Collaborations - The Answer

January 28th, 2010

Looking back on my last post, I may have spoken to quick in regard to the state of Seattle Nightlife. We have a new phenomenon that is sweeping our city, collaborations, a breath of fresh air. Long have our ego’s gotten in the way, ego’s that have prevented us from working together. If it wasn’t out ego’s it was our greed, it was always a situation where we never had enough left to go around. Now though, we are marching to the beat of a different drum.

I’m not sure when the switch flipped, but, i’d like to think that it started with a combination of the local club owners devising better profit sharing strategies and local promoters recognizing how awful our nightlife scene is. Collaborations are nothing new though, SNL/Rareform/True/Xcite, Steady & Whisper, Pak Pros & Pin Point as well as others have been using this formula for years with quite a bit of success. It’s the rest of us that have been slow to catch on.

Examples of great collaborations have never been as evident as they are this weekend. A Friday collaboration with Lush Life/Steady & TPD came to fruition at the last minute when it came to light that TPD needed a place to call home this Friday. The fact that this happened 2 days before the event is miraculous, it shows that people in this industry are developing trust again, that people in this industry value their relationships, for this I am thankful. There are more than a few promoters out there that could learn a lesson from this, i won’t name names, but this goes out to those of you who think you are dope enough to burn every bridge in the industry and still get work, good luck.

Another good example of this is Saturday at Tia Lou’s. PURE productions has had their 4yr anniversary mega-party in the works for 6 weeks. They had planned on throwing it at the brand new club Republiq, unfortunately some last minute administrative issues made that an impossibility. Did PURE freak out and cancel the event, no they didn’t, they called upon every company in the city to push this event as hard as possible (for free i might add) and everyone came to their aid and put it down, as they should have.

If you don’t work in Seattle Nightlife, this might not mean much to you, but for those of us that do, this is a new era, we are on the way back up. These collaborations are bringing together people from all circles, which in turn creates larger circles which in turn increases our socialite population as a whole. So, for me, for all of us, attend these types of events, they are amazing, so much great energy, so many people to make sure your night is fantastic, trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Seattle Promoters can K!$$ My A$$

November 4th, 2009

If you’re a promoter and you’re reading this, this is for you. If you’ve never spent 20 hours on a weekend flyering cars all by yourself in the pouring rain, you have a lot to experience. If you’ve never driven from Olympia to Everett delivering flyers to malls, you have a lot to experience. If you’ve never spent 40hrs during a week working on a party, you have a lot to experience. The bottom line is this, this sh*t isn’t easy, and I’m sick and f*cking tired of everyone making it out to be. Creating a social network presence and exploiting the hell out of it is not how you promote events, as a matter of fact, that strategy is ruining our industry. Turning in a Guestlist of 500ppl only have 20 show is a joke, no one gives a sh*t. Quit treating your customers like numbers or names in a phone book, they aren’t. This industry shouldn’t be about making extra money on the side, it shouldn’t be about doing it to “look cool”, it should be about building business networks and eventually making real money. I see some of you posting MySpace bulletins, Facebook event invites & comments like they are going out of style, only to have 50ppl show up at your event. I see people whoring out the industry just so people will look at them in a more positive light, just so people will accept them. These type of people are destroying Seattle nightlife, they are undercutting legitimate promoters and making their jobs 10x more difficult to do.

Where are the real promoters at, where are the companies that can take an empty venue and put 700ppl in it on their first night. I’ll tell you where they are, they don’t exist anymore and unless someone steps up and starts regulating this sh*t, they never will. I sound angry don’t I, and I am, there are too many people, promoters, owners, bartenders, bar backs, cocktail waitresses, security guards and managers that have poured their lives into this cities Nightlife scene and all these new “promoters” are f*cking it all up. You want to know where this is coming from, I’ll tell you, it’s coming from me being absolutely sick and tired of people TALKING about what they can do. There are no weekly event promoters left, take that as a challenge from me, unless you’re a promoter with a niche market and limited options, you’re a joke, and there’s nothing you can say about it because you haven’t accomlished shit. Call me when you’ve produced 1,000 events, call me when you’ve had 2000+ people in a club, call me when you’ve worked with every major DJ talent in the country, call me when you develop some type of technology that revolutionizes your nightlife scene, call me when you successfully spin off 7 promotion companies, call me when you purchase and rejuvenate the nations largest photography company, call me when you open your own club, call me when you do ANYTHING that brings a positive vibe back to Seattle Nightlife, until then, f*ck off.

Seattle Nightlife Loses a Big Brother

July 30th, 2009

Seattle has taken a hit this week; not only have we lost a nightlife veteran, we’ve lost a friend, a companion, a father and a son. Granger Lam, as many of you know, passed away yesterday. Don’t ever let the circumstances of loss negate the worth of someone’s life.

Please, PLEASE don’t let the medium of social networking sites be the forum of discussion for gossip, he said-she said absurdities and the grapevine.

During this time of loss and mourning, we’d like to remind you that though he may not be here anymore, his presence and spirit will live on with us forever.

Rest in peace, Granger Lam.

Vela Lounge.. By way of pizza parlor?

July 15th, 2009

Seattle’s got a new hot spot, or so we’ve heard? Vela launched their grand opening last week and word on the street is that the former pizza parlor isn’t close to being a bona fide nightclub, even with Seattle’s sub par standards.

The approximate 350 capacity venue offers the feel of high school hallways with cheap linoleum, obnoxious fluorescent lighting and their outdoor patio/”cabana” area (which was supposed to be the icing on the cake) produces an atmosphere one would imagine similar to that of a garish prison yard, confined by concrete walls.

Though Vela isn’t quite finished and they appear to have much more up their sleeve, it’s still exactly what Seattle needs - new venues. We’re crossing our fingers they’ll come out of left field and give us a little something more.

From Kid Prodigy to 5x World Champ to Seattle, July 18th.

July 8th, 2009

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Where to begin when you’re trying to summarize all the important bullshit and highlights of the career of a flourishing prodigy? Oy. We’ll start here: Montreal, 1995. Alain “A-Trak” Macklovitch, age 13, invests his inherent Bar Mitzvah money in a set of turntables and a mixer and two years later effortlessly takes the title of 1997 DMC World Champion.. at age 15. Tone set? Okay.

Since then, he’s taken home 5 world turntablism championship titles (amongst many others); toured the globe with the likes of Q-Bert, Craze and Kanye West; founded 2007’s “most buzzworthy label,” Fool’s Gold whose mission is “dedicated to bringing you the crème de la crop in club music.”

This kid pretty much emerged from the depths of .. well, Montreal, and kind of took over the world of turntablism with so much ease, you’d think a caveman could do it.

ANYWAY, July 18th, A-Trak along with Treasure Fingers (Fool’s Gold, Evol Intent) and Theophilus London will be taking over Chop Suey (1325 E Madison, Seattle) for their 10,000 LB Hamburger Tour, with local acts, The Dowlz and OK Dave.

So, the moral of this story is: This is going to be a dope show with amazing talent and you should probably check them out.

Yep.

Seattle’s Got Dancehall?

July 6th, 2009

There seems to be a pretty steady buzz if you’ve got your ear to the street in the local music scene around here. The dancehall and reggae that seeming died off in the last five years or so is rearing it’s pretty little head back around the corner - and growing with stark force.

Listen close enough and you’re sure to hear the euphonious sounds of the up and coming productions company, Dynasty. Combining the intrinsic talents of Dan Grossman and Spencer Green, they’re quickly revamping the Reggae scene here in the shadow of the Space Needle. Whether they’re producing tracks for world renown artists like Sizzla and Perfect to hosting live showcases featuring local artists such as Bobby Hustle, Dway and Papa Black Davinci, Dynasty is without a doubt creating a name for themselves, both locally and internationally in the Reggae/Dancehall world.

In 2009, Dynasty has partnered up with Imperial VIP to host and produce a few hip hop/reggae showcases, featuring the up and coming squad of local artists, to which seem to have been moderately successful. Their next show is set to go down Wednesday, August 12th @ Nectar Lounge in Fremont, with DJ Cide and Dynasty’s artists on the roster.

For more info and discounted tickets visit www.imperialvip.com - keep your auditory senses open and let us know what you think; we’re eager to see what’s in store for the revival of Seattle’s live Dancehall scene.

Pop Culture Took a Hit 10 Years Ago.

July 1st, 2009

The King of Pop is dead. Michael Jackson, without a doubt, the biggest and most influential iconic figure in 20th century pop culture, has died.

50 years, 13 Grammy Awards, two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and over 800 MILLION records sold worldwide - There’s no denying MJ’s unparalleled talent and unsurpassed influence on our generation.

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“Michael Jackson’s financial woes were well documented: Numerous lawsuits, loss of control of his Neverland and reports that he was hundreds of millions of dollars in debt all point to a complex money mess that trailed the King of Pop as vigilantly as his most ardent fans.”

- Lisa Respers France, CNN News.

In no way is this an attempt to negate the accomplishments or influence of our generations most eminent musical figure but more so a brief rant about how I feel someone who I once held in such high regard blatantly capitalized on his fans loyalty and trust. When did exploitation become socially (or fanatically) acceptable?

Michael Jackson had two core followings: people who appreciate talent and people who like Michael Jackson. The latter of the two, a breed in their own right. These will be the estimated one million people or “fans” in attendance to the public viewing and funeral this Friday, July 3rd, at his beloved Neverland Ranch north of Santa Barbara, CA.

Fanatics or lunatics, hmm?

But, such is life.. And such is death. The way I see it, we’ve already been left the legacy; there was nothing more than one last world tour and countless remixed/re-released hits coming our way, regardless.

Michael Stone said it best,

“Michael Jackson was never trying to impress anyone, only competing with himself, simply because, there was no competition. Regardless of what you say or think about him, you can’t take that away from him. That lasts forever.”

ANYWAY, whether you agree with me or not, there’s still no denying the eminent impact Michael Jackson left on our youth, our nation and the world of music. That is what it comes down to and that is what is relevant. His impact is legendary and we will see it manifested in our culture for generations to come. I guess when it comes down to it, that is what it’s all about.

/end directionless rant.

Seattle, cloning people?

June 21st, 2009

Seattle may be known for it’s coffee drinkers, techies and 90’s grunge bands but there’s no denying Seattle natives aren’t exactly what the rest of the country would call, fashion forward. What people here don’t seem to grasp is that fashion isn’t about how much money you do or do not spend on the clothes you present yourself in, it encompasses so much more; glamour, beauty, style. It’s a culture that manifests a collective art of our peoples’ current expression.

My gripe here is the boys and girls that think their Affliction tees, $300 designer jeans and token Louis purse warrant some sort of fashionisto/fahionista recognition. Don’t get it twisted, your cookie cutter image is not only easily replicable, it’s more than likely 3 seasons old.

C’mon Seattle, you can do better than that.

Memorial Day Weekend Bash - SWAGGED OUT.

May 21st, 2009

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There’s only one place to be if you’re in town this Memorial Sunday and that’s Venom - TPD & Pak Pros bring you the swagfest of all swagfests this holiday Sunday !

It’s a TPD & DList Cinco De Mayo w/ Pittsburgh Slim

May 4th, 2009

COMMENT WITH NAMES FOR FREE LIST ALL NIGHT!

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TPD & DList Magazine Present: The biggest Cinco De Mayo party in Seattle, May 5th @ Venom with a LIVE performance by Pittsburgh Slim! Sponsored by Don Julio & Grand Marnier, this is sure to be one hell of an event!


If you all remember our last Tuesday night holiday party at Venom in 2006, you know what is going to go down. For all of you who don’t let us refresh your memory…

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Party down.