Constantine Giavos and Alex Delany, the co-founders behind pop-up DJ experience Love Club. The duo bring the heavy grooves to Richmond on Sept. 30, marking Delaney’s first Richmond Love Club appearance. (Photo courtesy Love Club)
Ordering food for large groups of people and picking the perfect song to set the mood are among life’s greatest responsibilities. For Constantine Giavos, son of Richmond restaurateurs Katrina and Johnny Giavos and creative director for his family’s businesses, and Alex Delany, a food and beverage consultant formerly with Bon Appetit, the foundation of their friendship involves a bit of both. Originally connecting over char siu pork and dumplings, the partnership evolved when the two food-loving pals discovered they also shared a fever for disco. Last year, they introduced Love Club, a pop-up DJ set that travels between New York City and Richmond serving groovy, hip-swaying riffs and catchy classics. On Friday, Sept. 30, amid a sea of disco balls, Love Club returns to The Jungle Room in Richmond for a night of vibey cocktails, big bass lines and funky sounds.
Richmond magazine: What exactly is Love Club and how did you land on the name?
Alex Delany: We play disco and funk and other extremely groovy music, basically whatever we’re loving at the moment. We want people to show up and dance and laugh and have a very good time. That’s about it. It’s about losing yourself for as long or as short as you’d like. As for the name? We went through about three names and both decided this one summed up what the party was about. There’s a subtle David Mancuso reference there as well; he used to write “Love Saves the Day” on the invites to his iconic party at The Loft in the early ’70s.
RM: What spawned the creation of Love Club and when did it begin?
Delany: We sat next to each other at a friend’s birthday dinner like six years ago. And the friend was like … “There are only two people in the world I’d let order for a table of 12 without hesitation, and it’s Delany and Giavos.” We ordered a massive Cantonese dinner and became friends pretty damn quick. We figured out we both loved disco and tons of the same music. A friend was looking for someone to DJ at his bar, and I jokingly said, “Oh, Giavos and I will do it,” … and then, we did it.
Constantine Giavos: I think that was a Thursday night in the Bowery, and there was a line to get in. People stayed and danced with us until the very end, and that’s when Love Club was born. I think we got Cantonese food after that one, too, at like 5 a.m.
RM: How many Love Clubs have gone down and what sorts of spaces do you typically take over?
Delany: Giavos has DJ-ed a few Love Clubs in Richmond after he moved down, and we’ve thrown three of them up in NYC.
Giavos: We take over spaces that are down to let us just do our thing. Optimally they serve great cocktails. The Jungle Room in Richmond is one of those spaces that just rocks. When you see the neon heart above the DJ booth shining through the haze, plus all of the lights there during a set, it’s truly special.
RM: If you could pick one Love Club moment that defines the pop-up as an experience, what would it be?
Delany: I think the last party we threw in NYC for New York Fashion Week was an amazing example of Love Club at its best. The folks that showed up weren’t necessarily the biggest disco or funk fanatics, but the music made them dance regardless. It’s great to see people who aren’t necessarily familiar with a genre coming up to you and saying “Wow, what was that song?”
Giavos: 100%. It’s introducing people to music they’ve maybe never heard and having them fall in love with it.
RM: The world of music seems limitless at times. What’s the process like of creating a Love Club set list? Are there any repeat plays?
Delany: It’s really about the two of us sending songs to each other and seeing how amped up we get when we listen to them. We both have pretty deep libraries that are pulled from a ton of different places. We also don’t really go in with too much of a game plan. Feeding off each other and the people that show up in the moment is something that makes Love Club even groovier in my opinion. It’s about a natural feel.
Giavos: The Venn diagram of our music tastes is pretty hilarious, and we’re tapped into some very specific subgenres and baskets of songs, if you will. In terms of bangers with repeat plays? Alex and I love Mary Clark “Take Me I’m Yours” late night; we also have a debate going about who made the better “Going Back to My Roots” — I say Lamont Dozier, he says Odyssey, so one of those we always play, and then I feel like you’re going to definitely hear disco-era Stones, a la “Dance Pt. 1”.
RM: Why channel the disco energy? What is it about disco and the feelings that go along with it that you want to reawaken?
Delany: For me, Love Club is about letting go and having a great time. Disco is arguably the greatest genre of music for that. We want big vocals. We want levitating strings. We want joyful horns. We want big bass lines. We want all the stuff that gives you no choice but to dance and shout and hug someone and groove on the dance floor. That over-the-top optimism is contagious, and disco is about getting everyone riding the same joyful wave. It’s beautiful music. And it also has massive roots in Philly, where I was born. It’s music I grew up with.
Giavos: It’s actually really incredible how the genre has taken off the last couple years, especially in the mainstream. Maybe it was people exiting the dread of isolation and wanting to dance. There is a euphoria in the music, for sure, and a unique togetherness that happens when everyone is grooving in the room, especially with those vocals that just tug at your heartstrings.
RM: Can attendees look forward to any special cocktails or sips at Love Club on Sept. 30?
Giavos: Definitely. We’re both cocktail and spirits nerds, too. It goes hand in hand with music for both of us. We’ve got a couple cool drinks on deck. You’ll have to show up to see what Adan and crew are making at The Jungle Room that night, but here’s a drink that we served at the first Love Club way back when.
Love Club No. 1
1 1/2 ounces Reposado Tequila
3/4 ounces Gifard Banane du Brasil
3/4 ounce lemon
1/2 ounce Cynar
Shake, strain, serve up in a coupe.
