noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 59 February 2009 - Index

PROMOTER
SPOTLIgHT:
Jeffrey Sanker
His Palette
goes Way
Beyond White
by Steve Kleine
Ask any party boy to name the top promoters on the scene, and the name Jeffrey
Sanker will be at the top of the list. His career spans three decades starting with
the New York club scene during the halcyon days of Studio 54. His parties happen
in the country’s hottest hot spots—Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Miami and Las
Vegas. He’s also brought some of the Circuit’s best-known DJs to parties during
Gay Days in Orlando. The super-producer known simply as “The Man” has consistently
come up with the baddest parties for the fiercest crowd.
How does he do it? According to
Sanker, “You have to make everything
like a show. That is why I feel
I am more of an impresario than a
promoter.” It also means keeping
up with the changes in nightlife.
Sanker is perhaps best known for
White Party Palm Springs, which has
long held the crown of largest gay
dance event west of the Mississippi.
More recently, he has been extending
his brand into some of the hottest
clubs in L.A. Every month a
new party seems to crop up with
“Jeffrey Sanker presents” emblazoned
on top of it. But these are
not your uncle’s Circuit-style parties. He
might add some décor, and he always
has the top DJs at the turntables, but he
has realized that the younger party boys
are self-lubricating with that old standby,
alcohol.
The music is hip-hop and pop, the dance
floors are smaller, and there are “chill”
spaces where the city’s A-list can see
and be seen. The focus has shifted from
a night of sweaty dancing to an evening
being with your friends and making
new ones. In fact, at one recent event,
the dance floor was filled—but no one
was dancing. Instead, the boys were just
holding the latest trendy martini and
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Happy Am I! Healthy Am I! holy Am I!