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afterhoursny
Upstate Underground Moderator

1779 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  11:37:02 AM  Show Profile  Visit afterhoursny's Homepage  Send afterhoursny an AOL message  Send afterhoursny a Yahoo! Message  Reply with Quote
Here's an article that was just printed in the Metroland in Albany.

http://metroland.net/2011/04/06/better-living-through-revelry/

"It’s been been about a decade since electronic music events featuring superstar DJs were being thrown in vast music halls, abandoned warehouses and vacant fields across the nation. The rave culture phenomenon, which originated in the United Kingdom following the club disco era of the ’70s, took hold in the United States during the ’90s and was peaking by the millennium. Reminiscent of the countercultural hippie movement of the ’60s in its nonviolent ideology, emphasis on individuality and liberal attitude toward illegal drugs, the rave scene revolved around electronic dance music and drew tens of thousands of enthusiastic fans—in abnormally large pants—to huge events with names like Narnia and Electric Daisy Carnival. Popular DJs like Paul Oakenfold and Frankie Bones had become bigger names than many mainstream pop stars. Then, shortly after the turn of the century, it all seemed suddenly to end.

Hey Mr. (Ms.) DJ: veterans of the Albany electronic music scene. Photo by Leif Zuhrmulen
On a large scale, this was primarily due to a wave of negative national sentiment provoked by an onslaught of bad press. In response to widespread concern about the party drug ecstasy that had become associated with the rave subculture, legislation known as the RAVE (Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability to Ecstasy) Act was surreptitiously piggybacked onto the Amber Alert bill in April 2003. The law made event promoters legally responsible for the actions of everyone who attended their parties. Around the same time, in New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg passed a series of cabaret laws that prohibited dancing in certain public areas with the intention of discouraging an electronic music culture that was getting a bad rap nationwide. Modeled after crack house laws, they were used to raid, arrest and threaten club promoters and partygoers. When SWAT teams with helicopters and rifles raided events in Utah and New Orleans, it was effectively the end of an era. Promoters still promoted and DJs still spun records, but the culture and music they helped build was, to a large extent, forced underground.
In the Capital Region, local DJ and longtime promoter David “Scooby” Carolan remembers sitting down with his lawyer and wondering if it was still worth it. He was trying to open a record store in 2003 and found he was facing insurmountable obstacles. “I remember feeling like Don Corleone,” he says. He sat in a Common Council meeting where he was accused of being “just a rave promoter” and of “trying to sell drugs.” Massive Audio finally opened its doors in March and immediately faced a whole host of problems from the Center Square community in which it was located. The neighborhood association, via zoning committees, managed to shut down the store for three of the first four months that it was open and forced it to get rid of some of the merchandise. Ultimately, it was compelled to close its doors due to zoning laws that allowed for a bookstore and art gallery—but not a record store.
Carolan has fond memories of the store on Lark Street where he bought his first record in 1996. Audio Underground, owned by Damian Galban (aka DJ Dames), was a place where local electronic musicians gathered, exchanged ideas and found out about upcoming events. The store burned down in April 2001 and was never rebuilt. Carolan and other local musicians believe that the loss of a hub lent significantly to the dissolution of the electronic dance music scene in the Capital Region years before it became nationally stigmatized. He decided to open Massive Audio with fellow musicians Ryan Kick, Mike Backus and William Wood in an effort to provide the same sort of professional haven that Audio Underground had, and says he is disappointed that he was ultimately prevented by what he views as “completely insane preconceptions” about his intentions.
Not to be entirely thwarted, Carolan and company continued to organize and promote local events in Albany under the Massive Audio banner for several years. “I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t being foolish,” he says. “I knew that I would be vulnerable. But I also wanted to know that people still had a place to go dance in Albany that wasn’t only playing top 40 hits or hip-hop.” Carolan acknowledges that certain extreme aspects of the rave culture have cast a pall over the very music it celebrated, but he refuses to accept that it is irredeemable. “The music is awesome and the people should hear it.”
That conviction is common among those who have labored, sometimes thanklessly, to keep bringing headlining DJs and exciting new sounds to an upstate scene that has often seemed to be gasping for air over the last seven years. No longer able to expect the same kind of attendance on a regular basis that they once could, local promoters have come to accept that their endeavors can often be hit-or-miss. A night with all-local talent may be packed one week, while the expensive headliner the following week plays to a largely empty room. Local venue owners have moved away, suddenly closed down or simply lost interest. Even so, Carolan and a handful of others are still doing their damndest to keep the Capital Region dancing to their favorite beats.
“We were promised 72 virgins,” explains Adam Littleboy, one half of Lazer and Blazer, the electronic duo who host a successful bimonthly Lounge event at Daisy Baker’s in Troy. “That’s right,” laughs George Washburn, aka Blazer. “That’s why we work so hard. The electronic music gods promised.” Admitted latecomers to the rave scene in 1999, Littleboy and Washburn say they immediately set out to learn everything they could about the music they encountered. “That’s really why we do it. We do it for the music. We want to be involved in every aspect: making it, playing it, promoting it, dancing to it.”
“I like to stay right at the forefront of everything that’s going on with it,” says Don Stone of Gravity Entertainment. “It’s all so much more versatile and accessible now than it used to be. The creative possibilities are pretty mind-boggling.” Like Stone, most current DJs are comfortable with multiple genres and machines, and have begun creating their own music—using software that simulates drum machines and synthesizers—that they can play in front of crowds the same day they create it, something that was virtually impossible in the days of vinyl records. Stone was behind the silent rave at LarkFest last year, along with his musical partner Jason Hamilton and local promoter Nicole Bleichert. The three often work together to organize multi-DJ events, such as the one at Pagliacci’s tomorrow night (Friday, April 8), where Stone and Hamilton’s creative duo, the Dark Flow, will be playing a mix of house, electro and dubstep. Carolan is also on the lineup, along with Matt Tagliaferro (aka RekOne) and Outlet.
Currently, Carolan is also working with local DJ-promoter Jay Balance to bring The Good Life, a popular summer event that has “music for everyone—house, hip-hop, soul, funk and disco,” back to the rooftop at Pagliacci’s in May. And rumor has it that there will be another boat party with Dutch Apple Cruises this June. In addition to Lounge and a Suburban Soul Project house night, Daisy Baker’s also has a Sunday morning Funky Brunch, offering downtempo beats spun by local DJ and producer Brandon Finucan (aka Properly Chilled).
These are just a few of the growing number of electronic music events happening in the area, and many new artists and younger crowds have begun to fill the scene. Last month, a new dubstep night called Outpost, featuring locals Deep Children and Party With Tina, packed the Fuze Box and will continue every third Friday of the month.
In addition to traditional club venues, outdoor festivals and events that used to be considered exclusively jam-band-oriented have also made room for thousands of disenfranchised ravers, adding many different kinds of electronic music to their line-ups and resulting in some interesting creative collboration. Drum ’n bass DJs Jon Santola and Leila Harrison, who organize regular events at Red Square, play several of these festivals a year and make it a point to include a band at each of the events that they throw at Red Square. “It’s an entirely different kind of night,” says Santola.
Electronic music is everywhere, insist Bleichert and Stone. “People don’t realize that; they think it all sounds the same,” says Bleichert. Pointing out that most forms of accepted art once began as misunderstood and maligned subcultures, they say they hope that, in this case, the culture won’t overshadow the art for too long. “We want other people to love it too,” says Bleichert. “That’s why we do this.”
“We do it for the music,” agrees Carolan. “But, I also think we have something to prove.”"

The PHUNgEYE
upstate_psy_guru

3726 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  11:41:29 AM  Show Profile  Visit The PHUNgEYE's Homepage  Send The PHUNgEYE an AOL message  Reply with Quote
HUGE UPS!!!!!

direkt influence/Visionarymindz/Radial Engine/microCosm house-embracing poi/glowstick artists, Freq's, geeks and weirdo's since '99 http://www.soundcloud.com/PHUNgEYE
http://www.Facebook.com/PhunGeye
fb page: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=229475867098470#!/pages/PHUNgEYE/256596447701866
phuse.analysis: www.facebook.com/pages/Phuse-analysis/151413218210110



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Leila
UUnet Guru

565 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  1:01:41 PM  Show Profile  Visit Leila's Homepage  Send Leila an AOL message  Reply with Quote
RAVE act wasn't passed ever... the illicit drug anti-proliferation act was passed... the term raver didn't start with edm... and huge edm parties still exist lol (hello ultra!!!) and ravers began in the jam band scene... they branched out eventually and some have gone back - doesn't make any of us disenfranchised from our scene... more like unified with more than one.....

www.djleila.com


UPCOMING SHOWS!!!:
7/10 ~ Vibe This! - Albany, NY * 7/23-25 ~ 4th annual Water tanks on the Banks/PMT fest - Clyde, NY * 8/6 ~ The Big Up - Ghent, NY

Edited by - Leila on 04/07/2011 1:12:22 PM
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afterhoursny
Upstate Underground Moderator

1779 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  1:12:33 PM  Show Profile  Visit afterhoursny's Homepage  Send afterhoursny an AOL message  Send afterhoursny a Yahoo! Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Leila

RAVE act wasn't passed ever... the anti-illicit drug proliferation act was passed... the term raver didn't start with edm... and huge edm parties still exist lol (hello ultra!!!) and ravers began in the jam band scene... they branched out eventually and some have gone back - doesn't make any of us disenfranchised from our scene... more like unified with more than one.....



Yeah i think a lot of people don't realize that the RAVE act never passed.
Also pretty sure it all started here in the U.S. with NYC, Chicago and Detroit leading the way. (at least the music)

Edited by - afterhoursny on 04/07/2011 1:14:54 PM
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Leila
UUnet Guru

565 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  1:18:06 PM  Show Profile  Visit Leila's Homepage  Send Leila an AOL message  Reply with Quote
yeah... it's amazing how little people research stuff before they print things in newspaper articles. i know what her intentions were with this article - but i think it was more counter productive than anything since it immediately focused on the drug aspect of the scene (which she had originally not even intended on including). I'd rather not be even mentioned in an article that focuses on the negative rather than the positive aspects of the scene.

www.djleila.com


UPCOMING SHOWS!!!:
7/10 ~ Vibe This! - Albany, NY * 7/23-25 ~ 4th annual Water tanks on the Banks/PMT fest - Clyde, NY * 8/6 ~ The Big Up - Ghent, NY
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afterhoursny
Upstate Underground Moderator

1779 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  1:46:27 PM  Show Profile  Visit afterhoursny's Homepage  Send afterhoursny an AOL message  Send afterhoursny a Yahoo! Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Leila

yeah... it's amazing how little people research stuff before they print things in newspaper articles. i know what her intentions were with this article - but i think it was more counter productive than anything since it immediately focused on the drug aspect of the scene (which she had originally not even intended on including). I'd rather not be even mentioned in an article that focuses on the negative rather than the positive aspects of the scene.



agreed. I even said during our interview, that it's dumb to focus on things that happened 10 years ago. The scene and culture is nothing like it was.
What we do is totally different than what was going on back then and I'd rather not be associated with it
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Leila
UUnet Guru

565 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  1:56:22 PM  Show Profile  Visit Leila's Homepage  Send Leila an AOL message  Reply with Quote
glad to know that jon and i aren't the only ones who felt that way... after i read the article this morning & responded to her i felt like maybe we were being to critical... but knowing we aren't the only ones who feel it shouldv'e been more about the music and the current scene rather than the downfall of albany 10 years ago makes me feel better ;) lots of things have changed... we discussed that in our interview and were told we were the only ones who even addressed the drug aspect of the culture (you guys were interviewed later) yet the differences between then and now weren't even addressed. we were even shot down when we asked to read the article prior to it being published to decide if we even wanted to be in the pic... i really wish we had been more adamant about it tho because i don't want to be associated with the drug aspect of the culture & i feel the article does exactly that.

www.djleila.com


UPCOMING SHOWS!!!:
7/10 ~ Vibe This! - Albany, NY * 7/23-25 ~ 4th annual Water tanks on the Banks/PMT fest - Clyde, NY * 8/6 ~ The Big Up - Ghent, NY
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afterhoursny
Upstate Underground Moderator

1779 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  2:32:34 PM  Show Profile  Visit afterhoursny's Homepage  Send afterhoursny an AOL message  Send afterhoursny a Yahoo! Message  Reply with Quote
We were told the article was meant to promote the current scene.

Instead it's a history lesson of everything that was bad about the "scene"
Meanwhile leaving out so many people it's not even funny.
I spent half my interview explaining that the scene never died and places like Sneaky Pete's, Luna, Skyline etc had easily 500-100 people every weekend listening to dance music well after the "crash"

You want to talk about current things, how come Greg Bell isn't interviewed? Where are all the new kids in this article?
I mean Steve Aoki and Bassnectar are going to be in Albany. These are the 2 biggest events EVER since Sasha & Digweed came through. Yet not one mention of them.


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Leila
UUnet Guru

565 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  3:05:26 PM  Show Profile  Visit Leila's Homepage  Send Leila an AOL message  Reply with Quote
yup... i completely agree. she told us she wanted to show all the hard work that the promoters are doing around here to bring back edm to the albany area. instead - she talked about why it was so bad years ago, none of the changes, none of why things have changed or any one's input on the scene. we told her what dubstep has done, our feelings about it, and so many other things... but once again... she focused strictly on what she already knew to be popular(house) and nothing new. she doesn't understand. I can't believe that she called us disenfranchised ravers and didn't even touch on the fact that so many acts like pretty lights, bassnectar, big gigantic & so on - can bring out what she considers two different crowds. it shows how NOT up-to-date she truly is. So does the fact that she wanted jon and i to set up our turntables & every dj to bring records for the photo shoot. it was only when i said that everyone uses different mediums these days & the only thing that we have in common is headphones that she agreed not to! and instead told everyone to bring headphones lol thinking that was the point of me saying that... ::rolls eyes:: we'll talk more tonight...

www.djleila.com


UPCOMING SHOWS!!!:
7/10 ~ Vibe This! - Albany, NY * 7/23-25 ~ 4th annual Water tanks on the Banks/PMT fest - Clyde, NY * 8/6 ~ The Big Up - Ghent, NY
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DJinn
UUnet Guru

657 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  5:46:41 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
"The rave culture phenomenon, which originated in the United Kingdom following the club disco era of the ’70s, took hold in the United States during the ’90s and was peaking by the millennium. "

I think the history is a bit off on this...

Originally posted by neighborhood crime[/i]

house music is for democrats and homosexuals.
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afterhoursny
Upstate Underground Moderator

1779 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  8:59:09 PM  Show Profile  Visit afterhoursny's Homepage  Send afterhoursny an AOL message  Send afterhoursny a Yahoo! Message  Reply with Quote
I'm amazed we haven't heard a peep from neighborhood crime on this one yet. I thought for sure he'd be up for a real history lesson. ;)
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Leila
UUnet Guru

565 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  9:02:07 PM  Show Profile  Visit Leila's Homepage  Send Leila an AOL message  Reply with Quote
hahaha me too! calling brandon!!! where are you!??!

www.djleila.com


UPCOMING SHOWS!!!:
7/10 ~ Vibe This! - Albany, NY * 7/23-25 ~ 4th annual Water tanks on the Banks/PMT fest - Clyde, NY * 8/6 ~ The Big Up - Ghent, NY
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djmilkdud
will_dj_for_food

514 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  9:28:17 PM  Show Profile  Visit djmilkdud's Homepage  Reply with Quote
in the end maybe metroland will follow up with more in-depth coverage, like every week.
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Parkay
Upstate Underground Moderator

4567 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  10:22:32 PM  Show Profile  Visit Parkay's Homepage  Send Parkay an AOL message  Send Parkay an ICQ Message  Reply with Quote
I really don't' understand how the rave scene or dance music scene got implemented and associated with the thing about "drugs".. Drugs are prevalent in EVERY SINGLE music culture, Jazz, Blues, Hiphop, Country, Rock..

Its like the government decided that the EDM music culture is something diff from the rest of the music world..

All the big musicians in almost every major genre of music have had an addiction of some form or another.. Not that it makes it acceptable.. But for christ sakes.. When is enough enough .. When is it time to stop blowing things out of proportion..

Some of the greatest musicians in the history of the world were all on some form of narcotics.. Weather it be synthetic, natural.. or just straight up crazy...



http://www.soundcloud.com/mikeyparkay
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikey-Park...
http://www.myspace.com/mikeyparkay
http://www.twitter.com/mikeyparkay
http://www.groovetherapyam.com




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DJinn
UUnet Guru

657 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  10:28:17 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Well to be fair, a lot of people @ EDM parties didn't use any kind of discretion. You can do what you want, just don't rub it in people's faces. When you have people ODing at parties and kids acting like fools and then going online and talking about it, it brings unnecessary attention.

Originally posted by neighborhood crime[/i]

house music is for democrats and homosexuals.
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Parkay
Upstate Underground Moderator

4567 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2011 :  11:08:11 PM  Show Profile  Visit Parkay's Homepage  Send Parkay an AOL message  Send Parkay an ICQ Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by DJinn

Well to be fair, a lot of people @ EDM parties didn't use any kind of discretion. You can do what you want, just don't rub it in people's faces. When you have people ODing at parties and kids acting like fools and then going online and talking about it, it brings unnecessary attention.



I do agree w/ this statement.. Again.. Discreation is something people need to practice.. Im fine with people having fun but.. Be able to handle yourself..


http://www.soundcloud.com/mikeyparkay
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikey-Park...
http://www.myspace.com/mikeyparkay
http://www.twitter.com/mikeyparkay
http://www.groovetherapyam.com




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dvs109
UUnet Guru

883 Posts

Posted - 04/08/2011 :  12:58:09 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
the rave act got passed, it was in the amber alert bill.
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neighborhood crime
UUnet Guru

2012 Posts

Posted - 04/08/2011 :  04:25:42 AM  Show Profile  Visit neighborhood crime's Homepage  Send neighborhood crime an AOL message  Send neighborhood crime a Yahoo! Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Leila

I can't believe that she called us disenfranchised ravers and didn't even touch on the fact that so many acts like pretty lights, bassnectar, big gigantic & so on - can bring out what she considers two different crowds.


ROFLMAO


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZgbH0MjIHY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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neighborhood crime
UUnet Guru

2012 Posts

Posted - 04/08/2011 :  04:30:31 AM  Show Profile  Visit neighborhood crime's Homepage  Send neighborhood crime an AOL message  Send neighborhood crime a Yahoo! Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Parkay

I really don't' understand how the rave scene or dance music scene got implemented and associated with the thing about "drugs".. Drugs are prevalent in EVERY SINGLE music culture, Jazz, Blues, Hiphop, Country, Rock..

Its like the government decided that the EDM music culture is something diff from the rest of the music world..

All the big musicians in almost every major genre of music have had an addiction of some form or another.. Not that it makes it acceptable.. But for christ sakes.. When is enough enough .. When is it time to stop blowing things out of proportion..

Some of the greatest musicians in the history of the world were all on some form of narcotics.. Weather it be synthetic, natural.. or just straight up crazy...




Names like "we r raging" doesn't help the publicity angle.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZgbH0MjIHY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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neighborhood crime
UUnet Guru

2012 Posts

Posted - 04/08/2011 :  04:51:28 AM  Show Profile  Visit neighborhood crime's Homepage  Send neighborhood crime an AOL message  Send neighborhood crime a Yahoo! Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Leila

glad to know that jon and i aren't the only ones who felt that way... after i read the article this morning & responded to her i felt like maybe we were being to critical... but knowing we aren't the only ones who feel it shouldv'e been more about the music and the current scene rather than the downfall of albany 10 years ago makes me feel better ;) lots of things have changed... we discussed that in our interview and were told we were the only ones who even addressed the drug aspect of the culture (you guys were interviewed later) yet the differences between then and now weren't even addressed. we were even shot down when we asked to read the article prior to it being published to decide if we even wanted to be in the pic... i really wish we had been more adamant about it tho because i don't want to be associated with the drug aspect of the culture & i feel the article does exactly that.


Media is meant for democrats getting more spending money for "special task forces" from "public outcry." Clinton years were a f*cking media blitz galore on "raves are bad." Democrats and media are a f*cking ploy for internal warfare. Shootings and gun issues are publicized more than is typical and media blows shit WAY OUT OF PROPORTION like ruby ridge and waco.

Sidenote:
Never do interviews with mass media during a democrat term

Conundrum:
The media blitz on the bad is what bolsters more people at the door.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZgbH0MjIHY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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DJinn
UUnet Guru

657 Posts

Posted - 04/08/2011 :  09:50:49 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Parkay

quote:
Originally posted by DJinn

Well to be fair, a lot of people @ EDM parties didn't use any kind of discretion. You can do what you want, just don't rub it in people's faces. When you have people ODing at parties and kids acting like fools and then going online and talking about it, it brings unnecessary attention.



I do agree w/ this statement.. Again.. Discreation is something people need to practice.. Im fine with people having fun but.. Be able to handle yourself..



Having said that, there are just as many drugs at ANY musical event save chrisitan rock, opera ect. I've been to metal shows where kids were dropping acid in the mosh pits. So there is truth in that EDM culture is a scapegoat for police pressure.

Originally posted by neighborhood crime[/i]

house music is for democrats and homosexuals.
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