Events | Paradise Garage Artist Spotlight: Joey Llanos and David DePino

Posted by Tay on December 17, 2015

This weekend, Southern California dance music fans will have the unique opportunity to experience a piece of dance music history firsthand, as the iconic Paradise Garage nightclub is making its triumphant return at the Hollywood Palladium. The legendary, New York City nightclub ran from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, and managed to have a tremendous impact on today’s nightclub and dance music culture before it closed its doors.

When Paradise Garage opened its doors in 1977, the club was inspired by David Mancuso’s parties at The Loft, which served no alcohol, food, or drink, and was closed to the public. These foundational ethos led to Paradise Garage pioneering major aspects of modern-day nightlife culture, in particular, a renewed emphasis on dancing, rather than socializing, and placing the DJ at the center of attention. During Paradise Garage’s decade-long run, resident DJ, Larry Levan, popularized the club by championing a new genre, “garage,” which was comprised of house, disco, and techno that you would hear at Paradise Garage. Levan held weekly parties on Saturday called Saturday Mass, and many modern day music luminaries, like Frankie Knuckles, Louie Vega, and Madonna, all point to Paradise Garage as a major influence in their lives.

Joey Llanos & David DePino Paradise Garage Mix by A Night In Paradise on Mixcloud

This weekend, attendees will have the opportunity to experience the magical vibes of the original nightclub, thanks to the headliners, Joey Llanos and David DePino, who were both around and heavily involved with the original nightclub. In fact, DePino was actually the person responsible for finding the space that the original nightclub occupied, which he revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone in 2014. Llanos, on the other hand, was an electrician by trade who was brought on at Paradise Garage as a bouncer, and learned the art of house and techno from paying attention to Levan, one of the best in the business.

Since the doors of Paradise Garage closed in 1987, Llanos and DePino have been traveling around the world spreading the good vibes and great music that defined Paradise Garage, and this weekend will be no different. There’s no doubt that with these two legends on the decks, the Palladium will be rocking wall to wall with some of the best house, disco, and techno from the last four decades.

You can still get limited tickets to Paradise Garage here.