The Dance Floor and the Booth Part 2: Trick & Treat

By Will Seagers

Hi folks - Will here! In this second of (#?) installments, we'll have a look at the behind the scenes aspects of club life - that "Sacred Territory" known as “the booth” - from the perspective of a guest to a DJ plying his/her trade. That Ivory Tower you might have gazed upon during your many club excursions holds a lot more mystery than you might think!

Myself, I held that territory and the DJ within at high esteem. In just a few years, I watched booths morph into "musical altars" from their very humble beginnings as just a place to play records and put the musical equipment. And with reverence, whether at a simple dance bar or a dance palace, an invisible line existed around "Le Discaire" (DJ) that you never crossed (unless, of course, you were invited!). During my first few years as a disco reveler, I was relegated to the dance floor with the masses - only to cast my longing glances at the booth! That was about to change.

It was after I moved to San Francisco in 1976 that I decided to create some music of my own. Although the town had its own great distinctive sound, I missed the burly, manly, and urban sounds from New York's underground scene. My first partner, Tommy, worked at Hamburger Mary's on Folsom St. It was famous for food, drink and Live DJs. Quickly, I became friends with the house DJs and was always welcome in their booth. They knew my musical aspirations and would let me play briefly when they needed to take a break. That got my motor running!

One of the DJs (Tess) played rock and the other (Lee) played dance music. Lee and I made it a ritual every Friday afternoon for him to come to my place with his bag of new records from the record pool to audition on my home mixing system. This gave me a front row seat to hear all that was new and fresh - good or bad. It also gave me the shove that I needed to start a small cassette taping business for friends, restaurants and small businesses. This grew quickly and favorable word got out about my music.

This leads me to my first gig as a DJ. Somehow, the owner of a new gym opening at Castro and Market was given one of my current tapes and he contacted me. He asked me to play for their grand opening party. I believe the year was 1977. But, I am foggy on the name of the gym, itself. Anyway, this was how I got to meet a legendary sound man Bruce Trondson. Our meeting was not cordial at all. He wanted to know why an unknown like me was playing while there were dozens of S.F. DJs to chose from. He hinted that it was just because I was a porno star. He actually said it right in front of me. I threw major shade and said, "Wait and see." Long story short, he was testing a brand new amp - a Unisync - which literally caught on fire right at the beginning of the party. He was pulling out his hair because he did not have a back-up amp. Being my first official gig, I wanted to play on my own turntables and mixer (and had even brought along a Phase Linear 700 power amp - just in case). Bruce's attitude about me radically changed. He hooked up the Phase 700 and the party roared on! And, the crowd liked my music! From that point on, we started to become friends. Over the years, we became very close and exchanged a lot of creative ideas. I went on to work with him at San Francisco's "Music Hall" on Larkin Street.

P.S. I wasn't using that Phase 700 in my home system. So, I let Bruce hold onto it. He wound up putting it into the Trocadero Transfer sound system as its bass cabinet amplifier! (At 350 watts/channel, it was well qualified to do the job.)

I also did a similar gig at a Folsom Street bar called “The Black and Blue.” There, I hauled my home system just a short distance to the bar. (For a dozen plus years, I lived in the South of Market area at 10th and Howard Streets.) For this venue, I played very low tempo bath house-style (sexy) music since there was no dancing. It seemed to go over well. The men in attendance were hot and flirtatious - I almost lost my concentration on the music! LOL.

In my next installment, I will describe some sexual encounters from Fire Island that landed me in booths in New York as a guest and behind the turntables at San Francisco's “Dreamland!” You never know what "Treat" is going to happen after the "Trick!" Happy Halloween to all!

Bio of Will Seagers:

Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted careers and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model, film performer, and DJ, just to name a few. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.

Will Seagers, recent photo