Chilkoot Charlie's recently hired KWHL DJ Bob Lester away from Top of the Rock, the nightclub he helped bring about and bring to the forefront of the Anchorage dance scene last summer. Since the club opened with Lester as a prime attraction, attendance has been at peak capacity, and the place was boldly fulfilling its stated mission as 'the ultimate dance experience.'Koots has been Anchorage's premiere nighttime hotspot for 25 years, and was looking to diversify. "We found out that people were dancing more to the recorded music between breaks than to the bands," says Koots' co-owner Duran Powell. Satisfying their recorded-music urge with the best recorded-music presenter in town seemed a likely route to even greater success, especially with things so hopping at Top of the Rock.
And when Koots rolled a dumptruck full of money to Bob's door, he did what any sound DJ would do - he decided to join them. "It wasn't too tough for Koots to get Bob - they just called him up," says Top of the Rock owner Ralph Streano.
"What we were paying Bob made him one of the highest-paid DJs in the country, without a doubt," says Streano, who surmises Koots is paying Lester even more than he was. Though he'll be making more money at Koots than he was at Top of the Rock, Lester questions Streano's facts in the matter. " I think Ralph would like to believe I'm the highest paid DJ, but how did he find that out?" he asks legitimately.
Despite some minor upsets in the DJ/club scene, there's a lot of love going around. "Bob loves challenges, and we love Bob," says Streano, "He built this club, and he's welcome here any time. But life goes on."
When I asked KWHL DJ Sparky if he thought there was room for Bob at Koots, he said matter-of-factly, "Bob makes room for himself wherever he goes - he's very talented." And make room for himself he has. With the aid of what he describes as "a very flexible management," Bob has helped redesign the south stage into a black-lit, dayglo dance paradise. The DJ booth, sporting just-purchased audio equipment, lights and music, is attached to an exotic shooter bar.
Gordon characterized Lester's first night at Koots as a dramatic disappointment, The next night, while people were packed like sardines on the North stage listening to an alternative cover band and watching a woman dancing in a cage, Lester's south stage consistently held a small but dedicated 30 people on the dance floor. Lester predicted big crowds, "In about two weeks when this thing really hits."
- "What we were paying Bob made him one of the highest-paid DJs in the country, without a doubt," says Streano
Though the physical space is much smaller, Lester feels this could work to his advantage as he gets maximum opportunity to interact with the crowd. And the potential to get the seating area involved in the dancing is much higher here than at Top of the Rock, which sported a gigantic dance floor.
What has Top of the Rock done to replace him? They've installed FOUR (count-em, four) part-time ON-AIR DJs to replace Bob. As far as myself and my sources know, on-air DJs are a rarity in night clubs around the world. And as far as I can tell, Streano's decision is unprecedented. We've got Sparky and JJ from KWHL, possibly as heavy-hitting as Bob himself, and Stu and Scott from KGOT. Lester says in his experience, on-air DJs working in clubs is highly unusual. I didn't expect it," he says, "I figured on a club jock. But more power to 'em."
The power Top of the Rock hit on by hiring Lester, and the power Koots hopes to get a piece of, is more than Bob alone - it's his position with KWHL. "Top of the Rock was spoiled having someone in the media working for them," says Lester. Clearly, the addition of four on-air personalities will be interesting for all of us to watch.
"It's war, like it or not," says Lester, "We're all friends, but we're competing." And though the competition is strange for JJ, Bob and Sparky who all do the morning show, there's always professionalism to smooth over the edges, "We know how to make the separation," says Lester.
And though Sparky told me, "If Bob and I talked about money, we wouldn't be friends," Lester defends his position well. "I'm pretty well-paid, but it took me six years to get where I am," he says, "I'm making big bucks, but I deliver, and I work my butt of to make it fun for the audience. It's not that I'm over-paid or highly-paid - I've paid my dues."