“I think we’ve survived because we’re the least ‘goth’ club out there,” says Ryan Higgins, musing upon the question of how he and Club Satori co-DJ Kevin Rollis have managed to run their gothic club night long enough to be celebrating their 10-year anniversary at The Ritz.
He may be correct. The music that Higgins and Rollis spin at Satori appeals to a broader crowd than many other deathrock- and industrial-oriented genre nights in the Bay Area. Higgins (DJ Vitus) and Rollis (DJ Kevin) primarily spin classics from acts like The Cure, Bauhaus and Siouxsie & The Banshees, along with modern EBM, such as Covenant or And One. The former could be heard on any random dive bar jukebox, while the latter has a lot in common with ’80s new wave, with its use of synthesizers and commanding vocals. In fact, depending on the track playing when you walk into Club Satori, you might not even realize it’s a goth club.
That is, until you see the patrons.
Despite their commitment to a night focused on a stereotypically stoic genre of music, the DJ duo don’t take themselves too seriously. “We’re not professional DJs; we’re just two guys—with many great friends who have helped us through the years—who want to hear and dance to the music we like,” Higgins says.
Higgins and Rollis have fostered a light atmosphere, with their crowd regularly shaking it to tunes ranging from Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” to an industrial metal cover of Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” You might even hear the odd Scorpions or WHAM! track if DJ Kevin is wrapping up the night for a particularly boisterous crowd.
“We started Satori as a direct response to our lack of interest in a lot of the music the clubs in San Francisco were playing towards the start of the 2000s,” Higgins says, commenting on his motivation to start Satori. “We felt most clubs forgot their roots. If you’re a goth club and you’re not playing at least one Bauhaus song, something is wrong.”
Higgins and Rollis’ relaxed attitude towards the music they play is reflected in the mix of people that make it out to Satori each month.
“While we get a lot of people dressed up in some extreme goth and deathrock outfits, most are pretty simple in jeans and T-shirts,” Higgins says. “Black, of course.”
The crowd has not only stuck around. It has continued to grow, as Satori has moved from their initial home at the (now closed) Savoy in Santa Clara, to The Blank Club, and now to their newest home at The Ritz. Check out some of the best goth getups from the Club Satori 10th Anniversary. Photos by Geoffrey Smith II:
