DJ Boy Ric has always been comfortable behind the turntables. Photo credit: Chris Bosch

Gotham Citi’s long reign atop the New Haven club scene, cemented by its continuing status as the longest-running alternative night, quickly approaching its 13th anniversary, comes down to a single word: tradition. It comes in all sorts of ways, from the 100-year-old marble floor that welcomes people to Oz, to the slow and steady evolution of the club that still stays true to its roots.

However, one major tradition acts like an anchor of the club: the long-running residency of DJ Boy Ric, who has been a mainstay of the club since 1997. His keen sense of keeping the music tuned to the crowd, and playing a different selection of music than most local clubs do, are some keys to the success of a man who has kept people dancing for over a quarter century, since his first gigs in 1982.

Photo credit: Chris Bosch

In a recent conversation with Boy Ric, one gets a sense of modesty and dedication of someone who truly loves his job.

DJ Boy Ric got his stage name, and his start, from a chance visit to Gotham in late 1997. “I was in a relationship with a daddy who was from [Washington] D.C.,” Ric said. “We went to Gotham Citi one night and the music that they were playing wasn’t that good. When we were heading back, he said you should go back and tell him you want to be their DJ. I said I’m too old; he said I’m telling you to do it.” A quick meeting with a mutual friend, coupled with a promise to boost traffic to the club, and a long-standing partnership was born.

Ric searches high and low for his music, and in unusual places, too. “There’s a couple of web sites I belong to that give songs from people around the country and around the world, so I get an idea of what’s going on, and then there are web sites I go on to that release people’s remixes. One of my favorite sites is out of Brazil. I listen to what’s on the radio stations and in the DJ magazines I get I see what’s up and coming… what’s Deborah Cox is doing, what Kelly Clarkson’s doing, things like that.”

Rob Graff, who, as DJ Robbie, now is resident DJ of Gotham’s first-floor lounge, said it’s Ric’s dedication to music that both inspired him and guides him. “Ric is not just the kind of DJ that gets a mail order of CDs every two weeks or month,” Robbie said. “His music is all handpicked. There’s a difference between those who have music sent to them mail-order, versus hand picking.  You develop a very particular sound.  You don’t sound like a radio station, you sound like your own person.”

A night at Gotham brings out all sorts of selections, in the tradition of New York City house music, mixing in both bigger artists remixed into dance-ready tracks, such as Rihanna or Kelly Clarkson, and more straight-ahead dance artists like Reina and Lucas Prata. A recent visit brought to light everything from a kick-ass remix of “Before He Cheats” to that chestnut from the Jerry Springer Opera: “I Just Wanna Fuckin’ Dance.”

Boy Ric says he knows he’ll play a few songs that are current favorites, but mostly responds to his audience, the dancers. “You have to assess what kind of crowd you have there that night. If it’s mostly gay, a number of straight people, young guys, older guys, a lot of lesbians… you have to adjust your night from that point. You do that continuously throughout the night.”

DJ Boy Ric’s ability to adapt to the changing crowds has kept both him and Gotham Citi busy, and he has noticed a distinct evolution of the crowds over the years. “The crowd has changed a lot, since [Gotham was] an innovator. We didn’t call ourselves strictly a gay club, so there were straight people coming. There were more older guys than there are now, and part of that is because my generation took the hardest hit from AIDS. We lost an entire generation of club-goers. To fill that vacuum is the younger generation that’s out there now.”

He added, “Gotham has really been an experiment of how you can match two groups together. When I first came out and 18 years old, you couldn’t get a straight person into a bar unless you hit them over the head. Now, everyone goes to Gotham. There’s no stigma attached if you tell your friends. I went to Gotham last night – it’s a bar. It’s different. The kids are a lot more open-minded now.”

Ric has inspired a number of DJs during his time at Gotham, including DJ Robbie, who says Boy Ric turned him on to both the music and the role of a DJ. “I’m the kind of person who always had an idea of what their taste in music was when I heard it,” Robbie said. “The first time I actually heard that was when I came to Gotham. I had grown up near Boston, so I was accustomed to gay club music being borderline hip-hop and terrible techno, not this driving New York house kind of sound and that is really what I had always envisioned.”

And, taking the next step, DJ Boy Ric also inspired DJ Robbie to take DJing for a spin. “I got so into the music that he was playing that I thought to myself, DJing is kind of a way that I can actively partake instead of passively listen, being involved.  I’ve always considered myself kind of a behind the scenes kind of person.  That felt more natural in the DJ realm.”

Robbie added, “Once I got to know him I saw this outrageous passion that he has.  He gets genuinely upset if people don’t dance to a record that he plays.  He’s so into that song and sometimes he gets upset... ‘Man, I wish other people could really like [this] and get the enjoyment I get out of this song.’  I saw this whole other parallel about being passionate about the music I want to play.”

Ultimately, Boy Ric says that despite opportunities to head elsewhere, Gotham is where he stays. “Gotham is my home. People have asked me before, ‘Why haven’t you tried to move into New York?’ I’ve had the opportunity but Gotham is my home. That is where I’ll be until the club closes.”