Visiting the Loft, Where Music and Dancing Are Sacred

Tell me about your relationship to music and discovering the Loft.

Edowa Shimizu: My interest in music drew me to connect with other like-minded people all my life. I’m originally from Tokyo. When I moved to New York, I started going to various clubs and experiencing different kinds of music. And when I went to the Loft for the first time, it was unlike any other place. The way music was presented and enjoyed was very unique and it opened up my mind to how music can be experienced.

Over the years David brought me more and more into it, starting at the door, then setting up the sound system and eventually hosting music. I am grateful now to be in a position to keep it going and continue moving it forward as one of the “caretakers.”

Luis Vargas: It was very visual walking into the Loft as an eight-year-old boy. Actually being part of the decorating crew, that’s where I cut my teeth. On Wednesdays, David would just throw on random records, and we would pull down the dead balloons from the ceiling and start preparing the new balloons to go up.

One of my fondest memories of the Loft was walking in and the impact of all the balloons, and the lights, and the smell of the baby powder, and being this dumbfounded young kid, eyes wide open. I don’t know who came up with the idea, but there used to be a canopy of parachutes and old sails hanging from the ceiling, and they made this billowing effect.

I’m still a very visual artist, and I consider the Loft my palette, my canvas, and my brush. Every opportunity we get to do a party, I get to paint a masterpiece. My relationship to music has always been that way. Whenever I go to events, I appreciate the people who do production, who paint the picture again and keep my love of music going in the art form.

Ernesto Green: My relationship with music began in the mid ’70s. I was a teenager living in New York and it was the disco era. There were so many discos in New York. We had a place to go basically every night and most of the time felt safe. But in 1976, I had the pleasure of being invited to a Loft party and that just changed my whole perspective on going out, dancing, because the sound was amazing. Closing your eyes while you’re dancing, you could actually visualize the band in the room with you. I’ve never heard clarity like that. From that point on, the Loft was our church on Saturday night for about 14 years.

The Loft opened eyes to different cultures. I grew up in Bed-Stuy [Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn]. The only interactions I had with white people or different cultures was basically on the subway. But coming to the Loft and stepping out of my comfort zone, I found a new world and became friends with people from all different cultures and became a music lover.

When you went to the Loft, once David put the needle on, you might stand there for a couple of seconds but then all of a sudden you would find yourself in the group. Everyone’s moving to the same beat at the same time. And we were all part of that, you know?

DS: I believe for David, the Loft was a way of life. It was how he juggled his finances to cover rent and other obligations. He began his parties in 1970, during the turbulence of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. David wanted to contribute in a meaningful way to social progress, by bringing together people from different backgrounds and identities on common ground and fostering lasting friendships. That was his way of opening things up, his vision of social progress. And for us, as caretakers of his legacy, that’s a big part of our drive.

SM: When David passed, the obituary in the Guardian called the Loft “an egalitarian utopia.” One of David’s prime motivations was social justice. That’s the thing that really always appealed to me. And everything you need is there. You got fed, you got wonderful music, you saw your old friends. You didn’t have to carry stuff around. People left their cameras or phones on the table. No one would take it.

DS: It’s such a simple thing that David did. But, wow, what an impact it had on all of us. He had an amazing ear and a deep love and appreciation for music. He just knew how to put it together in a way that created these intense moments. David would reference the Tibetan Book of the Dead in creating what he called “the three bardos” of the party: calm, circus, and reentry. It was his blueprint for the party, guiding the trajectory of his musical selections. He created an amazing night of music.

EG: Some of the dancers could be intimidating.

DS: They could be, but they would encourage people to join them on the dance floor. They never excluded or made anyone feel unwelcome. There was always a feeling of inclusivity.

LV: This was a very different dynamic than at a lot of the club scenes in New York at the time. As soon as you walked through the door, you were just a guest at the Loft, and you were a friend of David’s.

EG: We’re in 2024. At the Loft, we’ve never searched a bag. We don’t do any of those things, because when you come into the Loft, it’s like you’re coming to someone’s home and you’re a guest. And it’s also always a place to feel free. That’s why we do not allow people to take pictures on the dance floor. Though it’s very difficult these days, because everyone has a camera in their phone.

ES: We try to keep the dance floor the sacred space that it is.

LV: Yeah, it’s a private event and the important thing is the privacy of the people that are in the room. It has become a problem for us in general, because in order for us to go above ground, we have to expose ourselves to all of this. And in order for us to stay below ground, we try to fight that push to be public, so it’s an ongoing battle.

SM: I think David wouldn’t have minded if Loft parties popped up all over the world. I mean, he did participate in parties in Italy, Russia, Turkey, England, Scotland, Japan. I think he would have loved it if people everywhere started saying, “Oh, we should do that,” and do their best to put together a Loft party.

LV: But come up with their own version.

SM: I think the whole idea of by invitation—it’s not advertised, it’s not open to the public—I think that’s very important to the way the party runs. And having food, and the balloons, the music, it’s all like...

EG: Home.

SM: It’s home.