If you’ve ever tried walking down 14th Street in New York City on a night when Duh takes over Up & Down, you know that its creators Alex Chapman and Joe Grun must be onto something. The event series draws in some of the most influential up-and-coming names in fashion, art, and music night after night with its creative themes and eclectic lineup of DJs and performers. In the wake of last night’s party—a birthday extravaganza for Joe with performances and sets by Pusha T, Kali Uchis, Kitty Cash, and Virgil Abloh—we reached out to Alex and Joe to tell us the story of Duh, from where it began to where it’s planning to go.
ALEX CHAPMAN: Duh came about after Joe and I had experienced nightlife enough in college to know what we wanted to see and hear and who we wanted to be around. We got asked to start doing a party by photographer Zac Sebastian, who still takes photos for the party now, and threw our first event in February 2014.
JOE GRUN: The name "Duh" started out as a joke, but the more Alex and I thought about it, the more we realized it made perfect sense. It epitomizes the humor and lighthearted attitude we have towards nightlife, which can often be lost. We don't want to do anything too serious, because at the end of the day it's "night life." But we also wanted to build a brand that people could relate to and be attracted to.
ALEX: We eventually decided on the name "Duh" because everything we did felt obvious and instinctual: of course our friends would host. Of course we'd have our favorite artists perform. Of course we'd play Kanye West then Britney Spears then Fat Joe then Soulja Boy—songs that make you dance and smile simultaneously. The line for the first night was the longest I've ever seen for a party. It looked like we were having a concert. We knew we had something right away.
ALEX: Maintaining eclecticism has always been a priority for us. I obsess over creating the perfect bill: every piece needs to be its own special entity so that when everything comes together it feels like a rainbow of personalities. For example, our [Eastduh Weekend party on April 2nd]: we had girls like Mia Moretti and Alexandra Richards DJ while wearing bunny ears and then Juelz Santana from Dipset perform. I've never seen a party that would think to combine those things, but Joe and I have a really varied taste and I think our audience does, too. Joe loves bubblegum pop like Carly Rae Jepsen and hilariously cute decorations, and I’m always looking for the next big hip-hop act like Father and Chynna Rogers. Our interests overlap, but we both bring different perspectives to the table, which is why I think we cast such a wide net as far as our crowd goes.
JOE: What I think is so unique about Duh is its ability to make everyone feel welcome. No matter where you're from or what you look like, you know you can come to our party every week and have an amazing time and meet new people. What we pride ourselves on is this community we have created through our parties that has truly brought together a large, diverse group of individuals. It's become more than just a party but a sort of family. And to me that's something really unique and special.
ALEX: Last night was Joe's birthday so we had to make sure everything was special. We ordered 23 pizzas to the club, got balloons made of Joe's name and a bunch of decorations,
ALEX CHAPMAN: Duh came about after Joe and I had experienced nightlife enough in college to know what we wanted to see and hear and who we wanted to be around. We got asked to start doing a party by photographer Zac Sebastian, who still takes photos for the party now, and threw our first event in February 2014.
JOE GRUN: The name "Duh" started out as a joke, but the more Alex and I thought about it, the more we realized it made perfect sense. It epitomizes the humor and lighthearted attitude we have towards nightlife, which can often be lost. We don't want to do anything too serious, because at the end of the day it's "night life." But we also wanted to build a brand that people could relate to and be attracted to.
ALEX: We eventually decided on the name "Duh" because everything we did felt obvious and instinctual: of course our friends would host. Of course we'd have our favorite artists perform. Of course we'd play Kanye West then Britney Spears then Fat Joe then Soulja Boy—songs that make you dance and smile simultaneously. The line for the first night was the longest I've ever seen for a party. It looked like we were having a concert. We knew we had something right away.
ALEX: Maintaining eclecticism has always been a priority for us. I obsess over creating the perfect bill: every piece needs to be its own special entity so that when everything comes together it feels like a rainbow of personalities. For example, our [Eastduh Weekend party on April 2nd]: we had girls like Mia Moretti and Alexandra Richards DJ while wearing bunny ears and then Juelz Santana from Dipset perform. I've never seen a party that would think to combine those things, but Joe and I have a really varied taste and I think our audience does, too. Joe loves bubblegum pop like Carly Rae Jepsen and hilariously cute decorations, and I’m always looking for the next big hip-hop act like Father and Chynna Rogers. Our interests overlap, but we both bring different perspectives to the table, which is why I think we cast such a wide net as far as our crowd goes.
JOE: What I think is so unique about Duh is its ability to make everyone feel welcome. No matter where you're from or what you look like, you know you can come to our party every week and have an amazing time and meet new people. What we pride ourselves on is this community we have created through our parties that has truly brought together a large, diverse group of individuals. It's become more than just a party but a sort of family. And to me that's something really unique and special.
ALEX: Last night was Joe's birthday so we had to make sure everything was special. We ordered 23 pizzas to the club, got balloons made of Joe's name and a bunch of decorations,