1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:03,820 Speaker 1: Hey guys, thanks for checking out this Rewind episode of Disgraceland. 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:06,180 Speaker 1: This one goes back to season one, our story on 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: the 90s club kid scene, in particular on Michael Allig. 4 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,350 Speaker 1: Michael has since passed away. He made it out of 5 00:00:15,850 --> 00:00:18,810 Speaker 1: prison for the antics and the crimes that you're going 6 00:00:18,829 --> 00:00:21,430 Speaker 1: to hear in this episode. And when he did make 7 00:00:21,470 --> 00:00:23,770 Speaker 1: it out, he called me, got in touch with me. 8 00:00:23,870 --> 00:00:26,990 Speaker 1: We had a nice conversation. I have a recording of 9 00:00:27,050 --> 00:00:29,870 Speaker 1: it somewhere. Maybe someday we'll get around to rerunning it here. 10 00:00:30,390 --> 00:00:34,670 Speaker 1: But anyways, this is one of the most incredible... I 11 00:00:35,050 --> 00:00:39,530 Speaker 1: don't even know the words to describe this. Just debaucherous. 12 00:00:40,070 --> 00:00:43,190 Speaker 1: Debauchery doesn't do this. That's not the right word. Depraved, 13 00:00:43,409 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 1: I think. Psychotic. Crazy story. Crazy, crazy, crazy story on 14 00:00:48,540 --> 00:00:52,660 Speaker 1: Michael Alec. Michael's a very tragic character and he created 15 00:00:52,700 --> 00:00:56,710 Speaker 1: a lot of pain. But I feel like Michael's one 16 00:00:56,730 --> 00:00:58,810 Speaker 1: of those guys where the drugs just ate him up. 17 00:00:58,870 --> 00:01:03,580 Speaker 1: They completely ate him up, scrambled his brains, and the 18 00:01:03,620 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: results were, like I said, absolutely tragic. Here is the 19 00:01:08,459 --> 00:01:12,950 Speaker 1: Michael Alex story in Disgraceland. Disgraceland is a production of 20 00:01:13,050 --> 00:01:27,010 Speaker 1: Double Elvis. New York City club kids in the 90s 21 00:01:27,290 --> 00:01:32,429 Speaker 1: lived shockingly decadent lifestyles. Their sense of spectacle went beyond 22 00:01:32,470 --> 00:01:36,780 Speaker 1: their open drug use and flamboyant fashion. In public, they 23 00:01:36,819 --> 00:01:41,619 Speaker 1: drank each other's urine, had sex with amputated limbs, obliterated 24 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: gender norms, and packed large-capacity Manhattan dance clubs. Fueled by 25 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,340 Speaker 1: an endless stream of hard drugs and a new form 26 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:54,490 Speaker 1: of electronic music that was loud and abrasive, Club Kids 27 00:01:54,770 --> 00:01:58,790 Speaker 1: were propelled by aggressive beats, the perfect soundtrack for this 28 00:01:58,910 --> 00:02:06,670 Speaker 1: new post-punk, post-disco, clubland decadence. It was great music. King 29 00:02:06,690 --> 00:02:10,010 Speaker 1: of the Club Kids, Michael Alec, didn't make great music. 30 00:02:10,550 --> 00:02:14,170 Speaker 1: In fact, he didn't make any music at all. He 31 00:02:14,190 --> 00:02:18,660 Speaker 1: made nobodies into somebodies. He was a club promoter, as 32 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: much a Pied Piper as other rock stars you can 33 00:02:21,020 --> 00:02:25,169 Speaker 1: think of. Michael Alec packed clubs, put an entire scene 34 00:02:25,230 --> 00:02:27,150 Speaker 1: on his back, and wound up on the cover of 35 00:02:27,230 --> 00:02:33,020 Speaker 1: magazines and splattered across television screens. He made headlines. He 36 00:02:33,060 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: made people happy. He made people dance. He made people famous. 37 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:39,700 Speaker 1: And he made one person turn up dead in a 38 00:02:39,740 --> 00:02:43,150 Speaker 1: box on Staten Island. But he didn't make great music. 39 00:02:44,410 --> 00:02:46,710 Speaker 1: That music at the top of the show? That wasn't 40 00:02:46,750 --> 00:02:49,669 Speaker 1: great music either. That was a preset loop from my 41 00:02:49,710 --> 00:02:54,660 Speaker 1: Mellotron called Samba Electric Organ MK1. I played you that 42 00:02:54,750 --> 00:02:57,420 Speaker 1: loop because I can't afford the rights to Vision of 43 00:02:57,500 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: Love by Mariah Carey. And why would I play you 44 00:03:00,419 --> 00:03:02,940 Speaker 1: that kind of forgettable cheese by Miss Mariah, could I 45 00:03:02,980 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 1: afford it? Because that was the number one song in 46 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:11,370 Speaker 1: America on August 15th, 1990. And that was the day 47 00:03:11,389 --> 00:03:15,810 Speaker 1: that Michael Alec launched Disco 2000, kicking off the Club 48 00:03:15,870 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: Kid movement and setting into motion a series of decadent 49 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,260 Speaker 1: events that would bring about what would come to be 50 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:28,030 Speaker 1: known as a disco bloodbath. On this episode, Samba Electric Organs, 51 00:03:28,570 --> 00:03:33,250 Speaker 1: Smoking Hot Forgettable Cheese, a disco bloodbath, Club Kid Decadence, 52 00:03:33,630 --> 00:03:37,900 Speaker 1: and Michael Alec. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. 53 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:55,690 Speaker 1: Bone-colored business cards, Oliver People's glasses, bespoke Valentino suits, a 54 00:03:55,750 --> 00:04:00,990 Speaker 1: table at Dorsey. Without these in 80s Manhattan, you're a nobody. 55 00:04:02,050 --> 00:04:04,370 Speaker 1: At least you're a nobody from the perspective of Bret 56 00:04:04,470 --> 00:04:11,690 Speaker 1: Easton Ellis' brilliantly satirical Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. That 57 00:04:11,750 --> 00:04:15,610 Speaker 1: table at Dorsey, it's hard to come by. Harder than 58 00:04:15,630 --> 00:04:18,600 Speaker 1: the money it takes to afford bespoke suits and and 59 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: trendy eyewear. You have to know someone. And you're from 60 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: east wherever the fuck, so you don't know anyone. So 61 00:04:26,220 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: you head downtown to find your place, but lower Manhattan hotspots, 62 00:04:30,410 --> 00:04:35,029 Speaker 1: like the Odeon or Cafeteria, are off-limits. Because the running 63 00:04:35,050 --> 00:04:37,909 Speaker 1: of the Wall Street Bulls is in full effect. And 64 00:04:37,930 --> 00:04:41,089 Speaker 1: the masters of the universe are rubbing coke straws with 65 00:04:41,110 --> 00:04:45,490 Speaker 1: Jean-Michel Basquiat and SNL cast members in the bathrooms. And 66 00:04:45,529 --> 00:04:49,969 Speaker 1: you're either too young, too broke, too openly gay, too unsexy, 67 00:04:50,410 --> 00:04:52,430 Speaker 1: or too much of all of the above to fit in. 68 00:04:53,730 --> 00:04:55,650 Speaker 1: And so you head over to the Bowery to try 69 00:04:55,690 --> 00:04:58,730 Speaker 1: your luck with the punks and the hardcore kids. But 70 00:04:58,770 --> 00:05:01,530 Speaker 1: you'd rather eat Gigi Allen's shit than sit through some 71 00:05:01,670 --> 00:05:08,290 Speaker 1: post-punk mediocrity with the offensively asexual crowd at CBGB's. Max's 72 00:05:08,350 --> 00:05:12,630 Speaker 1: Kansas City is dead. The Mud Club is closed. Elaine's 73 00:05:12,690 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: is where your mom would hang out if she could 74 00:05:14,390 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: afford a bus ticket and shoes that didn't look like 75 00:05:17,060 --> 00:05:20,580 Speaker 1: Tom McCann's stolen out of the discount section from Caldor's. 76 00:05:21,940 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: You're alone in New York City. You know nobody. You 77 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:30,140 Speaker 1: are a nobody. And what do you do? Reinvent yourself 78 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: into something outrageous and more decadent than Patrick Bateman, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 79 00:05:35,700 --> 00:05:39,900 Speaker 1: and even crazier than Gigi Allen. It worked for Michael Alec. 80 00:05:41,500 --> 00:05:46,270 Speaker 1: In 1984, 18-year-old Michael Allig was alone in New York City, 81 00:05:46,770 --> 00:05:50,210 Speaker 1: fresh off the bus from South Bend, Indiana. He quickly 82 00:05:50,270 --> 00:06:03,539 Speaker 1: found his place at Danceteria. Danceteria was the spot for 83 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 1: Allig to reinvent himself. It was the epicenter of New 84 00:06:07,180 --> 00:06:11,670 Speaker 1: York cool. The Beastie Boys worked as busboys. LL Cool 85 00:06:11,710 --> 00:06:15,210 Speaker 1: J was an elevator attendant. So was actress Debbie Mazur. 86 00:06:16,089 --> 00:06:19,539 Speaker 1: Sade attended bar and had her first performance ever there. 87 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:25,339 Speaker 1: But no performer is more associated with Danceteria than Madonna. 88 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:30,239 Speaker 1: Danceteria is where she honed her craft, where she became Madonna. 89 00:06:30,580 --> 00:06:33,740 Speaker 1: And it's where Michael Alec became Michael Alec. As a 90 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: busboy himself, he witnessed the exact kind of magic needed 91 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: to attract young, horny dancers. impossibly cool Manhattanites to a 92 00:06:41,300 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: club on a nightly basis. The only problem? Alec had 93 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:57,260 Speaker 1: no talent. He couldn't play guitar, or write, or act. 94 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,660 Speaker 1: It didn't matter. The creativity and free expression at Danceteria 95 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:03,980 Speaker 1: taught him that you didn't need to be a performer 96 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,370 Speaker 1: to draw people. All you needed was a hook. What 97 00:07:08,410 --> 00:07:11,870 Speaker 1: does the pre-feminism Mad Men character Bobby Barrett say to 98 00:07:11,910 --> 00:07:15,390 Speaker 1: Don Draper? This is America. Pick a job and then 99 00:07:15,430 --> 00:07:18,330 Speaker 1: become the person who does it. And that's what Michael 100 00:07:18,410 --> 00:07:21,310 Speaker 1: Allen did. He picked the job of promoter because you 101 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: didn't need to know how to sing or dance or 102 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: any of that. All you needed was a friend who 103 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,980 Speaker 1: could DJ, a club looking to sell drinks on an 104 00:07:30,060 --> 00:07:35,010 Speaker 1: off night, a little creativity and decadence. Lots of and 105 00:07:35,130 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: lots of decadence. In 1988, Michael Allig was hired by 106 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,740 Speaker 1: New York City nightclub owner Peter Gation to work as 107 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:13,690 Speaker 1: a party promoter at his club, The Limelight. Allig's parties 108 00:08:14,010 --> 00:08:17,870 Speaker 1: were the most outrageous, the most decadent, and quickly became 109 00:08:18,430 --> 00:08:24,210 Speaker 1: wildly successful. In part, because Allig created what became known 110 00:08:24,630 --> 00:08:28,110 Speaker 1: as the club kid. It's impossible to describe the look 111 00:08:28,150 --> 00:08:30,980 Speaker 1: of a club kid. Remember that rave you went to 112 00:08:31,060 --> 00:08:33,620 Speaker 1: in college? The one where you were certain you were 113 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,900 Speaker 1: getting dosed by the sketchy dude wearing lipstick, frosted tips, 114 00:08:36,990 --> 00:08:41,890 Speaker 1: an astrological sign choker, and leopard print creepers? Okay, a 115 00:08:41,990 --> 00:08:44,849 Speaker 1: club kid is who that guy was trying to look like. 116 00:08:45,590 --> 00:08:48,530 Speaker 1: A club kid is an even more outrageous version of 117 00:08:48,610 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: sketchy roofie dude from college. But throw in a mix 118 00:08:52,220 --> 00:08:57,910 Speaker 1: of drag queen, Japanese anime, heroin chic, B-grade horror... an 119 00:08:57,950 --> 00:09:01,390 Speaker 1: address stolen from your little sister's American Girl doll collection, 120 00:09:01,730 --> 00:09:05,210 Speaker 1: and you're getting closer to the club kid look. Club 121 00:09:05,230 --> 00:09:09,309 Speaker 1: kids took hard drugs, designer drugs, and took on flamboyant, 122 00:09:09,710 --> 00:09:16,380 Speaker 1: ludicrous personas. Michael Alec's friend and fellow club kid, James St. James, 123 00:09:16,940 --> 00:09:21,459 Speaker 1: was a self-proclaimed celebitan, meaning he was famous for, well, 124 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:26,500 Speaker 1: being famous. This was the early 90s, way before internet ubiquity, 125 00:09:26,820 --> 00:09:30,300 Speaker 1: social media, and just at the cusp of 24-7 news 126 00:09:30,380 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: and infotainment. To be famous for no good reason, and 127 00:09:35,300 --> 00:09:37,790 Speaker 1: in the absence of talent, you needed to be over 128 00:09:37,850 --> 00:09:41,170 Speaker 1: the damn top. St. James described the club kid vibe 129 00:09:41,530 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: as part drag, part clown, part infantilism. In addition to St. James, 130 00:09:49,300 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: Alex Club Kids included, among others, superstar DJ Kiyoki, who sometimes, 131 00:09:55,820 --> 00:09:58,750 Speaker 1: clad in nothing more than glitter and a diaper, would 132 00:09:58,770 --> 00:10:03,910 Speaker 1: provide the soundtrack for Alec's parties. The stunning Jenny Talia, 133 00:10:04,470 --> 00:10:07,910 Speaker 1: who was prone to big pink dresses, big black boots, 134 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 1: and big blonde wigs worn over a shaved head, which, 135 00:10:12,620 --> 00:10:17,660 Speaker 1: when revealed, made her even more attractive. And a little-known-at-the-time 136 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:21,589 Speaker 1: drag queen who went by the name RuPaul, whose stint 137 00:10:21,670 --> 00:10:26,330 Speaker 1: as a club kid came before his supermodel-of-the-world glamazon status. 138 00:10:27,470 --> 00:10:31,130 Speaker 1: And Amanda Lepore, who like other club kids, not only 139 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:36,099 Speaker 1: bended gender lines, but completely scrambled them with her undeniable 140 00:10:36,460 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: and over-the-top sexuality. In the late 80s and into the 141 00:10:40,860 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 1: early 90s, these and an army of other club kids 142 00:10:45,220 --> 00:10:48,270 Speaker 1: owned the New York City nightclub scene. It was a 143 00:10:48,330 --> 00:10:53,989 Speaker 1: scene defined by over-the-top public displays of sex, overindulgence of 144 00:10:54,130 --> 00:10:58,050 Speaker 1: hard narcotics and designer drugs, and an overthrow of the 145 00:10:58,190 --> 00:11:01,850 Speaker 1: highly codified stale rock and roll by a new form 146 00:11:01,870 --> 00:11:06,569 Speaker 1: of electronic music that was loud, abrasive, and propelled by 147 00:11:06,650 --> 00:11:10,709 Speaker 1: relentlessly aggressive beats that kept the party going well into 148 00:11:10,750 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: the morning. At Limelight, and at other Peter Gation-owned clubs, 149 00:11:15,580 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: Michael Alec was the straw that stirred the Rufinol drink. 150 00:11:20,260 --> 00:11:25,210 Speaker 1: His Wednesday night party, Disco 2000, featured over-the-top acts to 151 00:11:25,260 --> 00:11:29,790 Speaker 1: draw further attention, with characters like Floyd the Human Money Tree, 152 00:11:30,210 --> 00:11:34,290 Speaker 1: who would strip naked, pin $ 100 bills to himself, and 153 00:11:34,350 --> 00:11:38,460 Speaker 1: run through the crowd into a grabby free-for-all. Or Ernie 154 00:11:38,500 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 1: the Pea Drinker, who, you guessed it, would openly piss 155 00:11:42,179 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: in a glass in front of the crowd and gleefully 156 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:48,989 Speaker 1: slurp it all down. Alec himself would frequently piss on 157 00:11:49,030 --> 00:11:51,610 Speaker 1: his crowd from the balcony at Limelight and pass out 158 00:11:51,710 --> 00:11:57,190 Speaker 1: cups of his own urine to unsuspecting clubgoers. No behavior 159 00:11:57,210 --> 00:12:00,040 Speaker 1: was too shocking. It was all done in the name 160 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:04,820 Speaker 1: of hedonism and decadence. And it worked. The word was 161 00:12:05,020 --> 00:12:07,829 Speaker 1: out on the club kids. Michael Musto from The Village 162 00:12:07,890 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: Voice noted that Alec's hedonistic minions had filled a void 163 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,699 Speaker 1: in New York City nightlife left behind by Andy Warhol's death. 164 00:12:16,860 --> 00:12:20,730 Speaker 1: New York Magazine put Alec on its cover. Geraldo and 165 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,829 Speaker 1: Joan Rivers had them on their television shows. The limelight 166 00:12:25,110 --> 00:12:29,630 Speaker 1: and Gation's bigger club tunnel remained packed. As the notoriety 167 00:12:29,650 --> 00:12:32,850 Speaker 1: of the club kids grew, so did Alec's appetite for 168 00:12:32,870 --> 00:12:38,020 Speaker 1: the outrageous. He staged elaborate outlaw parties in public places. 169 00:12:38,860 --> 00:12:43,700 Speaker 1: Manhattan Burger Kings and subway cars were suddenly, out of nowhere, 170 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:48,830 Speaker 1: overrun by club kids and drag queens for instantaneous dance parties. 171 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:54,970 Speaker 1: and Alec began producing other events beyond Disco 2000. There 172 00:12:54,990 --> 00:12:59,130 Speaker 1: was Unnatural Acts, where one night, Woody, the dancing amputee, 173 00:12:59,470 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 1: lost his prosthetic while performing a dance, only to be 174 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: joined on stage by a female clubgoer who had sex 175 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:11,650 Speaker 1: with both his prosthetic and his stump. The depravity and 176 00:13:11,730 --> 00:13:21,050 Speaker 1: decadence was way out in the open. Anything went. Overt sexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality, pansexuality, 177 00:13:21,470 --> 00:13:25,690 Speaker 1: any sexuality. And the drug use kicked up a notch. 178 00:13:26,450 --> 00:13:30,980 Speaker 1: Special K was everywhere. Club kids boasted of snorting six-inch 179 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,780 Speaker 1: lines off of eight-inch dicks. Punch bowls were laced with acid. 180 00:13:35,100 --> 00:13:38,699 Speaker 1: Balloons filled with ecstasy descended from the ceilings and onto 181 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:43,740 Speaker 1: the dance floor. And Alec promoted another night called Blood Feast. 182 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 1: With a flyer depicting him dead on the floor, dismembered 183 00:13:47,860 --> 00:13:51,559 Speaker 1: and covered in blood, club kids would show up dressed 184 00:13:51,620 --> 00:13:54,800 Speaker 1: in homage to their favorite serial killers. And in the 185 00:13:54,900 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 1: sign of the horrific reality to come, Alec would arrive 186 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:07,320 Speaker 1: in a wheelchair covered in someone else's blood. We'll be 187 00:14:07,380 --> 00:14:13,970 Speaker 1: right back after this word, word, word. Because of Michael Allig, 188 00:14:14,390 --> 00:14:17,850 Speaker 1: the limelight was making Studio 54 seem like a cute 189 00:14:17,950 --> 00:14:21,510 Speaker 1: suburban key party your parents might have attended back in 190 00:14:21,550 --> 00:14:27,340 Speaker 1: the 70s. This, during a time when Rudy Giuliani, U.S. 191 00:14:27,420 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: Attorney for the Southern District of New York and then 192 00:14:30,700 --> 00:14:33,570 Speaker 1: Mayor of New York City, was doing everything in his 193 00:14:33,630 --> 00:14:38,210 Speaker 1: considerable power to restore social norms and law and order 194 00:14:38,570 --> 00:14:44,030 Speaker 1: back to Gotham City. And in Gotham City, Michael Allig, 195 00:14:44,390 --> 00:14:48,130 Speaker 1: king of the club kids, the pajama boy cum pied piper, 196 00:14:48,530 --> 00:14:53,360 Speaker 1: could give two fucks about Rudy Giuliani. In Allig's myopic, 197 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 1: drug-addled view of the world, he was a prince. He 198 00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: had the power. After all, he determined who got past 199 00:15:00,460 --> 00:15:03,420 Speaker 1: the velvet rope, who sat next to him on Geraldo, 200 00:15:03,940 --> 00:15:06,820 Speaker 1: who got mentioned to the village voice, and who he 201 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:11,540 Speaker 1: graced with his presence. The decadence... And all the drugs 202 00:15:12,020 --> 00:15:15,950 Speaker 1: created an alternative reality for Alec, one where he was 203 00:15:15,990 --> 00:15:20,550 Speaker 1: immune to any surrounding pressure or sense of right and wrong. 204 00:15:21,790 --> 00:15:24,830 Speaker 1: He didn't know from Rudy Giuliani. Alec had no sense 205 00:15:24,890 --> 00:15:27,930 Speaker 1: of right or wrong or decency. It was all about 206 00:15:27,970 --> 00:15:31,850 Speaker 1: the party and the shock and the headlines. He didn't 207 00:15:31,950 --> 00:15:35,780 Speaker 1: understand or care about the pressure his boss and benefactor, 208 00:15:36,060 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: Peter Gation, faced to clean up his act at Limelight 209 00:15:39,700 --> 00:15:44,280 Speaker 1: or else. be closed. All Alec understood at this point 210 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,740 Speaker 1: was getting high. When pressed by Gation to get clean 211 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:53,100 Speaker 1: or else be fired, Alec tried striking a compromise where 212 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:57,520 Speaker 1: he promised to only smoke crack while taking heroin. Or 213 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 1: was it he'd only take heroin while smoking crack? It 214 00:16:00,540 --> 00:16:05,250 Speaker 1: didn't matter. It all came crashing down. Giuliani turned the 215 00:16:05,310 --> 00:16:09,250 Speaker 1: screw and Gation was forced to close limelight. Alec flamed 216 00:16:09,290 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: out of rehab, and descended into a drug stupor that 217 00:16:12,220 --> 00:16:18,030 Speaker 1: would have made Courtney Love jealous. Cocaine, Special K, heroin, 218 00:16:18,310 --> 00:16:21,890 Speaker 1: and crystal meth were all swimming through Alec's system while 219 00:16:21,930 --> 00:16:25,630 Speaker 1: he holed up in his luxury Westside apartment, paid for 220 00:16:25,930 --> 00:16:29,820 Speaker 1: by Peter Gation, with fellow club kid Robert Freeze Riggs, 221 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:34,540 Speaker 1: and the two were nearly out of drugs. This was 222 00:16:34,580 --> 00:16:37,860 Speaker 1: a problem. So was the fact that Alec owed his 223 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,410 Speaker 1: drug dealer, Angel Melendez, money. Maybe this is why friends 224 00:16:42,450 --> 00:16:46,290 Speaker 1: of theirs recounted that Alec was running around town, casually 225 00:16:46,350 --> 00:16:52,210 Speaker 1: mentioning that he wanted to kill Angel. Angel Melendez wore wings, literally. 226 00:16:52,770 --> 00:16:55,820 Speaker 1: That was his club kid shtick. He also dealt heroin. 227 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:59,380 Speaker 1: He'd hung out with the punks at CBGB's before finding 228 00:16:59,420 --> 00:17:01,940 Speaker 1: his way to the rough trade over at the piers 229 00:17:01,980 --> 00:17:05,320 Speaker 1: on the west side. A peer queen and street smart, 230 00:17:05,740 --> 00:17:08,820 Speaker 1: Angel was by all accounts a sweet kid, who was 231 00:17:08,900 --> 00:17:12,080 Speaker 1: saving his drug profits to break into the movie business 232 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 1: and break away from the madness of Clubland. Problem was, 233 00:17:17,020 --> 00:17:20,560 Speaker 1: collecting drug debts was a real headache, and Michael Alec's 234 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:24,239 Speaker 1: debt was becoming a real problem. It wasn't just that 235 00:17:24,290 --> 00:17:26,960 Speaker 1: he owed Angel thousands of dollars. It was that he 236 00:17:27,010 --> 00:17:30,130 Speaker 1: was being a real prick about it, disparaging him in public, 237 00:17:30,390 --> 00:17:33,189 Speaker 1: not letting him into the parties he was hosting. And 238 00:17:33,230 --> 00:17:36,430 Speaker 1: then the little bastard found out where Angel was stashing 239 00:17:36,450 --> 00:17:40,470 Speaker 1: his drug cash, and managed to steal 18 grand, only 240 00:17:40,490 --> 00:17:44,890 Speaker 1: to go and blow it all on furniture. Furniture. Alec 241 00:17:44,930 --> 00:17:49,109 Speaker 1: and Freeze were renovating their apartment. Angel was pissed, and 242 00:17:49,170 --> 00:17:53,770 Speaker 1: rightly so. Angel Melendez showed up at the Riverbank West 243 00:17:53,830 --> 00:17:57,570 Speaker 1: Luxury Apartment Complex, where Michael Alec was holed up with 244 00:17:57,690 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: Robert Freeze Riggs, on March 17, 1996, demanding his money back. 245 00:18:04,980 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: Michael mocked him and insisted on more heroin, Freeze told 246 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:11,350 Speaker 1: Angel that he and Alec only let him hang around 247 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:16,070 Speaker 1: because he had drugs. This enraged Angel. A struggle ensued. 248 00:18:16,530 --> 00:18:19,030 Speaker 1: Angel bit Michael and threw him into a china cabinet. 249 00:18:19,430 --> 00:18:22,590 Speaker 1: A huge shard of glass from the cabinet pierced his back. 250 00:18:23,050 --> 00:18:27,490 Speaker 1: Blood spewed everywhere. Freeze then grabbed a nearby hammer and 251 00:18:27,590 --> 00:18:31,210 Speaker 1: swung hard at Angel, coming down on his head three times. 252 00:18:31,810 --> 00:18:37,159 Speaker 1: More blood. Angel fell to the ground. Michael pounced. He 253 00:18:37,220 --> 00:18:39,880 Speaker 1: wrapped his hand in the sweatshirt and began pummeling Angel 254 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:44,010 Speaker 1: in the face. Then he strangled him. At that point, 255 00:18:44,369 --> 00:18:47,050 Speaker 1: one of them grabbed the Drano. They held Angel down 256 00:18:47,090 --> 00:18:50,129 Speaker 1: and poured it into his throat. To be sure that 257 00:18:50,170 --> 00:19:00,020 Speaker 1: he swallowed it, they duct-taped his mouth shut. Exhausted, Michael 258 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: and Freeze flopped on the couch while Angel lay on 259 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:06,230 Speaker 1: the floor choking to death. The official cause of death 260 00:19:06,670 --> 00:19:12,609 Speaker 1: was asphyxiation. After a brief rest, Michael and Freeze dragged 261 00:19:12,710 --> 00:19:15,689 Speaker 1: Angel's body to the bathroom tub. In an effort to 262 00:19:15,790 --> 00:19:19,210 Speaker 1: mask the coming smell of Angel's dead body, they covered 263 00:19:19,230 --> 00:19:23,879 Speaker 1: him in ice, baking soda, and more Drano. Then, they 264 00:19:23,890 --> 00:19:26,680 Speaker 1: get down to the business of getting high as fuck. 265 00:19:27,140 --> 00:19:30,620 Speaker 1: Turns out, when you kill your drug-dealing friend, you inherit 266 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:34,350 Speaker 1: a stash. And what a stash it was. For eight days, 267 00:19:34,470 --> 00:19:37,670 Speaker 1: Michael and Freeze sat around the apartment doing nothing but 268 00:19:37,750 --> 00:19:42,719 Speaker 1: heroin while Angel's body sat in the tub, rotting. The 269 00:19:42,780 --> 00:19:47,070 Speaker 1: stench became unbearable. Something had to be done, so it 270 00:19:47,109 --> 00:19:49,869 Speaker 1: was decided that Freeze would head down to Macy's to 271 00:19:49,910 --> 00:19:53,700 Speaker 1: buy some butcher's knives. When he returned, he and Michael 272 00:19:53,740 --> 00:19:56,239 Speaker 1: did more heroin to blunt the reality of what they 273 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:01,120 Speaker 1: were about to do next. Stumbling into the bathroom, through 274 00:20:01,140 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 1: the haze of rotting flesh and swarming flies, Michael Allig, 275 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,580 Speaker 1: king of the club kids, got down on his knees 276 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,689 Speaker 1: and and wielding his Macy's butcher knife, began sawing the 277 00:20:12,770 --> 00:20:17,260 Speaker 1: limbs off of his friend, Angel Melendez. He started with 278 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,720 Speaker 1: the legs, removing them from the tub and placing them 279 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:24,840 Speaker 1: into a duffel bag. They placed them, along with the torso, 280 00:20:25,260 --> 00:20:28,920 Speaker 1: into an empty television box and secured it shut with 281 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,960 Speaker 1: their trusty duct tape. The box was then placed in 282 00:20:32,980 --> 00:20:35,859 Speaker 1: the living room, where it briefly doubled as a coffee table. 283 00:20:36,700 --> 00:20:40,220 Speaker 1: To mask the smell, man, that smell They sprayed Calvin 284 00:20:40,260 --> 00:20:46,020 Speaker 1: Klein Eternity everywhere. The irony, eternity, to mask the stench 285 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:52,070 Speaker 1: of death. Needless to say, the flies remained. But the 286 00:20:52,109 --> 00:20:55,370 Speaker 1: flies couldn't stop the drug binge. There was too much 287 00:20:55,450 --> 00:20:59,230 Speaker 1: heroin to do. Friends came by and remarked on the smell. 288 00:21:00,230 --> 00:21:03,449 Speaker 1: Alec blamed it on faulty sewage in the building. And 289 00:21:03,470 --> 00:21:07,810 Speaker 1: when friends inquired to Angel's whereabouts, Alec would casually mention 290 00:21:07,850 --> 00:21:10,530 Speaker 1: that he killed them. Chopped him up and stuffed him 291 00:21:10,550 --> 00:21:13,629 Speaker 1: in a box. Look, that box right over there is 292 00:21:13,670 --> 00:21:17,570 Speaker 1: a matter of fact. No one believed him. So Michael 293 00:21:17,690 --> 00:21:21,830 Speaker 1: Alec did what he did best. He kept the party going. 294 00:21:22,380 --> 00:21:40,880 Speaker 1: According to multiple sources... In the days and weeks following 295 00:21:40,900 --> 00:21:44,870 Speaker 1: Angel Melendez's death, Michael Alec was telling anyone who would 296 00:21:44,900 --> 00:21:48,330 Speaker 1: listen that he had killed him. But nobody thought it 297 00:21:48,350 --> 00:21:51,869 Speaker 1: was true. This was, after all, the guy who promoted 298 00:21:51,930 --> 00:21:55,650 Speaker 1: a club night called Blood Feast, where people were literally 299 00:21:55,690 --> 00:21:59,190 Speaker 1: drinking their own urine on stage, showing up dressed as 300 00:21:59,310 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: serial killers or in costumes with bloody, dismembered limbs. So 301 00:22:04,980 --> 00:22:08,540 Speaker 1: when Michael started telling fellow club kids the grisly details 302 00:22:08,619 --> 00:22:11,020 Speaker 1: of the crime he'd just committed to one of their friends, 303 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: people thought it was all a put-on. But Village Voice 304 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:20,090 Speaker 1: nightlife columnist Michael Musto thought otherwise. He knew where Michael 305 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:24,310 Speaker 1: Alec lived, on the corner of narcissism and drugged-out madness, 306 00:22:24,810 --> 00:22:28,770 Speaker 1: right between unhinged reality and the gaping hole of insecurity. 307 00:22:29,650 --> 00:22:32,649 Speaker 1: And so Musto published a blind item in the Village Voice, 308 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: on April 23rd, 1996, called Night Clubbing. In it, he 309 00:22:38,900 --> 00:22:43,639 Speaker 1: addressed the swirl of scandal surrounding Alec and Freeze's rumored 310 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:47,990 Speaker 1: crime against Angel Melendez. Page Six then picked it up. 311 00:22:48,740 --> 00:22:51,000 Speaker 1: The Voice followed up a couple months later with their 312 00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:55,440 Speaker 1: own cover story. At this point, Alec started to realize 313 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:59,580 Speaker 1: the gravity of the situation and began denying his earlier claims, 314 00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:02,379 Speaker 1: telling people that it was all a ruse, a prank. 315 00:23:03,580 --> 00:23:07,360 Speaker 1: but the heat intensified. So Allig took the money he'd 316 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,440 Speaker 1: made from selling the furniture he'd bought with the money 317 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:15,310 Speaker 1: he'd stolen from Angel and hit the road. NYPD detectives 318 00:23:15,350 --> 00:23:17,629 Speaker 1: were on him in no time. They found him holed 319 00:23:17,690 --> 00:23:21,550 Speaker 1: up in a sleazy New Jersey hotel. And so Michael 320 00:23:21,730 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: Allig and Robert Freeze Riggs played nice with authorities and 321 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:28,780 Speaker 1: pleaded guilty to manslaughter. They were sentenced to 10 to 322 00:23:28,780 --> 00:23:33,919 Speaker 1: 20 years. Allig served 16 of them, Released in 2014, 323 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:38,100 Speaker 1: Michael Allig is, well, Michael Allig. He's up on YouTube 324 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,500 Speaker 1: with a show called PU, where he and fellow club 325 00:23:41,580 --> 00:23:46,880 Speaker 1: kid Ernie Glam super-serve nostalgic clubland fans with decadent tales 326 00:23:46,940 --> 00:23:50,900 Speaker 1: from the 90s. And where they promote Allig's recent ventures, 327 00:23:51,260 --> 00:23:55,359 Speaker 1: like his new club night at Manhattan's mega-club Space Ibiza. 328 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,540 Speaker 1: And where they dispute rumors about Allig, like his supposed 329 00:23:59,660 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: purposeful spreading of HIV as claimed by Lucian Wintrich. And 330 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:08,379 Speaker 1: where they set the record straight about Alec's recent drug bust, 331 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,219 Speaker 1: the one where he was busted in a Bronx park 332 00:24:11,260 --> 00:24:14,570 Speaker 1: at two in the morning with Special K, valiantly on 333 00:24:14,609 --> 00:24:17,109 Speaker 1: his way to return the drugs to a drug dealer 334 00:24:17,390 --> 00:24:23,649 Speaker 1: from a friend supposedly trying to get clean. What a guy. Rehabilitated, 335 00:24:24,330 --> 00:24:28,959 Speaker 1: worthy of parole, After mercilessly dismembering the body of his friend, 336 00:24:30,260 --> 00:24:33,340 Speaker 1: you be the judge. One thing I know to be 337 00:24:33,420 --> 00:24:36,780 Speaker 1: true is that Michael Alec is definitely still Michael Alec, 338 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:41,590 Speaker 1: even post-prison. Watching the YouTube videos, it's easy to catch 339 00:24:41,630 --> 00:24:46,310 Speaker 1: a glimpse of the 20-something provocateur in Alec's more world-weary 340 00:24:46,570 --> 00:24:50,070 Speaker 1: eyes as he attempts to make use of modern technology 341 00:24:50,490 --> 00:24:53,610 Speaker 1: to shock and engage an audience, and most of all, 342 00:24:54,130 --> 00:24:58,900 Speaker 1: remain relevant. The smartass is still there. Sure, it's without 343 00:24:58,940 --> 00:25:02,530 Speaker 1: the assless chaps, but if Alec feels any real remorse, 344 00:25:02,940 --> 00:25:05,930 Speaker 1: the YouTube videos make it hard to build a case 345 00:25:05,970 --> 00:25:09,890 Speaker 1: that prison had any real rehabilitative effect on his character. 346 00:25:11,090 --> 00:25:14,270 Speaker 1: I wonder how members of Angel Melendez's family feel about 347 00:25:14,330 --> 00:25:19,659 Speaker 1: all of this. When that late-night, unprocessed grief knocks, and 348 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,080 Speaker 1: they head to social media to catch a glimpse of 349 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:26,690 Speaker 1: their loved one. Maybe they punch... Angel Melendez Club Kid 350 00:25:26,750 --> 00:25:30,190 Speaker 1: into the YouTube search box and head down the rabbit hole. 351 00:25:31,150 --> 00:25:35,690 Speaker 1: There's Angel on Geraldo. Big red angel wings. Big eyes. 352 00:25:36,190 --> 00:25:41,369 Speaker 1: Big boots. Brando biker hat. And there's Angel with RuPaul 353 00:25:41,750 --> 00:25:45,040 Speaker 1: at a Burger King outlaw party. You click on the 354 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:48,780 Speaker 1: Joan Rivers link, but no Angel, because search algorithms are 355 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,899 Speaker 1: insensitive beasts. They know so much about us, but how 356 00:25:52,940 --> 00:25:57,370 Speaker 1: can they possibly know about our grief? They can't. Which 357 00:25:57,430 --> 00:26:00,420 Speaker 1: is why, below the Joan Rivers clip, there's a clip 358 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:04,200 Speaker 1: from Macaulay Culkin's feature film on Angel's death, Party Monster. 359 00:26:04,940 --> 00:26:08,240 Speaker 1: And below that are a couple of shockingly graphic documentaries 360 00:26:08,260 --> 00:26:11,470 Speaker 1: that you'd rather not watch again. And finally, at the 361 00:26:11,530 --> 00:26:15,070 Speaker 1: bottom of the search, more General Club Kid videos start 362 00:26:15,109 --> 00:26:20,859 Speaker 1: to pop up. And there's 2017 Michael Alec. Three years 363 00:26:20,950 --> 00:26:24,679 Speaker 1: out of jail and looking barely worse for wear. He's 364 00:26:24,700 --> 00:26:28,100 Speaker 1: got a fresh new haircut, a trendy t-shirt that is 365 00:26:28,180 --> 00:26:31,400 Speaker 1: a size too small, and is drinking what must be 366 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:36,230 Speaker 1: an $ 8 coffee from some hot shit gentrifying barista. He's 367 00:26:36,270 --> 00:26:39,990 Speaker 1: regaling us with fabulous details from his latest trip to 368 00:26:40,010 --> 00:26:42,970 Speaker 1: a west wherever the fuck, and imploring us to come 369 00:26:43,070 --> 00:26:45,570 Speaker 1: party with him at his new dance night in Manhattan, 370 00:26:46,010 --> 00:26:48,980 Speaker 1: where you and thousands of his closest friends can live 371 00:26:49,060 --> 00:26:54,300 Speaker 1: out impossible-to-imagine decadent fantasies in real life. You can do that. 372 00:26:55,010 --> 00:26:59,449 Speaker 1: You can't. Michael Allig gets to do that. Angel Melendez 373 00:26:59,590 --> 00:27:03,530 Speaker 1: does not get to do that. He's dead. He's no 374 00:27:03,570 --> 00:27:07,369 Speaker 1: longer stuffed in a duct-taped TV box. His remains have 375 00:27:07,390 --> 00:27:12,630 Speaker 1: been interred somewhere more respectable. Close by, though. Right over there, 376 00:27:12,670 --> 00:27:16,500 Speaker 1: as a matter of fact. And Michael Allig? He's still 377 00:27:16,540 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: doing what he does best. Keeping the party going. I'm 378 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 1: Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. Disgraceland was created by 379 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:41,540 Speaker 1: yours truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. 380 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,160 Speaker 1: Credits for this episode can be found on the show 381 00:27:44,220 --> 00:27:48,679 Speaker 1: notes page at disgracelandpod.com. If you're listening as a Disgraceland 382 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,570 Speaker 1: All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. We 383 00:27:51,609 --> 00:27:54,210 Speaker 1: really appreciate it. And if not, you can become a 384 00:27:54,250 --> 00:27:58,590 Speaker 1: member right now by going to disgracelandpod.com slash membership. 385 00:27:59,220 --> 00:28:02,800 Speaker 2: Members can listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad-free. 386 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:06,619 Speaker 1: Plus, you'll get one brand new exclusive episode every month. 387 00:28:07,020 --> 00:28:11,130 Speaker 2: Weekly unscripted bonus episodes, special audio collections, and early access 388 00:28:11,190 --> 00:28:16,870 Speaker 2: to merchandise and events. Visit DisgracelandPod.com slash membership for details. 389 00:28:17,330 --> 00:28:20,170 Speaker 2: Rate and review the show and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, 390 00:28:20,270 --> 00:28:24,879 Speaker 2: and Facebook at DisgracelandPod. And on YouTube at YouTube.com slash 391 00:28:25,100 --> 00:28:26,399 Speaker 2: at DisgracelandPod. 392 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:34,540 Speaker 1: Rock and roll up. He's a bad, bad man. All right. 393 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,040 Speaker 1: Thanks for checking out this episode, the special rewind episode 394 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:42,410 Speaker 1: of Disgraceland on Michael Alec. Stay tuned. More Disgraceland coming 395 00:28:42,470 --> 00:28:43,130 Speaker 1: up right now.