Style- Manhattan 1980

As a kid growing up in Upstate New York, there was only one place to go after high school.

New York City.

No other place mattered.

And only one time period ever existed really.

TV Party still, Polaroid by Maripol

Glenn O'Brien

Deborah Harry and Glenn O'Brien, maybe on the set of "TV Party"?

Deborah Harry, Polaroid by Maripol

Bettie Ringma (98Bowery project), Nancy Spungen, and Sable Starr at CBGBs

Bettie Ringma and David Byrne at CBGB's

Talking Heads

Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, photo by Gerard Malanga

Edie Sedgwick photobooth, portrait by Gerard Melanga

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Polaroid by Andy Warhol

Keith Haring

Klaus Nomi, Christopher Parker, and Jim Jarmusch, photo by David Godlis

Richard Hell at CBGB's, photo by David Godlis

Richard Avedon, self-portrait

Michael Auder and Viva Superstar, photographed by Richard Avedon

Truman Capote, portrait by Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol, self-portrait

Andy Warhol's 81st Birthday

You know why Austin is the coolest place that ever existed?!

Because not only do we host Twin Peaks costume parties, Michael Jackson sing-alongs, dances centered around foot fetishism, and the National Karaoke League, we celebrate Andy Warhol's birthday a la Factory style!

The Plastic Exploding Inevitable 2009 was hosted by Massive Beacon at the Mohawk last night with a crowd close to 400 people. Edie's Revenge played a Velvet Underground set and PJ and the Bear showed up in their Marc Bolan-fucks-a-teddy-bear regalia. The crowd was full of shoddy Andy's (one young man/asshole wore cargo shorts, a silk vest with no shirt, and a "Grandma" wig), beautiful Edie's, a couple of Nicos, one Candy Darling, and, me, one very sweaty, very sober Truman Capote with a camera in my hand taking photos for the Austin Chronicle Chrontourage (suit + bow-tie + suspenders + hot Texas summer night = delusions and anger).

Though the stacks of Brillo boxes did not make their planned appearance, there was silk screening and a stop-motion animation play center on hand. There was even a stuffed gorilla holding a giant copy of The Velvet Underground & Nico. The gorilla mysteriously fell over at some point in the evening which caused a loud noise and instant silence from the crowd. We stood their motionless for a good 30 seconds, clueless as to what to do, then somebody picked him up, returned him to his squatting position, and the party resumed. Talk about excitement! Fuck naked tranny sex orgies and horse tranquilizers, we had stuffed gorillas falling over.