The Return of Robin Malone Simmons’ SF Odyssey
On a cozy Wednesday evening, I found myself in the Starlight Room atop the Sir Francis Drake hotel. While overlooking the city below, I admired the view as Juanita MORE!’s new happy hour brought in the familiar faces who frequented her ‘Booty Call!’ Castro parties.
I started thinking about the impact San Francisco nightlife has had on me and the city over the years.
It was a fitting subject to consider, given I was there to meet with Robin Malone Simmons, San Francisco DJ and creative mastermind behind Odyssey, the underground after-hours speakeasy that has thrown the most exciting parties I’ve ever attended.
Now I know an after-hours speakeasy isn’t hard to find in San Francisco these days. Move a few couches to the corners of your living room, add some mood lighting, corral a DJ to play on your kitchen table and boom! You can lure late-night revelers to dance until morning at your place.
Odyssey was nothing like that.
Upon its debut in 2011, Odyssey established itself as the most exciting and stimulating speakeasy in San Francisco nightlife. For 36 extravagant evenings, the city’s luckiest would pile into the now closed Praxis loft on 7th and Mission and get a proper history lesson in influential house, disco and soul music from midnight until dawn.
It was a rare opportunity to see people from various generations, backgrounds and orientations mingle and dance while immersing themselves in truly out of this world performances.
Simmons is throwing another event at Public Works, Odyssey’s second home, on June 10 with his partner Elaine Denham. Visuals will be done by Donovan’s Lightsout Lightshow and there will be a DJ set by Mystic Bill. Thrilled at the opportunity for another Odyssey adventure after almost a year hiatus, I corralled Simmons into telling me how his vision came to be, and why it’s coming back after such a long break.
Michael: I have to admit I was really excited when you revealed you were bringing Odyssey back to San Francisco. As busy as the city’s nightlife can be, Odyssey always felt like a different type of cultural experience. Can you tell me a little about what you had in mind for Odyssey when you put it together?
Robin Malone Simmons: One of the things that I’ve always had in mind with Odyssey was creating a bridge between different generations. My whole life, I personally felt like a bit of a loner in a sense that I never gravitated towards one click, one scene.
I’ve found solace in other generations because there’s so much more to learn, but that’s more than just people. It’s also the music. I look to create bridges between disco and house, between older and newer music and find DJs that can engage people similarly.
Michael: You started DJing before you were even a teenager. Who inspired you musically growing up?
Simmons: It would have to be George Clinton. His career started in Motown, psychedelic rock and funk. He really has epitomized every different era of music in America in the 20th century.
Michael: I’ve always wondered about your catalog of music, both in physical form and in your brain. How many records would you say you have?
Simmons: I stopped counting when I had around 10,000 records on vinyl, but the majority of them were destroyed in a storm. But I don’t really think about it as possession. If you can remember a song or a melody and you can find it and get it again then it’s always in your life.
Michael: For me, going to Odyssey felt like I was getting an education on really incredible musicians and DJs while wearing whatever I wanted and smiling from ear to ear.
Simmons: When it comes to things like clothes and music and people, I feel like I have an orphanage approach to life. I look for the ones that don’t fit into standard narratives. And I couldn’t be happier to embrace and welcome them into my odd clan and that’s what made the space special and that’s what made the space so fun.
It was certainly politically radical when we first got started. It was such an experimental event that the refreshments were free and there was no charge at the door. At some point during the night a few friendly people with boxes would dance around and request that you donate, but it was a very free place. What we learned is that people were looking to pay to thank us for the good time and it was mostly more than we would have charged at the bar or at the door. Things kind of evolved quickly into a really special event.
But San Francisco has always had an incredibly rich history of social and musical experiences starting with the Trocadero Transfer’s all-night dance parties in the ’70s and David Harness’ Club Universe parties in the ’90s. There were a lot of parties in San Francisco that were really special and have a deep legacy.
Michael: Who were some of the DJs that joined you when you first got started?
Simmons: Some great local talent like DJ Garth. Our very first party, we had David Harness and Steve Fabus. But we’ve also had DJs from the UK’s Inland Knights and elsewhere.
A lot of the big names are thanks to Rick Preston and Andrew Phelan who believed in me early on and introduced me to the right people.
And I don’t think much of the experience would have been possible without Donovan Drummond’s lightwork and a really great staff. And of course, Elaine is so important to Odyssey. She’s incredibly smart and ahead of me and always pushing and prodding me to dig my head out of the musical hole in the ground.
Michael: What do you think about San Francisco nightlife since Odyssey went on a hiatus?
Simmons: Well, it’s in a really interesting place. I’ve watched hundreds of people move out of San Francisco and it seems like a crazy number, but it’s true. The cost of living is so extreme, but I’m pleasantly surprised with how much fun and excitement is still out there.
Things are changing really fast right now. For instance, our first event in a year is three days after the California primary election, what will surely be a contentious event regardless of the outcome. What we do have is a lot of the same people musically and the people still loyal to the Odyssey vibe.
What it gets back to is if we can dance together and be at peace, we can live together and accept each other and get over our differences. I feel like as long as that’s out there and is a part of our life, we can bring people together with music, and I just really wanted to bring it back.
It’s a party I was born to throw, and Devon and Elaine gave me the support I needed to take it off. It still looks and feels as good as it did the first time.
For more on Odyssey: http://odysseysf.com/
Note: This article originally appeared on Ripple.co, which has been acquired and now appears on Hoodline.
