There are a number of strip clubs in Hollywood that have become iconic — neon reminders of the region’s ‘80s debauchery, often dragged into the “now” by their heavy trap/hip-hop soundtracks. There’s The Body Shop and the Seventh Veil on Sunset, and then bikini bar Cheetahs over on Hollywood Boulevard. And it is at the latter that the Jolene night is taking place monthly.

Jolene is an all-inclusive strip night, meaning trans women, female-identifying and non-binary dancers are not only welcomed but encouraged. 

Sarah Elizabeth Graves, aka Baby Magick, DJs at Jolene, and she says that it offers opportunities to dancers who don’t fit in at any other strip night around Los Angeles and maybe even around the U.S. 

“Each girl does two or three numbers, which is great,” Graves says. “It’s always packed, always sold out, because especially in the queer community in Los Angeles, we’re looking for places to be. Looking for places to call home. To be able to go there and be sexually open, to feel sexy, and be tipped and be treated as just another dancer, that’s a huge thing. So it’s very inclusive, very normalizing, and I hope it’s a kick-off to how we as the other women will be treated in the future.”

Graves has been DJing since 2010, predating her transition. That happened four years later and, following a bit of time off, she came back with a bang as a resident DJ at the prestigious Cloak & Dagger event. Now, she’s an in demand DJ on the industrial/post-industrial scene, DJing for Cold Waves, the Vancouver Fetish Weekend and more. But she’s found a home in the less dark surroundings of Jolene. That’s telling ⁠— she says that everyone is welcome.

“There’s definitely a queer community because we all show up hard for each other, but there are cis men,” she says. “Dita Von Teese came last time and she was hanging out, and straight cis couples come just to support and look at some hot ass women doing their thing. It’s a very open and mixed safe space. As a trans woman, this is one of the top safe spaces, where I can feel like a human as opposed to a trans woman in a place where I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if someone hitting on me is going to have an issue that I’m trans. With this place, we’re all human, being humans, and it’s really beautiful. Everyone is well behaved, the tips are huge ⁠— it’s just great.”

We want to know about the music though. What plays well with trans dancers and an enthusiastic crowd of supporters? As it turns out, pretty much anything and everything.

“We have a lot of Gucci Mane, and a lot of really good trap,” Graves says. “Dancy, dirty, sexy stuff. But there’s also some Lana Del Rey, and some ‘90s. Anything to make a lively party. I know some of the girls have chosen like Whitesnake. It’s all over the place. From DJing in a scene that was mostly a rock & roll night, to moving into Cloak & Dagger, which is a lot more electronic based, I feel blessed that I’m able to mix Whitesnake into something a little bit sexier like Gucci Mane. So it’s about weaving a story, partying and having a good time. I played a Radiohead track that went down really well. A remix of ‘Idioteque.’ It’s happened ⁠— it’s a real life thing.”

Stripping to Radiohead? That’s a bold move, and certainly not something you would probably expect to see at one of those Sunset Strip clubs. Graves says that her dark industrial background also has its place at Jolene.

“With any crowd you have to read them and if someone’s here to party and have a good time, I’m not gonna throw down some really intense German techno industrial,” she says. “I’ll have it on deck. I know what your body will react to. It’s very interesting, going from a Cold Waves post-industrial background, and playing Ginuwine’s ‘Pony,’ which is a good track. I’m happy to play it because the end goal is people have fun, wanna dance, smile and make money.”

Kraig Tyler deejays under the name Liquid Giraffe, and he’s one of the resident DJs at Cheetahs. He’s been spinning since the ‘90s in New York, and has also played guitar in bands such as Crazy Town and Chemlab. He started at Cheetahs about six years ago, and he and Graves are the two DJs used by Jolene. Tyler says that, even outside of the Jolene night, Cheetahs is a different sort of strip club.

“The stage is the focal point, and we have a collection of phenomenal performers who each have their own individual styles,” he says. “We also do a wide variety of live events and showcases that integrate our performers. To me it’s a place of female empowerment, and our crowd is often predominantly women. It’s a safe space that is open to anyone who appreciates our show.”

Tyler agrees that diversity in the tunes is key to a good Jolene night.

“Grrrl-powered hip-hop always does well, but the right unpredictable throwback can turn things waaay up,” he says. “[The most requested music is] probably City Girls or Cardi B from the performers, but the crowd rarely makes any requests, as we’re constantly catering to our audience with our selections.”

Tyler says that he can’t think of any songs that have bombed at Jolene. Graves, though, can remember a momentary misread on the first night.

“I actually played a German techno track when we were first starting out, just to try to gauge and pump up the crowd,” she says. “I don’t think that the people that were filtering in had a problem, but it definitely felt like, ‘Oh shit what’s this DJ doing? Is this going to be a techno night?’ I pretty quickly changed that into some Nelly and we were good.”

No doubt. Ultimately, Jolene is a special sort of night, one that works because those involved and the vast array of people who attend are completely open-minded, welcoming and enthusiastically accepting. And the tunes are banging. Graves:

“The whole idea behind it was creating an avenue for us to be strong, and strong together.”

For more information, go to cheetahsclubhollywood.com.