Inclusive Dance Is This Club’s Main Trade

BoyTrade / GirlTrade’s opening--July 4th weekend, 1997--was timed to capitalize on an annual beach-party event that attracts thousands from across the nation. The club fairly spilled over with beautiful people who knew where to find the party. The scene was mirrored a mere mile southeast at Jewel’s Catch One, where most of the patrons hadn’t heard of Trade. Yet.

Nearly two years later, the Friday-night club at the El Rey has emerged as the dance-tination of choice for much of L.A.’s urban gay community while managing to attract an eclectic blend of celebrities, regular folks, the ghetto-fabulous and out-of-towners who want to dance. And sightsee.

A prime viewing spot in this converted theater is the balcony. Furnished with 14 cushy chairs and sofas, it is the perfect spot to survey the crowd or lounge with a potent--if pricey--cocktail (served in a plastic cup). The deejay booth, home to DJ Trix and friends, is tucked into a balcony corner.

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Three crystal chandeliers sparkle above the party people who pack the recessed dance floor by midnight. Those seeking the spotlight, or maybe more elbow room, head toward the stage, when it’s not occupied by performers (CeCe Peniston, Jody Watley and Byron Stingily, among others) who sometimes rock the Trade crowd. Those who don’t want to be in the center of the mix can keep an eye on the happenings from the shadows along the dimly lighted walls of the main room.

“You might have a straight, Turkish guy over here, and a sanitation engineer over here, or a gay Asian girl from Alabama over there, and a record producer over there,” said Trade’s promoter Lonnie Simpson. “Our link is that we wanna have fun and this club is about fun.”

Simpson, a Detroit native, co-promoted several annual BoyTrade parties around the country before finding a weekly home at the El Rey in 1997. Word of the club’s laid-back, fun atmosphere quickly spread, bringing more women--straight and gay--to the club. Some complained that the name implied exclusivity, so a few months ago, Simpson changed it to the current mouthful of a moniker.

Standing beneath the El Rey’s massive marquee on a recent night, Simpson gazed upon a quartet of runway-ready young ladies emerging from a shiny SUV at the valet stand. “I can’t believe the people who come to this club,” he enthused.

Trade’s vibe is earthy and social, with a spirit of inclusiveness that is most apparent in the smoking area outside the club, where accents from a number of countries might be heard.

Inside, a buffed troop of male and female exotic dancers are a living Benetton ad. Four at a time, they show off their muscles and curves in various stages of undress, enticing potential tip-tuckers.

Musically, the club is evolving. Since the El Rey has only one dance floor, DJ Trix’s house-music sets alternate with DJ DeVoux’s hip-hop/R&B; sets so that everyone can get their groove on equally. To appeal to aging hip-hop and house heads, an old-school music set was recently added, to mixed reviews.

As it stands, while hip-hop (or house, or old school) plays, some patrons stand around, noses upturned, feet tapping, waiting for the next set.

Hopefully, the DJs will embrace Trade’s inclusiveness theme and trade in that frustrating format for one that integrates the various genres into one cohesive set.

While a greater sense of adventure--how about a little drum and bass? More down-tempo stuff?--would be a treat, Trix and DeVoux do a nice job of balancing the two most popular genres.

The crowd seems most responsive during the hip-hop/R&B; sets, hoisting cocktails while dancing and chanting the words to popular tracks by Li’l Kim, R. Kelly and Foxy Brown, whose aptly titled “Hot Spot” was the floor filler on a recent night. The whole place heats up with an energy that recalls the funky basement parties that were so popular when hip-hop music first came to prominence.

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Which is not to say that those who prefer house music don’t represent. Mini-shows crop up throughout the room, onlookers cheering on their favorite dancers. In fact, the party grows especially strong toward the end of the night, when the music is punctuated by Lady Copper and Elroy, who hype the crowd with chants: “Live your life, children!” “Meet somebody new!”

BoyTrade / GirlTrade usually draws some 700 patrons, many of whom grew weary of the faded glamour, surly staff and tired sameness of Friday nights at Jewel’s Catch One, the venerable Pico Boulevard dance spot that is one of the nation’s oldest surviving dance clubs.

Has the Catch, which has weathered fires, riots, and--once Madonna climbed those well-worn stairs to get her groove on--trendiness, finally been caught?

BE THERE

BoyTrade / GirlTrade at the El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Fridays from 10 p.m to 3 a.m. Cover: $5 before 11 p.m., $8 after. (323) 936-4790.