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The Ginos II Story by George Flashback
Many of you have heard of the legendary Hollywood after hours night club called Gino's. But I assure you, if you weren’t there you have no idea what you missed or what Gino's was all about. It is my intention to try, to the best of
my ability to shed some light on this legendary after hours Hollywood hot spot.
Gino's I opened in 1976 and was a popular gay punk hang out. But in 1977 the
original location burned down and Gino’s I was no more. In 1978 Gino re-opened
his nightclub at 1132 Vine St. in Hollywood and called it Gino’s II. Again, a
popular hangout for the gay community. It was your typical gay bar with one
huge exception, the d.j., Mr. Michael Angelo, their resident d.j Friday and
Saturday nights.
Michaels mixing skills were average, but his ability so sniff out and find
awsome new tracks was unbelievable! They weren’t all new, he also rediscovered
flops from several years earlier and reintroduced them into the club scene at
Ginos making them very successful in the after hours circuit. Hits such as Disco
Connection by Isaac Haayes from 1975, and Sweet Lucy by Raul De Souza from 1977
flopped originally but were a hit at Gino’s. He also discovered music that was
right in front of our faces from albums many of us could get at Music Plus such
as "Just As Long As We Are Together" by Prince which is on the Prince for You
lp. He would only play the second half of this particular song, we all thought
it was another one of his rare imports, but was in front of us all the time.
Now Michael was not solely responsible for all of the music, he was inspired as
well as assisted by another legendary d.j by the name of Bobby Viteritti whom
was the resident d.j at the famous Trocadero nightclub in San Fransisco. Bobby
is well known in the music industry and did famous remixes we all know such as
the Magnifique remix on Disconet. Michael Angelo was also secretive with his
songs and would go to extreme measures to keep them from your local mobile
d.j's. He painted the labels, switched labels, when asked he would give you
incorrect information sending many of us on wild goose chases. He never seemed
to let his guard down.
In 1978 and 1979 Gino’s II was primarily a gay hang out, but in 1980 it was
discovered by some of the non gay (straight) mobile d.j. party goers. The word
spread fast! Every weekend there where less and less gay patrons, and more and
more straights. The hardcore patrons stood until the end, but many others would
find there way elsewhere. Now Gino and Michael where both gay, and started
resenting their non-gay patrons. They blamed the straights for their loss of
gay patrons. It was very normal to get attitude from both Michael and Gino if
you were with the non-gay crowd. Around this time a fight broke out outside the
club with some of it's non gay patrons, which resulted in a bottle being broken
on Gino’s head causing some injuries to him causing yet even more animosity
toward their non gay patrons. From there on out, Gino would wear his army
helmet for his protection, which soon became his trademark.
Ginos II soon became the who's who of the local disco scene. To be one of
the “in” crowd, you had to visit Gino’s. There a dance partner was optional, the
gender of your dance partner was also optional, and you would not get critized for dancing with another member of the same sex. This did not mean
you were gay, this was an acceptable practice at Gino’s which you couldn’t get
away with just a few hours earlier at the mobile parties. Or if you didn’t have
a dance partner, it was ok to dance by yourself, or like my good friend
Martin, with the mirrors which were conveniently located through out the dance
floor. Ginos attracted the best of the best dancers. Even today if you ask any
of the great dancers, they were at Gino’s at one point or another. There were
many styles of dancers there, you had your robotic, pointers, hustlers,
freestylers, & ballet dancers among various other styles. Michael Jackson was
even rumored to frequent Gino’s in disguise to keep up on the latest dance
moves. It is said the moonwalk was 1st made public at Ginos.
Ginos soon became a life style to many of its patrons. Many of us literally
lived Ginos every day of our lives. We would practice our moves every day
during the week. Go shopping for the most obscure attire you could find. Go to
Ginos Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Everyone inside Ginos became like a big
family. Even gay and non gay patrons would become one family when harassed by
outsiders.
Ginos patrons had their own attire found no where else but at Ginos. The
attire was usually unusual, obscure and original. It was by no means your
typical disco attire. It was more of a cross between your hard core punk rock
and disco attire combined, a little more toward the punk side. It was very
common to see individuals wearing very obscure patterns on their attire all the
way from clear plastic, leather, checkered, tiger striped, to very G.Q type
suits, you would also see waiter jackets, balloon pants, space suits, cowboy
attire, any animal type patterns, S & M attire was also common. The shoes worn
varied from brightly colored cowboy boots with or without spurs to the famous
Joe Jackson shoes. The cowboy boots were nothing normal, they were extremely
pointed, the heels were usually slanted no less than a 45 degrees, they were
brightly colored, some had tips and wings embroidered or painted on. The Joe
Jackson were in a class all by themself. They were even more pointed then the
boots, laced on the side, these too were dyed every color immaginable, some
people would even attached silver tips. People would sometimes spend up to two
days prepairing for an evening at Ginos. There you would be your self and not
worry about being ridiculed. Though whenever I went to Ginos, I made sure I
filled the tank up with gas before I got dressed, because I did feel quite
uncomfortable dressed with Ginos attire at a gas station or anywhere else for
that matter.
The hair doos were another story all together. Again every color you could
think of was seeing at Ginos at one point or another, pompadours, greaser
style, tails, wisps, usually packed on with excessive amounts of aquanet. Hair
doos were all but normal at this exotic afterhours club.
Ginos is also one of the few clubs that I have been too that many of its
patrons arrived in public transportation (RTD bus). This too was perfectly
normal and nothing to be ashamed of as many of it's guests were from low income
families (such as myself) and wouldn’t miss an evening there for the world. If
you didn’t own a car(most didn’t) you begged, borrowed or took the bus.
My first experience with Ginos II was in 1979, I rarely visited Hollywood
nevertheless its nightlife district. So naturally I was in shock. Everyone one
was gay, I was probably one of 10 patrons that night whom weren’t gay. I saw
someone wearing leather chaps with nothing underneath, for the 1st time I
witnessed two guys making out, I was one scared 16 year old, this was nothing
like mobile parties or Monterey Park where I was raised. As I walked up the
long narrow staircase I was very nervous, all I saw was darkness with
incredible music coming through the walls. I was frisked by a gay security
guard, again scared the hell out of me. I tried not to show my fear and
continued in like nothing was bothering me. As I reached the top of the
staircase I looked to my left and a really nice fish tank which looked to be out
of place. I always associated fish tanks with peace and relaxation, and there
was definitely none of that in Ginos. It was a very lively, loud, energetic
atmosphere with lots of excitement. Then I heard a familiar song by Nancy
Sinatra called "Boots" which fit the atmosphere perfectly. The queens went
crazy and they stormed the dance floor. I witnessed dance moves I never even
thought of. Then I saw a beautiful women dancing and thought to my self, this
place cant be that bad until I discovered it was a man. Then I had to use the
mens room. Well I held off as long as I could then I had no choice. When I got
inside it was empty to my relief, then a very feminine man walked in, then
another in drag! I thought that was it, as this drag queen was about 50 lbs
heavier than me and about 2 feel taller. As they started talking to me I
realized despite their appearance they weren’t all that bad. My ride stayed
their till 4 a.m., had I had my car there I would have left before I ever saw
the fish tank. But as the night progressed I started listening to the music!
That is all it took, I told my self I will be back, but I will drive the next
time. I couldn’t believe my ears, the music was like nothing I had ever heard
before. I was hooked!
Eventually I found that the gay people in Ginos were nothing to be afraid of, on the contrary they were some of the nicest people I had ever became
friends with. I made many friends whom were gay whom I am friends with to this
day.
Gino's was a big part of my life until 1983 when I enlisted into the
service. It is a big conversation subject to anyone else I have found that was
there. I have found over the years whenever I run into other Gino's fans that
we are like one big family. The memories we shared at Ginos will be there for
the rest of our lives. That is one place you dont forget.
Michael Angelo has passed on of A.I.D.S in 1996, Gino was reported to be
residing in Ontario Ca but was not in good health, but that is not confirmed.
Michaels record collection went to three of his fellow d.j friends, two of whom
have also passed. The collection was then split to additional friends many of
whom have also passed. So his records are scattered all over Los Angeles and
San Francisco area. If even a small part of his collection is ever found it
would be a gold mine, record collectors would pay big money for it.
To end this I would like to thank Gino and the late Michael Angelo for all
the good memories they brought to us which will last a lifetime. There will
never be another Ginos in our lifetime. Ginos is missed terribly by anyone
whom attended. Thank you Gino.
I am open to any input, corrections or suggestions. If anything is not
correct please e-mail me at geoflashback@backtodisco.com. I have researched the
best of my ability but there is no records anywhere to be found about Ginos. I
have checked the L.A times, Extensive internet searches, ex employees, many
many former patrons. So any criticism would be appreciated.
George (flashback) Aguilar
Aug 23, 2004
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