DJ Roy Thode
ROY THODE
1949-1982
bio by Marsha Stern
Roy Thode, a native New Yorker from Long Island, moved to the city in his early 20’s after establishing his DJ skills as a young man growing up in Wantaugh. Roy was perhaps best known for being the DJ for “Saturday Nights at the Ice Palace” in Cherry Grove. His NYC DJ career was highlighted with residencies at both Studio 54 and The Saint however it was the Long Island Gay club scene that fueled and created the foundation for Roy’s illustrious career as perhaps one of the best technical DJ’s of his era.
The music played in bars & clubs at the time Roy was growing up was predominantly from a jukebox. Disco had not yet been invented. And neither had the 12″ single. ‘Compact tapes’ like cassettes and 8-tracks were all the rage along with albums and 45’s as staples in the record stores. In the ‘early days’ Roy’s friend and mentor Bob Lombardi, began mixing with 8-track tapes. It was a unique set up, more radio broadcasting equipment than what we are now familiar with in the DJ booth. This system evolved into turntables and a mixer, especially as the 8-track tape became obsolete. Ultimately vinyl and turntables became the tools for DJ’s as more and more clubs began to employ a DJ who played records live, replacing the jukebox for dancing music. Additionally, there was so much more creatively and technically that one could do with turntables and vinyl as opposed to the clumsy 8-track tapes. In the early ’70’s Roy honed his craft with Lombardi at a club called “The Corral”, where he was resident DJ. Around that time they met and became friends with Wayne Scott and Sharon White. Together the four friends explored the emerging sounds of the day. All of them became highly respected, influential and award winning Billboard Reporting DJ’s. Bob Lombardi moved to South Florida in the late 70’s where he was the house DJ for the Limelight. He had installed that fully functioning original 8-track system in his booth at the Limelight and integrated it with his other equipment, where I witnessed him mixing between vinyl and 8-tracks!
By 1976 Roy was living in New York City. He had already established himself as the ‘house DJ’ at the Ice Palace in Cherry Grove for summers and now his career expanded as he began to play at various venues in Manhattan like Les Mouches, a private club in Chelsea. In 1977 when Jimmy Merry opened his Ice Palace in NYC on West 57th Street, Roy opened the club and was the headlining DJ. He played there regularly becoming the featured DJ for the ever-popular Sunday Tea Dance during Fall, Winter & Spring months. Summers he always returned to Fire Island for his residency at the Ice Palace in the Grove.
During the summer of ’78, on numerous Saturday nights Steve Rubell was in Cherry Grove at the Ice Palace. It was toward the end of the summer that he asked Roy to come and DJ for him at Studio 54. After the summer season ended Roy added Studio 54 to the roster of NYC venues where he played music. The nights Roy worked, Thursdays and Sundays at ’54, became popular as ‘Unofficial Gay Nights’ as Roy had a devoted following of Fire Island friends and dancers that populated the club.
After 54 closed (Feb 1980) Roy began playing Thursdays at the Underground, a new club that had just opened on 17th Street at Union Square. Over the years Roy’s performances, outside of his regular gigs, included many special parties at clubs all over the USA as well as in Europe. In 1980 he was asked to be the DJ for the Olympic Village in Lake Placid at the Winter Olympic games, an incredible honor. He has the distinction of being one of the very few DJ’s (other than Larry Levan and his disciples) to have performed at the notable NYC landmark club Paradise Garage. He also played at Michael Fesco’s Flamingo, a private Gay club in NYC. Roy’s reputation as being a “magician” or a “wizard” behind the turntables led to many wonderful and unique opportunities as he spread his brand of joy to the dance floor.
Many will remember the infamous “turntable towers” at Nautilus and Ocean walks from that same summer, where Howard and Roy were among the housemates. Their Morning parties were always unexpectedly special, in fact it was at one of them that Mark Paul Simon from Casablanca records (who’s summer house was across the walk) brought over the newly pressed acetate of “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer for it’s first public playing. The following summer, 1979, the summer of Beach, the iconic FIPFD fund raiser that not only raised enough funds to purchase a brand new fire truck but also set a precedent for parties in the Pines. Roy was originally scheduled to DJ the event with Howard. It was at the last minute, due to an emergency, that Roy had to be replaced by Jim Burgess.
1980 Disco Convention.