Controversy and success: San Francisco’s Frolic party – interview with Neonbunny part 4
by Patch O'Furr
Interview series: Artists, animation directors, DJ’s and event organizers, superfans, and more…
Neonbunny is founding DJ and promoter of Frolic. The 90 minute interview has 4 parts, with one a week posting this month.
- Intro: The most furry place in the universe?
- Part 1) Counterculture to Furry – Neon’s background in the SF Bay Area.
- Part 2) Starting Frolic – Throwing parties, finding other furries.
- Part 3) The furry scene – Frolic’s venue: The Stud – Promoting and operating Frolic.
4) Controversy and success – Music, DIY culture, Furry events, sex, drama, and more.
For many furries in the world, the San Francisco Bay Area is the place to be. For many in the Bay, Frolic is THE most furry place. It isn’t the only center, but it’s an influential one. It’s not just the best Furry party… I’d call it the best party San Francisco has, period. Check out Frolic’s website, and read about it in The Bold Italic magazine.
Neonbunny, founding DJ and promoter of Frolic, met me for a long interview over dinner. His partner Jody who handles tech, lighting and animation was with us. It was a year ago, just after they got back from 2013’s Burning Man event in Nevada. Neon’s early trips to Burning Man led to discovering Furries in the early 2000’s, and making friends to help throw parties. It turned into a scene connected to local counterculture. Since Frolic started in 2010, it’s had nice success. We talked about the wide roles of such events and their makers:
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(Patch:) I thought DJing would come before promoting shows, but it’s the other way around for you.
(Neon:) I’ve always been musically inclined, just like I was inclined to wear animal costumes. When I was a kid, for Halloween, it was always a cat costume. My parents got me keyboard lessons. I was in a high school band, played drums, messed around with a punk band with some friends, and always into new music.
I pay attention to lot of electronic music, and gothic kind of stuff. I hang out on a forum that has people who are almost legendary. It’s like, “I was listening to your album when I was a kid.” This week I saw Gary Numan and met the guy from Cold Cave. Some is going strong since then, some is having kind of a renaissance.
I was into a lot of that in high school. I was always into punk rock as a kid. Electronic music has some of the same aspects, it’s about self publishing – there’s a DIY aspect. You don’t need a record label – it’s people publishing their friends.