Church Of Fun
Friday Night Worship
Written and Photographed by Rick Perez, @goodtimerickstudios
Los Angeles, California, USA
Somewhere in East Hollywood, I got out of an Uber with my boyfriend Edgar Aguirre and my friend Anuarite Chizungu. The three of us were dropped off in front of a beauty parlor, but being 10:30pm on a Friday night, that wasn’t our destination; we were headed to a secret party at the Church of Fun. Through DMs, we were only told cross streets and clues to where we could find the Church. Once we found the clues, the sound of music in the distance led us to the location.
We entered through a junkyard to an outdoor area that was littered with really cool art installations and colored lights. In the middle of the outdoor area was a raised outhouse that everyone said was the outhouse in the movie ‘Shrek’. The courtyard was filled with all kinds of people: skaters, crust punks, hippies, burners-all coming together to worship a the Church of Fun.
Through a red-lit hallway, we entered Inside to a gigantic room with tall ceilings and a bar. At the far end of the room, there was the stage with an upside down cross and on the side was a pole that everyone was climbing on.
We were late but arrived just in time to see the drag performers. The first performer was a drag king named Klaus who had the pipes of an angel. The second was a drag queen named Dysphoria who brough. Both were fantastically entertaining and gave a whole new meaning to Church.
Klaus
After the drag performers was Wacko, the band I heard about this party from. The people were getting really nuts for these guys, starting mosh pits with no music. Before they went on, an older man, whom I assume ran the establishment, came to the microphone and everyone bowed down. He said something into the microphone that I don’t remember (sorry about it) as everyone continued to bow. Just then, Wacko started playing, and the room went WILD.
On our Uber ride back home, the three of us were reflected on how rare it is to find drag performances and hardcore punk on the same night. I could tell that the Church of Fun is a safe space for the outcasts and weirdos to express themselves and find something they love. If you find yourself on a Friday night with nothing to do, I highly suggest attending a service; that’s if you can find the place.
