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Remembering Amnesia Miami Beach Fl, June 18, 2008 --- Gone are the days of Warsaw Ballroom, Splash, Pump, Salvation, Paragon, Level, Kremlin, and the Loading Zone. Those gay nightspots defined South Beach in the 1990’s. Another weekly event that helped to define South Beach as a gay Mecca was the long-running Tea Dance held at Amnesia (now Opium Garden). Edison Farrow will be bringing back the decadence and fun of that
The Amnesia Tea Dance 10 year reunion party will be held once again at Opium Garden on July 6, 2008 from 3pm until 9pm. Farrow will also be bringing back the DJ that made this event such a success and who went on to be a superstar DJ himself. David Knapp held his Sunday service with his turntable as his
We asked David Knapp what his fondest memory of Amnesia was. He replied, “I remember how spontaneous and original the South Beach scene was. The promoters, DJs, drag queens, and performance When asked what he felt was the driving force of the success of these gay events of the late 90’s, David
The type of crowds he played for then has changed over the years. David says, “The crowds these days have some different musical and social interests. Also, they have seen more openness towards the gay community. They love a great party, but a lot of them love the same music (Hip Hop, R&B) as their straight friends. Their version of a gay diva is more Britney and Rihanna than Madonna, and even less Donna Summer. And you can forget about Judy or Barbra LOL!” South Beach was the launching pad for many of today’s top-ranked DJs. Manny Lehman, Abel, Tracy Young all gained notoriety spinning here. We asked David if he saw the possibility of this happening again as South Beach continues to make its gay resurgence. “There are lots of superstar DJs on the rise out there. But, the Our final question for David; what can we expect musically from you at this ten-year reunion event? He says, “I am going to present Amnesia in the context of past, present, and future. I will appeal to the original South Beach gang with some nostalgia. I will try to flow seamlessly into the great current stuff that would define any great Tea Dance (like most of my set at my recent Gay Disney Pool Party appearance). Last, I will play future “classics” to help define where Tea Dances are going. If all goes well, everyone will come back for more.” Thank you so much David, Edison and Shelley for taking the time to help us remember the fun that Amnesia was. I’m sure with Amnesia, not all has been forgotten, and more fond memories can be made. Photos provided by David Johnson and made available by Edison Farrow. These and more full size pictures can be viewed here. Amnesia Tea Dance 10 Year Reunion www.brownpapertickets.com/event/36305 or by phone at 800.838.3006 |
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weekly event that celebrated not only gay life, but life in general. Even with a name like Amnesia, it is hard to forget the drag shows and foam parties. Edison remembers, “I sang at an Amnesia Tea Dance in 1998 when I had my music video "Got to Have Lovin'" on the channel The Box. I had all 16 of the people who were in the video with me up on stage (including Chyna, Nadia, Violetta, and Chastity). It was right after the Winter Party Beach Party and Craig Trentacosta said that 2,400 people attended “. He continues, “When I first arrived to Miami in 1995, I was staying at the Lord Balfour Hotel on 4th Street and Ocean Drive. It is now the Wave Hotel. It was just a few blocks from Amnesia. It was my favorite place to go out dancing. The venue is amazing and the music was so much fun! The drag shows with Daisy Deadpetals, Damian Devine, Shelley Novak, Wanda, Adora, were so fun and campy!” 
choir and South Beach’s gayest as his congregation. Also making appearances will be Amnesia regulars Daisy Deadpetals, Adora and Shelley Novak. Shelley Novak, who recently announced retirement at the Fifteenth Annual Shelley Novak Awards, tells us of his great memories of doing a performance of Hold On by Wilson Phillips with Daisy Deadpetals and Damien Deevine. Shelley portrayed Carnie Wilson eating cheeseburgers on stage. He also mentions that one of the hottest things to come out of the Tea Dance was his friend actor/model Brandon Volz. Although straight, Brandon would come to the party with a bunch of straight girls. Shelly says “it was that kind of Miami Beach "have to do" party on Sunday, gay straight or whatever you had to go to tea dance” 
artists were all brimming with their own unique talents. At Amnesia, you never knew what was going to be happening next. There was never a dull moment, and we all felt like we were creating history!” And no doubt, they did. It has been ten years since the end of the Tea Dance and the music has changed dramatically since then. We asked David if he misses the music from the 90’s. “I do miss it because it has been a soundtrack to many of our lives. Hearing much of it brings me right back to a certain party or place where I first heard the songs. It reminds me of the people I was with at that time too.” David still visits South Beach where some of his best friends still live. He says his visits are “soul therapy”. 
continues, “There was clearly a pure, maybe naive, creative collective that was amazing. Although, it [the success] was sometimes fueled by the excess of the party scene or by commercialism. I am not sure how much of an escape [from AIDS] it was. I think many of us were claiming our birthright as survivors of the onslaught. The early part of AIDS was so stifling and left such a vacuum of talent and creativity that a gay renaissance such as in South Beach was inevitable.” 
one thing I have heard over and over is that the gay DJs are no longer playing a very diverse set, no longer pushing the envelope and breaking new sounds like we used to be known for. I believe the same thing. The next big gay to make it will probably have to be much more innovative.” 