Holy Turntables, Batman!
Right idea. Wrong location. That’s what Daniel Bessmert and Dan Gilmore had last year with Sessions, an after-hours trance club.
Good location, but no niche. That was the problem at Gotham Hall, which was well-established as a venue for private parties but had no scene to call its own.
Both problems seem to be solved with the addition of Sessions to Gotham on Fridays and Saturdays. These DJ-driven evenings transport patrons from the carnival-like atmosphere of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade to a makeshift European club scene.
Gotham’s huge interior--six rooms on two stories--is a kaleidoscope of visual wonders. The semi-hidden front room has massive flowing curtains that surround a gold, nude statue candelabrum. Five large black-and-orange-striped couches shaped like seashells line the first of the four bars in the club. Four color televisions are fed a constant stream of Japanese anime.
Sessions sets up shop in the back room downstairs. Swathed completely in scarlet, with cranberry glass lanterns hanging from the ceiling, even the devil would feel at home here. On a recent night, DJ Ben had donned a red T-shirt as well.
Unlike most electronic clubs, which brag about earning frequent-flier miles for European DJs, Sessions takes pride in featuring the best local turntablists. Liza Richardson from KCRW-FM’s “The Drop,” Brian Vasquez, a producer at KROQ-FM, and Mark Stylz are among those who rotate in the booth from week to week.
Because trance and house have more to do with who’s spinning than who’s being spun, the DJs are critical to any club’s success. “What really puts a smile on our face is when people come up and say, ‘Wow, who is that on the turntable?’ instead of them just expecting everything to be great because a well-known DJ is listed on the flier,” said Bessmert. However, plans are in the works to fly in a few famous DJs just to keep the audience guessing.
Next door, the so-called VIP room has a triangular bar with matching bar stools. Iron candelabra hang over several purple-felt pool tables, and black lights set white clothes aglow.
Upstairs in the dark-green hip-hop room, which is not run by Bessmert and Gilmore, the bass of “Ms. Jackson” by Outkast is booming. The college kids eagerly bombard the wooden floors when DJ Parrish mixes it up with some Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre. Others peer over the balcony at the lavender room below filled with more pool tables, a mirror-walled bar and a massive TV screen showing the best of Jerry Springer’s “Transsexual Tales.”
Like the Promenade outside, Gotham is packed with collegians and tourists, most of whom drink and bop their heads to the beat while on the prowl for some serious social interaction. Sometimes the accents are so thick that eavesdropping becomes impossible. The college kids range from jeans-and-T-shirt-clad guys to the high-heeled, slinky-dressed coeds who patiently take instructions on the art of pool from overprotective boyfriends.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all wandering Gotham’s halls, a hired-gun cowgirl with pigtails struts her stuff on a mini-stage. Her diamond-studded black-leather bikini sparkles under the lights of the trance room. The promoters also have started fashion shows, where local beauties can model styles from local boutiques and European club wear.
Bessmert and Gilmore’s choice to vary the entertainment throughout Gotham works well with the crowd. Trance, they say, borrows from all types of music--rock, hip-hop, jazz--and is the perfect soundtrack for a multiracial, multinational club.
If Batman spent his time in Gotham, who wouldn’t?
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* Gotham Hall, 1431 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica. Sessions, Friday and Saturday, 10 p.m.-2 a.m. 21 and older. $5-$15. (310) 394-8865.