If you live in a big city, you know that some days are perfect for that unplanned detour. There is always somewhere to go, something to see and someone to talk to, even if it means going nowhere, rediscovering Times Square (again and again for yours truly...it's really an obsession from childhood) or chatting with strangers. Monday was a miserably cold, wet and windy day in NYC...that is until the sun made his way (yes "he," EL sol, LE soleil) through a sea of grey fluffy critters. Suddenly, nothing but blue skies and Spring, all in a matter of 5 minutes.
I was walking from a client meeting in midtown to my car, already dreading the thought of the $50 dollar parking garage fee for a mere 2 hours. But as the smell of musty cement turned to that earthy and unexplainable post-rain, sun-is-out, time-to-stop-and-smell-the-pretzels scent, I decided to walk, with no particular direction, up and down streets and avenues. That's when it happened: déjà vu.
My only plan was to look for a place to have coffee and something sweet (amazing how feelings of extreme happiness - and deep sadness - drive us to carbs.) I had no idea what street I was on, but I felt there was something very familiar about my surroundings. I looked around: parking lots on the left; dark, cramped buildings, many with scaffolding, on the right. I continued to walk West toward the (Hudson) river. Very bright lights caught my attention as I neared the end of the block. Humm...the Roundabout Theather. BIG letters announcing plays, loud posters with very large fonts literally covering every inch of available wall space, very bright theater-style bulbs overhead...and then I saw it. My mouth popped open in disbelief. I looked closely at the glass doors... OMG! The etching on all doors...54...54! It took all of five seconds for that very familiar logo to register. Studio 54!
So there I was, standing on the sidewalk of a street I casually decided to take that afternoon, feeling 15 years old again, and in front of what used to be the Studio 54 disco. For those of you who missed all the hoopla - or at least the movie Studio 54, which was quite realistic - Studio 54 was a "disco" and the mecca of clubgoers during the later 70s. Yes, I was underage but clubbing nonetheless (with friends and cousins, THAT was ok because they were older and would take care of me...right.) In any case, youth was nothing a little makeup and Farrah Fawcett-styled hair couldn't hide.
Ahh, but Studio! I remember standing with what seemed like thousands of people clamoring to get into the disco and hanging on for dear life to friends and family (much older than I was) who claimed to have connections with the doormeisters to get us into the club. These door guys were Gods and they alone selected the most outrageously dressed (or best tippers) from the crowd to join the party inside. So there we were...waiting and waiting...week after week, month after month...until we were selected to enter the sanctuary one night. Yes, the place was wild but I only remember the music, the creative energy (many in the crowd were in costume and there were outrageous shows) and that I felt very much part of an era that has been much maligned but was truly, truly wonderful.
In retrospect, it was the wait in the sea of people outside the club that I cherish most. The loud thumping of the base that played right through the doors; the people, laughing and dancing (among other things); the sheer joy of being allowed to congregate, dance and sing on the streets of New York with friends and total strangers without being hassled by adults or cops. WHAT a feeling!
So if you are a Studio 54 fan (or wannabe) you, too, can be transported to that time in your life when everything was possible, when you worked all week and lived for the weekend and the music. Just stop by 254 West 54th street in Manhattan. Burn, baby, burn!
Bobby Sanabria the son of Puerto Rican parents, was born and raised in the "Fort Apache" section of New York City's South Bronx.
Drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, recording artist, producer, filmmaker, conductor, educator, multi-cultural warrior and multiple Grammy nominee – Sanabria has performed with a veritable Who's Who in the world of jazz and Latin music, as well as with his own critically acclaimed ensembles.
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