Club Rimshot is for African American gay men and their friends who enjoy nightlife but also want to expand their horizons with movies and literary events. It's the brainchild of Joe Hawkins.
We first met Hawkins while covering Club Rumor in Hayward. Club Rumor is no more, but Rimshot carries on, as it has for 12 years. Their website, www.clubrimshot.com, has been around for 10 of those years. We recently talked to Hawkins and his friend Mark Davis at Luka's, Telegraph and Grand in Oakland. They were about to leave for the first Blatino Oasis in Palm Springs, which they expect to be an annual event.
Palm Springs until recently has had the reputation of a town where older LGBTs, mostly Caucasian, go to retire. Blatino Oasis, which was run in partnership with Helios Resort, was poised to attract gay African Americans, Latinos, and their admirers. Porn star Tiger Tyson, from New York's Pitbull Productions, was the central attraction. Events were to take place at Helios, Dale's Lost Highway Restaurant, and Oasis Nightclub. Featured disc jockeys included Soul Nubian of Oakland and DJ Diaz of San Francisco.
Hawkins is looking forward to the Black Lesbian Gay Film Festival, August 16-19 at the Parkway Theater. This year's theme is Encore Tribute to the Classics. Hawkins says it's one of the largest black LGBT film festivals in America. Featured will be Marlon Riggs' groundbreaking film Tongues Untied, and a 35mm print of The Wiz. As a matter of fact, you can "Ease on Down the Road" with a Wiz sing-along on the opening night of the festival, August 16.
The film festival fits in with Hawkins' goal to "provide men of African descent and our friends with opportunities to enjoy ourselves." The club's name comes from several sources. "Rimshot" was a hit for Erykah Badu, but the term has clear sexual overtones. Being a family LGBT publication, we won't go into that any further!
Rimshot promotes several events. One of the best known is at the Uptown Club, 1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. It features live singers, disc jockeys and dancing. Normally it's held on the first Saturday of each month, but there will be a special film festival afterparty on August 18.
Rimshot has also collaborated with Joe Ware, proprietor of Bates House, a beautiful bed and breakfast in Oakland's Adams Point neighborhood near Lake Merritt, complete with gay flag in front. The mansion used to be owned by the Capwell family of department store fame (remember Emporium-Capwell?). Hawkins tells us about poets and authors speaking at Bates House.
Coincident with the Black LGBT Film Festival is Black in the Life's Summer Pride August 17-19, which Rimshot is helping promote. The event features barbecues, networking, parties, Sunday brunch and more.
What's in the future for Rimshot? In the near term, the East Bay AIDS Walk, which Hawkins helped found, will take place in September. Hawkins and a partner are also looking into a club of their own. Considering Rimshot's long road from the Bench and Bar to Club Rumor to so much more, this seems only fitting. With the upcoming opening of Vibe, the successor to Cabels Reef and Rimshot, the East Bay club scene will truly be jumping.