The DJ Bringing NYC's Legendary Danceteria Nightclub Back to Life

About this episode

DJ Rafe Gomez discusses the legacy of Danceteria and its impact on NYC nightlife.

Before Madonna was Madonna, she was working coat check. Before the Beastie Boys were the Beastie Boys, they were janitors. They worked at Danceteria, a five-story downtown Manhattan nightclub that became the unlikely launchpad for some of pop culture's biggest names in the 1980s. DJ Rafe Gomez runs Danceteria Rewind on Twitch every Thursday night, reconstructing the club's legendary playlists for nearly 60,000 followers worldwide. He joins us to talk about what made Danceteria unlike anything before or since, and why Manhattan nightlife has never quite recaptured that magic. Photo: Steve Eichner/Archive Photos via Getty Images -Got any questions, comments or story ideas? Send us a message at NYCNow@WNYC.org

People in this episode

Guest: Rafe Gomez

Topics covered

• nightlife
• music
• pop culture
• New York City
• Danceteria
• DJ culture

Keywords

• Danceteria
• Rafe Gomez
• nightclub
• 1980s
• Madonna
• Beastie Boys
• Twitch
• NYC nightlife

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Danceteria, Madonna, Beastie Boys

Places: Manhattan

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