The Serious Business of Partying

Can America’s party people handle this? The nightclub industry is trying to get serious.

Well, maybe just a little. The first ever nightclub convention gets underway Sunday in New York City with veteran clubland professionals at the helm. The hippest of the hip are leading industry panels, the coolest of the cool are hosting unforgettable bashes and party professionals from San Francisco to Miami are attending.

ClubNation, as the nightclub summit of 5,000 nightclub owners, promoters and performers is called, promises to be a “four-day-and-night bender” of discussions, exhibitions, talent showcases and competitions and--what else?--parties, says publicist Ronald Alan of Spin Control in New York. But, looking beyond the bender, organizers are hoping ClubNation becomes an annual forum for the nation’s nightclub community as well as a strong signal to politicians that the nightlife industry should be treated as big business.

“Clubs in America generate enormous tax revenues, and a big part of ClubNation is a political wake-up call for people in this industry to be counted. This aspect of the convention is going to be very serious, but considering the audience, it’s unconventional,” says Alan, referring to the 3 p.m. start time for the panels, which will deal with everything from the economics of running a club to how to handle club-goers at the door. “People will need to recover in the mornings,” he says. “The parties will go on all night.”

There will be no time for recuperating for club maven Chi Chi Valenti, a 20-year veteran of Manhattan clubbing and frequent mistress of ceremonies around town. Valenti is moderating all eight daytime panels, which feature, among other topics, club security and talent searching. She also is producing the Bartender’s Ball--the convention’s eccentric signature party--which will re-create downtown New York’s decadent dives of more than a century ago and feature an all-star Patricia Field fashion show and a special spinning performance by internationally known DJ Louis Osbourne, son of rock star Ozzy Osbourne.

The 27-year-old Osbourne, a product of his father’s first marriage, began his career in Birmingham, England, eight years ago. For the last three years, he has been touring the world with his hypnotic house, techno and tribal music, hitting 24 American cities in the process. Even though he is a part of MTV’s most famous family and his turntables have spun in clubs on all continents, Osbourne expects Monday night’s gig to mark his official arrival in the country he wants to conquer.

“We’re going to have a good party,” says Osbourne, who temporarily lives in Los Angeles and could easily compete with his famous dad for the number of obscene words uttered per sentence. “Even though I’ve been doing this for years, it’s a very good showcase for me. This ClubNation thing, it’s pretty huge.”

ClubNation is the creation of Martin Codd, a New York City impresario and director of special events at Webster Hall, the convention’s venue in Greenwich Village and scene of the city’s outrageous “Artists and Models” balls 100 years ago. Parties and panels aside, the convention will also feature nearly 100 vendors demonstrating goods and services that nightclubs use, Codd said.

“The bar industry is so word-of-mouth,” said Bryan Boettger, marketing manager of Three Deep, a San Francisco company that sells a digital bar beverage inventory system.

“It’s an incredibly tough market. Not only do they not have office hours, but in many instances, club owners don’t even have offices. With the credibility that the people in charge of this have, this is the perfect opportunity for us to come show off our product.”

Noting that 600 million Americans go to 10,000 clubs every year, Codd hopes his “unconvention” demonstrates how vital the industry is for the overall economic health of the nation.

“We want to showcase what nightlife is all about, in its full 360 degrees,” Codd said. “There’s such a wonderful variety of nightlife in this country, whether it’s a beach bar in Miami or a rock ‘n’ roll club in Los Angeles or an outdoor venue in Dallas.”

In addition, the timing of ClubNation is important, according to panel moderator Valenti, because New York City, especially, is going through an anti-nightclub period that began with former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani’s administration.

“I can think of no time when nightclubs have been less well looked upon,” she says. “ClubNation is going to show ... that there’s a lot of tradition in terms of art, fashion and performers that comes out of clubs. It’s time for people to move away from thinking that nightclubs are just big Ecstasy supermarkets.”

Codd said that someone like Valenti, who has held every nightclub role, from door person to promoter to owner, was needed to moderate the panel discussions, especially the ones made up of noted nightclub owners.

“I expect the panels to be almost as fun as the parties,” Valenti said. “Can you imagine a panel with the original Studio 54 doorman to the door lady of a predominantly lesbian club to the people who do the doors at the trendy places? We’re going to get to the bottom of how a door person mixes bodies to create ambience and the perfect party.”

Another way nightclubs create mood these days is by hiring performers to dance in the background or in the forefront, depending on the scene the club owner envisions.

On opening night, four go-go dance teams from clubs in Miami, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and San Francisco will vie for the Club- Nation championship title.

ClubNation will culminate with a mega-party that includes the Golden Turntable DJ Awards, which Alan calls “the Academy Awards of Dance Music.”

“This convention is not for the fainthearted,” Codd added.