![backstreet gay bar detroit backstreet gay bar detroit](https://michiganlgbtqremember.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/tommy-kyewski-pic.jpg)
Unfortunately it was closed down in the late 90s. “You had house music in its proper element: a black gay after-hours club. “Ken Collier was absolutely killer at that club,” says Chuck. Then there was Todd’s, and the Nectarine Ballroom in Ann Arbor that played more alternative stuff.” The early 90s was a high point for gay nightlife in Detroit, all thanks to Heaven. “In the 80s you had places like Menjo’s and Backstreet that played Hi-NRG and top 40 remixes. “If you were into the leather scene that meant going to the Eagle and having to hear total crap on a bad sound system,” recalls Chuck Hampton, a frequent Macho City guest who is revered for his Gay Marvine disco edits. It brought three devoted DJs together during a period that many describe as a vacuum for good music in the Detroit gay underground.
![backstreet gay bar detroit backstreet gay bar detroit](https://media2.houstonpress.com/hou/imager/u/golden-m/6793902/7548308.0.jpg)
He particularly cites Carlos Souffront’s Monday night, EXAT, as well as Adriel Thornton’s Family parties as breeding grounds for many lifelong friendships.Īfter five years in Los Angeles, Mike moved back to Detroit in 2004 and started the Disco/Secret parties at the Detroit Eagle, which happened on Sunday afternoon with Scott and Mike Kerns as fellow residents. “Everyone met there and started bands,” Mike says of Zoot’s. Having celebrated its eighth anniversary featuring FIT Siegel, the recurring Detroit party has gone through a number of venue changes while meshing distinct tastes from some of the city’s best modern selectors.Īt the center of the party’s history is Mike Trombley, who came up in the 90s at the Packard Plant and Zoot’s, where he met long-time Macho City resident Scott Zacharias around 1995. America’s underground gay dance scene has been coming up in a big way over the last several years, and Macho City is an integral part of its success. “At this point now it’s become an institution,” says resident Jeffrey Sfire.