Somewhere between Stonewall and Will & Grace, gay culture swerved toward the mainstream. Every day in the Castro, coupled men shop at Pottery Barn; at night, barely twentysomethings in Hollister polos weave around each other to an extended Britney Spears remix at the top-40 club S.F. Badlands. Such predictability and sameness were bound to foment a revolt, and—hallelujah—a handful of renegade impresarios of queer nightlife have taken the scene into their own hands. Working in off-the-radar venues around SoMa and the Tenderloin, these free thinkers are embracing the edgy, debaucherous side of gayness and reclaiming its subversive roots in the process. The movement began with a man-about-town by the name of Bus Station John. In 2004, he started a Thursday-night party named (brace yourself) Tube­steak Connection at Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, the creaky gay dive bar at Turk and Taylor. There, the bathhouse disco is loud, the dancing feverish, and the cruising reliably hot and heavy. Bus Station John inspired a new generation of old-school party promoters to follow suit—and they, in turn, now have the in crowd tracking their every move.

The players

Brontez Purnell, 26
WHERE TO FIND HIM: At the Hop! (first Tues. of every month at Aunt Charlie’s Lounge).
THE SOUND: “I play music from all genres: garage rock at the end, ’50s and ’60s R&B and soul 45s in the middle. The club jam is definitely the Drifters’ ‘Still Burning in my Heart (I Need You Now).’ That’s when I smoke the ganja and the spirits come down, bitch.”
WHEN HE'S NOT IN A BAR OR A CLUB: He’s a member of the dance band Gravy Train!!!!, set to tour this month, and of the duo the Younger Lovers. He’s also a host at the drunk tank known as Sparky’s Diner in the Castro.

Stanley Frank, 28
WHERE TO FIND HIM: At Chilidog! (Tues. at the Transfer); as the DJ at Dress Barn and Babysitter’s Club (both monthly at the Transfer).
THE SOUND: When it comes to Chilidog!’s soundtrack, Frank says, “I’m really capricious.” With a playlist that runs from the Italo-disco of Daniel Wang to the electro-alternative tunes of Róisin Murphy to the late-night anthems of the Cars and the Boss, he’s not kidding.
WHEN HE'S NOT IN A BAR OR A CLUB: “I’m a member of the sketch comedy group Funny But Mean. The name says it all.”

George Ridgely, 44
WHERE TO FIND HIM: At Trans Am, a rock and

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