Rockin' the votes: Pantera Sarah

Photos:

To rookie Hollywood clubbers, promoter and bar owner Pantera Sarah can be intimidating. She cuts an imposing figure—long dark hair, bright red lips, deep voice and gruff exterior—as she presides over the velvet rope at such venues as the Kress and Central, which she co-owns. People tend to be transfixed by her power. In the last year, I've watched her—with a big Barack Obama pin fixed to her top—dive into the presidential election in support of the man she thinks "is going to change the world." And while she remains a fierce presence at the doors of her clubs, the Wisconsin native has showed many different sides lately, from educating college kids on the issues of the day to serving as associate producer on Will.i.am's "Yes We Can" Web video, which was inspired by Obama's New Hampshire primary victory speech and won a 2008 Emmy in the New Approaches in Daytime Entertainment category.

Read on for her tales of getting political with Vince Vaughn, screaming and crying with Scarlett Johansson, welcoming Sen. Russ Feingold into Central, and why Obama turns her into a softie.

Have you always been so politically inclined?
Yeah. My mom worked for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin for 10 or 15 years. I grew up in politics. My grandfather ran for governor of Wisconsin as a Socialist, my grandma ran for United States Congress on the Socialist ticket, and my father was mayor of Fitchburg, Wis. And Russ Feingold, who was the state senator from Wisconsin, was my show-and-tell in fourth grade. It was a full-circle moment for me on December 8, 2007, which was the night we opened Central, because Russ Feingold was the first person who walked in the door.

How'd that come to be?
He happened to be in town that night. He has a PAC [political action committee] called the Progressive Patriots Fund, and we did a fundraiser at Christine Lahti and Tommy Schlamme's house in Brentwood earlier in the evening. He said, "I hear you’re opening a club tonight. I'm going to try to come if I can stay up that late." Ten o’clock, he was pulling up with a cab. Russ, you got to understand, he’s incredible. He’s the only senator who voted against the Patriot Act, mind you. The vote was 99-1, and when they asked him why, he said, "Because I read it."

Your club nights draw in some of the best crowds. What's your trick?
I'd rather have my club half-empty with the right people than full of the wrong ones. A lot of these [other] promoters don't run their own doors. I'm at my own door 80 percent of the night because I want to make sure exactly what's coming into the club, and I want them to see my face.

How do you get people to come to the club?
I don't have anybody that works for me. I do all of my phone calls myself. I do every e-mail individually. I don't belong to Stun. The mass blast e-mail is impersonal, and I don't do that because whenever I get one of those mass e-mails, I delete it. I don't want to feel fliered to; I want to feel invited when I go somewhere.

With so many clubs in the Hollywood arena, how do you keep your edge?
I don't think there’s an importance on quality anymore, because owners are desperate to make the money that they need to make the investors happy. It’s become really corporatized. It used to be a lot more organic. It was about really just having a good time.

It's not hard to entice kids to party, but how do you get them to vote?
It's not about telling people what to think, it's about asking them to think. Oprah said that in her speech when she went on the road with [Obama]. I want people to educate themselves. I want these young people to get involved. Vince Vaughn, who is more of a libertarian, and we've argued politics for many, many years—one of my favorite quotes from him ever was when he asked a friend of mine who she voted for. She said, "I didn't get a chance to vote," and he turned away. She kept trying to tell him, "Oh, but you know, I tried to register but I didn't register in time, so they wouldn't let me vote." She was trying to make excuses and he was just not paying attention, and he finally turned back to her and said: "I can't hear you. You chose to not have a voice."

Speaking of your celebrity friends, Scarlett Johansson has joined you on the campaign trail?
We talked to high school seniors and college kids all across Iowa, and they had such great questions, and they were so much smarter than most of the people out here in L.A. that I talk to. We actually watched part of the caucus in Ames, Iowa, at the Memorial Union at  Iowa State University. We'd been there all day, on the phone for about four hours, literally all of us just calling people and saying, "Hey, this is Sarah with the Obama campaign—just calling to make sure you're in a caucus at 6:30. Do you know where your precinct is? Do you need a ride?"

What was your reaction when he won the Iowa caucuses?
My mom called me and she said, "MSNBC just called it: Barack." And we started screaming in the car and crying. Then we saw the senator, and he hugged me and was thanking myself and Scarlett and everybody for everything we've done. I was like, "I want to cry, I'm so happy," and he's like, "Don't cry." And then, of course, as soon as we got upstairs to watch him give that speech, I was bawling through the whole speech, and afterward he saw me and just started laughing and said, "Pantera, you're such a softie."

Why are you so taken with Obama?
He has an ability to engage people, and I truly believe the only way we're going to change this country is if we, the American people, start paying attention.

What issues matter most to you?
I have a top three. One, which will provide for doing the other two, is getting out of this war. We need to get out of Iraq. We can’t afford it. We need to get out safely. I like what Barack always says: “We need to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in.” We cannot sustain this war. We got sold on “This war’s going to pay for itself.” Really? Where’s that payment? They have a $79 billion surplus, and we’re about $400 billion in debt. We had almost a $300 billion surplus when Clinton left office. This man and this administration are running this country into the ground, and we can’t afford to be there. Whether it’s lives, whether it’s money, we can’t afford to be there. We need to focus on Pakistan and Afghanistan where the real perpetrators of 9/11, and the people that actually do have ill will towards to the U.S. And that’s what we need to focus on.

What about issue No. 2?
I think education, a lot of different folds with education. Paying our teachers better. I don’t like that school district funds are based on property tax, income tax, so poor neighborhoods get less money for their schools. I think we need to make college more affordable. One of the things that Barack wants to do, which I think is genius, is a $4,000 tax credit per college student per year, and all you have to do is give back in some sort of service, whether it’s the Peace Corps or volunteering at homeless shelters or working with inner-city kids. Some service to your country. He also wants to make it so college students can stay on their parents’ health insurance to the age of 25. When it comes to the world, we’re not first with anything anymore; we’re getting beat out by China. They have put a lot of money behind education.

And No. 3?
Affordable health care for every American. The pharmaceutical companies are getting rich. The insurance companies are getting rich. And people are literally losing their life savings when they get sick.

As a strong woman, I'm sure you have some strong opinions about Sarah Palin.
I was going to start a Facebook group: “Sarahs against Palin.” I’m insulted that we share the same name. And my pit bull is insulted too…As a woman, you should educate yourself on the issues. I’m not supporting Barack Obama because he's a black man. As much as that’s a beautiful thing and it could do beautiful things for African-Americans in this country, that’s not why I am supporting him. He’s an incredibly brilliant man who gets the big picture, and I think there’s a palpable truth and integrity to him. We had eight years of having a president you’d want to have a beer with. How well did that work out?

So no coffee dates with Gov. Palin?
She insults my intelligence. For the McCain campaign to basically say to Hillary supporters, “I think you're dumb enough that you would support her because she has a vagina…” The woman doesn’t believe in choice even in cases of rape or incest. She believes in abstinence-only programs. She believes in banning books. She talks about reforming government, yet that “bridge to nowhere” that she was against she was actually for [until it became] a laughing stock and Congress said, “You can’t build a bridge to nowhere.”

What did you think of her speech at the RNC?
It was written by one of George Bush's speechwriters, so I thought it was insulting. My new favorite button that I wear around is “Jesus Was a Community Organizer.” How do you run for public office and make fun of community organizing?

What will you do if the McCain-Palin ticket wins?
Move to Canada. No—I don’t even put it out there in the universe. I absolutely in my soul have faith in the American people that they’re going to see through the bullshit and realize we cannot afford four more years of what we’ve had…Our country is in trouble.

When will you return to a fuller nightlife schedule?
I might start doing a night at the Stork with my friend Grace Fernandez. I'm not going full-out until after the election.

Do you feel competitive with other promoters?
There are enough people in this town for everybody, and I don't think that getting nasty or talking badly about other people is going to bring you anything good. I think the universe gives you what you give it, and I just don't like fighting. I'll save my fighting for the political battle.

Click here for details on how to register to vote»

Check out Pantera Sarah's personal photos from her time with Barack Obama on the campagin trail»

See our guide to Political Partying for photo galleries and upcoming events»

Get the details on Pantera Sarah's weekly parties at the Kress»

Read our review about Pantera Sarah's club, Central»

Click here to see how you can volunteer for your political party»

Click here to read Metromix readers on candidates' style»

Alexandra Le Tellier is Bars & Clubs editor for Metromix Los Angeles.