So the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, and the hunks of Chippendales walk into a nightclub...
It Sounds like a bad joke. Lou Peralman - The Berry Gordy of teen pop, the man who brought us the likes of Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, O-Town, and Natural (to name just a few! - is also the man behind Chippendales, that Tiffany's of male pelvic thrusting now sending women into convulsions of ecstasy with it's recently revived shows at the New York night club Exit. But male-order marketing is no joke. I made a date with Lou to investigate how a nice guy purveyor of squeaky-clean pop groups ends up surrounded by a gaggle of muscled Adonis's in cock socks (and whether he needs any of my renowned expertise in the field).
As I saunter up to the club, the gals are already lined up down the block. The ladies-only show doesn't start for an hour, but these girls are already near hysteria. Although there are women of all ages, most of them are young and sexy, decked out in low-cut tops and tight pants - their sexiest lookin' for love looks. Lots of them are sporting mini wedding veils, a sure sign that they're here for their bachelorette parties.
One of the hosts, Todd Hunter, clad in Chippendales' skintight leather pants, white cuffs, collar, and bow tie, comes out and gets his photo taken with groups of hyper ventilating girls. Each Chippendale I see tonight will be bending over backward (and forward too, luckily!) to make every woman here happy. This dedication starts at the top with Michael Rapp, the legendary dancer who introduces the waiters and hosts on stage before the show. Rapp is basically Mr. Chippendales - he's spent the last 20 years as a dancer in L.A., New York, and Europe, and looks none the worse the wear after two decades of having drool-drenched dollar bills stuffed in his underpants. "I make sure that the women are taken care of," he tells me. "If they need something, I make sure they get it. My job is to make sure they go home satisfied." Now that's what I call customer service! I'm no lady, but they treat me like a king as well.
Gary Goldman, himself a 15-year Chippendales veteran who directed the current show and still does a good job of filling out his leather pants, explains, "It's the host and the waitstaff that keeps the ladies coming back. Before the show even starts, we've got 17 guys cruising the room that are better than any male exotic on the market. We've got real models and actors here making the ladies feel special, taking their pictures with them. What makes us above and beyond the others is that we're an experience, not just a show."
It's Chippendales and New Kids on the Block that gave me the idea to pursue Backstreet." - Lou Pearlman.What is it about a male dance revue that sparked the interest of one of the most successful music moguls around? What else? Potential for big success and big money. Chippendales was founded by Steve Banerjee in 1979. If you saw last year's semiaccurate USA movie the Chippendales Murder, you know that Banerjee went to jail for taking out a contract on his partner Nick DeNois. Banerjee later killed himself in prison, leaving the business to his wife. Enter Peralman. "She needed someone who was a little more aggressive to help her expand," he explains. It turns out that Pearlman's involvement in Chippendales predates his boy-group success. "I got involved with Chippendales before Backstreet and it's Chippendales and New Kids on the Block that gave me the idea to pursue Backstreet." It's like finding out Britney Spears was inspired by Jayne Mansfield.
As show time approaches, the crowd sounds like it's ready to riot. The DJ spins great dance hits of the '80s while women dance on chairs and speakers, waving wads of dollar bills in anticipation of tipping frenzy to come. The only time I've ever seen this level of hysteria before was at the Fendi sample sale. Lou joins me in the VIP area, just along the stage and in view of the dressing room door, through which we catch tantalizing glimpses of thong clad cuties rushing back and forth for costume changes. Lou pulls up a seat and somehow manages to stay cool despite the panedmonium around him.
Chippendales is actually more like Broadway than any male strip show I've ever seen (and being a hard hitting investigative journalist, I've done exhaustive research in this area). There are real costumes, real dance, and real gorgeous men. The first feature number is "Erogenous," starring Nathan Minor. Minor, a strapping hunk of a man, is decked out in a tasteful suit-the tired business man after a long day's work. When I interviewed some of the guys in the dressing room - or undressing room to be more accurate - alot of them said this number was the hottest. By the time Nathan jumps onto the giant TV and rips off his underpants, I can see why.
"Chippendales has always been a unique brand. It's not like you could go down the block and see the same thing" - Pearlman
Have you ever been having such an amazing time that you wish it would stop because you don't think you can take it for another minute? Well, that's what this show is like, except these ladies show no signs of collapse-right in front of me a Drea de Matteo look alike with a glitter tattoo that says "foxy" rubs her extremities with ice scooped from a bucket of Veuve Cliquot, ordering another bottle and sending her friends to get singles for $20 bills. The show features a Latin-inspired number called "Rumble" and a number starring a girl plucked from the audience and the three men who seem to be the stars of the show, Matthew Kennedy, Kevin Cornell, and Jeff Beech.
Kennedy, who many of you will recognize as Playgirl's Man of June 2001, has real star quality and some amazing ass-ets, if you get my drift. With his long blond hair and chiseled body, Cornell is featured wearing a mechanic overalls in one number and humping a bed in another. It was his mother who saw a Chippendales show and got a number for her son to call - a regular Mama Rose from Gypsy. Beech, a Nashville native who oozes charm from every pore, has been with Chippendales for eight years and was discovered at a New Jersey mall. In "Tender Torture," he and Nathan Minor strip out of doctor's scrubs to reveal S&M harnesses. I suddenly feel like I'm watching 9 1/2 weeks - The Broway Musical. Beech giggles as he tells me, "My best feature is definitely my ass." You won't hear any argument from me, especiall when he's performing Chippendales' signature bend and peel off the pants maneuver. I grab for Lou Pearlman to ask him to call the paramedics to resuscitate me, but he's got a call on his cell phone.
"You wouldn't go to Disneyland and not go on the rides, would you?" - Gary Goldman"
What a girl wants" by Christina Aguilera blares as my three dreamboats slip into the mob of tip-clutching women. Dancer John Rivera says, "They try and take your pants off, your G-string off, they just have their hands...." He smiles. "I've been working for a while and no one's gotten me yet." But it's not from lack of trying. The girls are frothing at the mouth. Women who look like miled-mannered housewives sandwich the dancers, stuffing tips in. The Dread look alike is literally hurling handfuls of money at the emcee, who does a sort of cha-cha on the stage as the dancers work the room. The dancers (and the waiters) have a remarkably good attitude and no patrons have to be restrained, although a few really enthusiastic ladies do need to be called down from the stage, where they've gone to get some hands-on time with the emcee."I think there's going to be a lot of Chippendales expansion going on. But not a lot, because you never want to oversaturate." - Pearlman
So what does the future hold for our merry band of bubble-but boys? Lou has big plans. "I think there's going to be a lot of Chippendale everything as it keeps going." he says. "Potentially it's clubs opening, potentially it's expansion going on. I see more troops, but not a lot, because you never want to oversaturate. The same with Backstreet Boys or 'N Sync. You never want to keep them always out there. You never want to keep saturating the market. We'll take it to places we've never been before." Lou says confidently. Isn't that a Backstreet song? "Where Chippendales is like a neverending brand, Backstreet Boys or 'N Sync have a time shelf of being young teenyboppers." But the magic can go on forever. Meanwhile, maybe it's better that Chippendales only has shows on Fridays and Saturdays at Edit. I don't know if my nerves can take any more or if the boys' G-strings can hold any more tips. Plus it gives me free time to comb the malls in New Jersey looking for the next Jeff Beech.
