8 March 14-20, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | foliage that it is today. “I sold out everything,” he says. Eventually, Alan became the person all patrons had to bargain with to get into Space. New York event organizer John Paul Pezo, who worked with Alan in the early 2000s, sees him as one of the last legendary doormen. “You come to this block, you recognize him, and you know him,” he explains. “He’s a legend in his own right. When he leaves this block, I don’t know what this block will be.” When the Space Invaders — David Sinop- oli, Coloma Kaboomsky, and Davide Danese — took over the venue in 2017, Alan began splitting duties between managing the door at its sister venue, Floyd, at night and Space in the early mornings. Sinopoli says keeping Alan T was equal parts logistical — it’s not easy finding a vet- eran doorman, even in Miami — and philo- sophical. The owners wanted to keep the old guard around to counterbalance the new blood in charge of the nightclub. “We let Alan be Alan,” Sinopoli explains. “We’re here to make great parties but also take Club Space into the next era of time. Alan transcends scenes and eras.” Pressing Pause In January 2018, Alan was told that he had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Holding his father’s mantra close through- out chemotherapy, “If you live your life right, once is enough,” Alan took his battle with cancer in stride. After rounds of chemother- apy, combined with hydroponic therapy, Alan entered remission by late May 2018. “I didn’t miss one appointment. I slept, I ate, I laughed,” he recalls. “I have a strong support system. I could have been killed so many times already. I should be dead, theo- retically. If my friends are any example, I should be as dead as a doornail.” But while cancer couldn’t slow him down, the pandemic certainly did. Aside from the sporadic visit to Palm Springs, the 2020 lock- down may have been the first time in four de- cades that Alan T had a break. With a high fever and aches, Tibaledo admitted himself to the hospital right around the time COVID-19 put a pause on daily life. However, doctors never determined if he had been infected with the virus. Regardless, Tibaledo described the pan- demic as the “best era” of his life. During the lockdown, producers approached to lend his raspy vocals to the music. This wasn’t unfa- miliar territory for Alan; he’d been dishing his signature sass over club beats since the mid-’90s. His most famous contribution is perhaps Circuit Boy’s 2001 banger “The Door,” which satirizes the doorman experi- ence in its lyrics. “You to the left/Pass on you/ Tina? There’s no Tina on this list, darling... Fierceness is always welcome.” Pandemic-produced tracks include his col- laboration with Nicole Moudaber for her EP The Volume. Alan also recorded “Stay the F%uk Home” with Guy Scheiman, which has him preaching to the masses to quarantine at home over a trance-like soundscape. “Artists were more focused and collaborated more,” he adds. Beyond music, he also found solace in his backyard at his old Bayshore home. “The bay never looked so clear,” he remembers. Like many idle hands looking for a new hobby during the pandemic, Tibaledo started mak- ing collages. A Different Side Back in front of Floyd, a young woman is cry- ing to be let back in after a much too-long cig- arette break. “I can’t deal with this,” Alan mumbles, passing the duty to his colleague, Alan T hosted celebrities like Paris Hilton at Tribe in Montreal. Behind the Velvet Rope from p7 Alan T Photo
