Montclair DJ Pays Homage To ‘Danceteria’ With Weekly Show

MONTCLAIR, NJ — It’s like a time machine for your ears.

Radio mix show DJ, club DJ and music producer Rafe Gomez of Montclair has been amassing a following for his show, “Danceteria Rewind,” a weekly, two-hour tribute recreation of the innovative downtown music blend of Danceteria – one of Manhattan’s most popular and influential nightclubs in the 1980s.

“There was fantastic cross-pollination of music styles and genres at Danceteria,” said Gomez, who has been featured in stories about Danceteria Rewind in Billboard, Forbes, EDM.com, and WNYC-FM.

“Clubgoers enjoyed a boundary-free experience that combined rap, dub, electro, new wave, hip hop, rock, old school funk, salsa, boogaloo, ska and pretty much anything else that was cool and rhythmic,” Gomez said. “There was no other spot in the world that was so unpredictable and exciting with their soundtracks.”

Danceteria was open in Manhattan between 1979 and 1986. Its five floors at 30 W.21st Street offered live music, video expositions, art displays, multiple simultaneous DJ sets, and one of the most colorful clienteles in the city.

Gomez noted that the club was also the launching pad for the careers of many important stars and influencers in music and the arts: Sade worked at the club as a bartender, the Beastie Boys were janitors, LL Cool J was a doorman, Keith Haring was a waiter, Jean-Michel Basquiat was a mural painter, Debi Mazar was a coat checker, and Madonna was the operator of the club’s manual elevator.

“My goal with Danceteria Rewind is to transport my listeners right into the nightclub,” said Gomez, who launched the show in 2022 and is now reaching a national audience of over 33,000 followers.

He said that listeners can expect “floor-filling jams” from the likes of musicians such as Kraftwerk, the Bush Tetras, Kid Creole, The Clash, Cabaret Voltaire, Man Parrish, Yaz, Konk, James White and the Blacks, Material, James Brown, Coati Mundi, Talking Heads, Alien Sex Fiend, Quando Quango, Liquid Liquid, ESG, 23 Skidoo, Yellowman, Grace Jones, the Funky 4 + 1, New Order and others.

In the 2000s, Gomez was the host and DJ of “The Groove Boutique”, which was a syndicated mix show that aired on terrestrial radio stations across the U.S. and was a finalist in the 2005 New York Air Awards as the Best Mix Show in the Tri-State Area market. He also performed in clubs around the country, was a QVC music host, and was the co-producer of the Chill Jazz Remix of “Quiet Storm” by Smokey Robinson featuring Roy Ayers on the album, “Motown Remixed.”

But although he’s versed in the classics, Gomez says that Danceteria Rewind also has appeal for younger fans, especially those who are familiar with and enjoy DJ mix presentations.

“Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z instantly recognize many of the tracks that I play from their usage in film, TV, video games, and as samples in pop and rap hits,” Gomez said.

Danceteria Rewind is free audio content. It streams via Twitch on Thursdays from 8 to 10 p.m.

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