Black Eyeliner: Beijing’s Hippest DJ Trio
Meet Alex Chow, Ben Bacon and Kyle Page, the men behind Black Eyeliner. Their monthly party series began creating a stir in the hutongs earlier this year, drawing glamorous crowds keen on dancing to choice cuts of new wave, synthpop and electro. We asked them where they like to go drinking.
How old were you when you started drinking?
AC: Five years old. At least that’s what my mother tells me. I drank half her wine glass at a restaurant when she went to the bathroom. By the time she came back, I was dancing on top of the table and throwing forks at nearby customers. We had to be escorted out of the restaurant.
KP: I got a late start – age 23.
BB: Around 15. I also threw up all over the place. Not pretty.
What was your first drink?
KP: Keg beer.
BB: I believe it was a cocktail of every type of brown liquor I could find. I don’t remember.
Where’s the dumbest place you’ve gone drinking?
KP: Fifty feet up the Robert E. Lee memorial tree – a stately magnolia in the heart of Columbia, South Carolina.
BB: At an AA meeting.
You’re hosting a cocktail party – what are you making?
KP: Southern Sangria. Two parts red wine to one part bourbon. Add citrus juice and sparkling water to taste.
You’re at the bar – what are you having?
KP: Complimentary Tsingtao. Unless you’re buying. Then I’m having a Dark and Stormy.
BB: Whatever Alex is buying me.
What kind of drink are you?
KP: People tell me I’m a tall drink of water. According to Jackson’s (1985) Anatomy & Physiology for Nurses, that’s only about 60 percent true.
BB: Bourbon.
AC: Pabst Blue Ribbon. Everyone hates me but everyone still drinks me.
What’s your Golden Rule of drinking?
KP: Never fight a land war in Asia.
BB: Never fight Kyle in a land war.
AC: Never invade Russia without a proper supply line.
What’s your idea of a good night out?
KP: Pretty much like Lord of the Rings, except every orc is a beer and nobody bites my finger off and falls into a volcano.
Where’s your favorite place to go drinking?
AC: I love the new Dada bar and plan to go there often. Also, 30 Rock in Sanlitun often plays good music.
BB: Wherever I wake up.
Get crazy with Black Eyeliner on Sep 15 at Dada.
Click here to see the September issue of the Beijinger in full.
Photo: Mitchell Pe Masilun
