Here's an edited version of what I posted on another site:
Every year there is some sort of snafu in the upper echelons at Pride. Sometimes it involves us, and sometimes it involves other performers. To be totally respectful, Pride involves thousands of people, mostly volunteers, who need to co-ordinate an entire week's worth of activities including one of the largest parades in North America.
Needless to say, there are a lot of politics involved. Sometimes middle management has a different view for what is going to happen than the executive board of the organization, which is what happened this year.
The Wellesley stage has become an enormous success over the past 7 years, since Jelo, Deko-ze and I turned it into a "rave stage" (Pride's internal description of it). So much so that there have been concerns about the general impassibility of that intersection, especially for emergency vehicles (even though, thankfully, none have ever been required).
So this year there was a suggestion made that we move our stage to the north end of the site. Unfortunately, after the suggestion was made and accepted, the person who was in charge decided he could no longer be effective as the entertainment co-ordinator (here come the politics) and left his position. The Pride Executive then decided that the North stage needed to be used for something else, and lo and behold we were facing the biggest problem yet: we had NO PLACE TO PLAY!
After meeting with the current entertainment chair person, we have come up with an abridged schedule that we hope will be somewhat satisfying to everyone: We will be playing on Sunday night from 8-11 at the South Stage (across from Maple Leaf Gardens), with TK and I going head to head from 8-9:30, and Jelo and Dekoze going back-to-back (and belly to belly) from 9:30-11.
The Collector was supposed to get another slot somewhere, but I haven't heard where yet. Robb G., who was supposed to join us this year, may have to wait 12 months to play.
The good news is, Pride knows that there has been a bit of a f**k up here and has promised to work with us to make everything better next year.
The better news is that our stage will be in a licensed area, so get there early to get inside (they tell me that all ages can come inside, BTW). Besides, with Carole Pope playing from 7-8, it's worth getting there early!
PS-I would suggest that anyone with any constructive comments should email them to Pride after this year's event.
Also, I don't know what the set up is going to be like; last year there was a huge screen on the street so people could see what was happening on the stage. If that's the case this year, we'll be able to party in the street after all!
Anyway, it's not about us (the DJs); it's about the celebration. I hope that the Pride Executive understands how much the street party has meant to people regardless of their sexual orientation over the years.
=d=
Every year there is some sort of snafu in the upper echelons at Pride. Sometimes it involves us, and sometimes it involves other performers. To be totally respectful, Pride involves thousands of people, mostly volunteers, who need to co-ordinate an entire week's worth of activities including one of the largest parades in North America.
Needless to say, there are a lot of politics involved. Sometimes middle management has a different view for what is going to happen than the executive board of the organization, which is what happened this year.
The Wellesley stage has become an enormous success over the past 7 years, since Jelo, Deko-ze and I turned it into a "rave stage" (Pride's internal description of it). So much so that there have been concerns about the general impassibility of that intersection, especially for emergency vehicles (even though, thankfully, none have ever been required).
So this year there was a suggestion made that we move our stage to the north end of the site. Unfortunately, after the suggestion was made and accepted, the person who was in charge decided he could no longer be effective as the entertainment co-ordinator (here come the politics) and left his position. The Pride Executive then decided that the North stage needed to be used for something else, and lo and behold we were facing the biggest problem yet: we had NO PLACE TO PLAY!
After meeting with the current entertainment chair person, we have come up with an abridged schedule that we hope will be somewhat satisfying to everyone: We will be playing on Sunday night from 8-11 at the South Stage (across from Maple Leaf Gardens), with TK and I going head to head from 8-9:30, and Jelo and Dekoze going back-to-back (and belly to belly) from 9:30-11.
The Collector was supposed to get another slot somewhere, but I haven't heard where yet. Robb G., who was supposed to join us this year, may have to wait 12 months to play.
The good news is, Pride knows that there has been a bit of a f**k up here and has promised to work with us to make everything better next year.
The better news is that our stage will be in a licensed area, so get there early to get inside (they tell me that all ages can come inside, BTW). Besides, with Carole Pope playing from 7-8, it's worth getting there early!
PS-I would suggest that anyone with any constructive comments should email them to Pride after this year's event.
Also, I don't know what the set up is going to be like; last year there was a huge screen on the street so people could see what was happening on the stage. If that's the case this year, we'll be able to party in the street after all!
Anyway, it's not about us (the DJs); it's about the celebration. I hope that the Pride Executive understands how much the street party has meant to people regardless of their sexual orientation over the years.
=d=
