(Courtesy Photo) (from left) Bruce Derfler (“Taffy Vicious”) and Michael Flowers (“Mikey Rotten”).
Two Jamaica Plain residents, not finding a dance night that plays the music they like and welcomes queers, are bringing the punk ethos to dance nights: just do it yourself.
Bruce Derfler (“Taffy Vicious”) and Michael Flowers (“Mikey Rotten”) saw something missing from the Boston nightlife—a punk night that was also a welcoming environment for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer community and its allies.
So they decided to follow the punk creed of do it yourself. “Bollocks,” a punk-based dance night, will premiere May 18 at gay bar Alley Bar in Downtown Crossing.
“We don’t have an alternative rock night that creates a safe space,” Flowers told the Gazette during an interview last week.
“We both know—we’re living examples—that there’s more than show tunes and disco to gay men,” Derfler added.
The night’s music will have its roots in seminal punk bands like the Ramones, the Clash, Velvet Underground and the Sex Pistols, but will also include more recent alternative rock acts like Blur and Franz Ferdinand, Flowers and Derfler said.
“This night is looking at the history of punk, old and new,” Flowers added.
The night is named after the seminal Sex Pistols album “Never Mind the Bollocks…Here’s the Sex Pistols” and a pun on a British slang term for testicles.
Flowers and Derfler, a DJ at other nights at Alley Bar, are sure that “Bollocks” has a place in Boston’s nightlife.
“There’s definitely a demographic for this. There’s people who need something that’s not a Top 40s dance night,” Flowers said.
“We’re like the no-Madonna night,” Derfler added.
The heart of “Bollocks,” however, will be in its welcoming vibe.
“We want to create a space that is free of homophobia and misogyny. This is about the music. Leave your bigotry at the door,” Flowers said.
“Punk appeals to misfits. [Non-queer punks] are our kin,” Derfler added. “We definitely have common ground.”
The event’s future is still hazy. Both Flowers and Derfler are hopeful for a successful night and are open to a recurring event. The would-be frequency of the night, however, is still undecided.
“It could be monthly or seasonal,” Derfler said. “It’s open-ended.”
“Like a debutante, we want our debut to be spectacular,” Derfler added. “We’re putting a lot into it. It’s very meaningful [to us]…This really is something I’ve thought about for a long, long time.”
For more information on “Bollocks,” visit its Facebook page: facebook.com/bollocksboston.
Correction: a previous version of this article misspelled Mikey Rotten. The above version has been corrected.