Griffin Maxwell Brooks: "To be a snob is to be a good DJ"

Griffin Maxwell Brooks is a DJ, club kid, and bonafide Citi Bike rider. You’ve probably seen them on TikTok. As a self-proclaimed bimbo (they went to Princeton), they are known for their eccentric sense of style, quick wit, and love for their queer community. But despite having a Tuesday night DJ residency at On Top and cohosting events with the iconic Susanne Bartsch, they have only lived in New York City for a year and a half.

During the pandemic and their sophomore year of college, Brooks lived in New York City for six months. They were lost. They ran away from home. They were trying to survive by any means possible. What a perfect place to go. Slowly and surely as the world began to open up, so did theirs.

Brooks talked to Partiful about throwing parties for the queers of New Jersey, their six (err seven) favorite clubs in New York City, and their commitment to their upcoming Halloween costume over pulpy sparkling wine at Anaïs Wine Bar. They smell like Byredo Snimalique by the way.

What was the last party or function that you were at? Did you have fun?
I was at Basement six hours ago. I definitely rode a bike home at 7am as the sun rose, it was beautiful. I had a great time. I've taken it upon myself to really be picky about where I go, especially if I'm not getting paid. I think of myself as a professional fun-haver. To me where I go is almost entirely based on the music, because the music sort of informs the crowd. Basement is the most reliable club in New York. You can kind of never go wrong there. I've had maybe one or two nights that were misses sonically in my 100 times of going there.

You first gained prominence online as a Princeton diver and engineering major and now you’re a DJ in New York City, how did that progression happen?
I've always felt sort of native to the party, to the function. I think that that's a thing about being queer is we get together and we kiki. When I was in high school, I was not getting invited to high school parties because they hated my gay ass. So I was throwing parties in my basement for forty queers that I knew in the state of New Jersey—like one gay guy and lesbian from each high school in every county—and would throw house parties. Also, I need to be in charge of the music. No one at the house party was playing Charli XCX, but I was bumping it.

Then when I got to college my freshman year, I hated it so much, especially the partying. The stuff that I did with the athletic team was so, ‘Let's drink beer, and smash it over each other's heads and play Mr. Brightside.’ That was sort of the standard. Then the pandemic happened, and I spent a year going rogue. Six months of it was spent in New York right when things started to open. I honestly wasn't doing anything crazy, because there wasn't much to do, but what I did do was much more mindful and oriented towards a specific crowd of people: gay people.

When I came back my junior year, I started throwing parties in Princeton at my eating club, which is Princeton's hoity toity word for co-ed fraternities. A friend group of people all a year older than me, who were all black, queer or both got a grant from university to take over [another eating club] that was going under, and turned it into this progressive, fresh space.

What type of parties did you throw at Princeton? Is this how you fell in love with DJing?
I was throwing disco parties at Princeton, which was music that people know and love, because it's 80s, fun and light hearted, but also it's a departure from the college run of the mill, smash a beer on your head party. I also just loved seeing how it brought out a side of my school that I didn't even know existed, Eclectic people who sort of powered away from going out and being in dancing, social spaces, because Princeton didn't have one that catered to them at all. And so that's how I started DJing.

I just gained so much experience going to the city, and I was so dedicated. I started hosting with Susanne Bartsch, On Top at Le Bain, which I'm playing on Tuesday. But I would drive into the city [taking] an hour and a half, get there at 11pm, be sober (because I was still on the athletic team) till 3 am, drive home and sometimes wipe the eyeliner off my face and go lift with my team at 6 am. In the gym with smudged makeup in my gym shorts, essentially out of drag, except for the face.

‍As a DJ, who are your favorite DJs?
‍So my favorite DJs— period, my big three— are Honey Dijon, who's my Lord and Savior, Octa Octa who I'm going to see tonight, and 2manydjs which is sort of rogue and a bit classic, but soul wax, they're phenomenal.

How did going out and partying better inform your music taste and DJing?
‍The more and more I went out and experienced the underground and the multifaceted nature of music, the more and more I became so enamored with dance music. It's history in the queer community, in the black queer community, being from Chicago, Detroit, and New York. There are spaces where they really have this beautiful dedication to keeping it authentic and aware of its roots. That's also such a big thing for me about dance music, it's so referential and internal.

I became in love with the music and the scene and one thing led to another and here we are.  It made me picky, made me a snob, which is sort of what you have to be. That's kind of the job of the DJ. If you're a tastemaker, you know? So to be a snob is to be a good DJ.

How has the act of partying and being a part of the New York City nightlife scene, been a part of your journey as a queer person?
It's been everything to me. Every time I go out, every time I meet new people, every time I experience what New York has to offer, I learn more about myself and my community. It helped me sort of return to regular life and suburbia, places like Princeton, and be like, “Oh, you bitches can't get me down because I know that there's a world outside of this that is so ready and willing to embrace the weird.” I learned a new thing about my own gender every day.

I always say there's six clubs in New York that I go to
- List them -
Knockdown, Basement, Gabriella, Public Records, Good Room, Nowadays, and I guess, Elsewhere. Elsewhere feels more like an event space than a club. But also that's not where I only go. I follow the music more than anything. I go where the good music is, and if the music is bad, I leave or go to the other room. If there is another room, every good party has another room.

We've seen you come up in nightlife with Ty Sunderland’s scene but lately you’ve been partying at Paul’s Dolls and DJing at places like the Knockdown Center. Can you tell us the story of the scene transition and evolution that you've been going through?
So Ty is a good friend of mine. I adore him. Linux, who throws Paul's dolls, is my bestie. I adore her. When I started in New York, it was very just like who's gonna book me? Because I gotta play. I've shifted playing less stuff that's oriented to pop music, because it's not so much my taste. I've only played a few of Ty's events before, and I love his parties. When I play music, I usually have one top 100 moment. Everything else is either from the 90s or the early 2000s. It's got no words and screeching pots and pans, fuzzy like electroclash nonsense.

Venues are sort of a misnomer when it comes to how I identify the places I frequent and the places I want to play. There are some like art clubs, which do their own programming, which I love. I have been a part of Knockdown center, I opened for SG Lewis when he did his big takeover. They needed a local opener and he's a friend of mine so it wasn't Knockdown’s programming, per se.

I really prioritize the sound system. My taste in music, and also the kind of DJ I am requires you to be able to hear everything, it's really focused on the depth of the sound and the way that it transforms the space.

What are your DJ essentials to have to make it through the night that keep your sanity and stay fresh?
Definitely not ketamine. I need my USB and my headphones. I bring 100 [USBs]. The worst feeling I've ever had is when you plug in your USB and [it says] file not found — that is just the end of times and I've never let it happen because I've got six different [USB] models, one from each brand.

But I love a pack of gum, some Carmex, a mini deodorant with aluminum. Listen, I don't care, it's the active ingredient. I'll be there chain smoking cigarettes at the club, and people are like, “oh, I don't wear aluminum deodorant.” Like, that's where you draw the line. Come on. [You’re smoking] a menthol, it's just as bad.

So what are your plans for Halloween? Can we get a little hint of what you're gonna be this year?
I'm standing on this: Halloween in New York is actually 11 fucking days. People start throwing Halloween parties the weekend before Halloween, the weekend of Halloween, and the weekend after. I am not doing a different look. I'm gonna be The Dare. I'm gonna do just a wig and a black tie suit. I have to shave the mustache, which is really sad and scary, but it will grow back. Mama didn't raise a bitch, and I'm not half assing Halloween. I want to commit to going to sweaty, naked parties and keeping my full suit on. I think it's really chic.

I'm playing Xanadu roller rink with Susanne Bartsch, and then I'm gonna drag my ass to Zero Chill. I don't really know what my holiday night plans are, but there's so much happening I'll sort of let the wind take me somewhere sexual. I've got a gig in LA with a bunch of my friends,  Dia De Los Muertos on November 1, and then I'm flying back the next day to play at a warehouse party on November 2. So yeah, I'm gonna be in LA for a whole 24 hours, take my Adderall, have a hoagie and bump it.

What advice do you have for those new to the city and want to kind of get into New York City night life?
Number one is to just go out. Don't be afraid to go alone. Last night I went to Basement alone. I got on my city bike at 2 am, put tunes in my ear and pumped it. I could recommend clubs, I could recommend parties, but I think to enjoy a lot of the spaces that I found to be home now requires practice. You have to really go try it all, figure out what you like, figure out what you hate. Find people in spaces that you like, who like the same things as you. It's great to have a crew. I also think having a set of like minded friends that are going out with the same intention is really important.

Go places, put yourself out of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to see something obscene. The beauty of these spaces is that sort of anything goes. You might see somebody with their arm up someone's ass but you have to accept that that's the culture. If you don't like what you see, turn around and walk somewhere else. And if the music is good, just face the other way. I love doing that.