Those who are mystified by drag culture need only to pop into Dragstrip, where they'll discover it's all about the fun of masquerade, allowing people to take on different personas. Rudolpho's, which already came equipped with an oil painting featuring Gloria Swanson and gaudy crystal chandeliers, adds the right backdrop to masquerade in.
"My biggest pride about this club is the diversity of the crowd," says Paul, who adds an unpredictable element by mixing the music up with vintage punk, '60s soul and '90s techno. "When they walk through the door, they're ready to become a part of what inevitably becomes an event. They're ready to let their hair down, so to speak."
Big hair, bad hair, bald or teased, visually, Dragstrip 66 offers a veritable people-watcher's paradise--although it's more fun to be a participant. It's not unusual to find a burly, tattooed Latin man dressed in a dirndl dress and Heidi braids, hanging out with a shorn, pierced middle-aged guy clad head-to-toe in rubber. Or the nondescript computer nerd type escorting a towering diva in a racy blue sequined dress and June Carter Cash hair. In addition to the literal drag element, there's the "slacker" types, who trade in their T-shirts and jeans in exchange for a more glammed-up look.
Now, visualize everyone dancing to Prodigy or Beck--who's popped in on occasion along with such celebs as Marilyn Manson, Nina Hagen and Drew Barrymore--and you get the picture. Well, you'll never really get the picture unless you make the trek, and the next chance to do so is Feb. 14, when Dragstrip 66 hosts its "St. Valentine's Day Bleeding Hearts Ball," which celebrates the birthday of club regular Divinity Fudge. FYI, wear a red dress and your heart on your sleeve, and pay less at the door.
"We look at the club like a gifted child," says Mr. Dan. "We gave it life and now it's got a life of its own."
BE THERE
Dragstrip 66 at Rudolpho's, the second Saturday of each month, 2500 Riverside Drive, Silver Lake, (213) 969-2596. 21 and over, $5 to $15 cover (members in drag pay $5, nonmembers in drag pay $10, all others pay $15).
