MC: What is going to make The Q stand out in New York City’s nightlife world?įS: People say all the time that they live and breathe whatever it is that they’re trying to sell, but it’s true for me nightlife is in my DNA. Or more appropriately, my first language. It’s almost the only language that I’m able to speak. So like a moth to a flame, I was found either behind a DJ booth or in a lewk hanging from the rafters, and I realized making the party was more my speed. When I came to New York City in 2009, I thought I was going to parlay my talents in event producing and become a famous celebrity stylist, but it was too much lugging around garment bags for me. I started throwing my own parties in San Francisco in 2007 and I sorta never looked back. The flickering lights, the smell of stale beer and a freshly bleached floor, glamorous people counting cash all of its earnest drama feels like a warm blanket to me. So it actually all feels like returning home every time I am in a club. I remember waiting for my father to get back from work while I sat at the bar sipping Shirley Temples in martini glasses amazed at these beings around me. Most of the club’s dancers, who were these beautiful, eccentric, confident women, some of whom were trans, became my babysitters and aunties. When I was born, that nightlife world remained a part of our lives. They swiftly became a thing, and that exciting nightlife environment of smoky neon-lit mystery ended up becoming the backdrop of their romantic beginnings. You see, my father was an American sailor who was stationed in the Philippines and that’s where he met my mother, who was dancing at a go-go club. I didn’t really put it together until later in life when more information was drunkenly given to me by my parents one Christmas Eve about my very early upbringing in the Philippines. MC: So when did Frankie Sharp fall in love with the world of nightlife and what has the road to The Q been for you?įS: Truth be told, but I was raised in bars and nightclubs. Currently under construction of our four-story dreamland called The Q. Sometime during the summer, our landlord came back to us with a “COVID friendly” deal and here we are today. My business partners and I tried to remain hopeful as we kept monitoring the virus and watching the industry and making predictions about what was to come. It was a dark uncertain time for everyone. Not only were my own lifelong dreams crushed, but everyone I knew was jobless, hopeless and we were losing friends, neighbors and family members.
My last event was on March 8th, 2020 and March 13th was my first cancelled gig March 15, we were all in lockdown. Then literally days before, the whole world fell apart. We were actually supposed to sign our lease a year ago on March 10 2020.
Frankie Sharp: The Q has been about a year and a half in the making.