Places and Faces Come In Handy

Through out my life I’ve tried to keep my ups and downs in perspective. I like to think of it all in the terms of a video game. A person goes through life gaining experiences from both good and bad moments, meeting people who can both offer things and pass on personal lessons. Then, some where along the way, a shinning moment of significance comes up, a lot like a “boss fight” at the end of a particular level, and the person has to pull together those experiences and people to either defeat to or achieve what they were meant to.
I feel like I’ve hit a major moment of significance in my life that I’ve been working very hard to gain experience and contacts all my adult life, without knowing just how it would all come together until now. As I sit here thinking it all makes perfect sense in such a crazy way (just like everything in hindsight).
Where to start… I’ve finally met a person that I’ve admired for years now. I’ve talked about him numerous times through out this blog; mostly about how much I enjoy dancing whenever he’s behind the turntables. From the CLUB KISS destinations when I turned twenty-one, the summer of 2004 when I found him spinning downstairs at LSC and became one of few people down there on a Friday night, to the various and sundry other nights that I was dancing at a club and he walked in the door with records in hand.
I followed his two radio shows and met Steve via MySpace when he asked me to help him prepare for the first time he was to spin live on the radio. I was, like many other listeners were, sad when that show ended shortly after that. I was proud to be a part of the other, a late night show, where Steve included a song of mine in a mix he did for that program. That show was later passed on to Steve who still holds it down to this day.
The year or so that I was hanging out with Steve and Scott and going to LSC EVERY Thursday night, was one of meeting dancers, DJ’s, groupies, and freaks. Through it all I remember how much Steve admired everything Ricky did. He always referred to him by his DJ name and when he had disappeared from the dance floor it was because Ricky had walked in the door.
Even with how small the world is and that I was running in close similar friend circles, I’d spoken to Ricky in passing three times and officially met him two years ago on my birthday when Steve introduced us. Everything I knew about the guy was from being nosey on MySpace. I’d even left comments after a good show and congratulated him on his engagement to his gorgeous girlfriend. Ricky was just a local celebrity that I admired for his talent and never really saw a reason why he and I should have a conversation. I knew who he was and that was enough.
Several weeks ago I suggested that Alexis come out with me to go dancing at LSC. It had been a long while since I had gone out on a Thursday night. She was turning into a blast of a party compatriot and I was tired of going to Fife and dancing to Hip Hop. It was fun and reminded me of old times, but it wasn’t “my” scene. When I asked if Scott was going to be out and about, it turned out he was going to be the opening DJ. Even better!
It was a long, interesting night of Alexis and I dodging drunk boys and me jumping up on the platform to go-go when the headlining DJ turned out to be Ricky. From nine until the lights came up at the end, she and I were on the dance floor rocking out. Somewhere along the way Alexis and Scott found each other and I loved the idea.
As she and I walked toward my car, Scott was not to be separated from her, and the drunk guy I was trying to avoid was still trying to get at me. Ricky was stuck tagging along because Scott was completely blitzed out of his mind and supposedly Ricky’s ride. It wasn’t until Scott and Alexis were disagreeing about whether they were having “a moment” or not that Ricky and I were left attempting to talk. It started out so well with my usual brand of sarcasm and obvious funny statements on the current situation, but then I decided to get cocky and try to show him that I knew something about his personal life. This led to a mortifying conversation where I proceeded to bring up a topic that seemed both painful and extremely out of date. I did my best to back pedal, but I felt horrible. I should have just stuck with the witty statements on Scott’s drunken and unintelligible speech.
From there Ricky and I got thrown together in the joint attempt to help Scott come out of his shell without alcohol and get he and Alexis to find love. During that time Ricky and I talked about that first conversation and he had a different spin on it than I did. Where I thought I was digging a hole, he apparently appreciated my humor and honesty. When it came down to it, we knew so many of the same people and were involved (on different sides of the decks) in so many of the same events and clubs it wasn’t hard for us to really start talking. I’m such a greedy person for behind the scenes knowledge and juicy gossip. It was just fun rehashing the past and filling in the blanks for the other person.
Flash forward several weeks and I get the best text message ever. Ricky has just been in a meeting with the owner of the Baltic Room, who had been after him for forever to book and promote a new night for the club. In turn, Ricky wanted my help with it! This is something I have always wanted to do, but had never been given the chance to do. The last time I had gotten close was DJ F’s sorry attempt to interview me to be apart of the promotional team for Heavens as it was being remodeled from The Catwalk and reopened. Instead I found out it was just to pass me around to his friends.
The more I’ve become involved with the details and decision making, the more I realize that so much of my life has been gaining and strengthening skills that are perfect for this: my years of clubbing and being damn opinionated about it, my day job as a personal assistant/secretary for the manager combined with intensive customer service, the short stint I did as a part-time rep/manager for Chela and Georgetown, all the work I did booking and promoting my own band Epigee, and all my personal involvement with other people that have either been bookers or promoting something.
The bottom line for all of this is that I love music and I love the night life. I’m also a serious, detail oriented organizer. I can take a mess and turn it into charts and “to do” lists and get something moving forward in no time. I think Ricky was unprepared for how seriously I intended to take the whole thing, which led to a ridiculous drunken conversation on my part in order to make sure Ricky really wanted my help for genuine, business-like reasons. The very last thing I wanted was to get my hopes up again only to have them dashed by another less than honest or honorable DJ.
I was included in the next meeting with the owner of the Baltic Room and Ricky and I shared our brainstorming session. The owner of the Baltic Room is great. I’m so use to owners or people in charge who are clueless and refuse to see or admit it. Instead he stated quite candidly that he felt he was so far out of the “scene” which was why he wanted Ricky to do the leg work and he’d do the rest. Very supportive and liberating, and through out the whole meeting Ricky did nothing but put forth my qualifications as to why I was a valid second person in this operation. It was probably the nicest thing anyone has have done in that kind of situation.
The other awesome part was going through the owners list of agent representation emails that he had on his iphone. These are emails that are sent out by agents and representatives that advertise who they have “rights to”. If you want to book a certain DJ or vocalist, you know that you have to go through this particular agency or representative to do it. Just flipping through the little profiles was like picking a fantasy baseball team. First we had to figure out who they were, which turned into a little trivia game, and then talk about whether or not they would draw a crowd.
Ricky and I had had hopes of getting a big name to headline for opening night but the more the three of us talked the less likely it seemed we had the time to contact and get that sort of ball rolling, so Ricky and I were on to plan B for our opening. The rest of the dates we had generally plotted and were approved by the owner. We were off and running with Bar Grooves Wednesday Nights.
At some point earlier in the week I had mentioned that I wanted to see DJ Dan since he was going to be in town. The idea that I had someone to go with me who appreciated Dan as much as I did was exciting enough, but that got Ricky and I talking about whether or not we had a chance in hell of getting CyberSutra (Scott and Nate), who were opening for Dan, to play our night. Ricky knew both of the guys and as long as we could pick a date that they would be in the area he figured we had a good chance. What a great crowd pull that would be, besides just the joy of seeing them in a smaller venue! CyberSutra is the next biggest thing for 2009, according to “MixMag”, with several songs on the radio and having just been signed to DJ Dan’s new record label “InStereo”. I was thrilled at the idea of at least networking, even if we got turned down. Besides it was a great “business” excuse for us to HAVE to go to the DJ Dan show.
All networking aside and the idea of meeting the guys from CyberSutra in person, DJ Dan was my main focus. To me he is a DJ GOD. The last time I had seen him live was 2004 with Jimmy at LSC and that had been such an amazing experience. How I discovered Dan is an odd thing. Back in the days of me trying to expand my knowledge of House and electronic music I was taking every lead I could. He had played at Club Medusa the weekend before my usual Thursday night and everyone that worked there was still buzzing about it. I went straight out and looked for him in the Dance music section at Best Buy and ended up with “Another Night Out”. Having been originally released in 2000, it was three years old when I found it. I rushed home and put it in the CD player only to have no idea what to make of the music. I liked the mix but the music was so foreign to me I just couldn’t tell if I liked it or not. Needless to say Progressive House grew on me, and out of all the professional DJ’s I’ve seen live, Dan’s the best. He’s always stuck to his roots and I’ve generally adored every CD he’s put out.
When I mentioned the show originally, Ricky had made a side comment about being offered VIP for that night by the club’s owner, but I tried to not latch on to that. If anything I could meet him there and we could hang out when he wasn’t VIP-ing it up. But he did keep mentioning it, especially after the meeting with the owner of the Baltic Room as a way for us, yes he said us, not only to avoid cover but to get into the VIP area and talk to both Dan and the boys of CyberSutra. Now I was really excited!
The day was flaming hot and I was sweating as I was trying to decide what to wear. I wanted to look amazing. It’s been forever since I’ve really gone out “clubbing”. Dancing on a weeknight is a different world of fashion than on the weekend. Too many times in the past I had rolled out on a Friday night in my same old comfortable clothes and really felt plain and unattractive because of it. I use to love dressing up to go out and five years ago I’d had a whole separate wardrobe just for clubbing. Dancing in the south end all dressed up had set me apart from the rest of the crowd, which had led to meeting some really interesting people. Now I’ve gotten old and comfortable and honestly nothing fit like it use to. That left me sort of limited as to what I was willing to leave the house in. Me, my advancing age, and my ever changing physical shape haven’t reached a real sense of acceptance yet. I’m by no means “fat” but curves have shifted in places that I’m not happy about and I’m not the spry young girl that could lift twice her body weight at her manual labor job. I’ve gotten soft in my current customer service position.
There were other things to consider besides just the rules of fashion on a weekend night. I was going as a representative for my “business”. Networking is an extreme measure of first impressions leading to success or failure. It’s the sad truth that people (most especially men) are nicer to a pretty face. While having that VIP status and networking with who ever we ran into, I was going out to see DJ Dan and there was a possibility I might get to talk to him in person. That made it just as important to me to look good as well.
So I did something I haven’t done in ages, I actually left the house in a skirt. Plenty of times I’ve gone straight for a specific skirt and went through the rest of my “getting ready” ritual only to change right back to jeans moments before leaving. The one thing I cannot stand is feeling uncomfortable when I’m out in public. It takes away from my personal confidence and if it hindered my ability to dance then what was the point anyway? I was there to dance no matter what, the rest was a luxury.
The part I regretted in wearing this matched skirt and top outfit was that I had to take a purse with me. I didn’t know Ricky well enough to trust him with all my stuff, so for my own safety I had to deal. But that meant something on my arm for the rest of the night and that was going to drive me CRAZY! But then again I wondered how much dancing I would do. The last time I had seen Dan, the LSC had been packed beyond fire capacity and as awesome as the energy was to be apart of, it was so strange to have the want to dance but not the physical space to.
I was totally running late and when I got to the club where I was to meet Ricky after he was done working there. As I followed him back inside the club so he could finish up some last minute set-up for a birthday party, I had a moment of doubt. Did I look silly? The outfit was from my old clubbing days, would it be noticeable that the style was five years old? Was I that out-of-style-middle-aged-woman already? But it was too late for any changes and I held my head up as Ricky pointed to a couch and went back to his work. I had on my trusty old clubbing coat, so the only thing visible was my skirt.
The club itself was one that had had many names, most of them all were “all ages” affiliated. I had never seen the inside of the place and was completely blown away but the massive size once I walked toward the dance floor area. It was huge! If only I had known about this when I was 16, I would have spent every weekend here.
It was odd sitting around watching him work. I could see the staff was really curious about who I was which made me super self conscious again about how I looked that evening. Time slipped by as he finished up little odd jobs and I followed him around like a dutiful puppy never quite knowing what was going on. By the time we left I was beginning to wonder if we were going to make it before midnight to see Dan at least. Our goal had been to skip the second opening act, a local DJ who shall remain nameless that was prominent with the radio station. He seemed to have made himself the portal for which people have to go through in order to get shows advertised on this station. This always came with a price, or so it appeared to the rest of us, for he ended up being the opening act (even if there already was one). Now in my humble opinion I think the man is a HORRIBLE DJ. But that apparently hadn’t stopped anyone involved. He was even having himself listed in the order of what I would have considered the headliner on the concert calendar. What an ass! So in joking, I had been claiming that I was going to get drunk and get into a fight with him at some point during the evening.
The first snag in the evening was a large black woman who was having an absolute shit-fit about getting the pay machine to work for her at the lot where we parked. Ricky finally figured out that she had been inserting her credit card the wrong way and then walked her patiently through the whole process to make sure it worked for her that time. She was completely grateful and when she made a comment about not wanting to miss DJ Dan he assured her that he wouldn’t play till midnight or later. While we were walking toward the club she announced at the top of her lungs… “That’s right DJ (blank) is spinning right now. I think he SUCKS ASS!” I burst out laughing and had to stop to keep from falling over. I looked at Ricky and said that I knew right then the night was going to be good.
The large main entrance that was stairs leading down to the doors for Heaven had been turned into the exit. Around the side of the building people were being funneled through a door and down a narrow stairwell. Waiting patiently in line for whatever the hold up at the bottom was in that tiny stairwell was really claustrophobic and I knew without a doubt I would probably do something embarrassing like trip and fall.
When we weren’t on the guest list, the girl taking cover had to call the owner and sort the whole thing out. Suddenly we were the thing that was making people have to wait in that tiny stairwell and I felt sort of bad. When it all got sorted out Ricky seemed tense and I was feeling horribly out of sorts in my outfit. I had left my jacket in the car and now wished I had it back like a security blanket. Some Vodka maker was handing out shots and Cybersutra had their CD’s for sale. That was the first time I had been accosted by merchants before making it into the dance floor area.
DJ Horrible was on the decks jumping up and down and whooping it up for the two people on the dance floor. The rest were hiding at the tables off to the side and attacking the bar with a vengeance. I decided then that I didn’t want to drink at all that night. I was just too uncomfortable and I didn’t really have the money. It took about five minutes for Ricky to chug his beer and suggest we head over to LSC instead. A friend of his, a very well known local DJ was headlining over there and had put us both on the list. Ricky had talked to him about the possibility of being the celebrity for our Opening Night. This was our chance to talk more with him about it.
The rest of the night was Ricky talking with people and introducing me. He closed the deal and I took down the phone numbers and information. It really wasn’t hard, I was just surprised that so many were immediately willing to play our night without any monetary compensation. We went back and forth several times between Heaven and LSC booking our night as we went.
I was sad that we didn’t stick around for much of Cybersutra but we were back in time to see the end of their set and to see DJ Dan doing shots with a bunch of local DJ’s I recognized by face if not by name. Ricky had convinced me to bring something for Dan to sign if he meant so much to me and I immediately knew what it would be, that first CD cover for “Another Last Night”. When Ricky disappeared to go talk with Dan I hung back and ended up talking with DJ Horrible who was pretending to be everyone’s best friend. I have no problems with gay men, but I do find gay men who act completely like the media stereotype hilarious. DJ Horrible was obviously drunk and pinching my cheeks and calling me sweetie. I only looked over at Ricky as if to ask him to save me, so when he waved me over to where he stood I got really nervous and excited.
The exchange wasn’t much, Ricky explained that I was a big fan and wanted Dan to sign a CD cover for me, which we had to beg the bartender for a pen in order for him to do it. So DJ Dan signed it with a flourish, thanked me for my appreciation and then he was done with me; even though I was still standing there like an idiot, completely star struck. Dan handed out the shots he had ordered to everyone around me and immediately tossed them back. I realized that the guy was wasted and weaving even though he stood leaned against the bar. When Ricky asked him when he was supposed to go on he swore and laughed at the same time. “Right now!” he announced and barreled through the crowd of us to get to the stage area. Even as I recount that moment as being less than amazing it still is to me. Nothing in that exchange lessened what I think of Dan at all.
I dragged Ricky to the dance floor and danced, purse and all, while Dan seemed to get his bearings behind the decks. He seemed so confused at first, but soon had a handle on the equipment, it occurred to me that he probably had been DJing drunk for so long now he probably couldn’t do it sober. After several songs Ricky and I headed back again to try and accomplish our original goal: booking Cybersutra.
I expected negotiations or to be put off. I figured who ever Ricky talked to would tell him to call them later. It didn’t happen like that at all. Scott was just inside the gated area of the stage watching and helping DJ Dan and came right over to shake Ricky’s hand when he finally got Scott’s attention. I stayed back because I was shy and didn’t want to ruin anything looking like a hanger-on or too eager. But the longer they talked, the more drawn in I got. I wanted to know how things were going. About the time I stepped into hearing range, Scott was saying, “Yeah that date will work. Just remind me as it gets closer but we’d love to play.” It was just that easy. Ricky turned to me and said I was his partner in crime and I would get a contact number. As I stepped closer and Scott recited his number, he suddenly stopped and blinked at me. “I recognize you from somewhere.” At this I blushed and was thankful it was really dark in the club. Several years ago I had emailed back and forth with him when Cybersutra had sent out a MySpace bulletin asking for vocalists. We’d never been able to meet up and then they’d become super popular. When I explained all of this, part of me was doubtful that he really remembered me from this. I honestly figured he had me confused with someone else. “You’re right. You have a great voice! What are you doing at the moment musically?” That was a total shock and the very last thing I expected to come from him. When I said I was doing contracted stuff he smiled and said that he and I should talk about doing vocal work for them, that we could talk more on the night they played Bar Grooves.
For that I needed a drink, Ricky and I turned right around and headed for the bar with the same idea in mind. Scott from Cybersutra remembered me and he wanted to me to do some work with them! Ricky was in a whole other head space. He had just successfully booked Cybersutra for a night at the Baltic Room. Both of us needed a drink!
Ricky kept right on drinking and I just started feeling cocky. Now my eyes were peeled for whom else was in the crowd that we could talk to for the sake of Bar Grooves. When I spotted Gene Lee, I tried to get Ricky to go talk to him, but Ricky didn’t agree I had the right person. After several arguments back and forth Ricky realized I was right rushed over to chat before he disappeared. I met Gene Lee years ago when he was spinning at the Liquid Lounge back when the EMP had a night just for electronic music. I had loved his Progressive style and I had enjoyed his dance moves. I love a DJ that will dance to his own music because he loves that track so much it doesn’t matter that he’s tethered to a set of headphones and there is no one else one the dance floor. When he had finished for the night I had boldly walked up to the guy, not knowing he was an already well established DJ, and shook his hand. I told him not to change his style. The whole exchange was kind of dorky now that I think about it but I was trying to be supportive. A simple conversation and just like that Gene Lee’s phone number was in my possession and his night was booked. June and July were almost filled up! Things were going amazingly well.
When Ricky and I left Heaven’s and walked back to my car I was floating. We had successfully booked several nights for Bar Grooves and with the top local names. I had DJ Dan’s actual signature on the insert for the album that started it all for me and I had a cell phone full of pictures that showed Dan up close and rocking out. Scott from Cybersutra wanted to talk more with me about working with them as a vocalist. Nothing better could actually happen that night.
Ricky was drunk and decided to sober up at an after hours spot in downtown. I dropped him off and headed home thinking about all my good fortune. All the people I’ve met over the years and all the times I decided to try something and not be scared, all those led to this evening. No matter what else Bar Grooves has a hell of a first start.