Guerrilla Gay Bay FAQ

(An attempt at systematic inquiry into the causes and effects of the phenomenon known as GGBLA.)

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1. What is Guerrilla Gay Bar?

GGB is a combination of flashmob and the French Revolution. Only gayer. (Fewer decapitations.) Once a month, we take over the coolest straight bar we can find in the greater Los Angeles area. We don't tell em we're coming - we just show up - by the hundreds - and make ourselves at home.

2. When is Guerrilla Gay Bar?

Guerrilla Gay Bar plans our insurgency for the second Friday of every month.

You can automatically add all the upcoming dates to your calendar with these links:
XMLical
gcal

3. Where is Guerrilla Gay Bar?

It's a secret. On the week of each event, on Monday, we'll send you an email so you can save the date and invite your friends, and we may (or may not) offer a clue as to the target. The actual location will not be announced until one day prior to each event, when we'll give you the full lowdown by email and on our website.

Sign up for our email list, and we'll let you know when the next one will be.

4. For whom is Guerrilla Gay Bar intended?

You, as long as you come along. Part of the reason we created GGB is due to an oft-expressed frustration with the existing gay scene in Los Angeles. We wanted to create an alternative scene for folks who crave something different from what West Hollywood or the club circuit have to offer. Our ideal crowd is more diverse than your average bar - punks and twinks, bears and guppies, students and seniors - and, best of all, folks without a convenient label.

5. Which bars have you taken over?

Our first takeover was June 9, 2006. We took over Barney's Beanery - one of the last straight bars on the Santa Monica Strip - during the opening night of Los Angeles Pride.

Our sophomore takeover was of a very, very straight pub in Hollywood called St. Nick's.

Here's the rest:
August, 2006: White Horse (GGB's Who Needs a Theme Edition)
September, 2006: Maloney's On Campus (GGB Back to School Edition)
October, 2006: Three Clubs (GGB Spooky Halloween Edition)
November, 2006: Gallery Bar, Biltmore Hotel (GGB's Film Noir Edition)
December, 2006: Whisper Lounge (GGB Holiday Edition)
January, 2007: Cock n' Bull (GGB's British Edition)
February, 2007: Bar Lubitsch Formosa Cafe (GGB Hates Valentines Day Edition)
March, 2007: Hollywood Billiards (March Madness and First Annual GGB Ladies' Night)
April, 2007: Brennan's (Guerrilla Gay Turtle Racing Edition)
June, 2007: Saddle Ranch, Sunset Strip; (1 Year Anniversary Takeover)
July, 2007: Venice Beach & Danny's Deli (Guerrilla Gay Beach Party)
August, 2007: R-BAR (Guerrilla Gay Pirate Bar)
September, 2007: Sonny McLean's Irish Pub (Guerrilla Gay America's Pasttime Edition)
January, 2008: Lola's (Guerrilla Gay Bar: The Return)
May, 2008: Seven Grand (Guerrilla Gay Bar's Kentucky Derby Edition)
September, 2008: The Griffin (Guerrilla Gay Bar's Possibly Apocryphal Edition)
November, 2008: The Abbey (Guerrilla Gay Bar Election Special: Guerrilla Straight Bar)
December, 2008: The Association (Holiday Edition)
February, 2009: The Medusa Lounge (Black Hearts for Valentines Day Edition)

We'd really like your help taking over the next one. Sign up for our email list and we'll tell you when and where.

6. Who is behind Guerrilla Gay Bar?

Generally a straight, befuddled bartender. Unlike your average gay bar, however, he probably won't be shirtless.

7. No, I mean whose idea is it?

Oh. Right. It's modeled after successful groups in San Francisco, Austin and DC, and organized in Los Angeles by a couple of young upstarts. Spies tell us that the movement is growing in Europe and Canada.

8. I know the perfect place to hold a Guerrilla Gay Bar! Do you take suggestions?

Yes, but like most things in life, you won't get a damned thing to show for your trouble, except possibly our gratitude and maybe a couple of drinks. Send your ideas to hq@guerrillagaybar.com and our crack reconnaissance team will check them out.

9. I'm not in Los Angeles, but I want to come to an event!

If you live in a big city, there may already be a chapter of GGB (sometimes with different names). Here are the ones we know of:

Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX (and an email list)
Baltimore, MD
Denver, CO
Detroit, MI
Heidelberg, Germany
Houston, TX
London
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA (and an old, possibly still active email list)
Portland, ME
Portland, OR
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Jose, CA
Seattle, WA
Toronto, ON
Washington, DC

There are defunct chapters ("sleeper cells") in Silicon Valley, CA, and Tampa, FL, and probably other places, as well.

If you organize a GGB event not listed here, and would like to be listed, please send your web site to hq@guerrillagaybar.com

If your city is not listed, and you would like to organize your own GGB event, the best place to start is the Special Ops Manual written by the founders of Guerrilla Queer Bar in San Francisco.

10. What's up with the word "Gay?" What about lesbians and bisexuals and queers and gender fuckers and transexuals and...?

Whoa there. We don't mean to exclude anyone with the term "gay." We love all sexual deviants equally (even heteros!) and hope you'll all show up to the GGB. (Yes, straight people are welcome to join us!)

11. Is this a confrontational sort of thing?

Gosh, no. We're just bored of the Abbey, so we're branching out. There's an awful lot of us who aren't really totally comfortable in gay places, or at the very least don't want to go to a "gay bar" every single time we go out. So, this is really just a clever way to see new places, meet new people, and have a drink.

12. I've got a question that's not answered here. Where should I send it?

Your questions are counter-revolutionary, and our patience for them is limited. You can ask us at the event. Unless you're the press and/or particularly cute, in which case you can email your question to us at hq@guerrillagaybar.com.