Mould & Morel Bring their Burly Blow-Off to NYC!

Watch out! It's gonna blow! (Right) Bob Mould and Richard Morel are bringing bald, butch dance/rock tunes to NYC. Sir, yessir!

Summer’s over. Ready to party like it’s fall yet? Gay fans of great rock and indie-flavored dance music have a reason to celebrate this weekend in New York as the DC-based music moguls Bob Mould (the seminal out rocker behind such legendary alty bands as Husker Du and Sugar) and DJ/producer Richard Morel (who’s been mixing up the Pet Shop Boys, The Killers, Yoko Ono, Cyndi Lauper, Deep Dish, New Order and others for eons) are bringing their successful BlowOff party to town.

This Saturday night (September 8th) at Highline Ballroom, Mould and Morel will host this full-on musical smackdown/dance party featuring their meaty signature mix of indie rock, electro and house. The press info promises “fun for all, from alternative music-loving boys (girls welcome!) and burly beer-drankin’ men and leather daddies, to loads of chunky hunks" (like those featured in BlowOff’s smokin’ signature artwork).

What’s not to like, eh?

To celebrate, we lobbed 5 questions at the manly musical tag-teamers to find out more about this mosh-tastic shindig. And yes, if you’re like me you’re like, “Why is prog-rock legend Bob Mould throwing big gay dance parties? Huh?”

Read on and find out, kids...

Morel and Mould: Sure, they're wearing shirts now, but just wait...

So, can you each describe what the vibe and aural experience of a BlowOff party is like for those of us who have never been?
Rich: BlowOff is about good music, good visuals, sexy crowd. Nothing fancy.
Bob: It used to be the sexy high school basement party you never had, but now it's something completely different.

And is it totally a party for dancing, shirtless burly men? Are less burly folks welcome? And what about women?
Bob: Yes, it’s mostly men, but everyone is welcome.
Rich: We're not into attitude, so everyone can have fun.

You both bring esteemed musical careers to the table here... How did you end up collaborating on this party night?
Rich: We met back in 02 and started writing music together. Bob was new to DC and he suggested we start djing and throw a party.
Bob: I just wanted to make new friends. Throwing a party is always a good way to make new friends.
Rich: And it was a real organic thing where we would invite people we wanted to know -- or friends and it took off from their. It was about creating a scene where the music was the center and the vibe was very relaxed -- no attitude.

Can you give me an idea of the music you play at the party? A little rundown of who we might hear?
Bob: Expect Indie, electro, house... Justice, MSTRKRFT, SebastiAn, Van She...
Rich: I've been producing the new Cyndi Lauper record and am psyched to play her new single "Set your Heart". I'm a fan of the European/UK progressive records like Chris Lake, Pole Folder and 16bit Lolitas. I also like to pull out some classics by Underworld and I've done some bootleg mixes of Sylvester and Simple Minds just for BlowOff.

Are we in a current hey-day of parties/culture which recognizes slightly older, burly, bearish gay men? Is this segment of queer culture more out there and getting more recognition than ever before? Whattya think?
Bob: We're the gay baby boomers. There's lots of different types of gay men, but for the longest time, the gay media focused on the younger set. I guess the gay media figured the younger guys were the only ones going out and spending money, so that's who they catered to. It's different now, everyone goes out, and everyone should have a good time.
Rich: That works for me!

BlowOff blows up this Saturday, September 8th starting at 10pm at NYC's Highline Ballroom.