Jesse's Blog: The Anti-Club @ Mulberry St.

Every Friday night I host something called "The Anti-Club" at Mulberry St. Ristorante in downtown Fullerton, a restaurant/bar I lived directly above for about seven years. Living above "the gauntlet" of several "DTF" bars gave me a unique perspective on the bar scene. Generally, I hated it...the vomiting, the bros, the fights, the police. It was (and sometimes still is) quite a clusterfuck.

So, taking my inspiration from the guy who said "Be the change you want to see in the world," I decided to try something different, to give people a different kind of DTF bar experience. Instead of hosting some cheesy cover band or fist-pumping dubsteb or Top 40 DJ, I asked Dennis (my landlord and owner of Muberry St.) if I could start spinning records at Mulberry St. on Friday nights. I said he could pay me or not pay me, I just wanted to try a fun experiment. Dennis said okay.

So, every Friday night for the past year or so, I have lugged a few crates of my record collection, a turntable my friend Tony gave me, and a PA I got at Guitar Center for $330 into Mulberry St. Ristorante and played the kind of music I actually listen to: 60s rock like the Kinks, old school 70s and 80s punk, and whatever random artists I picked up online or at local record stores like Burger Records. I was inspired by fellow DJ friends like Casey Melton and Troy Bootow from The Continental Room, and my original mentor, DJ Nickie Fixx. I stole the name "The Anti-Club" from Henry Rollins from Black Flag because I felt it conveyed my feelings pretty accurately. I wanted a cool place with good music, minus the clubby bullshit.

I'm still doing it, and now I have a co-DJ named Phil (aka DJ Moisture Vaporators...a Star Wars reference, nerds!) who helps me out. Some Fridays are pretty slow, but other nights the place will be packed. On the night of the monthly Downtown Fulleton Art Walk, The Anti-Club is usually pretty happening. Here are some photos I took on February 1, right after the last art walk.