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By GARY LEIGH
Friday, September 24, 2004
Labor Day weekend saw yet another successful Alegria party at Crobar, with revelers
packed onto the dance floor well into Monday afternoon, while they enjoyed DJ
Abel’s trademark upbeat sounds. During the same weekend, a good-looking,
popular figure on the local scene penned a final letter and downed a lethal cocktail
of drugs. This man had attended Alegria parties since their inception in 2000.
He was also a regular at Crystal Meth Anonymous.
The New York Times recently reported on the decimating affect of crystal meth
on the scene since arriving a few years ago. In the article, promoter John Blair
declared, “Crystal is by far the worst drug I’ve ever seen happen
to nightlife.” But are Blair and other gay club promoters at least partly
responsible by adapting to the mindset of abusers?
Why do I say this? Because music affects mood. In a 2002 study examining the
affect of amphetamine on the striatum (the brain region which degenerates in
Huntingdon’s disease), scientists at Cambridge University, England, injected
over 100 mice with methamphetamine and an identical number with salt water.
Mice exposed to harmonious “white noise” fell asleep. Those subjected
to discordant, hard music appeared to go berserk and eventually died. The findings
concluded that loud, pulsating music could enhance the drug’s toxic effects.
In the Roxy around mid-2001, a sound replaced the upbeat anthems and diva vocals
that kept peoples’ spirits raised. DJs across America seemed to conspire
to develop a technique of starting the night with uplifting sounds, only to
crash the tempo with thunderous, soulless, bass-heavy noise accurately dubbed
“pots and pans.”
Just as Ecstasy came to define fun music for many, fun music for many, this
cold, emotionless new sound was crystal’s symbiotic counterpart in the
paranoid post-9/11 world. The edgy negativity of grating, rhythmless sounds
subconsciously triggers users to exhibit symptoms of the crystal crash (fear-based
behavioral traits such as paranoia, anxiety and irritability), turning such
environments thick with tension and aggression.
Meanwhile, non-crystal-using FUN-seekers were edged out by the darker tone
that engulfed the scene. Many who stayed followed the herd instinct and became
hooked on crystal in the process. In fact, crystal became so thoroughly interwoven
into club culture that, by mid-2002, to speak out against tina risked alienation
and isolation. Circuit and club attendances have been in freefall ever since,
with the notable exception of a few parties, such as Alegria.
“When the music changed, the party spirit literally dissolved,”
recalls Ray, a Roxy veteran until 2002. “It felt like the Bolshevik devil
had taken over the DJ booth. Pots and pans was suddenly everywhere. Every DJ
seemed intent on turning gay men on to meth, cutting them off emotionally via
the music. It was evil. There was no way I was going to start using tina to
get this horrible new sound. So I quit clubbing altogether. Many of my acquaintances
stayed and have since crashed and burned.”
No statistics recording crystal-related deaths exist (suicide, psychosis-fuelled
homicide, organ failure…), and rates of HIV infection from crystal-induced
sex are inconclusive,. But casualties among gay males may number in the thousands.
“It’s almost unthinkable that crystal has been allowed to rip indiscriminately
into our community via the club scene, destroying a generation of gay men like
AIDS before it,” says Simon, who has been attending CMA since February
and is six months clean.
“How have we,” he asks, “in the face of this insidious new
threat to our health and well-being, simply turned our backs and allowed this
virus to ravage our community? We used to help and support each other in times
of attack. What happened?”
Thanks to progressive DJs like Abel and Tony Moran, who promote an upbeat ambience
via positive, feel-good music, the spirit is returning to Manhattan’s
club scene. Even Junior Vasquez is playing lighter sounds these days as he battles
to restore faith among his the once-loyal legion of followers who used to pack
his venues.
People continue to use crystal at parties, and pots and pans is still heard.
But if the music is fun, upbeat and lyrical, then the atmosphere accommodating
for everyone, users and non-users alike. If we can learn from this harsh lesson,
we can act swiftly in the face of another potential epidemic.
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