Interview with Robert "Bob" Morgan, June 7, 2012

Interview Summary

Robert "Bob" Morgan talks about growing up in downtown Lexington, Kentucky during the 1950s and 1960s. He talks about how the jazz and beat scene in Lexington led to an underground culture that eventually evolved into hippie culture and then punk culture. Morgan talks about how people in Lexington, Kentucky got access to punk culture, music, and other media. He talks about the tradition of diverse crowds at shows and bars in Lexington due to its small size. He talks about how everyone learned to get along with one another. Morgan talks about how Bradley Picklesimer, a member of The Thrusters, opened a bar on Winchester Road called Club Au Go Go. He talks about how Bradley Picklesimer's connection to Wade Littrell through Club Au Go Go led to them opening Café LMNOP. Morgan talks about how Bradley Picklesimer began attracting the LGBTQ+ community to Café LMNOP through drag shows and other events. He talks about the reactions of the "old school" crowd to this new crowd. He discusses some of the controversy and scandal over Café LMNOP over the years. Morgan talks about living with Bradley Picklesimer above Café LMNOP and how sometimes they would not leave the building for weeks at a time. He tells several humorous stories about living at Café LMNOP. He talks about some of the characters at Café LMNOP that made it a wild and interesting place, including several drag queens, bartenders, and other employees.
Morgan talks about his experience taking Sweet Evening Breeze, who was born in the late 1800s, and Henry Faulkner, who was born in 1924, to a punk show in the 1970s. Morgan describes famous drag performer Divine's visit to Café LMNOP and how they had to prove they had the money to pay her before she would perform. He talks about how the closing of Café LMNOP coincided with the decline of the punk scene and the major surge of the AIDS crisis.

Interview Keyword

Café LMNOP Bradley Picklesimer (Artist) Underground culture The Thrusters (Musical group) Club Au Go Go LGBTQ+ community Wade Littrell Sweet Evening Breeze Drag culture Divine (Performer)

Interview LC Subject

Lexington (Ky.) Bands (Music) Musical groups. Punk culture. Punk rock music--Philosophy and aesthetics. Punk rock music. Punk rock musicians. Drag performance Gay bars Gay community Nightclubs Bars (Drinking establishments) Sexual orientation. Drag shows Drag queens

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Interview Usage

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