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Entries tagged with 'Mansion'
Posted Jun. 26, 2008,
Chatting With Mansion's Mark Baker: "You Know, Everyone Thought I Was Ridiculous to Open a Club the Size of Mansion"
By Alexis Swerdloff
On the eve of the powerHouse "Gotta Have It" party at haute mega-club Mansion, we got to thinking that we should know more about this venue (housed in the former Crobar space on 28th St.) that opened earlier this year. So we got owner (and nightlife legend) Mark Baker on the line and asked him a bunch of a questions -- and he kindly answered! This is the first in a series of PAPERMAG interviews with various players in the NY nightlife scene.
With Mansion, you decided to transplant a Miami club to New York –- what are some of the main differences between the Miami and New York nightlife scenes?
Actually, we didn’t transplant a Miami club to New York. I partnered with Eric Milon at The Opium Group to build a New York club for the New York crowd -– even though the club is an arm of The Opium Group, it’s a New York City institution. You have to keep in mind that Miami is a Holiday destination… New York is not. In New York we have to get up and go to work in the morning… and not go to the beach. This means that there is a very different style of partying; Mansion New York caters to a New York clientele.
You are often referred to as the “godfather of New York nightlife” –- why do you think that is?
Godfather…or Grandfather? I guess I have just been around longer than everyone else. I have been doing it for a long time and I am still going at it. It’s unbelievable really. I started working in New York clubs 25 years ago and I’m still here. Because of this, when I travel internationally, I really see myself as an ambassador of New York nightlife.
What does a typical night at Mansion entail?
Wow. Typical? A typical night would include great music, wild entertainment, the sexiest dancers in New York (both female and male), as well as some unusual entertainment. We have had gospel choirs, opera singers, aerial artists a la Cirque du Soleil and other performances. And of course Rock and Roll.
Posted Jun. 4, 2008,
Eight Items or Less... Donna Summer, Boy Bands and Introducing the Uroclub
By Gary Pini
1. Donna Summer performed several songs from her new album, Crayons, last night at New York club Mansion. Backed by a live band, her set also featured early hits like "Bad Girls" and "Hot Stuff" but the songs from her first studio LP in 17 years were equally catchy and bode well for her revived career. Summer still holds the record for having three consecutive double albums reach #1.
2. While at Mansion we noticed that the club has a "library" stocked totally with books from DUMBO-based powerHouse Books.
3. According to Rolling Stone, boy bands are back. With record companies taking note of the sold-out New Kids on the Block arena tour, watch out for a new generation of acts including: ' V Factory, NLT and Varsity Fan Club.
4. Coney Island Lager debuts three new beers tonight at The Gate in Brooklyn (321 Fifth Ave. at 3rd St.). The "side-show" monikered beverages are: Albino Python White, Sword Swallower Steel Hop and Human Blockhead Tough-as-Nails Lager.
5. Picture yourself on the fairway at your favorite country club when nature calls. No need to run into the bushes. Just reach for your trusty Uroclub.
6. For $250 you can hit the after party of MoMA's annual Party in the Garden featuring M.I.A. (live) and LCD Soundsystem DJ's James Murphy and Pat Mahoney. (Tuesday, June 10, 9 p.m. to midnight, 4 W. 54 St.)
Posted Apr. 7, 2008,
Spring Break Beat Down at Mansion
By Gary Pini
According to Miami Beach police, three University of Delaware students on Spring Beak were viciously beaten in a back room of Miami nightclub Mansion on Friday. The club is the sister to New York's Mansion on Manhattan's West Side owned by the Opium Group and Mark Baker. Eight club employees were taken into custody after the incident -- allegedly caught on security cameras -- when the trio asked for a printed copy of their $700 bottle tab.