AFTR/IMG · ROOM · FUNHOUSE · CONF VERIFIED
Funhouse
Overview
Chelsea warehouse where a grinning-clown DJ booth and Jellybean Benitez's April 1981–June 1984 residency made a predominantly Puerto Rican and Italian American dancefloor one of the birthplaces of New York freestyle, the room where 'Let the Music Play' was first broken.
The Fun House opened March 30, 1979 at 526 West 26th Street, founded by Joe Monk and three neighborhood partners identified in accounts only as Ronnie, Jerry, and Vinnie. The booth was built as the open mouth of a giant grinning clown, flanked by speaker stacks topped by a large bass-drum cabinet, a design as theatrical as the music it would host. Early residents Bobby 'DJ' Guttadaro, Jim Burgess (also a Saint alumnus), and Jonathan Fearing cycled through without establishing a coherent identity for the room. That changed in April 1981 when John 'Jellybean' Benitez took the residency, bringing with him a crowd of predominantly straight Puerto Rican and Italian American youth from the outer boroughs, kids schooled equally on Kraftwerk and Tito Puente, straight in orientation in contrast to the Loft and Paradise Garage lineage. Jellybean forged what would be named freestyle: hard-edged, 808-driven electronic funk with R&B melodic lines, and the room became the place where those records were broken first. When he brought the demo of Shannon's 'Let the Music Play' (Emergency Records, 1983) to the Fun House, the floor's response on that first night became one of the genre's foundational creation myths. Latin Rascals producers Albert Cabrera and Tony Moran, and producer Omar Santana, developed the genre's vocabulary in close orbit around the club. Jellybean left in June 1984 to pursue a production career (his credits would include Madonna's 'Sidewalk Talk' and early remix work that made him a central figure in the pop-dance crossover). His protégé Lil' Louie Vega (a Bronx Puerto Rican who would later co-found Masters at Work) took the residency for the room's final year before it closed in 1985. The Fun House is cited as one of three birthplaces of New York freestyle, alongside the Paradise Garage and The Devil's Nest.
Oral histories & archival media
Archive plates
Plates fill in as scans clear rights
Sonic profile
Cultural role
DJs, promoters & people
Joe Monk
Owner · Principal founder; opened March 1979 with three neighborhood partners ('Ronnie, Jerry, and Vinnie', full names not confirmed in available sources).
John 'Jellybean' Benitez
Resident DJ · April 1981 – June 1984; the defining residency. Also DJed part-time at Xenon concurrently. Left to become a major producer (Madonna, etc.).
Louie Vega
DJ and producer; half of Masters at Work · Also known early in his career as 'Lil' Louie Vega'; Bronx Puerto Rican, Jellybean's protégé. Took over June 1984 after Jellybean's departure. Later foundational to Masters at Work and the soulful-house sound.
Bobby 'DJ' Guttadaro
DJ · Early resident before the Jellybean era; exact tenure not confirmed.
Jim Burgess
DJ · Early resident; also a Saint resident-DJ. Exact Fun House dates not confirmed beyond the pre-Jellybean period.
Jonathan Fearing
DJ · Early resident; tenure pre-dates the Jellybean era. Limited documentation.
Follow a name to see other rooms they connect to
Tags
Related rooms
Roxy
1978–2007 (closed briefly 1989–1990) · Chelsea
Roseland Ballroom
1919 (founding) / 1956 (W. 52nd St.) – April 7, 2014 · Midtown
Sound Factory Bar
c.1992–1997 (as Sound Factory Bar; predecessor Private Eyes at same address c.1988–1992) · Flatiron
Paradise Garage
1977–1987 · Hudson Square / west SoHo
The Devil's Nest
August 1985–April 1986 · East Tremont