I hate Manhattan clubs. Maybe that's because I'm a 20-year-old whose experience with them has largely involved A.) not getting in with some absurdly fake ID or B.) finessing entry with female friends who spend the night fending off Wall Street bros in loose chinos while I check my phone in the corner. At least, that's how I felt until I discovered a series of DIY club nights run by, and for, the kids. The Good Kids, to be exact. They're a collective of DJs and producers—Aharaw, Tiki Shack Funhouse, HD, Stryker Matthews and The Pop Guru—who emphasize inclusive vibes, cutting-edge sounds and creative bookings in a city often dominated by velvet ropes, bottle service, and faceless electro-house. For the Good Kids, sound is primary. They've curated a striking breadth of guest artists at their weekly parties at Home Sweet Home, including DJ Sliink, Mykki Blanco, Baauer, Venus X and DJ Funeral. Their own selections cover an equally dynamic range—you'll hear Jersey Club, R&B, house, and if you're lucky, "[we'll] throw in, like, Smash Mouth." Alberto "Aharaw" Arensberg and Hunter "Tiki Shack Funhouse" made us a couple mixes of club-aligned R&B heat to commemorate their two-year anniversary tonight, and sat down for a chat about inspiration, DJ culture and imaginary timeslots.Noisey: How’d you get into DJing and throwing parties?
Hunter Hawes: We were close friends and DJing at random dive bars. We always wanted Home Sweet Home. We went in and asked for one night there with everyone we knew doing the same thing.Alberto Arensberg: Initially we reached out to 50 kids, our closest circle. Quickly it siphoned down to five, which is us two, Aharaw and Tiki Shack Funhouse, and then HD, the first lady of Good Kids, and Stryker Matthews. The Pop Guru is our photographer and proprietor, for lack of a better term.What defines Good Kids aesthetically?
AA: We try to be diverse. Our inspirations are Spencer Sweeney at Santos Party House, this older nu-disco vibe, and Ghe2o G0th1k, this new, erratic smashing of worlds together. In terms of aesthetics, it’s the lack of one coherence. It’s more about quality and exposure. We try to only spotlight artists that are up and coming—people like the M.O.D. crew, Mykki Blanco, DJ Sliink, those people a year ago.HH: We gave ‘em a first shot. We’re really good at pinpointing right before something breaks, and then they go off and do bigger things, and always come back. At the same time, all of our visuals and flyers have a ‘90s video game style, and the music that we play mixes 2013 with a '90s approach.
What aspects of the ‘90s are you drawn to?
HH: We play a lot of throwbacks, '90s R&B.AA: Hunter has been perfecting this 8-bit flyer aesthetic. It’s really, really, beautiful but also recalling something that’s dying, or lost.HH: It goes along with a wider concept of recontextualizing something old with a new spin. We'll mix old R&B with tracks that came out this week, and just throw in like Smash Mouth, off the wall, right in the middle.Do you see yourselves as a new kind of DJ, internet-enabled and post-genre?
AA: Without a doubt. Literally limitless access, limitless availability. It’s insane. It’s an incredible power. I really do feel like we’re a new type of DJ. It’s a bit lawless, a little bit Wild West. We consider ourselves the gayest straight party and the straightest gay party—there's no reason to classify or compartmentalize anymore. You see that when you look at our past. We’ve worked with every single little weird clique. I think that openness sets us apart. You look at all the other big parties going on right now, and you see this repetition. It's mundane. These huge parties that I used to admire, they’re booking the exact same headliner party after party. The repetition is startling.HH: We have been relentless on always pulling and looking below.AA: Even if it means that we’re totally taking a risk because this random person from Detroit no one’s ever heard of is headlining our party, but you know, that’s a risk that we enjoy taking. That’s what sets us apart. We will put someone you’ve never ever heard of on the same pedestal as the biggest DJs in the whole fuckin’ world. We're gamblers.Do you feel like DJ culture has changed over the last few years?
AA: The DJ is the contemporary rock star, and I'm totally into that. If you’re just standing up there going through your Serato, looking pale faced, it’s like, nah. It’s your responsibility to set the tone of the party. If you’re not having fun playing your tracks, who else is gonna?I just wonder if the fetishization of celebrity DJs leads to stagnancy, because people want a celebrity every time they go out rather than a fresh face.
AA: 100%. I think it's inhibiting. You know what, man? Celebrities are made in the moment. You play a show for 45 people, and you’re fucking owning? You just became a celebrity for 45 people. It’s such a contrived mentality to focus on the reputation and amount of followers your DJ has. It really doesn’t affect how good your party will be. People believe that, they think it does.What does it mean for each of you personally to feel like you’re killing it on the dance floor?
AA: When I’m on, I can feel it. You try not to look up too often, but when you look up and people are lost, they’re sweating and shaking their ass…My tagline is, you're ass is gonna shake whether you’re dancing or not. It’s not cool to be aloof and rude anymore. What’s cool is to be nice and engaging and eloquent and accepting. That's what we’re trying to do.HH: I tend to get buried in my own thing, and I’m not even paying attention to what’s going on out there. When I start feeling that I start freaking out on the inside. Then I’ll glance out, and I’ll think, "Hey, there’s people there."What's one song you'll play that can guarantee a big reaction?
HH: Right now, DJ Sliink’s remix of Rihanna. Over the years I’ve realized the importance of female R&B singers.AA: Rather than a song I’m gonna go with a producer overall—Lil' Texas of the M.O.D. crew. He’s defined so much of that sound, which is thick, hard, house and trap slammers. You can’t help it, you’re jumping around.Is there a party of yours that you’ve thrown that you look back on as the craziest?
AA: Yeah, thus far we’ve done two DIY enormous slammer raves, AOL 1.0 and AOL 2.0. We booked DJ Funeral, his second gig in New York ever—I still can’t wrap my head around that. And AOL 1.0, I still haven’t seen a lineup like that, ever. It was DJ Sliink, Nick Hook, Chippy Nonstop, all of M.O.D., and Hot Sugar. It was just killer.HH: That gave us the confidence to think bigger.What’s your dream lineup now?
AA: I want a rave that’s just Good Kids DJs and Juicy J. Sweet, elegant, and simple. Good Kids and Juicy J. At this point, who else are we gonna book, Mumford and Sons? We could do one-and-a-half songs and then switch. Like, "Ah, just kidding, it’s Juicy J."HH: We've thrown curveballs on our events. We use to do dudes free, from a time that didn’t exist—9:30 to 7:30.AA: We always say we’re gonna charge the chicks. And we’re clearly just not. Like, dudes free forever, chicks: pretty expensive. Free drinks if you’re a dude with a cool t-shirt on.Any last words?
AA: Reach out. Join us. Or don’t.Tiki Shack Funhouse Mini-Mix
"Anyway Now" - Lil Texas
"You Take Me Higher" - Rogerseventytwo (Brenmar Re-Vision)
"Birthday Song" - 2 Chainz
"Pyramids" - Frank Ocean (DJ Sliink Remix)
"Giants Theme" - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
"Love Song" - Rihanna (DJ Sliink Remix)Aharaw Mini-Mix
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Hunter Hawes: We were close friends and DJing at random dive bars. We always wanted Home Sweet Home. We went in and asked for one night there with everyone we knew doing the same thing.Alberto Arensberg: Initially we reached out to 50 kids, our closest circle. Quickly it siphoned down to five, which is us two, Aharaw and Tiki Shack Funhouse, and then HD, the first lady of Good Kids, and Stryker Matthews. The Pop Guru is our photographer and proprietor, for lack of a better term.What defines Good Kids aesthetically?
AA: We try to be diverse. Our inspirations are Spencer Sweeney at Santos Party House, this older nu-disco vibe, and Ghe2o G0th1k, this new, erratic smashing of worlds together. In terms of aesthetics, it’s the lack of one coherence. It’s more about quality and exposure. We try to only spotlight artists that are up and coming—people like the M.O.D. crew, Mykki Blanco, DJ Sliink, those people a year ago.HH: We gave ‘em a first shot. We’re really good at pinpointing right before something breaks, and then they go off and do bigger things, and always come back. At the same time, all of our visuals and flyers have a ‘90s video game style, and the music that we play mixes 2013 with a '90s approach.
HH: We play a lot of throwbacks, '90s R&B.AA: Hunter has been perfecting this 8-bit flyer aesthetic. It’s really, really, beautiful but also recalling something that’s dying, or lost.
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AA: Without a doubt. Literally limitless access, limitless availability. It’s insane. It’s an incredible power. I really do feel like we’re a new type of DJ. It’s a bit lawless, a little bit Wild West. We consider ourselves the gayest straight party and the straightest gay party—there's no reason to classify or compartmentalize anymore. You see that when you look at our past. We’ve worked with every single little weird clique. I think that openness sets us apart. You look at all the other big parties going on right now, and you see this repetition. It's mundane. These huge parties that I used to admire, they’re booking the exact same headliner party after party. The repetition is startling.HH: We have been relentless on always pulling and looking below.AA: Even if it means that we’re totally taking a risk because this random person from Detroit no one’s ever heard of is headlining our party, but you know, that’s a risk that we enjoy taking. That’s what sets us apart. We will put someone you’ve never ever heard of on the same pedestal as the biggest DJs in the whole fuckin’ world. We're gamblers.
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AA: The DJ is the contemporary rock star, and I'm totally into that. If you’re just standing up there going through your Serato, looking pale faced, it’s like, nah. It’s your responsibility to set the tone of the party. If you’re not having fun playing your tracks, who else is gonna?I just wonder if the fetishization of celebrity DJs leads to stagnancy, because people want a celebrity every time they go out rather than a fresh face.
AA: 100%. I think it's inhibiting. You know what, man? Celebrities are made in the moment. You play a show for 45 people, and you’re fucking owning? You just became a celebrity for 45 people. It’s such a contrived mentality to focus on the reputation and amount of followers your DJ has. It really doesn’t affect how good your party will be. People believe that, they think it does.What does it mean for each of you personally to feel like you’re killing it on the dance floor?
AA: When I’m on, I can feel it. You try not to look up too often, but when you look up and people are lost, they’re sweating and shaking their ass…My tagline is, you're ass is gonna shake whether you’re dancing or not. It’s not cool to be aloof and rude anymore. What’s cool is to be nice and engaging and eloquent and accepting. That's what we’re trying to do.HH: I tend to get buried in my own thing, and I’m not even paying attention to what’s going on out there. When I start feeling that I start freaking out on the inside. Then I’ll glance out, and I’ll think, "Hey, there’s people there."
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HH: Right now, DJ Sliink’s remix of Rihanna. Over the years I’ve realized the importance of female R&B singers.AA: Rather than a song I’m gonna go with a producer overall—Lil' Texas of the M.O.D. crew. He’s defined so much of that sound, which is thick, hard, house and trap slammers. You can’t help it, you’re jumping around.Is there a party of yours that you’ve thrown that you look back on as the craziest?
AA: Yeah, thus far we’ve done two DIY enormous slammer raves, AOL 1.0 and AOL 2.0. We booked DJ Funeral, his second gig in New York ever—I still can’t wrap my head around that. And AOL 1.0, I still haven’t seen a lineup like that, ever. It was DJ Sliink, Nick Hook, Chippy Nonstop, all of M.O.D., and Hot Sugar. It was just killer.HH: That gave us the confidence to think bigger.What’s your dream lineup now?
AA: I want a rave that’s just Good Kids DJs and Juicy J. Sweet, elegant, and simple. Good Kids and Juicy J. At this point, who else are we gonna book, Mumford and Sons? We could do one-and-a-half songs and then switch. Like, "Ah, just kidding, it’s Juicy J."HH: We've thrown curveballs on our events. We use to do dudes free, from a time that didn’t exist—9:30 to 7:30.AA: We always say we’re gonna charge the chicks. And we’re clearly just not. Like, dudes free forever, chicks: pretty expensive. Free drinks if you’re a dude with a cool t-shirt on.
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AA: Reach out. Join us. Or don’t.Tiki Shack Funhouse Mini-Mix
"Birth" - Yung Satan
"Anyway Now" - Lil Texas
"You Take Me Higher" - Rogerseventytwo (Brenmar Re-Vision)
"Birthday Song" - 2 Chainz
"Pyramids" - Frank Ocean (DJ Sliink Remix)
"Giants Theme" - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
"Love Song" - Rihanna (DJ Sliink Remix)Aharaw Mini-Mix
Aaliyah - "One in a Million "J.Cole ft. Miguel - " Power Trip (LION KNGS Remix) "Cassie - "All My Love (Kingdom Remix)"Cassie ft. Fabolous - "I love It"Brownstone - " If You Love Me (Brenmar Remix)"Laura Mvula - " Green Gardens (Djemba Djemba Remix)"