Ok so I DJ'd at a rave last weekend, and we have a forum that we use to network and see whats going on. One of the sections is called Raviews. Its a place to comment on a party you went to.
I posted both the good and the bad and the promoter of the party who is a real douche bag tried to embarass me. Please read our dialogue and let me know, am I wrong? If so, how and why?
My review
My set got cut short, I was so into spinning that when I looked up I had no more packed basement, I thought I fucked up really bad, but I saw the bouncer and knew that the fun was over. Im just glad my fans came out to support me. Im glad I made new fans. Made new friends, made old friendships stronger. I really felt the vibe of a rave for the first time in a while, and it had nothing to do with the event itself. It was the people, not a packed venue, but I knew just about everyone there (or felt like I did <3). The sound in the bassment actually sounded awesome this time, thank you Audiophile for proving your namesake yet again. Dream-Master killed it!!! Hard Trance needs to be played later on in the evening.
Im going to voice an opinion, seeing at how its a review and all. Please take it as such.
The genres of music that are played need to be thought about more from a patrons point of view. The night should start softer, it makes me sad when hard hittting EDM is the opening genre and then we are assaulted with house music for the rest of it, with a dose of something hard in between. What really bothers me is that downstairs at the hook is always the hard hitting tracks of awesome, but it gets the worse sound? The hard stuff should be upstairs and the house/soft stuff should be downstairs. Why? Well all the couches are there, housey tracks dont mean dance your ass off, it means options, the bassment is about options. And seriously what is with the hook always shutting down the bassment early and closing outside early, that shit is so fucking stupid. Are promoters aware how gay that is? Or do they simply not care and just want to throw parties? Again, Im simply putting thoughts out there.
HIS RESPONSE
Turnout... 5/10 (looked into it seems like most people were at Fall Massive in Baltimore (which got shut down at 11pm))
DJS... 8.5/10
Vibe... 9/10
Lights... 10/10
Deco... 10/10
As far as the vibe... Promoting to the right people = that. If we had blasted out on hipster lists and booked hipster DJs, sure we'd have a packed venue, but a shitty vibe... This vibe was bringing the industrial and rave scenes together (20% vs 80%)... To say it was not the event is a false statement in my opinion.
As far as closing the outside early (which will happen at 2AM from now on)... The hook got new neighbors that like to call the cops if its too loud after a certain time... Closing outside VS people getting arrested and the party getting shut down? I'd choose closing outside.
As far as closing downstairs early... Yes I agree that is an issue; and for me at least it definitely bothers me a bit... But with a low turnout it was kind of pointless having 2 rooms with that little people... Hence my partners (not the clubs) decision to close downstairs.
As far as the set progression upstairs and down; we did book a lot of electro this time around, but to say Electro is soft is false. Trance, Tech House, Regular House, yes are soft. However I disagree that the set progression upstairs was off... We started off with Hard Trance (Not EDM, which in my opinion is more an industrial-like genre), then 2 hours of electro, then an hour of electro/industrial, into hardstyle/hardcore at peak hour, then taking it back to trancy electro for an hour, ending with psytrance... A bit weird... Yes. I'll go as far to say that you, a mostly hardstyle dj, just want more hardstyle on the main floor rather than actually are critiquing the set progression.
As far as pleasurehead not making it is concerned; he was on a cruise and thought he would be back in time; he was not... So Woog, and the other 2 people I met @ Junction upset about that : We are bringing him out Jan 1st (not at the hook!) for an event called Audible Genocide (done in coordination with East Coast Underground); you will have comps to that event.
As far as your knack to complain about every party you are booked... Fail dude! Posting an honest review is one thing; attacking set progression and the event is another.... You could of at least commented on the various awesome factors of the event (like most of the DJ sets, the amazing lighting, or the awesome decorations?) Especially after all the drama booking you in the first place. This Bridge = Burned. I understand its your opinion. This is just my opinion.
I mean as of now 3 people have booked you:
1. Myself
2. Carmelo (ECU) (we are basically tagging up on future events on now)
3. Norotek
Who else is out there throwing events in NYC?
1. Smoke - He might book you but he needs to see you spin.
2. Dali - He most likely won't book you.
3. Rob Rewind - I don't really see hardstyle @ his events; he more caters to the house crowd.
4. Sam Black - Throws hipster parties
5. Matt Cuba - Throws huge college events but doesn't really know rave djs.
I'll go as far to say that all of them would not book you again after a review like this. I've tried many times to explain this to you, you just are not getting it. Don't get me wrong I still like you as a person and consider you a friend of mine; but business wise I'm done with you.
MY RESPONSE
EDM = Electronic Dance Music which is what all the music last night was. ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC.
EBM = Electronic Body Music which is what is played at industrial/goth themed events. Audiophile and Shunt played some EBM, but it is still a form of EDM.
Based on the this information one can deduce that Hard Trance is in fact......wait for it......almost there...EDfuckingM!!!
where in my post did I mention EBM?
Where did I "attack" set progression?
Electro isnt soft? It can be dirty, but hard it is not. It averages 130 bpm.
I didnt play hardstyle at any events in a while. Ive spun Hardstyle for Norotek, everyone else Ive spun either electro, min/tech house, or hard techno. Check my soundcloud account out, must be another DJ Animus putting up non hardstyle mixes.
Did I say put more hardstyle DJ's upstairs? NOPE!!! If youre going to quote me, do so.
I said "The hard stuff should be upstairs and the house/soft stuff should be downstairs. Why? Well all the couches are there, housey tracks dont mean dance your ass off, it means options, the bassment is about options."
Make sure you burn your bridge with ECU since Carmello mentioned how there was too much electro at 2012 lol...
Why did I say that? "What really bothers me is that downstairs at the hook is always the hard hitting tracks of awesome, but it gets the worse sound?"
No one can argue that downstairs sounds better than upstairs. Impossible, its an echo chamber down their. Audiophile made a miracle happen and it sounded better than it normally does. Hey look at that I praised a DJ, omg...
Dream Master killed it...did you skip that part?
I didnt praise John Bas or Jen Mas OMG the sky is falling!!! We all know that those 2 always destroy the dance floor with their awesomeness. If said OMG john bas sucks because he didnt play twinkle twinkle little star, than yeah you might be onto something...
What about the part where I loved the vibe and how I made new friends and solidified old ones? I guess thats bashing the vibe.
I didnt comment on the lights or the deco, that DOESNT mean it was bad. I pointed out what I thought was really good and what I didnt like. I didnt bash anything. Why is it we are penalized for voicing opinions? Why am I being made the pariah here?
The drama behind booking me? WHAT?! Im used to getting paid for Junction. And besides Im not the one who called Slava an idiot for paying me. And you still owe me money from 2012 by the way.
Based on all this...how did I fail? Please explain, no really please explain.
Sorry for the long winded post, but this is not the first time he treats people like this. He is a crooked and corrupt promoter/party thrower, he is always looking to avoid paying people, comps multiple pages worth of women whom he will never sleep with and has ZERO respect for the rave scene. He is doing it so he can get out his multiple thousand dollar debt with the IRS. I want to end this guy, but the sheep refuse to listen. Ive gotten the support of a lot DJ's and fans, but no one will publicly take the fight to him. What do I do?
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