History of Strip Club Guides, Part 1: The Pre-Internet Era
minnow
Any place that interests me.
Those of us old enough to have voted for Bush I, or maybe Clinton I probably recall a time when scouting out strip clubs was a random hit or miss proposition. There was no Tuscl (or else wasn't known to you yet, or were not so quick to jump on the PC bandwagon.) The few published guides out there were not widely available. The following is a chronicle of one mongers (me) nearly 2 decades of my pre-Tuscl days of navigating through the strip club world. Word of mouth, Yellow Pages, Newspaper Ads, and Published Directories are covered along with examples on how they were helpful, or useless.
WORD OF MOUTH
This is the oldest method, but can still be useful. Main advantage being that you meet the information relayer face to face and interact with him (her in lopaws case.) Instantaneous feedback, and quick resolution. The main disadvantage is info is useful only if you go to the same club, or area. Also currency of information just might be relevant. A coworker mentioned that him and his buddies "had a great time at their bachelor party in Denver clubs 5 or so years ago." I went there a couple of years later, club visits sucked in a bad way. (Airdances)
YELLOW PAGES
First problem is what do you look them up under ? I have yet to see "Strip Club" heading in the Yellow Pages. I've finally found what I was looking for under such headings as "Night Clubs", "Cocktail Lounges", and in a few cases "Exotic Dancers". It is extremely rare to see pay phones with Yellow Page book hanging around in 2016, they seem to be scarce in hotels, too. However, in the early 90's, I discovered the Brass Flamingo- Indy in this manner.
My story that I've related to others is that I "heard" that clubs in Indy were wild, but no club info was given. Armed only with a sketchy map of Indy, and a roll of quarters, I drove 2 hours to Indy, exiting at the first prominent downtown exit. I stopped at the first business oriented hotel I found, strode inside, and started perusing the phone book. I saw that "Brads Brass Flamingo" was located on Southeastern Ave., one of the few streets depicted on the map. When doorman answered the phone, I asked for directions from downtown hotel. Not too bad, a ~6 mile drive. Keep in mind that the norm for most clubs in the early 90's was either airdances or 1-way light. I was very favorably impressed with the agressive stageside interaction and 2-way contact. As they say, the rest is history...
NEWSPAPER ADS
Go to the Sports or Entertainment section of several big city newspapers to see strip club ads with basic info. This method is very limited in that only clubs buying ads in the paper are featured. Those clubs are generally those with feature dancers, something whose novelty wore off long ago for me. The last newspapers that I recall seeing strip club ads were in Miami and San Francisco. That was over 4 years ago. Even if you don't like advertised clubs, driving to them can sometimes lead to an incidental discovery of other clubs.
STRIP CLUB DIRECTORY MAGAZINES
My first was "Exotic Dancer", a thick magazine that I found in an airport magazine shop. This was what I'd been looking for all along- a truly nationwide guide listing over 1500 clubs. Info would at least include type of club (nude, topless, bikini), address, and phone number. A good number of clubs would list operating hours, cover charges, drink prices, etc. The part that I liked the best (besides Teri Weigel on the cover) was an article by John Stagliano. (aka Buttman). In it, he listed his top 10 cities along with his favorite 3 or so clubs in each city, and a mini rundown on each club. I thought this is what I've REALLY been looking for, and wanting in a club directory. Having basic info for clubs in every city is nice, but the real lowdown on which clubs have the hottest dancers with the best mileage/atmosphere is even nicer. I would buy a new "ED" nearly every year for the next 10 years, but no issue matched the very first one. (No more Stagliano articles, but more up to date basic club listings.) This guide was helpful in its time, particularly since I travelled to 20-30 different cities per year at the time. I found out early on not to always trust what other readers write. One year, "ED" printed some random reader writings about their favorite cities. I made the mistake of taking one guys raves about Milwaukee. That was ~ 20 years ago, and still stands out as being among the worst club visits that I've ever had. Live and learn.
"The Gentleman's Club Guide" represented the next step up in strip club guides. The year was 1996, I happened to see one in Les Girls (Phoenix) lobby. Although it only had ~ 25 cities (subsequent years would have nearly 40), I went to a lot of those cities. I liked several things about the guide- it was pocket sized vs full magazine size. Serving as a template for tuscl, the "staff" reviewer employed a 1-10 grading scale on Club Atmosphere, Dancers, Value, and Overall. The reviewer generally gave a candid overview, mainly along the lines of dancer attractiveness, whether club was laid back, snooty, or whatever. At the back of the guide were free passes that certain listed clubs would honor. That alone was well worth the $15.95 price for the guide. A nice touch towards the back of the guide were basic selected city maps, and 1 page for personal notes.I would get 4 more issues most years up to ~2001. While I liked the expanded city/club list, I found that subsequent reviews were a bit watered down. The owner/publisher confirmed that some clubs that were unhappy about the published reviews had sued him. He "won", but not without some cost. By then, internet age was well underway.
Back tracking a bit to 1993, I bought my first issue of "Showgirls" magazine, published by Deja Vu. You know, that chain of cheesy clubs that everyone loves so much.(Like a puppy that slobbers all over you.) I bought it at a Minneapolis Deja Vu. As expected, mag featured Deja Vu clubs and dancers of the month. The thing that caught my eye was a write up on Las Vegas clubs, including an outing of a clip joint, and how author(paid by "Showgirls") got strung along to the tune of $300 plus. He also briefly reviewed other Las Vegas clubs. Based on a visit two years later, he was spot on about the crappy clubs to avoid. His pick of Crazy Horse II as the best of the bunch was a good one. I felt that some of the other good prospects such as Olympic Gardens were lukewarm. There had to be some angle to writing the article. Sure enough, 2 to 3 years later, Deja Vu opened 2 clubs in Las Vegas. (Still open to this date.)
Obvious self promotion aside, I found "Showgirls" useful at the time (1993 to early 2000's) as my business travels took me to several cities with Deja Vu clubs. The free club pass in each issue didn't hurt either. Neither did the pictures as they'd feature porn stars in addition to Deja Vu house dancers. Several articles related to adult industry were published. In the spirit of early Las Vegas review, one writer did a New Orleans trip report. Article basically said that Nola is great for listening to music and getting shitfaced drunk, but not so great for visiting strip clubs. Funny, that's the impression I get from Tuscl reviews. Some things never change over 2 decades. About 1995, "Showgirls" started doing mini pictorial of other clubs in non- Deja Vu cities, such as Atlanta, El Paso, St. Louis, and others. Looking back, I never used "Showgirls" as a sole source of choosing to go to such clubs, though it did tip the scales in some clubs favor, Sadly, printed copy of "Showgirls" came to an end around 2002 as it went to a digital only format. By then, I discovered Z-bone website which was more relevant to my frequent L.A. area trips. I will detail the Strip Club website guides in Part 2.
WORD OF MOUTH
This is the oldest method, but can still be useful. Main advantage being that you meet the information relayer face to face and interact with him (her in lopaws case.) Instantaneous feedback, and quick resolution. The main disadvantage is info is useful only if you go to the same club, or area. Also currency of information just might be relevant. A coworker mentioned that him and his buddies "had a great time at their bachelor party in Denver clubs 5 or so years ago." I went there a couple of years later, club visits sucked in a bad way. (Airdances)
YELLOW PAGES
First problem is what do you look them up under ? I have yet to see "Strip Club" heading in the Yellow Pages. I've finally found what I was looking for under such headings as "Night Clubs", "Cocktail Lounges", and in a few cases "Exotic Dancers". It is extremely rare to see pay phones with Yellow Page book hanging around in 2016, they seem to be scarce in hotels, too. However, in the early 90's, I discovered the Brass Flamingo- Indy in this manner.
My story that I've related to others is that I "heard" that clubs in Indy were wild, but no club info was given. Armed only with a sketchy map of Indy, and a roll of quarters, I drove 2 hours to Indy, exiting at the first prominent downtown exit. I stopped at the first business oriented hotel I found, strode inside, and started perusing the phone book. I saw that "Brads Brass Flamingo" was located on Southeastern Ave., one of the few streets depicted on the map. When doorman answered the phone, I asked for directions from downtown hotel. Not too bad, a ~6 mile drive. Keep in mind that the norm for most clubs in the early 90's was either airdances or 1-way light. I was very favorably impressed with the agressive stageside interaction and 2-way contact. As they say, the rest is history...
NEWSPAPER ADS
Go to the Sports or Entertainment section of several big city newspapers to see strip club ads with basic info. This method is very limited in that only clubs buying ads in the paper are featured. Those clubs are generally those with feature dancers, something whose novelty wore off long ago for me. The last newspapers that I recall seeing strip club ads were in Miami and San Francisco. That was over 4 years ago. Even if you don't like advertised clubs, driving to them can sometimes lead to an incidental discovery of other clubs.
STRIP CLUB DIRECTORY MAGAZINES
My first was "Exotic Dancer", a thick magazine that I found in an airport magazine shop. This was what I'd been looking for all along- a truly nationwide guide listing over 1500 clubs. Info would at least include type of club (nude, topless, bikini), address, and phone number. A good number of clubs would list operating hours, cover charges, drink prices, etc. The part that I liked the best (besides Teri Weigel on the cover) was an article by John Stagliano. (aka Buttman). In it, he listed his top 10 cities along with his favorite 3 or so clubs in each city, and a mini rundown on each club. I thought this is what I've REALLY been looking for, and wanting in a club directory. Having basic info for clubs in every city is nice, but the real lowdown on which clubs have the hottest dancers with the best mileage/atmosphere is even nicer. I would buy a new "ED" nearly every year for the next 10 years, but no issue matched the very first one. (No more Stagliano articles, but more up to date basic club listings.) This guide was helpful in its time, particularly since I travelled to 20-30 different cities per year at the time. I found out early on not to always trust what other readers write. One year, "ED" printed some random reader writings about their favorite cities. I made the mistake of taking one guys raves about Milwaukee. That was ~ 20 years ago, and still stands out as being among the worst club visits that I've ever had. Live and learn.
"The Gentleman's Club Guide" represented the next step up in strip club guides. The year was 1996, I happened to see one in Les Girls (Phoenix) lobby. Although it only had ~ 25 cities (subsequent years would have nearly 40), I went to a lot of those cities. I liked several things about the guide- it was pocket sized vs full magazine size. Serving as a template for tuscl, the "staff" reviewer employed a 1-10 grading scale on Club Atmosphere, Dancers, Value, and Overall. The reviewer generally gave a candid overview, mainly along the lines of dancer attractiveness, whether club was laid back, snooty, or whatever. At the back of the guide were free passes that certain listed clubs would honor. That alone was well worth the $15.95 price for the guide. A nice touch towards the back of the guide were basic selected city maps, and 1 page for personal notes.I would get 4 more issues most years up to ~2001. While I liked the expanded city/club list, I found that subsequent reviews were a bit watered down. The owner/publisher confirmed that some clubs that were unhappy about the published reviews had sued him. He "won", but not without some cost. By then, internet age was well underway.
Back tracking a bit to 1993, I bought my first issue of "Showgirls" magazine, published by Deja Vu. You know, that chain of cheesy clubs that everyone loves so much.(Like a puppy that slobbers all over you.) I bought it at a Minneapolis Deja Vu. As expected, mag featured Deja Vu clubs and dancers of the month. The thing that caught my eye was a write up on Las Vegas clubs, including an outing of a clip joint, and how author(paid by "Showgirls") got strung along to the tune of $300 plus. He also briefly reviewed other Las Vegas clubs. Based on a visit two years later, he was spot on about the crappy clubs to avoid. His pick of Crazy Horse II as the best of the bunch was a good one. I felt that some of the other good prospects such as Olympic Gardens were lukewarm. There had to be some angle to writing the article. Sure enough, 2 to 3 years later, Deja Vu opened 2 clubs in Las Vegas. (Still open to this date.)
Obvious self promotion aside, I found "Showgirls" useful at the time (1993 to early 2000's) as my business travels took me to several cities with Deja Vu clubs. The free club pass in each issue didn't hurt either. Neither did the pictures as they'd feature porn stars in addition to Deja Vu house dancers. Several articles related to adult industry were published. In the spirit of early Las Vegas review, one writer did a New Orleans trip report. Article basically said that Nola is great for listening to music and getting shitfaced drunk, but not so great for visiting strip clubs. Funny, that's the impression I get from Tuscl reviews. Some things never change over 2 decades. About 1995, "Showgirls" started doing mini pictorial of other clubs in non- Deja Vu cities, such as Atlanta, El Paso, St. Louis, and others. Looking back, I never used "Showgirls" as a sole source of choosing to go to such clubs, though it did tip the scales in some clubs favor, Sadly, printed copy of "Showgirls" came to an end around 2002 as it went to a digital only format. By then, I discovered Z-bone website which was more relevant to my frequent L.A. area trips. I will detail the Strip Club website guides in Part 2.
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20 comments
Very much looking forward to Part Two.
My main ways; from what I recall; of finding clubs were:
+ word of mouth
+ radio-ad (often on a sports station)
+ ran into them as I was driving doing something else (hard to miss many a SC especially at night with many of them having big lit signs, neon lights, crowded parking lots; and such)
+ I'd see a magazine in an adult book store that advertised strip-clubs
I did not start to actively research strip clubs till I joined TUSCL in early 2012 and that was b/c I had a trip to Houston and needed info on the Houston scene.
So going into new clubs, the first thing I've always done is ask the door man how many dancers on duty right then. That would be a pretty good guide as to what I should expect.
And then for me before that it was AMP listings in San Jose Metro and SF's Bay Guardian.
And then there were strip club listings, mostly for MBOT, in the SF Chronicle, though most of that was about feature dancers and I'm not interested in that.
Used to be the yellow pages, in phone booths because I might be out of my home county, and looking up massage parlors. But more often than not those exact pages would have been torn out and appropriated.
Very different from today, but I still evaluate cities by the number of TUSCL club listings. I think there used to be a dancers per shift parameter too. That would be helpful.
SJG
The challenging part about yellow pages was finding phone booths with phone books. Even if the book was still there, the pages on nightclubs, massages, and escorts were usually gone.
Thanks for the memories.
For me, there was a free publication that was at local strip clubs. Go-Go Dancer? or something like that. They listed just about every club in a tri-state area and would show photos of dancers and the interior of the club.
Once the internet came along I found a lot of info on a site (now dead) called aspd.net before finding tuscl.net
Then, I would take the rental car and my paper map and just drive and drive and drive up and down streets. Found some interesting sidewalk traffic this way, too, over the years. Wound up in some dangerous areas, too, I must admit. Lots of wasted time, but short of asking a cab driver (which I did in several cities), it worked.
Three cheers for TUSCL!!
Word of mouth and yellow pages under night clubs and adult entertainment.
Adult bookstores used to have free flier 'newspapers' that were full of advertisements for clubs.Adult bookstores were listed in the yellow pages so I would go there and pick up a paper and map out a tour to find the best club when working in a city.
- Strong feelings of camaraderie among the PLs (some of the terms we still use today, I first saw there, and am pretty sure originated on ass-c), lots of SCing together as a group
- The strippers didn't quite know what to think of the internet, and welcomed the ass-c crew, or at least pretended to. Everyone -- ass-c PLs and strippers at NCT (the original ass-c HQ) and then Chez Paree (the ultimate ass-c HQ) -- going out for late breakfast after the club closed, etc.
- An irc chat that was incredibly active all the way into the early 2000s, with sometimes a good amount of stripper participation as well
- A website memorializing it all, still active http://ass-c.com/
I think ass-c was important and a real pioneer