Electroluxx will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year… and local artist Elliott C. Nathan and DJ Brett Mendenhall are keen on seeing what the next decade has in store for the event company.
‘San Franciscans We F*ck With’ is our ongoing series that highlights locals who we admire for their tenacity, creativity, talent, and generosity
San Francisco has no shortage of LGBTQIA+-centered parties to attend. It’s a city founded on queer frivolity; the joys of discovering community amongst misfits; the notions that what exists on the other side of conformity and mundanity is something to be celebrated — in all shapes, shades, and sizes.
It’s why on any given weekend (or Thursday or Friday) night, there are dozens of options for San Franciscans to shell out their hard-earned tech money to gain admission. But there’s only one regular event that seamlessly interweaves inclusivity, left-of-center art installations, queerness, and dance-heavy wavelengths — all while enmeshing SF’s local creative scene.
That party? Electroluxx: The brainchild of beloved SF-based muralist Elliott C. Nathan and multi-hyphenate talent Brett Mendenhall.
“We were a group of guys that wanted to add something new and fun to the nightlife experience in the city,” Nathan tells Underscore, waxing nostalgic on the “Sunday Mass” evening parties held at The Chapel on Valencia Street over a decade ago. Per Nathan, those early festivities allowed the co-founders to test and iterate certain formats and styles, though never losing its bootstrap charm— “we would push all the tables and chairs against one wall and created a makeshift DJ table with some paintings as the backdrop and threw a dance party, we would use anything we could around us to just make it work.”
And work, it did. The first Sunday Mass party held in February of 2014 began sowing the seeds for what would later grow into a massive following for the weekend happening; over 500 people attended the pair’s first SF Pride party that same year, cementing the duo’s propensity for throwing well-received parties.
But the name — “Sunday Mass” — would later prove cumbersome and digitally difficult; Facebook’s policies often constrained Nathan and Mendenhall on what language they could use attached to the religious moniker. After some brainstorming and gnashing of teeth, the name Electroluxx, meant to harken to the “retro-futuristic” sound synonyms with the event series and the described “quirky artistic vibe” permeating throughout each party, was chosen.
Nowadays, Electroluxx attracts thousands upon thousands of partygoers to Public Works and The Midway for its hosted events.
In wake of what’s going to be a monumental year for the duo – ICYMI: They’re throwing a rager at The Midway later tonight, February 2nd, at The Midway (900 Marin Street), featuring J. Worra (amongst many other laudable DJs and on-stage talent), a cuddle puddle… and, yes: a taco and pizza station; tickets are still on sale, btw — we recently caught up with them to talk about what the future holds for Electroluxx, as well as some more
Matt Charnock: When was the moment y’all were like “Oh, this could be a business?”
Eliott C. Nathan & Brett Mendenhall: It was a plan from the beginning to make it a successful business, with the goals of showcasing local talent, being a starting point for people trying to showcase their creative side, and sharing the work of visual & performance artists (painters, projection artists, 3d mappers, dancers, led hoopers etc.) I don’t think we had a party that broke even until maybe 4 years into the show. We wanted our ticket prices to be affordable and the show to be extra, and we all spent our own money to make it happen. We were scared to raise our ticket prices to an amount that would pay for the production because we weren’t sure if people would come, but they did and we started having parties that were breaking even and were getting to be over-the-top fun. We got to experiment with more and more ways to make the event extra and different from the rest of the current nightlife landscape at the time. I think in year 5 or 6 we started having some shows that brought in a little more than we spent and we were ecstatic. We immediately started buying more lights, speakers, and equipment to level up our production. Electroluxx is still mainly a passion project for Brett and I and it’s been so much fun and an honor to get to work with so many different creative people throughout the city and beyond because of this event.
MC: How has the party evolved over the years?
EN& BM: Since our humble beginning with “Sunday Mass” parties at The Chapel, I think we’ve really found our home with The Midway and Public Works, and still have a lot of love for The Chapel which helped us grow. We’ve gotten to practice creating multi-stage events with performance and art, with each party building on the knowledge and new connections of the previous event.
MC: I know you hold Electroluxx elsewhere in the country, where else do you see it expanding?
EN & BM: While we mostly host Electroluxx in San Francisco we have had a few parties in Los Angeles and Seattle throughout the years. We have plans to return to those cities and are also in talks with some venues and other party groups like ours in Portland and Denver.
MC: How did y’all weather through the pandemic?
EN & BM: Through the pandemic, we leaned into technology and tried to be present and bring good vibes to people while we were all stuck in our houses. We set up some live-stream parties with DJs performing in their living rooms. We let people share their videos and we would put them on the screen with the DJ if they dressed up in fun costumes or were dancing and having a blast. The Midway was really supportive and allowed us to livestream a full show from their gorgeous main room with a giant LED wall and professional visual effects. None of these things made money, but we kept the good vibes up and made the best of the situation.
MC: What makes the party series such a great part of queer Bay Area nightlife, do you think?
EN & BM: I hope we bring something to the table that makes people feel this way. I think showcasing and giving opportunities to tons of local talent creates an energy at the event that feels different from just seeing a concert or going to a bar with music playing. When someone has their first DJ opportunity, or someone wants to try being a face painter, or having their first drag performance and get a nice stage and audience to see them in their element I think it there is kind of an energy level that vibrates out from that and make the party have an extra fun/happy/excited feeling.
MC: Favorite moments/parties yet?
EN & BM: Most recently, we had the opportunity to produce the event “Ghost Palace” at The Palace of Fine Arts. It was a huge honor to be allowed to create an experience in that iconic venue and the teams at Non-Plus Ultra and Hush worked with us to create the most over-the-top show we’ve ever produced with stilt walkers, and secret dance rooms, food trucks, and art everywhere. It was really wild and I loved every minute of it.
MC: What’s the future for Electroluxx going forward?
EN & BM: We have so many ideas for the future and will slowly build out as many as we can. Some things we would like to be in our future include hosting another weekend-long campout experience, being a part of more public street fairs, having a Thursday night more casual cocktails & dance party, producing parties in different cities, and an ultimate goal would be to have a stage at a festival like Lightning in a Bottle or Northern Nights.
Also, the amazing Danny Snodgrass (Super into.it) who was one of the co-founders of Electroluxx. He left this world too soon but will forever leave his mark on SF, this party, and the queer community 💙
[…] Electroluxx‘s hosted Velvet party is, ostensibly, the zenith of that nexus, bringing together eleven Bay Area-based queer nightlife organizations this year inorder to throw one hell of a party. Some might sing it’s revolutionary, even; they wouldn’t be wrong in that tune. […]
[…] Electroluxx“Velvet Party” is probably the culmination of this connection, this year bringing together eleven nightlife organizations for a great party. Some might say it’s revolutionary, even; they would not go wrong in this state. […]