March 1, 2005

I was too young to have experienced the Club Kid phenomenon, but I always admired it while living in Baltimore and attending high school. In my eyes they were the new Warhol Superstars. Years later Tommy sent me a copy of Disco Bloodbath by James St. James. The book is a fascinating glimpse into the world of the Club Kids. More importantly though it is an exploration into a subculture where drugs fueled everything and nothing was more important than a look. It is also a tale of excess gone horribly wrong. Party Monster, the movie based on the book, was released a few years back by the guys over at World of Wonder. Seth Green starring as James, obviously, steals every scene. James now writes the hilarious St. James Version over at World of Wonder and is awaiting the launch of his own site. James St. James answers my five questions:

What is your greatest source of inspiration?
Everything. Everywhere. Right now? (deep breath) Anything by Visconti, the fashions on HERE'S LUCY, portraits by John Curin and Elizabeth Peyton, The Lunch Poems of Frank O'Hara, The Cecil Beaton Diaries of the 1960s and 70s, Cholly Knickerbocker's society columns from the 1930s, 19th century photos of the Countess di Castiglione, anything by Miss Manners, ALWAYS BROOKE ASTOR, always the Duchess of Windsor... I could go on. I won't.

What is the greatest album ever recorded?
Um... Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957 Television Cast Recording)?

What is the greatest book ever written?
Well, that's impossible. I suppose if you had a gun to my head, I would have to say GREAT EXPECTATIONS.

What is your most prized possession?
I have this seven-foot paper mache rabbit that I bought at an auction when Mama Leone's restaurant went out of business. He was the March Hare, I think. I've had him for about twenty years now, and have dragged him around the country with me everywhere I move. He's really mean-looking, but I love him like nothing else.

What is the key to happiness?
Living up to your potential? Being all that you can be? My friend Stephen Saban says the meaning of life is to be found in the Hokey Pokey: "You put your whole self in, you take your whole self out, you put your whole self in, and you shake it all about." That's about as good as anything I can come up with. Let's go with that.