Larry Tee
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Larry Tee (born October 12, 1959) is a LA-based DJ, club promoter, and
music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
who curated the
electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a Music genre, genre of popular music that fuses 1980s Electro (music), electro, New wave music, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, re ...
scene in New York in the early 2000s, and helped launch the careers of such artists as
RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...
,
Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters are an American pop rock band formed in 2000. The band's current line-up consists of Jake Shears (vocals), Babydaddy (various instruments), Del Marquis (guitar, bass) and Randy Real (drums). Former members include vocalist A ...
,
Fischerspooner Fischerspooner was an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York City after meeting in school. The name is a combination of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner. Career Originally a duo formed by ...
,
Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peac ...
, W.I.T., and Avenue D. He has written songs for and collaborated with Afrojack, Shontelle, Princess Superstar,
Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut studio album, '' Santogold'' (2008), was released by Atlantic Records and met with widespread critica ...
, RuPaul,
Sean Garrett Garrett Robin Hamler (born March 30, 1979), known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American record producer and songwriter. He is known his songwriting work on a series of commercially successful R&B and hip-hop songs, beginning with Ush ...
,
Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki ( , ; born November 30, 1977) is an American DJ and record producer. In 2012, Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist in North America from tours. In 2024, Gold House recognized him as ...
, and
Amanda Lepore Amanda Lepore is an American transgender model, singer, and performance artist. A former Club Kids, Club Kid, she has appeared in advertising for numerous companies. Lepore is noted as a regular subject in photographer David LaChapelle's work, s ...
. In January 2014, he launched his clothing line TZUJI at London Fashion Week. TZUJI has since been worn by popular stars like Jimmy Fallon on ''The Tonight Show'', Rihanna, Missy Elliott, and Sean Kingston; and sold in top stores like the Dover Street Market in New York and VFILES as well as in Los Angeles, London, Berlin, and Melbourne. ''
New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...
'' credited Tee as "a hipster before there were hipsters, a club kid before Michael Alig dismembered one, and a man who made Williamsburg cool again". ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' cites Larry's club in Williamsburg as one of the reasons Williamsburg "got its groove back." ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'' magazine celebrated Tee's role in making RuPaul a star in the 1990s.


Career

Tee was born to two Canadian-born citizens in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington. He grew up in Seattle and then
Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...
. In the early 1980s, he moved to Atlanta, where he became a part of the music scene and hung out with personalities such as
RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...
,
Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...
of
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...
, Lady Bunny, and Lahoma Van Zandt at the Celebrity Club in Atlanta. In 1986, Tee, along with RuPaul, Lady Bunny, and Lahoma Van Zandt, moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Living with videographer
Nelson Sullivan John Nelson Sullivan (March 15, 1948 – July 4, 1989) was an American videographer who chronicled life in Downtown Manhattan’s arts and club scene from 1983 until his death. His hundreds of videos documented daily life in the city, nights o ...
, Tee quickly became involved with the Club Kids scene with his epic party, Love Machine. He hosted nights at Michael Alig's infamous DISCO 2000, which is featured in the movie '' Party Monster'' (2003). He also DJed at the ROXY on a weekly basis.Larry Tee Biography on Yahoo! Music
. music.yahoo.com.
During the 1990s, he became a prominent DJ by playing at highly regarded venues such as
Palladium Palladium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1802 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas (formally 2 Pallas), ...
, the ROXY, and Twilo. In 1992, Tee co-wrote
RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...
's top 40-hit "
Supermodel (You Better Work) "Supermodel (You Better Work)" is a song by American dance music singer and drag queen RuPaul. It was released as a double A-sided single alongside " House of Love" on November 17, 1992 by Tommy Boy Records. The song served as the lead single fr ...
". In the early 2000s, while spinning at the Berliniamsburg party at the club Luxx, Tee trademarked the term "
electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a Music genre, genre of popular music that fuses 1980s Electro (music), electro, New wave music, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, re ...
", which became so well known that it appeared in the ''Oxford Dictionary''. He coordinated and managed the 2001 Electroclash Festival, which featured
Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters are an American pop rock band formed in 2000. The band's current line-up consists of Jake Shears (vocals), Babydaddy (various instruments), Del Marquis (guitar, bass) and Randy Real (drums). Former members include vocalist A ...
,
Fischerspooner Fischerspooner was an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York City after meeting in school. The name is a combination of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner. Career Originally a duo formed by ...
, and
Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peac ...
. He also created and managed the nouveau-music electro girl group W.I.T. In 2007, he and Andy Bell released the single "Matthew", an homage to
Matthew Shepard Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on October 6, 1998. He was transported by rescuers to Poudre Valle ...
, who in 1998 was killed for being gay. In 2009, Tee released the
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
top 20 dance album '' Club Badd'', featuring songs by
Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting Tabloid jou ...
, Princess Superstar (the "Licky" single was later re-written by Sean Garrett of
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
/Usher fame and re-recorded by
Shontelle Shontelle Delia Layne (born 4 October 1985), known mononymously as Shontelle, is a Barbadian singer and songwriter. She released her debut album '' Shontelligence'' in 2008. Her second album, '' No Gravity'', was released in 2010. Her singles " ...
), Jeffree Star, Roxy Cottontail, Herve, Bart B More, and Christopher Just. "Licky" also appeared on the Steve Aoki mix album with Santogold rapping on it, and in the Russell Brand movie, "Get Him To the Greek". In 2010, Tee released the single " Let's Make Nasty" featuring Roxy Cottontail; it was re-released in the UK in 2011. In 2010, Tee collaborated with celebrity blogger
Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting Tabloid jou ...
and
Amanda Lepore Amanda Lepore is an American transgender model, singer, and performance artist. A former Club Kids, Club Kid, she has appeared in advertising for numerous companies. Lepore is noted as a regular subject in photographer David LaChapelle's work, s ...
to produce Hilton's first music track. Tee has remixed artists including Sia, Iggy Azalea, Steve Aoki, R.E.M., Lady Gaga, Roisin Murphy, Kele of Bloc Party, and Cher. In 2011, Tee moved to Shoreditch, London. He ran a weekly night in east London called Super Electric Party Machine at East Bloc every Friday Night, and XOYO, which has featured artists like Charli XCX, Brooke Candy, AME from Duke Dumonts #1 smash, Le1f, Ssion, and 2 Bears' Rolf. In June 2015, Tee moved to Berlin to ru
TZUJI
from Germany and run KRANK parties in Berlin. TZUJI has since been featured on shows such as ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
'', ''
X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'', and similar shows in several countries. The brand is associated with such entertainers as Rhianna,
Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...
, and Sean Kingston, and is sold in such shops as La Petite Mort and the Dover Street Market in New York, V Files, Asos Marketplace, Flasher (on Melrose, in Los Angeles), Borderline Apparel (in London), and Chaos-Labs (in Berlin). In 2020, Tee launched th
Fashertainment Inc
website for forthcoming reality TV project of the same name. In 2023, Tee moved to Los Angeles with his partner, drag queen Morgan Wood. In 2024 he produced music with Love Bailey, DJ'd at Just Like Heaven Festival and appeared in a documentary about the Butthole Surfers.


References


External links


Tzuji.com
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tee, Larry 1959 births Living people American people of Canadian descent American DJs DJs from Seattle Electroclash Club Kids