Interview with Paul Geller 

Words: Becca Nelson

Starting in July, Tampa club kids will have a new reason to shop for dancin’ shoes. Ybor City’s Czar Bar is the lucky new venue for PULP, a brand-new promotion brought to the area by Pauly Crush, the DJ/promoter/brains behind two of Orlando’s hottest parties, CRUSH Mondays at BackBooth and Saturday/Thursday at Club Firestone. Pauly Crush (or Paul Geller as his momma intended) obliged a few questions about Florida’s music scene, DJ-ing and Ybor girls.

REAX:  SO… Tampa’s gonna get a new dance party? Tell us the basics.
Paul Geller: PULP will be a weekly dance party with DJs from all over Central Florida supporting national deejays and touring bands. The Grand Opening is Friday, July 13th at Czar Bar in Ybor City.

REAX:  What spawned the decision to start a night in Tampa?
PG: The thing that Tampa has suffered from is similar to problems in Orlando and even Miami: a lack of quality programming. When we started developing a street team in Tampa a few months ago I had to figure out how to explain to them why we are doing this. Here’s the simple answer: More than a handful of kids come out from Tampa to Orlando every Thursday and Monday to party with us. So obviously there is demand and if there’s demand, someone will answer. I have fun doing what I do, so why not us?

REAX:  I know you’ve visited Tampa over the past couple months and been out to the old stand-by clubs and dance nights in Ybor. What’s your take on the current scene?
PG: I went to a couple of cool spots where everyone seemed to be having a good time, getting drunk, etc. I don’t know that there is anything wrong with the party scene in Tampa. It is what it is. PULP will be what it isn’t. Tampa is missing a commitment from venues to risky quality programming and sometimes it takes independent promoters to take the risks for the venues.

REAX:  You are no stranger to club nights and start-ups.  You’re the brains behind BackBooth’s Monday night party CRUSH. Tell me more about this party and your background.
PG: I really don’t know how CRUSH happened. I mean, how do you explain a Monday night party in a college town where everyone works and goes to school being the most successful off-night in Orlando?  I’d like to think that it’s because I lose sleep on Sunday nights worrying about the promotion and the song selection, the equipment and the guest DJs. But really, CRUSH happened by being at the right place at the right time. We came in, broke some glasses and crashed on the floor: CRUSH was born.

REAX:  In addition to CRUSH, you are a resident at Club Firestone’s Saturday/Thursday party, a party that’s been bringing some of the hottest talent in Florida. Tell us more about your involvement in S/T.
PG: I started deejaying out of necessity. I was the promoter for CRUSH and S/T before I was the deejay, and then I realized that I happened to be pretty decent at holding down the dance floor. You won’t find many promoters that deejay their own parties but I love it. S/T was the brain-child of Mike Feinberg (Subversive Entertainment) and myself. When Mike took over the day-to-day at Firestone he called me to see if I thought Orlando could support the crowd at BackBooth at a club five times the size. I said no. He made me do it anyway. One year down the road and we are doing numbers three times the size of other clubs.

REAX:  How do you envision the party in Tampa compared to CRUSH or Saturday/Thursday? 
PG: It will be a perfect hybrid. At CRUSH we do the electro dance thing, but spin in some classic indie hits. S/T is more straightforward with just dance/electronic indie remixes. The DJ sets will be a cross between both and the party will have both guest DJ and live acts. The party is fun unto itself, but it is meant to support lesser-known acts and also include a local element if it applies. I want PULP to support the scene in Tampa and help it grow. And if it means I have to go out and get sloshed every Friday night in Tampa... I’m not complaining. Plus Tampa girls know how to party (so I’ve heard??!!)

REAX:  Can you give us a heads-up as far as talent we may see this fall?
PG:  Some acts we have slated include A-Trak, Girl Talk, Simian Mobile Disco, Steve Aoki, Franki Chan (iheartcomix), Boys Noize, Flosstradamus, Kid Sister, Diplo, Bonde Do Role, and various other live indie shows of the Rilo Kiley vein. 

REAX:  Any final words?
PG: I’ve been really worried about perception lately. I don’t want to be seen as an outsider coming in to Tampa to “take-over” the scene. I am one of many people who cares about the cultural development of the region and we wouldn’t be able to bring this party to Tampa if there weren’t people there to help us. This party needs support from a lot of people and I welcome all the help I can get. Eventually I expect it to be Tampa-centric as more DJs in the genre start to develop here and as word spreads of the good times for all!