especially those trained in music and audio sciences, have been at one time or another to a disco and been totally offended by the sound. Ones first reaction was probably that the music was too loud, but of course this is not the whole answer. The quality of the components, particularly the speakers, is one potential source of offensive sound, but more important is the relative loudness of the various frequency ranges. For example, sub-bass is ranged below 100 Hz when played at 110 dB SPL is not annoying at all whereas upper mid range from 2k to 4k Hz at 110dB is extremely offensive. A prominent mid range around 500 Hz with a lack of mid bass around 100 to 200 Hz can be very annoying.

   In other words, the frequency response must be tailored to be smooth with no prominent peaks or dips while at the same time de accentuating certain frequency ranges which can be offensive at high sound pressure levels common in most discotheques. When properly done the result will be a pleasing and exciting sound with no offensive or listener fatigue even at continuous high sound pressure levels. For the same reason by giving the DJ control over the extreme low end and extreme high end but not allowing him any control over the main full frequency range, he is allowed to create extremely exciting sound effects without affecting the overall balance.

   Another advantage to achieving a smooth and accurate equalization characteristic is the immunity from feedback such as a curve provides. The Garage frequently hosts live acts on a huge stage and complete professionalism is expected, from mandatory sound checks to a lack of feedback during the shows. Maintaining a stable system, with adequate microphone volume to match the loud music, while the performer may walk to within 10 feet of a full range speaker stack, is no easy trick and the equalization plays a major role in allowing this. Furthermore, the shows are recorded live and subsequently aired over a major New York FM station which accentuates the need for a complete absence of annoying ringing and howls.

   Because of the large bass horns we use in most of our installations along with the special crossover, the potential for feedback through the turntables was of particular concern. This was solved by our development of a very simple means of suspending the turntables on a platform, which is floating on an elastic suspension consisting of $1.00 worth of rubber bands. The natural frequency of this system is approximately 2 Hz, which provides vibration isolation at the lowest frequency produced in the system, which is 30 Hz.

   Since the DJ is responsible for creating an exciting sound we try to make sure he has enough tools at his disposal. Such special effects devices are 1. Our special electronic crossover (discussed earlier); 2. The DBX boom box, which provides a blend of 25 – 50 Hz bass, synthesized from 50 – 100 Hz information present on the recording; 3. Dynamic Range Expanders, used to undo compression found in most recordings; 4. The Deltalab Acousticomputer and similar devices used to alter or add to the sound of the recording; 5. The Audionics Space & Image Composer, a 4 channel synthesizer; and 6. New devices currently under development, such as the Acoustilog Image enhancer which expands the stereo effect. All of these devices except the last two are currently installed at the Garage.

   The Deltalab Acousticomputer hookup deserves special mention. This special effect unit is installed in a loop within the full- range circuit of the electronic crossover. However the complexity of the unit and the wide range of sounds it can produce requires that the parameters be preset carefully before bringing the device into the actual sound system. There fore a special pre-cueing switch, along with a house blending control, was incorporated into the main mixer. Once the DJ has achieved the sound he wants in his headset, he can either abruptly or gradually bring the effect into play.

   In Disco installations, and particularly at the Garage, it is important to coordinate the design of the DJ console and control electronics with the desires of the DJ whenever possible. The special console of the garage satisfies all the needs of the garage DJ, putting all the control electronics, which he uses immediately at his fingertips. It may be interesting to note that the front angle portion housing the electronics is controlled by a motor driven mechanism allowing the DJ to instantly change the tilt angle. Monitor speakers, when required, are installed to satisfy the Disc Jockey’s need to hear the system in the booth without the time delayed sound arriving from the main speakers affecting his sense of timing.

   About two years after the full garage system had been installed, a device designed by Acoustilog called the Impulser allowed us to easily impulse-test the entire system for phase alignment and polarity. We found the entire system to be in correct polarity except for the sub-bass horns. One of the speaker cables had been accidentally ripped out of the connector and rewired in reverse by the Garage maintenance crew. With this horns output essentially canceling that of another bass horns, the Garage’s sub-bass output of four speakers had been effectively reduced to that of two. Now, we always impulse test new sound systems for polarity agreement prior to final equalization.

   All of the above considerations have resulted in the garage winning every award for the best Disco Sound System ever given by Billboard’s International Disco Forums.

originally published in 2005 on my website “A Garage Tribute”

Part V

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by : Ralph Curtis Life Adventures

The Paradise Garage

A Night Club Like No Other. ~ Part III

The Paradise Garage was a well renowned night club in New York City, that operated from 1976 until it closed in September 1987. There is an abundance of information on the internet about the clubs endurable history, as well as its legendary DJ Larry Levan. I invite you to do a Google search to learn more as the articles I have been writing are just my personal experienceand introduction to the club, reflecting on the beginning of my career in lighting design and event production.

What made The Paradise Garage stand out among other nightclubs?

During its run, the Paradise Garage boasted one of the best nightclub sound and lighting systems in New York City. In fact a lot of the concepts that were developed for the Garage back then, in some way still, cannot be matched in today’s more advanced sound and lighting designs. As hard as that may seem, that old saying rings true:
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.

The Dance Floor:

The Dance-floor at the Paradise Garage is a topic that has been ever present in my mind since it closed in 1987.
In my opinion that dance-floor design was the best there could ever be for a nightclub space. As my good friend Peter once put it, “It’s like a time capsule, you’re totally isolated”.
He was absolutely right, the dance space was totally sectioned off from the rest of the club, totally self contained. Even though it stood in the center of all the surrounding lounges, it maintained an atmosphere of it’s own. No other nightclub I have ever seen has come close to capturing this isolation effect. Then again, no other club except the Garage would be committed to giving up that much real estate just for the sake of the dance-floor,
but then the Paradise Garage was unique!

Yes. . . the dance-floor was just like a capsule, and just like every capsule you had to have a command center. . . And the DJ booth at the Garage was mission control. Positioned above the dance-floor like an observation tower, the entire rooms atmosphere was controlled from here. With the twist of a single dial, the room would go silent, as quiet as a country field on a summer night. No sound would you hear but the faint hum of the amplifiers in the control room above. With that same twisting motion, thunderous audio would burst through your heart like a bolt of lighting. . . the warm base vibration would lift you from the floor suspending you weightless, your heart would race and senses would tingle.
No where else could you be embraced in a blanket of sound.
You wanted to move, you had to move, the music beckoning you to respond to it, it was impossible to ignore.
You moved, you danced, you were alive and part of the primal instinct connected to mother earth feeling her rhythms pulsing through you.
Suddenly with the thump of the switch, you could be plunged into a sea of darkness suspended in time, your senses clouded by the deep expanse of black, you would be alone, the air around you would be still and motionless. Your only companion is the music covering you embracing you, moving through you.. In the cool dark you feel your body coated in the cool moistness of the mushroom mist blown gently over your skin, you smell the mists sweet cent and begin to loose yourself in this isolation. Suddenly the room explodes with flashes of light, swirling beacons of red and amber, the calm is gone, now the drive to dance harder grips you. Pools of warm colored light, swirls of magenta, streaks of white all trancing you to another state of mind. . . Colors and energy driving you to move faster. You respond with all your soul, sweat pouring from you body as you surrender yourself to the music.

Now that was the dance-floor at the Garage…. or as close to describing the experience as I could get.

originally published in 2005 on my website “A Garage Tribute”

Part IV

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by : Ralph Curtis Life Adventures

The Paradise Garage

A Night Club Like No Other. ~ Part II

I went back to the club a few weeks later to hang out with my friend Peter, This time it wasn’t to dance but to get a glimpse behind the curtain and meet some of the people. Peter worked on the tech crew, which was responsible for the clubs lighting designs, electrics, built and maintained the set decor and theme designs.

Peter introduced me to the guys in the tech crew, Fortino, Ziggy, Derek and Harry, from there we went around to meet everyone else. We headed to the offices and I met the manager Mickey, and assistant manager Jose’ Lynn, we crossed the back lounge and hit the kitchen were I met Kenny and Ricky, then across to the coat room where I met Bobby and Juan. We made the rounds to the other departments finally ending up at the front door where I was introduced to Noel, the Front Door Host, the young man who let me in the club my first visit.

I am leaving out a names of people in the telling of this story. Names of people whom I love and miss a great deal. People I have worked and partied with, my Family.
Just rattling off a few names feels like I am doing a disservice to all the staff members that made the Garage a phenomena it was so please forgive me..
Here is our Tenth Anniversary Photo, please note that there are a few people missing (photo)

The last stop Peter and I made was to go into the DJ Booth. There I met DJs David DePino and Joey Llanos, 2 of the greatest guys you would ever want to know. David was playing that night and Joey was assisting, as well as being chief of security.

The club was jumping just like the night I went weeks before, The music was as engaging as ever and people were making the dance-floor move. Peter moved over to the lighting desk and began to do the lights on the dance-floor. I watched him in complete amazement…. He was playing along with the songs and making the lights on the dance-floor respond in kind. I didn’t know it then, but that was the moment which started my career in lighting design.

I watched Peter do the lights for an hour or so, then we left the booth to roam about the club a bit more and party with some of the staff. I met so many people that night it was hard to keep track of, Hector, Mongo, Bill, and Patrick who was the clubs Floral Designer. There were just so many people and friends that made that place tick it was amazing.

When I left that morning I was thinking what a great bunch of people, everyone seemed friendly and at ease, and it seemed everyone really enjoyed their jobs, how could you not. what a great atmosphere this was, I was totally blown away.

I ended up returning to the club a few more times over the next few months getting to know everyone and becoming part of the mix.
One particular night they needed some help in the coat-room and I volunteered to help Bobby out as Juan didn’t come in. The next thing I knew I was working part time in the coat room, the money was cool, tips were ok and it gave me something to do on the week ends when I wasn’t working at the Hospital.
side note: working at a nightclub isn’t actually work.
Well for me it wasn’t, you show up at 11:00pm set up hangars and tickets and wait for people to come in around 0230am. Hand stuff up when people come in, give them their stuff when they leave and in between laugh and have a great time. . .

One week I went in to the club with Peter in the afternoon. see the tech crew started work on Wednesday from 10:00am to 6:00pm and on Thursdays the same time frame. Fridays they started at noon and worked until the club opened at Mid-Night. Saturdays they worked from 8:00 pm until Mid-Night when the Club opened. That was the routine, however, if there was a special party that week-end, the work hours and days varied accordingly.

Anyway this one day I went in with Peter during the week and hung out with him, well I didn’t just hang out, I helped him a little bit here and there and it didn’t go unnoticed. The Lighting Director Fortino saw I had some knowledge of electricity and electronics. I knew about hard wiring cables before I went into the Corps, and I was a Communications Specialist in the Marines, I went to C & E School in 29 Palms California, so I had knowledge about electronics. I didn’t know it then but job at the club was going to change.

One weekend, the backstage manager decided he no longer wanted the position and the clubs manager Mickey asked me if I wanted the job, of course I said yes, who wouldn’t? He thought I would do well at the job so he asked me.
That first night was intimidating, I went over all the protocols with security and the show cues with Fortino the Lighting Director. Colonel Abrams who performed that night and the show went off without a hitch. Anyway after I had finished the show that night and went into the tech crew office ( The Shop). it was then Fortino asked me if I wanted to join the Tech Crew. and of course…. I happily accepted.

I think I worked at Mount Sinai for another week or so, then I began working at the Paradise Garage full time, this was the end of 1983 the beginning of 1984.

originally published in 2005 on my website “A Garage Tribute”

Part III

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by : Ralph Curtis Life Adventures

The Paradise Garage

A Night Club Like No Other. ~ Part I

When I got out of the Marine Corps, ’82, I returned home and landed a job at Mount Sinai Hospital. I had no idea of what career direction to take, but I knew that the Corps set my standards high and I wanted to do something great.
Working at the Hospital about a year, when childhood friend of mine, Peter, invited me to come and party at this night club were he worked. I had never gone to a club in Soho before so I thought this would be awesome, also there was a young woman, Elizabeth, who worked with me at the hospital that I wanted to date, so I invited her and one of her friends, Kim, to join me.

On the Subway ride downtown, Kim gave us something move the night along in the right direction, this was a first for me so don’t judge, besides it was the 80’s.
We climbed out of the subway on Houston and turned the corner onto King Street, it was about 0300 Saturday Morning and the line to get in was down the block. We took our place in cue and inched our way to the door. Kim kept asking me if I was sure my name was on the guest list because she knew, this was a private club, you had to be a member, come with a member, or be on the guest list. This was the only way to get in (that’s it that’s all).

We finally got to the entrance of this 2 story parking garage and the three of us filed through that small door in the front of the building. Kim had been to this club before so she knew what was going on, but this was definitely a learning experience for Liz and I as we had no idea of what to expect.
As we walked into this small concrete entry way I noticed the interior wasn’t fancy it was very sparse in fact, they had a nice little design going on that carried an industrial intimacy, so you didn’t notice how cramped it was. From were we stood I could hear the music pounding on the floor above me and man did it sounded like the place was hopping. I spoke to the gentlemen at the front door (Noel) and told him who I was and that I was a guest of Peter’s. He looked my name up on the list, smiled and welcomed us into the club.

The three of us exited the front entrance office, made that left turn and started to walk up this long ramp. The change in atmosphere of that small cramped room, to this huge ramp was personally expansive, like being packed in a small tin can then suddenly being set free. Besides right about this time, whatever Kim had given us was kicking in and a feeling of weightlessness was taking over. . . I was ready to Fly.

We walked up the middle of this ramp and on both sides of us were these runway lights at the base of the walls. These lights were on a chase pattern going from the bottom of the ramp to the top, literally showing us the way in. As we climbed the ramp the music was getting louder and more vibrant. We got to the ticket booth and paid our way, then handed the tickets to the gentlemen at the doors as we walked into the clubs front foyer.

The moment we pasted through those doors into the foyer, we were hit by a solid wall of sound, we stood there for a moment amazed at the music vibration, I had been to Rock concerts before but this, THIS was whole new level of sound. There were people inside moving about the foyer, talking dancing, everyone was dressed in various forms of spandex, sweats and shorts, very 80s, very stylish, very underground.
The foyer itself was an open space, the lighting in the room was fantastic and gave the space a warm and cozy feeling.
Off to my left I could see flashing of lights reflecting off the walls and I knew the dance-floor was around that corner… and it was calling.

We gave up our coats to the coat room and headed to the dance-floor.

The entrance to the dance-floor from the foyer was via a wide low ceiling passageway, and as we passed through this darkened tunnel the flashing of the dance-floor lights pulled us in. The space ahead of us was packed with people all dancing, the lighting filled the expanse and the music was off any scale I could imagine. It was loud, unbelievably loud but it wasn’t distorted or painful in my ears, . . it was immersive, like I was being wrapped in blanket from head to toe. The three of us started to dance, and the music made it effortless,
( plus whatever Kim had given us).

We danced for what seemed like hours on end and at no time did the dance-floor empty out, people were all around us on all sides moving folding, bending, spinning and jumping. This was completely a different experience than any club that I had ever been to, and I was completely hooked.
The music that was coming out of that DJ Booth was amazing, some songs I recognized as late 70’s R&B and some disco, also there was a mix of music that I didn’t know then but would later come to know it as “House Music”.

We ended up leaving the club sometime Saturday afternoon, I wasn’t tired tho was danced all night long…. but it was getting early and we needed to vacate. Funny thing is even when we exited the club, there were still people on the dance-floor.
This was truly a Dance Club.

originally published in 2005 on my website “A Garage Tribute”

Part II

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