http://www.noizemag.com/index.php en ronn@spongeworks.com Copyright 2010 2010-04-26T18:54:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/dj_chus/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/dj_chus/ Fiercely proud of their Spanish roots, Chus + Ceballos have capitalized on a sound derived from their native land that has become their trademark. The native Madrileños are more than willing to bring their unique Iberian flair to dance floors and Circuit parties around the world. “Our sound is infectious and very contagious,” Chus says in a recent interview. “You can’t stop dancing for hours. The rhythm takes over your body and you enjoy yourself until the end. We love to see people enjoying themselves.” Chus + Ceballos define “Iberian Sound” as a “delicious blend of hypnotizing, warm, inviting tribal soundscapes laced with a brilliant use of modern tech elements.” This sound certainly integrates itself well into the renowned nightlife of the party island of Ibiza, where the two have become virtually the resident DJs. Picture watching the sunrise over the Mediterranean on a balmy summer morning after a night of dancing and you’ll have some idea of the groove. Chus emphasizes, however, that their Iberian Sound goes far beyond the small Balearic island that lures hordes of eager partygoers from around the world each summer: “It is the meeting point of two cultures; the Spanish and Portuguese with the solid influence of American house — similar, but at the same time different.” Chus’ Personal Journey Born in Madrid in 1971, Chus came of age during la movida madrileña. This cultural movement transformed Spanish society in the 1980s. Its primary movers and shakers were the young people who were especially eager to shake off the oppression during the long, dark years of the fascist Francisco Franco, who ruled for nearly 40 years after the Spanish Civil War. These disaffected youth finally found an outlet for their angst on the streets of Madrid. Directors Pedro Almódovar and Iván Zulueta, and fashion designer Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada were among the dozens of figures who emerged out of la movida. So did musicians such as the bands Alaska y los Pegamoides and Aviador Dro, which helped popularize electronica and experimental music in Madrid’s suddenly exploding club scene. It was under this backdrop — at the height of acid house’s popularity in the Spanish capital in the late 1980s — that Chus landed his first gig, at a club appropriately called Alien. Chus then took up a residency at Kadoc on the Algarve — the southernmost tip of Portugal and a tourist Mecca — in the summer of 1992. Two years later, he opened the seven-story Teatro Kapital disco in the heart of Madrid. Kapital, with its three dance floors, remains one of the Spanish capital’s most popular clubs. Chus stayed there as resident DJ for the next seven years, where he perfected his driving Latin-inflected dance music. Madrid’s nightlife is arguably the best in Europe. Most clubs don’t open their doors until midnight, but they don’t really get going until 2 or even 3 a.m. Several after-hour clubs allow Madrileños to keep the party going well into the morning. And it is not unknown to see weary clubgoers stumbling home after noon. Chus continues to find the capital’s vibrant nightlife a steady source of inspiration. “Madrid is my native city, and it is the perfect place to work,” Chus says. “It is near virtually every destination in the world — in the middle of Europe, near the United States, and near Asia. Strategically perfect!” The Algarve remains a second home for Chus, his wife and their eight-year-old daughter when he is not working, but his solo career has taken him to venues that range from ageHa in Tokyo to Peppermint in Dubai and Stereo in Montreal. He has remixed and collaborated on projects for Enrique Iglesias, Yoko Ono, Danny Tenaglia, Superchumbo and others. A Productive DJ Partnership Chus co-founded Stereo Productions in 2001 with Pablo Ceballos and Carlos Manaça. Chus + Ceballos began to collaborate a short time later. Chus + Ceballos have remixed tracks for Madonna, Deep Dish and Plastic Fantastic, as well as many other artists and producers. The duo, currently resident DJs at megaclubs Stereo, New York’s Pacha and Miami’s Space, headlined the Winter Music Conference in Miami this year and last. The duo has also done sets at Parking in Montreal and Cielo in New York. “Each place is different, and it has its own characteristics,” Chus notes. “As a result, I like to adapt my sessions to each place. I like it when I play several times in the same place, because each time I get to know the public better, and each time I am better adapted to the expectations of each crowd.” Circuit Popularity The Spanish magazine Deejay declared Chus + Ceballos the Best Tribal and Progressive DJs in 2007. Their ever-expanding body of work increasingly includes the gay party scene. Chus + Ceballos headlined the White Party in Palm Springs alongside the Freemasons and Moto Blanco on April 10, as well as Alegria in January. “We are heterosexuals but we are friends of the gay guys,” Chus says. “We love to spin for them, because they have a special sixth sense about music and how to have fun. They know how to enjoy themselves and appreciate our work in a very special manner.” Chus observed the dance scene is more or less the same around the world, but he did note some differences in the way gay men react to his sets. “Perhaps the only big difference between gays and straights is that when they go to a party they do it to have a good time and to dance for hours,” he notes. “Nothing is more important to them. Gay people are very musically educated, and they know the DJs and their sound very well. They are very exacting and they don’t conform to a particular thing. They are an audience of high quality, and as a result it puts us to the test constantly.” Fans can continue to keep tabs on Chus + Ceballos on their website (http://www.stereo-productions.com/monophone-dj-agency/chus-ceballos) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/chusceballos), or at Stereo Productions (http://www.stereo-productions.com). 2010-04-26T17:39:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/freemasons/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/freemasons/ “Why the Freemasons?” asks Jeffrey Sanker, rhetorically. Why a British duo sought after for their melodic and musically rich sound by the biggest names in the music industry to headline the White Party? We’ll let him explain it: “After last year’s 20th anniversary of the party, I wanted to break out of the same mold, take a different angle, get internationally known DJs. Everyone 25 and under kept saying, ‘Freemasons! Freemasons! Freemasons!’” Thusly does Sanker explain a decision that has rocked the Circuit world. By booking the hottest DJs/producers/remixers in the world right now, he has refashioned what defines a major American dance event. The British duo is at the top of their game—and at the top of the dance-music world. Since they burst on the scene with the definitive mash-up—the disco standard “This Time Baby” and Tina Turner’s “When the Heartache Is Over,” sung by Amanda Wilson—they have become the go-to guys for every first-name dance diva, from Shakira, Beyonce and Whitney to Heather Headley, Kelly Rowland and Kylie Minogue. They have also played every big house from Brussels to Melbourne, although they parse out their DJ gigs since it keeps them away from the studio, their real home. So what are these two mainstream DJs doing flying halfway across the world to spin at a Circuit party, even one as big as the White Party? It’s simple: We get their music. And they love us for it. “It is quite bizarre, two straight guys making music really embraced by the gay community,” said James Wiltshire, half of the Freemasons (along with Russell Small) during a recent London interview. “But we’re much more able to play what we’ve created with you guys. You’re much more accepting to vocals.” For other gigs, the crowd wants to hear underground sounds, the thump-thump of tribal. That’s not Wiltshire and Small’s style. “We love playing gay parties!” James says. It’s not only the diva anthems—although that’s a large part of it. “When we walk into a gay party, we can play the music we made. If we’re playing another party, we’ve got to play a lot of underground; but we do want to play what we make.” Last summer, the Freemasons played their first East Coast gig for the Saint at Large. The concert, held on Governor’s Island off the coast of Lower Manhattan, was a big success and introduced the Freemasons to their base of gay American fans. It also let us take a look and listen to the group that produces so much of the music we’ve been dancing to lately. According to party veterans Mark Thompson and Robert Doyle, the crowd really “went crazy and stayed that way” once the Freemasons took over the booth. “With smoke billowing and red lights flashing, Freemasons took over—and right from the start, the boyz were whooping it up and bouncing all over the asphalt, working it out, shaking it down, so that when the Freemasons really hit their stride with remixes of ‘Love on My Mind,’ ‘Sexual Healing,’ ‘Déjà Vu,’ ‘Just Can’t Get Enough,’ ‘Lola’s Theme,’ ‘When Doves Cry,’ ‘Rain Down Love,’ ‘If I Were a Boy,’ and ‘Ring the Alarm,’ the floor was filled with boyz who were dancing, really dancing,” Thompson and Doyle wrote on EdgeNewYork.com. White Party Posse Although they have previously played one relatively small (non-gay) party in San Francisco, the White Party really marks their West Coast debut—certainly their West Coast gay debut and their first major U.S. Circuit party. Previously, they headlined Sydney Mardi Gras, Melbourne and Auckland, New Zealand. Jeffrey Sanker, the impresario of the Palm Springs weekend-long extravaganza, certainly has taken to heart the rumblings that the Circuit needs a shake-up from the usual roster. Having decided on the Freemasons, he spoke to their manager, who had to rearrange their schedule. “That tells me they really wanted to do it,” he said. With their U.S. work visa expiring at the end of April, the timing was perfect. Although they will headline the White Party, the weekend will also feature a cast of Circuit all-stars. Manny Lehman is the lead-in for the Freemasons at the main event, while another European sensational crossover duo, Spain’s Chus+Ceballos, play the after-party. With the U.K.’s Wayne G and Moto Blanco playing the Sunday Tea Dance, this White Party is a truly international affair. It’s all part of Sanker’s plan to mix up the playlist between new talent well known to the rest of the world but new to Circuit boys, and favorites like Abel, Lehman, Brett Henrichsen, Tony Moran and Joe Gauthreaux. With wild card Chi Chi LaRue, New York’s up-and-comer Scotty Thomson and Luke Johnstone, this promises to be musically the most interesting White Party yet.   Still, Sanker has been picking up the vibe that the anticipation is riding especially high from the thousands of attendees to hear the Freemasons. Playing earlier in the night fits perfectly with the hands-in-the-air songs that they have made their trademark. One of the big questions looming over their set is whether they will mix in other artists’ and arrangers’ work or limit themselves to their own handicraft. Considering their voluminous output, a long evening could easily be comprised of nothing but those sounds composed, produced, remixed or at least mashed-up from the Freemasons themselves. Sanker, for one, expects and hopes that they play their own music, if not exclusively, than for the bulk of the set. “Their music fits the evening perfectly,” the L.A.-based promoter said. The Current State of Dance Music On their end, they happily fess up to enjoying what they make and wanting to share the upbeat tempos, feisty lyrics and musical ornamentation. “It’s certainly heavy with our stuff,” James says of their infrequent club gigs. “But, yeah, we play other stuff as well.” The duo does always manage to bring all new mash-ups and production numbers to wherever they’re playing. They are anticipating introducing a song from Sophie Ellis-Bextor, a British singer not well known in America—yet. The most important thing for them is to play off the energy of the crowd. These are not DJs-as-gods, who sit perched on a turntable Olympus, deciding what kind of mood to bestow up on the dance floor. “We’re fairly conscious of what’s going on,” James says. “But every crowd is different.” The Freemasons are optimistic about the current state of dance music. James remembers the days not so very long ago when progressive House provided hardly any chord progression at all. “Russell and I carry on with what we want to do: melody! Others can do tribal; they do it better than we can, anyway.” Above all, he sees the function of a DJ is to use his music to bring people together to express their emotions collectively. That’s one of the reasons why Russell and James are so well known for looking at each other in the booth. They’re both responding to and enjoying the feelings emanating from the crowd. As for Sanker, he is fully cognizant that the big-name talent this year will be in the DJ booth. If there is any entertainment at the main event in Palm Springs, it certainly will be lower key than last year’s appearance by Lady Gaga. “This year, it’s all about the music,” he said. “Friends from Sydney told me how amazing they were there—crowds of tens of thousands of boys, hands in the air the whole time. That’s what I want to bring here.” 2010-02-13T06:35:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/dj_spotlight_ana_paula/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/dj_spotlight_ana_paula/ Like a fireworks display during Carnaval in her native Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian Ana Paula has exploded on the U.S. gay party scene. In this, her first English-language profile, the gorgeous groovemistress gives it up for noiZe. Usually, DJs work their way slowly, ever so slowly, up the greasy pole, from local bars to small parties, to larger parties. Eventually, if they’re ambitious, creative and talented enough, they attract a following. Once in a while, however, a DJ seems to burst on the scene like a supernova. Two years ago, if you told someone Ana Paula was spinning a party, you’d get a blank stare. No more. From her gigs with Brett Henrichsen in Los Angeles and Peter Rauhofer, to stints at New York’s Splash, Paula has become a regular fixture on the Circuit. To crown her success stateside, she’ll be headlining the 2010 Winter Party’s main event on the beach. The Carioca (native-born Rio resident) began her passion for music as a child. Growing up in Rio means being happily surrounded by beats—samba, bossa nova, conga. “I’ve always been surrounded by music and groove,” she tells noiZe. “I was a different kind of kid because I used to listen to music 24/7. I had all kinds of tapes and records, like Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones, Madonna, Duran Duran, George Michael, Illusion-Imagination.” While still in her teens, she would run away to partake of the very active local club scene, which is where she first came in contact with the genre that would become her passion, House. Her career began in the way a lot of DJs did back in the day when radio playlists ruled the recording industry here in the States—and still do in other parts of the world. A producer named Meme discovered her and she was invited to have her own radio show. It didn’t take long for her to become the radio station’s most popular on-air DJ. From Brazil to Beyond Building on that fan base, she received her initiation into the gay party world with X-Demente, which she calls “a watershed event in Brazilian gay Circuit party history. Being there made me work at always being prepared for all kinds of crowds,” she adds, “and that made me go to all the sides and tastes of House music.” The X-Demente parties proved to be a nurturing environment where she could work out her own sound and where she learned how to connect to a crowd. From there, she moved over to the West Side Club, a Rio mainstay, where she was a resident DJ for five years. From there, she began spinning throughout Brazil and then began her conquest of the rest of Latin America. Her first gigs outside of that part of the globe were in the newly hot club scene in Israel’s port city. “Steffen Schappert and Offer Nissim invited me to play in Tel Aviv,” she recalls. After playing the Middle East and Europe, she was ready for America. Her first North American gig was, not surprisingly, in Montreal, at the 2007 DiversCité celebration. House, Cariocan Style Along the way, she constructed the distinctive style that has propelled her to stardom here. Her samba-inflected House mixes sounds for an infectious upbeat rhythm-dominated set. In the last decade, she has managed to work with DJs who each, in his or her own way, has influenced her own playlist and style. “I listen to them and they inspire me to work hard and to connect more and more with people,” she says. She resists labels like “straight” and “gay.” Her music, she says, is for everyone. Although she approaches every gig on its own terms, she also doesn’t arrive with any preconceived notions. It’s that sense of fun that has enabled her to spin, all within a few weeks, Peter Rauhofer’s hard-driving “Work” one night after Parking in Montreal and two weeks before “Rapido” in Amsterdam. She remains close with family members, who have always encouraged her chosen field. Her mom, in fact, gave her her first set of DJ equipment. When she’s not traveling the world, she likes to spend time at home, where she relaxes with her friends just watching TV and—this is Rio we’re talking about—going to the beach, a pastime that has given her that amazing tan. She also plays sports—not surprising if you look at that bodacious build—and videogames. Paula has signed with Rauhofer’s *69 label and plans to begin some remixing projects. In the meantime, fans can keep up with her on her Myspace page and DJAnaPaula.com, which lists her upcoming gigs and her compilation CDs. 2009-10-31T16:14:17+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/mark_anthony/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/mark_anthony/ He’s best known as the DJ who helped build up Black & Blue from a tiny gathering of friends into the super-event that it is today. But Mark Anthony has long been a mover and shaker on the Montreal club scene. There’s no irony in a straight DJ being the impresario who has helped make this Canadian city the gay nightlife capital of North America: He readily and happily confesses to enjoying playing to a gay crowd. “It’s the gay crowd that made me who I am today,” he says. “That is the crowd I prefer to play. I prefer gay because I get to be more me. In a straight venue, they want it a little harder. It’s a whole different vibe. I’ve always been more comfortable in the gay scene. “When you’re playing a gay venue, it’s more vocals,” he adds. “They love their divas, and so do I. I’m a song kind of guy. I have a preference for vocals. In a gay venue, I play vocals, whether I’m in Provincetown, New York or Miami.” In a way, Anthony came to his signature sound of “big room” vocals from a journey that’s the opposite of many of today’s signature-name DJs, who moved from vocals to a tribal, drum-and-bass percussion-oriented playlist. He began in his teens scratching as the DJ for a rap group. From there, he developed an interest in House music. He worked with a handful of promoters to transform Montreal from a sleepy city in a once-conservative Catholic province to the powerhouse it is today. He began making trips to New York to absorb the hip hop scene. It was there that he discovered the old Sound Factory and Sound Factory Bar, where Frankie Knuckles, the godfather of House, ruled the turntables. For the young up-and-comer, it was a revelation. He returned to Montreal and, with local gay club pioneer Pierre Viens, proceeded to help remake the clubs along Saint-Laurent Boulevard. He started at a club called Mekano and moved on to places sprouting up and down the Ste.-Catherine corridor in the gay Le Village-legendary venues like Garage (later Mars l’Alternathéque), the Bronx, Joy, and Sex Garage. Then, in 1991, he was invited to headline Black & Blue, which is what brought him to a larger North American audience. “I was in the right place at the right time,” he reflects. “I was producing a lot of events myself, several warehouse parties so that I could play the music I liked, get the music out there.” Right after Black & Blue, he established a residency at Playground, Montreal’s first legal afterhours club. Not long after that came Stereo, and the rest, as they say, is history. Playing the Circuit The U.S. beckoned, and Anthony answered. He has played many of the major Circuit events, from Miami to Los Angeles and points in between. These days, as the father of two young children (he has a daughter, Cozette, and a son, Massimo), he finds himself less inclined to travel, although some gigs still do manage to tempt him out of town, such as the Provincetown Airport during the huge Fourth of July weekend earlier this summer. Along with his wife and business partner, Sandra Jean-Bart, he’s been working on several fronts. He has established himself for innovative remixes. Unlike many DJs who content themselves with tinkering with other people’s songs, Anthony is that rare breed who actually makes original music. With his wife, the two have their own band, Lectroluxe (along with some session musicians). They have been busy in Anthony’s Montreal studio creating ambient music-not the Brian Eno “music for airports” stuff; downtempo, yes, but very, very danceable. He favors original music to compilation CDs, although his discography includes well-received compilations under the Circuit Sessions, Global Groove, Circuit Party and, of course, Black & Blue monikers. Original productions date back to the early ‘90s. He’s now putting out a slew of Lectroluxe songs on the local Dark Panties label, which also has produced DJ Oren Nizri and local chanteur, Derick H. Regardless of where he’s spinning, Anthony sees the DJ’s responsibility to get people dancing over making an artistic statement. That’s one reason why he favors vocals over tribal beats. “A beat all night long gets boring,” he says. “I understand what those DJs are trying to do, but today, the accessibility of different genres from the Internet has made it possible to play so many sounds. Why play one when you can blend them together?” Playing the Big Events As someone who’s most closely associated with Black & Blue, Anthony is one DJ who knows the difference between an intimate club setting and a stadium-sized crowd. “When you play a large venue, you have to please a larger audience,” he says. “That forces you to look at the big picture.” Black & Blue actually allows him to be more experimental. The length of the party, the near 50-50 crowd mix of gay-straight, and the mammoth size all mean that he has to do more for more within the timeframe of a limited set. “That’s where I can introduce both crowds to new sounds,” he says. “For the straight crowd, that means more vocals; for the gay crowd, techier stuff. B&B is where I can really have fun. When people come to B&B, they want to hear a different sound; they know they’re not going to hear the typical Circuit stuff.” For this year’s Black & Blue, Anthony has ceded the main event to others. Instead, he’ll be playing the Military Ball the night before. It’s an upbeat party that perfectly suits his style of music. This summer also sees him returning to another of his favorite events, Montreal Pride. For the past few years, he’s been headlining a giant party in a city park. Although the crowd can expect vocals, he always throws in a few sounds to the mix to keep people’s ears perked. “It’s always hard when people ask me my style,” he says. “I push the envelope. There are a lot of DJs out there, and they are known for a sound. I just try to be different.” Today, he says, there are so many different kinds of music available. Just as the recording industry imploded, the explosion of the Internet allowed niche artists to get their work out there. He cites some of the “amazing” techno that’s being released right now as indicating a renaissance for a genre that was in danger of going stale. At the same time, the Circuit itself has been changing, evolving into … what? No one knows yet, but Anthony will undoubtedly be there. “The younger crowd is always into newer music,” he notes. “Maybe there are less big parties, but the scene is doing well. People will always be dancing.”  2009-07-29T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/quentin/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/quentin/ Some people are destined for greatness. With talent and drive, they accomplish things that others can only dream of. People like Quentin Harris. As one of today’s most respected producers and DJs, Harris maintains a hectic travel schedule that spans the globe while working with artists like Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, and Jennifer Hudson. Making music is something that Quentin Harris was born to do, and he spreads his joy to people on dance floors all over the world. “Music was around me everywhere,” at his parents’ or grandmother’s, Quentin Harris says of his childhood growing up in Detroit. “From Ray Charles to classical—everything,” Quentin says. “We heard it all. I think that’s why I have such an eclectic mindset.” His father and younger brother played trumpet; his mother played violin, cello, and French horn; his grandmother played piano; and his older sister sang in the church choir. So it’s no surprise that Quentin developed quite a penchant for music. When he was only five, he taught himself to play piano. Quentin didn’t have formal training until he was 12, when he was already playing Bach and Beethoven. Clearly a prodigy, he went through three piano teachers, because they kept making him play elementary pieces. After his grandfather died, Quentin came across his father’s old beat-up trumpet from high school. His father bought him a trumpet of his own, and the two would have competitions. “Anything you can play, I can play better,” his father would say to motivate the young musician. They would play together; that is, until Quentin started to surpass him in skill level. “And he kindly put his trumpet down,” Quentin recalls, with a laugh. When he was 13, his father bought him his first set of turntables. Unlike most kids his age, Quentin never wanted toys for Christmas or birthdays, but instead asked for records, radios, or other electronics. It was also around this time that he entered the recording studio. His uncle, who had a hip-hop group, would bring Quentin along to play keyboard lines on the synthesizers during their sessions. Before long, Quentin was telling the group what to do and directing them musically. “I didn’t realize,” he says now, “at the time, what I was doing was being a producer.” By the time he started high school, Quentin was picking up other brass instruments with ease. He joined the orchestra and jazz band, and was even assigned a project where he had to score and arrange the parts for the whole school band. Quentin played keyboards in his own band as well, where he started experimenting with the sounds of hip-hop and R&B—before they had truly emerged on the scene. “It's always been my mentality, even to this day,” Quentin explains. “I'm always looking forward and thinking ahead.” Growing up in Detroit in the ‘80s, Quentin was heavily influenced by the sounds of pop and techno, which originated in the Motor City. He was glued to the radio. “Radio was very different when I was growing up,” he recalls. “The actual DJ was a DJ and not just a radio personality.” Hearing such influences as Prince and Michael Jackson as well as the electronic stylings of bands like Kraftwerk helped to shape the ear of the budding producer. “I guess it made me who I am today musically,” he says. Motor City to NYC & Back Again After high school, Quentin started taking trips to New York. “That’s really when I got the bug,” says Harris. “It was everything I liked that was being played in the clubs in Detroit, but on a bigger scale. I knew this was where I needed to be.” The first DJ he heard in New York was Junior Vasquez. “It was mind-blowing because I had never heard records played like that before,” he recalls. “He took records and made them sing. He took records that I heard a lot and presented them in a new light to me—manipulating them, mixing them in a certain way, bringing them in and out, playing with people’s heads with music.” The second New York DJ that really opened up Harris was Timmy Regisford of Shelter fame: “He was just relentless. I never heard any spaces; I never heard any pauses; I never heard any breaks.” Back in Detroit, Harris started working with Michael J. Powell, who produced Anita Baker’s three Grammy award-winning albums. He freelanced at Powell’s studio as a session musician for such artists as Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle. Harris got even more heavily involved with hip-hop, playing at open mic nights at The Hip-Hop Shop on 7 Mile in Detroit, where he met many of the emerging heavy hitters of the hip-hop scene, including Eminem and many of the other characters made famous by the film 8 Mile. “The music scene in Detroit is very small, and I’ve had the pleasure of learning from and working with a lot of great people,” Quentin states. “But I always knew that, in order for me to actually do what I had to do, I couldn’t do it and still live in Detroit. I guess this may be my competitive nature, but I needed to be where everything was.” Quentin was offered the position of touring DJ with The Masterminds, a local group for whom he had produced a number of tracks. After touring for a while, he moved permanently: “I literally took two suitcases—one full of records, one full of clothes—and got on a plane with a one-way ticket to New York.” He started by working at Satellite Records, where he met many of the movers and shakers in the New York music scene. Among them was a manager, Marvin Howell, who assessed Quentin’s talent by giving him a CD full of a cappellas, which included the track “Ready for Love” by an artist named India.Arie. The remix that Quentin did of the song ended up in the hands of Timmy Regisford, who liked it so much that he asked to have a meeting with him. “That was the door opening,” says Quentin. Quentin considers his big break, however, to be the remix he did of Donnie’s “Cloud 9.” He gave the record to Regisford who liked the record so much that he played it twelve times in one night. “That was the record that started the whirlwind,” says Harris. “There was such demand for it. Everybody was clamoring for it, everyone wanted it, and no one could get it. It was crazy.” Quentin followed the underground success of “Cloud 9” with his epic remix of Mariah Carey’s “Don’t Forget About Us,” a 13-minute track that demonstrated Harris’ virtuosic production talents—and the track that catapulted him onto the gay scene. In 2005, his original track, “Let’s Be Young,” gave him widespread recognition across Europe, and his reinterpretation of the Leela James classic, “My Joy,” has become legendary. He also produced a remake of the ‘90s After 7 hit “Can’t Stop” with Jason Walker, which was recently nominated for an International Dance Music Award (IDMA) for Best House/Garage Track of 2008. Keeping the Dance Floor Guessing The records, although all produced by Harris, are all sonically different. “I do whatever I feel works with the song. I've never been able to confine myself to one sound, and I've always experimented with music and meshing things together. Just like if you hear me DJ, you’ll hear all different kinds of things. My music has always been like that.” At a time when music is so accessible, and everyone is calling himself a DJ (including iTunes), it can be challenging for an artist with Harris’ musical background and talent. Promoters looking at the bottom line might be more inclined to hire a local iPod DJ to spin Top 40 because they feel that’s what the crowd wants. Harris counters that someone had to play Britney, Whitney, and Madonna for the first time when they were still unknowns. He believes his job as a DJ, “first and foremost, is to entertain; then you have to inform the people and educate them.” He strives for balance in his playlists. If you hear Madonna in a club, you should also hear an unknown artist that you’ve never heard of. He believes that today’s DJs don’t take enough risks, especially since the average partygoer can download almost anything from such sites as Masterbeat.com and Beatport. “It goes back to making the record say something,” he comments. Harris sees his job as finding the good stuff and using the most up-to-date technology to spin it in unique ways—just as he heard Junior Vasquez and Timmy Regisford all those years ago. Harris himself enjoys a huge international following. He travels extensively to London, Frankfurt, Ibiza, and points beyond, including exotic locations like Estonia and South Africa. If you check out his numerous clips on YouTube, you can see how the crowds overseas idolize Harris like a rock star. They stare up at the DJ booth like he’s spinning straw into gold. He credits his success to his production work. Although Harris has been making records for years, however, he just recently released his debut album, No Politics, on Strictly Rhythm. In addition to his recent hit “Can’t Stop” with Jason Walker, the disc also includes tracks featuring Colton Ford, Monique Bingham, and Byron Stingily. Harris has also collaborated with House legend Ultra Naté and is currently working on an album with her. He is also putting together his second album, exploring new sounds to incorporate. If you listen to some of his latest tracks on his MySpace page, you can hear some rock elements blended with his trademark House beats. “Like Grace Jones said,” Quentin comments, “give them what they’re not expecting.” Harris is also exploring the art of songwriting—the one area he has yet to conquer. He’d like to write his own material so that this next album can be a bit more personal. “I feel like I have a lot to say,” he says. “I can make you a fierce track, I can give you a fierce remix, I can produce you a fierce song, but I don’t write songs.” Not yet; Harris’ drive and musical talent will likely produce some future dance classics. Although only in his 30s, in some ways Quentin Harris is an old soul. His music, though fresh and new, harkens back to the classic House sounds of the past. This is certainly just the beginning of a very long journey for this prodigy; Quentin Harris is sure to make beautiful music for years to come. We should consider ourselves lucky, for his music brings not only him, but all of us, joy. See Quentin’s upcoming tour schedule and discography on his website at quentinharris.com, and hear some of his tracks on his MySpace page at myspace.com/quentinharris. 2009-04-30T00:12:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/boris/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/boris/ When Stephen Pevner heard Boris spin at Crobar in 2004, he must have felt like the prince slipping the glass pump on Cinderella’s foot. With his dark and driving beats, sexy vibe, and pulsing energy, the New York-based DJ seemed like the perfect match for the world-famous Black Party. As head of the Saint at Large, the organization producing the party, Pevner is always on the lookout for a breakout DJ who will help keep his main event on the cutting edge. Unfortunately for him, however, the glass slipper fit too tightly. Boris has always faced a conflict of interest, as the Winter Music Conference in Miami fell simultaneously with the Saint at Large’s New York party. This year, finally, WMC is being held the weekend following the annual bacchanal. Boris will be making his debut at the Roseland Ballroom for the famed fetish-and-flesh festival, and both he and Pevner hope the shoe fits. This will be Boris’ first time spinning a mega-gay party, but it certainly won’t be his last: Just a few months after playing BP, he will be headlining World|Vibe Orlando, an event being produced by Mark Baker over Memorial Day Weekend. This amazing weekend of parties will be the kick-off to summer, with events spanning the resort city, from Walt Disney World to Universal Studios. Go to http://www.worldvibeorlando.com for more information. Make no mistake: Boris is no little princess. (Nor is he a queen; the Russian- born Brooklynite plays for the other team.) Boris helms the ship at Pacha New York, one of Manhattan’s largest venues, and is known for his hard-hitting power House style. He can hypnotize a dance floor with his trancelike rhythms and tribal drums and shake things up with his massive build-ups and explosive energy. Just the right ingredients for Black Party. “I know what to expect, obviously,” Boris tells noiZe. “I know it’s a little more out there, it’s a little more hardcore.” Although he has never attended Black Party himself, Boris knows some of the DJs who have played the party in the past and has friends who attend every year. Also, when Pevner first started talking to Boris about it a couple years ago, he invited the DJ to his office to watch Schwarzwald, the Saint at Large’s documentary about the legendary party. The film, heralded as “the movie you can dance to,” features a soundtrack consisting solely of music from the event and footage from the 2006 Black Party with transsexual porn star Buck Angel as the master of ceremonies. The movie leaves little to the imagination, to say the least. But that doesn’t faze Boris in the slightest. “It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me,” he says matter-of-factly. In fact, he’s excited about joining Eddie Elias and Junior Vasquez on the roster for this year’s event. He’s been in the studio working on special edits for his set: “records that have been famous in the past” reworked and reimagined, Boris- style. One new track the crowd at Roseland will be hearing is his new mix of Kim English’s “Unspeakable Joy,” which he’ll be debuting that night. The boyz in the Ballroom might also hear some of the tracks off of Boris’ latest compilation CD, Believe in Me, released this past September on *69 Records. This double-CD contains a “2am” and “5am” disc that each showcase what you might hear at that particular time on a typical Saturday night at Pacha. The compilation contains tracks by such artists as Oscar G., Plasmic Honey, and Ralph Falcon as well as two collaborations by DJ Chus. The first, “Stay Together,” features DJ Chus vs. Jerome Isma-Ae, and the other pairs Chus & Vibe for the track “Amtrak.” The original “Is Everybody Tweakin” by Boris is included as well as a Carlos Fauvrelle remix of the track. Also part of the package are “Breaks 2008,” an old Arthur Baker record that Boris remade and his mix of Laura Kidd’s “Automatic,” lauded as one of the biggest global hits of the year. Boris became the resident DJ at Pacha in 2006, after spending three years at Crobar, where his career really took off. During his residency at Crobar, Boris would regularly fill the 30,000-square- foot space, and holds the all-time attendance record at the megaclub with 5,400 attendees—a feat noted in Club Systems as one of the Top 100 moments in club history. Boris got his big break in 1998, when he became the resident at the Roxy, where he did a huge party on Friday nights called “Big Fridays.” It went for two years and “was one of the more legendary straight parties of this era,” according to Boris. He has also held residencies at Exit, Limelight, and Spirit. Though Boris typically attracts a straight crowd, he’s no stranger to the gay scene. His first gay gig was playing years ago at Warsaw in Miami, where he spun a monthly party on Wednesday nights as well as a White Party event there one year. It was at Crobar where fans began to “believe.” Michael David, who ran lights for the club, started displaying the words “Believe in Boris” on a red ticker sign that ran under the DJ booth. The phrase caught on, and before long fans were making t-shirts emblazoned with the statement. It has since become Boris’ branding: his two earlier compilation CDs (both on Moist Music) are titled Believe and Believe II, and his latest is Believe in Me. 2009-04-21T18:21:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/patrick_guay/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/patrick_guay/ If Patrick Guay seems to have a special knack for getting the guys dancing, it could be that he comes to DJing from a background as a professional dancer and choreographer. After establishing himself as a rising star in the hothouse atmosphere of Montreal’s club scene, the good-looking Quebecois is poised to break out onto the international Party Circuit.  The secret to his success lies in his twin loves of music (especially classic house) and dance. His performances on the stage for huge scale events like those at Black & Blue have profoundly influenced his DJ style, giving him a flair for the theatrical. “The point is to give it back to the crowd,” he says. Directing groups of people as a choreographer “takes practice and dedication,” he explains. “The same goes when I’m making people dance on the floor.“ Guay as DJ directs the people on the dance floor using feelings and emotion in the tracks he chooses. Patrick began dancing when he was 17, in 1990; two years later, he was part of a professional troupe and began choreographing routines. His introduction to Montreal’s vibrant nightlife began a year after that, when he hit clubs like the legendary KOX and Groove Society. “In those days, there was a high emphasis on décor, dance, drag queens, intense visuals, and house music,” he says. “Up until then we were using pop, hip hop and R&B in our choreography. With the discovery of house music it showed a whole new perspective offered to me. I saw huge potential to start to produce dance shows to this type of music, but my first big problem was how to get the certain pieces of music that I wanted because I wasn’t a DJ. So I started shopping for music.” From there, it was a learning curve. How the heck do you mix the two or three songs for one choreographed dance number? That’s when he met Eric Laporte, also known as Little Eric. Patrick would direct Little Eric in the mixing and editing of the musical montages to be used for his shows. Sitting next to Eric at his mixer, Patrick caught the DJ bug. Two years later, he was mixing his own soundtracks. From there, he bought his first mixer and two turntables. Last year Patrick marked his tenth anniversary as one of the choreographers of Bad Boy Club, the producing organization behind Black & Blue, Wet & Wild, Twist and other major local events. And in 2003, he made his debut as a DJ at Church, spearheaded by Montreal promoter Stephane Prince. It helped to be located in Montreal, which has become the party capital of North America. As the world’s largest freshwater port, the island city is a crossroads of currents, from Great Britain, Europe, Latin America and the United States. “Each of those styles are very specific,” he notes. “In Montreal, we take what we like from all of them, and that enables us to evolve and expand our horizons.” The cosmopolitan nature of the music scene is reflected in the clubs, where gay and straight mix more easily than anywhere else on the continent—along with their DJs and musical styles. Thanks to his present monthly residence at Parking, Patrick has had the opportunity to interact with an array of top talent, including Israel’s Offer Nissim, Brazil’s Ana Paula, and the U.S.’s Manny Lehman. Now, Patrick is planning a full-on assault on the United States. He’s already played Ptown, but, he says, “I’m anxious to bring a new wave of freshness to the Circuit, to show off the ‘Montreal Circuit Sound.’” He’s also looking at far more distant shores, like Sao Paulo, Rio, London and—his personal dream job—anywhere in Australia. Although he keeps body and soul together moonlighting as an accountant, he manages to squeeze in six hours every week buying music. As a dedicated house DJ, he loves vinyl, rare as it may be. He doesn’t want to be typecast, however; he can vary a set from deep house to progressive after-hours, from tribal to diva anthems. But he draws the line at dropping the lyrics: “It’s sad that vocals are all but gone in minimal and electro music,” he complains. “Vocals are the only human thing left in music since computers took over.” He waxes hot over the “warmth of the human voice, to feel the sensations. Thank God vocals are coming back! The dance floor is always more full with vocals. The reaction is always stronger,” he says. “Sometimes, you hear the crowd singing the song—and it’s so cool!” As someone with hands-on experience in the performing arts, Patrick prides himself on being able to “read” the dance floor based on the crowd’s reactions. “I love to see them happy and smiling,” he says. “They send me energy, and it’s a constant feedback.” Often, he records his sets, then listens back and critiques them. He’s especially looking forward to his first compilation CD—“when my turn comes, all in good time.” And after that? Production. He also credits his dance background with an ability to hear all the sounds in a song, as well as a firsthand knowledge and analysis of music. In the end, what he’s really doing is enabling the crowd to experience the exhilaration of a professional dancer on stage; that is, dance as the physical expression of the innermost emotions. “Dance helps you understand the feeling of a song, to uncover the emotion hidden behind that creation,” he opines. “Choreography is the physical manifestation of music, and the DJ permits all those who are not dancers to dance, to express themselves to their favorite music.” Visit http://www.patrickguay.com for a special noiZe download mix and upcoming play dates.  2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/micky_friedmann/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/micky_friedmann/ One of the joys of editing noiZe is introducing top new talent to the gay dance community. Meet Micky Friedmann. This Israeli native, now based in Berlin, not only is talented, but his ear for sounds, how they mesh and how to get songs to talk to each other recalls the Old School DJing of Larry Levan or Little Louis Vega. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also drop-dead gorgeous and, in a business full of (unearned) diva attitude, a genuinely nice guy. It’s a combination that guarantees success, as his star continues to rise in the international club firmament. A “sabra” (native of Israel), Friedmann’s father taught genetics and his mother owned a boutique in Jerusalem, his hometown. Friedmann loved music from an early age. His parents encouraged his interest and enrolled him in a dance school, where he excelled. After a stint in the Israeli Armed Forces, he became a ballet dancer and a highly sought model. If you flipped through the high-fashion glossies a few years back, you probably saw his sculpted face and chiseled bod staring out from the editorial pages or ads for products designed to make you look like him. It was an offer to become a soloist with the prestigious Berlin Ballet in 1998 that led to his move to the German capital—which, not incidentally, has become the club capital of Europe. That was also the year he decided to buy a pair of used turntables and started spinning at home, “just for me, for fun,” he says. But it was at the Palm Springs White Party that he came to the attention of a man who would change his life. Friedmann was with a friend, dancing to the music of Junior Vasquez when the master mixer spotted him. “He came down with a bottle of water and asked me if we would like to dance for his Pride party at Spirit,” in New York, Friedmann recalls. The two stayed in touch via emails, and he traveled to Fire Island to hear Vasquez. When he asked Vasquez whether he should take the plunge and make a 180-degree turn in his career path, the man who learned his craft at the feet of Larry Levan told the Israeli-German, “You are a talented kid, go for it.” And he did. For the past 10 years, he’s kept busy spinning at Europe’s largest clubs, with residencies in Hamburg, Cologne and Amsterdam as well as Berlin. Now 37, he’s happily in a relationship and happy when he’s home in Berlin. His music is happy, too: sexy-happy. He describes his music as “sexy house—music that makes people feel sexy. We all know how sexual the dance floor has become nowadays. Hot bodies, sweaty skin, searching eyes. I spin music that fits that atmosphere. “It’s really easy to put on Deborah Cox, then mix in some Britney,” he adds. “Anyone can do that. But, when I go into a club or party, my goal is to introduce music that has a different edge, something new that has depth to it. I love diva anthems, but a DJ has an educational task to bring new sounds to the dance floor and make people think as they dance.” An International House Style Micky Friedmann incorporates several styles into his sets: tech house, vocal house, electro-house—their only requisite that underlying, propulsive beat that distinguishes house music. Along with Vasquez, Friedmann cites a potpourri of contemporary DJs as influences, including Victor Calderone, Ismael Rivas, D.O.N.S., Tom Novy, Danny Tenaglia, Pablo Ceballos (of Chus and …) and his fellow Israeli, Offer Nissim, a favorite since his earliest clubbing days in Tel Aviv. “I used to go every Friday to hear him spin,” he says. “Offer is a huge producer of music that brings a touch of Israeli soul to the dance floor. These days, when I play a track of Offer’s, I feel like I am bringing a piece of home with me.” Friedmann isn’t shy, however, about his preference for American-produced music. The Europeans, he complains, like their music in degrees of hard, harder and hardest—mostly techno, trance and very deep house. Maybe that’s why he’s gravitated to the U.S. His first gig stateside was at New York’s Splash only a year ago, September 7, 2007. That quickly led to big changes: gigs around the country, from Provincetown to San Francisco; and a chance meeting with his future rep, George Dellinger, one of the top DJ managers. This year, he’s playing both the New York and Berlin Hustlaballs; the Berlin version of the love-for-sale celebration has grown to one of the biggest gay events (if not the biggest) in a city known for big-room events and street-filling dance festivals like the Love Parade. Playing a party like Hustlaball involves a different vibe and another set of records from a dance bar like Splash: “I play a completely different set when playing to a crowd coming to a party so sexually oriented. The music must also represent that dark kind of sensual vibe these events have.” Unsurprisingly for someone whose music and whole demeanor are so frankly sexy and sexual, Friedmann would love to play a Black Party. But don’t pigeonhole him: He’d be as happy at a White or Winter or Alegria. Staying True to His Art Friedmann considers himself a professional and an artist. He also knows that he hasn’t been hired to impose an artistic vision from on high but to get people off their butts and onto the dance floor. As someone who worked for years in controlling his muscular body to move to music, he understands that the essence of dancing is expressing emotions through music—and the importance people attach to physical beauty. So he’s frankly realistic about the fact that when he’s spinning a party, his bodacious bod is going to be featured in the ads. “We live in 2008. Turn on the TV, open a magazine, look at the advertisements,” he notes. “We live in a world where looks are integrated and penetrate into every aspect and genre of our lives. Being on ads and in magazines is a part of my life and I look at it as work.” Friedmann still occasionally moonlights as a model. In fact, next month he’ll grace the cover of the German issue of Men’s Health. But it’s his love for the music that drives him. Lately, he’s been working in the recording studio with master producer Mike Cruz. He wants to learn every facet of what makes a great song, not only to take full charge of his career, but to prove he’s so much more than a pretty face and a buffed bod. “Trust me,” Friedmann complains, it is a lot harder to prove you are good at what you do when you are “good-looking.” Charlize Theron or Nicole Kidman have to work that much harder to prove they are more than just a pile of muscles and model good looks. He considers himself as an all-in-one entertainment package. “Even the best product needs good packaging,” he says. “What counts in the end is that people come and have a good time.” As more and more people come to hear Friedmann play, they’ll soon forget about the package and go straight to what’s coming out of the speakers. The man who spent his youth sneaking into Tel Aviv clubs wouldn’t have it any other way. Maybe it will take someone with such an international background to bring us all back together after three decades of Hi-NRG, techno, hip-hop, grunge, power pop, diva anthems, house in all its forms, electroclash, and everything in between has fragmented music more into warring states than a thriving community. Maybe someone can lead us out of the wilderness of synch-infused multi-tracked Disney starlets, the deadening repetition of tribal rhythms, and retro-techno machine sounds to a clearer sound, a cleaner vision of music as the purest expression of human emotions voiced through sounds. Maybe he can help us rediscover what a night of dancing should do: purify our emotions by allowing us to express our inner feelings through movement inspired by music. A year ago, Friedmann compiled a CD for EMI Germany called Instinct: Love and Pride. That pretty well sums up Friedmann’s philosophy: Follow your inner beliefs. Love yourself and others. Take pride in who you are and what you do. It will all come together, someday, someplace. 2008-10-07T21:09:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/joe_gauthreaux/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/joe_gauthreaux/ Joe Gauthreaux is a travelin’ man. Not only in his professional life—as one of the Circuit’s reigning stars, he’s on the road every weekend. But in his personal life as well, he’s on the move. The New Orleans native packed up and left the Big Easy five years ago for the Big Apple. Now he’s busy unpacking his clothes and books alongside his records, CDs and turntables in the Big Orange. Yes, Gauthreaux has relocated to the City of Angels. “I get restless,” he said in a recent interview. “I’m 32 years old. Before I get too much older, I want to move around and try out new places before I settle down.” He admits that he’s getting tired of the Yankee winters, but Los Angeles has other charms. His manager, Patti Razzeto, lives there. And so does his collaborator on mixing projects, Peter Barona (who’s also Manny Lehman’s engineer). He’s moved in with a friend in Hollywood, but he has yet to get a car. He even let his driver’s license expire. So he’s a long way from becoming an official Angeleno. Besides, it’s not as though he’s leaving New York forever. His occasional residency at Splash will continue, and he’ll still be doing plenty of gigs on the East Coast. In fact, Gauthreaux is making a musical imprint at parties all over the world. When noiZe caught up with him, he had just returned from Rapido, the big September party in Amsterdam, where he contracted a nice case of food poisoning the day before he was scheduled to play. “I hadn’t eaten for 24 hours,” he recalled, “but I’ve never cancelled for getting sick.” That kind of sticktoitiveness has helped propel him to headlining status. After 12 years of DJing, 2008 has proved to be Gauthreaux’s breakaway year. Aside from regular gigs in New Orleans for Halloween, Provincetown for July Fourth and other stops, he spun the Winter Party in Miami. He shared the turntables at the mammoth Pier Dance that caps New York’s Gay Pride with Tracy Young. He was at Gay Days. And, in what he considers the year’s most memorable event, he closed the Saint-at-Large’s Black Party. As if that weren’t enough, he’ll be opening for Victor Calderone during Miami’s White Party. If the Black Party was the highlight of this remarkable year, it was not only because of its unique nature or even the notoriously demanding musical sophistication of the crowd. Rather, it was because he knew he’d be following Jonathan Peters, one of a handful of gay DJs who has established himself as a major star in the larger club world. As the closer, Gauthreaux was responsible for bringing the 18-hour marathon party down with the Morning Music and ending it with the Sleaze segment. It’s the kind of music Gauthreaux loves best. He readily admits that he’s never been a fan of pots-and-pans, and gleefully heralds the end of Tribal’s dominance on the dance floor. “The days of playing all night long are over,” he said. “People are not doing crystal the way they used to—they’re being more responsible than in past years. The music reflects that. Four or five years ago, it was hard to find good lyrical music. Everything was drums, drums, drums. “I don’t play tea dance all night long,” he added. “But my music is happier; not ‘Perfect Day’ all night, but people want something not as dark as a few years ago.” Gauthreaux honed his musical taste—as well as a sense of the evening as a journey from one musical point to another—from the woman he acknowledges as his mentor. “Susan Morabito was the DJ who inspired me to become a DJ,” he said. It was at his first Circuit-type party, during Halloween in New Orleans in 1994, when he was just 18. “In 1994, there was great music,” he recalled. “I hadn’t heard 80 percent of that.” He joined her fan club. (Who even knew there was a Morabito fan club?) He started seeking out and collecting all of the music he heard her play: “Every extra penny I earned working at the Gap went to music.” Finally, after two years, he had enough mix tapes to get hired at Oz, where he started out as one of the house DJs, five times a week—but no nights. It wasn’t until eight months later that he got his first nighttime slot. “Things were different back then,” he noted. “It wasn’t the age of the traveling DJ. Clubs relied on resident DJs. One of the regulars got sick, and I went up to Johnny Chisholm, Oz’s owner, and asked for one night.” As the old show biz movies would have put it, he went in there a kid, but he came back out a star. He soon after stepped up to a Saturday night residency. He first visited New York in 1996 and immediately fell in love with the city. He had planned on a December 2001 move, but 9/11 postponed it for a few more years. As soon as he got there, he became a fixture on the local scene at storied clubs like Limelight (later Avalon), Twilo (later Spirit), Crobar, Splash (then SBNY, then Splash again), and the Pavilion on Fire Island. He also began releasing compilation CDs. He even became a Billboard reporter. It didn’t hurt that his brooding good looks made him so photogenic. He ended up gracing the pages of Out and other magazines—all before he was 30 years old. Through it all, he’s kept a special fondness for his native city. He returns every year for at least a few gigs. He was a vocal advocate and booster after Hurricane Katrina. His family (unaffected by the hurricanes) still lives in suburban Metairie, in Jefferson Parish, just across Lake Pontchartrain. And now he’s exchanged coasts. He’s not one to bemoan the state of New York nightlife. He sees it as a cycle, and the city may be in a down period right now, but “if you go to any small town, you’d be thankful of all that’s here. Things change. When the Saint or Twilo or Roxy closed, people thought it was over. Then something else came along.” For now, however, he’s perfectly happy in L.A. He’s planning on a lot more mixing and even producing. His remix of “Give It” by X-Press 2, which is the last song on his Winter Party CD for Masterbeat, has been in heavy rotation on the dance floor. “I’m still finding what ‘my sound’ is,” he said. “Whenever I play today, half is either done on my own, or songs I’ve taken and not just rearranged but added sounds to it to make it unique. That’s how I’m getting my feet wet.” He’s even going to get a driver’s license and a car. 2008-10-07T21:05:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/cary_stringfellow/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/cary_stringfellow/ It was understandable that the promoters of the 2008 IndepenDANCE in Laguna Beach were desperate to reach the DJ they had booked for the event. A frantic series of calls led to the morbid discovery that Cary Stringfellow would no longer be playing anywhere. He had been found dead in his bedroom at the age of 36. This DJ Profile was a long time in the making. Originally meant to be an interview with Cary, it now takes on the somber duty of celebrating his short yet fruitful and promising life well lived. Ten years ago, noiZe’s Gary Steinberg received a phone call from Salt Lake City. It was from Cary Stringfellow, manager of the Vortex. He wanted to know if he could distribute an article in Circuit Noize (as we were then called) about the dangers of crystal meth. He was seeing a lot of the same self-destructive activity in the heart of Mormon Country. The two hit it off at once, talking for hours about responsible partying, the state of the Circuit, and what the local Salt Lake City scene was like. “When we finally met in person, it was like we were old friends,” Steinberg recalls. By then, Stringfellow had also caught the DJ bug, and trained under the talented eyes of friends like Phil B, Chris Cox, and Twisted Dee. Nico, another close friend for the last decade, as well as Cary’s roommate in L.A., remembers that the transition from Vortex to Club Axis was in part born from his passion for music: “When the partners decided to sell Vortex, Cary, wanting to continue DJing—along with myself and another one of our friends—opened a smaller club which did very well for several years and gave Cary the opportunity to continue playing music.” With a capacity of over 1,000, Club Axis won the title of Salt Lake City’s Best Dance Club for five years, with heavyweight DJs like Paul Oakenfold and the high-tech trappings of a New York or Miami venue. But although the club was doing well, Cary wanted to get out of club ownership and the promoting business to concentrate on DJing and music production. Cary was always outgoing, according to his mother, Kay. Cary was “born feet first and on the run from that moment,” she recently recalled. “He was very organized and intelligent, and everything had to be just right.” In high school in Provo, Utah, he served on the debate team. He studied business at a local college and also learned to be a pilot. But he kept returning to his first love. “He grew up listening to music from the time he was born,” Kay said. “We always had music playing instead of the TV. He loved all different types of music, except Country.” Cary’s musical ear and his infectious energy quickly gained him recognition. In 2001, he headlined “Latin Fever” in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he returned every year since. (His dream to quit the rat race and open up a yogurt business with a new beau never came to fruition. But some of his ashes are being sent to the place he so loved.) Gigs in places as far-flung as Fire Island, Toronto and Hawaii cemented his reputation. “He was a master at the uplifting style that sent me to heaven,” Steinberg recalled of Cary’s mixing. His booking at Splash Days in Austin this year will be filled by his friends Phil B and Twisted Dee, who are donating their proceeds to his family. Of his passing, Troy Spicer, one of the Splash event’s organizers, said, “He was friends with half our group.” Commenters on the web extolled Cary’s personality and talent. One called him a “sweet man with a beautiful soul”; another, a “spirit that was captivating and joyous—contagious”; still another, “his message was so much deeper than his music.” One person noted that Cary had exchanged vows with the commenter’s brother, a concert pianist with the New York Symphony Orchestra, in 1996. Even after the break-up a few years later, Cary remained close with his mother: “He called her frequently and always beat me to the punch on Mother’s Day.” “When she was going through a bout with cancer,” Kay adds, “he flew down to Florida. He told her how beautiful she was after he made her take her hat off.” His sense of camaraderie and fellowship extended to the DJ booth, where there were always sparkling gadgets, toys, t-shirts and hats on hand. “I ran into Cary on the dance floor,” Steinberg recalls of an encounter at the 2000 Masterbeat New Year’s Eve party. “He excitedly pulled me to the side. He had found the very last of a portable laser system that he knew I would like. He had one like it, and loved lying on his bed watching the patterns on the ceiling.” Nico recalls Cary placing “Hello, my name is ___” stickers on people’s bare chests at parties after asking their names: “While at first people looked at him like he was odd, by the end of the party people were coming up to him and asking if he had any stickers left.” Nico also notes Cary’s acts of kindness to those around him: “He was incredibly sensitive and thoughtful.  For my first anniversary with Zack, who I met through Cary, he instructed us to ‘make sure we were home at seven,’ without telling us any more.  Promptly at seven, a limo pulled up to our house, picked us up and drove us to Robert Redford’s restaurant Zoom in Park City. There was a camera in the back seat to take pictures during the ride and a wonderful table with flowers waiting for us.  That was his style—to create fantastically memorable moments for those he cared about.” He also had a charitable side. For a big birthday party, Steinberg had asked for donations to the Trevor Project, which helps gay youth. Stringfellow immediately volunteered his DJ services at no charge. After his death, Steinberg called Cary’s cell phone just to hear his recorded voice: “I hung up, took a deep breath, and went on with my day. The next day I got a call on my cell. It was the voice of a woman, shaky and soft. ‘Hello, did you try to call Cary Stringfellow?’ she asked. ‘This is Cary’s Mom.’ My eyes teared up and my throat closed. ‘I saw your number on his phone. I need to tell you…’ The two of us, strangers, spoke about Cary, much of the conversation in silence. She was in the car, driving back from Los Angeles to Utah, with Cary’s ashes in a container on her lap. I told her how much I cared for him, how influential he was in my life, how we talked almost daily.” The cruelest irony of his passing, as with so many bright lights extinguished too early, is that he was on the cusp of even greater success. He had just received rave reviews for playing at “Frisco Disco” at San Francisco Pride (with a giant can of Crisco as the DJ booth). “My partner and I danced together under the DJ booth for what was truly Cary’s last song,” recalled promoter Kyle Pickett. “Cary Stringfellow was a wonderful man who knew nothing but how to bring joy into people’s lives both on and off the dance floor. He spun uplifting and sexy music that just simply made you want to dance.” Having watched him grow and develop as an artist, noiZe was proud to offer him a DJ Profile in this issue. We obviously had no idea how sad and ironic the timing would end up being. We therefore offer this profile as a celebration of a friend whose life was filled with talent and joy. May we all learn something from this gentle and loving soul. 2008-08-04T20:31:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/hector_fonseca/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/hector_fonseca/ "I've been on the road for 3 weeks," says Fonseca, stealing a few seconds of phone time on a cab ride from the airport back to his home in New York City. He's coming off three cities in the last week alone-Vancouver, Houston and Montreal-and there are plenty more on the way. "I made it home one day during that time," he says of his recent travels. "I spent it doing laundry!" So much for the glamorous life of a DJ. If it helps, the music meister manhandling his Calvin's is a former model. It's part of the matrix that makes up Fonseca: face of a coverboy, smoldering sex appeal of a Boriqua, brains of a university grad, and skills of a spin jockey. Well before he became one of the hottest (musically and physically) members of the global club scene, Fonseca grew up just eight miles west of New York City. He could see the Empire State Building from his window while growing up. Clifton, N.J., may be just across the Hudson River, but it's a world away from the Big City. Little did the future music star realize that his long-shot view of the Manhattan skyline would soon be replaced by strobe lights of major clubs and circuit events. Fonseca's mom adored Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye as well as Puerto Rican salsa. "When she hears my music she always likes the Tribal best," he says. "Must be the Latin beat." Fonseca started picking up his DJ craft working with friends. Eventually, he met Peter Rauhofer. "I got to the point where I was good enough to play for him," Fonseca says. "He asked me to do some mixes for him, and we started working more and more together." Doing it on his own seems to come easily to Fonseca. Besides the handsome face and pitch perfect ear for a pulsing beat, he's also an entrepreneur and a self-trained musician who has immersed himself in hands-on learning. "I've never had keyboard or music lessons," says Fonseca, who began finding his way around a DJ booth under the tutelage of a friend. Fonseca decided early on to focus his attention on remixing and production work in addition to traditional DJ skills. Rauhofer reinforced that comprehensive approach. The Austrian maestro of the hard beats noticed Fonseca's work early on and turned the talented up-and-comer into his protégé. Rauhofer became a mentor and his label, *69, produced Fonseca's compilation CDs. Learning from one of his idols was a major coup, he now believes. Once signed to *69, he quickly rose to the ranks of in-demand DJ producers. Globe-trotting with cross-cultural beats A globetrotting, one, too. Fonseca might have come of age in the hothouse of the New York club scene, but he believes his style transcends a "New York" mixing style. Besides, he adds, the contemporary gay dance scene has become international in scope, incorporating styles from diverse cultures. "The scene has become much more international," says Fonseca. He understands that a well-worn passport is as vital to playing high-profile events as a crate of thumping tracks-especially when it comes to the global gay scene. "Every market has its own thing," says Fonseca. "But I've found that the gay scene still has a certain appeal that goes beyond borders." Still, Fonseca's ability to blend styles from different markets is evident in the trademark genre he helped define. While it takes most DJs a whole career to establish a signature approach, Fonseca's recognizable sound - dubbed Electribal - has already caught fire with the same kind of industry veterans that the young artist once idolized himself. "Every time I time I travel, I get turned on to something new," explains Fonseca. "Being in New York, naturally the idea was to have that kind of New York power shit" in the sound, he explains. "But when I was in France, I started to experiment with Electrohouse cause it was so big there. I started mixing the two [styles] together. It feels good knowing that I was one of the first to do it." Rauhofer remains an inspiration. "I realized that part of his success, and why I loved a lot of his work, was because he immersed himself in production and oversaw absolutely everything he did," says Fonseca of his *69 boss. As for Fonseca, he tries to micromanage every aspect of his work, from composition to keyboards to mixing. "It's much more gratifying, and I feel like people respect it more," he says. "No one can ever say that I had help from someone else. It feels better knowing that when something is done, it's 100 percent me." Star-turn remixing and *69 CDs His hard work has already parlayed its way into high-profile remixing projects, from his take on Jahkey B's "Heartattack" in 2004 (the anthem that really kick started his ascent up the DJ ranks), to work for Beyoncé, Kelis and Missy Elliot. Among his upcoming projects is "NY Club Anthems Vol. 3," Fonseca's follow-up to his last hugely successful entry in *69's popular compilation series. "I'm trying to change up the sound for this CD," says Fonseca when comparing it to his work on Vol. 2. "I brought in some new keyboards, I'm experimenting with new sounds, and I'm looking to put one or two unique tracks on there that still have my sounds-but with a new twist." He won't give the dish on specific tracks except for a previously unreleased mix for fellow *69 artist Suzanne Palmer. Looking to the future, expect Fonseca to focus more of his time on original production work. He already has two tracks finished for his upcoming artist album, and is working with some new, emerging vocalists to wrap up the remainder, including a sexy, sassy track tentatively titled "Addictive." "It's a girl talking about being so amazing that she's addictive," says Fonseca with a laugh. "Basically, she's saying you'll need rehab after an encounter with her!" She sounds like our kind of gal. While waiting on the compilation, original album, and remix work, Fonseca fans can to go HectorFonseca.com to scout out his next appearances. He promises you'll like what you hear. "The feedback I get from kids who go to these parties is that they're sick of the same stuff, over and over again," says Fonseca. "I don't want to mention certain artist names, but there are certain songs that are just staples of the average circuit DJ at the typical circuit party... but a lot of time people in my younger generation want to hear something new." "You need a mixture of the old and new," says Fonseca. "The legends... and the new generation." 2008-04-28T17:28:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/dan_de_leon/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/dan_de_leon/ It was the last Ice party at iBar in West Hollywood. April 10th, 2004. Dan De Leon was spinning and Alex Catala was in attendance. The paths of two disillusioned but unjaded Circuit alums crossed. The union not only brightened up the lives of two individuals, but that of the entire West Coast house community. Dan De Leon tasted success in showbiz at the young age of seventeen. As a student at Culver City High School’s Academy of Visual and Performing Arts in California, he was a producer of the all-teen- produced independent feature film Common Bonds. The film went on to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997 and was hailed as a “monumental achievement (and) an inspiration to young filmmakers everywhere.” It was around that time that he dropped out of college. “I was totally certain that I was going to be Steven Spielberg in fifteen months.” That’s not exactly what happened, but soon after that he did go on to write, produce, and direct a short film called Anything Once. Only twenty-three minutes long, the film was about a straight guy and his gay best friend and their sexual explorations. It premiered at 1998’s Outfest, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and went on to enjoy success at twenty-two festivals in eleven different countries. As a young adult Dan was immersed in the predominantly straight West Coast rave culture. In the midst of dealing with issues of self-identity and sexuality, he started working on a new film that was going to revolve around the world of clubs and DJs - as he describes it, “the nexus of the entire scene: the soul of partying.” In a sad twist to this story, a close DJ friend who had been his advisor on the film was brutally murdered. He explained it like this to the New York-based online magazine Edge this past summer: “The extraordinary events became the impetus for me to turn away from my career in film and focus my concentration on becoming a commercial DJ. I feel it is the reason I have been so blessed in my success as a DJ. I have an angel watching over me.” Deciding it was something he needed to experience for himself, he thrust himself into being a DJ. He saw an opportunity to fill a gap he saw in the gay Circuit scene, particularly in Los Angeles. Although he had been spinning records at home for friends after big parties, he dove right into playing gay clubs with his first residency: the Ice tea dances at iBar in Hollywood. The party kicked off Halloween of 2003 and was a huge success. “All of the sudden I was doing a tea dance every other Sunday. It was something I had dreamed of.” He took on the name Dan De Leon professionally. He had always been Dan Aeberhard, but “it was Swiss German: it didn’t say anything about who I was,” he explains. Born in Argentina, Dan is full-blooded Latino. “I wanted people to know I had this Latin thing in me. I’m not just some German guy. I really do feel this in my blood.” His mom’s uncle’s family name is De Leon, and he felt especially drawn to it since it nods at his zodiac sign, Leo “Plus, I thought it was a sexy name, a name that I could brand.” He certainly has started to accomplish that. Along with spinning some of LA’s hottest celebrity parties for the likes of MTV, Out Magazine, and Michael Kors, just to name a few, his latin flavored progressive house sets have taken him to headline Circuit events across the country, including Cherry in D.C., Palm Springs White Party, and Winter Party in Miami. 2008-04-14T19:30:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/tracy_young/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/tracy_young/ Tracy Young loves what she does. It’s obvious when you see her in the DJ booth of any party she plays. Dancing around, twirling knobs, smiling that big beautiful smile of hers and waving to boys on the dance floor, she definitely has a lot of fun at work. “I think being up there playing music should be an enjoyment for me as well as the crowd,” she says. Well, the crowd is certainly having a gay ol’ time. Tracy Young began spinning her own unique blend of hip-hop, funk, and old school in Washington, D.C. before moving to Miami in 1998. It was here she had the fateful encounter that changed her life forever and has become almost gay folklore. Tracy had been hired by Ingrid Casares of Liquid fame to play at her Millennium Eve Party in South Beach. Madonna, one of Ingrid’s best friends, attended the party and loved what she heard. She asked Tracy to remix the first single and title track off her new album Music. Tracy was excited for the opportunity and delivered what was later to be described as “an emotional masterpiece” by Billboard Magazine. Although this big break put Tracy on the radar, it is Tracy’s skill and talent that have made her one of the most successful female DJs/producers/ remixers in history. She has made a name for herself alongside the heavy hitters of house, tribal, and dance music and has headlined almost every major Circuit event and played at many of the hottest clubs in North America. She travels internationally to spin her magic in such destinations as London, Rome, Paris, Morocco, and Kuala Lumpur. Stateside, the boys of Fire Island recently celebrated their freedom to her explosive beats over July 4th weekend. Following her success at last year’s Pines Party, Tracy was asked to return to the gay oasis to helm the turntables at the 13th Annual IndepenDANCE, which was held at Reflections and whose proceeds benefit GMHC, Brent Varner Project, and Pines Care Center. Guy Smith lit the bevy of beautiful boys with a breathtaking sunset as the backdrop. At one point in the evening, Tracy played her Flying Monkeys remix of “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway musical Wicked. Idina Menzel, who played the green- skinned witch on the Great White Way, performed Tracy’s version of the song in New York City on Gay Pride Sunday. “She mentioned my name at the Pier Dance and I almost fell over,” Tracy remarked. Apparently, even a superstar DJ can be starstruck. A bit surprising considering that, in addition to Madonna, Young has produced tracks for such heavyweights as Stevie Nicks, Pet Shop Boys, Cyndi Lauper, Christina Aguilera, Gloria Estefan, P!nk, and Shakira. She has also played private events for the likes of Diddy, Lenny Kravitz, Ricky Martin, and Cher. Even Paris Hilton has been photographed shaking her moneymaker to Tracy’s rhythms. In 2002, Tracy released Tracy Young Remixes Living Theater in association with Kunduru Music, infusing eleven chill-out tracks with her fierce beats and unique musicality. A slight departure from the club-inspired productions Tracy is so well known for, this album captivates the listener as she seamlessly weaves her personality and style through each of the songs. Young’s latest album, Danceculture 2, is currently out on her label, Ferosh Records, and Danceculture 3 is already in the works. Collaborating with Ceevox on a track for the new compilation, Tracy will also be working with her on a full-length album. Their first original production “Believe In We” appeared on Unreleased Vol. 1 sharing the spotlight with “Ferosh,” a track that marries Tracy’s signature sound with the unmistakable voice of Miami legend Alan T. Still loving the place she calls home, Tracy is excited about her monthly residency at Score on Lincoln Road. Newly-renovated with an expanded dance floor and upgraded sound system, this survivor of Miami nightlife is packing them in with top DJs like Tracy, Joe Gauthreaux, and Miami favorite Abel. In addition, Tracy makes it up to New York City to spin at Splash once a month. The boys can also look forward to her “Genesis” party, which unfailingly packs them in every New Year’s Day. The popular party returns this year to The Cameo, former home of Crobar, in South Beach. As if she’s not busy enough, this self-described workaholic is also designing a clothing line based on club culture called Ferosh Wear. Studded with rhinestones, these higher-end shirts will be geared toward the gay market. “I think that what I try to do is have my hands in a lot of different projects. I don’t think if you’re a DJ nowadays, you can just count on that being your main source of work. I think that you have to do other things and continue to grow creatively.” The secret of her success seems to be working for her as her calendar fills with gigs and her discography continues to grow. Although the landscape of dance culture seems to be morphing, Tracy’s view on the Circuit and the future of large-scale dance events is decidedly optimistic. Noticing the shift from the larger events to smaller, loungier parties, Tracy feels the scene is going through a growth period. “It is changing,” she remarks. “I think that, like anything, it will go through its transition and then it will come back.” Whatever happens, Tracy Young is certain to remain one of the top contenders in clubland and beyond, continuing to pack dance floors with her titillating productions and scintillating remixes. Tracy Young loves what she does. And so do we. Maybe there is something to this “like attracts like” stuff after all. You can learn more about Tracy on her website djtracyyoung.com, buy her newest releases on ferosh.com, and find out about her upcoming clothing line on feroshwear.com. 2008-04-14T19:28:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/paul_goodyear/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/dj_profiles/paul_goodyear/ "Variety is the spice of life," says Paul Goodyear. A recent transplant to London from his Australian homeland, Goodyear has been behind turntables for twenty–two years. "There has been a shift in DJing; more and more DJs will only play one sound, one kind of music exclusively. There is so much great music out there of all genres." For Paul, keeping his play list diverse has paid off in his long career as a DJ. In the late Eighties and early Nineties, Paul taught himself how to re-edit tracks using two tape reels, the ancestors of today’s digital audio software. In 1991, he was asked to do a re–edit of an obscure Pet Shop Boys track, "Miserablism," for Hot Traxx, a DJ service label based in San Francisco. That was the beginning of a list of over 250 remixes and 50 releases Paul has produced over the span of his career. Recently, Goodyear moved with his wife and their cat from Sydney to London. It was quite a move for the whole family, but he felt he had accomplished everything there was to accomplish as a DJ in Australia. "I’ve lived in the three biggest cities in Australia – Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane – and I’ve spun at all the top clubs and parties in all of those places." It was high time to conquer Europe and the rest of the world. Goodyear considers himself Australian, but technically he is English. His family moved to Sydney when he was five years old. Thirty-plus years later, Paul is thrilled to be back in London. He calls it "vibrant," though he admits to being a bit homesick. However, he’s already secured a residency at XXL, a bear party that draws a crowd of 1500, and starting in March he will be spinning Friday nights in Amsterdam at a new event called Reflexxx. Having long moved beyond the tape reels to ProTools, Goodyear spends more and more time lately producing and even writing music. He is currently collaborating with high–energy legend Paul Parker, who hasn’t recorded anything since the late Nineties. Goodyear has had chart success in both Australia and stateside. Top 10’s of his include remixes of Taylor Dayne’s "How Many" and Deborah Cooper’s "Real Love." On the latter, he was delighted to have been asked to submit a remix by the song’s writer, Tony Moran, whom Goodyear counts as a longtime influence. He also gives big props, by the way, to the likes of Peter Rauhofer, San Francisco’s Phil B., and the legendary Jerry Bonham. Other releases include a remix of a cover of "Smalltown Boy" by Michael Nicholas on Klone Records and a cover of Sylvester’s "Take Me to Heaven" by Shauna Jensen on MIT Records (UK).Goodyear is one of the three main headliners at 2007’s Mardi Gras celebration in Sydney. The huge mega-event takes place at Fox Studios and draws crowds of over 16,000 partiers. 2008-04-14T19:27:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/benefit_spotlight/life_ball/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/benefit_spotlight/life_ball/ Over 40,000 people participate. The highlight is a spectacular, Vienna-style ball inside the historic City Hall. Elton John, Scissor Sisters, Grace Jones, and Kylie Minogue have all performed at this event. The finale is a glittering fashion show — Donatella Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood, and many other A-list designers have presented their creations. Best of all, this mega-event has raised over $16 million for AIDS groups in Europe and Africa. I have had the privilege of attending dance events all over the world, from Sydney to Amsterdam and all points in between, and I can say with confidence that Life Ball is in a league entirely unto itself. It’s elegance meets sexy, Old World tradition meets Circuit party revelry. Above all, it’s spectacle. Last year’s theme was Water, which meant an entire lake was built around the stage leading out from Vienna’s gothic City Hall, the site of the dance party. Rhine nymphs in glittery mermaid costumes cavorted with Neptunes as fantasy gondolas drifted by. Watching this was a crowd of several thousand that included everyone from Fran Drescher and Eva Longeria to Ivana Trump and Bill Clinton. The evening included a special song written and performed by Dave Stewart (of Eurythmics); Roisin Murphy; a fashion show by the Blonds, with Pamela Anderson leading the pack in a golden bikini, Patricia Field the presenter, and a small army of runway models and New York voguers; three opera tenors performing Handel, each emerging from a giant scallop shell raised onto the stage; and the night’s showstopper, Katy Perry. Oh, did I mention 25 couples dressed in matching Viennese ball gowns and tuxedos entering in a glittering procession? The effect is so dazzling that after a while I literally had to rub my eyes in disbelief. This is to Circuit parties what Champagne is to Coca-Cola. They both taste good, but one is vintage, the other not so much. And there is dancing. Oh, is there ever! The 2009 Life Ball had at least three dance spaces on various levels of the City Hall, with Susanne Bartsch, the avant-garde New York party promoter, presenting a show of that city’s premier nightlife denizens like transsexual sex bomb Amanda Lapore — among several other acts. As for the crowd, it’s an unusual mix of straight couples, gay men, and just about everyone else who is able to score a ticket. (The party traditionally sells out very early.) People dress for this in the most fanciful costumes imaginable. I painted my entire body silver, and — trust me — I didn’t stand out. The costumes and body paint tops Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Sydney. It seemed as though every male model in Eastern Europe was on one of the dance floors. The effect is not unlike dancing in the middle of a Bel Ami movie. The party begins after the incredible presentation, usually around 11 p.m., and goes until about sunrise. I admit that by 4 a.m., this grizzled Circuit veteran was so overwhelmed by it all, I had to retreat to my hotel room. This year, the 18th Life Ball, normally held in May, has been moved to July 17 to coincide with the 18th International AIDS Conference, also being held in Vienna. The theme is Earth. I can’t even imagine how the creative army behind this incredible event will interpret this theme. This year also marks the first time that the Austrian Parliament opens its doors to an amfAR gala, which will mirror similar events in Cannes, Milan, and New York (and very likely surpass them). As if that weren’t enough, the former Imperial Court Theatre will host the Red Ribbon Cotillion, a formal ball in the strict Viennese style. Discovering Vienna One of the best things about Life Ball is that it gives you the perfect excuse to visit Vienna. The former capital of the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire, which lasted to the end of World War I, contains more palaces and churches per capita than any other major European city. Many of these have been turned into museums or government buildings, and a few into hotels and private apartments. Together, the many art, design, and history museums house one of the world’s premier collections of Old Masters and the best collection anywhere of the edgy style of early 20th century art known as the Vienna Secession. Schönbrunn, the Habsburg’s summer residence, is worth a special trip, but right in the heart of town is the Hofburg, the largest urban palace in Europe. Get there when the Lipizzaner stallions are out for a trot. There’s also amazing shopping (forget Bruno; the Austrians are known for their stylishness and good taste). Composers like Mozart, Haydn, Strauss, and Mahler made Vienna the music capital of Europe, and the music still suffuses the streets and cafes. The Vienna Philharmonic is generally considered the best in the world, and the Vienna Boys’ Choir by far the most famous such group anywhere. Austrian food has a reputation for being heavy on meats and the ubiquitous schlag, that dollop of fresh whipped cream served with the justly famous local coffee concoctions (drunk everywhere at all times) and all those fabulous desserts. But alongside the traditional (and delicious) schnitzel, boiled beef and spaetzle dumplings, lighter fare has made inroads. The difference between the chic and trendy restaurants here and in the States is that everything has a distinctly Austrian accent, with full use of local produce. I was able to sample the incomparable early-spring white asparagus. At night, this world capital offers an array of temptations for a gay visitor. There are bars and dance clubs catering to leather, fetishes, yuppies, young and old. There are also several saunas and back rooms. Many (if not most) gay men live in and around the center of town, so the nightlife is in a concentrated area, which makes for easy bar hopping. The metro is easy to navigate, and taxis aren’t too expensive, which is good because, like most ancient cities, Vienna haphazardly grew outward and can be confusing on foot. Getting into Life Ball Because of its reputation as Europe’s most spectacular AIDS fund-raising event, getting into Life Ball is not easy. Prices starting at only €150 go very quickly (it helps to know someone who knows someone). The best way to get in is to buy a more expensive ticket. Boxes for six people are €1,000 for each person, but it’s worth it for the VIP viewing of the spectacle on City Hall Square, the service and the Champagne, as well as other amenities. Go to http://www.oeticket.com/redribboncotillion for tickets; or email curt.shertzer@lifeball.org for box reservations. And don’t wait too long! WHERE TO STAY The three hotels owned by Starwood, one of the world’s most prestigious hotel chains, are as much a part of Vienna’s center as the Danube River, and are annually selected as the official host hotels of the Life Ball. The Bristol If you’ve drunk Pilsen Lager, you’ve already sampled a bit of the Bristol history. In the late 1800s, the brewer turned it into the residence of choice for High Society and visiting royalty. Korso, the restaurant headed by Reinhard Gerer, has been awarded three “chef’s hats” by the Gault Milleau — the foodie equivalent to a Pulitzer or Oscar. After the war, the American Embassy took over the hotel, which is located across the street from the gorgeous state opera house. The film Princess Marie, starring Catherine Deneuve, was filmed there. Karntner Ring 1 http://www.bristolwien.at Hotel Imperial The Imperial was built in 1863 as the former palace of a senior member of the Habsburg dynasty, but it was so large it was quickly converted into a hotel. It is an imposing structure, with rooms spacious and beautifully appointed. This is the one where Bill Clinton stays, along with every head of state from Adolph Hitler to the queen of England. But the atmosphere is surprisingly unstuffy. It’s also home to the Imperial Torte, a death-by-chocolate confection made with marzipan and cocoa crème. Kaerntner Ring 16 http://www.hotelimperialwien.at Le Méridien The bratty younger sibling to the above two hotels is housed in another historic building, but inside, an attractive young staff beckons you into Vienna’s answer to all of those boutique-style hip hotels. Up-to-date furnishings in the large rooms belie the shoebox aesthetic of those boutiques, however. During Life Ball, the gargantuan bar space and restaurants become a genuine scene, with celebrities trailed by local paparazzi and models voguing down the breakfast buffet table (not that they’d eat anything). The shower comfortably fits five, just in case you make some new friends at the Ball. Opernring 13-15 http://www.lemeridien.com/vienna 2010-04-26T17:54:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/benefit_spotlight/purple_party_a_vision_of_love/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/benefit_spotlight/purple_party_a_vision_of_love/ Saul Flores had a dream, a Jimi Hendrix-like vision of a purple haze. In the midst of his purple passion, everything appeared in various shades of the royal color. Flores envisioned purple as more than a dab on a palette; it would serve as inspiration to help people and bring the community together. In Flores’ purple dream, a weekend of events would be dedicated to charity, drawing people from all over the country to Dallas. In 2001, Flores made his dream a reality when he founded the Purple Foundation, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to raise money to assist people living with HIV/AIDS. As Purple approaches its eighth year this April, it has been able to donate in excess of $150,000 to various beneficiaries. Purple Foundation Board Chairman Rich Hill has taken over the reins of the party. He recently signed dance diva Deborah Cox for this year’s event. Cox, who also starred on Broadway in Aida, will perform at the Saturday night main event, “Amethyst.” The event will be held at the recently opened House of Blues in downtown Dallas. Hill tells noiZe that this will be the first dance event at the venue, the latest addition to this world-famous chain of music halls. Purple Board Member Blake Baker, who handles all of the creative aspects of the events, is psyched about the new venue. “We’re so excited, primarily because for the past four or five years, our main events have been in basically a warehouse space or a public space where we had to build an entire club,” he says, “build all the trusses, hang all the lights. A lot of money went into that, and also a lot of sweat and hard work. We’re excited that we don’t have to build a club. It’s at an incredible venue.” Roland Belmares, who got his start in nearby Austin before his reputation soared as one of the Circuit’s most popular DJs, has played the Sunday tea dances the past two years for Purple. This year, Belmares will be stepping up to the plate as the main event headliner. Coming off last year’s “Muscle Beach” party during White Party week in Miami and a recent gig in Rio for Carnival, Belmares plans to turn it out. Friday night starts off the weekend with “Purple Hearts” at another great Dallas hot spot, Minc Lounge, with Alyson Calagna behind the turntables. “If anyone can bring the boys out to the events, she can do it. They love her here,” Baker says of the New Orleans native. Minc features a small dance floor where the boys can dance if they want to as well as couches and cozy nooks for more intimate interactions. Minc also has a 2,500-square-foot back patio where Purple patrons can sip cocktails under the stars while they mix and mingle. After the rockin’ Saturday night main event at House of Blues, New York DJ Joe Gauthreaux will take it harder and deeper at “Resurrection” at the Starlight Room. Another DJ who originally hailed from New Orleans, Gauthreaux now plays all over the country and will be headlining the 15th Annual Winter Party Beach Party in Miami at the beginning of March before heading to New York to play the morning set at the Black Party on March 29th. West Coast sensation Phil B. is making his Dallas debut at the Sunday tea dance, “Wild Orchid,” at Purgatory, a multi-level velvet rope dance club deep in the heart of Dallas. Phil B. has been on the scene for over 15 years, playing at such legendary venues as The Tunnel in New York and Crobar in Miami. Sinners will shake the shackles off their feet so they can dance to the beats of this San Francisco mixmaster as the weekend draws to a close. Starting out as a modest gathering with small donations, Purple has grown into an impressive weekend of dance and community. In 2006, Purple presented a check to AIDS Services of Dallas for close to $60,000 totaling more than the first five years combined. This organization, which provides housing and medical care and job placement for people living with HIV, is again this year’s beneficiary. They hope to present AIDS Services of Dallas with an even bigger check this year but need the financial support of the community to reach that goal. “It’s always been an uphill battle,” Baker says. Whereas Miami has the beach and New York has everything for everyone, Dallas might not seem the obvious vacation destination. However, Blake continues, “Dallas has really grown as a city; it’s become very cosmopolitan.” Though Dallas is in the Bible Belt and is relatively conservative, Baker notes that, “Dallas has become a very friendly city. It’s a very welcome and hospitable group here.” Rich Hill concurs, “It’s not like any of the other big parties you go to everybody has a very down-home, very welcoming feeling. We really enjoy all the people that come from different parts of the country.” Featuring a lineup of some of the Circuit’s hottest DJs, exciting venues like House of Blues, and the ultimate diva Deborah Cox, Purple 8 will show off the cowtown to best advantage not to mention those sexy cowpokes and cowgirls. With a host of volunteers, friends, and dedicated individuals like Rich Hill, Blake Baker and board members Peter Brown and Aaron Carrasco, Saul Flores’ dream lives on, touching the lives of countless others. So brush off the 10-gallon hat, click on the spurs, break out the chaps, and saddle up for a weekend of fun, y’all. Hyah! Purple 8 takes place April 18-20, 2008. For more information, visit http://www.dallaspurpleparty.org. Also, check out the Dallas city spotlight in the Winter 2007 issue of noiZe (Issue #54) available online at noiZemag.com. 2008-04-14T19:17:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/alligator/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/alligator/ This is a single that could only exist in the digital age. Containing a total of 17 mixes, the packaging and repackaging of “Alligator” easily sets a record for sheer volume of mixes, while managing to contain not an ounce of crap. Ranging from short, poppy ‘80s mixes to full-on eight-minute peak-hour club mixes, the possibility for reinterpretation seems endless — due in no small way to the track’s simplicity in its album version. Originally based on simple percussion and minimal piano plunking with bare vocals insisting uncomplicated lyrics, “Alligator” plays like the raw elements provided to remix producers, and was begging to be played with. Highlights include a stellar New Wave synth mix by Passion Pit, a bright and twinkling mix by Four Tet, a progressive house mix by Morgan Page, an ambient-over-electro mix by Kevin St. Croix, and a gorgeous after-hours mix by Bill Hamel. Who knew a mere two-and-a-half minute song could be pushed in so many directions? 2010-04-26T19:17:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/licky_under_the_covers/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/licky_under_the_covers/ “L-I - licky C-K - licky Y, L-I - licky C, licky all night…”. How can you not fall prey to a song that starts out like that? Shontelle, responsible for 2008’s club hit “T-Shirt,” returns with the lead single to her forthcoming sophomore album No Gravity and definitely has the heads turned her way. “Licky” sounds like something Britney would have recorded if her team had found a way to clean it up for her watered-down demographic without sacrificing its gasp appeal. It’s kinda hard to clean up such a blatant reference to a blow job, though. Supported by remixes by Chew Fu, Saul Ruiz, Carnival of Souls and Ralphi Rosario, this one’s positioned just right to launch the album to clubgoers while the power ballad “Impossible” takes care of pop and rhythmic radio audiences, guaranteeing that Shontelle’s second full-length installment gets all the widespread recognition it deserves. 2010-04-26T19:16:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/the_family_jewels_ep/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/the_family_jewels_ep/ If you got the ‘80s drunk and let it throw up rainbows all over raverish Happy Hardcore, you’d have the Flex’d Rework of “I Am Not a Robot,” the lead single from the American debut of Brit artist Marina Diamandis, otherwise known as Marina & The Diamonds. Remixed by American electronic act Passion Pit, “Robot” is the perfect example of novelty pop conventions cleverly converted into intimate metaphoric devices, and proof that an artist can achieve mainstream appeal while maintaining artistic integrity. Marina’s voice is both frail and fearless, tiptoeing between twinkling notes while running forward at a furious pace, and works equally well in both included remixes of “Robot.” The Flex’d Rework by Passion Pit is the most immediately accessible, with exuberant, Soundboy Rock-era Groove Armada-style keyboards and endless video game-sounding crescendos and diminuendos. The Starsmith 24 Carat Remix is the more indie of the two, with a muffled beat and low bass gurgles supporting a continuous high-hat patter and more of the original version’s vocals than Passion Pit utilized. Also included is the Ocelot Remix of the album track “Obsessions.” If you’re looking for something delightfully different, swing this way. 2010-04-26T19:15:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/suddenly/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/suddenly/ Few have earned as far-reaching or diverse a fan base as producer, singer-songwriter, and audio guru Brian Transeau, or BT. When he releases new material, it’s like discovering religion all over again. It’s been four years since This Binary Universe was released; the first BT album that, while beautiful, didn’t have anything in the way of danceability. So in essence we’ve all been waiting to get back to the dance floor with him since 2003—if you don’t count the collaborations with Tiesto (“Love Comes Again” and “Break My Fall”).  “Suddenly” is the third single released from the forthcoming These Hopeful Machines, and the first to be full vocal and uptempo (“Rose of Jericho” was instrumental and “Every Other Way” feat. Jes was mid-tempo in its original version). This is exactly what we’ve all been panting for. BT adds his own voice to guest main vocals by Christian Burns, former member of the hugely popular Brit pop band BBMak, and features remixes by Celldweller, Cicada, Ferry Corsten, JJ and Dave Darrell.  Kind of amazing. 2010-02-13T06:51:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/keep_it_goin_louder_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/keep_it_goin_louder_remixes/ Major Lazer is the project name for a joint music venture by Diplo (best known as the producer of M.I.A.), and Switch (responsible for remixing artists like Kelis, Mika, Nine Inch Nails, Basement Jaxx, P. Diddy and Bjork, among others). The native sound of the resulting album, “Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do,” is a progressive take on Jamaican dancehall, but it’s the duo’s roots in club music that makes the singles so delicious; namely, in the vast scope of remix producers they have utilized. “Keep It Goin’ Louder” is a clear standout from the album, relying heavily on the novelty of Auto-Tuned vocals and featuring pop urban singer Nina Sky. It stands on its own in its original format, but it’s the ten-track remix promo that takes it to an entirely new level via reinterpretations by names like Mixin’ Marc, Tommie Sunshine, Superchumbo (Tom Stephan), Il Diablo Brooklyn Fire and Diplo himself. It’s an unexpected contender for your next Circuit party, but trust me, it gets ya moving. 2010-02-13T06:50:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/remedymixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/remedymixes/ This is one of those songs that gets in your head on first listen and has you humming it at every pause throughout the day for the next week. “Remedy” is a bouncy, sing-a-long dance single that utilizes the cuteness of Britney’s best material with an intelligence that frowns on the idea that dance music has to be vapid. Supported with power remixes by Kaskade, Avicii and Stonemasons (knockoff of Freemasons?), the track has already been included in myriad club compilations and blogs have been buzzing in anticipation of more. After the first single “New in Town” vamped the crowd, the RedOne-produced “Remedy” is a sure-fire hit for the ascending artist, and has set the stage for her American debut when the Hands album is released domestically. While it’s not common that a dance artist—especially one from across the pond—makes the crossover to mainstream American radio, Little Boots just might have the appeal to make that happen. 2010-02-13T06:48:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/heartbreak/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/heartbreak/ This one popped up on Promo Only Mainstream Club and had me scrambling across the apartment to read the artist credit within the first few moments of those gorgeous, rounded notes cascading out of my speakers. It should come as no surprise that the M’black moniker is an alias for a better-known name, Deepest Blue, and specifically the producer of the group, Matt Schwartz. Those who remember the group that dominated radio dance back in 2003, with songs like “Give It Away” and “Deepest Blue,” will immediately recognize the similar watery sound punctuated by textured guitars. The sensual rasp of vocals belong to Nicol, whose delivery on the wrenching chorus lyrics “This is how my heart breaks, together” sounds like something from an old ATB track, but whose other music credits I’m unable to find. The EP was released on iTunes as a ten-track maxi-single on Robbins, and features mixes by Felix Baumgartner, Ron May, Inner Smile and Caged Baby. This one is huge. 2010-02-13T06:46:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/cry_me_out/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/cry_me_out/ Next in the now-endless parade of blue-eyed soul marching out of Britain and into the American market, Pixie Lott secures a place in the spectrum all her own, combining the ‘50s styling of Amy Winehouse (and her penchant for crazy eye makeup) and the vocal agility of Adele, with a cheeky presence that’s all her. “Cry Me Out” is the third single lifted from the Turn It Up album, and the first ballad following the dancier “Mama Do” and “Boys and Girls,” but is by far my favorite of the bunch. Because as every club addict knows, nothing works a remix quite like the contrast of a fast beat against half-tempo, power vocals—and this one is tailor-made for belting along with on a crowded main room floor. Bimbo Jones and Desert Eagle provide remixes, with the blue ribbon going to Jones for wedding a progressive house composition to a fun disco bounce. The result: a breakup song-cum-peak hour crowd pleaser. There’s just something about her, you can’t help but press that back button. 2010-02-13T06:42:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/million_dollar_bill/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/million_dollar_bill/ After exhaling a mushroom cloud and calming her weave, Whitney staggered to the studio and recorded her new single.  Every gay loves Whitney, it’s in our blood, but few out there aren’t at least a little disappointed that their favorite power diva is back and delivering her ballads like a spoken word performance and center stage sweating like a pregnant woman in July.  It’s not easy to see someone fall like that.  She’s getting it back slowly, a performance of “I Look To You” in Germany was starting to sound a bit more like the old Whitney, hopefully we’ll see her reclaim the throne.  If nothing else, in studio, even in her depreciated state, she sounds better than 95% of the current roster of artists out there.  “Million Dollar Bill” has all the charm of a radio dance hit, and all the class of a trademark ballad, so if this gets radio play, she’s got it made.  And with its disco core, this one was ready for a power remix right out the gates.  The first round of remixes came from the Freemasons, and a collective squeal from the gay boys could be heard across the globe.  A second round is trickling out currently and includes multiple treatments by Frankie Knuckles, a dark after hours mix by Peter Rauhofer, and a peak circuit mix by Tony Moran’s DJ partner Warren Rigg. 2009-10-29T21:44:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/she_wolf_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/she_wolf_remixes/ Everybody’s going “dance” right now and not to be outdone, here comes Shakira rockin’ a clubby sound filtered through her Latinness.  “She Wolf” features the kind of organic electronic production that made Basement Jaxx popular — synth gurgles and a relentless beat blended with bare guitar strums and ecstatic violins — and an arpeggio chorus similar to the trademark melodies of trance music.  It took Shakira only ten minutes to write the music and lyrics, “‘She Wolf’ came to me very mysteriously. The image of the she wolf just came to my head, and when I least expected it I was howling and panting.”  Apparently that last part stuck as you can hear her doing just that throughout the track. The video for She Wolf shows her sneaking out of bed, donning an asymmetrical leotard and then emerging from what looks like a glitter-drenched birth canal into a club setting, while the cutaways have her dancing in an enormous cage in a flesh colored one-piece.  The she wolf is out indeed.  Remixes by Moto Blanco, Calvin Harris, Deeplick (best of the bunch), Villains, and a bootleg floating around by Peter Rauhofer. 2009-10-29T21:41:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/now_im_that_bitch_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/now_im_that_bitch_remixes/ Certain songs should be packaged as gay anthems from the very beginning without worrying about how to market it to a straight crowd and getting it on the radio.  The title alone is enough to knock the wig off most drag queens, and the chorus hook is something every ‘mo should be singing to themselves forever, “Now I’m that bitch/ You’ll never get to (ugh)/ Can’t get what you want/ So you’re acting like a punk/ You were too fly then/ So fly away now/ Now I’m that bitch/ And you’re just a clown.”  I so want there to be an unedited version.  Any guy who’s ever yearned for another, but didn’t get the attention they wanted, and then had them come around too late, needs this.  It’s the perfect “Look who got hot and doesn’t want your shit.  Now go get a cold sore, and while you’re at it, get me another drink” song.  Remixes by Kaskade (the best mix), Sam Sparro (second best), Mike Rizzo, Jason Nevins, Discotech and Serafin.  Also available in a radio version, “Now I’m That Chick.” 2009-10-29T21:38:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/fight_for_you/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/fight_for_you/ The first single from Morgan’s forthcoming album, “Fight For You” is everything we’ve loved about his pensive, dramatic progressive house style, but taken up a notch through the vocals.  The pipes are provided by Lissie, the vocalist on the first single from the last album, “The Longest Road,” this time replacing the beautiful, dull-eyed melancholy with a more dynamic delivery, including a belted bridge that essentially makes the entire song.  On first listen I thought he’d employed the talents of Astrid Suryanto as that kind of delivery seems more native to her, but Lissie’s taken her voice to another level and the effort pays off stunnigly.  Remixes by the new popular kids of re-rub Sultan & Ned Shephard, Beltek, Bass Kleph and our own big gay DJ Dan. 2009-10-29T21:37:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/release_me/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/release_me/ The first thing I thought when I saw this release was, “Oh my God, someone is covering Angelina’s ‘Release Me’.”  Angelina was a Latin house artists who hit it big for a hot minute in the SF Bay Area in the mid-90s with a couple radio friendly dance tracks like the aforementioned, “I Don’t Need Your Love” and a cheesy cover of “The Tide is High.”  So when I played Agnes’ track of the same name, I was cringing before I even put the disc in and wondered how it was justifiable to cover someone who was “discovered” at the Great America theme park and hope to not have a cinderblock thrown at you.  And with the very first note of Agnes’ confident, gorgeous voice all that fear is put to rest immediately.  Now we know why Agnes was the youngest contestant ever to win Pop Idol (Sweden’s American Idol counterpart). NOT a cover of Angelina, this song of the same name is exactly the kind of dance pop that could usher in another era of dance artists finding their way onto mainstream hit radio.  Similar to former dance radio crossover hits like “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)” (feat. Sophie Ellis Bextor) and “Burn For You” by Kreo, “Release Me” is simple, fun, beautifully vocalized and sticks in your head immediately.  Taking it then from the radio to the dancefloor, the track has been fully serviced by Cahill, Moto Blanco and a zillion bootleg mixes.  Get at this one. 2009-09-21T23:08:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/i_think_of_you/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/i_think_of_you/ Made By Monkeys is exactly what I’ve been missing on the dancefloor lately — full vocals and emotion laden lyrics.  Not that the category has disappeared, but it seems that since about 2005, there was a fundamental switch from sing-a-long anthems to dubbed out tribal monotony, I prefer the former.  Made By Monkeys released their first single “I Try” in 2003, with vocals by Maria Matton, remixes by Peter Rauhofer and Gabriel & Dresden and DJ support by hard hitters like Oakenfold, Sasha & Digweed, Pete Tong and Steve Lawler.  “I Try” was the group’s first jump into dance music and the unique sound of it was the clearest evidence of that — a fresh take on an established genre, the product being best described as progressive house with a moody, poetic color.  6 years later the group is dropping their second single “I Think of You,” and picking up right where they left off.  With vocals by Darcy Conroy, the track has a similar longing atmosphere — a lovelorn woman holding onto elongated notes and describing a world crumbling around her, all the while being able to think of nothing but the one she loves.  It’s romantic to some, horribly depressing and melodramatic to others, but whichever way you take it, the sound is piercing and is sure to be one of the songs you remember from a marathon session on the dirty, sticky floor.  The single currently includes 10 mixes total, and includes such notable names as DJ Paulo, Timothy Allan and the return of Rui Da Silva. 2009-09-08T15:41:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/poker_face_the_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/poker_face_the_remixes/ At this point Lady Gaga has gone from underground NY club kid to international pop music phenomena, and is so heavily covered that talking about her further seems like overkill.  But here at Noize we believe we’re the center of everything, so just think of this as seminal text.  So Gaga achieved what seemed impossible and overcame the sophomore single slump, following the enormous “Just Dance” with yet another Billboard #1 single and securing herself as an artist force instead just a flash in the pan.  What struck me most was stark change in production value of the videos for “Dance” and this release.  The former was kitschy, clever, hyper stylized in its low-budget-ness, and looked like it was shot on a HandiCam in 1984.  The “Poker Face” video follows with smoke machines, flood lights, outdoor stages, pools and two horse-sized Great Danes.  Just goes to show what record labels are willing to invest when they’re convinced an artist is going to be a cash cow.  Club mixes are provided by Dave Audé and Jody Den Broeder. 2009-07-29T06:41:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/be_alright/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/be_alright/ Two years in the making, Kristine’s newest release began its life as one of the exclusive tracks on 2007’s most coveted compilation release, “Forever Tel Aviv” mixed by Offer Nissim.  The track was remixed by Nissim, and consequently had his signature dark, excessively dramatic sweeping sound engulfing the vocals.  So despite the uplifting, positive lyrical content, the result sounded like translucent words soaring through a beautiful storm at sea, which makes it all the more jarring to hear the subsequent mixes sounding like sunshine and rainbows and presented with a cover photo drenched in purest yellow and magenta.  In it’s newly bleached and blow-dryed incarnation, “Be Alright” is a clap-along, crowd bouncing pop rock piece with new mixes by Bass Mekanik, Boris, Hex Hector, Joe Carrano, Neil Case, The Perry Twins and Tom Stephan (Superchumbo), as well as the original Offer Nissim mix.  The single was released alongside Kristine’s new full length album “The Power of Music.” 2009-07-29T06:39:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/drop_a_house/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/drop_a_house/ This one’s got such a great story.  Everyone who was clubbing in the late 90s remembers The Tamperer’s “Feel It” feat Maya (“WHAT… she gonna look like with a chimney on her?!), but what no one knew til recently was the Milli Vanilli situation that was going on with it.  The actual vocalist of the track, Heather Leigh West, had recorded the vocals with a group called Urban Discharge in 1995 and had elected to credit herself only as “She” because of the conflict between the track’s severe message and her softer image.  The track didn’t chart effectively because of its explicit lyrics, but then emerged again in 1998, edited and re-produced by The Tamperer, but this time crediting the vocals to Maya Days.  The song became an international club hit, being placed on every dance compilation and DJ playlist for years to come, all the while visualizing a slightly built Black woman as the origin of this huge, raging voice, that came three years earlier from a little blonde White girl.  To set the record straight, in 2007 Heather re-recorded the song as a promo with DJ Liza, and is now re-releasing it with DJ Demarko! as a two-part maxi single, and letting the sound speak for itself: how could anyone but the original vocalist sound identical to the original recording.  Side note: Maya Days recorded her own 2007 version of the song, perhaps in her own defense, and it sounds like unplugged jam session in a Valley strip mall bar. 2009-07-29T06:37:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/sugar_the_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/sugar_the_remixes/ Candy is bad for you.  This is something we’ve been told by parents, dentists and fashion advertising for years, but despite that, or maybe because of it, we love it.  Flo Rida is kind of a hack, having gone from hard and thuggish on the monster urban hit “Low” to goofy dance rap with “Right Round” (sampling Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)”).  But no matter what our better judgement tells us, ear candy is still delicious, and the equally goofy “Sugar,” featuring a completely random usage of the scatted hook from Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee), ” is too fun to condemn.  Completed by its offering as a remix package, the song is all but nauseatingly commercial and the true definition of a guilty pleasure, including nicely executed treatments by Mondotek and Disco Fries, and a horrifying NRG mix by Mickey Modelle. 2009-07-29T06:34:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/day_n_night_the_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/day_n_night_the_remixes/ “Day ‘N’ Night” is the next in a recent lineage of electronic-influenced hip hop making a huge impact on hit radio.  Hip hop has been courting electronica and club music for several years now, but unlike people like Pitbull and Kanye West who just blatantly sample club hits [presumably because the genre is less familiar to the general public and they assume no one’s going to notice their highway robbery], Kid Cudi makes the music his own, using the genre’s legacy as inspiration instead of a gimmick, and creates a hybrid sound that is innovation not imitation.  And unlike a lot of hip hop, Cudi isn’t the least bit afraid of a club mix, employing the talents of Bimbo Jones, Crookers, D.O.N.S., Agent X, TC and Mobin Master, all with incredible effect. 2009-07-29T06:32:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/patron_tequila_the_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/patron_tequila_the_remixes/ This is THE sloppy drunk summer anthem!  The Paradiso Girls’ press release aligns them with The Supremes and Destinys Child in their prolificness, but that positioning feels slightly inappropriate after hearing the lyrics of their debut — I doubt Diana Ross or Beyonce would ever blow, “Hey girl, where’s your drink?/ We gon’ all get drink drunk tonight/ Hey girl, I got bud we can all get fucked up/ And by the end of the night I’mma have you drunk and throwing up/ And by the end of the night I’mma have you so fucked up!”  So I’m not sure they get a high mark in the Fancy Ladies of Society category, but the song is pure party fun and they spared no expense in their desire for a club crossover, with remixes from DJ Dan, Dave Audé, Bimbo Jones, Stonebridge and The Wideboys. 2009-07-29T06:30:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/when_love_takes_over/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/when_love_takes_over/ Sometimes lightning does strike twice.  Having already been part of one of the most successful contemporary girl groups, Kelly seemed doomed to perpetual underdoggedness in the huge shadow of the thighs of the only member to come out of that situation successfully.  But Kelly may just have found her new calling, in the vein of Sheryl Lee Ralph and Hannah Jones, as guest vocalist on dance tracks, and When Love Takes over is proving how successful that move can be.  Having already climbed the dance charts on iTunes, the track is proving to make some serious waves despite the lack of exposure dance music receives in this country.  This is definitely one of the summer staples of 2009. 2009-07-29T06:23:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/if_u_seek_amy/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/if_u_seek_amy/ This one deserves an award for her greatest F-You to pop radio.  Honestly, when I heard “Womanizer” I was a little disappointed.  After all the media frenzy and the video for “Pieces of Me,” I got pretty used to everything she did actually having meaning for a change, and being line-by-line specific to her life and her distaste for the celebrity culture that was slowly killing her.  So when something safe and tepid like “Womanizer” kicked off her comeback album, I was left wondering whether pop success has to equate to complete removal of personal relevance.  And sadly it seemed to: “Circus” followed and with a title like that I hoped at least for it to be used as a metaphor for the craziness that she’d been through, but instead it was just another “hey everybody, look at me, let’s dance” insta-hit.  But after playing her cards right in the beginning, Brit’s finally calmed the crowds enough to throw a little controversy back into the mix.  “If U Seek Amy” is by far one of her cleverest songs yet, and even if it’s a little cheap and trashy, its “oh, damn…” factor renders all that irrelevant.  Essentially an excuse to say on mainstream radio that, “all of the boys and all of the girls are beggin’ to F-U-C-K me,” the song uses quick elocution to deliver the homophonic phrase and give the finger to the Apple Pie/Lolita image that brought her to an impossible level of fame.  The video takes the sentiment even further and has Brit tip-toeing around like a 5-year old wearing her mother’s makeup and heels and silently radiating the words, “look what I’m getting away with…”.  I was never a Britney fan, but after this one, I just might be able to say that I am without wincing. 2009-04-10T04:51:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/come_back_to_me_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/come_back_to_me_remixes/ The biggest hopeful for America getting its first ever Asian popstar, Utada has all the right stuff to make the crossover from J-Pop to American Top 40, we’ll just have to see how well the effort goes over and how much funding her label’s willing to put in.  She made her mark in Fall of 2005 with “Devil Inside,” and had some formidable follow-ups, but it’s “Come Back To Me” that could really make the final push for her with its pop-perfect phrasing and sing-a-long chorus, not to mention the amazing attention to quality in commissioning remix treatments.  Tony Moran & Warren Rigg do what they always do, a pop-ized tribal beat peak hour mix, which punctuates everything nicely. Seamus Haji & Paul Emmanuel step up the ambient element a bit with some rubbery synths over a chunkier beat and twinkling chimes.  And Quentin Harris contributes his trademark stripped down, T-Dance style house rub, giving the vocals more of the spotlight.  Pay special attention to the song’s greatest line, “I wish that I could Photoshop all our bad memories, cuz the flashbacks won’t leave me alone.”  That’s J-Pop.  2009-04-10T04:49:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/beautiful_u_r_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/beautiful_u_r_remixes/ After having tried several different images and formats, the one that will always remain true for Deborah Cox is the grandiose ballad-turned-big room circuit anthem, and I for one think she should never stray from it.  Ever.  “Beautiful U R” is woman-to-woman “keep ya head up” piece that reads like a stylish PSA with a kick ass chorus, “Don’t ever let nobody bring you down, girl/ Don’t ever let nobody tear your world apart/ Look in the mirror and see who you are/ Beautiful you are.” Remix credits are Gabi Newman, Massimo Nocito and the Soul Seekerz, but the Women’s Shelter Award goes to Yinon Yahel for turning this into a super dramatic, Offer Nissim-style peak hour eyesore (not surprising since Yinon Yahel is the unsung hero who co-produces everything with Nissim).  The girl is back. 2009-04-10T04:46:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/beautiful_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/beautiful_remixes/ So Akon’s kind of a dick, anyone who throws a fan off a stage into a crowd gets that label from me, but you can’t argue with the fact that he produces perfect radio pop that, with this album, seems to be relying heavily on a synthy, European sound accompanied by dedicated remix treatments for every single.  “Beautiful” isn’t exactly a love song, “I see you in the club/ you showin’ thugs love/ I wanna get with you/ You’re so beautiful,” but it’s catchy as hell, uses Colby O’Donis and his requisite vocodered vocals, and is remixed by a kickass lesbian.  Tracy Young’s remix stands out against all the rest (Mike Rizzo, Sted E & Hybrid and Tonal), and makes this the one urban song you can’t wait to hear at the next party.  And if you’re going to be requesting this one from the DJ, make sure to mention you want the “with Rap” version of Tracy’s mix, despite all the failed attempts at a rap/house hybrid genre in the early 90s, Kardinal Offishall’s rhymes sound incredible over the storming circuit house production. 2009-04-10T04:42:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/love_story/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/love_story/ The second single following “Crash & Burn” from the still [almost a year after being announced] forthcoming debut solo album, “Smile In Bed,” “Love Story” is the perfect companion to a flowering crush after an extended dry spell.  The lyrics name all the elements of love breaking down the walls we put up in defense of heartbreak, and then ends the chorus with, “and with the road ahead/ this is the beginning/ of this love story.”  As with anything Nadia does, layers of her simple ad-libs add indescribably to the texture of the song, and in this case it’s executed as a repeated “La da da Da… La Da da da Da da.”  Remix credits are formidable and include minimal treatments by Starkillers, Sultan & Shephard and Dresden Johnston, but the kiss on the forehead goes to Andy Moor, who sets Nadia amongst a dizzying peak hour trance atmosphere that punctuates instead of overpowering.  Definitely one of my favorite songs this year. 2009-04-10T04:39:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/jai_ho_you_are_my_destiny/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/jai_ho_you_are_my_destiny/ This one is so amazing to me.  “Jai Ho” wins the Oscar for Best Song on Sunday, Feb. 23, then I wake up Monday morning to Nicole Scherzinger on LA’s KIIS FM talking about how much she loved the movie and how moved she was to write her own version of the song for pop radio.  I’m laying in bed mortified and titillated simultaneously all while being half awake and just waiting to see what this potential abomination sounds like.  Needless to say, my Monday was starting off with a bang. What then came out of my clock radio was pretty interesting.  Nicole takes the song, which of course I nor most of America can understand anyway because we don’t speak the language, and turns it into a Pussycat Dolls relationship pop ditty with a couple of the lines from the original song.  The beat sticks with what comprises most of the original (the original actually goes through about 4 different musical atmospheres), and adds in a few poppy elements to make it a little more radio-ish.  My personal favorite line is, “I’ll make you wanna say (Jai Ho!)”.  Only a Pussycat Doll could turn Jai Ho into something you scream out during sex.  Go Nicole go.  Oddly enough KIIS only played the original version, and for only about two weeks following the Oscars, and then forgot about the song entirely.  But whatever, it’s fun, it’s poppy, it makes you dance, it doesn’t mean a whole lot, but who’s complaining.  Just dance. 2009-03-30T04:58:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/boom_boom_pow/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/boom_boom_pow/ So The Peas are back with another no-questions-asked-hit single that demonstrates once again that these people will do anything necessary to remain commercial, and shows exactly why they’re as successful as they’ve been since dropping the underground sound and adding a blonde. The track is irresistible—the beat is body moving, the vocal filters sound rad and the keyboards are straight out of Europe—but what’s kinda funny is the image they’re boasting compared to the image the image they’re presenting.  Will.i.am rhymes, “I got that rock and roll, that future flow”, and Fergie blows, “I’m so 3008, you so 2000 and late,” which I’m assuming is referring to the electronic sound of the synthesizers and the effects on their vocals, but what they’re calling “futuristic” is really just a justification of following a trend that’s been in effect now for at least 5 years.  While by no means the filter’s origin, Cher’s “Believe” was the first hugely commercial usage of the vocoder effect and everyone scrambled after that one to use it in their own music. And in the last 3 years or so, Hip-Hop seems to be tired of sampling 70s and 80s hits, and has moved on almost entirely to emulating (Timbaland) or straight up borrowing (Kanye West) the hallmarks and successes of house, trance and electronica.  Janet tried to do this too, she said that the Discipline album was about her obsession with futuristic sounds and a computerized reality, but in the end it was just a way to not look like a follower.  Why is it so wrong to just say,  “I know this formula works for popular music and I’m going to follow what’s been done before so I can make some money?” “Boom Boom Pow” is an incredible club track, probably not something you’re going to hear at the next circuit party, but you’ll definitely hear this one out at any gay bar and it’ll doubtlessly be dominating Top 40 radio throughout the summer, so start loving it. 2009-03-30T04:44:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/feel_your_love/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/feel_your_love/ You know how sometimes a song just goes with a season? It doesn’t have to be about it, but something about the tones, the voice, the words, whatever, just makes it nestle in perfectly amidst a season’s hallmarks. For whatever reason, this one just works perfectly with that late fall-early winter lovey-dovey sentiment that happens when the air gets colder, the days grow shorter, and our guard against intimacy falls away like a leaf with the advent of the holidays and our need to share them. No remixes needed here, the original’s all you get and all you’ll need. 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/keep_this_fire_burning/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/keep_this_fire_burning/ Disco will never die, and this one’s even got an interesting story to go with it. Originally penned by Robyn, this song was a U.K. Top 20 hit for Beverly Knight in 2005. The song has now been redone as a nu-disco dance version with vocals by longtime Freemasons collaborator Amanda Wilson, and includes remixes by The Freemasons. The result is incredible. The songwriting itself is an uplifting “I’ll be by your side” anthem, and actually sounds like a companion track to Robyn’s recent release “Dream On.” The other mixes by Wawa, Christian Fischer, Jean Maxwell and Topaz, are all solid as is, but it’s the piano/bass pounding of the Freemasons mix that takes this to the level of addictive. Guaranteed: After one listen, you’ll be hooked. 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/single_ladies/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/single_ladies/ I dunno what it is about this song, but you play this and every gay man in the room becomes exponentially more gay. You could play this on the front lawn of any Midwest fraternity and all questioning or closeted members would be at the doors and windows in seconds. It’s like a cliff for lemmings, except in this case the end of that instinctive journey would be the doorway of the local gay bar and a fruity cocktail. Floating out there on promo are the club mixes by Dave Audé, Craig C., DJ Escape & Tony Coluccio, Karmatronic, Lost Daze, RedTop and the requisite Maurice Joshua Club Mix, which for the first time in ages doesn’t blow. Sounds like Maurice has been listening to a little Freemasons in his time off since the Destiny girls’ last single, and the product is the first mix he’s done that you might actually hear played somewhere other than on your car’s satellite radio system. 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/miles_away_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/miles_away_remixes/ This woman’s marketing ability is both genius and shameless. When the Hard Candy album dropped and we heard this song for the first time, we all knew there was trouble in paradise with Ritchie. “Miles” was too specific and scathing to be just another aimless “love gone wrong” song for the masses like “Sorry,” and it set the table perfectly for the tabloid rush that followed months later surrounding their marriage. Now that the divorce is final, what better time to capitalize on the media frenzy than to release the single that began it all? The rumor is that this is the last physical single Madonna will be releasing through Warner Bros., which is sad, but at least now that iTunes has caught up, all digital music outlets carry high quality files. So don’t cry too much, Argentina. 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/angel_on_my_shoulder_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/angel_on_my_shoulder_remixes/ Now on the third single from the flawless Strobelight Seduction album, Kaskade’s popularity only continues to grow. Some are complaining that Kaskade’s collaboration with Deadmau5 on the initial single “Move With Me” has influenced his style to the point of completely abandoning his former deep house sound and replaced it with with a pop progressive house/electro sound, but as long as the music he’s making is as gorgeous and hooky as these singles, who the F cares? After the disappointment of the “Move” remixes, which frankly was too good to be effectively remixed, this 9-track remix package was a welcome trade. The “Angel” mixes include chunky Funkerman rubs, dubby Troydon interpretations, but head straight to the four EDX mixes for the track’s elements folded atop gorgeous progressive trance production. 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/sirens_of_the_sea_maxi_single/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/sirens_of_the_sea_maxi_single/ Why labels do what they do has never ceased to confuse me, and here’s another example.  “Sirens of the Sea” has been in club circulation forever, having made one of its first commercial appearances on Anjunabeats Volume 3 back in 2005, yet wasn’t given a full single release until July of this year.  Weird.  Regardless, this is probably OceanLab’s most solid single since the unstoppable success of “Satellite”, rocking not only amazing production and remixes, but gorgeous song writing and vocals courtesy of vocal trance darling Justine Suissa.  The lyrics depict lucid watery imagery and uses the mythological narrative of the Siren, the half woman, half bird sea nymphs, to create a metaphor for powerlessness in love and longing, the chorus proclaiming, “I… Cannot.. Resist.. Your Call…”.  The single includes 7 mixes, but go straight to the Maor Levi reconstruction to experience the song in its dubbed prime. 2008-12-18T06:26:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/call_my_name_the_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/call_my_name_the_remixes/ The second single to be taken from Morgan Page’s debut artist album “Elevate,” “Call My Name” feels a bit like Röyksopp meets a Jason Nevins rock remix, and features the vulnerable, masculine voice of Tyler James.  The song is the narrative of a man waking up beside the person he loves, overcome with his insecurity that the person is going to leave him, and the mingling of his scattered thoughts with the actions and words of the person beside him.  Definitely something no homo could ever relate to.  The single includes a lurking, bleepy remix by Thomas Gold, a lush, sparkling mix by J Nitti, a rework by Morgan Page and, the best mix of the package, TV Rock’s gorgeous, guitar-strummy, rounded synth-laden masterpiece.  Want to shed a tear?  Take a listen. 2008-11-17T07:05:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/when_i_grow_up_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/when_i_grow_up_remixes/ I really hated this when I first heard it. But like most pop, it’s written in such a way that it wheedles its way into your heart like a manipulative boyfriend and finds some cunning way to hang around and eventually make you love it. And as usual, I didn’t personally care for it until I heard the remixes, the scope of which is almost overwhelming. Of course they went with Ralphi Rosario, as he was responsible for making club accessible the Dolls’ lead single from the first album, but then they added to the cast list Dave Audé, Dirty South, The Wideboys and Digital Dog, totaling 10 mixes, dubs and edits, and making this what was probably one of the most expensive single releases in months. The album has since been released, including what are probably several songs taken from Nicole Scherzinger’s cancelled solo album. From here, it looks like this album’s gonna keep the girls right where they’ve been for the last few years: a rock-steady pop staple. 2008-10-07T21:29:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/energy/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/energy/ The woman behind the curtain finally drops a spotlight on the starlet and takes center stage. Keri Hilson, the songwriter behind pop radio hits like Britney’s “Gimme More” and “Break The Ice,” Omarion’s “Ice Box,” Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” and Usher’s “Love In This Club,” finally gets her chance and goes solo with a forthcoming Timbaland-produced (read: mandatorily successful) album and this debut single. The original is somewhat electro-flavored urban pop (please, what would Timbaland be without stealing dance music’s hallmarks and repackaging them?), but the gay’ed up version comes from the go-to remixers The Wideboys, who do a perfect job of leaving everything from the original intact and adding just enough kick to translate it cleanly. 2008-10-07T21:27:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/disturbia/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/disturbia/ I literally haven’t been able to get enough of this song since I first heard it back in May. But anyone who says people don’t change for the one they’re with is full of it. Ri’s been dating Chris Brown for a while now and, surprise, surprise, her new single was written by her current bed buddy and sounds identical to everything he’s been doing of late. Rihanna’s got a tolerable voice, but, under Brown’s influence, has elected to go with Danity Kane-type auto tuning, vocodering her pipes into something unrecognizable. But “Disturbia” is ear candy rivaling the radio pop perfection of Cher’s “Believe"—it’s not meant to be deep, it’s meant to be fun, and more catchy that chlamydia. The remixes capitalize on that quality beautifully, with mainstream club rubs from Jody Den Broeder and Craig C., and a dense tribal barrage from Craig C. and Nique. Jump on this one, ‘cuz it’s gonna be your new favorite. 2008-10-07T21:26:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/bruised_water/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/bruised_water/ This little gem began as a white label mashup, putting the a cappella of Natasha’s “I Bruise Easily” atop Chicane’s classic instrumental track “Saltwater,” and was in circulation as such until someone apparently realized how massive this could be if given some commercial attention, and a few months later emerged as a full single featuring remixes by Mischa Daniels, Adam K and Chicane himself. The remixes are all totally solid, but the bootleg is the best, because—and correct me if I’m wrong—when you remix the mashup, doesn’t it just become a mix of “I Bruise Easily”? Anyway, hunt for this one, it’s angsty pop dance gold. 2008-10-07T21:24:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/no_more_tears_enough_is_enough/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/no_more_tears_enough_is_enough/ Anyone who has been panting for some quality pop diva house in the vein of 1999-2002, get excited. Two reigning queens of the genre’s heyday have returned to pimp slap Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer off their pedestals. Amber, still best known for the monstrously popular “Sexual (Li Da Di),” and Zelma Davis, sadly best remembered as the “embodiment” of Martha Wash’s voice in C+C Music Factory despite being an incredible vocalist herself, team up to cover the classic power ballad and make it over for big rooms with stomping remixes by Pathos V2 and Solar City. 2008-10-07T21:22:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/just_dance/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/just_dance/ Absolute pop perfection. A dancey, electro ditty about getting sauced and getting down; simpler and more relatable music has yet to be created. Produced by Robyn-collaborator RedOne and featuring guest vocals by T-Pain-ish urban hit radio newcomer Colby O’Donis, “Just Dance” is one of those instantly classic songs debut artists dream of creating and hate having to come up with something to follow. Official remixes by Harry Romero, Richard Vission and Trevor Simpson, and unofficials floating around by Manny Lehman, Tony Azradon and Ananyi. 2008-08-04T20:04:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/love_is_gone/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/love_is_gone/ “Fuck Me I’m Famous” producer David Guetta teams up with out singer/songwriter Chris Willis to create this hooky, sing-along dance floor anthem. The track first came into circulation in summer of 2007 but has been steadily building momentum with regular circulation on Hit Radio and a fresh face thanks to recent additional mixes. “Love Is Gone” is pulled from Guetta’s Pop Life album, on which Chris has four other singer/songwriter credits and marks him as the only openly gay artist on pop radio today. Remixes for “Love Is Gone” by Fred Riester, Joachim Garraud, Fuzzy Hair, Eddie Thoneick and Amo & Navas. 2008-08-04T20:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/spotlight/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/spotlight/ Remember when J-Hud performed at Long Beach Gay Pride, sang a never-before heard song and plugged her soon-to-come solo album? Yeah, I thought that was 2006, too. After delays and cancellations—oh, and that Oscar—Jennifer Hudson’s official debut as a recording artist that’s actually recorded has arrived. Seems the powers that be decided they needed to turn down the diva volume a bit if they wanted Jennifer to fit nicely amidst all the no-talents on the radio today, so on “Spotlight,” we get to see a more subtle version of her lion’s roar. A song about being kept under constant surveillance by an insecure lover, “Spotlight” feels lackluster on first listen without all the heaving and grunting we’ve come to expect, but it’s the remixes (provided by urban-to-club hit makers Moto Blanco and Johnny Vicious) that unlock the song’s hidden force. 2008-08-04T19:59:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/i_kissed_a_girl/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/i_kissed_a_girl/ I think Jesus just took a hand off the cross and put it over his gaping mouth. Katy Perry (formerly contemporary Christian Rock artist Katy Hudson) is steadily climbing charts everywhere with her bi-curious pop rock hit “I Kissed A Girl,” the follow-up to her Madonna-toted debut single “Ur So Gay,” and a stark departure from her spiritual beginning. And while both song titles sound like they could be intra-community hag-to-fag humor, I doubt you’ll be hearing either of these out at Pride festivals anytime soon. While not derogatory, both are definitely more shock gimmick than anything else, amounting to a clearly straight girl experimenting while shit-faced and a judgmental girl disappointed by her boyfriend’s vanity, respectively. Regardless, “I Kissed A Girl” has been gay-ed up by Jason Nevins and may just be too catchy for the politics to matter. 2008-08-04T19:58:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/crash_burn/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/crash_burn/ Fresh from the ashes of iiO’s passing, Nadia Ali’s solo career emerged Phoenix-style with a stream of DJ collaborations and now “Crash & Burn,” the first single from the forthcoming album Smile In Bed. Produced by Sultan and Ned Shepard, the song is about reckless love—the romance that could never sustain itself but can’t possibly be abandoned until it shatters fantastically before your eyes. It’s almost impossible not to wonder if that narrative isn’t something of a metaphor for the heights iiO reached with only one song and the slow demise over the coming years. Nothing has ever been said by either side of the duo as to how and why such a successful combination had to end so quickly, but even if the song has nothing to do with it, it’s more than a little delicious to imagine “Crash” as their tortured backstory. Remixes by Astro & Glyde, Dean Coleman, Dilamani & Rassek, DJ Shah, Justin Thomas, and Kered & Kiraly. 2008-08-04T19:48:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/control_yourself/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/control_yourself/ Long-time circuit darling Erin Hamilton returns to the main stage with her first new material since 2002’s “I Got The Music In Me.” “Control Yourself” is a trademark circuit house power anthem that casts Erin in the role of every gay man in West Hollywood, breaking up with and kicking to the curb yet another obsessive ex. Boasting remixes by Solar City, Lenny B., Dena Cucci, Reflex, Perry Twins and Manny Lehman, “Control” is poised to push its way to the front of the line throughout the summer, so be expecting to hear this one throughout the party season. 2008-06-12T21:17:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/dance_like_theres_no_tomorrow/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/dance_like_theres_no_tomorrow/ Although some hate it, I'm going to defend it to the end. Sometimes you just want something fun and vapid to dance to with absolutely no substance or political double entendres, something Paula did with enormous success in the '80s and '90s and seems not have lost her knack for after all the "Idols" and alcohol hazes. This is about nothing more than having a bad day and consequently wanting to go out, look amazing, dance and get attention-and who doesn't? Official remixes by Paul Oakenfold & Soul Seekerz. 2008-05-12T21:00:48+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/feedback/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/feedback/ After several tepid albums and lackluster singles, Janet’s long-awaited comeback song stands up to her icon status. This futuristic sex robot pop track has Janet demanding her trick’s close attention to her whorish moans and an appropriate reaction upon delivery. And if Darkchild’s poppin’ album version doesn’t dampen your drawers, the single’s extensive remix package, including submissions by Ralphi Rosario & Craig J, Moto Blanco, The Wideboys and Jody Den Broder, is sure to have something that make you call her “big poppa” 2008-05-12T20:59:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/daylight/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/daylight/ If this single is any indication, Kelly Rowland is one of the most underrated vocalists around. She's had nothing but stellar releases since going solo but hasn't received the label support she deserves. The party boy's anthem: "And it looks like daylight's gonna catch me up again/ Most people like getting up when I'm just getting in." Add incredible remixes by Joey Negro, Karmatronic, Hex Hector and Camaro Brothers, and you've got a whole new Special K. Look for the Freemasons' remix of the previous single "Work." 2008-05-12T20:42:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/touch_my_body/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/touch_my_body/ So maybe it's a little weird that the video has Mariah engaging in a secret pillow fight with a faux Best Buy Geek Squad computer technician, and that she's singing about YouTube, and that the song is too narcissistic and self-glorifying. But hey, other than all that it's timeless Mariah. Maybe someone who committed herself to UCLA's Neuro Psychiatric Institute a few years ago shouldn't be singing the line, "If you run your mouth and brag about this secret rendezvous, I will hunt you down." "Touch My Body"'s saving grace is Seamus Haji's power makeover, stretching the original version's meandering three-and-a-half minutes into nearly ten of skin-on-skin anthem house. 2008-05-12T20:36:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/whos_that_girl/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/whos_that_girl/ All but forgotten (in this country, at least,) since her enormous Max Martin-penned hit "Show Me Love" in 1997, Roby's now been picked up Stateside by Interscope Records with a rugged new sound and hyper-stylized visual presentation. The album's first American single capitalizes on Top 40 radio's recent acceptance of a more electronic sound with hooky vocals and a clever play on words. The self-titled album includes some of the most solid and original pop to be released in years. 2008-05-12T18:09:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/im_a_fire/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/im_a_fire/ The first we've heard from Miss Summer since her minimally circulated "Power of Love," this marks a glorious return to the club and a beautiful bit of metaphorical dance floor balladry that had me hitting the "back" button searching for hidden meaning. The vocal delivery blends granite stoicism and gushing sentiments. No expense was spared with the remixing credits, interpreted by 7 producers across 8 tracks on the promo, with numerous bootlegs circulating as well. "The Crayons" full length hits stores in May. 2008-05-12T18:01:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/run_the_show/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/run_the_show/ Though her first runaway single "Whine Up" was far more commercially successful, this one feels queerer friendly. Not that domination is exclusively the providence of The Gays. But we do seem to have a certain affinity for defining who gives and who takes it, and this works as an anthem for power bottoms everywhere. Johnny Vicious remixes again, having made the first single a massive club hit-this time with a much more aggressive sound that, when combined with the words and a boy's jeans slipping down just a little, has every top about to rut in slow motion under a strobe light. 2008-05-12T17:57:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/rapture/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/rapture/ Classics never die, they just get remixed. Iio's "Rapture" was one of the biggest club successes in the recent history, remaining in regular club rotation for nearly three years and promising to maintain an "oh-my-god-I-love-this-song" status until the end of time. So it was only natural that it get sucked and plucked for a new generation. These mixes began surfacing in summer of 2007 and have finally been released as a CD along with a bonus disc containing nearly all the former mixes, including several newbies, like those by Armin van Buuren and Paul Van Dyk. This is your just desserts. 2008-05-12T17:50:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/me/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/me/ It'd been a while since we'd gotten a taste of the honey vocals that fall from Tamia's lips, and when that return is served atop Rosabel and Soul Seekerz beats, the years disappear and all we're left with is a grateful reunion. "Me" is a power ballad in the same vein as "Stranger In My House," covering the familiar territory of "lover done me wrong." This time, the topic is approached by proclaiming infidelity with herself, not to mention a threesome with "myself and I." Initially appearing only on Abel's "Alegria Universo" compilation, this is a promo for now, but can be found on iTunes. 2008-05-12T17:45:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/4_minutes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/zingles/4_minutes/ Madonna does hip-hop. Initial response: disappointment. Not in the song, it's solid enough, but in Madonna. This just doesn't measure up to the level of trendsetting ingenuity we've come to expect from The Mother of [re]Invention. This move seems contrived and unnatural, like she's dressing up for Halloween and seeing how many people say, "Wow, you pulled that off." It feels like a gimmick. And getting Timbaland to produce a single feels passé after the deluge of Tim-produced songs on the radio last Fall. This'll get Madonna airtime again, but if that's all she's striving for then our icon has really and truly sold out. 2008-05-01T21:10:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/tiesto_-_in_search_of_sunrise/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/tiesto_-_in_search_of_sunrise/ This is a bit of a flashback, but the unmixed versions have just been released and they’re so worthy of mention, I couldn’t resist. The first volume of In Search of Sunrise was released in May 2000, and the sequel followed quickly in December. What began as just another mixed-set series became a worldwide phenomena and one of the most successful compilation series ever. Now on its eighth installment and handed off to Richard Durand, the In Search of Sunrise series flawlessly captured in 2000 a snapshot of the best in trance and progressive. It brought to light so many artists and producers that defined the genre; it also provided first light to tracks that later became classics and dancefloor staples. The first two volumes were recently re-released as unmixed digital packages, all tracks separate and in their full length glory, and it just serves to remind of how successful Tiesto was at selecting standout tracks amongst all the uninspired and nearly identical club releases that flood the bins. Volume 1 set the tone of the series with tracks like “Anomaly (Calling Your Name),” famously used as the backdrop for Jason Biggs and Shannon Elizabeth’s shaved beaver scene in the film American Pie. Billie Ray Martin’s Honey was remixed by Chicane, which went on to be included in a zillion compilations and was given a update remix treatment in 2003. BT’s “Mercury & Solace” comes from when he was still more of an indie artist and hadn’t yet achieved his mainstream crossover appeal. Volume 2 followed the initial release’s success with a deeper sound, with tracks like Rui Da Silva’s “Touch Me” featuring vocals by Cassandra Fox (or Cass now), which even today remains a staple and has been remade and remixed endlessly. Salt Tank’s beautifully lush “Eugina” was remixed by Michael Woods — another track that has been included on a zillion compilations. And the new vocal mix of Cass & Slide’s “Perception” turned the intricate, nearly 11-minute instrumental original into a haunting poem by Naimee Coleman. 2010-06-22T01:32:28+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/soldier_of_love/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/soldier_of_love/ Sade, the band, is one of those acts that does it the way I think it should be done — artists, not revenue-generating stars. The band had not produced an album since 2000’s Lovers Rock. What motivated the creation of Soldier of Love wasn’t any kind of obligation; it was because they had something to say. Isn’t that the way art is supposed to be? Sade Adu is one of those vocalists who could sing the phone book, and people would sit and listen, so the band will always have that going for them. And despite a decade separating the release of this and the last album, theirs is a sound and an atmosphere that no one forgets once they’ve experienced them. So no matter how much time they put between releases, there will always be an audience. Soldier of Love was touted as the band’s new direction in sound, but to be honest, it sounds like good-old tried-and-true Sade. Not a bad thing, mind you. The album’s first single, also titled “Soldier of Love,” has an incredible chunky beat and extremely minimal instrumentation, which frames Sade’s voice gorgeously. The 9-track remix package is less mainstream and more creative, incorporating chilled electronic beats, deep house, and several guest raps. 2010-04-26T19:13:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/believe/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/believe/ Morgan Page is a withholder. Over the last eight years he’s built an immense fan base for his particular brand of foggy, moody progressive House by applying it to a zillion remixes for disparate artists like Jason Mraz, Madonna, Alanis Morissette, Jeffree Star, Jody Watley, Yoko Ono, Nelly Furtado and Stevie Nicks. To name a few. But with all that demand, his own artist work gets perpetually pushed to the side and we’re left panting at the mere mention of something native with  his name on it. Believe began with the tease of the initial singles “Fight for You” and “Strange Condition” (awesome cover of Pete Yorn), and fulfilled its promise with the album’s full release in all its murky glory, and does not disappoint. Now staple vocalist Elisabeth Morris or “Lissie” appears on several of the album’s vocal tracks, but she’s also joined by a group of impressive guests, including Télépopmusik’s Angela McCluskey, deep House darling Samantha James, trip-hop crooner Natalie Walker, and the dynamic Matt Alber. Standout tracks include “Believe,” “Back to Life,” “Only Human,” and “Tell Me Why.” 2010-04-26T19:10:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/once_upon_a_night/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/once_upon_a_night/ Holland’s got it goin’ on. Between Ferry, Tiesto, van Buuren, and those wooden shoes, I don’t know what’s not to love. Oh, and the legalized drugs, prostitution and gay marriage. Bless the Dutch. And Corsten continues to represent his country in the best way possible with this gorgeous two-disc set highlighting the sound that dominates Europeans and their weekends. What marks this particular release as noteworthy is not how sparing the vocals are, but how much you don’t miss them. This is why we love trance. Unlike House, which positions the beat and percussion as the focal point, trance focuses on the melodies and uses the beat almost like a metronome to give the ambience structure. Vocals exist throughout both discs — but aside from a handful of full vocal tracks, they are used as textures or repeating elements. A hooked exhale, a stuttered hum … it all lends itself to creating this breathtakingly intimate atmosphere where you feel that the music is enveloping you, touching your skin with amorphous melodies and an angel’s voice. It’s magic. 2010-04-26T19:08:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_hopeful_machines/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_hopeful_machines/ BT is like Sade, he puts out albums when he’s got something to say. Constantly striving to reinvent and innovate, BT is a producer/artist/programmer whose name alone turns heads. I remember reading about the reaction Tori Amos had to her manager when she first heard his treatment of her vocals on their 1996 collaboration, “Blue Skies.” It was something like, “Holy shit, you have to hear this…” His sound has been imitated endlessly since his mainstream recognition — which I’m sure in no small way motivates his perpetual progress in sound and audio engineering. Following This Binary Universe, on which he played with very extended track times and purely instrumental soundscapes, These Hopeful Machines feels like a merger of that intention with the pop sensibilities of 2003’s Emotional Technology. The double-disc album contains 12 songs total, most of which clock in at over 10 minutes, and blend his passions for gorgeous ambience atop complex beats, and the dance-rock hybrid that will always be his hallmark. BT does his own vocals amidst guest performances by Christian Burns, Andrew Bayer, Jes, Kirsty Hawkshaw, Ulrich Schnauss, Rob Dickinson, and The Psychedelic Furs. 2010-04-26T19:06:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_elements_of_freedom/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_elements_of_freedom/ I’m not implying anything when I say this, but no one can write a love song like a gay person, and if Alicia is not gay, it’s a disservice to our community. There is a total self-abandonment that seems a hallmark of gay love, a starkness to the emotion that comes with finally finding love amidst the feelings of fear and secrecy—a trait most clearly exemplified by the severe pathos of Morrissey—that is very present in Keys’ music. This is Alicia’s third album since 2001, and not one album has ever failed to provide me with at least one, if not several, songs to lament, long and love so pointedly that I feel a deeper understanding of myself for the song’s addition in my “life playlist.” The influence of the Grammy for “No One” is evident on several tracks, most notably “Doesn’t Mean Anything”: The usually syncopated R&B bass line has been simplified to the 4-4 beat used on the award-winning song. The album’s character is mid-tempo and contains ballad tracks perfect for those late-night moments with another (or just yourself). Be sure to pay special attention to “Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down,” the sans-rap, all-vocal alternate of the radio version featuring Jay-Z, which fully deserves a radio presence of its own. 2010-02-13T06:41:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/animal/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/animal/ This girl is going to own 2010. Ke$ha is all the fun of Lady Gaga but without the pomp, theatrics and feigned profundity. She’s the girl who danced on a table at the frat party; the girl who crawled the length of the bar while downing everyone’s shots; the girl who rode in the trunk from one party to the next because at least there she could keep drinking. Ke$ha’s Animal brings to the new decade all the careless fun danceability of the ‘80s, but with the heart and soul to back it up.  The album harnesses pop’s new obsession with electro sounds, along with its teen-strength love affair with Auto-Tune and severe vocal editing, and creates the soundtrack to 2010 nightlife. She does the sloppy drunk fun thing with “Tik Tok,” “Take It Off,” “Blah Blah Blah,” and “Party at a Rich Dude’s House” (about a party at Paris Hilton’s in which she threw up in the closet). But she also shows that the party girl does have some specifics in mind after the lights come on with songs like “Your Love Is My Drug,” “Stephen,” “Dancing With Tears in My Eyes,” and “Blind.”  All in all, you can expect this album to be the go-to at every pool party this summer. 2010-02-13T06:40:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/rated_r/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/rated_r/ A therapist once told me after a break-up, “Don’t let go of your anger. Your anger will give shape to all the emotions you’re feeling right now. It will give you strength when you feel weak and broken.” Clearly someone said these words to Rihanna after having had the crap kicked out of her. Though thus far not nearly as commercially successful as her previous releases, “Rated R” manages in 13 tracks to be her most coherent, impacting and resonating piece of work to date. From start to finish, the album approaches the myriad emotional responses Rihanna experienced during and following her tumultuous relationship with Chris (“Why the hell am I not incarcerated?”) Brown, from every possible angle.  She proclaims her resilience in “Hard” and “G4L,” reaffirms who she was before the media frenzy in “Wait Your Turn” and “Rockstar,” and reminds us that through the abuse she also loved in “Stupid in Love,” “Cold Case Love” and “The Last Song.” She even flirts with the idea of the temptation of another woman on “Te Amo.” The disc’s incredible lead single “Russian Roulette” equates being with Brown to holding a loaded gun to her head. Don’t believe the lack of hype. This album is gold. 2010-02-13T06:38:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_fame_monster/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_fame_monster/ GaGa’s ear-popping rise to legend status continues with The Fame Monster. This EP was originally intended as a “tide you over addendum” to her original release, The Fame. But it has already managed to outshine all former radio singles with the career-defining “Bad Romance.” The remainder of the album sounds like perfect permutations of album tracks from The Fame, including “Monster” (sounds like “Poker Face”), “Speechless” (sounds like “Brown Eyes”), “Dance in the Dark” (sounds like “I Like It Rough”), and “Alejandro” (sounds like an updated version of Ace. Also included is “Telephone,” a duet with Beyoncé. Produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, it presents a more urban radio version of GaGa and a viable next incarnation of the Lady. All in all, no one could have asked for a better follow-up to one of the biggest albums of 2009. From this point forward, all top albums should be followed up with an EP of similar material just to keep the ball rolling. 2010-02-13T06:36:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/space_cowboy/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/space_cowboy/ One of the genius producers behind Lady Gaga’s ear-popping sheer vertical rise to fame, Space Cowboy re-releases and revamps his initial Japan-only release “Digital Rock” with reworked production and an expanded tracklisting.  The sound is largely homogenous, a blend of Euro pop, rock-inspired elements and severely auto-tuned vocals, but broken up by different guest vocalists, samples and hooks.  At a run time of just under 38 minutes, the album plays like a continuous party soundtrack and could probably be played on repeat without anyone being the wiser.  Guest vocalists include Natlia Kills, Chelsea of the Paradiso Girls, Cinema Bizarre, Chentelle Paige, Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, Kee, Vistoso Bosses, Nadia Oh and LMFAO.  “Falling Down” and “I Came 2 Party” have already been released as the lead singles with remixes by FrankMusic, Robot to Mars, DJ Dan, Starkillers, Jump Smokers, Discotech and David Garcia. 2009-12-29T03:37:51+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/memoirs_of_an_imperfect_angel/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/memoirs_of_an_imperfect_angel/ On first listen the response to this is disappointment, as everything is either slow or mid-tempo.  And it’s this very reason that it took me 2 months to appreciate this album following putting the promo in the first time, and missing out on those two months of loving it.  Mariah is an undisputed master of the ballad, having the ability to change the emphasis of the genre, which tends to be on the lyrical storytelling, to the pop instrumentation and the radio hook quality she’s capable of creating.  All of these songs, if you let them, pull you in immediately and have some form of pop quality that has you hitting the back step button by track’s end because you want to hear that catchy thing she did on it again.  They’re slow jamz that don’t put you to sleep.  But to satisfy the radio crowd, and to make up for the somewhat lackluster sales in comparison to many of Mariah’s other albums, it has already been announced that the disc will be re-released as a remix package, every track getting a treatment, and judging by the mixes that have already been leaked, it’s gonna be freaking hot.  And for a quick fix, a two disc version of the present version of the album is available featuring the remixes of “Obsessed,” radio edited, and includes productions by Seamus & Emanuel, Cahill, Jump Smokers and Friscia & Lamboy. 2009-10-29T22:43:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/wait_for_me/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/wait_for_me/ So if Moby went back to the club on the Last Night album, he’s gone back to the hipster coffee house on this one.  Perhaps the stylistic sibling of the “Hotel” album, “Wait For Me” is an endlessly mellow, thoughtful, and sometimes melancholy set of 3- and 4-minute passing thoughts that would do well alongside William Orbit’s “Pieces in a Modern Style” album as mood-setting atmosphere treatments best served sometime between the sunset and sunrise, and preferably beneath conversation dipped in dancefloor exhaustion.  The first single, “Mistake,” was of course released as a remix package, as will all subsequent singles most certainly.  But in its native format, this album really feels like an antithetical response to the former album, reminding us of all that Moby is capable of communicating. 2009-10-29T22:41:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/blacksummersnight/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/blacksummersnight/ Not exactly the sound we normally include in this column, but vastly too good to be overlooked for that.  Maxwell’s new “first of three chapters” album “BLACKsummer’snight” is short, with a total running time of about 37 and a half minutes, but creates in those minutes an atmosphere of intense masculine intimacy and sensuality.  Now I know when a lot of you come home from the party with your flavor of the night, you’re looking to pound hard, pound fast and pass out fifteen minutes or less, but I encourage you to let this album’s duration outline an extended session, and maybe, just maybe, take your time and make it last.  I’m never one to use the term “love making,” I prefer “porking” far more, but dare I say that the former best describes the activity that goes best with this concentrated 9-track set.  2009-10-29T22:40:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/a_state_of_trance_2009/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/a_state_of_trance_2009/ Yet another perfect installment in the ASOT series piloted by Armin Van Buuren, this 2009 chapter is no different than any of the previous.  And for a fun change, that statement’s not a downer.  This time pulling almost exclusively from his Armada label, 2009 serves as something of a resume for what the label’s been up to since the last ASOT release, and frames some of the music luscious vocal and instrumental trance heard since, well… the last one.  Longtime fans of the genre will recognize several update mixes of trance classics, including the phenomenal reconstruction of “Come To Me” by Phuture Sound feat. Angie, a few new classics are established, such as “Man On The Run” by Dash Berlin and “Change Your Mind” by Sunlounger. 2009-10-29T22:37:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/anjunabeats_volume_7/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/anjunabeats_volume_7/ At this point Anjunabeats has established itself as one of the most reliable things in existence alongside the toaster and the condom.  Now on it’s seventh volume since 2001, the Anjunabeats label has become synonymous with the pulse of trance and progressive and, with every semi-annual release, presents us with an accurate cross section of the tracks and artists that are or will be dominating the genre.  Staple powerhouses like Mike Koglin, Mike Shiver and Super8 & Tab with newcomers to the series like Aruna, Dirty Vegas and rising star Mat Zo.  Music nerds like myself will also note that this is the first time the album cover art design has changed, from the left justified all-Helvetica Neue title, to the centered Helvetica Neue and serif type treatment.  Go team go. 2009-10-29T22:21:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/for_lack_of_a_better_name/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/for_lack_of_a_better_name/ The man who performs with an enormous mouse head helmet behind DJ decks releases another set of trance and progressive to blow your socks off.  Following “Random Album Title,” what else would make sense to call your sophomore release other than “For Lack Of A Better Name?”  Clearly Joel Zimmerman isn’t gimmicking with cute titles and intentions, he just wants you to listen to his music for what it is.  The majority of the album is instrumental, but between the cheeky track names, intense production and David Morales-style variation in atmospheres, anything this man puts out is the perfect combination of banging and thought provoking.  The disc’s first single “Ghosts ‘n Stuff” is amazing and the final tracks “The 16th Hour” and “Strobe” are reasons enough by themselves to buy the album. 2009-10-29T22:18:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/kaleidoscope/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/kaleidoscope/ Like Guetta, Tiesto made his big crossover to pop via collaboration — few people on earth are left who’ve never heard Tiesto’s sweeping remix of Sarah McLachlan collaboration track “Silence” with electronica act Delirium.  After that, Tiesto gained a huge new fanbase and over the years his sound morphed a bit from the dramatic, melodic trance that made him famous, to a more aggressive, electro progressive sound that has been applied to a number of pop remixes in the last few years.  That sound now takes full shape across Kaleidoscope’s seventeen tracks, and features collaborations with many of the artists he’d previously remixed, including Nelly Furtado, Tegan & Sara, Calvin Harris, and includes the runaway summer single “I Will Be Here” featuring Priscilla Ahn and the future hit “Who Wants To Be Alone” featuring Furtado. 2009-10-29T22:10:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/one_love/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/one_love/ David’s been a huge star in the dance world for years, starring in his own “Fuck Me I’m Famous” parties around the world, releasing a never ending string of singles and remixes, and crafting his own special brand of house music.  But after his collaboration with The Black Eyed Peas on their The End album, David’s made the jump from underground to street level and has solidified his success as a crossover artist.  Doing what’s clearly a trend of dance producers at the moment and securing a pop music market appeal by collaborating with hit radio artists, Guetta employs pop talent on every tracks, including Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child, Chris Willis, Akon, Kid Cudi, Ne-Yo, Estelle, Will.i.am, and of course The Peas.  This one’s got more singles than a church social. 2009-10-29T22:09:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/celebration/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/celebration/ I criticized this one when I first heard about it, accusing Madonna of simply trying to complete her contract with the final album in the easiest way possible with a greatest hits.  But I take it all back, this record really is what we’ve been needing.  The Immaculate Collection was a near perfect compilation, collecting onto a single disc everything that was wonderful about 80s Madonna.  All that really needed to be done was an addendum to that with the huge hits from the albums since to create the definitive Madonna.  And here it is.  Ignore entirely the dismally constructed GHV2, Celebration does 19 years later what Immaculate did in 1990 — everything you loved about Madonna, presented in the same version you originally loved it as, but with a remastering that ups the pleasure level just a touch.  2009-10-29T22:08:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/paint_your_face/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/paint_your_face/ One thing internet exposure of music has done is open peoples’ eyes and ears to the more creative, crazy, experimental sounds of indie artists, and Sliimy is a prime example of that.  Fans of Junior Senior, Mika, and Hellogoodbye will rejoice at the quirky, poppy, playful sound of Sliimy.  Hailing from Saint-Etienne, France, the 20-year old musician first made a name for himself on YouTube with his acoustic cover of Britney Spears’ “Womanizer.”  Quickly gaining the attention of celebrity notables like Katy Perry, Lady GaGa, Miley Cyrus, Paris and Perez, Ms. Perez Hilton signed Sliimy as the first artist on his Perezcious Music label and was asked to join Britney and Katy on the European leg of their tour.  The debut album “Paint Your Face” is nothing but pop fun and frivolity across dance, ballad and funk tracks.  2009-10-29T22:06:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/just_one_day/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/just_one_day/ Kim’s one of the few girls who’ve fought the good fight in entertainment and actually emerged victorious.  “Just One Day” is the first solo album Kim’s crafted and actually seen released.  Most will remember her name from when she hooked up with production team Mynt for their “Still Not Sorry” album, which featured the runaway single “How Did You Know,” a cover of the Kurtis Mantronik original.  But what you probably didn’t hear about were the first two albums she crafted and then had deleted prior to release by the labels that signed her.  Clearly the girl’s determined.  Following 11 hit singles, numerous promotions tours and endless club dates, “Just One Day” is a dream fulfilled, ten years following the inception of her career, and perfect slice of pop dance that marks her as one of the lasting voices in dance.  Tracks you’ve probably heard and loved before include “Like A Star,” “Alone” (cover of Heart), “Break Up,” and her biggest single to date, “Feel Your Love.” 2009-10-29T22:03:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/scars/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/scars/ The seminal group drops their 5th full length and continue with more of the same crunchy, bassy, real instruments meets club beats, hippie, experimental vibe that’s set them apart from all others from the beginning.  The album’s introduction was the initial single, “Raindrops,” first circulated in late summer, which featured a pop perfect simplicity and the ecstatic vocals of Felix Buxton.  The album promises quite a few additional hits, and features collaborations on every track, including the one that seemed written in the stars, that with funky, white soul brother turned dance diva Sam Sparro.  2009-10-29T22:02:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/invasion_of_i_gotta_feeling_megamix_ep/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/invasion_of_i_gotta_feeling_megamix_ep/ This David Guetta produced and co-penned radio staple is going to be the song that every man, woman and child plays while getting ready to go out until the end of eternity.  Its sickly happy and optimistic is conveyed with equal intensity in the lyrics, the delivery, the guitar strums and the bouncy percussion, and rendering any in earshot bobbing and looking forward to something.  Aptly released on the Invasion of I Gotta Feeling Megamix EP, the remixes push the track through multiple environments courtesy of Laidback Luke, Zuper Blahq, Printz Board, David Guetta and even a Spanglish version from Taboo.  By now most are pretty sick of this, but ya know what, like “Single Ladies,” it’s a phenomenon.  You kinda have to just respect it for the effect it has on people. 2009-10-29T21:22:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/la_roux/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/la_roux/ So some will remember La Roux as, and even she’s been quoted saying this, the performer that everyone ignored at this year’s White Party in Palm Springs.  Apparently she took to the stage and no one had any idea who she was, so they all yelled something, turned back to each other, did a bump and then continued having oral sex in the sun.  Or something like that.  Regardless of how you do or don’t remember it, that introduction to the gay guys didn’t seem to go over so well.  Flash forward almost 6 months and you’re hearing her music remixed at all the gay clubs and the regard has been built so that guys are actually waiting for this album to drop.  Following extensive remix treatments of the first two singles, “Bulletproof” and “I’m Not Your Toy,” by names like Dave Audé, Razor N Guido, Morgan Page, Dean Coleman, Nima Nas and Manhattan Clique, the floor’s been abuzz with her manipulated vocals atop a rattling bass line. 2009-09-21T23:05:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/i_look_to_you/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/i_look_to_you/ Get ready ladies…  Whitney’s crazy ass is back to show you that, no matter what you’ve heard, she’s still got it in her to always love you and, according to the Wendy Williams interview, is still living at home with Jesus. I Look To You will be Whitney’s seventh studio album and her first release since 2002’s mediocre “Just Whitney,” which plainly “just sucked.”  With any luck this album truly will be her return to a [flattering] place in the spotlight and a public regard that outshines the drug allegations, spousal abuse and general bat shit craziness — a maneuver accomplished in no small part by a staggering ensemble of producers and collaborators enlisted for the task of creating an album that fit what’s left of her rusty pipes.  In true Whitney style, the initial single, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,” is a Diane Warren penned power ballad that’ll do equally well as a sappy radio staple as it will when remixed for the dance floor, with official remix treatments coming from Peter Rauhofer and Daddy’s Groove, a bootleg from Offer Nissim (which caused all KINDS of drama), and private mixes by Rafael Lelis and Edson Pride.  Remaining collaborators include Alicia Keys, R Kelly, Swizz Beats, David Foster, Akon, Stargate, Johnta Austin and of course Clive Davis.  Listening parties in London, New York and Los Angeles have garnered rave reviews and standing ovations from guests, so from the sound of things, they did something right.  Additionally the album’s release date was bumped forward a day, from September 1 to August 31, to make the album eligible for Grammy nomination in 2010.  Apparently the powers that be are ready for this one to not only make a comeback, but completely beat out.  At the time of this article, the Freemasons have just unveiled their staggering remix of the album’s second single, or I think they’re actually calling it the first “official single,” “Million Dollar Bill,” and without question puts Whitney back up alongside the standards she set “It’s Not Right, But It’s OK,” “I Learned From The Best,” and “Heartbreak Hotel.”  Our girl is back. 2009-09-08T15:33:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/i_feel_cream/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/i_feel_cream/ This is coitus music.  The rough, nasty kind.  Though her name might not ring an immediate bell, chances are you’ve heard of Peaches over the years.  Because despite being more of an underground artist, her lyrics and song titles tend to stand out a bit, like “Fuck The Pain Away,” “Diddle My Skittle,” “Stuff Me Up,” and “Rock The Shocker.”  They just tend to stick in your mind.  Her electroclash synth punk style and sexual frankness have always given her a hybrid appeal, making her equally accessible to gay dance crowds, straight urban clubs and rowdy punk settings.  “I Feel Cream” continues with similar subject territory as her previous three albums, but also seems to show a bit more vulnerability, a softer Peaches than most are used to.  This isn’t to say that she’s not still talking about the joys of taking a big dick atop a gurgling bassline, but alongside that you’ve also got her lamenting about not wanting to lose a lover and demanding that an object of desire talk to her.  So it’s an emotional mixed bag, but beneath it all is still the same strap-on dildo adorned, goat horn wearing girl with adhesive facial hair that we all love. 2009-07-29T06:47:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/future_memories/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/future_memories/ This man made such a huge name for himself with his very first single in 1999, I’m always amazed that he’s able to continually create and innovate with material that rivals all that came before.  Most remember “9 PM (Till I Come)” as “that wobbly guitar song with the chick whispering, ‘Till I Come” that was played in every gay club, straight club, frat party and radio station mix show well into the early 2000s.  And while nothing he’s done since that has had the same American pop crossover behind it, ATB remains in a category alongside artists like Benny Benassi, Cascada and Darude to anyone who appreciates pop-accessible dance music.  “Future Memories” continues with the format he established with 2000’s “Two Worlds”: a double disc release composed of a dance disc and a chill disc.  ATB branches out with his vocalist usage on the album, deviating from the affair he’s had for years with Wild Strawberries singer Roberta Carter Harrison by also employing trance darlings like Betsie Larkin, Tiff Lacey, Aruna, Jan Löchel and Kaskade’s discovery Haley.  The majority of the dance disc is vocal while the chill disc is entirely instrumental save for a downtempo cover of Everything But The Girl’s “Missing, which could have been disastrous without the beauty of Tiff’s vocals.  That’s kind of a song you can’t cover without raising some heckles, but he gets away with it.  Other gems on the first disc are “What About Us,” “Swept Away,” “A New Day,” “Gravity,” and “My Saving Grace.” 2009-07-29T06:45:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/shakedown_2/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/shakedown_2/ A successful sequel is a feat not easily accomplished, especially not one that actually rivals the original.  The initial release punctuated 2006, and despite a December street date it managed to be one on of the bestselling compilations of the year.  The release underscored a shift in remix trends—labels steering away from heavier, circuit house mixes of their artists’ material, toward a brighter, disco funk influenced sound that still achieves profundity instead of careless frivolity.  The album’s two discs are composed of both artist tracks (“Heartbreak” feat. Sophie Ellis Bextor, “Uninvited” feat. Bailey Tzuke) and pop remixes (Solange Knowles, Jamiroquai, Peyton, Moby, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Kylie Minogue), as well as a handful of exclusives including several bootlegs that had cropped up over the last few years (Eurythmics’ “Here Comes The Rain Again,” New Order’s “Blue Monday,” Lisa Stansfield’s “People Hold On”).  All in all, this is the soundtrack of Summer 2009. 2009-07-29T06:44:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/above_beyonce_dance_mixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/above_beyonce_dance_mixes/ You gotta give Beyoncé and her thighs some props for this, she’s shown some serious commitment to her gay fans and her crossover appeal to the clubs.  Generally speaking remixes are just a marketing tool used to record labels to promote their artists’ material in another context through an altered format, so it’s nice to see an artist of her stature acknowledging the remixes as material worth celebrating for its own merit.  And even though their name is absent from this particular collection, you can bet that some of the fuel for this release was how thrilled she was with all the remix treatments the Freemasons did for her previous album.  All the big singles from the “I Am Sasha Fierce” album are present, “If I Were A Boy,” “Single Ladies,” “Diva,” “Halo,” and “Ego,” along with “Broken-Hearted Girl” and “Sweet Dreams,” and have been reconstructed by Maurice Joshua, DJ Escape & Tony Coluccio, Karmatronic, Dave Audé, Catalyst, OK DAC and Harlan Pepper & AG III.  2009-07-29T06:43:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/sirens_of_the_sea_remixed/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/sirens_of_the_sea_remixed/ Destined to be remixed from the moment it hit shelves, Sirens of the Sea, Oceanlab’s debut release last summer was the full length release 7 years in the making.  After dropping their first single in 2002, Oceanlab became the little artist side project to follow, officially combining the freshly A-listed trance trio Above & Beyond with the other worldly liquid voice of Justine Suissa.  So when the website announced the impending release of the remix album back in early Spring, the desk chairs of a million trance fanatics could be heard being wet ‘round the world.  All 12 tracks of the initial release have been given the re-rub treatment across the remix album’s two discs, the majority receiving dual reconstructions, and all are dance floor-ready right out of the box.  Remixing credits include Jaytech, Michael Cassette, Andy Duguid, Gareth Emery, Lange, Oliver Smith, 16 Bit Lolitas, Andrew Bayer, Myon & Shane 54, Sonorous, Duderstadt and of course Above & Beyond.  In addition to the revamping of Sirens’ tracks, the Remixed edition also includes the group’s first three singles (not included on the original album), “Satellite (Above & Beyond Mix),” “Sky Falls Down (Armin Van Buuren Remix),” and “Clear Blue Water (Ferry Corsten Remix).”  The iTunes release also included 5 additional remixes by Ronski Speed, Daniel Kandi, Jaytech vs. James Grant, Martin Roth and Cosmic Gate. 2009-07-11T01:25:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_end/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_end/ So The Peas are back and from the sound of the album are going to be riding this one long enough to be played at California’s next legal gay marriage.  The End has been lounging atop the Billboard charts since its release, alongside its first two singles, “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Got A Feelin’,” and prompts the question, “What’s wrong with selling out when it generates this kind of success?”  To hear songs like “Rock That Body” or “Missing You” composed entirely of electronic beats and simple dancey hooks, you can almost forget their 1998 debut “Behind The Front,” when they looked and sounded like they were separated at birth from A Tribe Called Quest and used unique, independent vocalists like Esthero and Les Nubians to sing the occasional chorus against their otherwise sans-melody beats.  But that’s progress, and while the purist would say that the purpose of music is to communicate and express what people are feeling, the music industry will always counter and say the purpose is to make money.  And that’s what they’re doing, and very aptly.  Collaborating this time with House Music legend David Guetta instead of the latest Urban influences, The Peas create a purely dance pop album with just enough Hip Hop edge to remind you they’re not Eiffel 65, but not by much.  The cover art is a clear homage to the unfeeling, mechanized imagery of Kraftwerk’s 1986 Electric Cafe album, and functions as the telling face of what lies beneath—futuristic, auto-tuned and more processed than a Twinkie.  But it’s perfect in every way, the slick hooks are memorizable after one listen, the beats and samples are delicious and the lyrics are written in such a way as to feel relatable to everyone and alienate no one.  Expect these tracks to be dominating your public social life. 2009-07-11T00:35:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/sounds_of_the_universe/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/sounds_of_the_universe/ Misery loves company, so if you’re looking for a companion to hardship (money, love, money, sex, money, employment, maybe money), then look no further than DM’s newest installment, Sounds of the Universe.  Nearly thirty years after their conception, Dave Gahan could sing Vengaboys karaoke and still make you want to open an artery while fumbling for a bottle of pills.  And his fans wouldn’t have it any other way.  The band’s tip of the tongue hallmarks remain—lust, spirituality, romantic yearning, sinful temptation and sadomasochism—and run through the album’s thirteen tracks like dirty motor oil in pavement cracks.  The disc’s first single, “Wrong,” which was a classic on first listen, is already in circulation and has been serviced as a full remix package, including A-List treatments by Thin White Duke (Jacques Lu Cont), Frankie Knuckles, Trentemoeller and a promo-only rub by Peter Rauhofer. 2009-05-01T03:48:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/imagine_the_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/imagine_the_remixes/ Armin’s moved up the status ladder with a ridiculous speed.  We toted the original album last summer as some of the best trance to come along in a while, and apparently every other producer on earth thought the same.  When Armin approached the various producers to remix his material, what he got back was such an enthusiasm for the task, and consequently so much quality material, that what was originally slated as a single disc release become a double to compensate.  Those familiar with the original album know that there were a solid 8 vocal tracks that were on hands and knees to be remixed, and this album makes good on that plea with some incredible results.  Remixing credits include most of trance’s parliament: Martin Roth, First State, Shane 54, Sied Van Riel, Ohmna, John O’Callaghan, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Cosmic Gate, Stoneface & Terminal, and Richard Durand. 2009-04-10T05:13:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/generation_next/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/generation_next/ Three years have past since we last heard Junior create a lead-heavy set of thumping dance floor bliss (Party Groove’s White Party Vol.7), and it was time to remind the world why Junior is and will always be one of the highest level Godfather’s of Clubland.  In the last few years, the words “Junior Vasquez Club Mix” have been oddly absent from maxi singles save for a few Britney and Pink tracks.  After the huge run of Vasquez mixes that went mainstream in the early 2000s, he seems to have returned to the strobe-pierced darkness that named him its King, the only reminder of his existence being the occasional bootleg remix floating around the internet.  But with “Generation Next”, the hiatus is over and Vasquez proves in 13 tracks that as club music goes through its next adolescence, his throne will remain at the forefront of it all. 2009-04-10T05:08:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_grand/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_grand/ Following the immense success of Kaskade’s first mixed set “Bring The Night,” which spent what feels like months at the top of the iTunes’ dance chart, “The Grand” continues with the same gorgeous formula of the best sing-a-long house and progressive you’ve never heard before.  The set consists of a number of Kaskade’s own tracks, remixed by the likes of EDX, Mischa Daniels, Mind Electric, Santiago & Bushido and Tommy Trash, and a number of Kaskade’s remix production for other artists, including Jes’s “Imagination,” Zip Zip Through The Night’s “Beestung” featuring Alex Kenji, Plumb’s “In My Arms,” and one of the album’s most amazing tracks: “This Is How It Goes” by Haley [Gibby], the vocalist half of Summer of Space, the group she formed with Ryan Raddon (Kaskade). 2009-04-10T04:57:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/rihanna_good_girl_gone_bad_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/rihanna_good_girl_gone_bad_remixes/ It’s April and Rihanna’s already had a year.  But despite the Chris Brown beat down and the rampant herpes allegations, it’s nice to know that she and her label still make time to appease her dance music fans and the mob of gays that love her.  At first glance this looks like the American version of the bonus disc from the European import version of the original album, but there’s actually quite a bit more to appreciate here.  Firstly, all the remixes are in radio edit format, presumably to make it more digestible to the masses who don’t understand full length mixes (Weirdos), and maybe a little more palatable to the drunken A.D.D. guests at your next pool party.  Secondly it contains remixes of the bonus tracks from the Reloaded re-release of the album, “Take A Bow” and “Disturbia”, done by Jody Den Broeder and Tony Moran & Warren Rigg respectively.  The disc is rounded out with the previously domestically-unavailable Lindbergh Palace mix of “Umbrella.” 2009-04-07T06:39:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/cyndi_lauper_floor_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/cyndi_lauper_floor_remixes/ It had to happen.  Cyndi releases a dance floor album and it becomes obligatory to remix the hell out of it.  This Japanese-only import has been a highly coveted item ever since word of its impending release first surfaced, and its scarcity only makes the whole prospect that much more delicious.  The majority of the remix credits go to Richard “Pink Noise” Morel and newcomers Freedombunch, who do an amazing job at making a first impression.  The obvious gem of the album is Morel’s NRG mashup of “Set Your Heart” with “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” which has been making its rounds of every gay bar for months now.  In addition to that are remixes of “Into The Nightlife,” “Same Ol’ [Fuckin’] Story,” “Set Your Heart,” “High and Mighty,” and revive remixes of “Time After Time” and “True Colors.” 2009-04-07T06:35:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_fame/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_fame/ There’s something about Lady GaGa that makes the gays love her instantly, and I think I know why. Lady GaGa reminds you of that crazy girl in high school: the one who wore a cape and Robin Hood boots to class, who in drama class always did monologues that ended in death, and who made all the plain girls turn up their pressed powdered noses at her defiance. And of course this girl was your best friend because she thought that you were fabulous. Now that girl’s got an album just as eclectic as her style and every homo in the world is eating it up. The Fame is a blend of rock, pop, electro, dance and hip-hop, then hosed with a hot glue gun and dipped in glitter and given a platinum weave. The current single “Poker Face” follows the same formula as its predecessor “Just Dance,” and there’s much more where both those came from. Don’t ask questions, just buy this. Now. You’ll Love: Just Dance, Love Game, Paparazzi, Poker Face, Starstruck 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/genesis_vol_1/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/genesis_vol_1/ Tracy Young Genesis Vol. 1 The First Lady of the Circuit brings it back again with a new sound and a new compilation series. From the sound of things, Tracy’s butched it up in the way of peppering the mix with a lot of the dark and dirty tracks, a.k.a. the totally interchangeable tribal tracks with deep voices saying weird things. In fact, the first half of the disc is all dark jungle, save for vocal piercings from Ceevox (“What’s Done Is Done”) and Celeda (“Good Time”). But the second half sees the return of the accessible side of Tracy, combining lead beats with powerful vocals and singalong hooks like “Shine” by Yinon Yahel and Jesse LaBelle, “Reach” by Lil’ Mo Yin Yang, “Open Your Heart” by Axwell & Dirty South feat. Rudy, and the now classic “Alright” by Red Carpet. Genesis Vol.1 offers a combination nu-skool/old-skool sound, mixing the modern Circuit sound of mostly vocal-less production with the classic smiling atmosphere of uplifting vocal tracks. Something here for everyone. You’ll Love: Genesis, Shine, Do It Properly, Reach, Open Your Heart, Alright 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/remixed/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/remixed/ The wait is over, Offer’s got something new to offer. Offer has become one of the most highly regarded names in club music in the last few years, and the fact that the majority of his stuff gets released as bootlegs and never makes it across the Atlantic from his native Israel only adds to his mystique and allure. So when it was announced that a domestically available follow-up artist album to his 2006 First Time would be coming, I—along with anyone else who loves this man’s style—made a little puddle on the floor. In essence, this is all a long time coming, since most of the artist tracks contained have been trickling out as singles since early 2007. Finally, though, they’re all collected on one disc, along with a handful of new ones, a second disc of remixes of past and present material. This is also the only place a hardcopy exists of the one of four trance mixes of “For Your Love” from the 2008 round of remixes. You’ll Love: Out of My Skin, Remember My Name, For Your Love (Sied Van Riel Mix) 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_best_of_chicane_1996_2006/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_best_of_chicane_1996_2006/ Don’t sit on trying to find this. It was originally released on iTunes two weeks before physical release, then removed from iTunes just in time for the physical to be delayed to retailers. What you have before you (when you finally get it) is a select collection from one of the most creative and expressive minds in electronic music. After releasing only three full-length artist albums, Chicane has crafted well over a dozen classic tracks that have been played and revived continually over the years, and made a name for himself amongst the genre’s royalty. Additionally, this album is the only place to find several of the previously unreleased tracks from Chicane’s stillborn 2003 Easy To Assemble album (cancelled before release), and the edit version of his bootleg collaboration with Natasha Bedingfield, “Bruised Water.” You’ll Love: Daylight, Locking Down, Love on the Run, Stoned in Love (feat. Tom Jones) 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/alchemy_gst_reloaded_the_suar_sessions/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/alchemy_gst_reloaded_the_suar_sessions/ Alchemy is a special, glamorously packaged double-CD, that continues to demonstrate Ultra Naté‘s dedication to the fans, DJs and dancers who’ve sustained her career.  The first disc is essentially “Grime. Silk. Thunder. Remixed”, containing mostly previously unreleased remixes of the original album’s tracks by top producers like Bimbo Jones, Kenny Dope, Quentin Harris, Morgan Page, Craig C., Mood II Swing, DJ Spen and DFA, including the newly released Automatic 2008 remix by Tikaro, J. Louis and Ferran.  The second disc, titled The Sugar Sessions, is a continuous DJ mix by Ultra Naté herself.  Didn’t know she could spin, did ya?  The set is an example of what you can expect at Sugar in Baltimore, the club Ultra has been spinning at every Friday for the last five years, and is comprised of a mix of tracky deep house mixes of Ultra’s own material. The Favorites:  Falling (Mark & Shark Mix), Love’s The Only Drug (Adam Rios Shelter Mix) 2008-12-18T06:14:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/opus_secundo/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/opus_secundo/ Practice makes perfect.  Mr. Sam released Opus in 2007, and went on and on in the liner notes about how much of an undertaking the creation of a compilation is, how personal the tracklisting should be and how much it all needs to come together to say something, to have an underlying statement.  And I’m sure it did have all that, problem is it was dull.  Aside from a few choice tracks, the album felt like big landscapes of mediocrity broken occasionally by musical fireworks.  Someone must have said something, because Opus Secundo is hands down amazing from beginning to end.  What’s funny is that many of the same artists from the first are present on the second, but this second batch just works better, stirs deeper, moves more.  It’s more dramatic, I think that’s it.  If you love trance, you’ll bust one over this. The Favorites:  In The End, Stay With Me, Alive, Cygnes, Hold My Breath 2008-11-17T07:12:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/sirens_of_the_sea/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/sirens_of_the_sea/ This is after-the-party music. Not really a hook-up soundtrack, though some songs have a certain sensuality. More so, this is the perfect backdrop to dark skies creeping toward the blue of dawn and coming down in someone’s living room. Uplifting, beautifully vocalized, gentle, at times driven, and deeply intimate. OceanLab is the alternate moniker for the Above & Beyond production team paired exclusively with singer/songwriter Justine Suissa. Fans have been aggressively waiting for this one since the release of the group’s first single “Clear Blue Water” in 2002. The group has been trickling releases throughout the years, but only two of those singles appear on the Sirens album—10 of the album’s 13 tracks are fresh, original pieces that represent a new musical brand: album-oriented pop trance. Lacking the huge arpeggio crescendos of big room anthem-trance, or the disposable cheese of trance-NRG, the music and lyrics of Sirens have the same timeless quality as Sarah McLachlan, but use the hallmarks and ambience of trance to further the subject matter and create a watery sound that lets the listener melt away into its aquatic texture. 2008-10-07T21:21:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/invol2ver/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/invol2ver/ Sasha’s essentially a prophet in the world of dance music. The man is so celebrated in his vision of sound that there are artists who write and produce music specifically for him and him alone to spin. Unlike a lot of producers out there who have surrendered to a feeling of immediacy—music that says “you are a regular person inside a club listening to this"—Sasha has held to that classic clubber’s ideology of “experiencing an altered state through music,” and creates compositions that truly lift out of this reality and leave you feeling as though you’ve seen something, experienced something, and are changed for it. Invol2ver is the second chapter following the initial 2004 Involver, and is a continuous mix of Sasha artist tracks and Sasha remixes of others’ material. The Favorites: Arcadia, Destroy Everything You Touch, Burma, You Are The Worst Thing In The World 2008-10-07T21:18:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/happy_people/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/happy_people/ Happy People is a combination follow-up artist album and mixed compilation—the double-disc release contains every artist track he’s done since the First Time debut album, but like Forever Tel Aviv, is in a continuously mixed format, chock full of hand-picked favorites and remixes he’s done for other artists. The catch, however, is that its release is somewhat fragmented, mainly due to the unlicensed usage of samples from Britney’s “Gimme More” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” It was allegedly allowed into the U.S. after the tracklisting was revised not to include the unlicensed content but then disappeared from distribution and hasn’t been heard from since. The album is still available on Israeli sites, though whether an order of it would make it across the Atlantic is iffy. The risk is totally worth it. Tracklisting includes five new tracks with longtime collaborator Maya, a reconstruction of Captain Hollywood Project’s “More & More”, and Offer Nissim remixes of Deborah Cox, Shirley Bassey, Kim Cooper, Suzanne Palmer, Tony Moran, Erin Hamilton and Christina Aguilera. The Favorites: Love, More & More, Shine, Flame 2008 2008-10-07T21:16:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/unexpected/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/unexpected/ While Sarah Palin’s out there making religion look about as heinous as possible, Michelle Williams shows the world (and The Gays) that just because there’s faith in her life, it doesn’t mean she’s a hater. Following her first two devotional albums, Michelle returns to the pop world she dominated as one third of Destiny’s Child, but this time on her own terms and with a unique sound. Unexpected is exactly that, the Michelle you never saw coming and won’t be forgetting anytime soon—an album that radiates confidence and unforced sensuality over a musical texture that blends muscular urban funk with Euro-sweetened pop, a marriage of cultures completely unheard in the American musical landscape. The Favorites: Hello Heartbreak, We Break The Dawn, Private Party, Stop This Car 2008-10-07T21:13:01+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/elevate/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/elevate/ Following the unofficial release of his bootleg remix compilation aptly titled Cease & Desist from a few years ago, it was time Page showed the world what had become of his musical genius since making the transition to legal productions. And the result is nothing short of dizzying. Where other producers seek to create a pounding rhythm that moves the body, Page seeks to create a calculated maelstrom of sodden emotion that moves the innards. It’s like trance but without the ethereal intention, a moody trip across a solid percussive foundation. The compilation contains several of Page’s own artist tracks mixed among his remixes for other artists. Despite the listener’s inklings to head straight for the two biggest names to have been given the Morgan Page treatment—Nelly Furtado and Delirium—these are actually among the least noteworthy of the album’s offering, completely overshadowed by tracks like Jenny Owen Youngs’ “Fuck Was I,” Leigh Nash’s (formerly of Sixepence None The Richer) “Nervous In The Light Of Dawn,” and Page’s own tracks “Call My Name” feat. Tyler James, “Fade Away” feat. Matt Wasley and “The Longest Road” feat. Lissie, a Deadmau5 remix of which is contained as a bonus track. 2008-08-04T19:33:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/one_mighty_weekend_2008/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/one_mighty_weekend_2008/ Dana Divine’s hook in the first song says it all: “Remember the Music? Turn It Up!”  Coming out of the Pride season, one compilation stands above all the rest in its encapsulation of the “I Love Being Gay!” vibe and impeccable track selection that reminds us of all the music and energy our weekends were steeped with in the glory days of gayness. It’s no surprise all that comes from the ever-dependable Masterbeat label. The double-disc set, co-conducted by Brett Henrichsen and Alyson Calagna, follows Masterbeat’s rock steady commitment to joygasm-inducing, sing-a-long club music with top artists like Ultra Naté, Inaya Day, Suzanne Palmer, Debby Holiday, and power producers like Paulo, The Cube Guys, Twisted Dee, Tony Moran, Warren Rigg and Manny Lehman. While the months of flags, fabulousness and faggotry are coming to a close, music like this demands that you keep sashaying all the way to Santa’s lap. 2008-08-04T19:23:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/imagine/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/imagine/ Armin Van Buuren is nothing short of amazing: At the age of 32, he had made the steep ascent to international stardom that earned him the status of DJ Magazine’s No. 1 DJ of 2007. A seven-year weekly gig as host of the popular radio show “A State of Trance,” a successful compilation series of the same name, his own Armind label, three albums and an overwhelming list of artist tracks and remixes hardly seems an appropriate résumé for someone whose humble beginnings fresh out of secondary school into a local Dutch nightclub began in 1995. Armin proves that if you follow your passion, the potential for success is limitless. Imagine is Armin’s third artist album. It includes the DJ Shah collaboration track “Going Wrong” featuring Chris Jones, and employs the vocal talents of Jaren, Audrey Gallagher, Sharon Den Adel, Jacqueline Govaert, Kathy Burton, Vera Ostrova and the soon-to-be-classic Jennifer Rene. Though not breaking any new ground thematically, the album demonstrates the vast emotional depth electronic music is capable of and the stark beauty of a lovelorn voice. Vocal tracks like “Unforgivable,” “Never Say Never” and “Fine Without You” seem destined for a single release, and instrumentals like “Imagine” and “Intricacy” will doubtlessly be making appearances on purist trance compilations. 2008-08-04T18:58:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/spirit/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/spirit/ Heralded as having the biggest debut of any winner/con- testant from a musical talent game show, Leona Lewis has been turning heads and setting records ever since the world took notice of her on Britain’s American Idol predecessor, X Factor. Leona set a world record when her debut single “A Moment Like This” was downloaded over 50,000 times in the first 30 minutes after she was announced the winner of the show’s third season. Then BBC News reported that she had set another record when the first single from her debut album Spirit, “Bleeding Love,” was downloaded 1.7 million times in one week. Spirit employs the combined efforts of many of today’s hit-making producers and songwriters, including ballads by Avril Lavigne, longtime Mariah Carey collaborator Walter Afanaseiff and Simon Cowell himself. Unlike many involved in these career-making game shows, Leona’s debut isn’t a misfire attempt at creating a career via image for the artist. Instead Lewis’ debut album cover looks not unlike Mariah Carey’s—not overly sexy, not overly styled, just a beautiful face set against a black background and timeless type framing her. This woman has a voice and if you purchase this disc, you’re going to hear it. Simple and honest. Expect even more big things from this one for years to come. 2008-08-04T17:34:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/fierce_pussy_the_remix_album/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/fierce_pussy_the_remix_album/ Paris Hilton wishes she could be Amanda Lepore. The self-proclaimed "Number One Transsexual in the World", Lepore has represented enigmatic, underground glamor and fame since the early 90s and has remained infamous across the globe for her daring and willingness to not only cross the line, but drag a throne across it, recline, spread her legs and proudly aim a million watt spotlight and her lady hamper. This spring she releases the teaser album Fierce Pussy: The Remix Album, featuring 4 songs across 12 tracks and reinterpretations by Funky Junction, Craig C, Tim London and guest appearances by Cazwell and Larry Tee. All tracks (Champagne, My Pussy, I Know What Boys Like, and My Hair Looks Fierce) are plucked from her forthcoming full length album, Brand New Woman out later this year. 2008-06-12T20:45:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/discipline/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/discipline/ Discipline is the first album since Velvet Rope to feel inspired from beginning to end; the last few have been plagued by well-written ballads with bland production (slow still has to sound good) and dance tracks that sounded more trend-following (“So Excited”) than trend-setting (“if”). Janet loves her sex, and she loves to sing about it. Just about everything notable she’s done in the last 15 years has been about or was inspired by sex. So with a title like Discipline, you know her heart’s in it. The album’s chock full of radio-friendly singles that promises to keep Janet in the public consciousness, but after seeing that cover, I could’ve done with a bit more naughty sex content. 2008-04-28T18:28:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/robyn/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/robyn/ Robyn could be the next huge thing if this country decides to elevate to stardom a white female artist for her talent instead of her scandalous image or clothing line. The album and its singles have been in circulation in Europe since 2005, so Interscope's decision to distribute it domestically was a no-brainer. What remains to be seen is how America is going to digest a plain-faced Swedish blonde with a Peaches-like sound and an urban-by-way-of-Europe edge. Interscope's already attempted to market her as the "chorus 'ho" when they had her guest on the remix of Snoop Dogg's "Sexual Eruption," which-despite being worlds better than the original-never made it to the radio. I'm just going to cross my fingers, sit back and watch what happens. 2008-04-28T18:22:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/soundboy_rock/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/soundboy_rock/ If Discovery was Daft Punk's breakthrough album into completely digestible pop dance, then Soundboy Rock is Groove Armada's. This sounds like a more grown-up version of Junior Senior, combining their propensity for bright, exuberant sounds with the experimental enthusiasm of late-'90s Electronica, the gypsy ambience of Gotan Project and the dubby MC vocals of urban hit radio. What results is a mix of disparate, unexpected delights as deliciously fascinating as the contents of a club floor at closing time. 2008-04-28T18:20:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/fierce_disco_2/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/fierce_disco_2/ The clouds have finally given way to blue skies and enough exposed skin to give you blue balls, so what better way to kick off the summer months than with some peak-hour dance music that reflects the season’s light mood and sunny disposition? Fierce Angel, the next creative venture of Hed Kandi founder Mark Doyle-and consequently an exact copy of the former-produces compilations of unmixed, full-length dance tracks and remixes, and does so with every bit of its predecessor’s success. Fierce Disco 2’s three discs combine the latest unmixed House, Disco House, Garage and Electro, boasting marquee names like Joey Negro, Todd Terry, Kenny Dope, Jocelyn Brown, Moto Blanco, Love To Infinity, Tony Moran, Martha Wash, Kristine W, Peyton, Eric Kupper, The Wideboys, Amanda Wilson, Andrea Britton, Robbie Rivera, K-Klass, Seamus Haji, and on. With all this warm, glowing goodness you’re sure to find more than a couple favorites, so shed the cold, hard beats of winter like that last bit of clothing you’re still wearing and dive into the sounds of endless summer nights. 2008-04-28T18:14:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/night_blossom/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/night_blossom/ Have sex to this album. Or at least pop some wood and grind someone sortakinda special under the disco ball. The remix companion to the Fire Flower album, Night Blossom is a double load in the face, with one disc compiling the best remixes from the album's singles, and the other spooling remixes of all Ananda's albums into a continuous mix of sensual heavy petting. The greatest thing about Ananda Project in a club setting is that you don't even need to wait to get to the bedroom: the tempo, the instrumentation, the delicate vocals, the dancing that comes from that is far hotter than anything that happens between the sheets. Playing this may require latex. 2008-04-28T18:09:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/last_night/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/last_night/ Moby's been through an incarnation or two-underground unknown, über-trendy illegible, frighteningly commercial jingle machine, Gwen Stefani's motorcycle buddy. So it was probably about time for it all to come around and make a circle. Harkening back to his early days, Last Night is all about the club and the roots of club music, before the divas and the "remix as promotion tool" thing came along, when DJs were godly maestros, not just background noise, and their musical constructions were what brought you into the night. The sound is very eclectic, very experimental vocal content, with varied tempos and moods. This is the perfect album for a dance purist who loves the journey and loves to taken through all veins of house. 2008-04-28T18:01:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/nineteen/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/nineteen/ Despite the endless comparisons, Adele is not "The New Amy Winehouse." They're both English and have enormous jazz voices, but to say they're the same is like saying Avril Lavigne and Celine Dion are the same because they're both Canadian and have ankles. More than anything else, Adele falls into the category of "singer/songwriter," both writing down in verse the intricacies of her lovelorn mental muddle and relating it by way of her husky yet agile voice and stinging, feisty tongue. Titled after her age when recording it, the album plays like pages of a nice school girl's diary and the liner notes of which cite disparate influences like Etta James, Björk, Billie Holiday and Jeff Buckley. Perfect "alone time" music. 2008-04-28T18:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/seventh_tree/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/seventh_tree/ A far cry from the Goldfrapp most of us got used to over the past few years, with image-defining hits like "Strict Machine," "Oh La La" and "Ride A White Horse," Alison channels a little Olivia Newton John on an album that could be seen as a return to Felt Mountain if it weren't the soundtrack for an entirely different kind of movie. Seventh Tree is the backdrop to a summer afternoon love scene on wooden floors in a bright, modest home furnished in ashy whites and faded yellows. Unlike the high contrast, black and white Italian street scene of "Felt," "Tree" feels monochromatic and granular, like wheat blowing in the wind, which works nicely over the end credits following the darkness and disco light. 2008-04-28T17:46:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/flexible/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/flexible/ Flexible is right. The delicate white boy with Aretha's power releases his sophomore full-length and stretches in some funky new directions. In contrast to his initial release, which was a fierce but homogenous sample of sexy 1 a.m. Circuit anthems, Flexible is a more mellow, eclectic drama club of ten unique atmospheres that explore myriad ways to say something musically while getting a butt or two on the dance floor. 2008-04-14T22:40:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/makeshift_feelgood/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/makeshift_feelgood/ Not that they needed the company, but it seems the experimental approach of Basement Jaxx suddenly has some. On their sophomore album, X-Press 2 takes the aggressive beats of their debut, puts ‘em through a food processor, adds whatever it finds in the dumpster out back, and creates a danceable chunkiness that references way too many influences to list here. Singles from the first album were all vocalist collaborations, so it’s no surprise that this time around every track includes some words, and the format is more pop-centric than the other’s club orientation. The disc’s initial single, “Give It,” which was originally release over two years ago, has been re-released with additional mixes by Friscia & Lamboy. 2008-04-14T22:39:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/alegria_universo/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/alegria_universo/ Ever since releasing the first in this three-part series, Abel has expanded the audience of tribal house exponentially with his hooky, vocal presentation of the genre and a meticulous selection of truly intoxicating tracks and remixes. Take his trademark blend of anthemic beats and tribal percussion on Disc 1. Add tribal house interpretations of dance artists like Tamia, Jeanie Tracy, Karen Young and Bob Sinclar. And bake to keep the listener forever wondering where Abel will take them next. As a counterpoint, Disc 2 is composed of “Morning Music,” a lighter, more vocal companion to the heavy, complicated rhythm that dominates the night. To match the blown-out blue-and-yellow light of the hour, artists like Ultra Nate, Southside Hustlers, Tamara Wallace, Karen Young and Frankie Knuckles form a continually brightening mood that ends with the sax and strings of the Freemasons’ “Pacific,” extending the Alegria into the day ahead. 2008-04-14T22:39:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/i_love_montreal/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/i_love_montreal/ Continuing the I Love series, Peter ventures this time to Michael Moore country and nestles in amongst the moose and free health care et voila! The mixmaster’s interpretation of Montreal’s unique vie en rose. Joining the usual cast of Star 69 artists and producers are Dangerous Muse, Dave Aud feat. Jessica Sutta, Kaskade, Axwell, Nelly Furtado and Noir’s re-rub of the classic jingle “My MTV.” 2008-04-14T22:38:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/greatest_hits_remixes/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/greatest_hits_remixes/ Oakie’s career has included underground raves, hyper-publicized stadium massives, ultra-trendy urban hotspots and sold-out nightclub world tours. His body of work, both as an artist and a producer, has spanned nearly as many years as his name has syllables, and earned him the Guinness World Record title of “Most Successful DJ in the World.” This compilation attempts to frame that body of achievement. That intention may seem impossible to accomplish with shiny plastic and binary code, but the enormous diversity of the tracks included serves to outline his vast musical ingenuity. That in mind, it should come as no surprise that the album is available in one-, two- and three- disc versions, all of which contain multiple new 2008 Oakenfold mixes of selected favorites. 2008-04-14T22:37:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/in_search_of_sunrise_6/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/in_search_of_sunrise_6/ Few series have ever made it to a sixth volume with the same eager anticipation and continuous critical acclaim like Tiesto’s In Search Of Sunrise. With every release, Tiesto carefully cross-sections the ever-morphing genres of trance and progressive house. The world-class DJ calls attention to the newest roster of artists and producers that are defining and challenging the hallmarks and standards of ambient dance music. Here the flying Dutchman presents cultural shifts like the blend of electro and trance, and African tribal percussion atop rounded beats. He also underlines vocalists like Jes, Julia Thompson, Anita Kelsey and Jennifer Rene. And this is the only place you’re gonna find Tiesto’s own ISOS remix of the indie hit “Hide & Seek” by Imogen Heap. 2008-04-14T22:37:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/some_people_have_real_problems/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/some_people_have_real_problems/ Sia is a vocalist and songwriter of inimitable integrity and individuality. She is also one of the few people in the world who immediately renders me a girl of thirteen face-to-face with her ultimate idol - I ran into her at a tanning salon in LA and acted like a teeny-bopper backstage at a Justin Timberlake concert. Until recently, Sia was the voice of Zero 7’s biggest singles. Then overnight she achieved her American breakthrough as the artist responsible for the musical capstone of the Six Feet Under series when her song “Breathe Me” closed out the finale. On her third solo album, Sia combines the jarring lyrical intimacy of her debut Healing Is Difficult with the whisper-soft instrumentation of her second album, “Colour The Small One”, and creates pop-friendly chill-out with her brazen voice and a lush, layered acoustic sound. 2008-04-14T22:36:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/summer_of_space/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/summer_of_space/ Haley Gibby, the voice of Summer of Space, seems to be an artist with a true intention and an indomitable will. When she was recognized by Warner Bros. and offered a contract, she declined, deciding instead to continue pursuing her musicality without Big Brother steering the wheel. In 2001, she met producer Finn Bjarnson and explored the musical course she chose instead of commercial success. Later, along with Ryan Raddon (Kaskade), a group was formed, and following the success of their initial single an album was completed and the result is nothing short of aural bliss. Haley’s vaporous voice atop emotion-sodden instrumentation plays like a gorgeous footnote to life - quiet, saturated commentaries floating like fog over hills, commanding your attention in the most delicate way possible. 2008-04-14T22:35:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/transport_systems/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/transport_systems/ On Transport Systems, Ari combines all the best of contemporary pop conventions with his own blue-eyed soul, and sets to music his life experiences of love, lust, sex, heartbreak, infidelity, and frayed relations. This all sounds like coloring within the lines until you realize Ari’s not singing about bitches, boobs, and juicy booties - his sentiments stem instead from his experiences with other men. And he’s not coding it in any way. Ari is in-your-face gay without the camp and the crassness. He doesn’t take the “Queer As Folk” approach to gay social equality via music, shoving butt-sex and blowjobs down everyone’s reluctant throats. Instead he creates music that sounds like everything you’ve heard before, but inserts the otherwise deleted gay male perspective on the same ups and downs of life that inspire the lyrics of mainstream straight pop. He inspires acceptance via normalcy - instead of something like Britney’s “Stronger”, a song about her moving on from a cheating boyfriend, Ari offers the alternative “Mr. Mistress”, a song about his moving on from a man who refuses to live honestly about his same-sex feelings. One of the album’s highlights is a cover of Human League’s “Human”, which adds a new dimension to the already laden lyrics (I’m only human/ Of flesh and blood I’m made/ I am just a man). Transport Systems, along with Gold’s two previous albums, is a tasty slice of radio-friendly R&B/pop that allows man-loving men the opportunity to fully relate to the fun and frivolity of pop music without having to switch gender pronouns or emasculate themselves by obligatorily identifying with the female role in the song. Ari just might be our Justin Timberlake, and frankly it’s about time. 2008-04-14T22:34:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/bring_the_night/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/bring_the_night/ Kaskade’s new mix compilation Bring The Night spent weeks at the #1 position on iTunes’ Dance Albums for a reason: funky electric beats, soul-soaked vocals, catchy-as-hell melodies, and such an overall diversity of artists and sounds that anything else you listen to just sounds tired and typical. The tracklisting blends several of Kaskade’s own tracks and remixes, including mixes of Nelly Furtado’s “All Good Things (Come To An End)”, Floetry’s “Supastar”, and his artist track “Sorry” remixed by Dirty South, with a crunchy trail mix of underrated creations by artists like Axwell, Armand Van Helden, Bob Sinclar, D.O.N.S., and David Tort & Fedde Le Grand. Not one of the disc’s fifteen selections is fill, but as with all great compilations, it’s the closing song that stands out amongst all that came before and lingers in your ear for days. The track is “Hearts Reaction” and the group is Summer Of Space, the musical union of Kaskade and Finn Bjarnson with the gossamer vocals of Haley Gibby. The track alone is worth the price of admission. Seems Kaskade’s finally been sleeping with the right people or something, because his musical ingenuity is finally being recognized, and his remix abilities have recently been commissioned for Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, The Pussycat Dolls, Justin Timberlake, and Seal. Keep an eye on this one - the attention he’s getting is finally catching up with his talent. 2008-04-14T22:31:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/disconnect/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/disconnect/ Jes Brieden has undergone a true renaissance. From her gritty indie rocker ways she’s made a complete transformation, of both sound and image, to a powerhouse dance floor singer/songwriter. But it’s her innate rock sensibilities that separate her from the trademark blonde dance vocalist: she’s rougher, rawer, and more ragged, which translates to a sound that touches emotional crannies not usually accessible by way of the 4-4 beat. Her voice has no ego, no fear of overexposure, an honesty that sounds like a naked body standing before you, arms outstretched and eyes to the heavens, laying bare all they are and believe. I know that’s dramatic, but really, her delivery’s unrivaled; she’s like no one else out there. Jes’s transformation began when “Starchildren”, an MP3.com hit from her band Guardians of the Earth, was picked up by Paul Van Dyk and reworked for the first volume of his groundbreaking Politics of Dancing series. Inspired by the new version of herself she heard, she began working with more DJs and producers and went on to form Motorcycle with Gabriel & Dresden and voice the instant club hit and Billboard No.1 “As The Rush Comes”. Overnight, Jes became clubland’s Evan Rachel Wood, a fresh “previously unknown” with the talent of a superstar and the momentum to become one. She went on to work with such renowned producers as Solarstone, Deepsky, D:Fuse, and most recently Tiesto, who she toured with promoting his Elements of Life album, the first vocal track of which Jes is responsible for. Disconnect is her debut solo album boasting her new “rocktronica” sound, co-produced with a myriad of other talents and tightly wound with her latticed lyrical constructions. Tracks contained that have already scorched both mix CDs and club speakers alike are “Ghost”, “Like A Waterfall”, “Imagination”, and “People Will Go”, with the majority of the ten remaining tracks all carrying the potential to be just as big. Alice Deejay’s forgettable debut asked “Who Needs Guitars Anyway?” And the answer: those who dare to innovate. Rock on, Jes. 2008-04-14T22:30:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/rise/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/rise/ This is late-summer evening horizontal house. And while that’s nothing new, Samantha James manages to differentiate herself from an immense group of sound-alike artists. The downtempo, loungey, nu-jazz sound reached a new level of mainstream popularity in the early 2000s, and the market has since become saturated with Buddha Lounge, Hotel Costes, and similar compilation series. Labels like Hed Kandi, Naked Music, and James’s own Om are continually churning out new artists to satisfy the demand, but amidst all that, Samantha James’s debut album Rise distinguishes itself by its superior songwriting. The sticker on the album’s cover says “For Fans of: Sade, Morcheeba, Bebel Gilberto & Everything But The Girl”, so without even peeling back the cellophane, Samantha’s already elevated to the level of some of this generation’s most deeply personal songwriters. That height could be precarious if she were teetering atop only label promotion and a pretty face, but Samantha’s got the chops to back that up along with the aforementioned. The quality is consistent throughout the album; the uncompromising lyrics and lavish vocal arrangements fall effortlessly from James’s lips and sustain a continuous intimate connection with the listener. The production, courtesy of collaborator ROCAsound, flaunts all the bells and whistles electronica has to offer - watery instrumentation, liquid beats, and gorgeous filtering and layering of the vocals - but serves to augment what is preexisting, not make up for weakness. The album would sound just as beautiful unplugged. I’ve been waiting a year for this to drop, since hearing the initial single of the same name, and I couldn’t feel more rewarded for the wait. For any who love music that gets inside and lingers like the taste of red wine, this one’s just waiting for you. 2008-04-14T22:30:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_world_as_i_see_it/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_world_as_i_see_it/ Screw drugs. Ditch the fake sexy attitude. The mothership has landed. It’s time to get real. This is purist house. Dennis Ferrer presents house music as an underground culture separate from the rules and conventions of the rest of the world, where a 4/4 beat is as commonplace as the soil beneath your feet and organic instrumentation and African percussion intertwine to create fertile landscapes on the polished dance floor. The atmospheres span from aggressive to dreamy, feeding intentions of mandated salvation, deflated romance, starry-eyed love, and the belief that “one man can change the world.” Aside from Mia Tuttavilla on “Touched The Sky,” all vocals throughout are refreshingly male including Tyrone Ellis, K.T. Brooks, Selan, and Danil Wright on the disc’s initial single “Church Lady.” Ferrer’s distinctive tracks have been included in innumerable compilations framing disparate genres ranging from big-room tribal to sunny, sandy Ibiza anthems, and has contributed remixes for names like Blaze, Fish Go Deep, Copyright, and Junior Jack. 2008-04-14T22:27:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/forever_tel_aviv/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/forever_tel_aviv/ Here and now, I am nominating Offer Nissim’s Forever Tel Aviv for Best Compilation Ever. Ever. Offer Nissim is one of the most visionary DJ/producers to come along in the last decade. Combining Middle Eastern musical influences and an intense flare for editing and manipulating vocals, Nissim’s sound envelopes listeners in a reality as separate and extreme as what Junior Vasquez first presented to clubgoers in the 1980s. Nissim strives far beyond playing music you can dance to and produces such a concentrated alternate sonic atmosphere that sitting and listening almost seems more appropriate. This two-disc set was released only in Israel but special arrangements have allowed a limited number to be imported into America and made available to select retailers. The set combines Nissim’s own tracks and remixes with works by a number of others, and includes private Offer Nissim remixes of Beyonce’s “One Night Only” and “Deja Vu,” Kristine W’s “Be Alright,” Donna Summer’s “Power of Love,” Christina Aguilera’s “Hurt,” and Angie Stone’s “Wish I Didn’t Miss You.” 2008-04-14T22:26:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/open_your_box/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/open_your_box/ This album frames such a unique phenomena. Not since Everything But The Girl post-“Missing” has an artist with this level of integrity embraced such a dramatic makeover of their sound. Starting with “Yang Yang” back in October of 2002, Ono publicly dove into the world of club music and Circuit parties with remixes by Peter Rauhofer and Orange Factory. A string of singles followed employing the skills of John Creamer & Stephane K, Pet Shop Boys, Danny Tenaglia, Felix Da Housecat, Rui Da Silva, Basement Jaxx, Murk, Dave Aud�, Ralphi Rosario, Superchumbo, and The Passengerz, among others. The product is the most after-hours appropriate material ever � Yoko blaring her crazy-ass sentiments, sounds, and imagery, mostly without musical conventions, over productions by the best of the best. All that experimentation has been collected onto this single disc containing thirteen tracks, mostly edited but not brutalized, of the best of the lot, including the formerly vinyl-only tracks “Kiss Kiss Kiss” (Superchumbo Remix), “Hell In Paradise” (Peter Rauhofer Remix), and the Orange Factory mix of the title track. Other highlights include the Basement Jaxx mix of pro-same-sex relationship anthem “Everyman… Everywoman…,” the Pet Shop Boys’ eerie remake of “Walking On Thin Ice,” and Bimbo Jones’s smooth interpretation of the jittery love song “You’re The One.” 2008-04-14T22:25:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/out_of_the_woods/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/out_of_the_woods/ Out Of The Woods began as Tracey’s autobiography of her life in bands and essentially who she was prior to motherhood. While researching for the book she was reminded, “You still are this person.” Tracey abandoned the book and set out to reclaim herself and she began writing and collaborating and Out Of The Woods developed into the intricate composition that it is. The lineage of Out Of The Woods is more direct to her last solo recording, 1982’s A Distant Shore, than it is to EBTG’s final 1999 album Temperamental. The emphasis of the songwriting is the delicate, pensive contents of Tracey’s head, mulling over details and analyzing events, instead of the more conventional, pop-formatted structure of EBTG hits. The only direct link to EBTG is the now organic relationship between Tracey’s voice and electronic production, provided on Woods through collaborations with renowned electronica producers Ewan Pearson, Tom Gandey (Cagedbaby), Martin Wheeler (Vector Lovers), and Alex Santos. Thematically, Tracey dissects marriage, her role as mother, creeping depression, gay teens being bullied at school, and innocent burgeoning sexuality. One of the album’s only two true dance tracks, “Grand Canyon,” can be interpreted as one of the most affirming gay “home in clubland” anthems ever, employing the incredible hook “Everybody loves you here.” 2008-04-14T20:51:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/shakedown/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/shakedown/ David Morales. Junior Vasquez. Hex Hector. Thunderpuss. Peter Rauhofer. And now the Freemasons. Comprised of James Wiltshire and Russell Small (formerly of Phats & Small), the Freemasons have become the next in a lineage of remix producers whose name is so synonymous with the creative re-working of a song for the dance floor that the presence alone of their name in a tracklisting elicits purchase without even having heard a thing. What instantly sets the Freemasons apart from the rest is their trademark sound - funky, soulful disco house. Amidst the trend of dark, chiseled Circuit beats, the Freemasons sound radiates like the million twinkling reflections off a mirrorball. The Freemasons’ public presence began back in 2005 with a sleepy track called “Mesmerized” by R&B soulstress Faith Evans. In its original version, “Mesmerized” was straight “jook joint down at the Suga Shack on the bayou” - naked vocals with solo bass guitar, bare percussion, and minimal harmonies - pretty, but it was panting for a remix if it intended on making any kind of mark. A Freemasons remix was commissioned and, despite being released at the end of summer, “Mesmerized” became the most coveted dance track of the party season. Then, just weeks later the Freemasons released their first artist track, “Love On My Mind” featuring elements of the disco classic “This Time Baby” by Jackie Moore and newcomer Amanda Wilson, a vocalist the pair stumbled across singing karaoke in a pub, and the track became a UK Top 20 hit. (Incidentally, the pub was called Freemasons and is the origin of the name.) Since then, the Freemasons have released a slew of chart-topping singles and become the golden boys of dance makeovers. Demand for the group’s remixes is enormous, allowing them to be very selective about which projects they take on, and consequently to bang out an A-list resume including Fatboy Slim, Angie Stone, Jamiroquai, Heather Headley, Blaze feat. Barbara Tucker, Loleatta Holloway, Luther Vandross, and most recently Beyonc�. After only two years of working under the name, the Freemasons have already created a body of work large enough to drop Shakedown, the group’s debut double-disc full-length release. Shakedown serves dual purposes as both a “greatest hits [so far]” compilation featuring the legendary remixes of “In My Mind” (Heather Headley), “D�j� Vu” (Beyonc�), “Mesmerized” (Faith Evans), “I Wasn’t Kidding” (Angie Stone), and “Love Sensation �06” (Loleatta Holloway); and as a studio album with its ten new artist tracks featuring vocals by Amanda Wilson, Siedah Garrett, Judie Tzuke, Katherine Ellis, and Julie Thompson. The Freemasons’ groovy bounce has garnered an overwhelming fan base since their inception, and Shakedown rewards the fans’ devotion and will likely win over more than a few new ones. Six bonus tracks are included as MP3s as well. 2008-04-14T20:47:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/pump_it_2/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/pump_it_2/ The cover says it all, bitches - get your cha cha heels on and your tight asses to the dance floor. Kult Records is quickly becoming the label to watch as one of the most dependable sources of quality dance music that isn’t yet a household name, but is poised to proudly wedge itself between Global Groove and Star 69. The first volume of this sampler series dropped back in February of 2006, and included such standouts as Dynamix’s “Shake Yourself Loose” (now available as a maxi single) featuring the inimitable vocals of Cissy Houston (yep, Whitney’s mama), and Amuka’s “I Want More (Cling to Me)” remixed by Offer Nissim. Several of the players from the first volume have returned for this second installment, but the majority of this compilation is fresh names all offering breakout energy and soon-to-be dance floor classics. All you have to do is listen to the first track, Maya Azucena’s “Make It Happen” (now available as a maxi single), to understand what kind of standards Kult is setting for Circuit house - full vocals are back, positive attitude is back, and dubs should be every bit as delicious as the companion mixes. Following Maya, Brian Gionfriddo commands the crowd to “Beat the Drums” with the Original Dub Mix of “House-O-Licious”; Midnight Society rubs D-Lav, Shlavens & Craig Mitchell’s paranoid-schizophrenic “Noises”; and Massi & DJ De Leon lay a percussive foundation for Breathwaite’s proclamation “I can’t lie to myself, I can’t be with nobody else” on “Don’t Lie.” The light and bleepy Mahjong Instrumental Mix of Dynamix’s “Moving On” (also available as a maxi single featuring vocals by Jason Walker) is next, followed by an encore appearance of Shlaven & D-Lav, this time featuring vocals by Jessylou blowing insistent lyrics that contradict the cuteness of her name on “Don’t Lie.” Dark and dirty beats surround Eva’s filtered vocals on Eddie Cumana’s Minimal Dub of “The Doobie Track”; an aggressive guitar riff and rounded tech beats blend with Gilli Moon’s empowering message on Dynamix’s “Stand Up and Be Counted,” and Brian Gionfriddo makes sure you remember his name with the uplifting horns and rolling tribal beats in the Original Dub Mix of “Can You Feel It.” The disc goes out with a bang, firing off the previously unreleased Martin K Dub of “Shake Yourself Loose,” which reworks the track into a subdued, electro-flavored beating. 2008-04-14T20:17:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_bird_and_the_bee/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/music_reviews/the_bird_and_the_bee/ I’m not going to lie about how I came to appreciate these people - my appreciation had nothing to do with their own musicality, but instead was the result of the Ralphi Rosario and Jody Den Broeder club mix for the disc’s first single that first got my attention before I went the next step to look into the group’s own native expressions. But that’s marketing for ya, right? Minor transgression aside, The Bird and the Bee are a visionary musical duo with a highly original sound that combines multiple disparate influences into a hybrid musical statement that sounds as unexpectedly wonderful as a peanut butter and pickle sandwich tastes. What makes this duo so yummy is their scalding irony. On the disc’s first single, vocalist Inara George’s pastel voice is as soft and delicate as buttery pastry as she coos, “Would you ever be my, would you be my fucking boyfriend” atop music box-like piano notes. See what I mean? The group’s name is so apt, referencing the euphemism for sex and how sharply the words contradict the pulpy topic they infer, the same way the album’s lyrical content about love and sex contradicts so intensely the delivery and gentle instrumentation. The contrast isn’t always as stark as “Fucking Boyfriend” - on “Again & Again,” Inara politely commands “Say my name, say my name, say my stupid name / It’s stupid how we always seem to do it again” and reminds of the divisive kid in class who just wants to see how much he can get away with without really raising heckles. Or, on “I’m a Broken Heart,” where the irony comes not from sexual frankness, but in the form of dire confessions stated the same way a child would absent-mindedly recite a nursery rhyme, “Ache, aching, and teething / My big love is bleeding / I think I might be dying.” The subject matter doesn’t always hover around relationships, but always feels deeply internal, like a neurosis-ridden Hollywood hipster airing her scattered thoughts in a non-franchised coffee house. The Bird and the Bee’s MySpace page proclaims their sound as “a futuristic 1960’s American film set in Brazil,” cleverly paraphrasing comparisons to the Astrud and Bebel Gilberto girls, Brazilian Tropicalia, and contemporary indie electronica while alluding heavily to the duo’s scene-establishing atmospheric tone. Their biography is short and specific: “Greg and Inara met a few years ago. Discovered a common love of jazz standards… nerded out for a couple of hours playing every song they knew… and then wrote and recorded a record together.” Inara George is the daughter of the late Lowell George (of Zappa / Mothers of Invention). George Kurstin is a multi-instrumental producer who has worked with Beck, The Flaming Lips, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In addition to this self-titled debut, a 4-track EP titled Again and Again and Again and Again was released several months prior which included a Peaches remix of “Fucking Boyfriend.” 2008-04-14T20:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/alegria_at_ten/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/alegria_at_ten/ It was the last weekend of April 2000. In Washington, nearly a million LGBT people converged on the Capitol for the Millennium March. For many people, the highlight of that historic weekend in D.C. was the afterparty at the Post Office Pavilion. Produced by a visionary Brazilian with a background in theatrical production, the party was a major success and immediately became the template for what would become one of the most popular parties around the world. The man behind the magic that night was Ric Sena. “I was not thinking long-term,” he recalls. “But that first party in D.C. went really well.” Later that year, in June 2000, Susan Morabito’s legendary New York Sunday night party after the Pier Dance and the Pride March had been cancelled. “She was so disappointed,” Sena says. “I said, ‘Susan, if I find a venue in New York, would you spin for me?’” Sena got on a plane and talked to Beto Sutter and John Blair, who were still producing the fabulously successful Saturday nights at the Roxy. They talked him up to Richard Grant, the owner of Sound Factory (now Pacha). Sena knocked on the door of Sound Factory, talked to Grant, and signed a check to secure the space. The party sold out. Alegria was born — and gay nightlife has never been the same. That Alegria Pride also marked the inauguration of the Sound Factory as Alegria’s first New York home. It quickly established Alegria as the benchmark for marathon parties marked by superlative production values, the hottest go-go dancing musclemen, and sheer hedonistic joy. Starting in January 2001, Sena began holding Alegria Sunrises, morning parties that grew to 1,500 attendees in three months. With more than 12 years producing theater in Brazil, Sena had a background perfectly suited to creating an event that combined the spectacle of Cirque du Soleil, the energy of the Roxy, and the erotic frisson of a porn shoot. “The party had a look,” says Sena. “My boyfriend Mike and I would go out everywhere with flyers in our pockets. We invited everyone — the most interesting, the most fun, hot boys. People would always ask, ‘How do you get so many good-looking boys?’ We had a lot of friends. Those 400 couldn’t have been more fierce — and they would tell their friends. And that way, we met the right people who were really fun.” As soon as Sound Factory owner Richard Grant realized what Sena had accomplished with the sold-out Alegria Pride 2000, he gave Sena carte blanche: “Richard got all excited. He liked what I was able to create there. He loved Alegria. He was so proud. He offered me the club if I wanted to keep doing it.”  The Advent of Abel Those who know their New York nightclub history know that Sound Factory — the incarnation on 46th Street, not the one in the space that later held Twilo — had opened in 1997. Sena’s was the only gay event at the new Sound Factory, “so that made it even more special,” he adds. “If you wanted to go to a gay party at Sound Factory, you came to Alegria.” It was on Presidents’ Day Weekend in February 2001 that a DJ little known to the denizens of New York nightlife made his debut at Alegria at Sound Factory. After that night, it only took a New York minute before everyone was talking about Abel Aguilera, who has become the DJ most closely associated with Alegria. With the addition of Abel’s infectious cha-cha beat, all the elements were in place for a party to rival the legendary clubs of New York’s nocturnal history.  As Sena recalls, “The Sound Factory would almost explode. There was so much energy. It was the right crowd, and a lot of things came together. Ten different things all at once: the hot boys; the bartenders; the music; the club; the crowd; the décor. People were talking about it everywhere — all over the States and in Europe.” With a schedule averaging seven to nine parties a year, most of them on the Sundays of three-day weekends, Alegria turned into a major Circuit destination. Boys (and, yes, girls, and good-looking, hip straight couples, too) from around the globe flew into New York. When a brand-new mega-club opened in West Chelsea on West 28th Street, Alegria moved to its second home, the gorgeously appointed Crobar, in January 2004. “The timing was amazing,” Sena says. “Crobar was finally ready and they called me. So then I left Sound Factory. It was not a good ending.” (The Sound Factory has since been taken over by Pacha, but that’s another story. ) A purpose-built club with a capacity of 3,000-plus, Crobar was the first club since the demolition of the Palladium to rival the spacious grandeur and awe-inspiring technology that marked New York nightclubs such as Studio 54, Paradise Garage, and the Saint. According to Sena, “Sound Factory was about the energy — the energy on the dance floor, the heat and all that. But when Alegria went to Crobar, visually, it was something so different, something nobody had ever experienced in New York. Crobar was amazing. And I had the only gay event there, so if you were gay and you wanted to party at Crobar, you came to Alegria.” During the next four years, Alegria secured its global reputation for stellar events filled with some of the hottest boys and men on the planet, all dancing to music that became known as the “Alegria Sound.” There was the release of three double CDs from resident Abel, Alegria, Alegria Musica, and Alegria Universo. Then there were the songs written specifically for Alegria. “Waiting for Alegria,” “Universo Alegria” and “Café con Alegria” became dance-floor standards. The party became synonymous with a sound that fused tribal, House, and cha-cha into a distinctive and propulsive rhythmic backbeat, over which the resident DJs layered vocals, melodies, percussion and drums. Jaw-Dropping Décor, Dance Divas, DJs Apart from the distinctive sound, there was also the décor. “At Crobar, with its high ceilings, what made the difference were the decorations, and there were some really amazing sets,” says Sena. Among the more memorable: the spaceship; the swimming pool; Batman; and the prison party. The latter, which took place at the 2004 Alegria Xtreme, was particularly intense. The phenomenal set designs were all created in Brazil and shipped to New York, including such jaw-dropping sets as a helicopter flying overhead (evoking the Broadway hit Miss Saigon); a roller-coaster for Alegria Xtreme 2006; an elephant beneath a circus carousel; and an entire Gold Rush frontier town, complete with general store and sheriff’s office; as well as the aforementioned mothership, which landed inside the club, disembarking an entire crew of extraterrestrial Circuit boys. For a New York-themed party, pieces of yellow cabs were hanging from the ceiling; the bartenders were Yankees; the center column was wrapped to look like the Empire State Building, complete with lights. The performers included dance divas, porn stars, and Circuit personalities like Deborah Cox, Frenchie Davis, Ultra Naté, Jeanie Tracy and Suzanne Palmer, just for starters. The stable of DJs expanded beyond residents Abel and Tony Moran to include at various times Eddie Elias, Ralphi Rosario, Alyson Calagna, Dudu Marquez and Micky Friedmann. “I have to like the music,” says Sena. “There are some DJs that I feel really comfortable with, and certain DJs I started listening to and brought to Alegria. There’s a time to open people’s ears to new music — something different, but the right ‘different.’ Alegria is celebrating ten years of bringing the best music to New York City.” The annals of New York nightlife are littered with nightclubs and parties that have come and gone. It takes vision and creativity to outlast clubs such as the Saint (1980-1988) and Paradise Garage (1977-1987) and even Studio 54 (1977-1986). That longevity in such a fickle town makes the upcoming tenth anniversary of Alegria on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010, all the more noteworthy. “Alegria would not be what it is if it was not in New York,” says Sena, who works out of an office in Miami Beach. “This tenth anniversary party is going to be about New York, a thank you to the Alegria family and New York City, so I hope I can get the crowd that really enjoyed the early years of Alegria. I hope they show up on Labor Day because that’s what the celebration is going to be.” For ten years, Alegria, under the aegis of Sena, has repeatedly packed the dance floor with some of the most extraordinary specimens of male beauty, all dancing in joyful abandon from Sunday night right well into Monday afternoon. Plan on Alegria 10, being held Labor Day Weekend, to be one of those parties people still remember at the dawn of another decade. 2010-04-26T17:50:38+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/hop_to_it/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/hop_to_it/ Kangoos will improve posture, while they give you a full cardio workout. You only have to worry when you’re not moving. Mario Jone’t Green’s classes show you how to use these fabulous, unique fitness shoes. In the year 2010, anyone can read a paper, access the Internet, communicate with a healthcare specialist or look at the party photos in noiZe, know the importance of regular exercise. Yet for some of us, the thought of stepping foot in a gym fills us with the type of fear and loathing usually reserved for the dentist’s chair. This feeling of dread is often misinterpreted or misunderstood as laziness. True, some of us would rather sit on our sofas with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey watching Valley of the Dolls for the 89th time. If this sounds familiar, understand that you have lost your right to complain when summer arrives and you can’t wear that bathing suit you bought in November. Sloth, however, only accounts for a small percentage of the inactive majority. Those of us afflicted with short-attention spans are subject to mind-numbing boredom when facing a regimented and stale workout. There are those with serious injuries or weakness of joints who must be cautious of any activity above low impact. This is a serious issue, and neglecting this concern could result in sacrificing mobility permanently. If any of these problems stand between you and the fitness and health you desire, look no further. That chiseled Circuit boy body really is attainable. Start your road to physical salvation with a visit to http://www.mariothetrainer.com. Fitness expert Mario Jone’t Green is currently based in New York, but he has worked extensively and is especially well known in Chicago. For over seven years, he has taught at Crunch gyms. Mario is certified in Mat Pilates, Body Web TRX, BOSU/Kickboxing, and Cardio Dance. A fitness nut since age 18, he wants to motivate and inspire others to attain the highest level of physical fitness they can achieve. From the testimonials of those who have taken his classes, you quickly discover that he is a strongly charismatic leader with a big heart and a tower of strength to those he touches with his message and support. He drives his students and clients to obtain their goals, and his success rate is staggering. His charisma and strong personality is based in his extensive theater and dance education and background. His dance resume includes work with famous performers like Madonn, Rihanna, Backstreet Boys, Kevin Aviance, and Kristine W. Childhood obesity and losing his mother at an early age made him realize that he could be destined to the same fate if he did not make significant changes in his exercise and eating habits. The fact that he has been there himself motivates him to help others make the choices that will lead them to living longer, richer lives. ‘Safe, Low-Impact Rebound Sports Shoes’ It was not until three years ago at a fitness expo that Mario was introduced to the product that would define his career. The Kangoo Jump boot had just arrived on these shores, having already caught fire in Europe. He approached this newfangled exercise apparatus with the same skeptical eye that most have at first sight of the boot. He has since become a true believer: “Kangoo Jumps are safe, low-impact rebound sport shoes, providing many great health benefits for everyone, any age,” he says. “They are so much fun you’ll forget you’re exercising to get into better shape. Because you are rebounding against gravity, you are burning up to 50 percent more calories than in normal shoes. They promote rapid weight loss, induce endorphins and euphoria, and increase energy. Never has a sport been so enjoyable, safe, and easy to learn. I’m big because I lift heavy weights, and I’m chiseled because I use Kangoo Jumps.” The boots are of molded plastic like ski boots, but much more flexible. They have to be because you run in them. At the bottom is attached an ellipse with tension bands (like a Soloflex machine) that flattens and pulls out as you move. The effect is not unlike a micro-trampoline, with the same feeling of defying gravity. The boot not only puts a spring in your step, but it also turns any low-impact aerobic activity into a major calorie-burning event. The theory is that your muscles work twice as hard to stay in motion because of the give in your step. There is very little stress put on your joints so the boot is safe and even beneficial for those with injuries or joint problems.  The result is a lean, toned lower body, while the upper body benefits from the act of balancing. You use muscles to remain balanced while moving—muscles that you wouldn’t use wearing an athletic shoe. The consistent tension works to tone the upper body and create a chiseled torso with improved posture. The only time you have to worry about falling, ironically, is when you are standing perfectly still. You move, you’re fine. You stand still, you fall. Great motivation! Not Only Safe But Healing Set to the music of Lady GaGa, Mario works the class into what can best be described as a “life-affirming frenzy.” Watching the footage of a class on YouTube makes you want to immediately throw down the $200 for the boots, strap on your iPod, and go for a marsupial jaunt through the park. Mario is quick to emphasize the versatility of the boot, which can be worn for running, dancing, cross training, toning, and weight loss, but is often used for its original purpose, injury rehabilitation. In fact, the boot is known to improve posture, balance and coordination and can be used on any surface except sand and ice. In only three years, Mario has introduced the Kangoo Jump to every corner of the country. He has taught classes in San Francisco, St Louis and Miami. The Chicago Tribune called his class at Crunch the “Best Workout in Chicago.” Mario has appeared on news shows in New York, St. Louis, Chicago, and on The Today Show. His next appearance is set for May 14, when he will make a “Kangoo convert” of Tyra Banks on her popular talk show. In the coming year, Mario plans to reach everyone in America with his message that fitness is fun when you are wearing Kangoo Jumps. His dream, he says, “is to have Times Square filled with people of all ages dancing in Kangoo Jumps. If his current success continues, we could definitely see a mass of marsupials in the middle of Manhattan. 2010-04-26T17:46:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/in_praise_of_three-ways/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/in_praise_of_three-ways/ Question: What do you call a lover after five years? Answer: roommate. Second question: What’s the gay male equivalent of “lesbian bed death”? Answer: porn. Forget all the lovey-dovey stuff. I always say that you know when the honeymoon is over for good when you casually walk into the bathroom to shave while the love of your life is relieving himself on the can. Once you’ve seen (among other senses) Poopsie on the pooper, it’s hard to go back to the idealized man you bed and wed. That’s OK! A real-life relationship isn’t all moonlight and magnolias, nor should it be. It’s paying bills and cleaning up after he’s upchucked too many sliders and removing his back hair. As I wrote recently in Next Magazine, straight men have been dealing with this for centuries. Some psychologists call it the Madonna/Whore Complex. It’s hard to see the Madonna, the pure Mary-like mother of his children, as a hottie, let alone a ‘ho. Not to mention the weight gain from those pregnancies (and yes, I know this is a two-way street; middle-age spread affects both sexes). Speaking of ‘hos, a lot of straight men, frustrated with the “not tonight, I’m too tired” line, seek their pleasure elsewhere, in the company of real-life sex toys. The only reason why we snicker at Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton, every politician from South Carolina, every New York governor and every NBA star is because everyone knows about their straying. What it comes down to is that there are two types of men in this world: the sluts and the liars. The Third Way Does this sound vaguely familiar? You’re not alone, despite the media portrayal of gay men as 24/7 horndogs — an image aided and abetted by ourselves. If gay men don’t have an equivalent term for lesbian bed death, it’s only because our egos won’t allow us to acknowledge it. In January, a study conducted by researchers at San Francisco State University caused a ruckus when it revealed that—gasp!—gay men’s relationships are far more open than straight ones. Yeah, I hear you: Tell me something I don’t know. “With straight people, it’s called affairs or cheating,” Colleen Hoff told the New York Times. “But with gay people, it does not have such negative connotations.” As long as both sides know the rules, I don’t see anything wrong in stepping out once in a while. But for some people, it’s still cheating. Or they feel guilty — especially if it’s more fun than spooning with the spouse. But there’s a third way: the three-way. It’s like cheating, only you’re both doing it. The concept of adding a third is nothing new in gay life. In that proto-gay urban male dramedy The Boys in the Band, Hank and Larry are a couple working out Hank’s need to fuck around with Larry’s serial monogamy (he left a wife and kids). They argue about whether a ménage à trois — “Two’s company, three’s a ménage,” as bitchy Michael puts it — might solve the problem. After two decades of gin-soaked truth sessions on Fire Island, I should be able to qualify as a relationship expert — not to mention my own (ahem!) empirical experience into the subject. I can confidently report that if Hank and Larry didn’t come to that conclusion, Hank’s compulsive promiscuity and Larry’s jealousy would have ended the relationship. The joy of the three-way is that it turns that sober Suzy who trudges to work every day and the gym every night back into the sexy pig you originally fell for. Anyone who has been in a relationship three-way has told me the same thing: In the middle of the action, one partner will relax and watch his significant making love to a beautiful stranger. If you ask him what’s wrong, he’ll tell you he’s getting off watching you having sex with someone else. It’s like making a sex tape, only it won’t end up on the Internet (and in your boss’ email). Pleasure and Pitfalls The best moment, however, comes after the third leaves and the two of you explore each other as if you’d just met. A third also allows you to try out those fun positions you’ve been watching on the porn DVDs. There’s the double-fuck (two pegs, one hole), the daisy chain (top-top-bottom) and the triangle (69’ing all around). Picking up a third, ironically, is much easier on the Internet than hooking up solo. It’s like walking into a ready-made mini-orgy. Make sure the potential trick knows what you both look like, however; as well as having your (honest) vital stats, kinks and fetishes. Most important: Both of you should be attracted to him — and he into both of you. When a trick walks in and says that most ego deflating of phrases, “This isn’t going to work” after seeing the second guy, expect the relationship to enter full-tilt crisis mode. Now, if you are someone who likes three-ways (and who doesn’t?), a word of advice: At a club or online or at the gym, if you think a couple is coming onto you, make a play for the guy you perceive to be the less attractive one. Once he’s persuaded you’re into him, you’re set with both. Trust me, it works every time. Are there any potential pitfalls to two committed people indulging in threeways? Glad you asked that. If a couple becomes dependent on threesomes, that’s a sign of real trouble in the relationship. Or it could mean that one partner is jaded. Or he’s not turned on by his partner. If that’s true, the two of you can’t use three-ways forever to mask the very problems that may ultimately undermine your partnership. Better to get it out into the open and work it out than depend on steady sex with a third. You can also become one of those dreary couples always on the make. We’ve all seen them on the dance floor: eyes darting everywhere but on each other, turning guys into cream filling for their human Oreo. Not only does it inhibit the sheer fun of dancing, but it gives off a distinctly icky — even desperate — vibe. Much hotter: Being into each other and letting the other guy discover you. Make a subtle invitation with your eyes but let it be known you think the guy you’re with is hot as hell. Then there’s the dilemma of the guy who thinks a trick is the real deal. Forgetting Harvey Fierstein’s dictum that a thing of beauty is a joy until sunrise, some people actually believe that recreational sex means something. Big mistake. Just ask John Edwards. The publishers of this august journal tell the cautionary tale of a couple they knew. They broke up — after 10 years! — when one of them was convinced a threeway partner was the real deal. Well, a fine romance that was — less than six months, and now there are three more unhappy people cruising the bars along the Santa Monica Boulevard strip. You might want to set up some rules beforehand: no repeats — within a certain period of time, or ever (up to you); no contacting the third privately or when the spouse is out of town; no social events — dinners, cocktails, movies — with the third. Don’t let the pitfalls scare you, however. If you’re not feeling the love, consider inviting a third in to make those bedsprings do their work again. And remember: the couple that strays together, stays together.   2010-04-26T17:10:25+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/the_straights_are_coming/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/the_straights_are_coming/ The 1962 film Advise and Consent broke the Hollywood Production Code when it showed a scene in a Manhattan gay bar. What was shocking then may be only of historical interest today, but the iconic scene perfectly captured a moment in time: unmarked from the street, several steps underground, the patrons uniformly men—all impeccably turned out in Mad Men suits. Flash forward several decades to G, the ultra-popular Chelsea lounge. A huge window takes up nearly the entire street front of the bar’s brick facade. It fairly screams, “We’re here, we’re queer, we’re drinking.” The clientele, too, differs greatly from its pre-Stonewall counterpart. It’s no coincidence that G invented an icy twist on the preferred drink of the four Sex and the City über-fag hags. While the vast majority of the patrons are good-looking gay men, there is a healthy smattering of women, and even the occasional straight men. I remember taking a straight male friend to G a few years back. Not a particularly attractive guy (OK, he’s homely), he had a great time, thanks to a pair of beautiful women flirting with him. Apparently, they figured that if he could hang with his gay homie, he had to be cool. We’ve gone from pariah status to status symbol. The situation is similar in other bars in other cities. It is a phenomenon everyone has noticed. They’re socializing with us, true. But more and more often, they’re there by themselves. And sometimes they’re even—gasp!—kissing. Some see this as a healthy outgrowth of society’s growing acceptance of homosexuality. With gay men becoming more open about our sexuality, and the rest of the world more accepting, heterosexual friends and colleagues feel comfortable mixing with gay friends. We, on our part, welcome them into our formerly exclusive spaces. Others, however, believe we have lost something intangible: safe spaces where we could be ourselves without prying or judging eyes; our sense of specialness. You can scoff that the status of gay bars is hardly a touchstone issue. But for years, these were our town center, our meeting place, our safe space. Even now, in smaller cities and suburbs that don’t have a gay center, bars serve as a place where young people can come out and older people can socialize without fear. One who has noticed and doesn’t like what he sees is a blogger who calls himself “Jewish Author Tough Gay Activist Bear,” or J.A.T.G.A.B. The very few straights who went into bars even ten years ago “were generally accompanying gay friends, were very gay-friendly and supportive, and knew how to behave in a gay bar,” he writes. Today, straight folks are attracted to our scene because of depictions on Will & Grace or Queer as Folk and go into gay bars like a petting zoo with better accessories. “Straights today often go into gay bars for the wrong reasons and with the wrong attitude,” he continues. They’re there for titillation, to be hip and a bit naughty. Not long ago, I walked into Vlada, a Midtown Manhattan bar that has become popular with groups of single women, and seeing a straight couple making out at the front table. No one seemed to mind or even notice, I might add. J.A.T.G.A.B., however, is especially upset seeing such displays of affection, “as if arrogantly assuming that every gay person is just dying to watch ‘normal’ people show them how it’s done.” Why can’t they stick to their own, far more numerous, bars? Why do they have to come to ours? In the case of G or Vlada, the answer might be simply that these are great spaces—as nice or nicer than comparable straight bars. But Addam Stobbs asked recently in the Australian Q Magazine whether the increased presence of straight folks is a result or a cause of decreased gay bar cruising. The many straights he saw on a recent bar outing “seemed to blend in quite seamlessly,” he wrote. “None of them looked uncomfortable, none of them looked as though they were there to see the ‘freak show’; in fact they seemed to be having a good time with their gay friends. There were a number of straight girls there as well, all getting on really well. There was no sexual tension. None.” Is it, as some allege, the predominance of Internet hook-up sites that has made bars a place where we might have a drink or two with friends but would never consider as a place to look for sex? Or is it, as Stobbs believes, a generational difference? “The group who seems to be the least interested in casual sex are the younger gay guys,” he noted. “There are a lot of randy old buggers at most sex-on-premises venues, very few younger.” It’s certainly true that younger gay men are much more comfortable with straight counterparts. Does that contribute to, or is it a cause of, their not hooking up in bars? Consider the Other Side Now consider the situation from the other side. Straights believe they are often made to feel unwelcome. One male commenter on Boston’s Yelp site related an unpleasant incident when he accompanied a gay colleague and some women into a bar. After overhearing guys complaining about “that fishy smell” and making other misogynistic comments, he told them, “You wouldn’t like it if you walked into a straight bar and were treated the same way, would you?” More recently, Brian Moylan, a gay writer on Gawker, initiated a heated discussion when he criticized straight women for wanting a gay friend, as though we were the latest chic toy breed or must-have accessory. “Do not come to our clubs,” he warned fag hag wannabes. “A gay bar with too many women—especially the kind of club where frisky things are going on—makes everyone uncomfortable. Also, any gay in a bar with a girl is almost guaranteed not to get laid. When it’s a night out at the gay bar, please stay at home.” I recently wrote a story on stag hags, the newly minted male equivalent. Several of these BFFs to gay boys told me they didn’t so much mind getting hit on in bars (an occupational hazard, they realized). But they did object to nasty comments about their presence. Sue Sena, the founder of SWISH, told that the group initially brought together straight women and gay men—hence the name, an acronym for “straight women in support of gay men.” But now, there are enough straight men to render that inaccurate. Basketball star Dennis Rodman wrote in his 1996 autobiography about how he preferred gay bars and felt more at ease with gay men. When he played with the San Antonio Spurs, Rodman befriended another player because he wasn’t freaked from a visit to a gay bar. Stag hags often cite our well-developed sense of humor, aesthetics and bromance abilities. But they also remark on how they feel much less competitive and at ease in our bars. The Abbey is one of the best-known bars in West Hollywood. Voted the “best gay bar in the world” last year in an online poll by Logo viewers, ironically, it has become less exclusively gay, to the point where one activist was considering a demonstration to take back “our” bar. Owner David Cooley pooh-poohs such naysayers as practicing “reverse discrimination.” The Abbey remains solidly gay, he insists. If anything, it’s become “a shining example of the progress we have made as a community. No more back alley entrances to bars catering to an underground, closeted gay community.” To those who complain that “they” are invading “our” space, Cooley just smiles and shrugs: “I love when customers say, ‘This is the first place where I was comfortable when I was coming out,’ but also, ‘I can bring my friends here.’ Isn’t that what we were fighting for?” 2010-02-13T06:22:24+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/the_wasted_war/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/the_wasted_war/ Quick, name the unwinnable war that America is still engaged in that costs taxpayers a staggering $600 per second, kills nearly 15,000 Americans per year, and incarcerates over one million people annually, making us the country with the highest percentage of its population kept in captivity. A public relations war against a nebulous concept that has only flourished while we continue to pour money and manpower into its gaping maw. It’s the Drug War, and if war in general is good for absolutely nothing, this one is dramatically more so. The War on Drugs has never been a war that was meant to be won. The Law of Unintended Consequences runs rampant through its history, as a sprawling global black market syndicate emerged to fill the void where a legal, regulated market should be. By grouping all illegal substances under the generic rubric of “drugs” and refusing to make any meaningful distinctions between them, absurdities abound. Take our shameful record of imprisoning a huge portion of our young African-American population merely for having weed on them. Over 10% of all black men aged 18-29 are in jail on drug-related charges. Compare that to the 1.5% of young white men in jail on similar charges. Once mandatory sentencing went into effect in 1986, the average federal drug sentence for African-Americans went from being 11% higher than white people to 49% higher four years later. With a black president in office, it would seem to be high time (pun intended) to stop this disturbing practice. With a demented factory-like efficiency, we are churning low-level weed dealers in and out of our bloated prison system—and making them into hardened criminals along the way. What drugs we’re ingesting in undiminished amounts will remain questionable, since there is zero oversight or quality control in their production. Recently released documents from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency showed that almost a third of all the cocaine being imported into the U.S. had levamisole in it as a cutting agent. Levamisole is a dangerous livestock deworming medicine that has already taken three lives and put dozens more in the hospital. Most party people are familiar with “bad pills” that came from god-knows-where and contain pollutants like speed, caffeine, heroin, or dangerous obscure chemicals meant to simulate a high instead of giving you a real one. A recent piece in The Washington Post revealed that homegrown high-end quasi-legal marijuana crops from inside our borders are giving the Mexican cartels a run for their money and slowing their sales. How many billions have we wasted attempting to do the same thing with militia units and black helicopters? Increasing the quality of our weed supply with American-grown crops while crippling the Mexican murder/kidnapping industry would certainly be more effective at reducing the casualties of this war than decades of paramilitary waste and corruption. Absurdities Abound The absurdities of their Drug War, however, have reached their nadir in Afghanistan, where 90% of the world’s heroin is grown and cultivated in the poppy fields that have traditionally provided the only stable source of income for many Afghani tribes. A government analyst specializing in the region and studying the narcotics industry there spoke to noiZe on condition of anonymity. He told us that addressing opium production from a practical economic and political perspective instead of our knee-jerk law enforcement would save “billions of dollars and thousands of lives” in Afghanistan alone. He thinks we are in a unique position right now to steer the country in a better direction. “What we’re seeing now is total market saturation,” he said. “By some accounts, there is enough opium stockpiled in Afghanistan to supply the entire planet for two to five years. So, because the price of opium has crashed, and at the same time the global food crisis has spiked the price of crops like wheat and barley, farmers are finding they can make an equivalent income by growing legal crops.” But not if we continue to raze their poppy fields and treat them all like drug kingpins. He also notes that “opiates are artificially restricted in the U.S. Drug companies can only produce, market, and sell so much here, so flooding the global market with opium won’t lower their cost or increase their availability.” In other words, if we stopped meddling with their poppy fields right now, it would have zero effect on the price, the supply or the demand for opiates. All of our ham-handed attempts to regulate that market only serve to piss off the people we claim to want to help. We spend billions of dollars and countless lives for nothing over there, and while stymieing any real progress for the Afghan people. Why Are Some Drugs Illegal? What are “drugs” exactly? How did a concept and activity as old as mankind become manipulated, along with our emotions and fears, into something much more sinister than reality dictates? How are children supposed to make informed choices about their extracurricular activities when all they are told is “Just say no”? Once they puff on that first joint and don’t see anything bad happening to them, they’re likely to assume that all drugs have gotten a bad rap, which may lead them to experiment with things that could actually prove dangerous. At the same time, legal substances such as the massive amounts of amphetamines that we pump into our children when they can’t focus at school are given a stamp of approval, mixing the message even further. How do Adderall and Vicodin get a pass while ecstasy and marijuana are demonized? Children aren’t stupid; they figure this kind of hypocritical bullshit out very quickly. How dangerous are drugs, when you really look at the numbers? All illicit drugs combined killed less people in 2006 than the following causes of death did individually: tobacco, poor diet, car crashes, and suicide. Not just by a little bit, but by whopping margins. Also, both alcohol and prescription drugs killed more people than illicit drugs that year, four times more and two times more, respectively. This is most certainly not due to a lack of supply or demand: Nearly 10% of Americans use illegal substances. This leaves some pretty big questions unanswered. Why have we wasted almost $40 billion this year alone, in the middle of a crippling recession, on this senseless war? Three out of four people who use illegal drugs use marijuana, which accounts for zero deaths in any given year. Why are we throwing them all in jail? Why do we divert precious law enforcement resources to bust up harmless parties in major cities where most people seem to be having a good time safely? Why do we attempt to brainwash people with ineffective advertising funded by taxpayer dollars that has been proven time and time again to actually increase drug use instead of curb it? There are signs of hope. Recent reports have shown that California’s marijuana trade could benefit the faltering state to the tune of $1.4 billion in revenue if they went ahead and started officially regulating the drug. It could also have environmental benefits, as it would curb and organize some of the reckless illegal farming that occurs now. Much like the reality of gay marriage in some states dispels the myths about the dangers it supposedly represented to the institution, the quasi-legal medical marijuana industry that has sprung up in states like California and New Mexico hasn’t led to wild orgies, the classic anti-weed propaganda film Reefer Madness notwithstanding. Perhaps the drug warriors were right about one thing, though, marijuana probably is the gateway drug. The gateway out of the Drug War. More and more, Americans seem to be giving up on the idea that drugs, as a concept, are some sort of existential evil that must be eradicated. With adults back in the White House, the Obama Justice Department. announced earlier this year that it would not prosecute medical marijuana distributors who comply with state laws. They also announced that the term “The War on Drugs” would not be used any longer, which is an important symbolic first step to ending the madness of this wasted war. 2009-10-31T16:40:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/circuit_spirituality/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/circuit_spirituality/ From time to time, we at noiZe feature a classic article from Circuit Noize. This one, adapted from 1996, is by Christian Hart, who has studied the sociology of AIDS. I always tell people if you want to feel God, or the presence of God, you have to go to the most packed Circuit event, or a packed gay bar. Grab your partner and head out until you’ve worked your way to the very center of the dance floor, underneath that big ball. Erase from your mind the decadence around you and feel the vibration in the music coming at you from every direction. Straight people may go to church for their spirituality, but Circuit events are my form of church and the DJs are my priests. So someone said in an interview back in 1996 in now-defunct Genre magazine. Circuit parties as church? An outrageous statement—which I happen to understand completely. I am beginning to find in conversations with friends and strangers that many other gay men do as well. In discussions where I uneasily mention my sense of spirituality at Circuit events, I have been surprised and relieved to find others who feel exactly the same way, but who thought they were alone in that experience. How can a Circuit party be spiritual? Something deeply important is wrought collectively and unconsciously by your community. You may have to let go of the idea of spirituality as defined by traditional Judeo-Christian ethics to go where I’d like to take you. Some of us have the sense that the Circuit has a meaning for gay men that involves a community-wide creation of a new—or maybe ancient—form of ritual involving music, dance, sexuality and at times, even drug use. The Circuit can be seen as both a reaction to and progression from the era of AIDS. To see this, one needs to view the Circuit from a historical perspective. The early party scene centered on the major dance clubs of the ‘70s and early ‘80s: The Saint, Trocadero, Probe and others were places where we created communal bonds. That early party scene focused heavily on affirming our community’s burgeoning sexuality. We rebelled against the lie that our love was wrong or even that sex outside of a relationship was wrong. Then came our Dark Ages. How AIDS Affected the Scene The party scene gave way to the massive loss and grief experienced by so many of us. Entire social networks—families of gay men—died out. The mind-numbing number of deaths impacted all of us. Many feared becoming infected or infecting others. Some dreaded any physical contact, let alone sexual. Yet humans require touch by others. Perhaps nowhere is this greater than among gay men, who have been taught that touch between men is taboo. HIV cast a great fear about sex among us but couldn’t lessen our need for contact. That fear, however, expanded to intimacy: How will I cope if I get close to this man and he dies? Is his T-cell count lower than mine? How will I reveal my own serostatus? What if he’s not positive (or negative) like me? The disease put a major damper on our ability to connect with each other, physically and emotionally. But it also forced us to grow in other ways. We realized the importance of taking care of our own. We expressed courage in the face of death. We achieved success in creating a positive sense of identity for those living with HIV. We created new organizations, movements, and political armies. We explored forms of enlightenment that spoke to our yearnings in ways that traditional religion did not. Our spirituality emerged—in contrast to its general absence previously. Eventually we began to rediscover the joy of music, dance, and, yes, sex. But this renaissance wasn’t simply a recapitulation of the early party scene. The old joys became enhanced by our growth during those Dark Ages. We were tempered by death and our subsequent search for meaning. I appreciate the importance each moment so much more now. As a community, we have learned how precious life and love really are. In his book Reviving the Tribe, the late Eric Rofes wrote movingly of his personal renaissance: “It was when Patrick Hernandez’s deep voice boomed over the speakers singing ‘Born to Be Alive’ that I lit up—fully alive for the first time in a dozen years. I could tell myself finally that awful things had happened, the men the music sparked me to remember were now dead, and the dreams I once had had been mutilated beyond recognition. But I was alive, and it was Spring reentering my body and my life, as if returning after being beamed up to a UFO and psychically possessed for a dozen years. It was then that spirit once again filled me, and the legacy available to all survivors of disasters—the return of the possibility of again living and thriving—came to me like a wave of salty seawater wildly washing over me, giving me a moment to catch my breath, then rolling over me again.” Rebirth Later, he writes of our community: “To see men embrace and love each other in response to neither loss nor terror revives my dreams from a life long ago. To watch masses of men dance together, celebrating raw life-giving powers of music and desire forces me to acknowledge that the human spirit is not easily subdued. When once again two men can kiss hard on the mouth as neither victims nor survivors nor captives of stealth terror, then peace and order will settle over the tribe and life will again move forward.” This rebirth from AIDS Rofes refers to is epitomized in the Circuit. It’s no coincidence that so many Circuit parties are fundraisers. They have become an escape from the plague and a way to meet the needs of those who require our care. Circuit parties: Events held around the world by large groups of shirtless, sweaty, handsome men celebrating our love, sexuality and tribal connection. Certainly, different people attend for different reasons. For many, they provide a place to regain a sense of joy about life, to experience the rapture of dancing and free expression. For some others, they’re a rite of passage, where young gay men can experience the joy of openly reveling in their sexuality. For me, such experiences include a sense of spiritual connection with the universe. I remember being at a party on Fire Island with friends. During dance breaks, we discussed our weaknesses and fears and the unwavering support we both gave and received. I remember discussing philosophy and playing silly games to the beat of the music. I remember meeting and lusting after incredibly handsome men. I remember feeling a connection binding all of us on that dance floor. And at a certain moment, I realized something as I was basking in that glow, bobbing in the ocean of men, music and sheer physicality of the dance. My realization surprised me, but at that moment, the combination of love, grief, play, intellectual challenge, dance, music and the sensuality of so many handsome men brought about the happiest moment of my life. My sense of integration with myself, my friends and the other dancers at the dance, and to whatever force binds the universe together was complete, perfect and according to plan. Immediately following that party, my companions and I held a farewell ceremony at the water’s edge for our dead friends. We found we could fully express joy for life one moment and acknowledge our utter finality the next—and do so with grace, style and humor. Confronting the Circuit’s Dark Side The idea that music, dancing, sexuality and altered states could involve spirituality is not without precedent in other cultures both past and present. Most pre-Judeo-Christian religious events included music, dance and sexuality. Circuit parties evoke comparisons to Native American powwows—ritualistic tribal gatherings with music, dance and psychotropic plants. Recent archeological work suggests that primitive rock and cave art paintings depict shamanic drug trips. Many criticize the Circuit and our community in general for drugs. It’s true that extreme measures like drug use are not necessary to experience the kind of spirituality I’ve described here. But what about the dark side of the Circuit? When do we cross the line from recreational use to abuse? When does joyfully expressing our sexuality degenerate into compulsive sexual behavior? When drugs or sex start to be used as primary coping mechanisms or lead to unsafe sex, how do we deal with it as a tribe? We’ve learned to take care of each other in sickness. It is only a short step to caring for each other in health. The Circuit is often criticized as overemphasizing superficiality. Because of the cult of body worship and beauty, some claim that inner qualities are devalued. But this is not unique to the Circuit—and the claim may involve some insecurity on the part of the person making it. A man who attends a party for the first time, especially if he is alone or with someone who also has not previously attended, might feel unwelcome in that seemingly closed circle of muscular men. As in any social situation, I feel more comfortable introducing myself to those I’ve seen before at other events. It may be precisely seeing and recognizing the same men at different events that creates a bond even with someone who would otherwise be a stranger. Our eyes meet across the dance floor in the seconds during which all intervening heads have somehow simultaneously parted, and we express our connection. We have always had to develop our own sense of who we are by questioning assumptions. Despite growing up in a largely hostile world, we have learned that being gay is wonderful. But we still have to deal with internalized homophobia. Who better, then, to question traditional notions of what religion or spirituality entails than ourselves? The Circuit is a phenomenon in our community. Are these events merely chance occurrences? Are they just men being boys? Or is there something here that bears more thoughtful consideration? We only benefit from discussing our community openly, rather than in hushed conversations, while looking over our shoulder, lest someone hear us blaspheme. 2009-10-31T16:34:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/atlantic_city_discovers_the_circuit/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/atlantic_city_discovers_the_circuit/ When Harrah’s, one of the major casino-hotels that dominates the skyline of this New Jersey city, hosted its “Out in Atlantic City” weekend in September, it marked a coming out of sorts for the entire city. The casino-hotels recently rediscovered the gay market—and the party boys are beginning to take notice. Once a gay destination on a par with Fire Island or Provincetown, this venerable resort can boast of the world’s largest and oldest boardwalk, the invention of salt-water taffy, the first Miss America pageants, and the street names that dot the Monopoly board. Its Steel Pier was the first big entertainment venue of its kind in this country, with thrills like a horse that dove off a high platform into a pool of water. But it also has an equally venerable gay backstory. In the days before Stonewall, New York Avenue was dotted with rooming houses and a dozen bars. Some believe that the city fathers drove away the scene after the New Jersey Legislature legalized gambling in the 1980s. Whatever the reason, there is only one bar left standing, the rakish but loved West Side Club, which Village Voice columnist Michael Musto calls a “David Lynchean hangout.” Whatever the reason, the latter part of 2009 has seen a resurgence of interest from the city and regional customers from New York and Philadelphia, which together make up the majority of Atlantic City’s visitor base. At the forefront of the effort is a newly formed group, the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance. The group’s purpose is to promote gay tourism as well as provide a focal point for locals. By one estimate, the Greater Atlantic City region of 300,000 is 10% gay, which means 30,000 queers live in the city or nearby. “It is time for us to wake up and smell the pink champagne,” GACGA President Rich Helfant recently said. “We are actively courting a return of the gay clientele.” Once better known for the day trippers who traveled down in discount buses, ate at buffets and played the slots, in recent years, the city has undergone a transformation into a high-end luxury resort. Brand-name chefs like Geoffrey Zakarian, Michael Mina, Wolfgang Puck and Bobby Flay have opened outposts. Entertainers like Donna Summer, Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Wonder and Robin Williams make it a regular stop. Even Madonna played here—the smallest city by far on her last tour. Dance clubs like Dusk, mur.mur, and Mixx rival clubs in New York or Miami for size, lights and sound. The biggest names in clubland either spin here frequently or have taken up residency—everyone from Victor Calderone and Junior Vasquez to Samantha Ronson, Tiesto and Paul Oakenfold. Gay Party Weekends The big hotels are doing their part. The Borgata began the trend with the “True Colors” tour, which had a wild after-party two years ago. Cindy Lauper performed, while the party proved a big hit. In September, “Out in Atlantic City” brought down scensters like New York City promoter Daniel Nardicio and Musto. Both are longtime fans. Nardicio brought down his demented tour bus for an outing. “The Borgata ushered in a whole new era of luxury,” says Musto, who is a frequent visitor.  He’s referring to the Borgata, the casino-hotel that opened earlier this decade. Harrah’s, the Trump Taj Mahal, Caesar’s, the Chelsea, the Water Club and the Tropicana are other hot hotels. Harrah’s weekend-long party was the first real stab at a Circuit-type event. It featured a full schedule of dancing, a pool party, a meet-and-greet with the cast of The L Word, and a “Recovery Brunch” with a drag bingo game. Gay rapper Cazwell performed on Friday night at Club Worship at the Showboat, one of the many dance clubs, with the ever-fabulous transgendered icon Amanda Lepore, who performed her latest single and dazzled the mixed crowd. The face of Heatherette, MAC. and Mego Jeans, and personal muse to photographer David LaChapelle, Lepore compares Atlantic City to “a gay Disneyland.” She’s not the only one who’s taking a closer look. The Borgata is reportedly in talks with a major New York promoter about the possibility of a party. Harrah’s definitely plans more weekend outings and is also talking to promoters. A Trump spokesperson tells noiZe that the organization is actively looking at a night at one of its clubs. It’s all part of what Jeffrey Vassar, head of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, calls a “major outreach. We’re certainly a gay-friendly destination,” he says. “But Harrah’s took it one giant leap forward. We just have to keep the momentum going.” Larry Sieg, the ACCVA’s senior director, also expects to see a lot more such events in the future. “For Harrah’s to give up its ballroom for a Saturday night party speaks volumes,” he notes. The height of “Out in A.C.” was a huge dance party at Caesar’s main ballroom. Hot go-go dancers writhed while Jai Rodriguez sang and (for a while) DJ’ed. Lance Bass was also there to meet and greet. Refreshingly, this was an equal-opportunity flesh fest: At the same time as the “Decadence” party at Caesar’s, there was “LaLaLadies Night.” The day pool party took place at The Pool, a huge year-round space that dominates the main floor of Harrah’s complex. With a climate control set at a comfy temperature, constant humidity, a sound system, bars serving tropical confections, and lots and lots of water to get lost in, this would seem to be a space tailor-made for Circuit boys. Harrah’s also priced its weekend competitively: $160 for access to all events; or $80 for the girl-only or boy-only parties. What’s In the Cards The big question is whether the big hotels will give up one of their clubs—where bottle service brings in big crowds and big bucks—for a gay evening. There’s also a question of making the city more compelling to gay visitors overall. “We’re all looking at ways to attract that market,” says a spokesperson for the Trump properties here (there are three—the Marina and Plaza in addition to the Taj). “We all agreed we have great dining, accommodations, shopping and gaming. The one thing we don’t have is targeted entertainment. Then, suddenly, Harrah’s—a conservative company—put a lot of money into this weekend, which was encouraging. We’re all just kind of trying to see where this can take off.” What will help attract the gay crowd are the amenities. Aside from the world-class entertainment and food, there is the shopping: one of the largest outlet malls on the East Coast offers a cornucopia of designers. And the spas here have become world class, on a par or even exceeding Vegas or the Florida resorts. For now, gay visitors are welcome in the clubs, although they shouldn’t plan on taking their shirts off. Aside from the West Side Club (a cab ride away from the Boardwalk or the Marina District, where the hotels are), the Ram’s Head Inn, a local restaurant, is hosting “Out at the Inn” on Monday nights. If the city takes off as a gay-friendly destination, it will probably involve more mixed evenings in the clubs than a stricter gayola policy. That’s the trend everywhere, it seems. As Sieg (who is gay), says: “It’s a chance for the gay and straight markets to come together. Who today thinks we have to have a gay or straight night, anyway?” 2009-10-31T16:27:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/randy_pants/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/randy_pants/ It’s something that happens to all of us at our first Circuit party: We see a man, and he’s the most beautiful object we’ve ever seen. We want him. Even more, we want to be him. His name was Randy Carver.  It was the summer of 1999.  The Summer of Love. I was 24, and had just come out, and he was the most beautiful man I had ever laid eyes on. He was 27, cool, stylish: the way he danced, the way he talked, even the car he drove. Not only was I in love with him, I wanted to be him—great body, great hair, trendy as all hell, yet so nice, so kind, so friendly—without any of the cunty, queeny, “Who-are-you- Miss-Thang?!” attitude that scares off so many fledgling gay boys. No, Randy embraced me as soon as we met, through my then-boyfriend, Brian, and he exuded charm. “It’s so great to meet you,” he exclaimed. “Welcome to Portland!”  I was immediately put at ease and always found myself smiling whenever we hung out. That summer, I really came to know what music felt like: to be able to dance all night long at these wonderful underground after-parties, and then, cuddling and laughing with a fabulous new set of friends in a park overlooking the bay, waiting for the sun to come up. I thought I knew how to dance before, but with a party favor as catalyst and Randy as my guide, I started moving and twisting and locking and twirling like I never knew I could.  Absurdly, his boyfriend cheated on him and then dumped him, and Randy was hurt, terribly hurt for months afterwards. There was a sexual tension, an almost tangible chemistry between us from the start. Although we would hold hands and give each other back rubs, after-rolling, whenever we started kissing or becoming too intimate, he would draw away and choke, “Dan, I’m sorry, it’s just too soon after Jim,”  which pissed me off to no end. I thought he was just brushing me off, because up until then I had never been hurt like that before. Just the same, he was my idol, and I emulated his style. I began combing the shops and boutiques from Portland to Boston to New York for just the right outfits—fierce club kid clothes, tight spandex t-shirts. Blinky—flashy watches, earrings, and bracelets. And phat pants with lots and lots of pockets—Randy pants—like the kind he always wore. You know the routine. I always looked good in them, felt confident, stylish, self-assured, sexy. I started going to Circuit parties. New York, Montreal, D.C. I grew in confidence and met so many people, and I would return to Portland with a thousand stories and a million phone numbers and email addresses and guest tickets to all the clubs: Twilo, the Tunnel, Rise,  Stereo, Avalon. Randy would just laugh, and say, “My god, Dan, when you first got here, you didn’t know anyone, and now you’re everywhere, and everybody knows you!” It was hilarious to me that he didn’t understand that it was in trying to impress him, I had transformed myself into this professional club kid. Then I met the man of my dreams in Boston, and I forgot about Randy and all my friends in Portland—left them all behind to be with this guy, which at first seemed to be a good idea, but then it turned bad. So very bad, so very quickly. He hurt me, broke my heart, ripped my guts out, and tramped on my soul, or so it seemed, and I was left all alone, having alienated my friends in Portland. It took a long, long time for me to heal. Fast forward three years, and by this time I had moved out to California, but I made plans to meet up with friends in Montreal for Black & Blue. There I was, flagging up on stage at Millennium while Manny Lehman was spinning behind me. This guy at the base of the stage beckoned with a finger for me to come closer. It was Randy. I leapt off the stage and into his arms. We kissed like long-lost lovers, and then we caught ourselves and broke apart, and I was all like, “Omigod, look at you, you look great!” (He did.)  He answered, “Me?  Look at you!  You look fantastic! “The next thing, simultaneously was “ Wow—do you have a boyfriend?” “No?” “Oh ... Oh !” My heart jumped, and I think I saw his jump too. We wanted to say more, but just then his friends crashed into us, and we couldn’t really talk. But we danced close, so blissfully, achingly close, and I made plans to meet up with him at his hotel after the club closed in case we got separated (which, unfortunately, we were, dammit!). So the next morning I stumbled from the Olympic Stadium to his hotel. When he let me in, there were a couple of his friends asleep in one bed, and he was slightly out of it. Not to be denied, I let it all out:  how I had fallen in love with him at first sight all those years ago.  How I hadn’t understood how badly his ex had hurt him, but now, after my own failed relationship, I got it. I told him about the huge effect he’d had on me; how I wanted to be cool like him, to be nice like him, to have a great body, great hair; all that and more. He just sat there with mouth agape, eyes wide, and a childlike expression,  “I really did that?  You really thought all that?” Then his eyes glazed over, and he dropped asleep in my arms, and I had to laugh ruefully.  He probably hadn’t even comprehended the last few minutes I’d been talking.  But that was OK. The next day, I flew back to California, knowing where I’d come from, having experienced the magic of recognizing one person’s touch on another’s life. I still look great in my Randy pants. Dan Tyler is an ethnographic researcher and essayist at the University of California, Los Angeles.  He can be reached at danieltyler@mac.com 2009-10-31T16:21:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/cinema_the_circuit/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/cinema_the_circuit/ As anyone lucky enough to experience it knows, a big Circuit party contains enough plots for a whole network of soap operas. Romance, intrigue, sex, substance use and abuse, hot men, sex, hot women, fierce music, dance-music divas, mind-altering psychotropic drugs, great-looking crowd ... did I mention sex? And it all takes place over several hours of a long weekend. So why, with the exception of one minor documentary and an indie, has the Circuit never been depicted on film? “Part of the reason there haven’t been more films is the distance that the idea of a Circuit party has from mainstream culture,” notes Matthew Breen, the executive editor of the Advocate. “A lot of gay men want to keep it as a secret.” In addition, there’s what Breen describes as “the difficulty depicting that environment; imagine describing it to someone who’s never experienced it—the high sexual temperature, mood-alerting drugs, a communal feel. It’s hard to describe such an alternate experience on film.” Only consider the spate of really bad films in the ‘60s that attempted to reproduce hallucinogenic states of mind, such as The Trip, starring Peter Fonda. The Circuit represents only a small slice of gay life—and one from which many gay men, in Michelangelo Signorile’s phrase, spend their life outside. “Anything that implies that this is the essence of the gay community, is something that all gay men share as an interest” would be controversial, Breen points out. As a party producer (the impresario behind the Saint at Large’s Black Party), and as a film producer (he helped bring seminal New Queer Cinema director Gregg Araki to a larger public), Stephen Pevner brings a dual perspective to the subject. “The people on the Circuit aren’t very self-critical,” he says. “They don’t want to see it in a negative light. Who wants to sit in a theater and watch a movie about people just having a good time?” With those caveats in mind, here is a critical history of the Circuit on film—such as it is. Proto-Circuit Movies Before the Circuit, there was disco. If you’ve suffered through Can’t Stop the Music or Xanadu (both 1980), you know that disco may have produced some dynamite music, but it was responsible for really horrible films (to match those clothes). The only disco-era film that stands the test of time is Saturday Night Fever (1977, whose dance scenes were filmed in a Brooklyn, N.Y., club that later became the area’s major gay disco). Into this mosh pit of bad films with good scores also goes the disco-era drama 54, a 1998 drama about the most famous disco of them all, Studio 54, in which Ryan Phillippe, at his most androgynously beautiful, plays a straight boy drawn into drugs, polymorphous sex and swoopy dance hooks. If the disco-era films were suffused with a gay consciousness, none of them featured out-gay characters. In fact, before this decade, there was no depiction in a mainstream film of gay men dancing together except for a brief scene in 1970’s The Boys in the Band, in which the “boys” do a line dance “like the one we used to do on Fire Island”—where such dancing was necessitated by laws forbidding men dancing together. In Cruising, the controversial 1980 film, Al Pacino, as a New York City policeman who goes undercover to find a serial killer of gay men, finds himself on a tiny dance floor in Greenwich Village. Cruising was excoriated at the time for the way it portrayed gay men as obsessed with hardcore S&M, but lately it’s had a second look and has begun to be appreciated as the only Hollywood artifact of the heady days between Stonewall and the advent of the AIDS crisis. Non-Gay Parties Since the advent of talkies, Hollywood has been giving us depictions of straight couples dancing, from those Fred-and-Ginger RKO confections and MGM musicals to American International surfer quickies and Strictly Ballroom. More recently, there have been attempts to capture the rave or big-room straight club scene, with various success. It’s All Gone Pete Tong, a 2004 Canadian mocumentary about a DJ who goes deaf, paints a mildly satiric portrait of nightlife in Ibiza. The island gets a darker spin in the 2002 dark British thriller Morvern Caller, in which a poor Scottish girl comes into money and goes raving in sunny Spain. Raves come out a little better in films like all three Matrix films; Groove (2000), a look at the San Francisco rave scene; and 24-Hour Party People (2002), a British film that is most notable for its exploration of Manchester’s underground raves.  Circuit Drama A very few recent films have dramatized the gay party scene, most notably Party Monster (2003). It fictionalizes real-life club kid Michael Alig, who made New York’s Limelight notorious before his incarceration for the murder of an alleged drug dealer; it also gave Seth Green and Macaulay Culkin their first grown-up roles. For better or worse, that leaves Dirk Shafer’s Circuit (2001) as the only full-fledged fictionalized portrait. John, a small-town police officer, moves in with his cousin in L.A. and finds himself in the middle of the West Hollywood scene. He befriends a hustler and an old female acquaintance while he starts taking steroids and every other drug. The film climaxes at the White Party in Palm Springs. Shafer was constrained by a low budget, but he managed to get some interesting footage of the White Party, and it helps that his two leads (both straight) are good looking enough to pass for Circuit stars. The critics were deeply divided about this film, and so was the ostensible crowd the film dramatized. Many men find this a hateful depiction that emphasizes the worst aspects of the Circuit; while others believe that it legitimately dramatizes the darker side of the party scene. Aside from Circuit, there have been a few experimental films that have tried to capture the magic of the gay dance floor. Schwarzwald is a short film that depicts the 2006 Black Party theme in fictional form. It stars the female-to-male porn performer Buck Angel as a medieval prince abandoned by his evil mother and watched over by a sorcerer. The movie ends with footage from the party itself, including sex performances, flaggers and the dance floor. Director Richard Kimmel shot it in one day outside New York City. Pevner meant it as a keepsake for partygoers, but also something that would “legitimize the Black Party for people who had never seen the inside.” It has been on the gay festival circuit, as well as being shown in clubs, which fits with Pevner’s stated goal as “the movie you can dance to” (Saint veteran DJ Michael Fierman scored the film). Documentaries The one genre where the Circuit has fared best is in the nonfiction realm. The lone full-length documentary about the Circuit experience itself, 2002’s When Boys Fly follows a group of friends as they prepare for, and experience, the Miami White Party. The most controversial aspect of the film is the depiction of drug use, especially GHB: One cast member did, in fact, suffer severe medical problems and went into rehab. Most observers believe the film is an unfair portrayal. In Maestro (2004), Roxy: The Last Dance (2008) and Where Ocean Meets Sky (2004), the scene is portrayed far more positively. All three depict aspects of New York’s gay club culture. As its name implies, Roxy celebrates the famous roller rink that hosted a longstanding gay Saturday dance party where Victor Calderone, among others, was resident, and that was the site of many notable occasions, such as appearances by Cher and Madonna. While Where Ocean Meets Sky isn’t strictly about music, this history of Fire Island Pines contains much information about the Sandpiper, where Tom Moulton invented the EP, and its successor the Pavilion. Maestro is a loving look back at the Paradise Garage, a mega-club that thrived in the early 1980s, and especially the resident DJ, Larry Levan. Although Levan is shown warts-and-all (he died in 1992 after years of drug use), it also celebrates his musical legacy, with notable acolytes such as Frankie Knuckles, Junior Vasquez and Manny Lehman paying tribute to his genius. The film ends with an expansive montage of superstar DJs from around the world. It’s a beautiful sequence that summons up how Levan’s signature beat mixing helped give birth to a whole musical style; but it also celebrates the very best aspects of that ecstatic communion we call the Circuit. 2009-07-29T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/the_bright_stuff_guy_smith_lights_up_the_night/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/the_bright_stuff_guy_smith_lights_up_the_night/ For many years, a delicate dance has occurred on the floors of major events all over the world. Light and sound come together to elevate your experience to a magical place, a synthesis of the senses when music and lighting become one. It’s not easily achieved, and done correctly you probably won’t even notice all the work and skill that goes into it. DJs tend to lead in this dance, since we are more conscious of their contribution to the proceedings. But without the right lights, the music can’t fully achieve that three-dimensional maelstrom of emotion and drama that we crave as discerning party people. Anyone who has attended major Circuit events in the past 20 years has probably seen the work of one of the true masters of this craft, Guy Smith. This maestro has lit blue-ribbon dance events, stadium-level concerts, and corporate shindigs. As a psych major at Brandeis University in the ‘80s, Smith became fascinated with the human brain and how it experiences the world around it. His work as a detox counselor gave him a respect for drugs and the fact that they can lead to self-destruction and even death. Nevertheless, the impulse to reach higher states of awareness and communion with one another is obviously a powerful one that can help people as well, and in that sense he has never stopped being a student of human psychology. But he also loves to tinker with things, to pull stuff apart and figure out how it works. All that contributes to his craft. It was at the gay club City in Boston (later Avalon) that he saw the light, as it were: “I had never seen moving lights in a show before. When I walked in and saw this whole lyrical experience going on I had to know how it worked.” The next morning, he marched into the club and announced, “I’d like to do lighting here.” For $6 an hour, he lit Avalon at night while working as a psychiatric counselor during the day. Finally, in 1995, he dedicated himself to lighting full time. Since then, he has planned and worked lights at the Saint at Large’s Black Party, as well as New York’s massive Pier Dance and Alegria, the Pines Party on Fire Island, and Wonderland in L.A. He’s worked concerts for heavy hitters such as Jewel, Shakira, Justin Timberlake, Cyndi Lauper and Missy Elliot. Corporate events such as a Bulgari jewelry launch with Kanye West give him a chance to create more intimate settings. He even dabbles as a DJ occasionally. He is particularly proud of the work he does for non-profits such as the Komen Cancer and Michael J. Fox Foundations. The Psychology of Lighting His psychology background makes him particularly attuned to the way that lights and music can work together to create powerful experiences for the observer. “We don’t really know why, but certain colors and forms are associated by the human psychology with certain emotions,” he points out. “There’s even a psychological disorder where people ‘hear color’ or they ‘see music.’ It’s also something that happens when you’re on hallucinogens.” Smith believes in the power of the dance experience for our community. “Gay people go to Circuit parties like Baptists go to church,” he says. “You’re in a nightclub, which is a lot like being in a cathedral, which is also a lot like being in a cave around a fire. And you’re all trying to reach some form of altered state, which is something that has been going on for 10,000 years, in order to experience a certain oneness with each other.” A consummate perfectionist, Smith works with all manner of heavy-duty lighting equipment, old and new, and the boards and computers that make it all come together. He has been known to climb to the rafters on a rickety ladder if even one of the hundreds of pieces of the puzzle he created isn’t working correctly. He likes to use every brush at his disposal to paint swirling colors on bodies, walls, and smoke. “I have to give them something to physically look at,” he explains. “It can’t just be a bunch of random lights. It has to have a center of focus, some symmetry—or asymmetry, but if it’s asymmetry it’s got to be intentional.” Crisis Management So how closely does he work with the DJ? He emphasizes that he’s become very good friends with many of the big names over the years—but they don’t necessarily coordinate their nights together beforehand. “A lot of the DJs and I have worked together a lot, and we sort of play games with each other. They know how I work and I know how they work, and they try to surprise me. They’ll glance over and give me a funny look, like ‘This one’s for you.’” As with any job, things can and do go wrong. Smith vividly recalls Masterbeat’s 2006 New Year’s Eve party. Deborah Cox had just performed and it was just past midnight, so the party was settling into its groove. Suddenly at 1:30 a.m., the lights sputtered and then died completely. This is a not-uncommon disaster. He rushed out to the massive semi-trailer that housed the generator, where he found his production manager standing next to it scratching his head. Smith quickly discovered the problem: The gauge needle had been stuck; the generator was out of gas. Smith grabbed as many gas-like containers as he could find and found a service station with diesel fuel. He gave Manny Lehman the thumbs up, who cranked the music for a dramatic explosion. Reaching peak buildup, Smith threw the lights back on to thunderous applause, and the boys happily partied through the rest of the night. Later that morning, people complimented Smith on the amazing “dark period” he gave them. He just smiled and thanked them. Smith embodies the Circuit ideal of finding your own life groove and making it work for you. His professionalism and pride in his craft are matched by a respect for the community he works with and its gratitude for being able to do what he loves most. This is a man who has taken his insights about the mind and its innate desire to experience the world around it in exciting and mysterious ways and translated them into a moveable, transient art. Next time you’re lost in a whirlwind of color and sound, look up to the lighting booth and give the technician a wave of thanks and recognition. He’s been up there dancing with you for years. 2009-07-29T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/the_power_of_love/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/the_power_of_love/ Seeing Lena Love’s highly stylized photos alone can be a jarring experience, let alone one of her meticulously produced shows. Who is this creature? With her aggressive makeup and funhouse fashion, the first impulse might be to peg her as an overgrown club kid. But then there’s something about her that seems a bit too … authentic for that. Often she has her very real tits showing, so perhaps she’s one of those eerily convincing transsexuals. Then—at last—the truth. She is exactly what she looks like: a gorgeous woman with muscle and talent for days. She’s been driving Circuit boys wild for over a decade now. If you haven’t heard of her yet, you will. An alluring (if also slightly alarming) mix of Marilyn Manson and Brigitte Nielsen, you’ll probably find Lena performing with a gaggle of beautiful boys acting like a pack of dogs at her feet; when, that is, she’s not sculpting people into shape as a personal trainer in her hometown of Toronto. Whether it’s Black & Blue in Montreal, Gay Ski Weekend in Vancouver, or an appearance on Queer as Folk as a Barbie doll breaking out of its package, Lena puts everything she’s got into entertaining and surprising the most jaded party posse. Surprisingly, she says she was initially taken aback at the way the gayboiz took to her. “You would figure the last thing a plethora of gay cha chas would want to see is a half-naked woman,” she (rather reasonably) explains. “To this day I can never explain it, but I was embraced. I think it’s because it shows when I perform: I’m an open book.” This charming and introspective modesty, however, vanishes instantly the moment she’s “on”—on stage or in front of the camera. There is a power to her presence that screams confidence, talent, and the wisdom of experience. Lena’s life has always been a stage of some sort. Both of her parents were well-known bodybuilders in Toronto in the ‘80s. Lena brags about her mother getting a call from Jennifer Beals, whom she was training for the movie Flashdance. Her father worked with Lou Ferrigno (of Incredible Hulk fame), so Lena’s bodybuilding career path was set at an early age. When asked if she lets the two sides of her life merge at all, she laughs at the “image of yelling at my clients to do three more reps with horns on my head and a painted white face and fangs.” Her relationship with her father was rocky at best, so she poured herself into dance classes as a child to get some positive attention from him—to little avail: “It was something I could say I was good at it, trying to say, ’Look, Dad, can you see me now?’ I knew he didn’t, but in my mind I knew it made a little part of me happy anyhow.” Hard work and perseverance taught her to accept the things she couldn’t change about her life while opening up new worlds of creativity and freedom. “I breathed it,” says Love, calling performance “my therapy. I would rather move than speak verbally about my emotions. Dancing was a braver method of explaining feelings through a song.” But dancing was something that cost a lot, both financially and emotionally. So Lena had to make a difficult decision: stop taking classes and started escaping to the big city—in this case, Toronto–to the welcoming arms of the burgeoning rave scene. She avoided the easy temptation of drug use. “I was too distracted with the community it brought and the diversity,” she recalls. “The music was like an open book, and when people would dance, they were the words to the story.” She quickly became a fixture on the go-go boxes of Toronto, which she sees in retrospect as “more of an art form” at the time, “very interpretive. This gave me leeway to dance and express myself, and at the same time I was inspired by the music and the unique people.” Eventually, the local raves peaked, and she found herself following her gay friends to the newly developing Circuit scene, where she quickly found herself smack dab in the spotlight. The non-threatening sexual vibe she felt from her gay fans was a new kind of freedom for her. She loved the way she could use her body erotically and artistically—without a bunch of horny straight boys salivating over her. The over-the-top colors, lights and sounds of the gay scene also resonated with her outlandish nature, and she felt she had found her “new home.” SKIING & SANKER Once established locally, she was courted by the likes of Sanker and the big gay ski weeks. She had always thought of herself as a go-go dancer primarily, but quickly realized that these huge events expected a bit of a show; Ms. Love was happy to oblige. Since she is not a drag queen, “I couldn’t just put on a wig and pretend to be J-Lo.” Maybe that was an advantage. She was forced to rely on—gasp—her talent. The resulting production value of her shows blossomed. Today, she is now well known throughout Canada for her keen eye for visual pageantry and drama. She is constantly finding new ways to “tell my version of the song on stage through visual movement, costuming, and interacting with the crowd.” She now finds herself among the luminaries of the Circuit performance world. She has worked with Circuit legends such as Buck Angel and RKM, and caused a minor scandal in Toronto with Angel, an infamous female-to-male erotic performer. Being the “man with a vagina” (the phrase that appears on his business cards), he tends to give quite an eye-popping show, as those who attended the Black Party a few years back well know. He and Lena hit it off immediately, and they decided to surprise the crowd with a little fisting, with Buck as the fister and Lena as the fistee. Toronto wasn’t quite ready for that type of rawness, which upset Lena, since it was “such a small piece of what the story offered.” A flood of calls and emails expressing shock and outrage had Lena quickly yearning for more cosmopolitan stages—or at least more accepting ones. Lena’s plans for the future will no doubt be shaped by her increasing restlessness with the scene as she finds it today. What she sees as an influx of harder drugs and a sense that the party scene has become jaded and stale is having an impact on her enthusiasm—not to mention the fact that many people simply don’t go out anymore, instead preferring the relative proximity and simplicity of cruising around online for company. But she stays upbeat about a scene that she still loves and cherishes, and is using this moment to take stock of how she can continue to do what she loves and feel that she is getting the most out of her creative output. She has much to be thankful for, “discovering as an artist the best and worst of what comes along with your passion.” But she is not afraid to admit that she is at a “crossroads” and yearns to “take Lena Love to another level.” This might take the form of moving to Europe to seek out new audiences with a thirst for her brand of boundary-pushing aesthetics. She also hints that there may be a “legendary musical” in her life, and from the look of things, it would certainly be a surprise if there weren’t. Too bad the name “Taboo” is already taken. It would fit her boundary-breaking performance style perfectly. 2009-04-29T23:51:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/focus_on_the_family/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/focus_on_the_family/ Parzh and August. That’s how they are known to partygoers, promoters, and nightlife celebutants around the world. These two inveterate travelers are the masterminds behind GreatPartyPics.com, the massive online photo repository of the hottest men from the hottest parties and Circuit events around the country. Since 2002, the website has grown to include over 30,000 pictures, and has received millions of hits by visitors in over 109 countries and in all 50 states. Their pictures have frequently been published in noiZe (and previously Circuit Noize) as well as other publications. The whole venture began as something the pair had wanted to do so that everyone could partake in their adventures on the Circuit, explains Parzh, who lives with his partner August in South Beach: “I wanted to have a way of showing what we get to see and do.” The two busy professionals by day love to spend their off-hours enjoying the camaraderie of the many bars and clubs of South Florida—as well as the communal energy of Circuit events. For Parzh, it all started when he left his hometown in Oklahoma to visit his gay uncle in the big city: “The day I turned 21, my life changed. My uncle in New York City gave me an open invitation to stay with him whenever I wished, so I took him up on it. I would visit him once or twice a month.” On these visits, Parzh first became acquainted with Clubland. Frequenting such clubs as Palladium, Tunnel, Limelight, and Sound Factory, Parzh was hooked. “I loved the music and how everyone was having a great time,” he says. When he graduated in 1994 with an MBA, he moved to Fort Lauderdale but also bought a condo in South Beach for the weekends. He started going out to all the clubs and bars, and before long everyone knew who he was. August Cook grew up in Missouri and attended university in Kansas for seven years. “When I graduated, I said, ‘Get me out of these cornfields!‘” So he went to Chicago. In July 1991, after three years of braving the Windy City’s brutal winters, August moved to Miami. “At the time, I didn’t realize how hip it was. When I got down here, I was just flabbergasted,” says August. “It took me a year to adjust to how decadent and wild and fun it was. I didn’t know there was a lifestyle like that at all. In Chicago, when it’s wintertime, they don’t really go out and do much.” Over the next few years, August became friends with many of the club promoters in South Beach. Partners in Life In 1996, Parzh and August met during Winter Party Festival in Miami and hit it off immediately. At the time, August was living in Ormond Beach developing several high-rise timeshare buildings. “We both had so much in common,” Parzh remembers. For the next two years, they kept in contact and saw each other at Circuit events. On April 17, 1998, Parzh received a call from August saying that he had moved back to South Beach. “We went out that night, and I got to meet all of his friends,” recalls Parzh. “That night we skipped several steps, and by that morning we became partners. All of our friends were shocked, especially since I had never dated anyone.” August moved his architectural design company, August Cook Design, to South Beach and worked on several high-profile projects. One year later, they bought a house on North Bay Road, where they still live. “Parzh was funny,” says August. “When we bought our house, he said it had to be walking distance to Salvation.” At the time, Salvation was the place to be on Saturday nights. With Abel spinning what would become his signature tribal beats; Power Infiniti serving up the fiercest shows in town; and hundreds of shirtless, chiseled Miami boys on the dance floor, it’s easy to understand that “Criterion No. 1” for their new home was proximity to the legendary club. Nightlife became a major part of their lives together. The couple started to become known for hosting parties of their own at home, including birthday parties for Power, Salvation promoter Mike Mazer, and Kitty Meow; and their infamous Christmas parties. They became bold-faced fixtures of The Wire, the local bar weekly. They faithfully checked every issue to see if they had made it in, which led to collecting photo albums. One of the editors at The Wire gave Parzh a camera and told him to point and shoot at everything in sight. Partners in Photography Which they did. “My life changed forever,” Parzh says. Every week, he and August snapped hundreds of photos for The Wire. While Parzh worked behind the camera, August arranged the boys. “One little secret that the club owners and promoters learned was that the drunker I was, the more pictures I’d take,” says Parzh. No surprise that the drinks kept flowing. Finally in 2002, thousands of photos later, Parzh and August purchased the domain name GreatPartyPics.com. With limited knowledge of the tech side, they managed to cobble together a free site so people could see themselves and their friends and relive magic moments on the dance floor. “It was something I wanted to do for everyone to enjoy,” says Parzh. “I felt like I was doing this for the community.” He prides himself on the inclusive nature of their site. “Our pictures are not always just the hot guys. We’ve got everybody. Everyone wants to see his picture. It makes them feel good.” Because they both have professional careers, they would upload new pictures to the website in their spare time. Often it took a few weeks, since Parzh wanted to make sure that he didn’t inadvertently show someone doing something—ahem!—inappropriate. This attention to detail and decency led to their being among the first external photographers allowed into Montreal’s Black & Blue. They also became sponsors of Winter Party, White Party, and One Mighty Weekend. In May of this year, Parzh’s brother Pezh took over as webmaster and completely redesigned their website, GreatPartyPics.com. They’ve since received numerous compliments and awards. They are now able to post all photos within a week of an event. Though GreatPartyPics.com is still free, a $9.95 yearly subscription allows members to download high-res, full-sized, and professionally touched-up photos without the GreatPartyPics.com logo. Members also have full access to all of the photos; the free galleries only contain a subset of the pictures. Parzh and August have also begun soliciting advertisers in three categories, including party sponsorships. The site, however, remains very much a labor of love.  They’ve met people from all over the world and delight in introducing friends to each other. Two guys they put together for a picture at Winter Party three years ago ended up in a relationship. “That’s how they met!” Parzh boasts. “And they’ve been together ever since!” At this point, they have become so well known that boys approach them to have their pictures taken for the site, which Parzh calls “a living scrapbook. I have a photo album of our friends growing up,” he wistfully remarks. “Or growing big!” adds August. They both break out in laughter. Like some of their friends’ waistlines, GreatPartyPics.com continues to expand with no end in sight. 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/erotic_art_has_a_homo_history/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/erotic_art_has_a_homo_history/ It must be immensely satisfying to be able to bring your deepest fantasies to life via erotic illustration. Feeling lonely? Not in the mood to go out and score? Just sit at your desk and conjure up any vision of male perfection that suits your individual needs. It’s hard work, of course, but worth the effort. After all, it only takes one hand to draw something, right? But what drives these artists? What are their secret identities? The online boom for hero-worshipping artists such as Joe Phillips or noiZe contributor Iceman Blue has made this particular breed of comic artist wildly popular. Iceman Blue has been making a living off of his website since 2006, yet still thinks of his current career as “a hobby that’s paying my bills.” But don’t let his modesty fool you. His erotic illustrations—especially his particular brand of superheroes—have become an online phenomenon, and pay the bills quite nicely. He also escapes the boundaries of the everyday gay world, which is why he translates well into the fantasies of specialized Japanese male erotica, or “yaoi.” Ask any contemporary gay erotic artist where they got their start, and many, if not most, will tell you that it was the mainstream comic book world. Turns out all of those barely-concealed homo subplots in your favorite comics were no accident! Joe Phillips worked for DC Comics and “every comic and comic book company out there” for fifteen years. Iceman got his start as an intern at a comic book company called Top Cow Productions. Even Josman, an artist who focuses almost exclusively on edgy incestual relationships, wanted to work for DC or Marvel as a child and works in the familiar comic-strip style. Many of your favorite gay comic book artists may never have come out of the closet artistically, so to speak, but they were still out there: filling your young mind with visions of muscle packed into spandex and older rich gentlemen who fought crime by your side. The Comics Code Authority forbade any explicit mention of homosexuality in the comics they controlled until 1989, but that just forced our dashing homo heroes to find more creative ways to reveal themselves. Most famously, Batman epitomized the sublimated gay comic theme by introducing Robin the Boy Wonder in the ‘50s as Bruce Wayne’s young “ward.” Robin not only lived with Bruce, but slept in the same bed with him. Once that image was introduced, almost any crime-fighting words put in their mouths became loaded with sexual innuendo. So much so that the series was attacked by psychologist Fredric Wertham as having an “atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures.” In 1954, that was more commonly seen as a bad thing for kids to obsess over. (The inherent camp in the Batman comics was brought front and center in the ‘60s TV show.) The industry seemed to learn its lesson; the tricks of the trade got more subtle for a while before actual gay characters were finally introduced in the ‘90s. Sometimes the writers and illustrators employed irony. Check out the rampant use of changeling storylines in the comic world that made gay sex more of a transsexual phenomenon—something the industry was oddly more comfortable with than outright homosexuality. Japan & Finland: Out & Hot In the (arguably) more sexually repressed society of Japan, gay sex rears its head quite prominently through several genres of man-on-man action. The most interesting is called “yaoi.” The word is an acronym that means “no climax, no point, no meaning,” which was a dig at a less explicit version of the genre. The surprise with yaoi is that it is especially popular with young Japanese women. They seem drawn to the erotic romantic tales that pair strong dominant men with beautiful male youth, although some have posited that they are more comfortable with sexual situations not involving females. Whatever, the subtleties of Japanese gender dynamics are the subject of a much longer article. Suffice it to say that the genre is wildly popular with girls and boys all over the world. An online search for yaoi yielded nearly 5 million hits. A notable exception to the “comic book” rule is Tom of Finland. His work remains the most iconic gay art ever produced. He helped transform the idea of the homosexual man for an entire generation. Seen as prancing, catty and foppish historically, gay men were not viewed as objects of overt masculinity. By the 1970s, that image had been replaced by the cruisy porn icon of the “clone” swaggering across the docks with absurdly tight jeans and a handlebar mustache. Young Touko Laaksonen was born in Kaarina, Finland, in 1920. He spent much of his youth obsessing over the sweaty laborers of his homeland. He was soon conscripted into the army to fight in the Second World War, where encounters with hardened fighters sealed the archetype deep into his psyche. After the war, he worked in the advertising industry as a graphic artist, but the stage was set for his impactful career. Working under the pseudonym “Tom” while submitting erotic work to magazines in the ‘50s, by the ‘70s he was exhibiting his work as Tom of Finland and quit his day job to focus solely on his now famous illustrations. Bold with almost absurd dimensions, his men nevertheless don’t venture far into comic strip territory. This was a new breed of anti-hero. Combining sexual fantasy with a kind of hyperrealism that stretched the limits of the possible almost to the breaking point, he resonated deeply with an emerging generation of gay men searching for a new homosexual ideal. His work suited the dark, bacchanalian mood of the era perfectly. Superhero Redux So why now, when things like the Circuit and marriage have made us a little less brooding and dangerous, has the superhero returned? It’s hard to leave a major event without a few hero-themed fliers these days. We here at noiZe have consistently championed the idea of gay men as defenders of freedom and happiness, often including musclemen illustrations in our issues. “These are the characters and fantasies gay men grew up with, so they come to me because I help them express that,” notes Iceman Blue. “Not only that, gay men, much like anyone else, love admiring perfect specimens, and I can provide them with my own style of unflawed male beauty.” Iceman thinks of himself as an artist first. He is drawn to the possibilities of illustration. He cites a personal rule his teacher suggested in college: “What can I show that a video can’t?” He lists as role models both mainstream artists like Jim Balent and Alex Ross, as well as erotic masters Patrick Fillion and Michael Manning. The limitless boundaries of fantasy brought to life in different ways keeps him very busy. Is he turned on by his own work? “That’s how I know it’s good!” he says. “It can be distracting at first.  But believe me, after looking at the same picture for hours, the spark dims.” Good thing, or his fans might never see any finished work. Clearly, erotic illustration has taken twists and turns throughout its history. But the quest for perfection and the desire to explore new worlds of fun and pleasure remain consistent. The cover of this issue was hand-drawn by Iceman Blue exclusively for noIZe.  Iceman was previously featured on the cover of Issue #53, and is responsible for the noiZe boy drawings featured in every issue. 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/ritesxxx_the_black_party/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/ritesxxx_the_black_party/ Thousands of years ago at the Spring Equinox, men would go into the woods wearing animal skins to dance ecstatically to drumbeats. They would remain there all night to ensure a good planting season. That’s how Bruce Mailman, the impresario behind the original Saint, conceived the Black Party. Whether or not Druids actually took to the forest, Mailman must have tapped into something deep in the collective gay unconscious. Because after thirty years, the Black Party remains a unique experience. Ask anyone who’s had the luck to attend. This is the modern ritual of men (and women!) who annually dress in animal skins and dance through the night in a secret location. This is much more than a typical Circuit party. On the sprawling dance floor of New York City’s Roseland Ballroom, you feel part of a tribe. The Black Party is a celebration of sexuality, carnality, music and freedom. Stephen Pevner, who produces the party with his Saint-at-Large team working out of a loft space in the East Village, took over Mailman’s role in 1996. A distant cousin of Mailman’s, he had the good fortune to attend the closing of the original Saint in 1988. That party, which lasted three days, has become legendary, as was the Saint itself. Mailman took the old Fillmore East, a rock concert venue, and spent millions of dollars to transform it into the ultimate disco, with a sound system, lighting and dance floor that have never been equaled. When the Saint closed for good, the Saint-at-Large produced parties around the city before finally settling on Roseland, a former dance hall turned rock venue with the largest dance floor in New York. Every year, Pevner and his team transform what is essentially a “black box”—an empty shell of a space—into a state-of-the-art nightclub. The light shows and sound quality rival the original club—or any extant club, for that matter. “We basically have one day to do everything,” says Guy Smith, who has been the Black Party’s lightman for the past several years. “Everything has already been planned out to the minute: set decorations, talent, lighting, sound. It’s all planned on paper. It’s a one-night event, with no corporate sponsorship, and all based on ticket sales.” Walk into Roseland, and you’re transported from the big city into a fantasy world of the hottest men, poured into their form-fitting uniforms, assless chaps, jockstraps, latex bodysuits or just nothing at all. And all of them are primed for a night of fantasy. This year, for Rites XXX, Pevner promises to pull out all the stops. It will be hard to top the themes of the past few years. Last year’s “Dangerous Black Party for Boys” was a chance for every grown-up gay man to act out all those Boy Scout fantasies. “Lucha Libre” meant go-go dancers and porn stars dressed as Mexican wrestlers, and a live donkey, chickens and a Mexican musician. The next year’s “Nascar Holy War” blended the macho subculture of race cars with Americans’ obsession with brand names. The most talked about, however, had to have been 2006’s “Schwarzwald,” or “Black Forest.” Female-to-male transsexual porn star Buck Angel overlooked the dance floor in a makeshift castle, as he aroused himself and participated in group scenes with the other actors to the roars (and groans) of the crowd. Pevner sees the evening as a “story arc” made necessary, he says, by shifting tastes in spectacle—and music. It’s part of a movement from a leather-themed event to more of fetish fest. “We made a conscious decision to give it some context, because the leather scene was important in its time but doesn’t relate to a new generation,” he says. “Fetishes can be sexy. Fetishes evolve. It’s not your uncle’s Black Party.” The most (in)famous aspect of the party has to be the live acts on a second-floor stage. The acts began at the original Saint, along with legends like the live adult circumcision. There have been strange uses of boa constrictors, pool balls, firecrackers, food, various body fluids and all manner of role-playing. The emphasis increasingly is on kink rather than the merely sexual. Mike Peyton works for the Saint-at-Large and is a well-known player on New York’s fetish scene. “Fetish keeps changing,” he says. “Young kids coming up are wearing latex, gear—scuba, hockey—head to toe, right down to the cleats. A major change is away from leather.” The sex isn’t limited to the stages either. The dance floor can get quite frisky, and as for the upstairs Love Lounge—well, the name speaks for itself. Above all, however, this is a dance party, and the choice of DJs to spin this party inevitably becomes the subject of gossip among party boys weeks before the Saint-at-Large’s official announcement, after President’s Day. A lot of the effort to keep the party fresh goes into the music, and Pevner believes that the DJs must respect the party’s traditions while keeping it current. For many years, original Saint DJ Michael Fierman spun this party solo. But 18 hours is a lot for anyone, and in recent years, there have been three DJs: a warm-up, usually a newer or lesser-known talent, from the Saturday night opening until about 2 a.m.; then a headliner, who goes until about 10:30 a.m.; and a closer, who spins the Morning Music and Sleaze that’s identified as the Saint Sound. The party usually closes around 4 p.m. on Sunday. The DJ roster reads like a “Who’s Who” of the music world. But before the party, they’re all thoroughly prepped on how to spin: dark and sexy. The Black Party strives to keep the vibe, musically and in every other way, as an underground event. This is not a typical “Circuit weekend,” with a pass, tea dance or souvenir booklet. That said, other venues piggyback on the Black Party. Alegria Xtreme, which acts as an unofficial “closing party,” takes the boys well into Monday afternoon. Amidst a torrent of change in the gay scene over thirty years, the Black Party has managed to remain so popular because it blends the best of the past—both our recent gay past and a past lost in the mists of time—with the current scene. To attract younger revelers, Pevner has been charging only $40 after 4 a.m. for younger guys. For the thousands of men who fly in from all over the world, this remains the party of the year. “The scale of the party, ticket price and number of people we get allow us to give value for the money and give one hell of a sound and light show,” Pevner says. 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/mark_nelsons_great_adventure/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/mark_nelsons_great_adventure/ Mark Nelson is no stranger to the party scene. Since 1987, he has been producing and promoting events. But it wasn’t until 1998, when he left his position as manager of Splash Bar in New York City, that it became his full-time job. “Why not get paid to party?” Mark thought to himself. Mark Nelson Events has been involved with such legendary parties as Saint at Large’s Black Party, Junior Vasquez’s “Earth” parties, and Heritage of Pride’s “Dance on the Pier.” He also produces a weekly newsletter, “Mark Nelson Events,” that gives the 411 on anything and everything gay in the Big City. “I used to be so cracked out when I first started rambling that thing out eight years ago from my AOL account. God…” says Nelson, who’s open about his past bad habits. “Now it’s been a weekly discipline for me to do since 2002. It’s part of my sobriety and also a sort of balancing act for me to stay focused and clear.” On Friday, September 19, Mark Nelson Events and Heritage of Pride present the 5th Annual Fairgrounds “Out @ Night,” to take place at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. The park, which usually only operates on Saturdays and Sundays after Labor Day, opens its gates at 6 p.m. for this exclusive private event for GLBT friends and family. Last year, over 8,100 people came from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and D.C., making Fairgrounds “Out @ Night” the largest private standalone GLBT event in the USA. The event raised over $100,000 for Heritage of Pride, which produces the annual New York City Pride Week. Heritage of Pride is a wholly volunteer-managed, non-partisan, tax-exempt, not-for-profit corporation that organizes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pride events in New York City to commemorate and celebrate the Stonewall Riots. noiZe: How did “Out @ Night” get started? Mark Nelson: After going to Gay Days in Orlando for a few years, I thought, why can’t we do this in NYC? I approached Anthony Dean of Heritage of Pride to see if there was interest in his organization to have another fundraiser, as I was doing the entertainment for the annual Pier Dance. Another reason that got me going to do this was that I was getting sober, and when I analyzed why I would or had done recreational drugs, it was because I was bored. I needed something to get my attention and thrill me… like a rollercoaster! Who else works with you to put this event together? I still work with Anthony Dean on this event, as well as Phil Mannino, Theary Chan, Rick Harper, Gage Kristopher of Twisted Life, and volunteers from Heritage of Pride. It’s a small-man operation that works. But as no one can do anything alone, we have opened up the promotion to New York’s finest promoters/producers, like Alan Picus, Michael ‘Formika’ Jones, Ray DeForest, Max Scott, Brad Hurtado, Jill Potter, Yamil X, Nathan H. Williams, Nathan ‘Seven’ Scott, Joe Fiore, Don Turner, Akash Abraham, GayOrbit.com, and BoiParty.com How late is the park open? This year we will stay open until midnight. Are all the rides open, or only a select few? All rides will be open!! And I might even carry a few cuties on my back, if necessary! For Gay Days at Disney World in Orlando, people wear red shirts to show their support for the GLBT community. Is there any kind of “dress code” for this event? I didn’t want the GLBT community having to wear red tops to show who they were. I thought that was sort of tired. We needed an event that was private and gave us the entire park for our enjoyment. No need to make statements to the general public.   What about carless New Yorkers? We have reserved ten big Greyhound-type buses to leave from Greenwich Village at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon. They will start to return to NYC at 11 p.m. Unfortunately, the cost looks like it’s going to be $40 R/T (last year it was $30). What makes Fairgrounds “Out @ Night” so special? This is one of the most diverse GLBT crowds you will ever see. It’s truly amazing to see everyone smiling and carrying on. People are there to enjoy their freedom of expression and get some handholding time with the one they love (or just met). The park loves this event, and the staff looks forward to it all year long. So, round up your friends and head over to Jersey on September 19th to ride the coasters, experience the thrills, and take in the ultimate outdoor dance experience at the largest Six Flags in the country. Tickets go on sale August 1. For more information about Fairgrounds ‘Out @ Night V’ or to sign up for the “Mark Nelson Events” newsletter, visit http://www.marknelson.biz. 2008-08-04T22:56:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/party_review_alegria_pride/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/party_review_alegria_pride/ With massive air-conditioning ductwork snaking up the facade of Webster Hall from the street below, anyone on the outside could see that the scene inside the sold-out Alegria Pride 2008 would be Stygian—and it was: steamy hot, dark, and hard. With three DJs working three separate rooms and boyz from around the globe overflowing the labyrinthine dance floors, staircases, and hallways, Alegria Pride 2008 was another gargantuan affair—and a testament to producer Ric Sena’s bold vision in the face of Manhattan’s nightlife meltdowns. Alegria has found a new home. For the second time, Sena’s Alegria installations were mired in labor strikes—but fortunately, Sena had contingency décor at the ready. Recent changes inside Webster Hall made it clear that Sena knows what he is doing. Although parts of the club still resembled a construction project, there was evidence of improvement in nearly every nook and cranny of the recently designated New York City landmark. The renovation is bringing historic Webster Hall up to date as one of the city’s major dance venues. The closing of Pacha by the NYPD the night before (since reopened) was on everyone’s mind. It must have been on Rosabel’s mind when they whipped out Madonna’s “They say that a good thing never lasts, and that it has to fall/ Those are the people that did not amount to much at all.” It quickly became evident, however, that whatever drama was going on around town, Alegria just got better at Webster Hall. Or as Madge had it, “Give it to me/No one’s gonna stop me now.”  That’s pretty much how the night went: unstoppable. Perhaps it was the brand-new mirror ball, the words ALEGRIA UNIVERSO outlined in blue neon, or a dozen brand-new tufted red velvet banquettes scattered here and there. More likely, it was the new sound systems, downstairs in the newly tessellated Marlin Room and upstairs on the Main Ballroom, making every beat sound fresh and sweet. Above the floor, a constellation of celestial galaxies shined, the contingency décor illuminated by a battalion of lasers. Ross Berger on lights, assisted by Kyle Garner on lasers, completely reanimated the venerable space. With Rosabel holding down the stage and Berger on the Mezzanine, the two forces worked together to create an unparalleled fusion of light and sound. Maybe it was working with Ralphi again, but Abel seemed even more on fire than usual—and his sound became even more percussive and persuasive, as if he were shifting into a new realm where he could spread his wings and fly free around this, his latest nest. Freedom was the operative word. Freedom and Pride. Onstage, body-painted thong dancers shook their undulating butt cheeks painted to reveal eyes. Blinking, winking bootys, bumping for the boyz. And while Rihanna sang That Song, an aerialist dangled on chains above the crowd, circling and swiveling, climbing and sliding, his legs a blur of scissor-like crisscrosses. Perhaps it might be easy for some to take all this wonder and pandemonium for granted—and to them we say, find a pair of newbies and see it anew through their eyes: two boyz from Oz, for example, who had flown from the Antipodes to Gotham. To see their delight was to experience Dorothy as she approached the Emerald City. There are few things as inspirational as Pride in New York. And for the past eight years, Alegria Pride has made itself an integral part of that package. You go to Alegria Pride expecting to see everyone—and you do, from porn stars and South Beach glamazons, to artists like Quentin Elias and all those beautiful out-of-town boyz, as well as Manhattan’s finest and firmest. In looking over the packed floor—boyz kissing, boyz laughing, boyz with their arms in the air, boyz getting down, getting nasty, and doing everything that we do so much better than anyone—you can’t help but radiate. Are we proud? Damn straight. In the face of adversity, we know how to celebrate who we are. It wasn’t only happening in the Main Ballroom. Down in the Marlin Room, Eddie Elias was turning it out for a floor that would count as a major club in itself anywhere else. Up on the Mezzanine, Dudu Marquez spun a set with a Brazilian contingent working it. All over Webster Hall, as we roamed the warren of rooms and corridors, we ran into happy boyz, up and down the staircases. More than a few said, “We’re here to support Ric, because we love Alegria.” When Sena himself danced up on the stage late Sunday morning, he was acknowledging that setbacks happen for a reason. By the end of the long weekend, this party and the following night Champions, which magically relocated from Pacha to the gorgeous Capitale, seemed to be saying that good things come to those who work for them. After all the improvements at Webster Hall, if there’s one certainty that’s worth placing, it’s that Alegria Casino on Labor Day Weekend will come in as a winner.  With Tony Moran and Abel working the beats and Ross Berger on lights to implement the creative genius of Ric Sena, Alegria Casino holds four aces. 2008-08-04T22:50:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/flagger_nation/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/flagger_nation/ I first encountered flagging during Boston Gay Pride, summer 2000. Boston’s gay ghetto, between Back Bay and the South End, was roped off for a street festival, and a bunch of muscle-boys had taken over the stage, twirling and fanning brightly-colored silk scarves in the most fascinating patterns and waves, musically flapping in the wind—and entrancing a certain green-behind-the-ears, newly out-of-the-closet kid from Montana: me. I sidled up to the stage and shyly asked one of the guys if I could try out what he was doing with a pair of purple-sequined flags. He tried to show me how to hold the 3-by-4-foot pieces of fabric. I could feel the weights sewn into the hems along two of the edges, which he explained were designed to let the flags flare when whirled through the air. I enthusiastically emulated the other flaggers, but my flags promptly tangled themselves into a knot. He patiently showed me how to shake out the knot and urged me to try again. I crisscrossed my arms frantically and nearly took out my boyfriend’s eye with the weighted tip of one of the flags. At one time or another, all of us have been captivated by the UV-reactive glowing fabrics twirling above our heads like a cloud of benevolent nuclear radiation. Hypnotic and entrancing, for those onlookers in an “altered state,” gazing into the swirl of colors can be something akin to a holy—or at the least, highly sensory—experience that has become an integral part of what makes our party scene so special. Alternately loved or hated, flaggers have taken their place on the dance floor. Some promoters actively discourage them; conversely, special stages and platforms at New York City’s Pier Dance and Black Party are built especially to accommodate them. The history of flagging began with the first modern dancer, an American lesbian named Mary Louise Fuller, later dubbed “Loie.” Her techniques involving the manipulation of huge pieces of silk—sometimes as large as 100 yards—and bouncing kaleidoscopic imagery off it with her groundbreaking invention of the electric film projector single-handedly revolutionized theater and dance. Today the flaggers that are smacking you in the head with their weighted strips of tie-dyed silk have been around at least as long as the first Circuit-type parties, which began in the early 1970s on Fire Island and in downtown Manhattan and San Francisco. But it really came into its own at the New York gay megaclub the Saint in the 1980s. Flaggers are a secretive lot. Like Freemasons, they maintain an entire set of unwritten laws, traditions, and hierarchies. San Francisco bows to Xavier Caylor; New York City to George Jagatic; Eric Mitchell rules in Palm Springs; Rodger Belk in Long Beach; Derek Fowler in San Diego; and yours truly in Louisville. Philip Bryan caused quite an upset within the flagging community when he blew open the doors to Flagdom via his website. The secrets of making flags have long been guarded as a sacred gift handed down from flagger to flagger. Bryan’s website, http://www.flaggercentral.com, details everything and anything you ever wanted to know about making flags, as well as a flagging forum. His open-book policy raised something of a ruckus within this closed community.  Some flaggers who are especially handy with a sewing machine, such as Philadelphia’s Larry Reigel, have offered their flags for sale. But generally, it’s considered bad form to sell flags; rather, they’re passed along or traded or given as gifts. Flagging Weekend in Dallas This Independence Day Weekend marked the Fifth Annual Flagger’s Conference, organized by an eleven-man committee plus dozens of volunteers. “This year’s conference brought more than 70 participants from all over the United States and Canada,” according to Bryan, who also organized and choreographed the troupe of flaggers that opened the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. Bryan has also performed with Kristine W and led crews of flaggers at events including White Party Palm Springs and San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair.  The Dallas flagging weekend began with opening ceremonies and a meet-and-greet dinner. Over the next three days, participants and observers got the chance to tie-dye their own flags, sew in weights, and practice at various skill levels. Aerial artist Ben Zimmerman and Kundalini yoga instructor Amy Lam demonstrated how they have worked flagging into their other pursuits. For Flagger Weekend V, Marco Roberts and his Houston Flyboys drove in to perform on Saturday and then headed to San Antonio the next day for that city’s Pride festival. Roberts, who with his troupe has been showcased at Southern Decadence, Bunnies on the Bayou, and Prides across the country, does it for love, not money: “Even though we get paid, and we performed ten times this year, we’re lucky to break even at the end of the day.” Flagging and passing along its techniques and traditions is a labor of love for devotees. “I want to give flagging to the community,” said San Franciscan Xavier Caylor, who teaches flagging classes at a local Gold’s Gym. “It’s something we’ve owned for 130 years [referring to Loie Fuller]. It’s meditative, spiritual, and mind expanding—not to mention a great aerobic workout.” For Caylor, it’s a mission to “demystify flagging,”, but, “It’s also about getting lost in the music.” Caylor moderates the Yahoo group Spintribe. He also brings flaggers together at the AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park to commemorate absent friends. Classically trained dancers like New York’s George Jagatic from New York City and L.A.’s Robin Olive are leading flagging into the 21st century by incorporating the art with their choreography. Jagatic’s company, Axis-Danz, has performed at corporate events like the opening of JPMorgan Chase’s headquarters in Manhattan and at the MTV Music Video Awards. Jagatic is no stranger to music videos, having performed in Mariah Carey’s single “Glitter.” Robin Olive and her troupe Placid Fluidity perform regularly at L.A.’s mixed nightclub Circus and the Gibson Theatre at Universal Studios CityWalk. She can also be seen twirling crimson flags in last year’s feature film, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Flagging is becoming a viable and potentially lucrative dance technique with performances in the Hollywood blockbusters Interview with the Vampire, Moulin Rouge, Vanity Fair, and Hedwig & the Angry Inch. It also has been incorporated into the choreography of modern dance troupes headed by Patrick Corbin and Hernando Cortez—both of them, not coincidentally, veterans of parties in New York City and on Fire Island. Despite its newfound popularity in the wider world outside of Circuit parties, however, flagging will always have its detractors. Many a dancer has been bopped on the head by a runaway strip of weighted silk or has endured dodging a swirling mob of fabric. “Some people at the club come up to me and ask if I’m trying to grab attention,” complains David Gosbin, a former New Yorker now living in Palm Springs. “I tell them, ‘No, just the opposite; I don’t care if anyone else is watching or not,’ to which I might add, ‘Flagging is the music made visual; it’s how the DJ plays me.’” Dan Tyler majored in ethnographic research at UCLA, has flagged for nine years, and now teaches in Louisville, Kentucky. He is also the director of a soon-to-be-released documentary titled FLAGGERS! Dan can be reached at danieltyler@mac.com 2008-08-04T00:33:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/pre_history_of_the_circuit/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/pre_history_of_the_circuit/ You think gay dance parties are a modern invention? Gay men's passion for dancing goes much farther back than White and Black Parties. Our love affair with music and movement is well documented through 300 years of criminal records, when such antics could get a man arrested. Folklorist Mickey Weems takes you back to the days long before there was even a Miami Beach, let alone the Winter Party. Molly houses In the early 1700s, England was the home of molly houses, secret establishments where men could congregate, drink, dance together and hook up in back rooms called "wedding chapels." Molly was the slang term popular at the time for queers-the same term for female prostitutes, incidentally. Molly houses had many of the same characteristics as gay bars and circuit parties today. Cross-dressing was common. One custom that has been lost, however, was the tradition of mock births. The scene came to a crashing halt when the Society for the Reformation of Manners began to raid the molly houses and shut them down when the parties got too popular. There were cases of men (and at least one woman) being pilloried, imprisoned, and even executed. There was also resistance; but even though the men sometimes fought back, it didn't do any good; mollies were forced to take their culture underground. Drag balls Fast-forward 200 years to America in the early 1900s. A lot of gay history involves men in dresses. In the 1920s and '30s, drag balls took place regularly in major cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, St. Louis and New Orleans. These events were usually sponsored by African-American organizations, the most famous being in Harlem. They were a favorite of both the black and white straight elite. Drag balls (also called sissy, fairy, or faggot balls) were spectacles in which a man could present himself publicly as herself. Not just men in drag attended these functions; women also dressed as men. Like the molly house parties, there was music, dancing and plenty of drinking. The popularity of drag balls for both straight and gay audiences eventually led to one being held in Madison Square Garden. But pansies on parade in the middle of Madison Square Garden made the fags way too visible. The same popularity that undermined molly houses led to the demise of the drag balls. With the approach of World War II, the government cracked down on such "subversive" activities. Once again, the scene went underground. Gay male festive culture expressed itself in rent parties (parties held in an apartment to help the host pay the month's rent) and orgiastic drugged-out get-togethers called "buffet flats" (as in "all you can eat") that would include live sex shows. The Beautiful South Few people know this, but portions of the Bible Belt are covered in rhinestones. In the 1950s and '60s, a circuit of underground parties was the rage in the Southern U.S. When it comes to decadence, it should come as no surprise that New Orleans led the way. Gay Mardi Gras societies (called krewes) began in the 1950s with the all-gay male Krewe of Yuga, and drag queen contests during the festivities became popular in the 1960s. As expected, police raided the krewes in the early days, but you can't keep a gay man on his knees for long. Eventually, the queer krewes became tolerated, if not accepted outright. Notably, like other krewes, they were racially segregated: The earliest gay krewes were all white. A bigger surprise is the Emma Jones parties in Pensacola, Florida. They began in the early '60s when a group of men created an imaginary town resident named Emma Jones so that they could set up a post office box in her name. Emma Jones received homoerotic magazines to keep the men from being arrested for ordering obscene material over the mail. The Emma Jones Society began celebrating their imaginary patroness at Fourth of July beach parties. Initially, the gatherings were small, less than a hundred people. But word quickly got out. The parties grew to 200 people, then 400, and eventually thousands of revelers would show up. In keeping with tradition going back to jolly old England, there were drag queens, music, dancing and, of course, lots of drinking. Pensacola is a military base and resort town that largely depends on tourist dollars. For that reason, locals turned a blind eye to the goings-on for years. The police required only that people clean up their trash. These parties peaked in the early '70s and then slowly died, most likely due to local pressure against such a massive gay presence invading the small resort. But the tradition survives in the annual Memorial Day Weekend events, which began in the '80s. I'll Take Manhattan After the disturbances at the Stonewall Inn in New York City in 1969, gay men's lives exploded in a celebration of their sexuality and dance clubs. Men were having sex everywhere, from abandoned trucks to the bushes in Central Park. This grand release of horniness generated its own industries: bathhouses like St. Marks and the Continental. Discos such as the Flamingo, Saint, and Paradise Garage gave birth to a new phenomenon, all-night parties in which a DJ kept the beat kept steady and strong by mixing songs together. The sound that came out of the gay clubs took over the world as Disco Music. Thus was born the Circuit as we know it today. Fondness for creative forms of intoxication that came out of the hippy movement was wedded to the beat as Disco. The flame would just as quickly die in the straight world, but it kept going in the gay clubs, even in the face of the AIDS crisis. As a community that fervently believes bigger is always better, we made sure our parties kept growing and growing up to present mega events like Gay Disney and the NYC Pride Pier Dance. 2008-05-01T17:37:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/strike_a_pose/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/explore_live/strike_a_pose/ You're on the dance floor and you feel the bass vibrations become part of you as they pass through you. The floor undulates from the stomping feet. You feel as though you are the music, not just dancing to its rhythms. You are acutely aware of your breath. You breathe deeper than you normally breathe. You feel connected to everyone and everything around you, as though you were all one. The Sanskrit word for "yoga" means "to join"-the joining of our individual consciousness with that of the greater whole. On the dance floor, we really are all connected. That realization lies at the core of yoga. The dance floor is an ideal place for experiencing this-until you've been dancing for so long that your body rebels. Your lower back is sore. Your legs feel like they're going to give out under you. That's when the practice of yoga can actually come to the rescue. Take a few minutes to do these simple poses, on or off the dance floor. Focus on your breath as you hold each of the poses for a minute or two and breathe to the beats of the music. Let go of all thoughts (if you haven't already). Connecting to yourself on a deeper level can bring you to a higher ground-without party favors. Om shanti! Bend Over (Forward Bend) Stand with your back against a wall, and walk your feet about 2-3 feet away from it. Place the feet about 12 inches apart and parallel to each other. Bend your knees slightly, and begin to fold forward from the waist, sliding your hands down the legs toward the ankles, coming into a forward bend with your butt against the wall. Cross your arms at the elbows, and rest the hands in the creases of the arms. Let the head and neck relax completely. Draw your navel in and up, making room for the forward bend. Take a deep inhale, directing the breath into the lower back and hips, and feel your back expand with the breath. As you exhale, sigh out through the mouth, letting go completely as you sink deeper into the pose. Take a few breaths here. To take it a little further, shift your body weight forward so that your buttocks come away from the wall. Feel an even distribution of weight in the soles of the feet. To get a deeper stretch in the hamstrings, straighten the legs and engage the quadriceps; shift your body weight forward even more so that you feel more weight toward the front of the feet. To come out of the pose, bend the knees slightly, let the arms drop down, and roll up the spine one vertebra at a time, keeping the chin to the chest and letting the arms and shoulders hang the whole way up. The shoulders will naturally fall into place, and the head and the neck are the last to come up. Open Your Heart (Supported Backbend) Stand about 2-3 feet away from and facing a wall. Place your feet about 12 inches apart and parallel to each other. Bend your arms, and place the elbows against the wall directly in front of the shoulders. Position the forearms parallel to each other with the palms touching the wall and the middle fingers pointing up toward the ceiling. Draw the shoulders back and down, creating space between the ears and the shoulders, and feel the shoulder blades drawing toward each other. Take a deep inhale, and as you exhale, allow your heart to melt toward the wall. Keep the knees straight, reaching the heels of the feet to the floor. Let the front of your hips move slowly and gently toward the wall. Shift your gaze upward, and feel your heart reaching toward the sky. Take a deep inhale, filling the chest with air, and as you exhale, feel yourself sink deeper into the pose. To continue further, slide your hands up the wall, keeping the hands shoulder-width apart, and allow your chest to move closer to the wall. Either rest your forehead on the wall or rest the chin and the chest on the wall, looking up toward the ceiling. Draw the abdominals in, and keep them firm as you breathe a few deep breaths. To come out of the pose, slide the hands down, press the elbows against the wall, and push away to return to a standing position. Get Twisted (Half Spinal Twist) Sit on the edge of a speakerbox or a chair with your knees together and the insides of the thighs connected. Turning to the right, place your right hand palm down behind the butt with the fingers pointing away from the body. Place your left hand on the outside of your right knee. As you inhale, lengthen the spine as you press your butt down into the seat, and reach the top of your head toward the sky. As you exhale, turn and twist to the right, looking over the right shoulder. Add a gentle pressure with the left hand against the outside of the right knee, and press the right hand down into the seat. Inhale deeply again as you lengthen the spine, and turn and twist as you exhale. Take a few deep breaths. On the last exhale, release and face forward. Repeat to the other side. Go Deeper (Hip Opener) Sit on the edge of a speakerbox or a chair, and cross your right ankle over your left knee. Allow the right knee to open out to the side, and flex the right foot. Place your hands on the right shin. As you inhale, lift the top of your head toward the sky, and press your butt down into the seat as you lengthen the spine. As you exhale, draw the belly in, and reach the heart forward as you extend over the right leg. Tuck your chin to your chest, and lengthen the back of the neck as you reach the top of the head forward. Focus the breath into the right hip, and as you exhale, try to release any gripping or tensing. To take it further, drape the arms in front of the right shin, and let them dangle toward the ground as you let the head hang completely. Draw the belly in a little more, and lengthen through the lower back. Take a deep inhale, and as you exhale, allow yourself to sink deeper into the pose. Take a few deep breaths. To come out of the pose, bring the hands back to the right shin, and on an inhale, sweep the torso back to an upright position. Switch legs and repeat on the other side. In addition to being the Managing Editor of noiZe, Jeffery Taylor teaches yoga in New York City. Check out his website at www.yogue.com for more information. Illustrations by Chris DeCarlo 2008-05-01T16:54:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/three_to_watch_out_for/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/three_to_watch_out_for/ Omar Gonzalez: Miami Heat First of all we descend on the home of the Winter Party. At 31, Omar Gonzalez is already a nightlife veteran, having promoted parties for over seven years. He’s best known as the founder and driving force behind OAG Productions and its “Sunday Skool” party at South Beach venue Click. Celebrating its first anniversary this past summer, Sunday Skool has become church for Miami’s fabulous denizens. This is where fashionistas meet muscle, businessman rub shoulders with artists. And then there are the celebrities, like Oscar-nominated actor and notorious partyboy Mickey Rourke. Like the other promoters interviewed for this article, Gonzalez points to a generational difference in musical tastes—and how it’s presented. “We started out spinning a lot of House music,” Gonzalez says. “But we found that the younger crowd was more enthusiastic about the Pop sets.” He never knows what to expect from week to week, but he does know that the party has become more mixed since its beginnings. “Diversity is quickly taking place in South Beach nightlife,” the young promoter says. This year, he would not be at all surprised to see his crowd consisting of “mature, young, gay, straight, men, women, drag queens and a guy in a chicken suit.”  Unfortunately, the legacy of some party drugs had changed the South Beach party scene—and not for the better. With a sense of sadness, he speaks of the disappearance of many familiar faces: “A lot of the crystal and GHB set has gone to staying in at night on the Internet and not socializing in public. A younger group who has marked an increase in alcohol sales has replaced them,” he adds. “Don’t get me wrong, I welcome the new, but miss some of the familiar faces.” Whatever the future, he seems poised to take whatever comes and roll with the punches. http://www.oagproductions.com Chris Ryan: New York City Cool Traveling up the East Coast, we find Chris Ryan, an even younger promoter with a full weekly plate. Only 28, Ryan finds himself a semester away from a master’s degree in clinical psychology while becoming one of the mainstays on New York’s continually challenging and ever-changing nightlife scene. Ryan can already boast the longest-running gay Thursday night event at Splash with “Campus.” “It’s hard to believe it has been so long,” he says, in a tone of slight bewilderment. “Every week feels like the first time. Then I look out and see so many familiar faces and I love that!” When asked about the reason for the longevity of the event, he quickly responds, “Cheap drinks, fun music and hot boys. How can you go wrong?” How, indeed? From Central Chelsea, jump on the C subway train two stops north to the “other” gayborhood, Hell’s Kitchen, where Ryan has established a little slice of booty-shaking heaven two nights a week at the Ritz. Ryan’s ‘80s retro extravaganza “Rewind” on Wednesdays and “Flex” on Fridays has helped make this Restaurant Row boîte a “must” for Generation Y’ers. Initially, he had expected a more mature crowd for the retro tunes that give Rewind its name. So he was hardly prepared for the twentysomethings who turn it out and dance in the backroom space to music that were on the Billboard charts when they were in utero. “I don’t think anyone expected to refer to the ‘80s as a simpler time,” he notes. “But in retrospect …” Two nights later, the Ritz gets a sexier vibe with “Flex Fridays,” which is billed as a “Flirtatious and Fun NO Attitude” party. Ryan posts a hunk de la semaine each week on his website ChrisRyanNYC.com. Any partygoer willing to flex his muscle for the door earns a free drink. The best “flexer” wins tickets, dinners or other prizes. Ryan enjoys hosting at the Ritz because of the mix of people: “You get a nice combination of neighborhood guys who come every week and tourists who are in for one night and one night only. It all makes for a very unpredictable dynamic—never a dull moment.” Ryan has just given birth to New York’s latest party night, “Tight” at Amnesia, a space in far northwest Chelsea. The new night premiered February 7, with DJ Nita Aviance and Shiny Toy Guns. Valentine’s Day features one of the biggest names in nightlife, Junior Vasquez. “This is a long time in the making and I hope will mark an upward swing in NYC nightlife,” Ryan says. “It has a little bit of everything for a lot of everyone.” At Tight, Ryan hopes to mix up music, performance art and socializing in an ultra-hip environment. The preview party proved to be a great success and drew raves from the media as well as from those attending, a veritable Who’s Who of NY gay boys and nightlife. Ryan intends for that mix to hearken back to the city’s glory days as the world’s nightlife capital. “I always look to the legends of NY party promoters like John Blair and Jeffrey Sanker when building an event or making choices that will affect a party night,” he says. Someday, we’ll be including him on such a select list. As someone who seriously studied the human psyche, Ryan tries to keep it real. He has been a strong supporter of the New York Anti-Violence Project, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and gay marriage. But his pet cause is animal rights. “I will fight for that until my final breath,” he says. Ryan seems to be a well-rounded man beyond his years, a refreshing combination of the serious and playful. http://www.chrisryannyc.com Ray Rhodes: L.A. Warmth On the Left Coast, Ryan’s good buddy Ray Rhodes is a former DJ who has become a player in the white-hot West Hollywood club scene. A former Palm Spring White Party and Gay Disney DJ, his “TigerHeat” has been heating up Avalon for nine years in Hollywood. How does he account for the resilience of this party among fickle Angelinos? “We started at a time when the world as we knew it was about to change, 2001,” he notes. Up to this time, video dance parties were considered taboo—and lyric-driven party music was marked as “not acceptable” by clubbers. Rhodes originally played as a radio DJ on 104.3-FM, so he was comfortable with Pop and Top 40. “So I figured, why can’t we play it and dance to it?” Rhodes explains. The format of TigerHeat has become a brand of sorts, with satellite parties in Long Beach, Las Vegas and even hopes for a future night in the Big Apple. “Chris Ryan always puts me up when I go to New York, and we are trying to work together in the future,” Rhodes says. “We’ll see what happens.” If his past success with TigerHeat is any indication, New York may be seeing a Rhodes/Ryan event in the coming year: “I want to try and expand on the TigerHeat brand, but I can never lose what I truly love. I couldn’t sit behind a desk and make decisions about something for which I am so passionate. I will always have to be spinning; that’s my love.” Aside from his role as impresario and DJ, Rhodes is working on a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of California-Los Angeles. It’s enough to keep most 105-year-old men very busy. At least that is how old he claims to be on his MySpace page. (Judging from his spiky blond hair and very fit, California-buffed physique, mid-twenties seems about right.) As a DJ, Rhodes has learned how to spot up-and-coming talent. Last year, Lady Gaga did a few numbers at the Las Vegas TigerHeat in front of 300 people. A few months later, just after “Just Dance” hit the U.S., almost 2,000 people showed up when she returned. Lady Gaga is typical of Rhodes’ knack for scouting the Next Big Thing from the other side of the pond or the other side of the world. “Since before The Beatles, a large number of the latest big stars have hit first in England,” he notes. Closer to home, he never underestimates what the latest generation of clubgoers want to hear: “This world is changing so fast whether you are a businessman, doctor, politician or entertainer. You cant sit back for a minute and just enjoy what you have. You have to constantly work, and evolve, or you will get left behind in the dust. I never want that to happen to something that I love and have worked so hard to create.” Rhodes hosts some other events in WeHo, such as “Super Cherry Pop” and “Boy’s Room”, check out http://www.rayrhodes.com. The next generation of club promoters mirrors their constituency. Savvy and plugged in, they’re looking for new events, while enjoying older music. If these three are any indication, the future looks bright. 2010-02-13T06:30:36+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/tango_blues_puts_a_new_spin_on_club_promotion/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/tango_blues_puts_a_new_spin_on_club_promotion/ “There’s been a major change in nightlife. The reason the Circuit developed was so that there could be places where people could go and dance, where they could have big events and feel safe and not worry about being gay. With the world in general more accepting—especially the younger generation—they don’t need that. They don’t need to go to a gay bar to be gay. Nightclubs aren’t for 21- to 30-year olds going out to meet people. And if they do go out, they don’t care if it’s a gay bar. It’s really changed the industry. It’s changing the way we do business and our business model.” That’s how Andrew Briskin describes the state of gay clublife in 2009. But following the venerable Chinese proverb, out of crisis comes opportunity, that’s exactly what Briskin has done. Using his stable of talent, which includes luminaries like singer Ultra Naté, J.P. Calderon, Candice Cayne, Scotty K and Drew G, he’s been able to persuade marketers that the best way to get consumers to respond positively is where they play. So he’s been assembling packages for corporate clients to go to Clubland, where they sponsor special nights. It’s a win-win: clubs get talent and a night to promote; the client gets his message out; and the rest of us get to dance and be entertained. “We are managers, but what we do mostly is promotions, marketing and branding,” Briskin explains. To cite an example written about in these very pages two issues ago, Briskin was the mastermind behind the well-received Music to Wear 2008 Tour, which paired Andrew Christian’s sexy men’s underwear with Kimberly S.’ driving beats. “We packaged that,” Briskin says. “We put his underwear on every gay boy. Clubs that are lighter venues than Kimberly would normally play could book her.” Similarly, Tango Blues successfully rebranded AtomicMen.com for a rollout as a gay social networking site. In this case, Briskin and his staff worked as a more traditional marketing consultant. They redid the site “to look like Facebook more than Adam4Adam.” Then they began holding Atomic Mixers in bars and clubs around the country to introduce AtomicMen to its target audience—plugged-in gay consumers, the early adaptors who would respond to AtomicMen’s features like a mobile app. Just looking at its roster of talent, it’s easy to see that Tango Blues is focused on the gay market. But not entirely; Briskin has had corporate clients across the board. Tango Blues is poised to work on any product launch, such as a sports-related DVD release in sports bars. Branching out is part of Briskin’s survival strategy—not only with the lousy economy, but also in the new world of gay venues. “We had to branch out,” he explains. “There aren’t as many gar bars anymore.” Briskin maintains an active database of strictly gay clubs in North America that his staff meticulously updates every six months. “As of January, 40 percent went out of business or went straight,” he says. That also means that club owners and promoters can’t afford to bring in the superstar name DJs the way they did only a year ago. So they’re more receptive to corporate-sponsored tours such as the ones Tango Blues assembles. “With the economy, they can’t book the plane and the hotel and the big fees,” Briskin notes. “Local promoters can’t bring in talent anymore. We tie in with a sponsor to reach out to the community. It’s a great way to brand the product; and for the clubs, it’s something special to promote.” Animal Training to People Managing Andrew Briskin came to his field of expertise in a roundabout way. Or maybe not. Although his family was in “the Industry,” (that’s Left Coastese for showbiz) he stayed in Miami after graduating from the University of Miami and took a job as director of exhibits at the Miami Seaquarium. He then moved into animal brokering for zoos. During that time, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective came to town to film, and he did some work with the on-set animal trainers. He found he had a gift for working with four-legged talent, and started working with animals locally. Eventually, he hooked up with Bruce Weber, the legendary fashion photographer and connoisseur of male pulchritude (praise—or blame—him for the hegemony of the A&F boys). He worked for Weber on very fine two-legged specimens for nearly a half-decade as a freelance producer until someone hired him away to work on a Levi’s jeans commercial. Upon moving back to his hometown in 1998, he opened a production studio in Hollywood and went “from there to production to talent management. Tigers,” he sighs, “are a lot easier and less stressful to deal with than people.” This is a sentiment that would be readily seconded by anyone who has balanced the demands of a DJ, dance-song diva, lighting designer and bartenders to produce a night of magic. Don’t get him wrong: Briskin loves his work. Unlike some behind-the-scenes guys, he likes to go out and have fun. “Nightlife may not be what it was ten years ago, but you can still you have a good experience,” he says. For now, Briskin is concentrating on working with the bars, clubs and megaclubs around the country to help them survive these lean years by bringing in acts that will attract crowds but not the repo man. “Our big draw in the past year-and-a-half has been coming up with ways to increase traffic through their doors while promoting what we’re promoting,” he says. “We’re giving the clubs something to promote that won’t cost them anything.” Tango Blues’ Red-Hot Talent Roster This is only a sample of the people handled by Andrew Briskin and his staff: Debby Holiday: She’s been shaking the dance floor since 2004’s “Dive.” Billie Myers: Best known for “Kiss the Rain,” her “Am I Here Yet” became a dance-floor staple through Junior Vasquez’s remix. She’s toured with no less than Savage Garden and Bob Dylan. Ultra Naté: This ultimate House diva needs no introduction to the readers of this magazine. The Baltimore-based singer, songwriter, party promoter, label owner and House DJ is taking it on the road with a 12-city tour and a double album. Scotty K: The headliner for Global Groove’s tour last fall has played major venues from the Pavilion on Fire Island to Fresh in San Francisco. Drew G: Tango Blues doesn’t ignore Gotham, with one of the city’s best-known DJs who’s spun all over town. Marco: He’s done Saint-at-Large parties, the Eagle, Limelight, Crobar and Splash. With his life partner, the actress Candis Cayne (also a Tango Blues artist), he now lives in Hollywood. J.D. Ordonez: Best known for MTV’s The Real World: Brooklyn, he’s actually a dedicated marine mammal trainer. While in New York, he worked at the LGBT Center in the public policy department. J.P. Calderon: Even if you don’t recognize the name, you know the face and bod from the cover of Instinct Magazine. This pro volleyball player was featured on The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency and in a national 2(x)ist campaign. Flava: This noiZe feature subject has been livening up dance floors with his unique performance art for years. 2009-05-01T17:15:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/mark_baker/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/mark_baker/ After literally changing the face of the gay party circuit earlier this decade with his legendary groundbreaking soirees held during Orlando’s Gay Days, prolific party producer Mark Baker took a few years off to rest, reflect, recoup and recharge. Now he’s back with a brand new party concept for Central Florida’s first major dance-music festival held over Memorial Day Weekend: World|Vibe Orlando. Following five years of consistently (and incredibly) topping his own extraordinary creativity with parties that included Colosseum, Magic Journeys, and Stars, the Circuit impresario finally maxed out on ideas. In 2005, he sold his Disney-bejeweled party scepter to Johnny Chisholm and retreated from the spotlight to focus on his other career, directing television commercials. He still produced the occasional corporate event (at least until the economy went south). Now he’s back producing parties, this time inspired by sexually ambiguous (i.e., mixed) mega-events like Miami’s Ultra Music Festival, Los Angeles’ Electric Daisy Carnival and Montreal’s Black & Blue. While Gay Days has always focused on its gay male audience, World|Vibe Orlando is less about lifestyle and more about the music—House music, to be exact—and will cater accordingly to that genre’s diverse legions of devotees. “It’s not a totally different audience,” Baker assures. But a different one nonetheless. Headliners include DJs Boris, Chus & Ceballos, Oscar G, Jonathan Peters, Roger Sanchez and a host of other established and emerging talent. This is a big step for Baker, who made his name taking big chances. Back in 1982 he moved from Toledo, Ohio, to Orlando and began working for Walt Disney World at the Hall of Presidents on the technical side of the animatronic show. After attending his first Circuit party in 1996, he recalls thinking, “I can do that.” After a couple of false starts, he finally hit his stride in 1998 with a late-night affair called Magic Journeys. Originally held at Front Row during Gay Days, the party later moved to Arabian Nights to accommodate thousands more revelers and expanded to several nights throughout the weekend. It was the award-winning Colosseum party he threw at Hard Rock Live with DJ Abel that really put Baker on the international party map. “It was like a hybrid Circuit party,” Baker says. “It’s an entire evening put together with shows that interconnect. With my background in television, I thought of doing it like an entertainment show with a progression, a script for the entire night. It was a more thought-out entertainment experience.” By 2002, the Sunday night crowds had far outgrown Hard Rock’s 3,500 capacity, so Baker moved it to Friday night and replaced it with the Stars Party at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, with the ability to accommodate 6,000 revelers. Along with the daytime Groove parties at Universal Studios, Gay Days became Baker’s baby for several years. He also branched out to the hot (and hotly competitive) Miami scene with White Dreams at the Miami Seaquarium during White Party and a Winter Party event at the Ice Palace. From Gay Days to World|Vibe While at the top of his game, Baker decided to sell his company and the rights to his Gay Days parties four years ago to Johnny Chisholm. Eventually, he says, he realized, “You can’t really top yourself. I had done it for five years, and you kind of run out of new ideas. There were some pretty creative components to what we’d done, but I thought we had taken it as far as we could. I thought it was a good time to step away and go on to do other things.” He takes a grand and all-encompassing approach to producing events in order to live up to his personal motto, “Beyond belief is where this party begins.” “We know Gay Days weekend is a very competitive market,” Baker acknowledged during an interview back in 2002. “If you don’t have the biggest, best thing, probably the next year you won’t be around. So we just make sure that all our parties are the best.” To accomplish this, he would assemble a core team of more than a dozen people to coordinate the weekend. “The people we hire are really great special events people,” he explained. “They’re very technical people who have worked for a lot of theme parks. They take the week off and come work for us. We have an individual project manager for each of the parties, and a dedicated technical person who handles all the technical stuff. They’re not people that do other jobs like Realtors or something else during the week—they do special events all the time, and that’s all they do.” Now operating under the moniker of Mark Baker Creative, Baker has teamed up with Envibe Entertainment, which is run by his good friend and House music aficionado Steve Milo, and Groove Travel for his World|Vibe Orlando venture. Among the many considerations behind the creation of this new party weekend were the weakened economy and what he sees as a shift in the interests and expectations of a key constituency: “What’s interesting about the gay demographic is, the younger you go, the less interested those people are in exclusively gay parties. It’s just not such a big deal to anybody.” Baker also saw World|Vibe as an opportunity to do something new and entirely different. “As a promoter, when you go to Ultra and there’s 30,000 people standing in the middle of a field, you do kind of go, 30,000 times $85 is...” he says as his voice trails off, with the unspoken question: How do the numbers add up? “I love the creative, but you’ve got to make it run as a business. I think that’s why I got sold on this project more so than some of the other ones I’ve been presented with. I thought, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of potential here.’” At the same time, the current economic climate demands competitive pricing and affordable packages. “My gut is, we’re being very realistic,” he says of his low break-even numbers, which are based on average ticket prices of $45 to $55. “Everybody’s trying to find new ways to make money. This weekend attracts a whole different audience that probably wouldn’t come to Disney. So here’s a chance to bring in some new business. We were able to negotiate with the venues and hotels because everybody in the entertainment [and hospitality] business is hurting right now. There are people now giving us deals who two or three years ago would not have given us the time of day.” Baker’s “Be Here” page on his website, WorldVibeOrlando.com, lists one- to three-night travel packages, including hotel and tickets, ranging from $235 to $550. Time and again Mark Baker has proven himself a remarkably creative innovator who has consistently set many of the trends that other event producers and party promoters will eventually follow. With World|Vibe Orlando, he seems destined to continue that magnificent legacy. One can only imagine what he’ll dream up next. 2009-04-30T00:25:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/jeffrey_sanker/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/jeffrey_sanker/ Ask any party boy to name the top promoters on the scene, and the name Jeffrey Sanker will be at the top of the list. His career spans three decades starting with the New York club scene during the halcyon days of Studio 54. His parties happen in the country’s hottest hot spots—Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Miami and Las Vegas. He’s also brought some of the Circuit’s best-known DJs to parties during Gay Days in Orlando. The super-producer known simply as “The Man” has consistently come up with the baddest parties for the fiercest crowd.  How does he do it? According to Sanker, “You have to make everything like a show. That is why I feel I am more of an impresario than a promoter.” It also means keeping up with the changes in nightlife. Sanker is perhaps best known for White Party Palm Springs, which has long held the crown of largest gay dance event west of the Mississippi. More recently, he has been extending his brand into some of the hottest clubs in L.A. Every month a new party seems to crop up with “Jeffrey Sanker presents” emblazoned on top of it. But these are not your uncle’s Circuit-style parties. He might add some décor, and he always has the top DJs at the turntables, but he has realized that the younger party boys are self-lubricating with that old standby, alcohol. The music is hip-hop and pop, the dance floors are smaller, and there are “chill” spaces where the city’s A-list can see and be seen. The focus has shifted from a night of sweaty dancing to an evening being with your friends and making new ones. In fact, at one recent event, the dance floor was filled—but no one was dancing. Instead, the boys were just holding the latest trendy martini and chatting each other up. Shirts firmly remained on torsos. A lot of the Sanker “magic touch” can be attributed to the perception that if his name is on the event, you’re guaranteed a fun, sexy crowd (shirts on or off). One relatively new event, Fresh Fridays at WeHo’s Eleven Lounge, has a line down the block each week. “I create Donald Trump-style events,” Sanker said in a recent interview. “I want to give only the best of everything: the best DJs, venues, performers and themes. That is why they keep coming back.” Sanker’s signature event, White Party, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year. Sanker points out that drink sales have gone up 25% in the past few years, but he likes to keep this one Old School. Each event is in a “big room” where the focus is on serious dancing, performances, and connecting with the crowd. For the twentieth anniversary, he is planning an over-the-top event. However, despite having big-name headliners like J-Lo and Tony Braxton in the past, do not expect the usual rumor mill of who might be the special performer this year. He is done with that. “If you want to see Cher, go to Vegas,” Sanker quipped. (He’s been there with a roadshow White Party in the 24-hour town.) This year, he is focusing on bringing big, innovative shows to Palm Springs that will blow the crowd away, without any of the anticipation (or drama) of an unannounced diva showing up—or not. He was the first to add Cirque du Soleil-type performances to dance events. Previous years have included the L.A. Philharmonic backing up Flava; live horses; acrobats; and insane pyrotechnics. No matter what he comes up with, you know it will be exciting—even without one of those big-name (and big-maned) divas. DJ-wise he is also mixing it up. This year, he’s going international by importing Oscar Velasquez from Mexico City for Friday night and Ana Paula from Rio closing the main event. He’s also nurturing the hottest young DJs on the scene such as the Perry Twins, Casey Alva and Morningstar. The theme for this year’s White Party is “Legion of Superheroes.” To keep with that theme, each event is set up “dynamic duo” style.  Every party will have a known DJ along with a fresh face as the sidekick to give the boys a feel for tomorrow’s headliners. Looking Back & Ahead Surprisingly, Sanker got the idea to do a dance event in Palm Springs from the lesbian community. In 1987, he felt the New York club scene was moribund. So he moved to Los Angeles, where he initiated a string of successful parties and clubs. His first event at the Palace (now Avalon) brought in 1,800 guys. Based on that success, he was invited to check out The Dinah Shore Weekend, a party for the gals in the Desert during the Dinah Shore Golf Tournament. When he saw the main event consisted of four speakers and a few balloons, he knew he could do better.  His first event was called Wet and Wild and attracted 500 guys.  One DJ, Manny Lehman, played all the parties. A year later he changed the name to White Party and its popularity exploded. Today, nearly 20,000 people descend on the town during White Party Week. It takes over 300 workers and $1 million to produce this marathon of dance and camaraderie. When asked about the future of the gay dance scene, Sanker would like to remind the new generation that the gay community has always danced. Dance has been an important element of socializing and feeling a sense of community. He hopes that with themes younger boys can relate to and their favorite DJs, he can continue to attract them to a big event like White Party. Once there, he feels they will embrace and understand our communal need to dance and will propel the scene into the future. So what if some of the older Circuit boys are doing cruises rather than parties these days? Or that the younger generation is restlessly looking for something different? Sanker has continued to be successful in creating the best club and party experience possible—and that’s what he intends to do, wherever the prevailing winds blow. By doing so he keeps reminding us of our need to connect in the place that has always been an integral part of the gay experience: the dance floor. 2009-01-31T06:00:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/chris_harris_renews_new_england_nightlife/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/chris_harris_renews_new_england_nightlife/ If you go out to any big clubs in Boston or you’re a regular at the major Circuit events in the U.S. or Canada, chances are you’ve been to one of Chris Harris’ events. Known as New England’s best party promoter—and certainly the region’s most important—Harris is no newbie to the nightlife scene. And he’s not just another pretty-faced party boy. An adept businessman, Chris is credited with single-handedly reviving the once-languishing nightlife scene in Boston; although now, he has extended his reach much farther afield. With hundreds of parties and Pride celebrations under his belt, Chris knows what he’s doing and he does it very, very well. Don’t think, however, that this means that he’s sitting back and sipping mojitos while letting other people do the dirty work for him! He didn’t get to be where he is today on his good looks and charismatic smile alone (although I’m sure they didn’t hurt). Chris has a long history in the industry. He’s worked in club operations at various levels for almost 20 years. But it wasn’t until he moved back to Providence from Miami that he decided to start throwing parties himself. Luckily for him, the administration of the Rhode Island capital was supportive of his efforts. His events were successful for him, the city, and the charities for which his events raised funds. When the owners of the Strand, his mainstay club in Providence, decided to go in a different direction after a five-year run, he decided it was time to move on and up to the region’s biggest city. Knowing about Chris’ successful fundraising and fabulous parties in Providence, Boston Pride asked him to bring his Military Ball to the old Avalon as the main Pride event for 2007. The party ended up doing so well that although the club was scheduled to close in six months, the owners offered him Saturday nights for the remainder of the lease. Chris jumped on the opportunity. Together with the Boston promoter Raffael Sanchez, he began his ascent to the top of Boston’s gay nightlife scene. Just as the six-month run at Avalon was ending, Chris got a call from the owners of the Roxy. It seems they had noticed the 1,200-plus turnout of gay boys at Chris’ parties at the Avalon, and these packed events looked better than the smaller straight crowds they’d been dealing with on Saturday nights. EPIC Saturdays, Glamlife Thursdays, Hot Mess Sundays Chris Harris, along with Gay Mafia, is now running three very different weekly parties in Boston. Each one has a different vibe—literally, in terms of music; and figuratively, as for the crowd: Glamlife Thursdays at The Estate (Top 40 and hip hop); EPIC Saturdays (big room dance party); and Hot Mess Sundays at Underbar, where Chris says “you’ll hear everything and anything… except Boy George.” Boy George and Chris Harris have a somewhat tumultuous history, largely because the made-up DJ (pun intended) still reportedly owes Chris $10,000. Big Boy G was a no-show for a party he was contracted to do last year before he got busted on drug charges. Although Chris has tried to collect from the DJ, his management, and lawyers, and left very clear and detailed contact information (literally) at his house in London, he’s yet to see a penny. He even confronted him with picket signs while the karma chameleon was picking up trash in Manhattan as the community service part of his sentence. No ex-Culture Club member could keep this cultural club phenomenon down, however. Chris has become known in the industry as a global promoter. Unlike some promoters who never hit the dance floor in their off hours, he tries to get to as many other parties around the world as he can, which contributes to his ability to mix it up when it comes to hiring talent. Chris’ events feature a balance of internationally known DJs with local and regional up-and-comers and established scenesters. Aside from the Military Ball, Chris has been responsible for organizing and throwing world-class parties. At one time or another, he has been behind events around a White Party, Black Party, Nation V and Winter Party, as well as Erect, Voyage, Eruption, Volcano, Chinese New Year, Ego,  Northern Decadence and Ego. Although these events have made him well known among the Circuit crowd worldwide, he’s still very much in touch with the cities where he throws parties, and always looks out for the locals. Right now Chris is back to living in Providence, but since he’s in Boston nearly every weekend (the two cities are barely more than an hour apart), he keeps a flat there too. As a promoter at the top of his game, he’s looking to expand into real estate, gay travel, and some more surprises that he’s keeping under wraps. Helping out friends & worthy causes Aside from being a master promoter, Chris is also known for helping out his friends, standing firm behind true talent, and even pushing those in whom he sees great potential to go even further. A perfect example of this is DJ Dena. A novice DJ when they met, Chris encouraged Dena to hone her skills at spinning. He made sure she had the opportunity to play for ever-larger crowds. In just a few years, DJ Dena has come into her own as her reputation continues to rises on the Circuit. When Dena was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, Chris decided to do something about it. Together with others in the industry, he put together “Divas For Dena: The Breast Party Ever!” to benefit the “Save the Ta-Tas Foundation” and raise awareness of breast cancer. Right now, he’s more than busy managing the three weekly events in Boston and traveling the world. He likes to keep up with the industry and explore new concepts to keep his parties fresh. With all of those miles, it’s helpful that his Hawaiian boyfriend of eight years, Dominic, is a flight attendant. In the next few months, he’s really looking forward to “Caligula,” a Roman-themed party he and Raffael Sanchez are throwing for New Year’s, with Manny Lehman at the helm musically. He’s promising “the best party New England has ever seen.” Chris is also eager to turn his attention back to Providence and throw more parties there. Nor is he stopping at the party scene. Providence is already famous as the largest city in the country with an openly gay mayor. If, as expected, he runs for governor, check out http://www.ChrisHarrisForMayor.com to see what this ultimate multitasker has in store for 2010. 2008-10-07T20:52:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/franco_beneduce_san_frans_magnitude_man/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/franco_beneduce_san_frans_magnitude_man/ For anyone who has attended the (in)famous Folsom Street Fair, the Saturday night Magnitude Party stands out as one of the highlights of a crowded party weekend. For Franco Beneduce, the man behind this multifaceted affair, the secret of its success is simple: He gives a party that he would want to attend. It all started with a handshake on the dance floor of Club Universe in San Francisco 13 years ago. Franco Beneduce, an event planner, had recently relocated from New York City when he ran into Jito Garcia, who wanted to start producing large-scale dance events. Jito knew how to get people to the event but lacked the producing experience that Franco brought to the table. Out of that initial collaboration came forth the now infamous AfterShock after-hours parties. After that triumph, they set their sights on a Saturday night party the week of the city’s biggest gayola weekend, Folsom Street Fair. Thus the Magnitude party was hatched. To understand Magnitude and Franco (who runs it without Jito these days), one must understand the Folsom Street Fair, the massive charity event that last year donated over $350,000 to local Bay Area organizations—a figure that rises each year. Magnitude has been one of the major reasons for the steady increase. With 400,000 attendees from around the globe, the fair is the largest leather event in the world and the third-largest exposition in California behind the Rose Bowl Parade and San Francisco Pride. Folsom Street, however, goes way beyond what most people view as a leather event. “Folsom gives people the ultimate freedom of sexual self-expression,” Beneduce explains. “That is why Magnitude could only happen in San Francisco.” Many look at Folsom, celebrating its 25th anniversary at the end of September, as the one day a year they can be themselves—to themselves and to the wider world. A married doctor from Kansas City shows off his exhibitionism by walking the fair clad in nothing but chaps and a raging hard-on. An executive works his submissive side by being led around on a leash. A lesbian shows us that a woman can be butcher than any leather queen could dream of being. Much More Than a Dance Party Franco is obsessed with translating this freedom into a dance party, and the result is one of the world’s truly unique dance events. To begin with, Magnitude is about much more than dancing—although there’s plenty of that—including live demonstrations and an erotic play space. The rooms are decorated with images of some of the hottest men in leather along with other props to create a sexually-charged atmosphere. Franco admits that he prefers to throw a party that gives attendees options. “I try to create an event that I would want to attend,” he states. “Magnitude is the convergence of world-class music, dancing, live erotic demonstrations, and interactive play. And that can only exist in conjunction with the Folsom Street Fair.” The crowd ranges from the 30s to 50s (with representatives from either side of the spectrum, to be sure). These guys may not be going out every weekend anymore, but when they come to Magnitude, they are ready to party. There may be more men with chest hair and harnesses than shirtless twinks with smooth bodies, but muscle abounds … and lots and lots of fun. One might think the music would be a dark after-hours style. It isn’t. Franco works with the DJ to create a journey into sexual bliss. “Since the crowd is a bit older, they may not be up on a lot of new music.” Franco said, “We always throw in a section of classic dance anthems from the past decade to remind folks of the Circuit heyday.” Neil Lewis, who spun for five of the first six years of the event, had a major influence on Magnitude’s sound. “We have had some great DJs like Susan Morabito and Mark Anthony spin for us,” Franco says. “Since Neil’s death, we’ve tried to honor his tradition with exceptional new musical talent like Joe Gauthreaux.” This year’s DJ, Paul Goodyear, is returning for another spin at the wheels of steel. Goodyear was a close friend of Lewis, knew his music well, and has a similar style. Also, since Paul has lived in Sydney, London and Barcelona and has played all over the world, he brings a fresh international vibe to the event that reflects the changing demographics of the international crowd. Changing the Party Vibe International, indeed. Magnitude and Folsom both attract people from all over the world. Many Aussies attend every year, and there’s even a regular group from Iceland. The event was not always focused on creating an erotic and sexualized environment. However, five years ago Franco and Folsom Street Events decided it needed a few changes to make it more reflective of the energy of Folsom Weekend. The changes proved to be especially popular with international patrons, and the event’s popularity grew considerably. The first reworking included the addition of the Dungeon Beds lounge. The L.A. store Mr. S. Leather is sponsoring the dungeon space with support from Titan Studios. It will be in the basement of the venue, with different music and a different vibe from the main floor—darker and sexier. Expect a steamy, safe, playground of pleasure. While many mainstream Circuit parties continue to see a decline, it is a testament to Beneduce’s continuing hands-on involvement that attendance at Magnitude has been steadily going up over the past few years. Franco attributes the continued success to Magnitude and Folsom’s unique place in the gay universe. Some compare Magnitude to New York’s annual Black Party extravaganza. Franco admits to some similarities, but he hastens to point out that Magnitude is part of a much bigger experience, one where attendees come for a week or longer. It is not just about a single—albeit fun, massive and very well-produced—party. With all this erotic self-expression going on, you would think that it would be hard to find a place big enough that would be accepting of an event of this nature. Franco admits it is hard to find an appropriate space in San Francisco on a Saturday night. After producing events for 13 years, however, Franco has managed to build a solid reputation in the city’s larger club community. Landlords know that Magnitude will be a tightly run ship, with attendees on good behavior (but not too good!). This year, the party is moving to the Regency Center, a restored 1909 landmark. The Magnitude production team plans to transform the elegant Beaux Arts interior with the kind of lights, projections, lasers and props that partygoers have come to expect, with some new twists to keep the concept fresh. In addition to Magnitude, Franco also manages Bay of Pigs, the Saturday night party for the Dore Alley Fair. Dore is the smaller cousin to Folsom and attracts less non-leather tourists and more sleaze. When asked if anything shocks him at Folsom or Magnitude anymore, Franco simply replies, ”I’ve seen just about everything you can imagine—and then some. But what really shocks me is that there are still gay people in this day and age with puritanical minds who judge the way that other gay people express themselves sexually.” Perhaps. But maybe, just maybe, with the continued success of Folsom Street Fair and Magnitude, some of those closed minds will be changed. 2008-08-04T00:10:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/sandy_sachs_robin_gans/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/sandy_sachs_robin_gans/ In the fast-paced world of gay nightlife, lesbians typically get a raw deal. In the prevailing stereotype, gay men play the role of freewheeling party monsters, while the girls are relegated to a small cabin in the woods of Oregon tending to their golden retrievers. Venture outside our male-dominated spaces, however, and you'll discover a world of lesbian revelers paryting as hard as the circuit boyz. Hip-hop dykes or disco divas, gay nightlife has a healthy dose of girl power. Just ask Sandy Sachs and Dr. Robin Gans, the impresarios of the scene.The power couple fell in love in the '80s, at popular lesbian event SheScape in New York. After moving to L.A., they opened Girl Bar in 1990, which remains the largest lesbian dance club in the U.S. The long-running Girl Bar parties, now in four cities across the country (with more on the way), set a new standard for lesbian nightlife. They also produce Dinah Shore Weekend in Palm Springs, the largest lesbian event in the world. They managed the White Party Palm Springs for ten years; kept the Factory Event Space in L.A. fresh for the past nine years; opened the elegant and popular West Hollywood restaurant Murano; created The Fitness Factory, one of L.A.'s top-rated gyms; and run GirlBarMatch, an online lesbian dating service. On top of that, Robin is a successful Beverly Hills psychologist, and Sandy will sometimes man the turntables at Girl Bar. Somehow they still find time to give back to the community, working with notable organizations such as The Trevor Project, Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing, Human Rights Campaign, L.A.'s Gay & Lesbian Center, AIDS Project Los Angeles and PAWS. It's no wonder they were named "2005 Women of the Year" by Christopher Street West. They started by managing Revolver, a popular WeHo bar now East/West. At the time, only The Palms was catering to L.A.'s lesbian population. Word got out that these two women were managing this fun video bar, and the gals started showing up. Seeing an opportunity, they created a weekly event that took over the back bar. They turned an exit into the entrance so patrons could enter without having to walk through the main bar. The comfortable and elegant environment became an instant hit and eventually packed the whole bar. Scott Forbes, owner of Studio One, the über-exclusive WeHo dance club, saw their success and offered to host Girl Bar in a room at his club. Things took off from there. Eighteen years later the event is still going strong in the same space, now called Ultra Suede, part of the Factory Event Space owned by Sandy. It's interesting to note that in those days gay male dance clubs were famously selective at the door-but Robin and Sandy knew that would never fly in the women's community and made sure that everyone was welcome. In 2004, the duo took the show on the road and opened up Girl Bar events in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Chicago. They are opening in Long Beach, and plan on San Francisco and Seattle as well. Chicago in particular has been very successful. Opening night was 20 degrees below zero, and the girls were still lined up down the block. The Big One: Dinah Shore In terms of attendees alone, Dinah Shore Weekend is their crown jewel. Originally, the weekend was a loose series of events surrounding the Dinah Shore LPGA Golf Tournament that attracted a Southern California crowd. The gals started by improving sound, lights and décor, bringing to the table ten years working with Jeffrey Sanker on the White Party. The result was a high-quality weekend with a wide range of activities that now attracts over 10,000 women to Palm Springs each year. And the girls don't just want to dance. They can choose from concerts, comedy shows, VIP brunches and pool parties. There are some differences between the girls and the boys with this event. Dance parties end at 3 a.m., with most attendees leaving by 2. The intoxicant of choice is alcohol. By far the most popular events are the pool parties, which start at 8 a.m.! The girls just don't do after-hours. "They literally line up the hallway with pillows and blankets," Sandy says. "It is all about getting a coveted pool chair." The music differs as well. Pool parties start with Ibiza-style chill music, and as the day moves on the pace of the music picks up. But the volume never reaches the level of an average Circuit party. At evening events, the space is brightly lit with tables and chairs everywhere. The tempo of the music varies, and is sexy without being hard and driving. It is less fist-in-the-air, and more high-energy groove. The mood sets the stage for conversation. It's true: Lesbians actually like to talk before they hook up. The probably even know each other's last names. From Promoters to Becoming a Brand Sandy and Robin know how to take care of the boys as well. A few years ago, they noticed a drop in attendance at Circuit-themed dance events at the Factory and at other clubs. One night Sandy overheard two guys lamenting that they didn't know any of the songs the DJ was spinning. She realized there needed to be a change, so she created POPStarZ, a weekly event playing all the Top-40 hits the boys love. "It's the antithesis of the Circuit," Sandy says. "Everybody has to keep their shirts on. The DJs know that if you can't hum to the music, you can't play it. The young boys love it!" The event has now become one of the most popular weekly gay male dance events in all of Los Angeles. What's next for this power couple? A lot. They are working on taking their Murano concept to other locations, and will release a CD of the music Sandy programs for the restaurant called Murano Morsels. Major brands are approaching them to be a part of their events as a way to improve their gay image. The president of Ketel One vodka just met with them in person to sign a six-figure, three-year deal. They're not afraid to venture into uncharted territory, either. "There are major hospitality groups that run hotels, restaurants and clubs that are always owned by men," Robin said. "Sandy and I have this vision that there ought to be a group like that owned by women." For now, they will continue to grow Girl Bar and expand their lesbian empire. They are bringing in younger promoters and mentoring them so the pair can comfortably move into other areas. It would be nice to, Robin sighs, "not have to work until 2 a.m. every weekend." No matter how they continue to grow, it is clear that whatever business this power couple focuses on will be fresh, fun and successful- no boys required. 2008-04-28T16:45:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/tom_whitman/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/tom_whitman/ In LA, is there any night of the week when Tom Whitman’s name doesn’t figure somewhere into the schedule? His events run the entire spectrum of gay–fabulous, but they all have one thing in common: "I try to produce events that I want to go to,” he says. “I want to hang out with fun, flirty, unpretentious people. I want to go to an upscale event and dress up one night, and get sloppy in a pitcher of margaritas in the afternoon on another day.” Tom says his events are geared to conversation, not attitude. Take aptly named “Drunk and Horny,” Tom’s Friday nights at FUBAR. "Wear something tight," says the ad. "If you go home alone, you aren’t really trying." Or just turn on your mojo at "Smack," Thursdays at O–Bar, the home of the self–proclaimed "world’s fastest open bar." Three times during the night, drinks are free for a few minutes–and after some lubrication, the hottie you’ve been eyeing across the room becomes soooo much easier to talk to. In addition to “Saturday On Sunday” nights, the line snakes around the block in front of “here” Lounge for the jock–themed night “Player,” and in winter months for “Size,” a surfboards–and–margaritas celebration of Southern California’s famed beach culture. "Before I produced events in the gay world," says Tom, "I produced concerts and television, so I love the production aspects of events." Yes, Tom has worked in what we here on the Left Coast call “The Industry”: He wrote and directed two animated shorts that have toured the international film festival circuit. Before moving to LA, he worked in NYC for five years as a producer at MTV Networks, and even now, he frequently returns to Gotham. So he knows the scene on both coasts. But Tom says that LA no longer plays Second City to NYC, although he acknowledges that LA nightlife is changing. “It’s transitioned from being centered on big, Circuit–type events to more spread–out, smaller events in bars and nightclubs,” he says. “The younger crowd likes to do different things. It’s not just about staying out until 7 a.m.” A Hollywood Wonderland Nowhere is his producing experience more evident than at Wonderland, a big Circuit dance event held on the backlot of Paramount Studios the weekend of West Hollywood’s Gay Pride. Wandering around a movie studio is a cheap thrill for anyone who doesn’t work on one, and Wonderland has quickly become one of the most anticipated events on the LA. boys’ party schedule each year. Ferris wheels, fireworks, racks of speakers with go–go boys on top, outside dancing…yes, it’s all been done before. But what’s fun and so special about Wonderland is the fact that it could only happen here in LA. Sure, we have some great party spaces here, and world–class clubs. Leave it to a movie guy, though, to bring the Circuit to Hollywood. There’s a "road" version of Wonderland, too, a New Year’s Eve event held on the roof of the Ipanema Plaza Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. Not quite as "Hollywood," but you do get to party in Rio with all of those drop–dead gorgeous Brazilian men. One LA nightlife regular calls Wonderland “without question, the best event in LA in years.” This jaded partygoer, who has earned his Circuit gold star many times over, says Wonderland “ranks with the best events in the world. What made this particular party memorable, was not only the way it flowed seamlessly, or the music, or the lighting, which were all stellar, but the way he became the heart of the event, bringing to mind Studio 54 in its heyday, or promoters such as Suzanne Bartsch, who becomes the star of her parties.” Tom appeared at the last Wonderland in a "Mad Hatter" costume, was hoisted above the dance floor and welcomed the crowd with a message about having fun safely. It was a magical moment, and the already happening event took off. It’s another sign that Tom lives out his claim that he produces events that he would enjoy himself. Unlike some promoters, he can often be seen out on the dance floor. One regular LA partygoer describes him as a “surprisingly great dancer. He’s surrounded by boys at the clubs, and acts as though he’s one of them,” he adds. “He’s truly one of the most popular guys in town–who just happens to be a professional event planner. No wonder one of his lounge nights is called ‘Popular.’” A Wanderer at Home Recently, Tom made a splash with the “Lucky Devil” burlesque show at hot Melrose Avenue club Forty Deuce, billed as the first such all–male burlesque in the country. Each winter, Tom lures the crowd outside the city and into the great outdoors. Attendance at Elevation Ski Weekend in Mammoth has been nearly doubling in size each year, with 2,000 or so party–hardy skiers and snowboarders expected this year, making it the third–largest gay ski event in the world. This is high–altitude, no–attitude fun; why is it that everyone is so much friendlier when you get them out of the city? On top of all the fun, Tom also gives back to the community. He is on the Board of Directors of AIDS Project Los Angeles and has produced events for it along with many other local charities, including the local HRC chapter, The Trevor Project, The LA Gay & Lesbian Center, among others. Tom probably gets his out–of–the–box attitude from his wandering childhood. An Air Force brat, he was born in Hawaii but spent most of his childhood in Europe. He first came to California to attend UCLA, then shuttled between the two coasts. Wherever he is, the one thing you can expect is to see Tom in the middle of the party, having as great a time as any of his guests.   Visit http://www.myspace.com/tomwhitman or http://www.tomwhitmanpresents.com for dates, times and locales of Tom Whitman’s parties.   2008-04-14T17:11:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/alexander_catala/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/alexander_catala/ Enter Alexander Catala. Originally from Puerto Rico, he is a traveling professional and a self-described “Circuit pro.” When he went to that final Ice party in the spring of 2004, he was at the end of his Circuit rope. “I was towards the end of my experience. I asked myself, ‘What exactly am I getting from this?’ Traveling and spending all this money - something had to change. The prices were getting astronomical. At that point I had already started contemplating promoting and producing my own parties, but I never understood how I could really fit into that puzzle.” All of that changed when he met Dan De Leon. Dan remarks, “We complimented each other well. Alex is the quintessential Circuit boy on the dance floor and perfectly understands the Circuit experience from that perspective. I have this sort of worldly musical view from my rave background. The pieces of the puzzle that I didn’t get about the Circuit, what appealed to the gay community, and the part of the puzzle that he was looking for: that’s what I had to offer to him.” They came together not only as a couple, but as partners with a vision that they could both finally realize with each other. Lattitude Events was born. It was a product of what they each had to offer in a party all their own. They came together not only as a couple, but as partners with a vision that they could both finally realize with each other. Lattitude Events was born. It was a product of what they each had to offer in a party all their own. The first two Lattitude events were Circuit-style parties completely geared towards the gay community, but with their unique production aspects and impressive roster of guest DJs, they soon became huge successes with both gay and straight LA club-goers. Internationally renowned DJs like Chus & Ceballos, Murk’s Oscar G, and Saeed Younan caught on to Lattitude’s fresh approach to parties and De Leon’s musical vision. The last few events at Avalon Hollywood, one of LA’s leading nightclubs, were so successful that management there has moved it from Friday night to the more lucrative Saturday night slot. Dan orchestrates the musical aspects of each event, and Alex masterminds all the production aspects and promotional duties that fuel any successful party. “You’re really getting more than just a DJ setting up behind turntables and playing some records. You’re really getting a vision.” There is no set timetable for Lattitude events because Catala insists that it’s more important to get all the details exactly right for every event than trying to throw as many parties as possible in one year. “It’s a lot of work to do it right. It doesn’t just happen magically: trust me.” Lattitude has begun to move beyond the shores of California to the high seas. In February, RSVP Cruises brought them onboard to bring new life to the club events on their gay cruise in the Caribbean. The collaboration was successful, and they continued with RSVP on their Mediterranean and Alaskan cruises as well this year. They are slated for this coming February’s Caribbean cruise. Lattitude Events is a brand and a party tied intrinsically to both Dan and Alex as a couple and as individuals. As Alex explains it, “There is an emotion to every event that comes from between us as a couple.” “Together: that’s the way the formula works,” says Dan. “I don’t think I could have done it without him, or vice versa. It’s definitely a product of the two of us.” 2007-12-14T18:26:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/hilton_wolman/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/hilton_wolman/ How did you get your start promoting? As Advertising and Promotions Manager for a major European car manufacturer, I had been responsible for new model launches to dealers, the press, and the public. We would constantly try to come up with spectacular ideas that would blow the attendees away, be it by taking over a conference center, hotel or resort, or even chartering an entire ship. That experience served me well when I moved to South Florida and got involved in producing and promoting parties. What are some of the highlights of your career? Working with Abel every Saturday night at Salvation and watching him become one of the most beloved Circuit DJs; witnessing the meteoric rise to fame of other wonderful DJs that I worked with like Manny Lehman and Tony Moran; producing over a dozen parties for White Party and Winter Party; and accidentally pioneering the daytime Sunday party when the laws in South Beach forced the after-hours clubs to close at 9 a.m. Church (at Salvation) on Sunday morning became incredibly successful, as did the Monday morning parties we added to the major party weekends. After Salvation I produced Orbit at Space and was also involved with events at Crobar and Coliseum; and while Twilo Miami has come and gone, we certainly had some amazing nights there. Salvation in Miami was one of the most legendary clubs in history and you were intimately involved during its heyday. What are some of your favorite memories? Can you tell us a little about your annual “Salvation Reunion Party”? Saturday nights at Salvation ran so smoothly that I was able to spend most of the night on the dance floor, meeting people and having a great time. I think that part of my success as a promoter stems from the fact that I was out there in the middle of it all, and I could see what worked and what didn’t. I remember when we were the first club in Miami to do liquid nitrogen blasts, hand out ice- lollies, or have Power lowered from the ceiling to perform a show. People would come back each and every week to see what we did at midnight to open the main room. It wasn’t easy coming up with something different fifty-two weeks a year! I made so many lasting friendships at Salvation. It was on the dance floor there that I met my good friends and the promoters I most admire, Ric Sena and Mark Baker. I also got to work with so many talents - performers like Power, Kitty Meow, Circuit Mom, and RKM as well as numerous DJs who have gone on to become good friends rather than just business associates. The Salvation Reunion Party began at one of my birthday parties and it has become an annual event. Abel always spins and Power always performs. It’s a great mix of the old and the new, where Abel hauls out the classic hits from the Salvation days, but mixes them in with current favorites so that it doesn’t feel like a night stuck in the past. But it is a party that usually brings out many people who don’t go to parties any more. Next year we are also hoping to take it to a few cities outside the South Florida area. I think that people will really enjoy the experience, especially those who actually attended a Salvation event. In addition to Salvation, Miami has been home to such mega clubs as 1235, Liquid, Crobar, and the list goes on. However, the landscape of South Florida nightlife has changed as all of these clubs, as well as the newly- incarnated Twilo in Miami, have closed. What insight can you give us as to the changes happening in South Florida? A few years ago Miami could support three megaclubs being open on three consecutive nights - Level on Friday, Salvation on Saturday, and Crobar on Sunday. But the trend has been to the smaller venues, with lounge type atmospheres. Score on Lincoln Road is always busy and the newly opened Halo is another example of the more intimate venues that have become popular. For a while, many of us blamed the internet and the hookup sites for the decline in attendance at the large clubs. You no longer needed to go out to a club to meet someone - you could go online and “order in”. Miami Beach also saw a decline in the gay population as people moved away because the nightlife was no longer the draw it once was. And the gay tourist doesn’t travel down as often because these days many of the DJs that once only spun in Miami, New York, or LA can be found at the local bar or club. But the pendulum seems to be swinging back. People seem to miss the social aspects of a night out dancing, and most of the local clubs are reporting an increase in attendance. I also think that with the closure of Twilo many people in South Florida realized that if they didn’t support their local venues on a regular basis, they stood a chance of losing their “playground”. Tell us about your monthly parties you’re throwing at Coliseum in Fort Lauderdale with Gary Santis. The scene in South Florida has definitely moved from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. Gary already had a successful Saturday night party, but he invited me to collaborate with him on a new monthly event that would hopefully add something exciting to the formula. By combining forces we’ve managed to boost attendance figures - and production values - to levels that hadn’t been achieved locally in several years. But we are not giving up on Miami. I’m still working on several exciting projects in the Miami area, just not on a weekly basis. Last January, you presented “Freedom - The Official Sail-Away Party for the Largest Gay Cruise in History” before the Atlantis cruise. Can you tell us about that as well as what you have planned for the upcoming Atlantis cruise next January? Actually we began doing the Atlantis Sail-Away party back at Salvation, but as the ships have grown bigger and bigger each year, so has the size of the party. Two years ago for the Navigator cruise we had Manny, Tony, and Abel all spinning on one night, and for Freedom, Warren Gluck teamed up with Abel. In 2008 and the Liberty cruise, I am hoping to expand the concept from simply a dance party to a night that offers all sorts of possibilities because of the spectacular new $25 million venue that we will be using. Not only is there an amazing indoor and outdoor space for the dance party, but we also have adjoining restaurants and bars that will allow those patrons who are not interested in the dancing to still participate in the night. Kind of like what happens onboard the ship, where you can choose from a piano bar, restaurant, or the main dance event - something for all tastes. What do you think the future holds for gay nightlife in general? People are not traveling to as many parties as they once did. But they are still traveling - doing the cruises and picking one or twomajor events each year. The successful promoters are the ones who don’t cut back on their production values because there might be a decline in attendance. They just adapt accordingly. Gay nightlife will continue. I remember being warned that, with greater mainstream acceptance, the younger generation would be more inclined to party with their straight friends at straight(er) venues. My son, who is also gay and in his early twenties, did that for a while, but these days he and his friends are supporting the local gay bars and clubs on a regular basis. Promoters are reaching out to the younger crowd by incorporating different styles of music, different entertainment, and different pricing strategies. I think it is working and I’m thrilled to see that with each party I do, there are more and more people I don’t recognize! Or is that just a sign that at my age the memory begins to fade? 2007-11-14T18:29:00+00:00 http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/adam_gill/ http://www.noizemag.com/index.php/articles/promoter_spotlight/adam_gill/ Often in the world of large gay-themed events, the well-known promoters that noiZe profiles are intimately familiar with the gay party scene, being gay themselves. It’s not often you find a young, driven heterosexual behind the scenes of a gay mega-production. Enter Adam Gill, President of Embrace Productions, at age twenty-six. He cut his teeth early at the entertainment behemoth Clear Channel. While at Winter Music Conference a few years back, he ran into Michael Perlmutter, a friend who did all of the music for Queer As Folk and the related compilations. Adam came up with the daring concept of taking the fictitious Babylon club from the show on a national tour, complete with truckloads of the actual set. He left Clear Channel to start his own company and hit the road. The tour was wildly successful, but quickly outgrew the limiting concept of the television tie-in. Now in its fifth year, the Babylon tour continues to evolve as Adam and Midori bring us Arctic Babylon, which kicks off in Atlanta on April 21st. Adam got to know some of the big name DJs of the gay set in Montreal, while he worked the Friday night straight events at Stereo. The Babylon experience has given him a respect for the