Larry Tee
Encyclopedia
Larry Tee is a New York City-based DJ, club promoter, and music producer who coined the musical genre term Electroclash
and helped launch the careers of such artists as RuPaul
, Scissor Sisters
, Fischerspooner
, Peaches
, W.I.T., and Avenue D
, and has collaborated with Amanda Lepore
and Princess Superstar
.
New York Press credited Tee as ‘a hipster before there were hipsters, a club kid before Michael Alig
dismembered one and a man who made Williamsburg cool again’. The magazine celebrated Tee's electroclash credentials as well as his role in making RuPaul a star in the 90s.
. He moved to Atlanta in the early 1980s, where he became a part of the music scene and he hung out with drag personalities such as RuPaul, Lady Bunny
, and Lahoma Van Zandt at the Celebrity Club in Atlanta.
In 1989, Tee along with RuPaul and Lady Bunny
and Lahoma Van Zandt moved to NYC and quickly took over the Club Kids
scene with his epic party, Love Machine. He hosted the infamous DISCO 2000 seen in the movie Party Monster's hot body contest, and also DJ'ed at the ROXY on a weekly basis.
During the 1990s, he became a prominent DJ by playing at highly-regarded venues such as Palladium
, Twilo
, and the Roxy NYC
. In 1992, Tee co-wrote the RuPaul
's top 40-hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)
".
In the early 2000s, Tee created and trademarked the term "electroclash" and it became well known enough that it started to appear in the Oxford Dictionary. He coordinated and managed the 2001 Electroclash Festival, which featured Scissor Sisters
, Fischerspooner
, Ladytron
and Peaches
, who all participated in the festival. He also created and managed the nouvea-music electro girl group, W.I.T.
In 2009 Tee released the iTunes
top 20 dance album Club Badd, which featured songs by Blogger Perez Hilton, Princess Superstar (the Licky single was later re-written by Sean Garrett of Beyonce/Usher fame and re-recorded by Shontelle
), Jeffree Star, Roxy Cottontail, Herve, Bart B More, and Christopher Just. Licky also appeared on the Steve Aoki mix album with Santogold rapping on it and in the Russell Brand movie, "Get Him To the Greek". In 2010, Larry Tee released the single "Let's Make Nasty
" featuring Roxy Cottontail and it is to be re-released in the UK in 2011.
In 2010 Tee collaborated with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton
and Amanda Lepore to produce Hilton's first music track. Currently he is remixing for a range of artists including Lady GaGa
and La Roux
.
Electroclash
Electroclash is a style of music that fuses New Wave and electronic dance music. It emerged in New York and Detroit in the later 1990s, pioneered by acts including I-F and those associated with Gerald Donald, and is associated with acts including Peaches, Adult, and Fischerspooner...
and helped launch the careers of such artists as RuPaul
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles , best known as simply RuPaul, is an American actor, drag queen, model, author, and singer-songwriter, who first became widely known in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previously, he was a fixture on the Atlanta...
, Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters are an American band "spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York" who took their name from a sexual position between two women also known as tribadism...
, Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner is an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York. The name is a portmanteau of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner...
, Peaches
Peaches (musician)
Merrill Beth Nisker , better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electronic musician and performance artist who lives in Berlin, Germany. Her songs are noted for disregarding traditional gender norms and their use of sexually explicit lyrics...
, W.I.T., and Avenue D
Avenue D
Avenue D is the easternmost named avenue in the East Village neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, though several thoroughfares are closer to the East River. This area is also known as Alphabet City. Avenue D runs between East 12th Street and Houston Street, and continues south...
, and has collaborated with Amanda Lepore
Amanda Lepore
Amanda Lepore is an American model, nightclub hostess, fashion icon, performance artist, and transgender icon. She has appeared in advertising for numerous companies, including M.A.C. cosmetics, Mego Jeans, The Blonds, Swatch, CAMP Cosmetics, and Heatherette, which has used her likeness on...
and Princess Superstar
Princess Superstar
Princess Superstar is an American emcee and DJ.Her musical style, as she describes it, is flip-flop — a mixture of 'hip hop, electroclash and electronica'.-Background:...
.
New York Press credited Tee as ‘a hipster before there were hipsters, a club kid before Michael Alig
Michael Alig
Michael Alig is the co-founding member of the Club Kids, a group of young clubgoers led by long time best friend James St. James and Alig in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
dismembered one and a man who made Williamsburg cool again’. The magazine celebrated Tee's electroclash credentials as well as his role in making RuPaul a star in the 90s.
Career
Tee was born to two Canadian-born citizens in Seattle, Washington. He grew up in Seattle and then Marietta, GeorgiaMarietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
. He moved to Atlanta in the early 1980s, where he became a part of the music scene and he hung out with drag personalities such as RuPaul, Lady Bunny
Lady Bunny
The Lady Bunny is an American drag queen originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has lived in New York since the 1980s. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event and is well-known as a nightclub DJ, promoter and celebrity...
, and Lahoma Van Zandt at the Celebrity Club in Atlanta.
In 1989, Tee along with RuPaul and Lady Bunny
Lady Bunny
The Lady Bunny is an American drag queen originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has lived in New York since the 1980s. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event and is well-known as a nightclub DJ, promoter and celebrity...
and Lahoma Van Zandt moved to NYC and quickly took over the Club Kids
Club Kids
The Club Kids were a group of young New York City club personalities mostly led by Michael Alig and James St. James in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
scene with his epic party, Love Machine. He hosted the infamous DISCO 2000 seen in the movie Party Monster's hot body contest, and also DJ'ed at the ROXY on a weekly basis.
During the 1990s, he became a prominent DJ by playing at highly-regarded venues such as Palladium
Palladium (music venue)
The Palladium was a concert hall and later a nightclub in New York City. It was located on the south side of East 14th Street, between Irving Place and 3rd Avenue....
, Twilo
Twilo
Twilo was an American nightclub in operation from 1995 to 2001 in New York City and from 2006 to 2007 in Miami. The New York location at 530 West 27th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan regularly attracted a crowd of thousands to its warehouse-like dance floor...
, and the Roxy NYC
Roxy NYC
Roxy NYC was a popular nightclub located at 515 West 18th Street in New York City. Located in Chelsea section of Manhattan it began as a roller skating rink and roller disco in 1978, it was founded by Steve Bauman, Richard Newhouse and Steve Greenberg then acquired in 1985 by Gene DiNino until it...
. In 1992, Tee co-wrote the RuPaul
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles , best known as simply RuPaul, is an American actor, drag queen, model, author, and singer-songwriter, who first became widely known in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previously, he was a fixture on the Atlanta...
's top 40-hit "Supermodel (You Better Work)
Supermodel (You Better Work)
"Supermodel " is the title of a 1992 song by the dance music singer and drag queen RuPaul. It was the third single from his album Supermodel of the World...
".
In the early 2000s, Tee created and trademarked the term "electroclash" and it became well known enough that it started to appear in the Oxford Dictionary. He coordinated and managed the 2001 Electroclash Festival, which featured Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters are an American band "spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York" who took their name from a sexual position between two women also known as tribadism...
, Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner
Fischerspooner is an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York. The name is a portmanteau of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner...
, Ladytron
Ladytron
Ladytron are an English electronic band formed in 1999 in Liverpool, Merseyside. The group consists of Helen Marnie , Mira Aroyo , Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu .Their sound blends electropop with New Wave and shoegazing elements. Ladytron described their sound as "electronic pop"...
and Peaches
Peaches (musician)
Merrill Beth Nisker , better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electronic musician and performance artist who lives in Berlin, Germany. Her songs are noted for disregarding traditional gender norms and their use of sexually explicit lyrics...
, who all participated in the festival. He also created and managed the nouvea-music electro girl group, W.I.T.
In 2009 Tee released the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
top 20 dance album Club Badd, which featured songs by Blogger Perez Hilton, Princess Superstar (the Licky single was later re-written by Sean Garrett of Beyonce/Usher fame and re-recorded by Shontelle
Shontelle
Shontelle Layne , known professionally as Shontelle, is a Barbadian singer, and songwriter. She released her debut album Shontelligence in November 2008. Her sophomore album, No Gravity, was released in September 2010...
), Jeffree Star, Roxy Cottontail, Herve, Bart B More, and Christopher Just. Licky also appeared on the Steve Aoki mix album with Santogold rapping on it and in the Russell Brand movie, "Get Him To the Greek". In 2010, Larry Tee released the single "Let's Make Nasty
Let's Make Nasty
"Let's Make Nasty" is the fourth single by Larry Tee featuring Roxy Cottontail from his album Club Badd.-Chart performance:"Let's Make Nasty" became Larry Tee's first single to chart on the Dutch Singles Chart...
" featuring Roxy Cottontail and it is to be re-released in the UK in 2011.
In 2010 Tee collaborated with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton
Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. , better known as Perez Hilton , is an American blogger and television personality. His blog, Perezhilton.com , is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities...
and Amanda Lepore to produce Hilton's first music track. Currently he is remixing for a range of artists including Lady GaGa
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
and La Roux
La Roux
La Roux are an English electropop duo made up of singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson, and co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Jackson describes their relationship as "very much a half and half sharing situation... not like a singer producer outfit", but also...
.