By Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 7, 2008

On a recent Sunday night as the rest of Columbia Road has called it an evening, Chief Ike's Mambo Room is rocking. DJ Dane is spinning tunes when someone yells out, " 'Soul Train' line!" The crowd of about 50 people splits as if Moses just jammed his staff on the dance floor, and one by one people make their way through the center. Every group is here: the bingo seniors, the recent college grads, the out-of-towners, all gathered in this dive bar on this empty street to celebrate one thing.

His Purple Majesty: Prince.

When "I Would Die 4 U" comes blaring through the speakers, the crowd starts simulating the Prince sign language that accompanies the hook. When the opening chords of "Kiss" begin to play, the dancers yell "uh!" in unison. They are attached to the groove, aligned in the beat, riding the rhythmic wave laid out by a tiny man with great hair.

For the past 13 years, members of LoveSexyDC, a club of more than 700 devoted (some active, some not so much) Prince fans, have gathered regularly to celebrate all things Prince.

For three-plus decades, Prince has amazed fans with his risque onstage performances, hard-driving funk sounds, soul-filled love songs (complete with naughty words) and his tight "ice-skating outfits with the sewn-in boots," as Jamie Foxx has called them.

But Prince is no longer a Prince in age; he is 49. And Prince fans no longer have to sneak around to listen to his risque lyrics on their parents' record player. Instead, they come to Chief Ike's in Adams Morgan and yell them at the top of their lungs.

The club hosts free Prince parties once a month, welcoming everyone (older than 21) from the person who thinks "Purple Rain" is a hallucinogenic drug to the captivated uber-fan who can find the hidden imagery in Prince's album covers. On Sunday the club celebrates its 14th anniversary with a Prince dance party and a swap meet, where people can bring all their Prince memorabilia to trade.

Kathy Jentz, 39, founded the club in 1994, after she posted an ad in a Prince fanzine saying she wanted to start a fan club in Washington. At first, the meetings were in her home. But then, as interest grew, the group met at local clubs.

Thanks to Heidi Schultz, 38, a bartender at Chief Ike's Mambo Room and a LoveSexyDC member for five years, the club has found a permanent home at the bar. Chief Ike's has no dress code, and a flier announcing the parties asks for only "True Funk Soldiers. Real people. Real music. No attitudes."

Which fits Schultz just fine since her hair is spiky in front with shoulder-length braids in back. Like most members in the club, Schultz can track the significant moments in her life through Prince albums.

"One of my best memories when I was little was when we would go camping, and being the urban kids that we are, we would bring this boombox and we would be blasting 'Purple Rain' while we were hiking," she says.

Sound familiar?

As the night winds down, Joanne Merry has settled back in a chair, resting after a night of dancing.

"Kathy looked me up and invited me to a meeting, and I was thinking, 'Ya'll are kind of young,' " says Merry, who will give her age only as "old enough to party" but says she recently retired from teaching in the District after 28 years. "But I got there and discovered that it really didn't matter."

And in this room, for these Prince fans, it really doesn't.

Prince Fan Club Anniversary Party Chief Ike's Mambo Room, 1725 Columbia Rd. NW Hours: Sunday; swap meet 8-10, dance party 10-midnight. Contact: http://www.lovesexydc.org. http:// Prince Fan Club Anniversary Party Chief Ike's Mambo Room, 1725 Columbia Rd. NW Hours: Sunday; swap meet 8-10, dance party 10-midnight. Contact: http://www.lovesexydc.org. http://