Matthew Buchholz came of age in the 1990s. So he has a special outfit ready for this Saturday’s In Bed by Ten Primetime ’90s Party at Bottlerocket Social Hall in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood.
The only hint the dance party’s creator will give about that costume, which is to be based on a TV show from that decade, is he doesn’t “think it’s what most people will expect.”
It’s the first time the venue has hosted In Bed By Ten. Scheduling it for January just fell into place after Buchholz held events for his Alternate Histories company there this past year. Bottlerocket had a 1990s theme scheduled for this month, and Buchholz had a date open. The party gets started at 6, and this time it ends at 10 p.m.
“I love the crowds at Bottlerocket events; they draw such a great mix of people in their fun, retro venue,” Buchholz said in a news release. “When they approached me about doing an In Bed by Ten for their ’90s month, I knew right away it was something I had to do.”
He’ll be joined by ROJO, Pittsburgh DJ, event planner and broadcast journalist Royce Jones, on the turntables. “Together we’ll be playing a mix of hip-hop, pop, dance, alternative and more from the 1990s,” he wrote.
In Bed By Ten is the dance party for people who can’t stay out late, according to its creator and website. It also works for people who want to stick around for another band, DJ or live event. Parties normally end by 9, but according to the website, “we’re staying out an extra hour since our mom said it was okay.”
Buchholz created the dance parties in May 2015 and will celebrate the 10th anniversary with a series of events that are still in the works.
Bottlerocket suggested adding in a costume contest for this upcoming event. Promotional materials and social media posts for Saturday’s party suggests that participants “break out those JNCOs and oversized outfits,” too.
For those who don’t remember 1990s fashion or are too young to do so, JNCOs are wide-legged jeans. They originally sold for $65 to $75 but are now a hot item. Expect to spend hundreds of dollars to get a pair in time for Saturday.
The theme definitely hits a nostalgic button for Buchholz. And it has a wide breadth of music from pop to grunge to hip-hop to girl groups. “So much there,” he said. “So much that is recognizable.
“We will pull a lot of ’90s music and have things together. We’re still figuring that out. It’s such a mix of stuff, not all hip-hop or all new wave or disco. We want to bring that spirit to the event.”
Tickets have been selling well so far, Buchholz added, and on Monday more than half had been sold. If it sells out, none will be sold at the door Saturday. The fee is $10.
Buchholz started the dance parties after serving as DJ during Commonwealth Press’ Beer Barge event on a Gateway Clipper boat, which ended on the earlier side, he said, because of the booking for it.
“It led to a conversation,” he said. “We have a lot of great parties and great DJs in Pittsburgh. Most of them now and then don’t start until 9 or 10 p.m. The idea of these came from that experience and are geared for older people or people who have young kids or those can’t stay out too late.”
The dance parties started loosely at Spirit at Lawrenceville, most with a donation jar for a nonprofit organization. As demand and the number increased, he added a cover charge to pay for the needed professional DJs.
Adding in those DJs – for example, EZ Lou, Formosa, DJ duo Jellyfish and ROJO – has expanded the reach.
“It’s fun when you add in new people,” Buchholz said. “They bring in their own audience, and you introduce In Bed by Ten to a new DJ and their audience.”
Buchholz still holds dance parties at Spirit; the holiday event took place there last month. Nonprofits can apply to hold a benefit dance party via the website.
The Tucson native came to Pittsburgh in 2008 after graduating from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1998 and managing the Cinématek program at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
He worked at Wild Card in Lawrenceville and started selling his cards and prints there. Buchholz had his first art show there in 2010, “where I had the inspiration to Photoshop a gigantic monster into an old engraving of the city,” according to his website.
In 2011 he created Alternate Histories, where he can combine “my love of history and bad sci-fi movies into my art.”
“I like to think that my work remakes and comments on history by incorporating shared pop culture memories into visual records of the past. At times it can seem like there’s no distinction between ‘true’ history and a collective pop history. Science fiction takes this one step further by introducing elements of otherness that we project onto our own social fears and concerns. I’m remaking history … with monsters and robots!”
The author and artist’s work has been shown in New York, Chicago, Paris and Hong Kong, and he has exhibited at craft fairs across the country. His first book, “Alternate Histories of the World,” came out in 2013; “Pittsburgh in Olden Times” was released in 2018. Some more recent books include “National Park Monsters Passport Book,” “Night of the Monsters” and “Monster Island Escape.”
He lives in Greenfield, where he has a studio, a necessity after he ran out of space in his home two years ago. On weekends it’s a retail store, selling Alternate Histories cards, prints, T-shirts, and books, as well as custom-made Greenfield goodies. All can be bought online, too.
Balancing the dance parties with Alternate Histories and his creative work can be a lot, Buchholz said. “Overall I am very fortunate and very privileged to do all this for a living. … I try not take it for granted and enjoy it.”
Tickets for In Bed By Ten’s Primetime ’90s Dance Party at Bottlerocket are available at https://app.opendate.io/e/in-bed-by-ten-primetime-party-january-18-2025-563978.
Helen is a copy editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike. Contact her at hfallon@unionprogress.com.