Back Door Bamby 10th Anniversary

June 30, 2006 12:41 PM
by

Heralded as one of the naughtiest parties in town, Back Door Bamby has been the diamond darling of South Beach since the town first laid eyes on her 10 years ago. The fictional character Bamby is the foundation of the legendary event which is produced and promoted by Mykel Stevens and Carmel Ophir. Every Monday night, the curious and the brave can get a healthy dose of some electro-fied, funkified, sexy, house music with a rock and roll attitude at Snatch Nightclub. Provocative and unorthodox, this steamy siren earned her notorious reputation by remaining true to the ethic that anything and everything goes. Capturing this essence in his brushwork; the artist, Attila Lakatoush created the pictoral icon of Bamby - whose feline grace pays homage to the pinup fantasy of days gone by, while the fearless glimmer in her eye is an undoubtedly modern challenge to the viewer.

Back Door Bamby was born in the spring of 1996. The party was intended to be a playground for the locals, whose individual eccentricities lent so much color and flavor to Miami's incredible underground club scene. Everyone that worked the scene became like a family- and Back Door welcomed them with open arms: locals, retailers, salons, restaurants... gay, straight, black, white... rockers, rastas, models, suits', freaks, geeks, chic, and the meek, and of course the Kings and Queens working that trashy drag!

Starting at Club Lua, with the undisputed king of doormen, Gilbert Stafford working the ropes, Bamby immediately became the home for industry types and local scenesters alike. Soon, they hit capacity of the small Lua spot, and moved on to the legendary Liquid, where the party gained even more notoriety, not only in Miami, but all over the world as well.

Continuously reinventing itself, Bamby moved herself and her motley crew of locals, models, industry-types, and celebrities to other venues on Miami Beach, including the groundbreaking Groove Jet, the intimate Blue, the plush KGB club on the 600 block, before finally settling in at the trendsetting crobar nightclub for an impressive six year run.

While at crobar, Bamby continued her tradition of attracting top DJ talent such as Erick Morillo, Josh Wink, David Morales, Sasha, John Digweed, Frankie Knuckles, and Dave Ralph. In addition, celebrities like Madonna, Björk, Vin Diesel, Carmen Electra, Gwen Stefani, and Christina Aguilera made (and still do make) frequent appearances. And what top club night would be complete without a cachet of clubland celebrities? Amanda Lepore, Lady Bunny, Joey Arias, Kenny Kenny, and other assorted clubkids from New York and all over the world consider the party their Miami "home".

Even though crobar has currently closed for renovations, Bamby decided not to take the summer off. In an odd twist of fate, Bamby now conducts her weekly sessions at Snatch, former home of Liquid, where she once resided in the late 1990s.

Don't expect ten years of parties to keep her down though. Bamby has big plans for the future, including yet another national tour, a sister party in New York City, and expansion into the world of mass media with a movie, an animated feature, and even a comic strip.

It's been a full decade of madness for Bamby, so come on by Snatch this Monday, July 3rd, to celebrate that decade, and launch Bamby off on another decade of success. The Bamby crew has spared no expense, and have recruited DJ talent like "Little Louie" Vega, Bamby residents Gregg Foreman and Shannon, local producer Juan Mejia, local hip-hop maven Tom Laroc, and live performances by Mini-Kiss, and their counterparts Lil' Motley Crüe, who are making their live debut. And of course, expect a visual extravaganza from the Circ X dancers, Adora, the Sex Kittens, and plenty of others.

Get your presale tickets here
before they sell out.