Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland [Hardcover]

James St. James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 1999

The author reveals the New York Club scene at its worst as he relates his involvement with Michael Alig, a Midwest nerd who became a leading club promoter and eventually found trouble after killing a drug dealer.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1996, New York City drug dealer and "club kid" Angel Melendez was bludgeoned, injected with Drano, dismembered, and tossed into the river. James St. James was there when the killer confessed, but before that, there were the clubs, the parties, the drugs, and the many fabulous (and some not so fabulous) outfits. Disco Bloodbath is "celebutante" St. James's story, equal parts confession and attempt at closure. This is no square-jawed detective's account of the investigation of the crime; St. James is a drug-addled clubster who wears a wedding dress out on the town and invokes Judy Garland as he talks about the scene in which he and Melendez immersed themselves before the murder. His story, despite its gruesome subject matter and frequent, shocking lucidity, has a chatty and anecdotal quality that's compelling, endearing, and unrelentingly human. --Lisa Higgins

From Publishers Weekly

When suspected drug dealer Angel Melendez disappeared in March 1996, the arrest of party promoter Michael Alig, impresario of the debaucherous "club-kid" scene of the early 1990s, sent shock waves through the New York City club scene. Alig and his roommate were later convicted of the grisly murder and dismemberment of Melendez. According to St. James, who describes himself as "a rather needy diva" and Alig's "best friend," the conviction was no surprise: days after the murder, Alig had confessed to him while they did drugs together in Alig's apartment. St. James's account of the rise and fall of Michael Alig is a most unconventional contribution to the body of true crime. Mixing dish on the outrageous exploits of club queens with "the running commentary of a babbling drug addictAme," St. James fuses the unrepentant humor and narcotic gusto of Hunter S. Thompson with pure campAand the result is a flamboyant and engrossing first-person narrative. But while St. James's flashy approach is artful and engaging, it ultimately serves to solidify the tabloid nature of his tale. St. James has no sympathy for the victim of the crime. The closest thing to emotion on display is St. James's obsessive need to document the highs and lows of life with the maddening Alig and his own self-pity at the end of his carousing days with Alig. "How superficial to say that because of a murder, I didn't feel like dressing up anymore!" Yes, and how. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st edition (August 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684857642
• ISBN-13: 978-0684857640
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Portrait of a Murder In Full Shade, September 17, 2003

By 

Darshan "darshan1" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Party Monster: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland (Paperback)

Personally, in the early 90's I was enchanted with club kids, but would never let them in my apartment for fear that several somethings would turn up missing. James St. James' wonderful book lets me know I probably did the right thing. Although the story regularly digresses from Michael Alig and Robert Rigg's murder of Angel Melendez, he does so with purpose, and the book is an intriguing read. He shows how Alig transformed from an unwelcome wannabe to a creative force in New York's club scene to a heroin-addicted nightmare. Similarly, He explains Freeze's (Robert Rigg) three phases as well from a reticent but clever costume designer to a "well-respected" drug dealer to a practically homeless ball of anger. Instead of blaming it all on Michael's upbringing like most authors would, St. James finds that changes in the music, the scene and, most particularly, the drugs of trend led a lot of club kids, particularly Michael Alig, down a path of darkness.
Not that Michael was very nice to begin with. St. James relates that Michael's first "superstar" was Christina, an ugly drag queen. By foisting her on the club scene, he hoped to garner approval from everyone who enjoyed making fun of her.
Some have argued that both club kids and St. James' book are too self-absorbed to warrant any warm feelings. It is true. However the author makes himself very three dimensional, focusing on his foibles as well as his successes. And his moral conflict is depicted beautifully. On the one side Melendez, an acrid drug dealer (probably connected to a dangerous cartel) was hurting so many people that death didn't seem like a bad fate for him. (After all, St. James argues, no one arrested Dorothy even though she accumulated a body count of two wicked witches.) On the other hand, Melendez' murder was particularly brutal (a drano injection), and Michael's callous reaction was to go on a shopping spree with Angel's money.
The book sheds light on a fairly secretive world and shocks the reader. However, it is also, bizarrely, entertaining. For example, when James' is trying to come to terms with Angel's death he finds himself approaching dogs and saying "Hello, little doggie! Aren't you the sweetest thing? I bet you wouldn't ever inject anyone with drano, would you?"
Admittedly, I've been fascinated with this scene since the days of Project X magazine and films such as Paris is Burning, but even for the uninitiated, I suspect they'll find that this book is such a good read that it won't take them any longer to get through than would seeing the movie.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A view from a fellow survivor, December 1, 1999

By 

Ron P - See all my reviews

This review is from: Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland (Hardcover)

I waited a long time to read this book. Partly because it dredged up people and events I knew, and partly because the story was just too strange to be anything but real. Nobody would believe it. But it all happened.

I couldn't put this book down. Maybe that has to do with my being there, and knowing all the characters in this book. It was painful but also hysterically funny. I have to hand it to James. He did a good job recreating the mood of the times, which is a little odd to say, considering the subject matter.

While I thought James was as fair as possible about himself, and doesn't try to portray himself as anything but what he really was: A fabulous mess, he also tries (and mostly succeeds)walking a thin line with his portayal of Michael.I only wish James spent more pages exploring Michael,

Michael can be the sweetest person, but he has a very cruel, dark side, as those of us who know him have had a taste of at some time. While it's very hard to be sympathetic to Michael considering the horrendous and unexcusable thing he did to Angel, there's an undeniable charisma about him. It was Michael after all, who was the Pied Pier of New York's club scene. Everyone gravitated towards his circle, and we all know what happened to those who followed the Piper.

When I heard the story, long before it became public, I was shocked. But at the same time I said to myself: "that's Michael for you." I commend James, because it takes a certain amount of guts to say "I was Michael's best friend" (I don't think too many people are going to try and take that title away from him). James does a good job capturing a very fun, sick, twisted moment in New York's nightlife. Some people may be a little put off by the whole setting and players (there's a little bit of insider stuff, but even if you weren't there, it's not that off-putting.Though the subject matter is grusome at times, James balances it with enough dark humor and makes you laugh (out loud). Like the saying goes: if I didn't laugh I'd be crying. And it's true. As a survivor, his tale should really be looked at as a cautionary one. When we're young, we all think we're indestructable. To anyone who thinks that by breaking the rules as much as they were during that period, and who thinks there won't be any consequences, think again. A lot of people's lives were used like they were paper towels - disposable. It was very hedonistic. Very self-destructive. This was a game of "truth or dare," played out with such ferocious amorality it makes even ME wonder "was I dreaming? No. The stakes got higher and higher. It was impossible for anyone to have won.

Sex, Drugs, Disco. I'm sad that it took this particular tale for us to see that James has a way with a story. But then again, I'm happy James even lived to tell it at all

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tragic but still hilariously funny, November 5, 2004

By 

BarkLessWagMore (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Party Monster: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland (Paperback)

After finishing this novel about the drug fueled world of the club kids that James St. James describes with great detail I almost felt like I'd overdosed on his writing. A little past the half way mark his constant descriptions of their hedonistic world and the ever-changing group of so-called friends exhausted me. It was an interesting book at turns hilariously funny and yet depressingly melancholy. The lengths these kids took to be the center of attention and fill their lives with excitement was devasting. The backstabbing and bitter resentment of each other and the utter lack of any sort of real connection with others besides the surface was what saddened me the most.

This was quick read and James St. James has a wonderful sense of humor that I enjoyed reading despite some repetitiveness. I'd love to read more of his witticisms in a fiction novel someday.