Durkin Over Tea: An Exclusive Interview With the Man Behind Agony

KEN DURKIN:

Carrying the Torch of Agony

A chat with Ken Durkin, President of Agony a Go-Go, over tea. Interview by Anton Horn

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     Philadelphia: August 1995. I'm sitting here with my scone and tea, looking at my watch: it's 2:27 in the afternoon. In three minutes, I am supposed to meet the man who, until now, has only been the subject of brief whispers in the darkened recesses of dying structures that we, the denizens of a dying subculture, call home on those special nights. Ah, but what would I give to have a nightclub to go to where I truly felt invited! A place where the people around me are happy to be, instead of drunk in the corner, waiting for that special song that never comes. A place like Agony a Go-Go.
     I have only been to an Agony a Go-Go once in my life: May 15th,1994. The experience completely changed my perspective on nightclubs, on art, on existence itself! For as long as I shall ever live, nothing will ever diminish the impact that night had upon me.
     Ken Durkin arrives and sits down at precisely 3:15- 45 minutes late! I am less startled by his lack of promptness than by his appearance: hulkish, unshaven, disheveled. His movements are slow, his speech curiously slurred. On first impression, one would find it hard(believe me, near impossible!) to believe that this late, unkept, clumsy-looking sod was the inspired genius behind the institution that had so opened my eyes to the deeper secrets of life a year ago! However, as we began to talk to one another(after watching him wolf down an entire plate of nachos in under 2 minutes), I began to see a bit of that legendary flame that burned so brilliantly within him.

ANTON HORN: Thanks, Ken for coming on such short notice.

KEN DURKIN: Yeah, 's'cool, 's'cool.Don't worry about it. No problem at all. Sorry I'm late. I had to take the bus- y'know, I never drive.

AH:(laughing)That's O.K. So, Ken, when was your first contact with the whole Agony a Go-Go phenomenon? When did it start for you?

KD: Well, there was this guy I knew as a kid, and since my father wasn't around, he kinda acted as a father. That man was none other than one Uruguay Gumz.

AH: Oh, the previous leader of AaGG!

KD: Yeah, yeah! Well, this was back in 1976, and he would take me to his little hideout where he

"The clubs vanished and the followers kept quiet. It was like the entire phenomenon never existed."

had all the plans for all the different AaGG clubs in the world at that time. It really fascinated me, you know. The pictures and all.
Eventually, he took me to AaGG New York City. This was when I was 10. I didn't go out on the floor or anything, you know; I just stayed upstairs in the DJ booth, or hung out in Uruguay's office, which was just down the hall a ways. From the DJ's little roost, I could see the whole floor. It really blew my mind!

AH: It must have been something! So, when did you assume the 'Agony helm?'

KD: Uruguay died in 1982. The NYC club had long since closed, after having moved from one secret location to another, and I didn't know about any of the other clubs. As far as I know, and I guess I'd be the one who'd know, there were no AaGG's from 1982 until recently. The clubs vanished and the followers kept quiet. It was like the entire phenomenon never existed. Then, back in 1991, September or October, I started receiving these telephone calls- y'know, just random calls. I couldn't understand the people on the other end of the line, and this would happen a couple of times a day.

AH: Very surreal!

KD: Anyway, after a while I began to understand parts of the messages. Just fragments at a time- nothing complete. The fragments put together didn't make much sense, but I could at least make out one overriding theme: "AGONY."

AH: Very odd. Was the voice always the same?

KD: Oh, no, no, the voice was always different. Sometimes you could barely hear it, sometimes it was shouting very loud, sometimes a man, sometimes a woman, sometimes I couldn't tell. Now, this went on for months, and what started out as gibberish was soon becoming clear to me: they all wanted Agony a Go-Go back again. I got the feeling that some of them didn't even know why exactly they were calling, or even that they were. They all seemed so distant and dreamy, even the shouting ones.

AH: Sort of like a subconscious urge, perhaps. Something that even they were not aware of.

KD: That's what it seemed like. Anyway, I began telling the calling voices my plan to restart AaGG. I told them about how Gumz had left me all the plans and stuff, and that I would try to sort them out. Soon after that the calls stopped.

AH: It sounds like they heard what they'd been waiting to hear.

KD: Exactly. Well, in Gumz's notes I found lists of names, numbers, and addresses. It wasn't that easy, actually, because they were strewn here and there, the information. A name here in the corner of the page. A name and a phone number on an old napkin- things like that. Anyway, I began making calls and...and, y'know, I was really surprised when there were actually people at the other ends of these bits of information! It seemed like they'd been there all that time, just waiting for my call.

AH: Did they know who you were?

KD: No, they didn't know exactly who I was, but they knew that someday I'd be calling. Some of us got together and that's how it all got rolling!

AH: Do you think it was these people who were the ones calling you all that time?

KD: I suspected that at first, but now I don't.

AH: So, it was that simple. You have to admit, Ken, it's just a wee bit on the incredible side of things.

KD: Ah, people can believe what they want. The fact is, AaGG is here. Right here. Right now. It's here for those who can find it!

Anton Horn is an actor best known for his compelling portrayal as "Agent O" in the immortal "Jay Schnitzer Story Chronicles."