DNA Lounge

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Coordinates: 37°46′15.63″N 122°24′45.70″W / 37.7710083°N 122.4126944°W / 37.7710083; -122.4126944

DNA Lounge

DNA Lounge logo
Built 1906 (1906)
Opened November 22, 1985 (1985-11-22)
Location San Francisco
Owner Jamie Zawinski
Renovated July 13, 2001 (2001-07-13)
Website http://www.dnalounge.com/

DNA Lounge is a late-night, all ages San Francisco nightclub in the SoMa district, owned by former Netscape programmer and open-source software hacker Jamie Zawinski[1]. The club features DJ dancing, live music, burlesque performances, and occasionally conferences, private parties, and film premieres. It is located at 375 Eleventh Street, near Harrison Street.

The club consists of a large main dance floor and stage, surrounded on three sides by a balcony, open to below. There is also a back room with its own dance floor and separate sound system. There are three full bars, and a full kitchen, serving Mexican food. DNA Lounge also has a number of unconventional features, including several publicly accessible computer terminals (running Fedora) and a wireless network for internet access. The club also provides continuous audio and video webcasts of all events free of charge.

Contents

[edit] History

The venue first opened for business in 1977 as a leather bar called Chaps, owned by Chuck Slaton.

In 1985 it was purchased by Jim English, Jeff Mason, and Brian Raffi who opened for business under the name DNA Lounge on November 22, 1985. The name was rumored to be an acronym for "dancing, not art". The earliest regular DJs were Ted Cousens, Adam Fisher, and Brian Raffi. One of the early doormen was Doc Martin, who later became a popular house music DJ. Some nights were genre-specific, with both live bands and DJs. Notable nights and resident DJ's included DJs Blackstone (who spun hip-hop and rap on Wednesday nights) and Kelly Spencer (who played punk and new wave on Tuesdays). Many of DNA's posters and flyers were designed by the San Francisco-based artist, Rex Ray.

In 1994, the club was purchased by Tim Dale, John Schneider, and comedian/actor Rob Schneider. From 1995 until 1998, the DNA was a hot late-night destination, featuring unpublicized shows by such top pop musicians as Prince and Metallica, and weekend dance parties headlined by retro bands Boogie Nights and the M-80s. But, starting in 1996, the Schneiders had to devote the bulk of their time to Rob's TV sitcom Men Behaving Badly. They left the daily operations of the club to subordinates, and it fell into disrepair.[2]

The club was purchased by Jamie Zawinski in 1999. The club was closed for extensive remodeling and soundproofing from April 1999 until it re-opened on Friday, July 13, 2001[3].

[edit] Conflict with local regulatory agencies

During the period that DNA Lounge was closed, Zawinski spearheaded a successful grassroots effort to maintain its late-night permits[4], facing opposition from several neighbors and the SFPD, but was unable to procure an all-ages license. In September 2008, after two and a half years of legal battles, the club's operating permits were successfully modified to allow patrons of all ages, instead of only those 21 years of age or older[5].

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control launched an investigation against the club in 2009, resulting in an accusation of "running a disorderly house injurious to the public welfare and morals", and asking for permanent revocation of the club's liquor license, which would result in the club closing permanently.[6]

The accusations pertain to lewd behavior at certain gay and lesbian events which no longer take place at the club. Members of the community were outraged by the ABC's allegations and the severity of their proposed punishment. Many complained that ABC was unfairly targeting DNA lounge, and their homosexual clientele in particular, pointing out that the specific allegations are far less "lewd" than the standard behavior at heterosexual strip clubs[7]. ABC has not commented on this accusation. Many have claimed that ABC's punishment is in retaliation to DNA's successful appeal to receive an all ages liquor license[8], and that this appears to be part of a larger shift in policy by the ABC to crack down on all-ages music venues[9].

In April 2009, ABC officially ruled to revoke DNA Lounge's liquor license. DNA promptly filed an appeal citing insufficient evidence in the ABC's case as well as challenging the consitutionality of ABC's code[10] that pertain to regulating sexual behavior and morality[11]. DNA Lounge currently remains in business, pending resolution of their appeal, and they have set up a legal defense fund soliciting donations to help offset the cost of contesting the decision.[12]

[edit] Awards

DNA Lounge won "Best Dance Club" in the 2008 San Francisco Bay Guardian's "Best of the Bay" readers' poll [13]. A number of regular DNA Lounge events won as well, including Bootie ("Best Party Producers") Hubba Hubba Revue ("Best Cabaret / Variety Show"), Bohemian Carnival ("Best Circus Troupe") and Fog City Wrestling ("Best Body Slams").

[edit] Events

The space functions as a venue for both live music and regular dance nights.

Popular regular events at DNA Lounge include:

  • Bootie, a twice-monthly all-mashup dance night
  • Death Guild, the longest-running weekly gothic/industrial dance night in the country
  • Meat, a monthly industrial dance night featuring free barbecued meat
  • New Wave City, San Francisco's longest-running new wave and 80s event
  • Hubba Hubba Revue, a monthly burlesque show, featuring classic striptease, vaudeville comedy, variety acts, and live music
  • Bohemian Carnival, featuring eclectic dance music and circus performances (occurring once every two or three months)

DNA Lounge has also hosted several notable tech-industry events, such as CodeCon (a hacker con) and Ignite (a technology conference). The release of Mozilla 1.0 was celebrated there in 2002. Cypress Hill's music video for "Insane in the Brain" was filmed at DNA Lounge in 1993. In the background of some shots can be seen parts of the Keith Haring mural that used to adorn the walls of the upstairs lounge.

[edit] Live Music

DNA Lounge has been well known for both DJ dance nights and live concerts. Since the club was purchased by Zawinski, they have been focusing more on live music[14], and have procured an all-ages liquor license to facilitate this. Currently, dance events are generally 21+, but most live shows are all ages[15].

[edit] Concert highlights since 2001 [16]

Luxxury at DNA Lounge, March 17, 2007

[edit] Concert highlights prior to 1994[18]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Evany Thomas (2001-07-16). "From Netscape to Nightclub". Wired Magazine. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,45264,00.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-26. 
  2. ^ "DNA Lounge: Ancient History: 1906-1998". 2000-12-13. http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/1906-1998.html#1994. Retrieved on 2009-02-26. 
  3. ^ James Sullivan (2001-07-12). "DNA Lounge set to reopen tomorrow; New owner brings top technology". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/07/12/DD161466.DTL. Retrieved on 2009-02-26. 
  4. ^ Andrew Leonard (2000-02-10). "Free the Night Life!". Salon. http://dir.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/02/10/zawinski/index.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-26. 
  5. ^ "DNA Lounge blog entry about permit change". 2008-08-18. http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/2008/08/18.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-17. 
  6. ^ "DNA Lounge blog entry about ABC accusations". 2009-02-13. http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/2009/02/13.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-17. 
  7. ^ Violet Blue (2009-02-26). "The ABC's New Anti-Gay Crusade? ABC's recent targeting of LGBT events at the DNA Lounge is a tragic non-surprise.". San Francisco Bay Guardian. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/02/26/violetblue0226.DTL. Retrieved on 2009-06-16. 
  8. ^ Julie Dyer (2009-03-10). "DNA Lounge suffocated by legal debacles". Examiner.com. http://www.examiner.com/x-1290-SF-Club-Music-Examiner~y2009m3d10-California-tax-dollars-at-waste-in-the-midst-of-an-economic-crisis. Retrieved on 2009-06-16. 
  9. ^ Marisa Lagos (2009-04-11). "State goes after legendary all-ages music clubs". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/11/MNK217038L.DTL. Retrieved on 2009-06-16. 
  10. ^ "California Code of Regulations". http://www.abc.ca.gov/LawsRulesReg.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-16. 
  11. ^ "DNA Lounge blog entry about filing of appeal". 2009-04-11. http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/2009/04/11.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-16. 
  12. ^ "Legal Defense Fund". DNA Lounge. 2009-02-22. http://www.dnalounge.com/donate/. Retrieved on 2009-05-01. 
  13. ^ "Best of the Bay 2008". San Francisco Bay Guardian. 2008-07-29. http://www.sfbg.com/bob/2008/ent.php. Retrieved on 2009-02-26. 
  14. ^ "DNA Lounge blog entry about live music". 2007-04-18. http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/2007/04/18.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-17. 
  15. ^ "DNA Lounge". 2009-02-26. http://www.dnalounge.com/. Retrieved on 2009-02-26. 
  16. ^ "Bands that have performed at DNA Lounge". 2009-02-13. http://www.dnalounge.com/calendar/ledger.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-26. ]
  17. ^ Jim Harrington (2009-04-10). "Green Day unveils new album '21st Century Breakdown' in 2nd S.F. club gig". Mercury News. http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12115962. Retrieved on 2009-04-22. 
  18. ^ "DNA Lounge Calendar: 1985-1999". 2009-04-04. http://www.dnalounge.com/calendar/1985-1999.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-22. ]

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_Lounge"
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