Persona: Alan T

May 22, 2008 10:33 PM
by chipi [email]

Working the door is a forgotten art amongst the youngin's of the social Miami scene. This new crop of baby socialites have hardly more to do than text message a promoter inside their club of choice to come outside and grab them. If it sounds cheap and dirty, that's because it is.

This week CoolJunkie takes a moment to celebrate the real men who stand gaurd at the VIP sections and behind the velvet ropes of your favorite night clubs - and no better man to shine a light on than the queen himself, Alan T. The aforementioned renaissance character is more than just a megaphone and a few heartbreaking pearls of wisdom that send fashion victims back to the end of line. Alan T is a legend not only in Miami, but an International Dance music celebrity - branding the same raspy, sharp tongue he uses at the door to record hits like....well, "The Door".

A formally trained and practicing Architect, Musician and pinnacle of Ferocity - Alan T has been there, done that and made it better. There's really no question you can't ask the man - hence the mixed bag to follow.

Name: Alan T

Age: 43

Occupation: Everything...but the girl. No, I'm just kidding (laughs). I'm a Renaissance Man.

Where do you come from? I was born in Johnson & Wales in North Miami which was the previous home of North Miami General Hospital. My birth certificate is on my website.

What's your favorite place in Miami? The water.

What do you wish Miami had more of? Danny Tenaglia (laughs) and Vietnamese Restaurants.

Less of? Construction sites.

Where do you run away to? My house.

What's your favorite party or night in Miami? I really love Space on Sundays. I think it's very mature. There are a lot of gays, a lot of diversity. All of the feelings that people have about that place are so wrong. Either that or it's evolved itself as a group of people.

What party do you miss? The Local Celebrity party. It had a nucleus of people - staples, and I haven't seen any of them since. They've all dispersed.

What is musically exciting to you right now? Danny (Tenaglia)'s new CD. It's cryptically correct - it's just very strange. It's super sophisticated. It cuts through all of the genres, gets to the heart of the specific ones that it touches upon and it's the best of them. That's never been done before. It's breaking through all boundaries and allowing him to be an editor of sorts, which is what the DJ is for. They are the selectors of the culture. So why even try and test things out? It's about knowing what's going to work.

How did you get your start working in music? From an answering machine. I left a message on Mike Mucci's machine after he came to my house for dinner and left me a message thanking me for the invitation. He incorporated my voice from the recording into one of his tracks called "Come and Get it".

How did you get your start working the door? I would work the door for Danny but really it was Michelle Leshem. She was the first person that pretty much got me on to it. I was with Diego (Martinelli) and we were at Pawn Shop for Tracy Young's birthday and Michelle Leshem was the Marketing Director at the time - her first tenure and she asked me to work it. I went from being my best friends bitch at the door to having her remember that I'd done that and working to bring me back up. Strange right? Things happen for a reason.

Do you have a faovrite megaphone? I do, she died! It died at Boris WMC'08. It died at the Dubfire party. Then it became a hair dryer (simulates dead bullhorn noise), it was like a foreign object - and useless at that. Everybody was going crazy over it, asking me for the megaphone. I had to tell them over and over that it died.

What is a pet peeve of yours when you're working the door? Anyone who expects that the financial runnings of a club are like a flying lizard - free. Everyone is there for the comps and great show, don't overcommit to something that could be a problem. People want to act like FP&L isn't gonna be knocking on our doors either. They all want comps and undeservedly so for the most part. That's definitely a pet peeve of mine, people who expect to be let in for free. Flip-flops are also really bad. Flip-flops at the wrong party, with the wrong vibe - they can be really bad. Cornrows I can't stand, they are the worst. Especially on white people.

Where do you get your clothes from? Dolce & Gabbana and John Galiano.

Tell me about your father's piano and organ Store. Well it's right down the street from your haunt - Sweat Records (laughs). We still have to go by the way. My Father is one of the founders of Little Haiti. It's like this forteza, nine floors of pianos and organs. It's like my personality on display with all of these pianos and organs. You can see every type, every shape, every color - all in one place. He's a Yale music person so he's very passionate about it.

What buildings have you designed in Miami? I did Fashion Arena (on Lincoln), a lot of residences - but commercially I haven't really worked in Miami a great deal. Fashion Arena was my most prominent commercial endeavor. I had this ideal German guy as a client. He was this German thief that embezzled something like $40 million. I have a before and after...amazing. People would stop and stare and pay homage to this building. It was like a little jewel of a Greek island in the middle of Lincoln Road.

Who is your favorite Miami based DJ? Probably Patrick M. Patrick is such a nice guy, Argentinian. Cedric as well - I go so far back with him. Cedric's grandparents are my best friends, I love them. They are so funky!

Name a goal of yours that you've achieved recently. I've pretty much accomplished all of my goals and dreams. But ever since American Gigolo I've always wanted a Mercedez Benz 560SL '87. I finally decided to dive into it and I went hunting, my first and foremost place for searching was e-bay. It's baby blue and in mint condition. Whatever she has done to one side she has to have done to the other. She's very symmetrical. She's my bitch.

What's on the horizon for Alan T? I would say an album, which is gonna be a lot of work. I'd like to work with Danny, Oscar and Ralph, Guy Gerber...they're all old friends of mine so it's very exciting.

Click here to hear and read more about Alan T and catch him working the door every week at Space on Saturday Nights.