Fort Sanders club Carousel II welcomes all for good times

Fred Turley, Alisha Smith and Steven Austin enjoy a recent evening at Carousel II.

Brandon Kling bartends at the Carousel

Bartender Brandon Kling talks about what is ...

I had heard about Carousel II from random searches on Google places trying to find nightlife related venues my predecessor Greg Wood had not covered. Carousel II presented an interesting conundrum. How could I cover a gay bar in a majority conservative town without upsetting the powers that be for giving it ink or on the flip side without outing anyone that could suffer major reputation damage? Well, the only way I know how, fearlessly and by letting those comfortable with who they are and without social or professional liability be my ambassadors.

I was called back to my days living in Columbus, Ohio and hanging out with an orientationally mixed crowd. I always had a better time with my gay friends at the gay bars. They were always smiling and having a good time and being gay. Now I mean gay as in the 1920s meaning of gay. They were happy and not afraid to show it. Their collective mission was to have a good time, and to make sure everyone around them was also having a blast. Carousel II is exactly that kind of place.

When I came in the front door I was greeted by Nickie. She checked my ID and I introduced myself and let her know my mission. When I asked her name she told me and quickly followed up with her affectionate nickname, "Door Wench." I have to say that wasn't what she actually told me her nickname is, but replace the second word and there you have it. Nickie told me of the evening's activities which including a drag show.

Note about a "Drag Show." Some of the readers of this column may not be privy to what a drag show actually is. Some may think it is a has to do with really fast cars. Quite to the contrary, it has to do with men that love dressing up like made-up ladies and dancing around on a stage. If you need a pop-culture reference to clue you in, remember RuPaul? For those who are familiar with drag shows forget that you read the RuPaul reference because I am sure the lovely ladies who put on this show feel quite sick of that comparison.

I headed in and walked around sizing up the space. The foyer where Nickie was stationed opened up to a main room that had bathrooms to the left past a spiral staircase that was roped off. To the right was the bar, just past the bar was a set of steps leading to a higher level of seating. I was intrigued by the roped-off spiral staircase, and pleased that the boys room wasn't labeled "Bois Room" as so often I find gay establishments choose to do. In the middle of the main floor of the bar was a dance floor that you had to take a set of stairs down to. There was one enthusiastic fellow dancing his heart out with a few folks watching along the railing above.

Finally, the rope was unclasped and the spiral staircase was opened up to traffic, so I went upstairs to check out what seemed so mysterious to me. Turns out what Nickie didn't tell me was that the drag show was upstairs in the venue's cabaret. The room was wide and the stage was large with a parted curtain in the back. Within just a few minutes the show started and the crowd started filling the room. The whole time smiles were everywhere, voices were only raised to cheer for the performers and I felt like it was New Year's Eve I got a drink at the upstairs bar and met bartender Brandon Kling. I asked him if he would be interested in doing an interview for this article and he quickly agreed. After the brief Q&A about the venue, I headed back and watched some more of the drag show. In summary, if you are an open-minded person who likes to have a good time and is sick of the typical offerings that Knoxville nightlife has to offer, get on down to Carousel II for smiles, drinks, laughs and lots of friendly folks who don't give a hill of beans where you are from or what your background is.

© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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