Halloween Ball with M.C. Queen Lucky at Re-Bar, Seattle, WA, October 31, 1996
In 1990, no longer just an amateur record collector, Re-Bar regular Carla Schricker took the moniker MC Queen Lucky, becoming Re-Bar's main DJ. She hosted the 1996 Halloween Ball advertised on this poster, playing everything from Hip Hop to R&B to Rap, including Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, and Faith Evans.
Steve Wells and Patrick “Pit” Kwiecinski opened Re-Bar in January 1990 at 1114 Howell Street, which had long been a safe space for Seattle’s LGBTQ community. The Night Hawk Tavern (or Nite Hawk) opened in the 1930s, creating a center of gay nightlife featuring cabaret, followed by Thirsty’s in the 1970s, which then became Axel Rock, a dance-focused venue, in the 1980s, and finally Sparks Tavern, which added full-length stage plays, before Re-Bar moved in. Until 2020, when Re-Bar, like many venues, closed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they hosted disco nights, art exhibits, theatre, drag, burlesque, and live bands, supporting generations of LGBTQ patrons and performers. At Re-Bar, KEXP’s Riz Rollins got his start as a DJ, becoming a big part of Seattle’s Black music scene, David Schmader put on his first three plays, and drag performer and comedian Dina Martina was born. The venue also hosted one of the longest running poetry nights in the West, Seattle Poetry Slam, and a weekly Sunday dance night, Flammable. On September 13, 1991, Re-Bar also hosted the infamous release party for Nirvana’s second album, Nevermind.
Carla Schricker (b. 1967) began DJing at Belltown’s Re-Bar in 1990 after Bruce Pavitt (b. 1959) left to run his record label, Sub Pop, which had begun signing Seattle bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney. Originally from Bellevue, Schricker got her name, MC Queen Lucky from a friend who called her Queen and her own feeling of luck for getting to DJ. She bought a share of Re-Bar in 2001, and bought out Kwiecinski In 2008, later partnering with Michael Manahan in 2012 before selling sometime before 2019. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Schricker also had a regular Tuesday-night gig DJing at the Back Door Lounge.
