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9/04/99

 

Though the scene has progress since the letter that I wrote below was first published, I must make a few comments about what I perceive is happening in the dance music scene at the moment. NOTHING. It still seems stagnant. Many of the large record companies are downsizing, and cutting back on their dance divisions. For good reason. It seems that they are (the labels) promoting poorly directed music.

 

Out of about five-hundred to One-thousand new songs that I get every month, I truly enjoy ten to twenty. I seem to sift through so much music that most of my time is listening to under-produced/over-produced songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Originally Written in 1998

This is still a work in progress - but you'll get the idea...

The end of an era. References to Los Angeles

 

 

 

Many of you may remember an article that I wrote several months back. It was an e-mail message. Its topic: The WMC 98. To refresh your memories. I thought the Winter Music Conference this year was a joke. Many (most) of the people that I approached had a lax attitude about the conference. About the music. Many people were there just for the clubs and free libations. That was in April. What I was feeling at that time was just the beginning of a downward trend in dance music. A happy note -I think it will end. The negative trend will continue for about another six months to one year. Then a rebirth.

 

I believe that we are at the end of an era. The past two years we are a part of a scene full of life and energy. It has become drained and segmented. Once there were ten normal hour clubs going off every weekend evening. Sometimes fifteen or twenty. Everyone having a great time. Good vibes. I DJ'd at three clubs a week, many of them with two seperate rooms of music - one house and one hip hop. Both crowds enjoying each other, different, yet united. Now it seems completely loose.

 

When I started DJing twelve years ago, I was an entertainer. I still am. I would spin for four to six hours everytime. People came out because they wanted to feel. How have the times changed? How has the music changed? Is the dance scene worth saving?

Everyone jumped onto the dance wagon. No one took the time to ween it to a viable position. It ran wild for a few years. Major labels decided to run the dance course. They added pressure to a group of people that have never known the pressures of the real business world. Suddenly deadlines had to be met. Music began to suffer. Big money was being made. Then laziness set in. That's all about to end...

 

The paying customer is understanding the motives. Our customers are never satisfied. Sometimes they wont return to the club again. Why? Because the DJ isn't teaching them the music. We have three or fours jocks all vying for a spot to spin their thirty minutes or hour. Over inflated prices for the drinks. Customer treatment at the door is horrible. Customers get harrassed at the front before ever entering. Many times patrons shell out extra cash to walk into an empty, vibeless club. They aren't going to your clubs anymore!

 

Clubs, promoters and DJ's are enemies joined at the hip. A promoters goal is to make as much money as possible. The Clubs' goal is to make as much at the bar as possible. The DJ normally worries more about five minutes of fame (in this case thirty minutes of DJing), rather than about teaching the crowd how to love music (all music). Many times the club and promoter are at odds with each other. Always about money. Sometimes the promoter is telling the DJ how to spin and what to spin at awkward and inappropriate times. Who gets hurt? The paying customer. We cant make everyone happy, but most of the people- yes! No more lies and deceptions. Club owners will soon learn that they can survive with out the outside promoters.

 

Another Point.

So many DJ magazines love to fluff up the scene. Many reporters tell a happy side of the story. That's great. But when people read BULL and show up to club expecting something they've read, they're not coming back to your club again. Tell the people straight. We dont have to talk down to them, or inflate a story to make it seem larger than life. If we are honest with the people they will come back to us again and again.

 

There is a reason why many of the best DJ's in LA want to move out of Los Angeles. Stagnation! When the day comes, when the club hires the promoter and the DJ, it will be a day that we can rejoice. What do I mean by the club hiring? The club takes the risk of fronting the money for promotions. They hire the best qualified person to DJ for their club. The best and most qualified DJ's are leaving. They don't want to spin at your clubs anymore.

 

The rally point is a place where we can say this is one of the best clubs in the world. Liken to the Ministry of Sound in England, Roxy in Amsterdam, Twilo in New York, Liquid in Florida, and Kaos in Portugal - you get the picture. But what makes these places even more special is that they have resident DJ's. Los Angeles has almost no known disc jockeys. There are no rally's, but small flurries of love when a big name DJ arrives at one of the smaller venues.

 

The world should understand that this is a resident town. A place to be looked up to. It is a mecca of good music and hot vibes. No town should put a stop to having DJ's fly in. Lets be realistic. Good quality DJ's can be found right here, in our backyards!

 

I will do my best to continue to play the music, teach the crowds. We cant give a rats ass if people say that we are too commercial. Fuck that. Play for the masses - don't think of yourself, think of the people your trying to please. Lets get our heads out of the sand and look at the big picture. If you want dance music to be in the background, and under the ground, go stand in the corner. Some of us want to take a leap of faith and send it to the front. I look forward to becoming the messanger of dance for Los Angeles. Because LA needs it, and the masses want it.

 

This may have covered too many points, but what its try to get at is one basic element. We need to get back to the basics. GOOD MUSIC. GOOD DJ's. GOOD VIBES.

 

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Background: 12 years a Professional DJ ONLY!

Club work: LA - Palace, Roxbury, HAC, Billboard

Currently: Barfly - Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Promotions Director - Dancerotica Records

 

Please let me know what you think.

Send me your comments, questions, and responses to:

djcrash@earthlink.net

 

Please let me know what you think.

Send me your comments, questions, or anger to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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