The Adventures of the NSP

Let me take you on a trip
Just a simple journey
A journey full of sounds and beats

Its snowing here in NYC & it should be a happy Friday. But, this weather has me in a mood. Tonight I plan on staying in and doing laundry. Not the usual for me on a Friday night but I feel the need actually to be on hiatus this evening. I will eat a lil something, do massive loads of laundry, watch the snow & possibly watch a movie on demand. Besides, there are plenty of good times to be had. Plenty more times where I will drink too much, take my shirt off, dance with the boys & get it on a dancefloor. But, it won’t be at the Roxy. Roxy had its last night this past Saturday. I was there with my crew & I danced for 9 hrs! Just me and my boys and the music. As it always should be. Good times. I meant to write about this days ago but since work has been nuts this week I’ve not had the time. But as I sit here, finally alone with my thoughts…..I can write what it is I want to say. I guess I should start from the very beginning because clearly its a very good place to start.

It was April of 2000(thank you Shuley for remembering accurately) and I had barely been here a month. I was 21 & living on Roosevelt Island. Shuley had come to visit me from NC. I had been to Splash & a few other places. I barely knew anyone. I was so different then. I could barely drink. A few Zima’s & I was a wildman! Thoughts of going home with someone I didn’t know or even the thought of doing drugs scared the hell out of me. But what I really wanted was to check out the Roxy. So with Shuley at my side we decided we would pop our Roxy cherries together. I remember walking in and going down the dark hallway to go pay. At the time that amount of money seemed so much to me, $25 for a club for God’s sake! Good thing Shuley treated me. Once inside I was shocked by the size. It was the biggest club I had ever been to. We ofcourse fell in love with the pop room upstairs. This is the room that for a time would be the main reason for me going. Downstairs I liked the music but at the time wasn’t fully into. I remember looking around at all the shirtless muscle guys and just feeling inadequate. I used to always dress up for clubs. Dressed in black or something nice and dress shoes. But this time, all I saw were guys in sneakers & jeans & most of them with the shirt tucked into the side or through a belt loop. I was too skinny to be doing any of this. The only ones who seemed to be dressed up were the random girls hanging with their gay boys. For a few hours we danced & when 5:00 came we finally decided it was time. I remember thinking it was awesome that clubs in NYC stayed open this late. I would later take advantage of this for many Saturday nights to come.

Over the years I found myself not having to worry about that price. I made friends with Danny who Dj’d upstairs & he would always put me on his list. I had made plenty of friends over time & I’d been living in Hells Kitchen for a while. We had our little Roxy crew. It would be Vadim, Jason, Brad, Jude, Chase, Ej(from very rare time to time), Shane (who we called Mama) and if I think about it the list could go on & on. There were nights of just me, Miss Krizia & John. Or me with Shane & the wonderful straight couples Tina & Ray & Andrea & DJ Elliot. Roxy was the place that could get club heads together & pay respect to the music. I used to never care who deejayed but after a while I became an ultimate follower of certain dj’s. If so & so was there I would not be caught dead. But if it was Peter all I knew was that I wouldn’t miss it for the world. It was those late nights that Peter would really ‘werk’ it. During this time I met Ren. Ren and his followers would take over the middle of the floor. Before your very eyes it became a vogue competition. The cattyness, the dropping to the floor, the sashaying….you couldn’t take your eyes off it. I didn’t care for most of them but I couldn’t help but love their dance abilities. While this was going on you could see Peter catering to them. The music would all of sudden be old house tracks. ‘You Used to Hold Me’ would boom through the speakers. And it was then that the real dancing began. I’ve always loved Ren, he can be a real bitch but with me he’s always been so cool. He’s older, he was there when the Vogue balls were going on. Hell he was just a youngster himself then. He was there when Madonna was just learning about Vogue for Gods sake. I learned from him and many others. By this time I had been working at New York Sports Club & finally gained a bit of weight. No longer was I nervous about taking my shirt off. With the first sign of sweat or if someone was wearing a the same shirt….then you knew what you had to do…..take it off!

For many nights for a few years I’d drink & get a lil buzzed but for me it was all about the music. I would be dancing for hours & hours and some friends would be amazed. “How can you do that and be completely sober? I need to be chemically enhanced.” And I would say, “As long as the music’s good I’ll keep dancing.” But like a lot of things in life you end up being curious. You want to know more. I would see my friends and wonder what it must feel like. Finally, it was a night in September & I was with Chad(the Ashley to my Mary Kate) and I decided for myself that I would try ecstasy. I had heard all the stories of what it did to you. I saw from my own eyes what it could do for some of my friends. Some would have to mellow out on a couch & just enjoy the music. Some would became dance Gods. For one (who shall remain nameless because he gets paranoid) he told me about how all of a sudden he heard a black woman say, “Do y’all wanna dive into the pool? I know y’all wanna dive into the pool!” And his thoughts were, “When did they put a pool in the Roxy? I didn’t bring a bathing suit. Well I guess I can just fold my clothes & sit them near the stage.” For all of you reading, this was a song that came out many years ago by Pepper Mashay called ‘Dive Into the Pool’. For all of you reading, this has to be one of my favorite stories to think about. To him I say, “Bless your heart, I adore you.” So on this night I tried it and it was like no other feeling I have ever had. The sensation that came over me with the music & the people was unreal. I felt like the sexiest thing on earth. It was an utter state of euphoria. There we all would be rolling and rolling, dancing the night away. Flirting with the cutest of guys. I would mostly get them by my dancing. Hell sometimes I didn’t even need a partner. If it was just me & a couch I’d be on it gyrating away. Vadim & Jason still like to joke with me about it. “Nick there’s a hot couch in the room just waiting to get fucked.” To that I’d alwasy say any great dancing god needs a prop, whether it be a man or a couch. Either way you may end up sitting on it. Those early first few moments would rarely ever be re-created again.

I had many firsts at the Roxy. Its no secret about how I felt when my grandmother died & I also found myself going out & doing as many drugs as possible to try to make the pain go away. Maybe its why I can kind of understand what Britney & others go through. But I will say I have never had the inkling to shave my head. India Arie said I am not my hair but lemme tell ya miss thang…..I am. So during this time, things happenned that I would wish had not. We all have our deep dark secrets. So while deciding that I was gonna devote a blog to the Roxy I couldn’t help but shake this from my mind. I wasn’t gonna keep it cookie cutter light. If I can’t put it all out there then I’m not gonna do it. One night I took many hits of E and it caught up with me. My friends had all left & I had decided to stay with this couple I met. I was having a good time when all of a sudden I started to feel really hot and the lights were too much. Something didn’t feel right. Thats the last thing I remember. I apparently had a seisure. I was taken to the hospital & I remember one of the Medic guys was being incredibly nice to me. He turned out to be Ryan who I would later find out was a really good friend of Jordan, someone I had not even met at this point. In the end, everything was ok & I was fine. I think I was more embarrassed then anything that this had happenned at Roxy. All I could think of was, “OMG everyone is gonna know.” I ended up telling only a few people and to this day many people do not know. Well I guess until now. I’ve said it before that I’ve not always made the smartest decisions and sometimes I’ve not learned from my mistakes. But I would like to think that I got back to that young guy who was just in it for the music. I would like to think that I’m a lil mixed with him now. I also don’t want to bring this blog down. Because when you fall down you can’t do anything else but get your ass right back up.

At the Roxy is where I’ve seen many of the divas who’s seen their shares of ups & downs. Cher was the first. She came out & lip synced ‘Song For the Lonely’ to a club filled of homo’s showing mad luv! To this day my aunt still gets at me for seeing her girl live & in person. I also saw my girl Beyonce do ‘Crazy In Love’ & ‘Baby Boy’. I made sure to get my ass near the stage so I could get her attention & she blew me a kiss. I also saw ALL of the Pussycat Dolls when they were just coming out with ‘Don’t Cha’ & I remember thinking that they were hot but would probably never have another hit. Boy was I ever wrong! There were too many nights to mention about Kevin Aviance. In all his fierce cuntiness, he may not be a great singer but the bitch does his thang! The same thing with Amanda Lepore & her nakedness. I guess if I had spent all that money I would be running around naked too! I’ve seen other singers who’s been on Peter’s label doing a song that was the brand new hotness or summer jam. But for me it all comes down to Madonna. I remember the big rumor when American Life came out that she was going to be there. Peter kept playing snippets of the song & queens would rush to the stage(myself included). He was a wicked monkey because she ofcourse didn’t show. This wouldn’t be the first time either. But, she didn’t disappoint when it was time to have some Confessions on a Dancefloor. It was November of 05 & she showed up & I remember the room being filled to capacity. I ended up devoting a whole blog to it so I won’t rehash the details. But, what I will say is that it was incredibly wonderful. Like sooooo many of my nights there.

Yes, there have been some downers. There are sure to be off nights with some dj’s. There are times when friends are fighting or when you & yours are & it can create un-needed drama. If those walls could talk there is NO telling what it would say. Well except maybe, “Wash me!” So when it came time to say goodbye, there was no way on earth I was gonna miss it. We got the emails & heard the gossip from the Vday party. Roxy would be closing on March 10th. For one night only you could dance & dance for hours to Offer Nissim, James Anderson & Peter. And oh yeah Dj Danny upstairs. My sidebar story about him was he became an ass to me & took me off his list. He thought I booed him one night when he played Mariah, but it was the people near me. I mean seriously, when has anyone known me to do that….especally for Mariah! But it’s all good because I ended up gettng my Gold card & I didn’t need him or his unprofessional, bitchy, catty nasty dj ways! I would also like to add, “Yes Danny you’re the oldest bitchiest, cattiest Madonna queen I know!” Just in case that didn’t come across before : )

So anyways, back to the story. Early on Saturday Vadim called me with breaking news. David had told him there is a rumor that Madonna is gonna show up one last time. Before you knew it, the rumor spread like wild fire. We decided that we needed to get there even earlier because the line would be outta control. I remembered how it was the time before standing out in the rain trying to get in. I was afraid. Thank God for a Gold card. So Vadim, BIg Tom, Andy, Tommy, John, Tovah, (even) Jordan & I made our way there around 10:15 pm. I came prepared. I filled some Poland Springs with Vodka flavored drinks and we were on our way. Then it began to rain. Jordan bitched about his hair and Big Tom was worried we would get caught with bottles of booze. Vadim was worried about the crowd & getting in. But like any fearless leader, I was hearing none of it. My mission that I chose to accept was get in there & dance until I can not physically dance anymore. We got there and the line was half way down the block. Standing in line we each took turns sipping on my drinks. Now its been said I make strong drinks but if I was a bartender this is exactly how I would want them. After waiting 15 mins or so we made it in just to see another huge line up the stairs in order to pay. Admission was ranging for $10 with a gold card to like $40 or some mess. Lets just say they definitely made some money that night. People in line were from all over. I heard of people coming from Miami & Cali. Even guys who hadn’t been there in years. One guy said, “Its great to be here but I bet I’m gonna see all of the people I’ve slept with in the past 10 years here.” I looked at him & said, “I totally agree with you. Only my years are much less.” Then he said, “U biiiitttttccchhhh!”

It was around this time I noticed Big Tom had all of a sudden got drunk. How I know this is because he gets extra lovey dovey & says his classic, “I love you guys!” So we all finally pay & get in coat check. It was during this time we lost one. Apparently, Andy paid & then freaked out about the crowd & just how many people were gonna be there. So minus one we all went in & I saw that it was already crowded. They were literally gonna have to let people inside in shifts. Trying to get a drink at the bar would be madness. Thank goodness I came prepared. My idea was that I wanted a little buzz but I didn’t want to get drizz. I needed this night to be completely memorable. And that it was. We danced upstairs for a little while. John had me posing next to the wall in cute scandalous poses. I have yet to see these but what I really want to see is the one where I was on a stair & I put my leg agianst the wall having people walking underneath like it was a bridge. Yeah thats right, you can not take me anywhere! It was incredibly hot up there & before you know it…..Brad, Tommy, John & I were shirtless. We danced up there for hours & Danny played plenty of Madonna. Vadim & I did all the moves & said all the live quotes from various shows. We even saw people we met there this past summer when Madonna was touring. (Some people look better when they’re in costume) As for Madonna showing up……even when I walked in I could feel it. She was mos def NOT there. But it really didn’t phase any of us. I got to see people that I mentioned before for the first time in a long, long time. Yes, I even saw past hook ups from Roxy days gone by. Slowly but surely the hours passed. We also had day light savings time so we lost an hour. We made it downstairs & through the crowd to find a spot on the floor. One by one some of the crew either left or stayed upstairs. Some couldn’t even get into the club because they weren’t letting anyone in. So I needed to make sure I soaked it up for them.

For one last time I decided to go to the stage & dance my ass off. The place where I coined the phrase ‘give it to the fans.’ And thats what I did. It came down to just Chase & I, something that I was quite used to. He’s always had the same appreciation for the music that I’ve had. Roxy partners til the end. 9 am started to approach and my dogs were at this point seriously barking. I could dance no more. I had lost that buzz hours & hours before. Somehow I was back to that boy from a long, long time ago. We took a few more laps around the club. I walked by the couches & then saw the balcony where I had once received a blowjob by 2 guys. Goodness what a vivid memory! We walked by the bars & right by the dj booth & I looked up at Peter as he did his thing. He was in serious dj mode but still had a smile on his face because he knew he was giving it to the fans. After that, we left. The sun was shining incredibly. The rain had left hours & hours before apparently. The time had changed & things were not gonna be the same. Why do all things come to an end? I’m not sure. But, I know I will look back with fondness as I think about how I entered that place as a twink but left a man.

This used to be my playground
This used to be my childhood dream
This used to be the place I ran to
Whenever I was in need
Of a friend
Why did it have to end
And why do they always say
Dont look back
Keep your head held high
Dont ask them why
Because life is short
And before you know
Youre feeling old
And your heart is breaking
Dont hold on to the past
Well thats too much to ask

Live and learn
Well the years they flew
And we never knew
We were foolish then
We would never tire
And that little fire
Is still alive in me
It will never go away
Cant say goodbye to yesterday

No regrets
But I wish that you
Were here with me
Well then theres hope yet
I can see your face
In our secret place
Youre not just a memory
Say goodbye to yesterday
Those are words Ill never say

This used to be my playground [used to be]
This used to be our pride and joy
This used to be the place we ran to
That no one in the world could dare destroy

This used to be our playground [used to be]
This used to be our childhood dream
This used to be the place we ran to
I wish you were standing here with me

This used to be our playground [used to be]
This used to be our great escape
This used to be the place we ran to
This used to be our secret hiding place

This used to be our playground [used to be]
This used to be our childhood dream
This used to be the place we ran to
The best things in life are always free
Wishing you were here with me