Features
Club Closes Suddenly After Oi! Fest
New York’s Santos Party House , co-owned by Andrew W.K. and Despot, has shuttered its doors after hosting a skinhead festival.
The venue was the site for the second day of NYC Oi! Fest, a skinhead-centric music festival that was moved from
After hosting the festival May 29, DNA Info reported that the Party House began sending out emails to groups scheduled to perform there, saying the venue was now closed. The club’s website had not yet been updated to reflect the closure at publication time.
Manager Sean Kane told DNA Info: “It was a 10 year lease. Our lease is up and we’re not renewing it.”
Despot took to Twitter saying he was not consulted about the booking of the show and the venture had been a financial loss for him. Andrew W.K. had not issued a comment at publication time.
Oi! is a subgenre of punk that is generally associated with skinheads, who are highly politicized and some are militantly anti-racist. Other elements of the subculture have been associated with neo-nazis and radical nationalists in different countries.
Video footage showed the band Offensive Weapon performing a cover of Youth Defense League’s “New Glory.” A sample of the lyrics is as follows:
“Lightning will crash from the sky
And the truth will rise above all the lies
Yes my brother we must prevail
‘Cos only the strong will ever be hailed
It will be our new nation, built by blood and brawn
And for years to come this will be our marching song
Take it for granted as the same old story
We’ll hang ’em high as we hail new glory”
Nick “English Nick” Solares, who was a member of Youth Defense League in the ’80s, posted an apology on the food website Eater.com in May about his association with white nationalists while in the band. Solares, who was an editor for the website, was placed on leave after posting the apology, according to Gawker.
The lead singer of Offensive Weapon gave a shout-out to Solares before performing the song.