[OutVoice] sigh - Remembering Don Hill of DON HILL'S, NYC

[themusenyc at aol.com]

Wow - What a legendary place was Don Hill's of NYC in the history of LGBT music - 
is where I very first saw gay music icon SCOTT FREE perform - where I first saw trans-rocker
LISA JACKSON & GIRL FRIDAY - where I finally got to see KING'S X live (whose bassist is/was gay) - 
and where I held my own cd release show for the ELEGIES cd - 
http://www.roberturban.com/rulivedonhill.html


yum....  and sushi at 3am at nearby BLUE RIBBON DINER!


Don was a great guy - what memories....


luv
robert urban
URBAN PRODUCTIONS, NYC




Don Hill, a music promoter whose club Don Hill's, a stalwart of SoHo's vibrant 
music scene, has brought together punk, drag queens and debutantes in the name 
of rock 'n' roll for almost two decades, died on Thursday in Manhattan.
Martin Sheridan, a friend and the owner of the nearby Ear Inn, said Mister Hill 
was in his mid-60s and died after collapsing on his way to an East Side 
hospital. He said Mister Hill lived on The Upper East Side.
Mister Hill started his career in the late 1970s, managing Manhattan clubs like 
the popular Kenny's Castaways and The Bitter End. In 1984 he became a manager 
and talent booker at The Cat Club, which Patrick Kenny. who owned Kenny's 
Castaways, had started. The roster of musicians who appeared at The Cat Club 
reads like a track list for VH1's "I Love The 80s:" David Bowie, Duran Duran, 
Jane's Addiction and others.
The Cat Club closed in the early '90s, and Mister Hill opened Don Hill's in 
1993. A dingy nightspot at Greenwich and Spring Streets, it showcased local 
bands like The Lunachicks and Psychotica, in addition to well-known acts like 
Iggy Pop and Green Day. The musician Michael H., a longtime friend of Mister 
Hill's, said The Strokes, before they were famous, were once kicked off the 
stage at the club when their lead singer, Julian Casablancas, poured beer on a 
monitor.
The club also hosted hedonistic dance parties, like Squeezebox, which catered to 
a gay clientele, but was open to all; BeavHer, aimed at models and celebrities; 
and MisShapes; which started the career of the D.J. trio of the same name.
"The thing about Don is that scenes erupted around him," said Bebe Buell, who 
has been singing at Hill's since 1998. She described Hill's as "a perfect 
rock'n'roll smorgasbord."
Mister Hill recently sold the club to Nur Khan and Paul Sevigny, but could still 
be found on his stool at the bar every night.
Complete information about Mister Hill's early years was unavailable, but 
friends said his full name was Donald Mulvahill. Friends also said he is 
survived by a sister, Diane. and a brother, Robert.