DNA Lounge

DNA Lounge is an all-ages nightclub, restaurant and cafe in the SoMa district of San Francisco owned by Jamie Zawinski, a former Netscape programmer and open-source software hacker. The club features DJ dancing, live music, burlesque performances, and occasionally conferences, private parties, and film premieres. DNA Lounge has seven full bars, two stages, four dance floors, and a full service pizza restaurant and cafe. Since 2001, the club has been providing continuous audio and video webcasts of all events free of charge.

The venue first opened for business in 1983 as a leather bar called Chaps, owned by Chuck Slaton. In 1985 it was purchased by Jim English, Jeff Mason and Brian Raffi who opened for business under the name DNA Lounge on November 22, 1985. The name was rumored to be an acronym for "dancing, not art". Jim English left around 1988 to open Club Townsend.The earliest regular DJs were Ted Cousens, Adam Fisher, Michael Snyder, and Brian Raffi. One of the early doormen was Doc Martin, who later became a popular house music DJ after a residency on Monday nights as a DJ (and spinning a lot at Townsend, thanks to English, as he became a star). Some nights were genre-specific, with both live bands and DJs. Notable nights and resident DJs included DJs Blackstone (who spun hip hop and rap on Wednesday nights), DJ Pause (who spun hip hop and rap on Monday nights), DJ Damon and DJ Matt (who spun Rock on Tuesdays), and were preceded by Kelly Spencer (who played punk and new wave). Many of DNA's posters and flyers were designed by the San Francisco-based artists Scott Williams and Rex Ray. There were wildly psychedelic, fluorescent murals of strange and twisted monsters with stretched perspectives on the otherwise black downstairs walls and a black and white motif in the upstairs VIP lounge that was painted by celebrated late graffiti artist Keith Haring.