East Village D.J. dies at Burning Man festival


By Lincoln Anderson

Adam Goldstone, a well-known East Village D.J., was getting ready to do what he loved best, spin records, when he fainted in his RV at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert last Tuesday and died shortly afterwards. He was 37.
According to his father, Jerry Goldstone, the cause of death was heart arrhythmia stemming from a delayed effect of a congenital condition that had been fixed when he was a child.

His father said the coroner found no immediate apparent cause of death, so it had to have been his heart.

Anu Kalyanam, 30, a friend from the New York Burning Man community who didn't attend this year's festival, said she got a call from a mutual friend Tuesday night telling her Goldstone had died.

Goldstone had arrived the day before on the first day of the festival and had set up camp.

"I believe he was camped with the New York people," Kalyanam said. "They said he had been working on the playa [the alkali dust-covered basin Burning Man takes place on] and hit his head on some rebar, then slipped again and started convulsing." Goldstone reportedly was in his camper's shower when he fainted. She said she was told medics arrived and treated Goldstone, but couldn't save him.

His father said he was told Goldstone "” who was very particular about his clothes "” refused to put on a pair of normal pants he was offered in his final moments, saying, "Oh that will never do," which may have been his last words. Goldstone always wore pants with narrow legs.

Goldstone came to New York City from San Francisco in 1987 to attend film school at New York University and never left. Instead of film, though, after a try at promoting club parties, he got into D.J.'ing.

Cultivating a progressive, edgy style, he played a wide range of music with equal flair, from house and electronic to Latin and jazz. He spun at any venue "” he didn't care which, as long as he was at the turntables "” from East Village hole in the walls to major music festivals with crowds of tens of thousands like the Detroit Electronic Music Festival in 2003. He frequently played in Europe and had a regular gig D.J.'ing every other month in London.

Locally, he D.J.'d early on at Save the Robots and Destination Lounge. Most recently, he was performing regularly at Speakeasy, a small, second-floor club with an unmarked door on Avenue C at Ninth St.; Love at W. Eighth and MacDougal Sts.; Sapphire Lounge on Eldridge St. and Cafeteria in Chelsea, among others.

Known for his cutting wit, Goldstone was also a writer. He was an assistant editor at Dance Music Review until it folded in 1993, then club editor for Time Out New York magazine from 1993 to 1998. He left Time Out to focus on making an album of eclectic dance music, "Lower East Side Stories," released in October 2001 on Nuphonic, a now-defunct English label. In an interview after the album's release, Goldstone described it as "all over the map musically, from salsa to hip-hop to house to ambient nonsense."

His earlier single "The Sky Is not Crying" is considered a house-music classic.

Dressing sharply and the dance scene go hand in hand. Goldstone was known for a tailored, mod look, and he liked to wear cravats. But "” in keeping with his strict vegetarianism "” he shunned leather shoes. His mother, Linda, noted that he even refused to eat her yams with melted marshmallows at Thanksgiving after he discovered marshmallows contain gelatin.

Politically left of center, he never shopped at chain stores or bought his coffee at Starbucks, his friends said, though adding he never forced his strongly held beliefs on others.

Fluent in Japanese, he made three trips there during his college years, once staying for six months.
On Labor Day, Goldstone's parents stopped by his E. Ninth St. apartment, where they were joined by several friends of his. Standing on the sidewalk across from the Ninth and C Garden with its willow trees rustling lightly in the afternoon breeze, they shared their memories of him.

"He came to New York University as a freshman and fell in love with New York," said his mother, a potter. "He said New York never closed "” unlike San Francisco."

"He'd come home and say San Francisco was very boring," added his father, a vascular surgeon. "He took to fast-moving, competitive New York."

A friend, Vanessa Watters, 23, said Goldstone's understanding of music was encyclopedic.

"He had the most amazing knowledge of music," she said. "He had like two rooms of records. And if you named a song, he'd go and find it."

Watters said during the last year, police raided Love several times on Saturday nights when Goldstone was D.J.'ing his regular 10 p.m.-to-10 a.m. party, including an after-hours segment. The club was a target of noise complaints. She said sometimes Goldstone would just keep playing music as police turned on the lights and searched for violations with their flashlights.

"Adam was my favorite D.J. "” ever," said Andy Reynolds, a music publicist. "He could do everything "” from a whole night of Brazilian to techie house. He was really all over the board. Technically, he was very good. He could do flawless mixes." Known for his charm, Goldstone was popular on the nightlife scene, Watters and Reynolds said, noting he was pals with Lady Bunny and other high-profile drag queens.

"If I wanted to go out, I'd go with him," Reynolds said of Goldstone.

Lamenting how churches are being replaced by university dormitories, Reynolds added, "He was horrified about what was happening in the East Village."

His father said Goldstone has been cremated, and they haven't decided what will be done with his ashes. He leaves a younger sister, Lara, of Los Angeles, and brother, Stefan, of San Francisco.

"He lived a full life," his father said, "and he died doing what he loved doing."

Watters said his friends already had one party in the East Village over the weekend in memory of him. There will be a bigger one.

"He believed in party to the end," she said. "He would want to go out with a bang."

From Bruce Tantum:
(Clubs editor Time Out NY)

quote:

If anyone's interested, I've posted my "Top 5 Goldstone-related tracks" on
Brooklynradio.net, this internet radio station I'm involved with.
Here's the direct link.

Fly Life in Today VILLAGE VOICE
Eulogies for Fabulousness
Two club legends, Willi Ninja and Adam Goldstone, pass in the same week

by Tricia Romano
September 12th, 2006 1:19 PM

Adam Goldstone, way ahead of the curve
photo: Tricia Romano
See also:
R.I.P., Willi Ninja
The legendary vogueing star of 'Paris is Burning,' age 45, passed away on September 2, 2006
Fly Life Gallery: by Tricia Romano


When voguing legend Willi Ninja and house music DJ-producer Adam Goldstone, both longtime fixtures in the downtown club scene, died two weeks ago, they left two very unique but loosely connected legacies.
Ninja"”made famous in Paris Is Burning, Jennie Livingston's monumental 1990 documentary about gay drag balls"”died Saturday, September 2, three years after an HIV diagnosis; in the end, the famous dancer had lost his sight and become paralyzed. But that didn't stop him from being fabulous. "He was weak, but let me tell you, he was running the show," says Livingston, recalling how his acolytes did his hair in the hospital room.

Ninja himself had worked hard to take care of his mother, Esther Leake, 70, a wheelchair-bound woman suffering from Parkinson's. (Benefits to help support her now are currently in the works.) One of Ninja's best friends, fellow dancer Archie Burnett, says that Ninja was always grateful that his mother took him to the ballet and the Apollo, which inspired him to become a dancer; taking care of her pushed him to work even harder. "In New York City, it's very about 'What have you done lately?' " Burnett says. "In Europe, it's 'What have you done?' That's good enough."

Like most independent artists, Ninja did not have health care. "You can make a film about people that reveals their uniqueness and splendor"”that's a wonderful thing, but it doesn't change the underlying inequalities," Livingston says.

Goldstone's death Tuesday, August 29, was unexpected and shocking. The 37-year-old had traveled to Burning Man with local DJs Small Change and DJ Shakey (Jim Dier and Julie Covello, respectively); shortly after the trio split up upon arriving, he collapsed in the shower and died of heart failure soon thereafter. Goldstone had a congenital heart defect, which required two operations as an infant.

As a producer, Goldstone was best known for the song "The Sky Is Not Crying," released under the moniker Tiny Trendies. Goldstone's recordings on esteemed house label Nuphonic gave him buzz and gigs, as did his quintessential studio record, Lower East Side Stories, which M3 festival co-founder David Prince called "a real classic from a classic New York guy."

Goldstone had moved to New York from San Francisco to study film at NYU in the late '80s but dropped out, perhaps sidetracked by his new obsession, dance music. He worked as clubs editor at Time Out before handing it off to best friend Bruce Tantum. When not playing overseas, he'd play local haunts such as the infamous after-hours club Save the Robots, the Sapphire Lounge, and Love, where he had a party with Tantum called Whoville.

He was a musical purist regarding New York nightlife. "He envisioned it being like the mid '80s, from Paradise Garage up through Jackie 60, the last party he really loved in New York," Tantum says. "Like the rest of us, he despised the whole bottle service thing. His whole goal was to try and bring that feeling back. It was frustrating to him to no end that he couldn't do so."

Steven Lewis, the former club director for notorious nightspots like Life, fired and rehired Goldstone many times. "Adam Goldstone was often difficult," he recalls. "As a DJ he played B sides before all the rest, and he was often satisfied when he cleared a room. He'd tell me, 'I didn't want those people to be comfortable anyway.' He'd point to the 10 or 15 remaining trendies and explain that they were far more important to please. I'd agree. Then he'd clear them out too. Still, I'd bring him back because he was way ahead of the curve. I'm real sad now because there's one less artist trying to be an atlas."

Younger brother Stefan Goldstone (a/k/a DJ Sake 1) says that Adam enormously influenced his musical education, showing him that house and hip-hop shared roots. He regrets that in the last few years they weren't as close, a standoff born of a long-ago rift both were too stubborn to repair. "It was weird, walking in his shadow as a little brother," Stefan says. "Now, I'm having a broader view. I'm really lucky to walk in his shadow, because his shadow was such an amazing one."

Goldstone was also known for his impeccable fashion sense and razor-sharp wit. With reddish-brown hair, the lanky DJ was often seen strolling around his East Village neighborhood wearing clothes by designer Paul Smith, with an ever present ascot tied around his neck. His jaunty style became such a trademark DJ Larry Tee wore an ascot all weekend in honor of Adam; Tantum says that at Burning Man, they threw an Adam Goldstone tribute party, where "everybody fashioned pieces of cloth into ascots."

This strictness didn't end with his taste in clothing or music. "You could say he was a man of standards," Covello says. "He had arranged to pick up a bike from an independent repair person rather than a chain store. He strongly urged us not to shop at the Wal-Mart, ate a vegetarian lunch, had meticulously prepared a large CD book for his gigs at the festival, debated at length about which single-malt scotch to buy for the week, and all the while profiled in his custom-tailored safari outfit."

Indeed Tantum and Goldstone's father both relay what were supposedly his last words. When he fell for the second time shortly after arriving at Burning Man, his friends slipped him into a pair of pants before rushing him to get medical attention. Goldstone took one look at their choice and said, "Oh, those won't do."

Longtime club maven Chi Chi Valenti remembered both fondly: "The weirdest thing is that these two people will forever be eulogized together, " she says. "The last time I saw [Willi] was at Motherfucker. I'm very glad that the last thing I saw him do was just dazzle an audience one last time. I still saw him as he wanted to be seen." She adds, "I danced my last dance with Adam, to (Donna Summer's) 'Last Dance,' at the last night of Jackie 60."

Ironically, just a few weeks before Goldstone left for Burning Man, he'd gone to visit Ninja in the nursing home. "Lo and behold, they were carrying on and cracking jokes," Archie Burnett says. Ninja's easygoing, accepting demeanor helped him become a success. It's one of the reasons Livingston felt so comfortable when filming Paris Is Burning. Burnett told stories of Willi performing impromptu on the streets of Paris or Amsterdam, sashaying down the street like it was a catwalkwith model Beverly Peel or climbing a rope that hung from the ceiling of a club and voguing from the rafters. "I thought, 'Boy is crazy, and on beat!' " Burnett laughs.

Until his death, Ninja outlived many of his co-stars in Paris Is Burning, including Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, Angie Extravaganza, and Avis Pendavis. At the end of the movie, the late Corey says, "You've left a mark on the world if you just get through it and a few people remember your name. You don't have to bend the whole world." But Adam Goldstone and Willi Ninja both did just that. R.I.P.

Mr. Goldstone, we love you! (apologies to Mr. Sondheim)
Seriously, though, I remember hearing the simple pleasurable sound of The Sky Is Not Crying (on John Digweed's Bedrock mix CD) and Just now put it on the CD player, Brings back lots of memories, great track. Even if I didn't know him, I am sorry to hear of his passing. Adam and Willi will be partying in Heaven, and I hope that we're all on the guest list when we are dragged there kicking and screaming whilst Father (or Mother)Time pulls us all but the hair. R.I.P.

I have been so out of touch lately that I've just found this topic. I am so saddened by this news, I hardly know what to say. I met Adam at the Pyramid, where he often hung out with me and George in the DJ booth. He was such a charming and friendly person and such a great DJ.

I just thought of Adam today..... my ipod was on random play and hit the Peech boys as I plodded onto the pedestrian N train... it reminded me of this daft night chez Goldstone.. where I shouted out ole acts (that I listened to on import back in Liverpool)and Adam played on cue! "Peech Boys!" "Sharon Redd!" "Change!" , "Was Not Was!" ... it was a riot... and amused us both no end...... Am sure he's playing that very same 'game' with Larry Levan at this very moment! (or so I like to think!).

Ah, Larry Levan, awesome, a legend. He'd play anything!

From Maurice Bernstein,
CEO, Giant Step:

A couple of months ago we were all shocked to hear about the untimely death of DJ, producer, night life icon and all around good friend, Adam Goldstone. He meant a lot to many of us in NY and around the world, from his editing of TONY club pages, his parties and most of all his unique personality. Adam's humor was dryer and stranger than anyone else I knew (a certain birthday gift he once gave me proved that). Well the time has come to truly pay tribute to Adam in the spirit that is befitting to him, great music, drag
queens and some debauchery thrown in for good measure. It is also a benefit for his family so if you knew Adam you don't want to miss it. But if you didn't know him, you'd still not want to miss it as I doubt anyone else can get all these freaks in one room.

The line up for the evening will feature:

Johnny Dynell (Jackie 60)
John Hall and Perry Brandston (Departure Lounge)
Bill Brewster (Lowlife, London & Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, author)
Bruce Tantum (Time Out NY)
DJ El Toro (The Bus Stop, Seattle WA)
DJ Sake-1 (Brother of Adam, San Francisco)

Plus! Performances by:
Chi Chi Valenti
Harmonica Sunbeam
Ginger!
The MGM Fan Dance Project with Dirty Martini, Julie Atlas Muz, Little Brooklyn and The Swedish Housewife - Debut!
+ Plenty of Surprises!

See ya there!

Maurice Bernstein,
CEO, Giant Step


Here is a link to buy tickets.

BTW, am sure he won't mind my sharing this with the gang but I just got this note from Adam's dad with this updte....

Adam was cremated. His family thought that would be what he wanted. His ashes will be scattered at the two places he seemed to love the most: New York and at the Burning Man site in Nevada. We also plan to have some type of memorial established in Tomkins Square, probably a tree planted in his honor which will hopefully grow and provide a place for shade and comfort for many, many years. There is also a fountain in the center of that park surrounded by a circle of pavement stones and one (or more) will be dedicated to him. He was passionate about this park in his neighborhoob.Thank you for your concern.

Jerry Goldstone (Adam's father)

Sounds like Adam came from a pretty great family.

There's a tribute show to Adam on www.eastvillageradio.com (go to home page, scroll down news you'll find it). Plays all of his music, has an interview with Adam and a DJ set.
I just downloaded it onto my pod and enjoyed it in an airport lounge!

I just found this lovely pic online... sorry I don't know who the photographer was (please post if u know, nuff credit is due!).

Adam's family is having a stone inscribed with Adam's name placed in Tompkins Square park. Ironically, its going to be near the Temperance Fountain.
February 11th at 1.30pm
All extended family and friends are invited to attend...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Anna Nicole,

I have in my hot little hand is an iPod playing Tiny Trendies The Sky Is Not Crying, a beautiful track so simple groovy and mellow, I'm dancing as we speak.

Adams family have dedicated a big old tree in Tompkins Sq park to him (more on WHICH tree it is later) another nice way to rememember him by. They have donated his huge and legendary record collection to the Archive of Contemporary Music Collection (Bob George).
I actually don't know much about this collection - does anyone?
Am sure Our Adam would be happy to see it go to a good home. Although, I must say I miss him playing me those K-Tel Rugby's greatest Hits collection that he sang along to me to make me feel a lil Blighty in the E.Vil.

I know the "Archive of Contemporary Music Collection" and Bob George. They are both fantastic.
That is a perfect place for Adam's music.
Bob George has been a saint, collecting and saving rare dance music for years.
God bless him.

Casanova and I go see Adam every day in the park (before his daily biscuit and kiss-fest at RAPTURE).
Casanova likes to pee on the corner of that monument where Adam's plaque is.
An Adam Goldstone tree would be even better to pee on!
Yeah!!!!!

Casanova

Dammm how come Casanova isn't wearing an ascot!

I promise to make him one for his inaugural pee on Uncle Adam's tree. Let me know.

This week is the one year anniversary of Adam's death... thought it might be nice for us to meet at Rapture for a toast - Wed evening.
Would be lovely for us to get together. I shall be there... hope to see you too! mwah.x

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Anna Nicole,