GOOD TIMES: AWWWW, WITH W. JEREMY

Two weeks ago, it got dark around 5pm here in New York City and the temperature dropped below freezing, though we still carried on with our weekly Wednesday Good Times party at Eastern Bloc because that's how we do. Guest DJ W. Jeremy even asked me if I was going to cancel, to which I responded 'HELL NAW' because those frigid winter nights always prove to be the best.

Barman Rob, looking as handsome as ever in his new Nasty Pig hat and no, Nasty Pig has never sponsored our party but I wouldn't be mad at some free schwag (aka socks and jocks).

After my opening set, I chatted up Ru (left, with pretty David) and we brainstormed ways to get more folks involved in his Occupy The Disco movement, a group of music enthusiasts who collectively attend awesome DJ and music performances regardless of whether the majority of attendees are gay or not.

Lulu (right) is headed home to France for the holidays and insisted that I join him one of these days since he assures me that Paris is where its out for New Years festivities.

I am glad Peter (right) has finally forgiven me for standing him in Bethnal Green, London last year, which was completely unintentional and completely shady of me. My bad!

I honestly cannot think of any "licky" caption for this photo that I haven't already posted on another tongue-to-cheek photo in the history of Good Times photos, of which there have been many.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but when it comes to Eastern Bloc, beauty is in the face and bodies of the beer-holders / servers.

Every time someone poses in front of that damn Gaysploitation sign, it always turns out to be the most gaysploitative photograph in the roll (for better or worse. Sorry Andy's friend!)

Ain't nobody humpin' around except for maybe these two to the left.

Good Times: we're always here for you if you need a warm nuzzle or cuddle or five shots of Jaeger.

On slower nights, we ask coat checker Marc to hop up on the bar, pole or coat check table and show us what he's got. Then we play Crime Mob and let him go to town and see what good photos we can get out of it.

LA hip hopper AB Soto (right, pronounced Aye Bee, FYI) did a reverse snowbird thing this year by coming to New York for a few months this winter to share his music and handsomeness and awesome sweatshirt collection. Well, he's not sharing the sweatshirts but you can ooooh and ah at them along with the rest of us. 

Two weeks is now feeling like two years to me, since I headed down to New Orleans for a week (bounce music 4 life!) and then up to Boston this past weekend. Needless to say, I don't remember anything about this photo, including taking it, but I hope these two cuties got it on after last call.

If there's one word to some up guest DJ W. Jeremy and the awesome house set he spun for us, it's "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW."

BREAKING: We hear Ramon will be debuting his new drag character shortly before New Years, which means 2013 could be the year of RAMONA! (or whatever drag name he chooses. Stay tuned.)

No one works a mesh look like Marc. NO ONE.

Now that I'm back in New York for a good while, me and Mikey F. (left) are hard at work on music production under the team name Donkey. Xander (center) has offered us numerous nights of inspiration, with many more to come in 2013.

We are hoping Frankie (left, with Xander) wins this whole Gay Travel Guru competition he's been competing in for the past month because getting paid to travel, party and document it all is pretty much the best job ever.

We actually intended to maybe close a little early since it was oh so cold outside but alas, the handsome locals and good music kept on coming so we shut it down at 4am as usual.

I think I snapped this (blurry) photo of these two near closing time because who doesn't love a big, burly and bearded guy?

Talk to the glasses, son. See you next Wednesday, December 19th when we welcome guest DJ Joey Trotto at Good Times, who is not only spinning with me but also celebrating his birthday at midnight. Champagne toasts, anyone? xo, Sparber

SEPARATED AT BIRTH IN THE EAST VILLAGE

We've discovered that House of Stank DJ W. Jeremy (far right) has a West Coast doppelganger who is buddies with former East Village party kingpin Mario Diaz. We're hoping they meet up in Los Angeles this September for some one-on-one doppelganger time.

GOOD TIMES: LOTSA MATZAH

Of all the big gay Jew holidays to celebrate at our weekly Wednesday Good Times party at Eastern Bloc, we usually pass over Passover because a) it involves fasting, b) it involves carbs and c) it brings back memories of long-ass family meals. This year, however, we made an exception and celebrated Pesach with guest DJ W. Jeremy and lotsa matzah.


At the outset of the evening, barback Rob was pensively contemplating how he could best contain the matzah mess that was soon to soil the floors of Eastern Bloc.


MAMA MORTON! Jen used to be a Good Times devotee back when good times were to be had on a Saturday night in the back of a straight bar called Kabin where I used to DJ weekly.


I proudly introduced these two Ackils/Akels not too long ago and the rest has been a gay Lebanese wet dream.


Denise (aka the biological female in this pic) celebrated her birthday at the stroke of midnight in typical Good Times fashion--hammered and with lots of gays surrounding her.


Andre opted for his own, private came of pin the tail on the upside cat hanging above the bar. Or perhaps it was simply pin the tail on birthday gurl Denise.


Gugu was giving me a look straight out of the Twiggy and Brigdet Bardot era and I wasn't mad at it in the least.


LDR ALERT! Martyn (right) and Eric have committed to that fearful phrase known as an LDR (long distance relationship) between LDN (aka London) and NYC. It's pricey and inconvenient but the frequent flyer mile perks are through the roof.


This photo almost didn't make the cut this week but Eric's constipated / flash-phobic face was too cute to pass up.


Apparently Santi (left, with Jack) is now going by the more professional sounding moniker of Santiago, mostly because when he introduces himself as a photographer named Santi, everyone and their mother thinks he's saying Santa.


The icon and muse that is the one and only Armando Flores. We look forward to spending many upcoming summer nights with the King of Greej (aka Pinot Grigio).


LT, giving himself a well-deserved pat on the back since he just wrapped a new music video for his performance project, The Kiki Twins. He promises it will be premiering any day now and we can't wait.


Jorge (left) and his man Jason Money, who kind of has the best last name of all time ever. We usually don't post last names anymore due to some google problems that have arisen over the years but I'm pretty sure Jason Money doesn't have any such problems.


Celso cheerfully modeled the Matzah box for us, which came straight from Streits Matzah on the Lower East Side because we're locavore Jews.


YUMMY CARBS, as modeled by Jamil. Jamil says, "mmmmmmmmm. This matzah is my jammmmmmmmmmmm!"


When I told W. Jeremy he'd be guesting at Passover party, he was all for it, not only because he loves matzah and Manischewitz but because he was one of many jew lovers in the house that night.


My neighbor Orlando (center) is currently the person I run into most on the street and that's mostly because he lives on my block and we always see one another between 5 and 7pm, aka the time I leave my house for the day and the time he returns to his.


RUMOR ALERT: Jamil (left) and Celso might be abandoning the former House they had formed in order to join and resurrect the long lost HOUSE OF LABEIJA! (Apparently, Labeija's house members still exist and have welcomed these queens with open arms. And now we can all gag.)


Josh (left) and Hanser met many moons ago right next door to Eastern Bloc at 7A when Hanser was on his way to my former backyard across the street. And now they're getting married, to which we raise our glasses of Manischewitz and say in unison, MAZEL TOV.


Keisha (center) gifted me the ONLY tank top I'll ever need for a gay jew holiday and bought herself an equally fierce tank to boot. Love you Keisha.


JR, Joey and Jack (from left). If these three had an awesome Australian radio station together, they'd probably name it Triple J.


Mustachioed men and polly pockets always camouflage real real well at our weekly Wednesday Good Times party.


I don't really know what the Rapture look like (the band, not the end of time. That is pretty much Nicki Minaj from head to toe) but imagine them all to look pretty much like this dude here.


The gun show dude, showing off the guns yet again. I'm really gonna have to step up my gym game this summer if this one keeps up with the tank tops and sleevelessness.


I failed to play as much Klezmer music as I usually do this past Wednesday but W. Jeremy more than made up for it with an incredible house set that got guys like this dancin' and singin' and movin' to the groovin'.


OUT: trucker caps, fitted caps and pretty much anything I wear. IN: Leather biker caps and anything Newsies-inspired like Krys' cap.


S.W.A.K.


Paul kept the Good Times Sexting and Technology corner alive and active all night.


In fact, if it weren't for this enthusiastic gamer, we were actually considering replacing the arcade games with arcade style Grindr screens to help you make that special Wednesday connection.


His grin got even wider when I told him that next week's Good Times is our third annual Led Zeppelin party for Lina's birthday, where we play all Zeppelin, all night. And then Lina and I fly to London followed Berlin.


Marc was absent once again from coat check, which meant Royale filled in with this major coat check look. And yes, he wore this all night which might make him my second favorite coat checker ever (after Marc, of course).


I hope Paul was sexting this dude to his right (Raul? Ralph?) just to send him my way because I ain't mad at it in the least.


I'm hoping Martyn is back in London by the time I land on Friday to attend the Miss Fire Island party Lina and I are DJing at Vogue Fabrics on Friday. Or the Dick and Fanny party I'm DJing on Saturday. Or the pass the eff out party I'll be experiencing on Sunday.


Hoping these two were identical twins before she decided she'd prefer to live as a woman.


Excited about the free Manischewitz AND the gross chocolate covered marshmallow treats I brought in for Passover. (Yummy but like, the worst chocolate ever.)


In the mix.


Didn't I promise lotsa matzah?


And lots and lots of Manischewitz.


Nobody enjoys Manischewitz as much as our trusty door man, Big Scot. True story.


Apparently this was the cozy corner of the evening because these four looked all comfy and into it and I got a little jealous for a hot second.


Speaking of jealous, Celso (left) introduced me to this gorgeous creature that really needs to come into my life on a more regular basis.


Sealed with a Giss.


Two of my favorites, giving you complimenting maroon-niness..


SPONTANEOUS DANCE BREAK!


A glimpse at the tatted up sexiness that lies beneath Chad's shirt.


Sometimes when Rob gets overwhelmed by empty glasses or sexy tattoos, he hides behind the bar and behind his hands like so.


Royal pretty much continued to hold court by the coat check for the rest of the evening like this, since I remember snapping this as a candid even though he was giving you poses for days.


Could it be that John the Vampire has abandoned his trademark nickname of John the Vampire (or JTV if you're nasty)? Or is Facebook playing games with me yet again (and not of the Draw Something and Scramble variety).


Although these three missed it when Rich King played Quad City DJ's Come On Ride the Train last week (!), they had no reluctance in actually giving a train show on stage...


...and it was EV-RY-TING!


You know its just about that time (aka 330am) when bartender Darren pops out from behind the bar to rub elbows with the customers. And Thomas.


I was a little worried the week before when Scandelle didn't show for my 3 - 4am close out set (which, if you've never heard it, is the ONLY set) but luckily she showed to celebrate the wee hours of our Passover party with us.


Happy Passover! Love the friendly folks who make Streits, Manischewitz and those chocolate covered marshmallow things. And thank you to W. Jeremy and everybody who turned up. See you next week in New York for Led Zeppelin Linish Good Times. And then London. And Berlin! xo, Sparber