by Jack Corbett
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The first time I saw and heard Ron up in the
DJ's booth is the first time I was in the Platinum Club. Nipples, the girl
who was to become "Death on the Wild Side's" main female character had just told
me she had started at Platinum Club and I was clueless where it was or what kind
of club it was. The place was packed that first night and above me I heard a deep resonant voice,
introducing the dancers coming on
stage, ribbing the groom about to be slaughtered after the bachelor's party. For the first time," I thought, "I'm in a big time club. This place is where it's happening. So this is what the top clubs must be like in the Big Apple. I had gotten used to the Washington Park clubs back in the early 1990's. Back then Main Street was still open and I had been looking Nipples up practically every time I could get over to C Mowes. But here it was a whole new ballgame. The club's sound system was magnificent and its bar was exactly where it should be--in the center of the room with the stages all around it. But one of the things about the place that impressed me the most was Ron. A few weeks after that first time, Nipples and I were sharing a Long Island Tea at a table. She was called up to take her turn on stage and I joined her. When we returned to our table we found a man sitting there drinking the drink I had paid for. We almost got into a fight when we told him he had stolen our table and drink. The guy stood up before us. He must have been the tallest man in the club. We were seconds away from slugging it out with each other. I was sizing him up and trying to decide if he would go down before my punches but he was awfully big. Suddenly Nipples got between me and the guy and I just knew he was scant seconds from decking her. Two burly men working for the club moved like greased lightning and grabbed the guy. He didn't argue or put up a fight for these two were something to contend with. One of them was Ron who was the club's DJ that night. The other looked a lot like him but I didn't see him for a long time after that, if atall. It's likely it was Bake who just happens to be Ron's cousin. And Bake and I got to know each other pretty well a long time after that. Ron's been with the club before it's inception and even before the present Platinum Club building came to exist. You don't stay on at a top club like Platinum Club as DJ for this many years unless you are awfully damn good. Take it from me. He's one of the best there's ever been and I should know because I've seen a lot of them come and go.
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