Ascension Closing Party Brings Tony Moran Back Home

Still reveling in the success of his new CD "Mix Magic Music," superstar DJ Tony Moran returns to Fire Island this Sunday, Aug. 21, to headline the party that will close the mammoth Ascension Weekend. The physical journey will also be a spiritual one for a man who has risen to the top of his profession: Moran will be spinning at a house where he once lived with his then-partner.

Moran has become possibly the most visible and prolific DJ on the gay party scene today. Make that club scene in general: Moran has increased his profile in the larger world, and is in as much demand in mainstream clubs around the world as he is at Circuit parties here in the States.

Moran began his ascent very early in life. At 19, he was discovered by New York's WKTU-FM, the world's first and most popular all-disco station. The Brooklyn native was already pioneering the disco-New Wave movement that arose out of the city's streets and became known as "freestyle." The pop sensibility of freestyle infuses his new CD, which features original music and his own vocals.

There aren't many (any?) DJs who write, produce, perform and sing their own material. Moran takes his craft way beyond jukeboxing records on top of each other. "I love to write songs," he said in a recent interview. "It's very time consuming but so gratifying." But he never neglects the dance floor, which remains his first love.

His Fire Island gig begins at 6 p.m. at the house on the end of Bay Walk and Great South Bay that he knows so well. He admits that he has gone on an emotional roller coaster over the past few years but has come out of it at a better place.

"Sometimes, out of your darkness and the depths, some people can find credibility," he said. Now 46, the still handsome (and humpy) Moran has a partner in Dallas, where he spends whatever downtime he can carve out from his busy schedule. He spends most of the week in the studio. Nearly every weekend, he's on a plane for a gig.

Fortunately his partner, who manages the real estate for a global public-relations firm, can often sandwich in visits to his firm's far-flung outposts so that they coincide with Moran's schedule. "I do have a life," Moran insists. "I go to movies. I'm a social person. I like to have coffee with friends. Because of all the new technology, I can chat with musicians wherever they are." Then there's the recovery time: Amsterdam one weekend. China another. No matter how used to flying you are, that takes it out of you.

The last time he was on Fire Island was also for an Ascension gig. He admits the experience was bittersweet. He believes that, having made peace with the past, he will find this trip to be more pleasant. "I had to work on my level of re-adjustment," he said.

He still loves Fire Island as much as ever, even if he doesn't get to spend as much time there. "Nobody does it like Fire Island," he says. "In other resort communities, it's almost like having to wear different emotional outfits. On Fire Island, people are more comfortable in their own skin."

The trip will also offer him the opportunity to demonstrate to old friends the results of his personal journey. "There were wings that were injured, but not anymore," he said. And of course, all of that emotion is channeled into his music.

For the closing party, expect a set that if full of emotional highs, because the man behind the turntables is someone who will himself be experiencing the magic, mystery and transformational power of a magical island.

Opening for Moran will be Drew G, whom noiZe recently put in a pictorial of DJs who are "as hot as their music." For tickets to the closing party, go to the Ascension website.