I was always terrified of being a club DJ but I saw this as a chance to face my fear and I accepted, partly because we agreed to do it on a Monday. I figured since they were usually closed on Mondays, their expectations of a great turn out were pretty minimal. The owner could sense my anxiety so he suggested I invite a band that I am excited about to come play after my set. I wanted the night to have a party atmosphere, partly as a response to the programming offered at the nearby Hotel Cafe, which was predominantly acoustic. I wanted it to be as much fun as possible and dance-worthy. So I lined up two bands - Dawes and The Like. I also brought in Valida, a friend who was real club DJ, and she introduced me to a promoter. This was all so I could guarantee at least a relatively good turnout. As we got closer to the event, we decided to do a month, since we were going to all this trouble. Of course, we need a name. My promoter partner, Matt Goldman, came up with the best Monday club night name ever - School Night, which also happened to be a phrase that many of our friends were using as an excuse for why they couldn't make it to the show ("I can't make it, it's a school night. I gotta work tomorrow!"). Our first show was April 12, 2010. In our mailings we described it as a 'new Monday night Hollywood party'.
110 | Decorated Youth Magazine
That same week, I happened to run into Chrissie Hynde of the band The Pretenders outside of a restaurant on Sunset Blvd. She confided in me that she was in town for a week or two and was looking for a cool place to do an underplay somewhere in Hollywood to showcase her latest album. I suggested she headline our second show. She came down to Bardot the next day to check out the space and immediately agreed to do it. Brett Dennen had also jumped on the bill. So our second School Night ever had Chrissie Hynde and Brett Dennen. We had a line four blocks long, and turned away hundreds of people. So we just kept going. Within a few months, Paper Magazine awarded us the title of "America's Best Party", in their annual poll. Because the magazine was a New York publication, we started getting offers from New York venues, wanting us to bring the series to NY. We opted to partner with the Bowery Hotel there, which we did as a monthly for four years. Then we moved to the Brooklyn Bowl as a weekly last year. And this year we relaunched as a monthly at the Brooklyn venue Baby's All Right, our current home there.
