It’s about that time for a catchup with one of New York nightlife’s most essential movers-and-shakers as he prepares a weeknight party premiere at one of Brooklyn’s hottest venues.
Thotyssey: Hello again, Frankie! Happy Almost Thanksgiving… how are you celebrating?
Frankie Sharp: Happy Thanksgiving! Feels very strange to dig into fall / winter — my head is still recovering from the summer. I’m going to my friend Kendall’s friendsgiving; it’s always a scene of very fun, curated guests.
Fun! Lots to be thankful for in 2025, and quite a few challenges left to weather. What’s been your experience lately with going out in the City for funsies? Are nights out still fun? Are the bars doing it right, or as well as they can?
I honestly can’t really tell. I live in Times Square / HK, and the bars over here always seem a bit sparse… I’m not sure why. But then I go to bars in Brooklyn, like Animal for that matter, and it’s always bonkers. I think the bigger clubs are always fun if you get your techno on, like Basement. And I always have fun at Paragon.
The bar scene in Manhattan has certainly changed. I think the Eagle is one of the only places that knows what it’s doing, and they’ve had decades to hone its appeal. They’re blessed for that palatial space and a demographic that keeps producing numbers. They’re so smart.
Do you think it’s true that today’s 20somethings are still not going out and socializing? Or maybe that’s changing now, or was never really true to begin with?
I feel a shift; my crowd is getting younger for sure. There was an essence of young folks when I moved here in the 2010s that felt insatiable, and I feel like it’s returning. The 20-something crowd is definitely getting in lewks and galavanting around and documenting all of it for their socials for sure. The question is, are they spending money on drinking? Certainly not like they used to. But they’re still out on the streets looking fab.
I find most people are wanting to talk and engage more in smaller spaces like bars, and lose their minds and dance in larger spaces like warehouses and nightclubs. The political sphere is so nightmarish right now, that we’re either looking for community or escape. Its hard to have both.
You are a veteran party maker who has kept NYC on the cutting edge for years. What put Animal, a relatively newer venue in Brooklyn, on your radar?
I’ve known Ashton, one of the owners of Animal, for years. I know his ethos and why he opened that space, and it was for all of the right reasons: community, appreciation of music, and celebrating New York and all the lunatics and artists that run it and inhabit it. Plus it’s the busiest bar in Brooklyn with the cutest, nicest staff and the cutest, nicest crowd.
Tonight marks the debut of your new venture there: “Beast!” Tell us what to expect from this thrilling Tuesday affair!
Everyone knows I’m the King of bringing folks out on a Tuesday (shoutout to Westgay). I think its my innate chaotic way of being that gives permission for people to be just as chaotic as I am — any day of the week.
“Beast” is big, bold and graphic in the mere fact that we are Animal’s only gogo night… and its weekly, which is pretty hardcore these days. Everyone knows I love a stripper as I come from a long lineage of stripper witches. My mother was famously a dancer in a nightclub and that’s where my father met her – its quite literally in my blood.
Every Tuesday at “Beast” there is a rotating DJ guest alongside myself as resident DJ, and there will also be a weekly Guest Beast, usually a content creator or icon we’re all obsessed with. They’ll be either guest gogos gogo-ing or doing a “meat n’ greet” for their fans. For tonight’s guest beast, we have new New Yorker Mr. Teddy Bear – of Gogo For The Gold fame. He’s a head-to-toe golden hairy hunk-a-thon and I’m honored to have him for the inaugural “Beast.” We also have performer Infinite Coles, whose single and video where they kinda come for their actual father Ghostface Killah made quite the viral wave recently… and the music is insane fire. This week’s guest DJ is Armana Khan, she’s giving the Beauty to our Beast this week with her personalized world music, bump-and-grind, 130 BPM performative style of DJing. It’ll be Beastly mayhem. I’m most comfortable in mayhem.
Sounds essential! What else is coming up for you?
I’m finally bringing “IRL – In Real Life,” my supper club series, to fruition. I’ve been talking about it for years, and I’ve been really wanting to do it desperately since Trump became president. I feel were all looking for solace and organizing as a community beyond the dancefloor. It’s so much more than a dinner party; it’s a meeting of the minds with a guest chef every time, and a real focus with talks by LGBTQ+ artists, scientists, political figures, designers, storytellers and allies in a 360 view. I’ll be announcing those details with my partnership on it in the next couple of weeks. I’m really excited by it; it’s a way for all of us to take things slow with one another in a nightlife setting.
That sounds very exciting! Okay lastly: would you watch a Wicked 3, lol?
Ariana Grande is our Judy Garland. I’ll watch whatever she’s in.
Thanks again, Frankie!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for a full schedule of his events and appearances, and follow Frankie on Facebook and Instagram.
PREVIOUSLY
- Frankie Sharp (3.17.2018)
- Frankie Sharp (11.30.2018)
- Frankie Sharp (3.22.2019)
- Frankie Sharp (8.30.2019)
- Frankie Sharp (3.7.2021)
Thotyssey 