Tari Ervin
October 16, 2008
Michael Ault, owner of the Pangaea clubs in Austin and elsewhere and the man behind legendary New York clubs like Spy and Chaos, checks in with the scene (New York) where he once reigned.
How did you start in the nightclub business? Growing up in Palm Beach in the 1970s, every night was a party. All the families on the social scene were expected to host large events at their homes, mostly charity balls and large dinners. Both my mother and father's family took this ethos to extreme lengths. So as a child, most of what I recall were large parties, planning, logistics, caterers, florists, car parkers, bands, guest lists, phone books, and fun. No one ever considered them "businesses," because they weren't, but they were extremely complicated productions to produce and promote. To be completely frank with you, I'm not certain that I was ever really a component of the nightclub business. In many ways, the concept of a business and "party" are often mutually exclusive. If you're concentrating on the business, you'll often lose sight of the party. And naturally the reverse is invariably true. But to answer your question, my first clubs as an owner were Merc Bar and Surf Club.
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Riffing off of his namesake’s skin flick, “Queen of All Media” Perez Hilton hosted “One Night in Austin” at Palm Door (which itself might be riffing off of the Cannes award—actually, scratch that, we’re in Texas). In addition to headlining guests Robyn and N.E.R.D., the show featured web darling Katy Perry and preppy boy band Chester French (who Perez claims to have discovered), as well as Dragonette, Riskay, and Ultraviolet Sound. There was also some really heinous hair. See for yourselves: 
