Your Suffering's So Sweet: Ken Durkin, the Man Behind the Pain

You're Suffering's So Sweet:

Ken Durkin, the Man Behind the Pain

Interview by Emmit Merrick

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A mother scalds her 2 year old daughter to death in a bathtub. A man on LSD carves the flesh off of his face with a razorblade and feeds it to his dog. Two teenagers capture an eight year-old girl and push broken bottle shards into her eyesockets and genitals. Violence, pain, and suffering is all around us. It sells. It sells better than sex. We are all predatory by nature. Subconsciously, we all seek out the weaknesses in those around us, their fears. We revel in the torment of our enemies and those we look down upon. Some of us only read about it in the tabloids or watch it on T.V., others cause it. We hunger for pain. We even inflict it upon ourselves. We all tug at the loose tooth. We are all victims and inflicters of torment on some level. Pain is everywhere, but where does it go? A woman scalds her two year old daughter to death in a bathtub...
If society thinks that it can suppress the predatory impulse with after school specials and religion, it's fooling itself. The degree to which one expresses his predatory self is relative to the amount of nurturing and affection he or she receives as that person grows. When the compassion and logic are not attended to, our ancestral tendencies reclaim their ground. In today's culture of lock-key children and divided families, nurturing is at an all-time low. An outlet is needed. Enter Agony a Go-Go.
Agony a Go-Go(AaGG) is a cultural phenomenon that supposedly extends back as far as Europe's middle ages. More of a concept in human behavior than a nightclub, AaGG allows citizens of the cruel Earth to release their internal suffering and angst through art, music, and dance. It gives them a chance to share it with others in non-violent/non-aggressive terms. Ken Durkin, who assumed the helm of AaGG back in 1992, is the driving force behind this phenomenon. I spoke with him last summer, in New York City, right before the, now infamous, opening of AaGG: New York City 36.

Emmit Merrick: Okay, let's get this going. I've only been to one AaGG, and that was in San Francisco last year, and I only got to it because I know your friend, Brian deitch.

Ken Durkin: Yeah, he's my accountant. He's not really an accountant, but I trust him. By the way, that one last year wasn't actually in San Fran, it was in the industrial outskirts, just south of San Francisco.

EM: Oh, O.K. So, anyway, I've been in the artistic community for over twenty years now, and this was the first time I ever got an invite- and I really had to pull teeth. When I got there, the club was pretty full. most of the crowd was pretty young- say, early twenties. Where do these people come from? How did they know it was there?

KD: Well, we try to keep it pretty clean, pretty exclusive, but we have people who go around scouting for those who we think would like to go.

EM: Isn't that pretty elitist? I mean, it upsets the whole foundation of being an artist.

KD: Hardly. I've been to alot of nightclubs,and I just can't stand these drunken morons that stumble in there off the street with, you know, three of their frat buddies. We just don't need them. The people we give invites to can bring whomever they wanna bring. If we started letting in any yahoos off the street in, people would lose faith in the organization. We have to keep it inner circle.

EM: So, how does a club that exists for only a few weeks, or even days, at a time obtain things like liquor and cabaret licenses?

KD: Oh, many have asked...

EM: ???

KD: ...

EM: ??

KD: ..

EM: So, why don't you tell us a little bit about your philosophy behind AaGG?

KD: The basic stem philosophy is that life wraps torment about us like a dark shawl, everyday. What happens then is up to us. We can fling it to the ground, denying it, yet leaving us cold. We can allow it to smother us by surrendering to its weight. Or, we can pull it tighter around our shoulders to keep us warm, accepting it, relishing it, enjoying it! And THAT'S what AaGG is all about!

EM: The AaGG clubs aren't really clubs, are they? They're more like secret meeting places of a hidden society.

KD: True, true, but you make it sound so cloak'n'dagger. It's not like people go to AaGG to huddle in corners and whisper at eachother. AaGG is a place to romp'n'stomp and truly express yourself!

EM: What's in the future for AaGG?

KD: Your mother. No, actually I intend to expand the domain of AaGG. Yes, the rumours are true. We are opening a full time AaGG. It'll be open six nights a week. Also, it'll be a cafe/lounge during the day. There'll also be a gift shop.

EM: Sounds great! Where will this be opening up?

KD: You'll see. You'll see. It'll be in the city(New York).

EM: Great. What kind of a crowd are you looking to get? I mean, it seems like going public will garner you some attention from the riffraff element you mentioned a minute ago.

KD: Basically, we're hoping to get anyone who's willing to be themselves, and I mean really be THEMSELVES. The new AaGG will have six nights. Lemme see, Tuesday will be New Wave, Wednesday'll be Alternative, Thursday's a Gothic and Industrial night, Friday is Hip-Hop and House, and Saturday is Techno and Electro. Sunday'll be an underage night, I think. You know, for the kids.

EM: I'm surprised that you have a Hip-Hop and a Techno night!

KD: Hey, we gotta make money, right? I have alot of investors on this one.

EM: Maybe you should have just gone for a split level or multi-dance floor club on fewer nights.

KD: Nah, multi-genre clubs bring out multi-genre clubbers. Infer the word "generic." Too much ruffage, and not enough of any one thing. The club'll have two dance floors, though, and they're big. Another one of my little peeves: small floors.

EM: So, are you out to take over the New York City club scene?

KD: No, not at all. We never would even wanna try that. There are alot of clubs out there, we just want to provide a quality night out. I'm not saying nothing about nobody, but most of these clubs these days are run by sleazebags that just don't care about the clubber, and it shows!

EM: (laughing)Careful. Indeed, around here you could get shot for saying something like that!

KD: Indeed, I have!

EM: You have?

KD: Yeah!

EM: Really?

KD: No.

EM: ???

KD: ...

EM: Um...so, how does this new one compare to the original AaGG?

KD: It's very different, but that shouldn't bother any of our hardliners, who still know when and where to find the real stuff.

EM: Will I get an invite?

KD: ...

EM: ???

KD: .....

Emmit Merrick is the founder of the Jay Schnitzer Fan Club and assistant editor of "The Beldame Chronicles."