By Marke B.
Mr. Marcus, RIP. Photo from ebar.com
This isn’t about music per se — let’s not even go there with this one — but it IS about nightlife. Mister Marcus, who for decades tirelessly covered the international, national, local, spiritual, and intergalactic leather scenes has passed away at the age of 77. He had been hospitalized for some time for diabetes and arteriosclerosis.
Marcus wrote for the Bay Area Reporter, and I pretty much grew up on his weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) dispatches. Seriously, he knew EVERYTHING about the leather scene, documenting all the sash winners and losers, the hopefuls and string-pullers, and, yes, sassy sassy gossip. (Here’s one of his recent columns, that he wrote when he was 75, that shows off his breadth of knowledge.) Being a bit cantankerous on occasion, he also didn’t hesitate to cry foul or use his position to push for transparency and change on the leather circuit. At times he was controversial — but if you know any leather queens, you know know that the freakin’ color of M&M’s in a refreshment bowl at a charitable reception can be controversial. I’m not saying they’re fussy, but ….
…. but the community is also very loving. When I was a hardcore leather boy, Mr. Marcus — who was always busy — was incredibly encouraging and always took time to talk. (Another leather legend who recently passed, Daddy Alan Selby, “Mr. S” himself, took me under his wing and was an amazing mentor.) Mr. Marcus helped bind his community with his reports and nudges, and I fear its continued atomization now.
I also fear for the future of nightlife writing in this town. There are very few of us regular nightlife commentators left, even in the Blog Age — people who get creative and critical with their takes on parties and after-hours developments, even as they can’t stop dancing or performing or bringing it. Posting pictures of your nights out to Facebook doesn’t count. I hope people continued to be inspired by Marcus’ dedication to a scene, and begin to document and foster their own through choice words.