Gelareh Khoie shares the story of thirtyninehotel, a legendary nightclub, art gallery, and performance space powered by Klipschorns from David Mancuso’s Prince Street loft parties.

Love (Art & Music) saves the day… In the late ’90s, Gelareh Khoie, an Iranian painter who grew up amidst the Iranian revolution, moved to Honolulu in search of a new beginning. After immersing herself in the visual arts and party scenes, Khoie began throwing a series of art exhibitions that uniquely fused music and art, breaking barriers in the process and building community around the two seemingly disparate scenes. These groundbreaking exhibitions would eventually lead her to Harvey William Bassett aka DJ Harvey, who she would collaborate with to open her own space in Honolulu’s then-neglected Chinatown. Following in the lineage of David Mancuso’s legendary Prince Street loft parties, Khoie’s thirtyninehotel would become a haven for a certain kind of free spirit and energy that was missing in the city; a place where “people can just go somewhere, be themselves, be totally accepted no matter what they wore or what they liked, what they were there for.”

A community-oriented creative space, thirtyninehotel hosted performance art, poetry readings, installations, lectures, educational programming, and, of course, spiritually life-affirming dance parties. The space began with limited funding and humble beginnings (borrowed speakers, an old Yamaha amplifier, cinderblocks, and white paint), but later featured one of the best nightclub sound systems in the world. The story is maybe best told by Khoie herself: “During those first few years, a kind of miracle happened: a total stranger I had never met sent me four Klipschorns and two MLIIs — gear that had been in use in the Prince Street Loft… I remember Harvey and others in the world disco community were in awe of the event. It was perceived as my unique disco karma since everyone knew I cobbled that place together with broken limbs and lots of white paint.”

Over its ten year run from 2004 to 2014, thirtyninehotel hosted some of the greatest DJ’s / cosmic storytellers in the world: Daniele Baldelli, Francois K, Nicky Siano, Bonobo, James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Justin Vandervolgen, Kool Herc, Thomas Bullock (Tom of England), Eric Duncan, Garth, Christine Renee, and many others. The space would completely change Honolulu’s art & nightlife scene “fostering a broader outgrowth of more sophisticated creative and entrepreneurial expressions.” Listen to a conversation with Khoie for the Honolulu edition of Red Bull Music Presents:

After being closed for ten years, thirtyninehotel will be having a reunion party this weekend on July 20th in HNL. To celebrate the occasion, In Sheep’s Clothing’s Phil Cho spoke with Khoie over email to learn more about her legendary club space, the soundsystem, early exhibitions, DJ Harvey, memorable dancefloor moments, and more!

thirtyninehotel’s story seems to begin many years before the club / gallery actually opened with your Velvet: Art & Music exhibitions. Can you talk about those events and how they built the foundation for opening your own space?

I went to Hawaii after art school in San Francisco, so, at first, I mostly hung out with other artists and busied myself with exhibiting my paintings. After a few years of making connections in the art world, I met my friend (and erstwhile boyfriend), Mark Chittom, who was a promoter and a budding DJ. The cultural scene in Honolulu was extremely small and limited at the time, so Mark and I felt that the art scene and the party scene would both benefit by coming together. This is why we created our Velvet: Art & Music parties. I organized a collective of talented and innovative local artists and together we curated a series of visual art exhibitions at this Italian restaurant in downtown Honolulu while Mark dealt with the DJs, the sound system, and the promotional materials. Our artist’s collective, called Special Prescription (the name was created by drawing random words out of a hat), also staged interactive art events at these parties. At one, we handed out Special Prescription membership cards on-site using actual printed cards, a mini-polaroid camera, and a laminating machine. At another party, we had a “Make Your Own Monster Mini Movie” project — people could choose from a number of scripts we had written about monsters, get decked out in costumes, and work with a live director who recorded their performance on a camcorder. After the opening reception and interactive art, the lights would go down and the dance party began. I think we did about 12 of these events in just over a year. It was at one of these parties that I met Harvey.

DJ Harvey would become an integral part of thirtyninehotel as a DJ and early co-founder. What were those early days like and what conversations did you have about music, art, Hawaii, clubs, etc.?

Harvey and I first bonded over surfing. We got along really well and had a ton of stuff to talk about. I taught him how to surf and little by little he started mentoring me about underground disco. Things really took off when he came to stay in Hawaii for a two-month visit and Paul Takahashi from Sarcastic Disco held a party in LA with Harvey because he lived in England at that time. By this time, Harvey had uncovered this amazing set of vintage custom-made JBL studio monitors at my then-boss’s house where we were house-sitting that winter, and he’d visited my painting studio in Chinatown a few times, as well. I asked if my tiny little studio loft space was too small for a club and he said no, and that many of the best clubs in the world were super small. So as the fantasy of a little club in my painting studio started to coalesce during our talks, one day he said it would be amazing if I had a Bozak mixer. I had no idea what that was but suddenly out of the clear blue sky, this young DJ we hung out with back then said his friend in LA had one he’d sell for $350. So I went to LA to see Harvey play and we told this guy to bring the mixer there.

“I knew that disco was my destiny. I completely lost interest in painting, I threw all my paint stuff out and turned my studio into an epic little club… with those JBL studio monitors, the Bozak, and this little Yamaha amp.”

Gelareh Khoie

I came back with a Bozak mixer and Harvey agreed to play on the opening night. It was called Hawaii’s Quiet Storm and ran for eight months. It was free to get in, and people could bring their own beer and coolers. There was a tip jar and people would sometimes leave some cash for me. All of this came about during the two or three weeks that Harvey stayed with me at my boss’s house and we had long conversations about music and he told me about David, Nicky, Larry. Even though I knew next to nothing, I immediately resonated with David. I’m a purist and I must have intuitively sensed that he was, too. Quiet Storm and thirtyninehotel were both built upon the spiritual ethos of the Loft and I consider myself to be working in that lineage. I always joke that when it comes to the practice of underground disco, I entered the work at a very high level, since the first time I ever heard about it was from Harvey. When I saw Harvey play in LA and picked up the Bozak, I was like a person transformed. I became an instant disco convert and I haven’t stopped.

Disco, David Mancuso, and DJ culture are a huge part of this story along with legendary spaces like London’s Moist and Sapporo’s Precious Hall. How did all of these places, people, and cultures inspire you to open thirtyninehotel in Hawaii?

For me, it began with the experience of the hard-core underground disco party done by serious heads. This was the Headroom party in LA where I got the Bozak, I think it was January 2001. It was organized by Paul Takahashi who is a perfectionist. This party blew my mind. Harvey had played at these dinky little parties we did at restaurants multiple times all with the same two record boxes but the things he did and the music he played were nothing like what he did in Honolulu. I couldn’t understand it, it was like wizardry. I still remember certain songs, like the weird slow edit of “Woman of the World,” and he played Barabra Streisand, I was blown away, I didn’t know that kind of thing was allowed or possible.

I think this party is when I knew that disco was my destiny. I completely lost interest in painting, I threw all my paint stuff out and turned my studio into an epic little club that was so cool, it sounded amazing in there with those JBL studio monitors, the Bozak, and this little Yamaha amp we bought at the guitar shop on Kapahalu Street for $250. The room was all wood and brick and was small with a low ceiling so acoustically it was amazing. As time went on, I saw that I was part of a broad lineage of global connoisseurs and artists who understood the power of beauty and sound to transform people. I recall watching with my own eyes in real-time as people would shed their inhibitions and fears and blossom into joyful and open beings on the dancefloor. After Quiet Storm closed in late 2001, trying to save the club, I looked around and found the thirtyninehotel space, but I had no money to rent it and went into mourning for about three years. I did odd jobs here and there but was just floundering until one day my mom said she could borrow 10K from her 401K if I thought that was enough to get started with my dream of having a space of my own. 

thirtyninehotel started with humble beginnings with cinderblocks and used sound equipment. Later, you envisioned the sound to be a hybrid between Paradise Garage and the Loft. Can you talk about the components of the sound system and how it all came together?

It was around the three-year mark when the landlady said unless I started spending some money renovating in there she would kick us out. So we started doing some renovations but with very small funds, doing most of the work ourselves. I had developed a phone friendship with a long-time Loft head who would call now and then to check on us. He called during renovations and I complained about how I had no money for better sound equipment so he offered to send me some sound gear he said he had. Then he told me it was 4 Klipschorns which had been in the Prince Street Loft. He’d bought them from David when David was in need of a bit of cash. So my friend offered to send them to me to use at the club if I would pay for the shipping. My mom did our accounting and I asked her if we could pay and she said absolutely not, we were totally broke. So I went back to my friend and with profound sadness said I couldn’t afford it. But this amazing person whom, you must understand, I had never met face to face, said he would ship them anyway and I could pay him later. So two weeks later the delivery guys dropped off four beautiful Klipshorns and two large and very heavy boxes. Harvey was there when they arrived and he almost had a heart attack when we opened the boxes because they contained two MLIIs. So these items went into the system, which included a few other very mediocre pieces at the time. Fast forward a year and suddenly my father is offering me a decent flow of resources to advance my business.

“I told Harvey that I wanted to do a hybrid sound system between the Loft and the Paradise Garage. My friend with the Klipshorns kindly bought and sent us four more so we made four towers of two K-horns in each corner.”

GELAREH KHOIE

At this time, I told Harvey that I wanted to do a hybrid sound system between the Loft and the Paradise Garage. My friend with the Klipshorns kindly bought and sent us four more so we made four towers of two K-horns in each corner, and I contacted Gary Stewart and convinced him to sell us two Berthas and two sets of tweeter arrays plus amps and bass-related EQs. I hired Justin Greenslade from Isonoe to come to Honolulu for two weeks and build out our stuff. We bought three new decks which Justin fixed up for us with outside power sources and switched out the tonearms, and he also jazzed up the Urei with an external power source. We had a lot of different types of music events at thirtyninehotel so we also had a box on top of the nice decks so a battle-style DJ system was put up there and we only got the real stuff out when our guests were in town.

Can you take us through a night at thirtyninehotel? It seems like it was a completely unique experience to your typical art gallery, performance space, or club, and maybe something that could’ve only happened then and there in Hawaii.

Mark Chittom and I often complained that if thirtyninehotel was in NY it would be packed every night but even though it was fairly popular, we still struggled to get people in to see some of the amazing DJs we brought out. We had to work really hard and even when they showed up, everyone loved to hang out on the rooftop patio. But we also had some very big and crowded nights when the place was packed. We opened at 5 PM and people would come in for happy hour. Our rooftop patio bar was the cat’s meow and our cocktails set the standard for taste and beauty so people loved it there and they loved happy hour. So you’d have to walk through a cute narrow doorway and climb a steep set of red stairs and come in to see a pretty sophisticated warehouse-style interior with all-white furniture, candles, and flowers. Beautiful music would be playing (and also played outside) and you and your friends would take a table or hang out inside on the white couches.

“Within three years, the area was abuzz with more art galleries, restaurants, and wine shops… It was hailed as a renaissance in Chinatown and thirtyninehotel was referred to as its crown jewel.”

GELAREH KHOIE

There would be pretty great art hanging on the walls, or else there would be a wall-to-wall mural installation created by visiting artists we had brought in from the mainland. After a while, it would start to get busier and busier and the voices would get louder. If it was an art opening, sometimes there would be a dance or other creative live performance. At 9 pm, the lights would dim way down, and the first DJ would go on. If there was a guest they would go on around 11 or so. If it was one of our signature parties, like Space Truckin’, we’d have a ton of balloons and decorations up and all the windows blacked out. If the windows were blacked out that’s how people knew we were going all night. At 2 am we’d sort of do the closing ritual and the non-believers would all leave. About fifty or so people would stay behind and after about a 40-minute break, we’d turn the lights back down and take off again. One of the most amazing nights when this happened was when Thomas was playing. He just turned the volume up and instantly it was like the party never stopped. 

You’ve had some legendary DJ’s play at thirtyninehotel including DJ Harvey, Francois K, Daniele Baldelli, Nicky Siano, Thomas Bullock (Tom of England), and others. Can you share some memorable sets and moments? 

We were barely two when we had Francois come out to play. My friend Chris Lam and I picked him up from the airport and then took him to the space for a sound check. On the way there, he was saying how most promoters were wrong about their sound system choices and were fronting. But then he climbed up the stairs and saw our sound system and all the blood drained out of his face. We had even borrowed some extra gear from other people and even with that it was a gruesome sight. At one point, he was trying to insert the Yamaha SPX 9000 effect unit into the piece of plywood we had as the DJ booth surface and it was like a quarter of an inch too big so he rummaged through his bag and retrieved a Swiss Army knife and started sawing the wood. I was on one side of the booth, and Mark Chittom was on the other and we just looked at each other, it was so funny and shameful at the same time. But Francois played a beautiful six-hour set. 

I emailed Nicky Siano and told him we thought it was so cool that he got fired from Studio 54 for playing an 18-minute Kraftwerk song. Asked if he would please come and play for our one-year anniversary party. I took seven people to the airport with me with leis for him. He came to the space and taught us how to do the balloons! It was amazing. He ROCKED thirtyninehotel that night, people didn’t know what to do with themselves from all the joy and excitement. The moment he played “As” by Stevie Wonder is etched in all our memories forever. At one point the sound system turned off and we were all bewildered, what happened? Two guys I knew had gotten into a fight right next to where the orange extension cord was plugged into the wall. But we plugged it in and Nicky spun magic.

I emailed Daniele [Baldelli]’s agent and regaled her with the beautiful house he could stay in, all the Hawaiian adventures we would take him on, the best food we’d give him, whatever he wanted if only he would come out to play for us. The agent was like, I want to come there! And I said, please come, and she did, with her boyfriend. She said Daniele does not fly on airplanes but that she’ll give him the message. Next thing I know, the answer comes back that yes, Daniele wants to come and I can skip the DJ fee and just get a ticket for his wife, too. The pair of them stayed at my house for a week. We discovered that we were the first ones to ever bring Daniele to the United States. He is simply beyond. You can’t even compare him with anyone. He also played at a beach party for us and played this amazing song by Steve Winwood called “Different Light.” Beautiful. 

Garth has been a mainstay at thirtyninehotel. One of the first to ever play for us and not even blink at the crappy sound system, and he closed thirtyninehotel down on New Year’s Eve 2014 with a 14-hour set. So excited to have him come out for our reunion party.

We always like to include as much music as we can in these features, so I'd love to hear some more tracks bring you back to this time!

thirtyninehotel was open for nearly a decade from July 1, 2004, until January 31, 2014. How did the city along with the art & music scene change in Hawaii during this time? Any other pivotal moments we might have missed?

The influence thirtyninehotel had on Honolulu was enormous. When people I knew found out I was opening a business on Hotel Street, they tried to dissuade me. They said, “Gelareh, this isn’t the mainland, people will never come to Hotel Street!” And it’s because Hotel Street was a pigsty. It was usually filthy and inhabited by a diverse array of drug addicts, prostitutes, and homeless people. The only kinds of businesses there were dedicated to creepy sex shows and all the bars were super seedy. After 5 pm when nearby businesses and the downtown business district were closed, Hotel Street became a hotbed of illicit activity.

Less than a year after we opened, we were surrounded. On our left, a club opened called Next Door (meaning, next door to 39), and on our right the local bar business mogul opened a bar called Bar 35 (no subtlety). Across the street, someone opened a swanky interior decor shop. Within three years, the area was abuzz with more art galleries, restaurants, and wine shops, and little by little, the creepy sex shops and seedy bars closed, and upscale places opened in their place. It was hailed as a renaissance in Chinatown and thirtyninehotel was referred to as its crown jewel.

The Chinatown revitalization was so huge and so successful that it kick-started a massive revitalization and economic growth initiative in a nearby area called Kaka’ako where there were all these empty warehouse spaces. Now, that area, too, is vastly upgraded with new apartments, shops, bars, and restaurants, all in the vein of swanky mainland fare. So the scene has greatly expanded which is nice. I’m back in Honolulu right now for a 20-year reunion party and even though we’ve been closed for ten years, people are flying in from all over to be at the party, and locally, everyone is very excited.

Visit the website: https://www.thirtyninehotel.com/