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As it celebrates first year, Q nightclub faces Broadway identity crisis

Q-01

Sean Majors was recently named creative director at Q. (Credit: Suzi Pratt)

It’s been a roller-coaster inaugural year at Q nightclub.

The Pike and Broadway EDM venue opened with lots of fanfare last September, boasting a top notch sound system and a cavernous space outfitted with sleek lighting and designs.

LGBT events came and went, raising some eyebrows about what happened to the Q. Then last month co-founder Scott Smith sold his stake in the club. The “gruff but lovable gay face” of Seattle’s club and EDM scene apparently left on less than amicable terms. And last week this video of a fight outside Q went neighborhood-viral prompting some big time disco soul searching: For Gay Community, Rise in Bashing Isn’t a Question of ‘If.’ It’s a Question of ‘Why’, Seattle Weekly wrote, inspired by the reaction to the video.

By most measures, including lines out the door, the club delivered on its promise to be a top notch EDM venue in Seattle. And despite their shared beginnings, things have turned out decidedly better for Q than the now shuttered Social club. But underpinning much of the year were questions about just what type of club Q wanted to be. Few clubs successfully sustain a one-size-fits-all venue — most establish their niche right off the bat. But even among Capitol Hill’s discerning food / drink / club crowd, a consensus on Q’s identity never seemed to coalesce.

Owner Andy Rampl wants to change that. It’s part of the reason he recently hired longtime Seattle DJ Sean Majors as Q’s creative director.

“How can we be a nightclub that isn’t gay or straight? I want to take sexuality out of the equation,” Majors said while talking to CHS inside Q’s red-splashed mezzanine.

“I want to have drag queens and furries and straight people out on a Saturday night.”

Rampl told CHS he’s learned a lot in the past year. Q is Rampl’s first foray into owning a business, and his first time managing  a nightclub. “I had to adjust to the new environment, especially being in back of the house,” he said.

Rampl came to Seattle from New York by way of Washington D.C., where he worked in political think tanks. He came to Seattle after a fortuitous conversation with a friend about wanting to start his own food/drink business. That friend put him in touch with Scott Smith, and Rampl was in Seattle within a year.

Rampl is self-admittedly not the stereotypical, steal-the-spotlight club owner. He declined to have his picture taken for this story.

“I’m shy, very reserved,” he said.  “Running the club has been a great growing experience for me as a person.”

One of Rampl’s proudest accomplishments at the club thus far is the introduction of Q Vodka, his signature infused-booze that he says he wants to begin selling outside the club.

Rampl said he wants to incorporate more audio visual elements to club, including a large LED wall. He’s also planning to wall off a smaller room for an ultra-lounge on slower nights and tweaks to the layout and furniture. Majors will be helping implement the changes, as well as programming more themed nights, live mixing DJs, and expanding the club to seven nights a week.Q-05

“I don’t have a background in the industry, so I desperately needed somebody and Sean was a perfect fit,” Rampl said.

In the coming months, Majors said he also wants to focus on creating more theater and less sex inside the club; more Cirque du Soleil and less go-go dancing. “With so many new residents, this is only the beginning. We have to show people what we want to be,” he said. “If you’re not comfortable with drag queens and furries on the dance floor, you’ll know this is just not the place for you.”

Despite some initial growing pains, Rampl said he’s committed to Q and continuing to contribute to Seattle’s nightlife scene.

“I’m pleased with how the last year went,” he said. “Moving to Seattle was one of the better decisions in my life.”

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Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago

Q, Havana, Cha Cha, dance nights at Neumos. Why is it that dance clubs attract thugs and violence? Want to fix the issues on Pike/ Pine, get rid of the straight dance clubs. Live music, bars, gay clubs all existed pretty much problem free. But the straight dance clubs and dance nights bring in the douchebags, frat boys, sorority girls, and Eastsiders and bam, we get coke dealers openly working the streets and street fights. Shootings will follow. Just wait. It’s the same old scene, the same old story. We saw it in Pioneer Square, the U District, Belltown, and now Pike Pine. Call it EDM, whatever. House/ Top 40/ Hip Hop/ Rave….the promoters don’t give a shit about anything but packing as many people into a room as possible, giving them as much to drink as possible, letting the drugs roll free. None of these guys care about what happens to the neighborhood. They’ll exist for 5 years tops. The clubs are dominated by people who don’t know shit about business, just want to make a quick buck. They aren’t involved in the neighborhood, in the chamber, in local anything.

Tiffany
Tiffany
10 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

The Mercury has been a successful, primarily straight dance club on the hill for well over a decade now, and doesn’t attract a disrespectful crowd to the neighborhood. The main difference is that they actively look for and weed out the bad element if it ever shows up there.

ERF
ERF
10 years ago
Reply to  Tiffany

I must be getting old. The video looked like a bunch of high school kids. It’s the crowd that has made all the nice customers go elsewhere. Q was about as close to LAVO in NY as we were going to get in Seattle. My wife and I quit going due to how rude the crowds have become in most of the clubs here.

Carlos
Carlos
10 years ago
Reply to  Tiffany

Good point about the Mercury. They make it very clear what the rules are when you enter. What’s allowed and what is not allowed. My first time there, I was shocked, but couldn’t have been happier hearing what the rules were. Inside, the vibe couldn’t have been more perfect. Door staff need to take much more of a directorial role as many of the people who are showing up in our neighborhood are children, only here to disrespect it and it’s residents.

SMAJ
SMAJ
10 years ago
Reply to  Carlos

I couldn’t agree with Anonymous more. Back in the day, “[l]ive music, bars, gay clubs all existed pretty much problem free.” But when Anonymous says “the straight dance clubs and dance nights bring in the douchebags, frat boys, sorority girls, and Eastsiders…” I’d like to point out that it’s not necessarily a straight/gay issue. The problem is the kind of community we’re creating. Look at the buildings and businesses that are going up and in on Capitol Hill. We’re becoming the Eastside. The kind of businesses that we’re attracting in these cold concrete metal and glass boxes are a draw for the mindless and soulless element.

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
10 years ago
Reply to  SMAJ

I don’t buy that at all– the connection of the “soulless” buildings to the sketchy crowds. Other parts of town (Pioneer Sq, SoDo, Belltown) have the same collection of douchebags and the same thuggy atmosphere of violence in the clubs, but there’s nothing Eastside-y about those neighborhoods at all. It’s not the structures, it’s who’s in them.

Blaager
Blaager
10 years ago
Reply to  Carlos

As far as I know the Merc operates like private non-profit, which sets its own rules about the club, and enforces those rules very stictly. They are very choosy about whom they admit, and choosy about sending others away, In all my years in the nearby of Merc, I never ever had a incident with their patrons, A true chill crowd.

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

The idea of getting rid of all thing “straight” in capitol hill is extremely ignorant and bigoted. Such notions are extremely distasteful. We should be facilitating tolerance, not segregation. You sir, have become one of the douchebags you refer to

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

I never said to get rid of everything ‘straight’ on the hill. I am straight, so that would suck. I’m just talking dance clubs (minus the awesome Mercury). And it’s not just dance clubs, though they are a problem. It’s also the owners’ attitudes – they don’t participate in the community at all. If they did, they would run their businesses differently. It will be interesting what Sean Majors does at Q. He’s a good guy, but Q’s owner has already shown his incompetence, and appears to be nothing more than a cultural carpetbagger. The video clearly shows thug security breaking all the rules of experienced security, fighting in the street. They’ll probably get sued by the person who was punched. It’s assault. Wearing a security t-shirt doesn’t give you the right to punch people on public property. Just wait – unless Majors does some major overhaul, this club will go the way of Sugars, etc. Cha Cha isn’t doing themselves any favors either. And whatever the place is called above Grim’s is the other major problem in the neighborhood. Hope the neighborhood gets itself cleaned up before it goes the way of Pioneer Square.

Abra Rose
Abra Rose
10 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

WOW….I couldn’t even get through all the comments before I wanted to put the whole lot of you in Q, play you some banging good beats on those phenomenal speakers and smack you upside the head.

No, I am not joking.

Your crappy attitudes and complaints are not constructive.

I have been frequenting Q since it opened. I have come to know most of the staff by their first names. I saw the video from Kingdom and my first reaction was, “What did you expect to happen by moving that event to the hill?” I never attended Kingdom because of the group of people who frequent it. They are young, uneducated in the scene and simply jumping on a bandwagon.

We have all done it. We have all been young, and full of emotional responses that seem trite now.

To those of you complaining about the Seattle scene, do you by chance remember it circa 2000-2004? Remember Naf? The Convention Center? USC got its start back then. Oh, you weren’t here? What a nightmare it became and for those of you who have been involved long enough, you also know there was a huge shift in the electronic scene at that time. As regulations stacked up, shows retreated into clubs, and the scale of large electronic events(I refuse to call it EDM, screw rebranding something that already existed) got smaller.

One of the things the Seattle scene lacks is not good people, we have plenty…. but leaders. To those of you hating on Sean Majors, I suggest you take your comments to his face. I doubt he’ll punch you or say something derogatory…More than likely, he’ll listen to you and say, “Thanks.”

If you don’t believe he has the best intentions for the community he is trying to build and bring back together, then find a new hobby. There is always somewhere to go and something to do in Seattle.

It is obvious from this article that the owner of Q is fresh, inexperienced and has balls of steel. To attempt a first project of that magnitude and scale is insane. Yet, I believe he is on the right track.

Growing pains be damned….As intelligent adults, it is OUR responsibility to stand up for one another, to take ownership of our scene and to inform people when they are out of line. We don’t do this with our fists or by bitching behind a computer screen. We do this by handing that drunk girl who is about to fall over a glass of water. We do this by insisting friends take care of one another.

We can talk ALL DAY about what is wrong, but NW attitudes are a serious problem in this scene.

The first year in any food/beverage business is hard. It is difficult to define what Q will or will not become because we’ve never had a club like it before.

You choose to dance…to smile…to enjoy…to sweat….

I hope some of you will join me in continuing to support whatever may happen in the future. Hopefully, a venue for all with big banging, panty dropping bass..

Only YOU allow yourself to be hung up on race, sex, etc. Business is business.

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago
Reply to  Abra Rose

Whatever – the hoochy girls in high heels, short skits, and fake gucci bags, with their douchebag boyfriends, are sucking the soul out of the neighborhood. Who cares what you call the music, Q is a blight and needs to be fixed fast, or close. Talk all you want. It’s meaningless until we see real changes with the people Q draws to the neighborhood.

Abra
Abra
10 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

LOL. Yeah and being a negative “anonymous” voice behind a computer screen is a whole lot better. Go you. Way to contribute. *fist pump*

Vin
Vin
10 years ago
Reply to  Abra Rose

The best thing you said in this Abra was that it is OUR responsibility to stand up for one another. Watching that video… or any fight I’ve ever seen… people stand around and gawk at it, film it, FB it, and do nothing to help the person on the ground. If you want to create a good scene, then demand it by saying “No… not at my scene.”

Nobody told those people not to fight. Everyone stood around and allowed that to exist. If anything, it was probably began by someone else people being rude to either of those groups in the club earlier in the night. Don’t want fights to happen, introduce yourself to strangers. Buy the person next to you a drink at the bar. Hand the drunk person a glass of water. Encourage people to dance instead of making fun of them in a corner. Who cares if someone cuts in front of you. Be nice to the servers. Create the environment you want around you and you’ll get it.

What I loved about going to raves back in the early to late 90’s is that’s what you found. Going to a massive rave back in the day had 10K kids at it and there was never any fights. Now you can’t throw a party with 500 people without a fight happening. And why’s that… because there are close minded people on both sides that judge each other in their little clicky circles instead of why they came there… the music. And Q is the best music venue in Seattle. Hopefully they can see that to fruition.

Abra
Abra
10 years ago
Reply to  Vin

Thank you, Vin. I am right there with you.

E.J.
E.J.
10 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

Seattle just isn’t a “club-friendly” city. The clubs here suck, there is little to no electronic music scene here, its pathetic.

Hoekopo
Hoekopo
10 years ago

They had drag queens & gays & the club became increasingly hostile toward gays. Now they hire this “dj” after having some of the areas most respected djs on staff, who were gay, and some over qualified for the CD position. It’s easy to take the “issue of sexuality out of the equation” when you’re operating from a position of het entitlement.
The end is near. We can’t wait.

Abra Rose
Abra Rose
10 years ago
Reply to  Hoekopo

LOL. This is so arrogant and full of bigotry, I don’t even know where to start. Being “gay”, a “drag queen” or any other denomination of sexuality you want to bring into the equation, doesn’t mean you are qualified to run an establishment of that size OR that you have the backing or support in order to do so.

ROCCO
ROCCO
10 years ago
Reply to  Abra Rose

Did you above READ the comment, Abra? They had “some of the areas most respected djs on staff, who were gay.” And they kicked them out. If you know so much about Q, you must know this. And then we saw Q staff hostile toward gays and straight people fighting in the streets. Don’t expect gays and drag queens come back. Not gonna happen.

Paul on Bellevue
Paul on Bellevue
10 years ago

Wow, that looked like a fun scene. I think I’ll pass.

Dan
Dan
10 years ago

So this Rampl guy is a first time club owner (with a background in political think tanks) who only just recently moved to the area. From the east coast.

Yeah, can’t see why this won’t work.

whose-hill-is-it?
whose-hill-is-it?
10 years ago

“the promoters don’t give a shit about anything but packing as many people into a room as possible, giving them as much to drink as possible, letting the drugs roll free. None of these guys care about what happens to the neighborhood.” This commenter hits the nail on the head. This is heart of the issue. The venues of Pike/Pine do not care about preserving the spirit of the neighborhood.

Also, the author left out a very important detail. Majors and his Kingdom party were the Saturday night residents at The Social.

jb
jb
10 years ago

what’s the social have anything to do with it? cause it’s closed? understood it to have closed due to liquor licensing & being overly awedsome.

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago
Reply to  jb

Because the Social was another problem club, and Saturday nights promoted by Majors weren’t exactly better than the other nights at the club. Same lame clientele

timmy73
timmy73
10 years ago

I love EDM but I don’t like this scene. I visited Q when they initially opened and enjoyed it, then quit going – and I’m not sure the reason I decided to stop visiting as I had friends who continued to go.

However, now I am glad I no longer go and have no desire to ever return. Especially after how they initially catered to (used is the way I see it) the gay community to get their footing, then abandoned them claiming they never did market themselves as a gay (gay friendly) establishment which is false, they most certainly did.

I follow Q on FB and they recently posted an upcoming event that was, well it was trashy, (think wet t-shirt contest) and took a lashing from their followers, then removed the posted advertised event.

Apparently it’s too much to ask to have a, clean, decent, modern venue with good music, awesome DJ’s and not have drama which I find quite sad.

kokochanel
kokochanel
10 years ago

This is laughable. Now, with all the public backlash, they want to act like they are about the gay community. They don’t want gay patronage, screwed every gay, and experienced dj they had on the roster, to usher in this new douch-o-rific, programming & “creative director”. This is only going to contribute to an increasingly violent Cap Hill.

Ewww.

Vin
Vin
10 years ago

I’m honestly surprised at so many of these responses. First, that video was lame and I thought Q security did a great job of controlling that situation instead of escalating it which is what you see happen in Btown or Psquare. Those places suck, the clientele sucks, and the security doesn’t do enough to prevent situations like this from taking place. As an ex-promoter and now just someone who wants to go to a good club, Q is one of the best venues I’ve been to. The sound/lighting is great. The dance floor is amazing. The DJ’s are usually good and getting better. If Q really wants to take the step to the next level, Sean has it right. You have to remove sex from the equation and make it a great night club.

As stated already, the security needs to be more active in monitoring the vibe and establishing a presence of the club. But that also means profiling which is surprising to hear from what is suppose to be a “We love everyone” & “All welcome” group of people on CapHill. The it’s not okay if it’s not gay sentiment being expressed here and other social media channels about Q is a little sad. I’ve been inside neighbors, R-place, Re-bar and a host of other places and seen fights between gays, straights, lesbians, white, black, and whatever else. When you have alcohol and people who don’t know each other it often equals some form of negative interaction.

I don’t know Sean. But I’ve been to a lot of his events and his groups events at the Woods and ETG. And I can say there has usually been a super chill crowd. With EDM music, that’s what usually shows up. With Hip-Hop, Metal, Punk… the crowds usually a bit more agressive which is why I don’t go to those places. So if Sean can bring that fun loving gay/straight crowd that genuinely loves EDM music to the best EDM club in Seattle… I’m all for it. Good luck Q on re-inventing yourself. I think you’re on the right direction by hiring Sean. He’s probably the only promoter I know in the area that can make that dream happen.

Abra Rose
Abra Rose
10 years ago
Reply to  Vin

Thank you for having a brain.

Harrisoncaphill
Harrisoncaphill
10 years ago

For me, Capitol hill has changed in the 5-6 years that I’ve lived here. My recent night out with friends on the Pike/Pine corridor opened my eyes to this change. Douchebags have taken over the hill, guys. Along with them brings the Belltown scene. It’s sad to say that I don’t think its going to get any better. Amazon’s residents have moved in and they will keep moving in (look at all the development and condo’s popping up).

Ella
Ella
10 years ago

Umm…Ya. The last time I saw anything “Amazon” related in the Pike/Pine corridor was maybe an Amazon Fresh delivery driver. Oh its so fun pointing fingers at all the wrong people. Do yourself and us all a favor take a stroll down Denny to the Amazon campus and please PLEASE let me know which one of their employees you spot in this video. CLASSIC! #ridiculous

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
10 years ago
Reply to  Ella

This childish jealousy of demonizing well-paid Amazon, Microsoft, etc, workers is so lame. Try again.

James
James
10 years ago

Amazon’s residents? You should spend 30 minutes in South Lake Union during a weekday. Pretty sure you’ll find those aren’t the same people that are causing troubles at dance clubs like the Q.

DevinHawlter
DevinHawlter
10 years ago

This is a strange mix of allot of things aligning all at once. What most people are missing is the back story to what’s been going on behind the scenes at Q. The behavior of management, and the on going questions around the remaining owners suspected, and somewhat documented homophobia.
I wish them luck because they’re gonna’ need it. For me & my friends, we’re not going back. Let’s be honest, the gay community is more than “drag queens & furries”.

9er
9er
10 years ago

Love you Sean Majors! Wish you the best of luck and support! Don’t listen to all the haters, they are only their because you are successful. Good luck and cant wait to see you take over the hill once again!

Love

Your favorite 9er fan

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago

People are blowing this way out of proportion. Let me start by sharing a couple facts with you:

1) Q does not hate the LGBT community. such a notion is outright ridiculous.
2) Kingdom crew does not hate the LGBT community. The thought of a group of DJs sitting around with nothing better to do than come up with ways to bash on homosexuals is even more ridiculous.
3) Q does not do events specifically for a single group of people. They do events for all types of people. They openly invite all members of society to come hang out and have a good time, and many different types of people do show up and share a great time together, dropping sexuality differences at the door.

Why does there need to be a fine distinction between Gay and Straight? Why can’t we all just be people and be ourselves? Q does nothing to hinder on our rights to do so, and such notions are, yet again, ridiculous.

I enjoy Q, and I will continue to be a patron of it.

wrong distinction
wrong distinction
10 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

On a macro level it’s not about Gay and Straight, it’s about class and tact vs bridge and tunnel. Something larger cities are suffering from also.

Leif
Leif
10 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

LOL…You hide behind Anonymous…LAME!! You either work for Q or you are straight and have no concept the needs of the LGBT community and what we look for in an environment, culture or music. When we spend time our dollars at an establishment it means something. We commit ourselves to that venue with our heart and soul, and when they basically say, fuck you! Well that’s when we move on and the douchebags move in.

Lili D
Lili D
10 years ago

We do not need to separate our venues or people, we should all be able to party together with out the fear of discrimination, or violence, no matter who we are, or what our orientation is. Fights and discrimination seem to be always blamed and associated to straight venues and parties, but the truth is that we have that in all scenes. INCLUDING GAY CLUBS. I have been involved in the gay community for years and is not a scene that fall behind in the same issues associated to “straight” club nights. Sean Mayors has brought the most diverse club nights in Seattle i have ever been to, what we all need to do is be more open to new things and diversity. LETS ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER.
Q night club is a Beautiful venue, that is on it’s way to being the most fun/diverse night club in history. GIVE IT A CHANCE, LETS BE OPEN TO NEW THINGS, IF WE SUPPORT IT, IT CAN BE GREAT!
<3 All it needs is UNITY FROM THE COMMUNITY

Rion Haber
Rion Haber
10 years ago
Reply to  Lili D

Well said. I’m in.

caphillresident
caphillresident
10 years ago
Reply to  Lili D

Spoken like someone with typical “straight privilege”

There’s nothing wrong with having clubs that are gay bars and straight bars.

Q and the Social both advertised themselves as gay bars. Gays didn’t support them for a variety of reasons so they sought other customers. Simple as that.

Jemison
Jemison
10 years ago
Reply to  Lili D

“LETS ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER”

Sounds like a great plan. Please be sure to communicate that to the homophobes patrons of Q this past weekend yelling things like “fucking dykes” and “faggots” to people walking down the street. As a gay man, I don’t know, that doesn’t really make Q an inviting destination for me.

ejs
ejs
10 years ago
Reply to  Jemison

Well said. The very reason why I don’t go and will not if the Q continues as a place catering to anything other than the LGBT community. Unity sounds great but I’m not going there to unite with straight folks. I do that more than I care to. Nor do I feel like figuring out what side of the fence you’re on when I mingle.

M. Filicetti
M. Filicetti
10 years ago

Anyone who think Sean Majors is a person who “[doesn’t] give a shit about anything but packing as many people into a room as possible, giving them as much to drink as possible, letting the drugs roll free.” or that he’s “[doesn’t] care about what happens to the neighborhood.” clearly doesn’t know him. Aside from the fact that he lives in Cap Hill, he’s also one of the few promoters I’ll work with BECAUSE he isn’t just some “new douch-o-rific” random asshole. He’s been in this industry for a long time and established longevity because he’s truly passionate about what he’s doing. Yes, obviously the end goal is to make the pack the place, sell drinks, and turn profit; but you don’t stay in this industry that long unless you think bigger than that. If you’re upset that some other DJ who was already on staff with Q didn’t get the position, you’re definitely playing favorites or you haven’t been to one of Sean’s sets/nights. He has a wealth of background, ideas, and goals and I truly see this as a good move for Q. Yes, there will be some instances beyond the control of those in charge whenever you have a large, eclectic group in close quarters. Sooner than later people will realize this isn’t a place that caters to the confrontational, closed minded few. I can assure you, having been to Q many times, these were random occurrences and by no means “business as usual.” I wish the best for Q and think can be a very special club. We’re blessed to have a space and sound like that here in Seattle and I believe in the new team. I know they want the best for the club and never, ever wish for anything like the incident in the video to happen.

123AD123
123AD123
10 years ago

Fights between gay people happen too but they rarely escalate to brawls in the street where police have to be called. In fact I’ve never heard of that. This is more about people coming from out of the neighborhood. Social, Munch Bar, every bar in Belltown. Straight clubs that want to come to the hill need to make zero tolerance policies for homophobia and enforce them. And straight people, men in particular, need to come to Capitol Hill with an expectation that they will have to interact with the LGBT community. If you have a problem with gay people you need to not come to Capitol Hill. Amazon employees are totally fine, I don’t know where that came from.

Cory
Cory
10 years ago
Reply to  123AD123

I agree with this after the part about ‘Straight clubs…..

lili
lili
10 years ago
Reply to  123AD123

I have def seen plenty of fights in the gay scene between gays (men & women… specially women) that resolved calling the cops. Lets be realistic. IT HAPPENS….. I think we need to stop assuming that straight nights bring fights. Is not true. we are all human and there is stupid people that cant handle their alcohol or have anger issues in every scene. WE NEED TO BE UNITE INSTEAD OF SEPARATE EACH OTHER. <3

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
10 years ago
Reply to  lili

Nobody is claiming fights NEVER happen at gay bars. But as far as saying there are “plenty” of fights in gay bars– that’s nonsense. It is WAY, WAY less frequent; the fights are nowhere near as violent; and I’ve never EVER heard of any fight at a CapHill gay bar ending in a shooting. Can we say that about the Belltown/SoDo/Pioneer Sq straight bars? Hell no.

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago
Reply to  Jim98122x

And how many straight bashings happen when a gay bar opens in a straight neighborhood? Um, ZERO.

Blaager
Blaager
10 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

Two snaps up! NONE. It’s simply not the priority to go out and harass straights. Unless the straights are just super cute, and then it’s a gentle come-on. If rejected, then accepted gracefully. No beatings, no rape no assault. See how that can work?l

Cory
Cory
10 years ago

I’m choosing to ignore any comments on this story before say 10 AM…

The truth is, we all should seek criticism, not praise… naysayers gonna naysay… Of course Seattle and Capitol Hill are in an identity crisis, it’s SEATTLE… the land of identity crisis. Q is a world class club, Kingdom Saturdays was named party of the year last year…. The Social getting roped into this story shows the level of ignorance of most blog readers and writers…. Did Kingdom have anything to do with the owners of The Social not securing their permanent liquor license, NO.

To generalize all of Capitol Hill (as some commenters have) is like blocking Ballard and The UDistrict together….. The beauty of Capitol Hill is that it’s a place for everyone… Sure, there may be people that are too queen for you, too hipster, too straight, too renton, too hip hop, too hippy, but that’s exactly the point… We all need to bring back the tolerance and the love and experience the party together…. This finger pointing and backlash is weird for me to comprehend from people that I like to be around (all of the different people of cap hill).

Anyways, I’m not mad or even upset, I get that people don’t feel welcome some places or feel weird or displaced or whatever… I get that…. I can say this on behalf of all of our people involved with Kingdom and moreover any party we provide…. EVERYONE is welcome. I can’t even type it properly…. If you know me and know Kingdom, we want it weird and diverse and it is…. I won’t accept any homophobia ever…. or Racism, or anything else. We are here to provide a party where people fall in love, with the music and with each other. Thanks Sean for being my bro and having the courage to take on the challenges… Let some music heal this!

Rion Haber
Rion Haber
10 years ago

My name is Rion Haber. I am the general manager at Baltic Room,and have been involved with nightlife for the better part of twenty years in Seattle, Miami, and NYC.

To be clear: I’ve known Sean for three years now and he is one of the most enlightened, gentle, and progressive dudes out there. He very genuinely cares about Seattle and the Capitol Hill community and working with other neighborhood business, residents, and SPD to ensure a safe and fun environment for EVERYONE.

For the old timers, c’mon…..you’re starting to sound like your grandparents. Let’s be honest about the fact nightlife culture (be it gay, straight, white, black, et al) always has, currently does, and always will attract some volume of douche bags. Insinuating that bad behavior where alcohol is concerned is some kind of crazy new-fangled phenomenon brought to you by Sean Majors is like making a spectacle out of one of these fancy horseless buggies on the road today.

To the LGBT community on Cap Hill, I have been, hands down one of your biggest supporters in the fight for equality for nearly my entire life and there’s not a damn one of you that can say anything different. I have publicly defended the LGBT community as a straight white frat boy, I have hosted many many many LGBT events as a straight white frat boy, and I have donated LOTS of money to lots of LGBT causes as a straight white frat boy. The thing that strikes me speechless here is that the Capitol Hill LGBT community is starting to sound a bit like the self-satisfied straight white frat boy bigots that they disdain so very much.

Maybe time we started figuring out how to work together instead of bashing each others heads in. If the hill needs a sacrificial lamb, find another one cause Sean is one of the best in the game, and trying to turn him into some kind of sacrificial lamb is an excellent case of cutting off one’s nose to spite their face.

Jemison
Jemison
10 years ago
Reply to  Rion Haber

Rion, I respectfully disagree. I have been a steady club-goer in Seattle since the late 90’s. I frequented every gay club that has come and gone – Spintron, Ego, Arena, Paradise Garage, Blu, Timberline (old and older), Sugar, and also the many other venues that are more mixed or host the periodic gay night – Chapel, Rebar, Neumos, and Baltic Room (and before that, Kid Mohair). I was out every almost single weekend for 15+ years. I’m going to be completely honest that, in all that time, I NEVER once saw a brawl like the one that happened outside Q this past weekend, or outside Kingdom events at the Social. NEVER. I’ve rarely even seen a two-person fight at these clubs in all these years – not even at sketchy afterhours places. So, I’m sorry, you are just plain wrong. Gay venues and parties do NOT attract the kind of douchebags that routinely cause brawls, calls to the police, and clubs being shuttered (Venom, 916, the Social, Larry’s, etc. etc.)

I don’t doubt your support of the gay community at all. I’ve attended a lot of gay-oriented events at Baltic Room, and know from my promoter and DJ friends that they enjoy working with you. I also don’t doubt that Sean Majors is progressive and enlightened.

HOWEVER – his Kingdom event attracts an inordinate amount of people looking to get drunk and itching for a fight. Look at the past marketing for it – it targets young hetero folks with promises of a boozy night of dancing. What ends up happening is a boozy night of fighting and brawling. Just look at the giant shit show that happened every weekend outside the Social. This is NOT a USC-type event where people, straight (and also gay) come to enjoy dance music in a safe environment. I’ve been to USC shows, and as a gay guy with my boyfriend, felt completely safe and comfortable there. Frankly, I was scared to even walk up Olive when Kingdom was going. And now seeing the video from Q and hearing what was going on outside before that (people screaming homophobic slurs), I’m not sure I want to walk down Broadway on those nights.

It’s time for the promoters to own this. They market to a certain crowd, and host a certain crowd – a crowd that is proven to cause problems. I mean, it was their first night at Q, and look what happened. This is simply not, as Mr. Majors’ supporters are saying, an event “open to everyone” where we “can all have fun”. As a gay man, having seen the crowd outside the Social, and considering the recent rise in gay-bashings on the HIll, there’s no way in hell I’d voluntarily put myself in the midst of them.

Tbrack
Tbrack
10 years ago

Q has always seemed like it had a weird angry vibe, so I’ve never been the biggest fan. I think the issue is that it was so heavily promoted when it opened. You can’t expect to have a cool, selective crowd when you massively promote to a mainstream audience. I don’t think the issue isn’t with the dance music scene, its the random dudes who come to hook up or get dragged their by their dates.

Sean Majors
Sean Majors
10 years ago

I know that this position will require me to work on Q’s relationship with the local community, I’m excited about that process. I want it to be as safe as possible on Capitol Hill. I want it to be as weird as possible. I’m a straight man that books drag queens and furries and aerialists and stilt walkers at parties. I believe in pushing the envelope of what a nightclub can be. I want people to leave inspired by music and art. I will do everything in my power to make Q a positive partner with the Cap Hill community. Please give me a few weeks to get my feet wet here. Decibel Festival is still happening here, we’re still going to have nights with gay DJs and promoters, many things will be the same. Hopefully some will improve. Please be considerate of my daunting task, but understand that I am available for conversation. I really do want this to be safe, beautiful and amazing.

RiDel
RiDel
10 years ago

I’ve worked with Sean for the past three years and I can tell you for a fact that he is one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. He has nothing but the best intentions for the community and the Seattle club scene (he’s worked in it for longer than I can remember). That being said, Seattle is a fairly young city when it comes to the budding “EDM scene” and is constantly trying to find itself. Unfortunately, not everybody in the city is like-minded with the best intentions, and it is next to IMPOSSIBLE to attempt to detect the bad seeds. The most prudent choice a club can make (and exactly what Sean is doing at Q) is to welcome everybody of all persuasions and backgrounds, and implement the proper checks to ensure that everyone enjoys the night in a safe manner.

TL; DR: I’ve seen Sean Majors’ vision for not only Q, but Seattle’s dance scene as a whole, and it he has nothing but the best intentions for putting Seattle on the map for ‘must-visit’ for dance music.

Man with the plan
Man with the plan
10 years ago

Why is it that this article is poorly written and fail to bring the realization that Q has been a huge supporter of the community it is located in as well as catering to all other communities of people. Out of all of the clubs in Seattle Q is one of the classiest the others being Foundation and Aston Manor. A fight from a couple of people who probably had too much to drink does not define the venue. This isn’t the first time Cohen has written a bias and poorly researched article. Long live Q nightlcub, the LGBT community and Sean Majors for being one the most respectable people I have ever met.

jb
jb
10 years ago

i’d be willing to be those who are saying cap hill is going down hill is fairly new to cap hill. lived in and out of cap hill since mid 90’s and riff raff has ALWAYS been in the neighborhood, and probably goes a little lower than many of you probably never even experienced. with all the new residents, can’t see how cap hill has more than likely gotten better. needless to say, remember when like, a long time ago, cap hill was known as the “gay neighborhood”. call it more trendy than i would gay. just the new belltown.

O

M

G

!

there was a fight at a nightclub. great post for clicks is all.

Alex
Alex
10 years ago

I F#cking love Saturday nights. Aerialists, fursuits, sword swallowers and a bunch of cool kids dancing to some of the best edm djs in Seattle. I love it and I love what Sean Majors is doing! It’s not about sex it’s about having a good time and throwing an awesome party.

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago

Poorly written article riddled with bias. You call yourself a journalist Bryan Cohen???

F Rock
F Rock
10 years ago

The negative limits folks are putting on themselves and their community in these comments is sad. “You must be ____ in order to be ______.” What starts from love, will manifest love. There is no in between. The people behind Kingdom and other great nights in Seattle do it because: love. It starts there.

Some people can’t live this way, and they get the most of the media’s attention. This does not mean that they are the majority. They are not. There are countless events that Majors and other promoters put together that don’t make the news. We don’t have an identity crisis. We’re perfectly fine being a little bit of weird, a lot of hard work, and endless amounts of adoration.

I will continue to be a part of this community, this family, these memories, this love. You may think we’re silly, but you’ll never see us do anything but shine. Join us.

See you in the Kingdom.

Todd Smith
Todd Smith
10 years ago

I have known Sean since the 90’s and I have to say that he is a pretty down to earth guy that cares about other people. I started as a promoter 20 years ago and I know that it is hard to please everyone all the time. But in those 20 years I can honestly say that I have never had violence at any of my events. Just give Sean a chance he will show you that you can have a community friendly club. It is hard to weed out the bad apples in a crowd when you have such a large venue. Q will be successful with Sean at the helm and Sean if you want some help or just need some fresh and old school advice just get a hold of me. Gene knows where to find me. Peace, Todd (Toadstool)

Sean
10 years ago

I’ve heard several complaints recently regarding security and line management. Though I’ve personally never had an issue with either, I would start there as far as changing the perception (much easier aspects of the club to remedy). I do think that over serving is an issue at Q, especially on the weekends.

As for the music, I firmly believe that it needs to remain diverse and at times appeal to a non-local audience, which is what everyone seems to be up in arms about right now. You also need to take into consideration that Capitol Hill houses a massive LBGT community and regardless if the venue is overt about it’s orientation, the music programming is essential to defining the people who attend events there. A balance of styles, crews involved and marketing outreach will ultimately determine the success of the club in my opinion. I think one club that straddles that line beautifully is Cielo in NYC (http://www.cieloclub.com) which works with labels, a diverse array of local crews, touring deejays and mainstream dance artists alike. It is also is respected by both locals and tourists, which makes it such a unique space. Can we host a club like that in Seattle and more importantly on Capitol Hill? I certainly hope so.

One thing is for certain, Capitol Hill as a neighborhood has gone through an intense cultural transformation over the past few years and the bars, clubs and promoters involved with the nightlife there (myself included) need to strike a balance or they’re going to lose the support of the local community. The “bridge and tunnel” crowd aren’t loyal and although they drink more, then don’t tend to come out during the week and they certainly don’t have the same level of respect for the community that exists there. Can they co-exist? Time will tell.

I personally love Q and I have since it opened. Though I don’t always agree with the choices that have been made there over the past year, I completely understand the pressures that the owners and promoters experience there. They tried to go underground when it opened, but went too deep and too local (numbers were poor). They’re now trying to strike a balance (perhaps too far to the non-local crowd) and are coming up against that black or white Seattle obstinate mindset that has forced many a business to close their doors over the years. I firmly believe that Q has something Seattle needs desperately and to close the book on it after a year of consistent change would be a tragedy. Take a deep breath, cool your jets and let’s see what happens over the next few months.

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
10 years ago

The thing that alienates gay people when a bar goes to such great lengths to clarify they’re “not just a gay bar”– the message is clearly directed at the uncomfortable straight boys– the ones who might be otherwise too freaked out to be there. And these are the very guys most likely to cause problems in mixed clubs. There are several gay bars on CapHill which are indisputably gay (Cuff, RPlace, Neighbours) which have plenty of straight people in them. The straight guys visitors in those bars rarely cause problems because they know they’re in the minority and they wouldn’t dare. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about making gay folks comfortable with straight people in gay bars. We’re used to it (as long as they “behave”). You can’t say the same thing when the shoe is on the other foot. This “don’t be scared, we’re not THAT gay” message (and that’s the way it comes off–make no mistake) is directed at the type of guy most likely to cause a problem. That’s why we get turned off– we don’t need excuses made for our gayness. That’s what it’s doing. And we’ve seen this movie before. It always ends the same, and it ain’t pretty.

Jennifer
Jennifer
10 years ago

Having personally been there to witness the fight, I am confused as to how it is relevant to the discussion of Q’s relationship with the community. That fight was between several trashy girls who were on the ground ripping out each other’s hair over who knows what or cares. That kind of behavior is absurd anywhere. The reaction of the security guards was too extreme and that’s what the commentary on the viral video should be about. Yes, it is true that Q is not specifically a LBGT venue but that’s as it should be. Progression is integration not seperation. Applaud Sean Majors for the scene he is working to create at Q. Great music, great venue, great vibe, and hopefully great people from all walks of life.

Paul
Paul
10 years ago
Reply to  Jennifer

Really? You don’t get why these people, the very people Q brings to the neighborhood, and the thuggish behavior of Q’s security, has something to do with the relationship Q has with the neighborhood? It is exactly what is being discussed. Q might have the nicest, most well intentioned people running it, it might be gay or straight, it might have great music – but what matters is what type of people it is bringing to the neighborhood, how those people act, and how Q employees act. And right now Q brings wretched people to the neighborhood, and has thugs for security. Q is part of the reason gay bashing is happening in this neighborhood, violence has increased and there are coke dealers running around selling coke openly on the street. It’s not 100% Q’s fault, but Q has escalated the issue to a new level. And now people will start pushing back agains the entire nightlife scene – one that was pretty healthy before Q (with admitted moments of unhealthiness).

Bryan
Bryan
10 years ago

“How can we be a nightclub that isn’t gay or straight?”

Q: How can we keep all that LGBTQ money while expanding to include douchebag thugs, ugly drunk bachelorettes, overgrown mall rats, and Bellevue brats out to vomit their 21st birthdays all over Capitol Hill?

A: You can’t.

Todd Smith
Todd Smith
10 years ago

I really don’t understand this whole thing. The LGBT population doesn’t want to be bashed on but they are the same people that are posting on here and bashing straight people and putting labels on straight people. We are all human and putting labels on anyone is wrong. “douchebag thugs, ugly drunk bachelorettes, overgrown mall rats, and Bellevue brats out to vomit their 21st birthdays all over Capitol Hill?” REALLY!!! Who do you people think you are? Who gives you the right to put labels on people and then turn around and act like you are the ones that should be there and no one else. YOUR negativity is disgusting an it sounds like you would be the ones causing problems. People are people and everyone should be excepted for who they are and from where they come from.

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
10 years ago
Reply to  Todd Smith

With the exception of one or two people, nobody is saying that straights don’t belong on Capitol Hill. What most of the gay people here are taking issue with is the notion that they should be happy to be included in an “its for everybody” bar. A lot of gay people and a lot of straight people are perfectly okay with there being different bars for gays and straights. Let’s be real… Lots of people go out for the purpose of trying to meet somebody and/or hook up. I don’t need a “mixed” bar full of straight guys to distract me or complicate things. And they don’t need me in their bars while they’re trying to meet girls. Yes, I know I can go into any straight bar I want to. I just don’t want to. And they can come into any gay bar they want to. Lots of them don’t want to either. Lots of us are just not interested in a place that tries to be all things to all people. When you do that, you’ll gain some crowd and lose another. No big surprise there.

Jemison
Jemison
10 years ago
Reply to  Todd Smith

Nobody is saying that straight people shouldn’t be here. Straight people are probably 80% of the population of the hill. There are tons of “straight” bars and venues, right next door to gay venues, that have happily coexisted for years. What people are concerned about is the fight-club crowd that attends certain events. They make it unsafe for everyone – gay, straight, whatever. And people should be free to call that out.

And BTW, when groups of gays stalk, harass, and beat the shit out of straight people, then talk to me about “bashing”. The word has an actual meaning, all too familiar for many gay people beaten up for the sheer fact that their sexuality is different than straight.

Paul on Bellevue
Paul on Bellevue
10 years ago
Reply to  Jemison

“And BTW, when groups of gays stalk, harass, and beat the shit out of straight people, then talk to me about “bashing”. ”

I couldn’t agree more. As a straight guy, I’ve gone with friends to Madison Pub, RPlace, the Cuff, etc., and never felt uncomfortable or threatened. I’ve never been to Q but I can say that if I was a gay guy, I’d steer way clear of the crowd I saw in that video.

jb
jb
10 years ago

ok, slow down!

#1 – is this an advertisement for a new kinky after hour orgy hangout, or is just letting us know about the stellar sound system?
#2 – wtf is a furry?
#3 – which one of you REALLY is the biggest sean majors fan? can’t tell.
#4 – (and this is just a note to myself) promote business w/ a cool bitch fight. people love fights cause we’re generally super big pussies.
#5 – who’s the #2 biggest sean majors fan?
#6 – seriously. wtf is a furry?

A furry
A furry
10 years ago
Reply to  jb

The only safe answer to that is “A furry is someone who identifies as a furry.” :)

It’s a subculture (the sort that could only exist with the internet) of people that have nothing in common but some sort of interest (sexual or otherwise) in anthropomorphic art and costumes.

Michael McClarron
Michael McClarron
10 years ago

My phone is dying but I’m going to directly respond to everyone on this post when I get home. Happy that we have this round table and open discussion about Q and the hill in general. Hopefully I can spark some critical thinking. I think you’ll appreciate my perspective. Standby…

Michelle Cohen
Michelle Cohen
10 years ago

Who cares about some small cat “fight”? what about the actual venue??? It SUCKS! The design looks like a huge glow stick! Cheese! Foundation nightclub has class to it! I haven’t visited the new Aston Manor yet but I hear it even beats Foundation. Sorry guys, advertising a good sound system/lights, and not having a classy, beautiful nightclub will only get you the tank top, shorts, and hat wearing thugs. Seems the new “director” dresses just like his crowd. Thats not how you get a group of girls in the hill as regulars. Ive lived in Cap hill for 3 years, and if I want a nice cocktail or dinner I say in the neighborhood. If I have the need to dance I go to foundation, or possible checking out this new Aston place (my opinion TBD). Q needs a total transformation on design, staffing, and the crowd they are promoting to in order to get my gals and myself in back in there.

9er
9er
10 years ago
Reply to  Michelle Cohen

Sorry to break the news, but I work at Aston and I can tell you Q is just as “beautiful” as Aston and Foundation!

Stop hating!

Todd Smith
Todd Smith
10 years ago
Reply to  Bryan Cohen

she is just another one of the people on here judging people by the way they look.

CH bar owner
CH bar owner
10 years ago

Aaaaaanyway… as a business (bar) owner stuck in the middle of this mess I feel a little helpless. Sure, it’s tempting to want “bridge & bridge” money but those people have no respect for their surroundings and they drive my regular clientele away. Is it worth it?

I’ve found that the only thing I can think of as a solution is to get creative. The worst is that the LGBTQ crowd is starting to give up and not show strength in numbers. I can see why, it’s a very hostile environment, but I’m stuck here and I’d really like to see more balance again like it was just a couple of years ago.

I’ve also found that the herd always has one weak member and if you can pick that person off and have a dialogue with them it creates a consciousness within the pack that can temper some of the predatory/obnoxious behavior among just that small group. Think about it: these people have day jobs, parents, and possibly younger siblings that would be horrified if they found out how some of these jerks are acting. They would suffer consequences. Some of these viral videos are going to bite them in the ass.

robert
robert
10 years ago

When people stand around and watch fights it encourages the bullies and freaks who thrive off of drama.

Michelle
Michelle
10 years ago

I don’t think the people who are commenting negatively on this understand the beauty of what Kingdom is trying to accomplish. I’ve been fortunate to be a part of many events that Sean and his crew have so graciously brought to this city, and can’t thank them enough for the countless nights I’ve left the club with a smile from ear-to-ear. What they’ve done to create the culmination of music, art, dance, innovation and passion together in the same arena is something Seattleites should be proud to be a part of. Their main motivation for throwing unique weird club nights: reminding us all that sometimes life isn’t as hard as it seems…that letting go and losing yourself in the music is a joy EVERY individual should embrace.

Kudos to the Kingdom team for holding their heads high and not letting the hatters hold them down. I take comfort in the fact that you are just beginning to get your feet wet at Q, and that you will let nothing get in your way of bringing a fun, safe, passion filled night to the hill.

For those of you who missed out on last weekend…here’s the real image of what Kingdom is all about!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.481604621931541.1073741827.343508139074524&type=1

Mikey McClarron
Mikey McClarron
10 years ago

BEAR WITH ME, THIS IS LONG!

Alright, there are three topics that I’ll touch on here. The first will be the witch hunt that the seemingly prejudiced (seemingly) LGBT faithful are conducting on essentially everyone in Seattle besides themselves. The second will be the knock on the club’s content, clientele, design and staff. The third topic will be how I fit into this entire Seattle nightlife equation, and my opinion/suggestion on how everyone can play together and play nice. Let’s begin.

First I need to address the initial comment on this article:
http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2013/08/as-it-celebrates-first-year-q-nightclub-faces-broadway-identity-crisis/#comment-115927 – To reference an excerpt from your comment where you said “Want to fix the issues on Pike/ Pine, get rid of the straight dance clubs.” You do realize how 19th century your comment sounds, right? So you’re the hill should be 100% gay dance clubs. And every other neighborhood should be 100% straight dance clubs. That way all of the violence is gone from the hill and you’re on some island where everything is at peace, right? Because all straight people are heathens and the world is operating under martial law. You sir (or madam) are a bigot in the purest sense. Shame on you for both leaving a non-productive comment and doing it behind the shield of an anonymous account.

Alright, so the first topic, the gay community is so up in arms about a venue not supporting them, when clearly the only reason it needed to rebrand in the first place was because they weren’t supporting the venue. I made it a point to check out Q when it first opened on a couple of occasions because I had heard how awesome the place looked inside, and I wanted to see for myself. I feel comfortable in any and all environments, so upon going in, I was surprised to see that it was all that busy. Extremely unfair for the LGBT community to become upset that a business is looking to make a profit and not cater to people who don’t even frequent it. I’d love a show of hands (via a response to this message) of supports of any of the LGBT events at Q that went to all of them. If you weren’t at every single one, or any at all, then who are you to complain when they do away with them in favor of busier (UNBIASED) events like BT, or Basshunter?

I also find it extremely ignorant, selfish, and discriminating for the LGBT community to want “straight dance parties” to be segregated to neighborhoods that they claim are “already ruined.” You would be all the way up in arms if someone were to try to segregate an LGBT event, yet you’ll allow that ignorant, outdated way of thinking dictate your perspective of a venue, which is essentially just you holding a grudge because “one of your own” was seemingly treated unfairly (although ONLY Andy the other owner, and Scott know what happened between themselves as the 2 partners on the club). Please don’t act as if anyone has specifically done you wrong, and if they have then go about the steps to make a formal complaint either to the owner of the establishment or if it needs to be taken a step further, law enforcement. There is a legal protocol to dealing with wrong doing, generally much more effective than a soapbox rant, or blog post, or video post, or witch hunt.

If you think that you’re only speaking to Bellevue and Amazon yuppies and Belltown and U District Jocks, then you’re highly mistaken. Let me break that down for you. I’m a 20-something living in Seattle and by way that I dress you may mistake me for what some would call a “hipster” that would probably live somewhere in Capitol Hill. At other times I can tend to dress a bit flashier, so you may think I’m just some post-college guy that drinks a lot of red bull and enjoys football and degrading women. Also, I’m a 6’4” black male from Tacoma, WA. Given that character description and the times when I decide to dress more “street,” you may mistake me for a “young thug” that plays a lot of “rap music” in his “gangster whip” and I enjoy drinking cognac. These stereotypes have followed me around my entire life. One stereotype that probably wouldn’t come to mind initially as you see a young hoodlum with tattoos and earrings and sunglasses and a hat on backwards would be that I’m a self-employed, independently contracted artist and model, and also a founding partner on a rather successful, small business (clothing line) based out of Seattle, with an office in the Sodo. Oh and I also live in Belltown, which is full of young professionals and older executives, nothing like the demographic that is far too often associated with our neighborhood that have absolutely nothing to do with it outside of the parameters of Friday evening thru Sunday morning. Capitol Hill has just as any crack heads, drunken clowns, and night time heathens as any other neighborhood in the city.

It’s actually not even isolated to the confines of one street like how Belltown and Pioneer Square are, it’s spread out across a 6-10 block radius. Belltown only has to deal with 1st avenue, so if you want to make it a game of areas and numbers, Capitol Hill is probably much worse off than Belltown is by sheer area alone. From 12th and Pike all the way down to Bellevue Avenue, Capitol Hill is crazy on the weekends. And from Union all the way over to Olive, and even further really. Belltown only has to worry about 1st ave and 3 blocks therein.

I’m only stating these things because of your vehement witch hunt on all things that are not specifically LGBT Capitol Hill. Your apparent hatred sickens me, but I would never ever classify an entire community of people by a meager few that have nothing better to do, while sitting back and not contributing to their own neighborhoods constructively. That is the fundamental difference between what Sean Majors and crew are doing at Q and what you aren’t doing, and that is why they will succeed, because I can co-sign that they do not see color, or style, or preference. They see a smile, and a heart, and that’s it. Music is UNIVERSAL. Coming from someone who I’m certain has been discriminated against unfairly just as much as any of you upset within the LGBT community, you’re wrong in your thinking. I know this won’t sway your stubborn opinions, but I also know that your counterparts and associates within your community don’t agree with you either. I can speak for them, because I know and am friends with many of them who are completely unbiased in their acceptance and embracing of those that may look or think different than they do. I accept and embrace them as well.

I actually drove one of the Grand Marshall cars in the Pride Parade last year. Just a little extra point.

My second topic: The crucifixion of Q Nightclub by the (unofficial, yet probably not at all majority voice of the LGBT community). The fact that there are even events that only LGBT are allowed to sounds foreign to me, because I’ve been to R Place before, Neighbours as well. Never had any issues with being told I can’t be there. I haven’t seen Q or any of the promoters therein ever say anything about gays not being allowed to come into Q. That is baffling to me, and is just entirely untrue. Anyone that doesn’t feel welcome at an event is feeling that way because THEY make that notion themselves, not because anyone express disdain towards them. You’re reaching if you say that Q doesn’t want LGBT. Q wants everyone, as any other business should. This is not 1950, and there is no Mason-Dixon line in the city of Seattle; as much a you want a reason to complain you don’t have one.

In regard to the staff and security being a nuisance to patrons, every situation is an independent one, so I will not write-off your claims as wrong or untrue. If it happened to you, then it happened to you, but there are ways to go about it. If you remain passive and only state what went down after the fact, well then congratulations you’ve allowed for the person that enters after you to be subjected to the same treatment, thus contributing to the problem and not the solution. You also attract more bee’s with honey, so if you go into the situation with a positive attitude, the chances of something happening will be much lower.

I will say myself that Seattle dress codes, security, and door policies sometimes get to me as well, but not because of lack of understanding or patience. The security staff at most of the venues in Seattle are for the most part pleasant guys, they have to sit there sober and deal with drunks while for the most part not being paid enough to put up with what they do. If you walk into the situation immediately ready to argue because they ask for your ID or a pat down, then you should expect to become a point of interest aka TARGET for them for the rest of the night most likely. Because you’re a man, and even as a gay man, yes you must be patted down, it’s a policy that the clubs must enforce via liquor control’s strict rules. So if you really want to gripe to someone, it would be them. Liquor Control is probably the most strict of anywhere here in the good state of Washington, seriously.

Look it up in comparison to. As I had mentioned before, if there is an issue, take it up with management, you can also record your findings, do you “secret shopping.” You’d be surprised what you can get accomplished if you write down what happened and report it to the proper parties. Watching that fight video, two women were fighting and security was trying to stop it. Then, when another man tries to grab security he pushes that man. Two women were fighting, that man standing up had no business stepping into anything whether its his friend or not. They’ve compromised themselves the minute they began fighting. Security did exactly as they should.

Being against Q’s programming is your own personal bias. There are gays that didn’t like the LGBT acts that were coming through and they didn’t support. All of the gays are not on the same page in regard to what’s going on, EVERYONE has different likes and dislikes, so stop acting like there was some great conspiracy against ALL gays in general. There was NOT.

The third topic. I’ve worked in nightlife now for about 3 years, in, around, and between Capitol Hill, Pioneer Square, and Belltown. The three neighborhoods where generally most of the festivities occur. I see all kind of people through all three neighborhoods each week. There is no bias. Coming from someone with an eyewitness account, and a vested relationship with the venues, I can say with confidence that there is no bias. I’ve also worked under and with Sean Majors for quite some time. Sean is by far the most qualified person to bring diversity, variety, quality, and dignity, and imagination to Q Nightclub. Everyone will be excited to go there. He has taught me a ton in these few years that I’ve been able to work in the same element as him, and I look forward to seeing more of his great work and open mindedness come into a venue that screams FUTURE. The future is now, and the future is colorblind, with ears open ready to listen, and with hearts open eager to accept. Anyone that is against that, straight and gay, will still be welcomed, because we don’t want to leave you out, we want to change your perception of the world. We want to change everyone’s outlook on things that they don’t understand, or things they have been taught by society to disrespect or disregard. We want to teach equality and community. I hope that everyone can read this and agree with that notion, because it’s truly helpful to us all. Thanks, sorry for taking so much of your time if you did read this. I hope this helped someone somewhere see things from a different perspective.

David
David
10 years ago

Mr. McClarron – as a gay man, I would love nothing better than a totally colorblind, genderblind, sexualityblind world. But we’re not there yet. The fact is, there are a lot of hateful people in the world. Hateful of all types of creeds, races, religions, sexualities.

Sexual minorities (gay, bi, transgender, etc) are particularly vulnerable to violence and oppression. DOMA may be dead, but only 13 states and DC allow same-sex couples to marry. The vast majority of the rest have constitutional bans against it. Imagine that, actually enshrined in their constitutions. Most states offer ZERO protection to sexual minorities in terms of job security or housing. Gay? You can LEGALLY be fired or kicked out of your rented housing in many states, no questions asked. Gay people are routinely compared to pedophiles and animal-fuckers. By national politicians. We are told that we are causing the demise of the family, of the nation, of all of Western civilization. That the end is near because we love whom we love. I’m not being overly dramatic – read the posts of one Rev. Ken Hutcherson, from right here in Seattle. Gay people are often the targets of violence – look at the recent uptick in gay-bashings on Capitol Hill. By bashing, I don’t mean someone flipped them off and called them a fag. I mean, they beat the shit out of someone, because they are, or are assumed to be, gay.

So when you use words like “bigot”, “witch hunt” “apparent hatred sickens me”, “prejudiced”, it says a lot to me about your attitude. Quite a lot. You took ONE comment on this blog about straight clubs, and launched into a tirade about gay people. It’s the same projection that right-wing bigots used when talking about gay people. That we are “bashing straights” by standing up for ourselves. As if we’re out in the streets chasing down straights and beating them up.

I have been to Q a lot of times. Not every night, but then again, I do have to report to work in the mornings. But I was there a lot. I don’t question their change in promoters if things weren’t working. But they went with a promoter who is known for events that attract a certain demographic – young, heterosexual, and based on the experience at the Social, ready for a fight. And homophobia is one of the things that can easily come to the surface in a terrible way in this environment. Did you know that, prior to the brawl videotaped, that people in line for Q were screaming homophobic slurs at people? Just because they were walking down the street.

So, before you accuse all of gay-dom as being on a bigoted witch hunt, walk a mile in our shoes. It’s not fun to be afraid in your own neighborhood (and for the record, there are TONS of “straight” bars and clubs on the Hill, that have been there for years, that exist right alongside gay bars and clubs, with ZERO problem – because their patrons aren’t homophobic douchebags).

And, another technical note. When you work security, if a fight erupts outside, YOU DON’T PUT YOURSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF IT AND START HITTING PEOPLE. You call the police. Seriously, that is really dumb – security is NOT an amateur police force. You call the cops, period.

Rion Haber
Rion Haber
10 years ago
Reply to  David

If you knew anything about Sean and the rest of the Kingdom family, you’d know that not only do they not have a discriminatory bone in their body, but that these are the rare kind of “straight white frat boys” that would stand up to bigots (physically, if need be) simply because it was the right thing to do. THIS is the group of people I see the LGBT community tearing down today.

Where you could have made a solid friend and partner in helping to mold Cap Hills growth such that it remains the safehaven that you’ve come to call home, you’ve torn a man down. Mission accomplished?

Mego
Mego
10 years ago
Reply to  Rion Haber

Rion, I only know what I see on the streets outside of his events. I don’t doubt that Sean Majors is progressive and enlightened, as you have said. But this event attracts a crowd that is not. Patrons of his event were slinging homophobic slurs outside Q prior to the brawl. A brawl, which NEVER occurred at Q prior to his event. Just think about that for a second. NEVER. Until, all of a sudden, this past weekend. Hmmm…. wonder why?

If Sean Majors is a “solid friend and partner”, then he needs to set the tone at his events – homophobia? NOT TOLERATED. Fighting? NOT TOLERATED. Brawls? NOT TOLERATED. End of story.

For chrissakes, man. If you know anything about Seattle nightlife, you know that Rebar has been hosting mixed events for decades – and you know why it works? Because they don’t target a demographic that involves drunken overgrown fratboys. They host events for straight, gay, whatever, and they make the rules clear right at the door – no homophobia, no assholes. They don’t need gobs of security to enforce it, either. The simply don’t market events for drunken, brawl-prone douches.

I’ve been to tons of clubs in Seattle that have sexuality-neutral events – USC notably, Rebar, your own Baltic Room, and tons of afterhours like Bohemian, Habana, Noc Noc, Contour, and even Larry’s in the good ol’ days. These places create a safe environment for EVERYONE by not tolerating the douchebag behavior that happens at Kingdom. Gay, Straight, whatever, we all partied there into the wee hours of the morning without problem. But so far, I’m less than impressed by what is now happening at Q, and definitely not impressed with the previous Kingdom events at the Social. Sean Majors can create events “open to everyone” – but he, as the promoter, needs to actually make it open. Just saying “open” doesn’t mean anything if the crowd inside is ready to beat you to a pulp because you’re gay.

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago
Reply to  Mego

It’s clear and simple – there is more money promoting to the douchebag crowd. You can dress it up however you want. Put dresses on guys, nice pants on thugs. It’s the same crowd, and the same type of marketing, and the same type of owner who doesn’t care about anything by dollars. Re-bar has always had a social consciousness. Q hasn’t, and won’t. They’ll talk nice, but the same crowd, the same security, the same over service, the same marketing, will all be there. Plain and simple -it’s time the Liquor Board, the SPD, the Fire Department and all other regulatory agencies look into this place. And don’t worry, they will be.

Mikey McClarron
Mikey McClarron
10 years ago
Reply to  David

David, I don’t think you read through all of my post.

“unofficial, yet probably not at all majority voice of the LGBT community”

“Your apparent hatred sickens me, but I would never ever classify an entire community of people by a meager few that have nothing better to do,”

My attitude is one of acceptance, where unfortunately people from both my side and your side don’t have. But don’t try to cast me in a negative light. The quotes above clearly state who I was addressing.

How about this, walk a mile in MY shoes. As a young black male who has to overcome the stereotype that is unfortunately being reinforced every day by others who immediately think the worst of me, and is constantly being perpetuated by people within my own race as well. Walk a mile in my shoes where I can’t get into a club with friends without being patted down, or being eyeballed by security as a threat because i’m the same height as them and darker than them. I would never use that as an excuse to be fearful or anything, I act as though I am an individual. You sir will not make me out to be something that I am not, and I stand behind everything that I stated, I didn’t categorize you or anyone else from any community under that except for the very people that made those hateful statements in the first place.

What you should be doing is going after the foolish ones on this thread that continue to call people that live in an affluent neighborhood like Belltown or Bellevue douchebags because they don’t have the same interests and hobbies as them.

David
David
10 years ago

No, I read your comment. Three times, all the way through. My reply still stands. You demonized gay people because of your own prejudices. How about this – you re-read your own post?

I also never addressed your race or ethnicity. I addressed the comments you posted here. So I did not ‘make you out to be something you are not’.

I can’t say the same for you.

evon
evon
10 years ago

The video looks like a bunch of kids from the eastside out looking for “excitement”. They come over here because none of that crazy sh*t goes on on the eastside, the club would be denied a license over there.

umvue.blue
umvue.blue
10 years ago

Summing up…

OMG! Seattle is almost like a city!! And not everyone smells like me!!!

George
George
10 years ago

From the day that Q first opened its doors, there were complaints and reports about overly aggressive security, gay men being told they could not take their shirts off and a gay couple being threatened with being kicked out for kissing. Yes, these situations were handled quietly and quickly, but the underlying tone and environment which allowed these behaviors has prevailed. With the exits of two gay creative directors and the abrubt end to GLBT programming, DJ’s or events, and the sudden, mysterious departure of the one gay owner, Q has made its stance very clear. Don’t listen to their words about “community” and all the dribble about wanting to include everybody. Just watch. And decide for yourself. This is not about “GLBT events” at Q, this is about creating an environment that is safe for GLBT people in our neigborhood. The simple fact is, with very few exceptions, I can’t imagine a single gay man, woman or transgendered person who would feel safe even WALKING past this club, let alone, go inside. Q has betrayed our community, plain and simple.

Mike Sousa
Mike Sousa
10 years ago

First off, I’m letting you all know that I’m a gay guy living here on the Hill since 2005 so you know where I’m coming from. Overall, I like the changes that are taking place on the Hill. Seattle is growing up into a real city. Yes there is some sadness in some of the cool things that are going away but that sometimes happens and if it really bugs you then get your ass into the neighborhood and city meetings where building ordinance changes are discussed and state your opinions there. Don’t just be a lazy ass spitting out your thoughts on the blog. Moving on…I still don’t get why so many gays thought Q was theirs in the first place. Never ever did they state they were going to be a gay bar. They wanted to be a “Capitol Hill” bar where anyone who lives on the Hill (or Seattle) can come and dance to good (emphasis on the “good”) EDM. [Side note: I frankly think the gay bars here in Seattle are tragic. They are of a level of those that should be in a town more like Spokane (sorry for the dish on Spokane but you know what I mean.) Go to Chicago and see what real gay bars can be like.] Anyway, moving on from that comment, what I love about Seattle and the Hill, is that all the establishments, gay and “not gay” are welcoming to everyone, “not gay” and gay. Good Lord, that’s what we gays have been marching in the streets for since 1969…to just be accepted and allowed to mix in with everyone and carry on with our normal lives. So now that we are finally arriving into this new world where we gays can really go anywhere in Seattle, hold hands and even kiss and cuddle with our same-sex boyfriends and girlfriends among the non-gays, some of us are bemoaning that we don’t have “our places” anymore. Get over it girls, those days are fading and thank God they are. I have gone to Q many times and feel comfortable being my “gay self” there and dancing with my male fiancé and gay male friends. We went to see BT there on Memorial Day weekend and had a great time dancing among a very heterosexual crowd. So what if were the only gays there (I’m sure there were others), we were there for the music and to be with each other and have fun and we did. Perhaps Q could take point from The Mercury and put a large sign up as you walk in stating the kind of people/behavior that will not be tolerated and then truly follow up on removing that element from the bar. If you go there and see that element in the crowd, by all means report it to the staff and then assess their reaction. Only then should you make any conclusions about the “elements” they are letting in.

anonymous
anonymous
10 years ago

Speaking as someone who frequents clubs in the area (R-Place, Neighbours, etc), the issue I see is with these guys who troll gay clubs trying to take advantage of girls. I’m not talking about guys out on the town, having some fun, maybe hooking up with some girls they happen to run into at the club. These are calculated, creepy assholes who hang out on the edge of the dancefloor, trying to spot girls who are a little drunk or tipsy and then they move in. These guys figured out that theres tons more girls in gay clubs. On more than one occasion, I or my gf have had to intervene or get security when we notice one of these creeps not taking no for an answer. I’ve watched some of these guys get enraged when their advances are rebuffed only to be told that she’s a lesbian (and they still won’t take no for an answer). Security at these places need to be more alert of guys like this because they ruin it for everyone.

anonymous
anonymous
10 years ago

(hit post too quick sorry).
I see a lot of potential fights when these creepy guys make unwanted advances on some girl who happens to have a male friend or bf who is understandably pissed off. Its happened to my gf and I several times, we try to just remove ourselves from the situation and worst case get help from security. But often it escalates pretty fast into something ugly.

EDMFanatic
EDMFanatic
10 years ago

Why would you host Kingdom at Q if you wanted that place to stay open and get neighborhood’s support? Kingdom nights never attracted other than thugs, posers and douchebags, not to mention that the music they play attract the very wrong crowd to the neighborhood. Please don’t turn Q into Social. we’ve seen how well that went for them.

There are other EDM genres that could be played and attract an educated friendly crowd that is there to have a good time. I’m a frequent at Q, one of my favorite nights and the most i’ve seen that place packed was when they had BT, the crowd was very mixed but yet respectful and not caring about anything other than the music and having a good time. Have more nights like that!

After attending the first Kingdom Saturdays at Q and seeing that thuggy and unfriendly crowd, i’m worried about my safety and i’m not really sure i want to go there on a Saturday ever again.

I Will Not Leave
I Will Not Leave
10 years ago

Wow! There is a lot of impotent sounding off and hollow self defenses to what has been happening in this neighborhood. Over the last two years these things have accelerated, but the changes started long before Q came onto the scene. As a gay man who has lived on the hill since 1990, it appears that the LGBT community is giving up on Capitol Hill, and this started when the decision was made to move Pride to downtown. The sense of community continued to erode as visible gay owned businesses started to close and were not replaced by new ones. In the 90’s, when violence would crop up, the LGBT community created patrols and “Take back the Night” marches. I might add that Volunteer park was the destination for the community…not Westlake. Assimilation seems to be more valuable now than community bonds or actual visibility. Douchebags have always come around…now they’re just sticking around. Neighbour’s once was the only late night dance club. Every Friday and Saturday the same thing happened around 1:00: groups of drunk “tourists” made their way to the hill in search of continuing the party. Inevitably, there were gawkers who would overtly express their disgust with two men dancing together or a lesbian couple kissing. Instead of moving on to a “friendlier club” we stood up for ourselves and they left. When the gay community leaves and opens the door to douchebags, how can the club owners be blamed? Sitting around and arguing back and forth with each other in blogs doesn’t seem to be helping. This is our home, the source of many of our livelihoods. Instead of bemoaning the problems and pointing fingers to find someone else to blame, solutions are what are needed. Those solutions need to come from residents and business owners. At this time, very little real help can be expected to come from the mayor’s office. Look at Belltown. The answer to violence there was to keep bars open later…let them drink more. Closer to home, regarding the concern over what is happening with the Bellevue Melrose block, the clear answer was that money is far more important than our home. It appears that nothing can be done about the infestation of suburban-looking, soulless “luxury” buildings, but coming together can assist us with the douchebags and aggressive squatters that are making life here so worrisome.

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[…] becoming a consistent destination for electronic music in the city. Last month CHS reported on the shifting directions at Q nightclub to expand it’s musical menu. Horton said the club is showing a lot of promise and has the makings to be nationally recognized […]