Just to address some of the notions brought up by some of the attendees at Reunion 2001.
From the get go, the owner of
Palais Royale made it very clear that things would run his way or the highway and kept reminding us that he had the power to shut the party down. And his way was enforced by the
security you are forced to use with that venue who are nothing but a bunch of power tripping egomaniacs. Possibly for their own amusement and partly to punish us for questioning their authority, it was their decision to let people in as slowly as possible. We had to fight with security guards in order to get people’s chapstick back – but being under constant threat of being shut down it was impossible to negotiate with any of the staff. They had our money and they could do whatever they like since
they know they have a virtual monopoly on two room venues. We did not enforce any mandatory bag/coat check – this was the decision of the venue owner. We only requested that a coat check be there for people who wanted to check their coats. All proceeds from the coat check went directly to the owner of Palais Royale. We have been throwing events for two solid years – why the hell would we want you to check your bags?
We throw parties for you to enjoy yourselves and to hear a wide array of electronic music – not to force you to pay for something that you don’t want.
We spent a lot of time on the decorations in the basement and we were guaranteed by our sound company there was going to be ample light in the basement – as many of the complaints suggest it was too dark down there. You hire a sound and light company because they are supposed to be experts in their field. This is the first time we’ve ever used ACS
(who you are forced to use when you rent the Palais Royale) and we paid to have adequate lighting on both floors. Why this didn’t happen is something we need to take up with ACS but it was never intended to be dark down there as we spent the entire afternoon putting up decoration. (Aside, there are no hard feelings against ACS as they conducted themselves in a professional manner and addressed most of our concerns that night).
Regarding the water, it was never brought to our attention that they stopped selling water. In case you don’t realize, all liquid sales at events are controlled by the venue operator – they set the prices and they keep all the money. We always provide several hundred dollars in free fruit at all of our events to help take the pinch off of you when you’re looking for a nourishing refreshment.
This isn’t something that we advertise it’s something we just do because that’s the way we think people like to be treated. If you are a promoter and you are reading this, we know it’s difficult and if you’re forced to use Palais Royale, we hope that you are treated much better and that those who attend your party also receive much better treatment.
And finally – this goes out to everyone who challenges the very fabric of our organization. For two years we have tried to educate and express what we feel represents the glue that holds the scene together – music. Since inception, we’ve been quite proud of each and every one of our lineups as we felt they represented a healthy cross-section of the different genres of electronic music. Maybe it was our mistaken belief that the past could be relived today with all rave music being featured under one roof – or maybe we were fooling ourselves into thinking that we really did consider it to be truly good rave music. We’ve always tried to bring in not only the best talent, but also some of the freshest talent that Toronto has scene. For those who like their music
funky, we’ve been avid supporters of
Czech, Deedot, J-Red, Disco D, and DJ Venom. If you like your music
harder, we’ve entertained
S4, Kage, Paul Brisk Smith, Rion, Kultcha, Hardware, DJ Kristian and one of the most kick-ass hard nrg trance acts the city has seen, Lab 4. For people who are into
UK hardcore, we had
Toronto’s first appearances of DJ Breeze, Paulina Taylor, DJ Kaos, DJ’s Stompy and D’Skys, Storm and Herman, as well as the first ever live vocal set by Dougal and Jenna. In to
drum and bass? We’ve had the
Girls on Tour (Wildchild, Jo Jo Rock and MC Chick-a-boo), Ellis Dee, Mampi Swift and Tech Itch and Decoder. We’d like to thank every single one of these out of town DJs who at times cancelled other gigs in order to come play for Toronto. For people to claim that we’re not in this for the music is really frustrating. So what are we in this for? Oh yeah – About the Money. We’ve lost money on EVERY event we’ve thrown – the one party where we actually broke even we were robbed at the door. The losses have ranged from a thousand to ten plus thousand. There is a great post on the hullabaloo message board about the economics of the rave scene for those of you who are interested on what a party costs and where your money goes. We haven’t made a single penny because we truly believed in what we were doing and thought that others believed in us as well and that’s what kept us going. We donated $5000 to the TDSC warchest when the rave scene needed money most, and one of our members plays a pivotal role in the organization of iDance – a free event for all of you. So to any of you who say we’ve been in this for the money, try throwing some events at a sustained loss for two years with unsatisfied customers bitching about things beyond your control.
We know we have the full support of nearly all the DJs who play for us (we’ve always prided ourselves on paying our DJs 100% of the time for without them there would be no outlet for the music) and a number of ravers who have also continued to support us. We also have the support of virtually all venue owners, security services, sound and lighting companies and paramedics we have hired over the past two years. We tip our hats to all the promoters out there who will continue to keep the scene going.
We still believe in the music. We’ve set up a studio in order that local DJs who we know are full of ideas have an outlet to produce music. Toronto is an amazing city filled with lots of talent and now there is an opportunity to let their imagination become reality. We already have a number of world class producers, and there is no reason that this list shouldn’t continue to grow. If you are as committed to music as we are, and are interested in being part of its creation we can be reached at
info@atmrecordings.com.
Thanks go out to every DJ and MC who has helped be a part of some people’s fond memories, and thanks to every volunteer, employee, friend and family member who have supported us through the ups and downs. And of course thanks to each and every raver who has shared our belief and supported our events. As it was in the beginning, so shall it be
About The Music.
Astroboy out…
