straight-edge rave scene anyone?

[Guest HangTheDJ]

ok.........i didn't think i need to break it down for you people but apparently i do...we will be BORROWING IDEAS FROM straight-edge culture.

about violence...DUH, their music is angry. what i mean by "straight-edge" is "drug-free," but apparently people don't like the word straight-edge, so i won't use it, even thought that's essentially what it is. and besides, the POINT of straight-edge punk culture is not FIGHTING, it's ABSTAINING FROM ANY ACTIVITY WHICH CAUSES HARM TO YOURSELF OR ANYONE ELSE, with the exception of hardliners, who seek justice where they believe retaliation is needed.

and about my idea. it's not only just "save the poor little dying raves" it's REVIVE ELECTRONIC MUSIC CULTURE! if you are happy with your scene where you are, and you don't care about other places, that's fine, you're entitled to your opinion, but i'm rounding up people who do, in areas that are essentially on life-support.

law enforcement has pretty much declared a victory and people are losing their interest as a result of this police victory which has trampled on our rights. yes, RAVES ARE THE MOST AT RISK IN SOME AREAS, but so is the rest of electronic music culture IN SOME CITIES.

think of this more as an experiment in politics and human nature. if rave culture is about drugs, then my goal is to separate those who care about the music from those who don't, and start a separate scene which has nothing to do with drugs. THE POINT OF MY PARTIES WILL BE TO MAKE A STATEMENT!!!!!

anyone who is apathetic, and feels like they can't or don't care to change things that are fucked up...guess what? i can, and want to, and i will. and if i let people who are opposing my idea bother me, then my idea would definitely end up being unsuccessful. in fact, you all are helping me sharpen my ideas, and my message, and you all are giving me more encouragement and motivation, so in all honesty, i thank you.

and the last thing i have to say for whoever is opposed to this idea is that i have changed my idea for where the profits should go...instead of donating them to anti-drug organizations, i will help with world issues like the horrific tragedy in the sudan, and here in the states, i will help out music education.

[Guest endymion]

dude your focus is all wrong, all wrong. you're trying to take the focus off the drugs, but, idiot, what you're doing is KEEPING the focus on the drugs.

This is totally true, I hadn't thought of it that way. It's like holding a reggae festival for a bunch of reformed pot smokers. Bad idea.

[Guest cutchemist]

dude your focus is all wrong, all wrong. you're trying to take the focus off the drugs, but, idiot, what you're doing is KEEPING the focus on the drugs. start promoting events for the talent, the music, not the "lack of drugs" at the event. you, like many of your predecesors, are completely misguided, and you're doing more harm than good. just stop talking about it.

learn the game, what's going on right now. then figure out what's coming next. that's the only way you're going to be successful. good luck to you, but you're going to have to throw out your (well-meaning) philosphy and start from scratch.

yo hangthedj

....ur a smart honest kid

listen to Aptheo....alright

even though some of us may not be the nicest they are right...but u weren't around in the early 90's to see it....do some research yo.....

don't get me wrong i miss the days....i wish i could re-make memroies but i can't...either can u

[Guest HangTheDJ]

Remember what happened when they tried to revive woodstock? Not saying thats what would happen here but pointing out that things dont always go as planned.

there was no band at woodstock singing a song called "break stuff." the fan base in '69 was way different. electronic music hasn't become violent, and besides, there was no message about woodstock '94 or '99. there was a message in '69.

[AndrewChibale]

people .. "joke" means "joke"

[Guest endymion]

anyone who is apathetic, and feels like they can't or don't care to change things that are fucked up...guess what? i can, and want to, and i will.

Congratulations for your enthusiasm, but look:

Raves were the thing that were "fucked up" about electronic music and its culture. I was one of the people who saw that first-hand and I was one of the people who changed things that were "fucked up" by working with others to move people out of the forests and into established legal night clubs where they are safer. You are pushing in the wrong direction and if you're successful then you will end up getting people hurt.

I say "if" you're successful because you have to admit your focus group results here among potential attendees are just not turning out well at all.

[Guest pod]

Good god, we're a focus group!

He better pay us.

[Guest HangTheDJ]

don't get me wrong, i'm not getting worked up. i'm getting fired up about this. and i talked to a very well known dj who is teaching at my school (he is taking a break, for all of you thinking "if he's so well known, why is he teaching?"), who is going to help me out.

[Guest HangTheDJ]

Good god, we're a focus group!

He better pay us.

lol, exactly. which is why i'm so glad that i'm hearing all of this. trust me, if any of you really is against the idea, the best thing to do is keep quiet. remember that any publicity is good publicity. : )

[Guest endymion]

You need to pause for a moment and think really hard about whether you are helping or hurting electronic music by perpetuating the association between raver drug freaks and electronic music fans.

[Guest HangTheDJ]

You need to pause for a moment and think really hard about whether you are helping or hurting electronic music by perpetuating the association between raver drug freaks and electronic music fans.

the campaigns for anti-drug laws couldn't possibly ONLY affect rave culture. they affect all live music.

[Guest HangTheDJ]

This is totally true, I hadn't thought of it that way. It's like holding a reggae festival for a bunch of reformed pot smokers. Bad idea.

who has ever died or od'ed from pot smoke? maybe it's happened once or twice in world history, i don't know. but it's hard to argue that it's dangerous. reggae comes from jamaica anyway, and ganja is part of the rastafari religious culture.

[ryan2772]

look, man, i was part of an organization that used to try to accomplish exactly what you're saying while i was in college. it was a valiant effort, many interested people, but the bottom line is you mention the word drug, as in anti-drug, this is how people see it: "DRUGi'm trying to DRUGpromote an anti-DRUG DRUGparty." it doesn't work. you go to a police organization with your idea, this is EXACTLY how they see it. like i said before, figure out what is working well in the industry now, and improve on that. figure out what's next.

[Guest HangTheDJ]

look, man, i was part of an organization that used to try to accomplish exactly what you're saying while i was in college. it was a valiant effort, many interested people, but the bottom line is you mention the word drug, as in anti-drug, this is how people see it: "DRUGi'm trying to DRUGpromote an anti-DRUG DRUGparty." it doesn't work. you go to a police organization with your idea, this is EXACTLY how they see it. like i said before, figure out what is working well in the industry now, and improve on that. figure out what's next.

i will be very up-front about the fact that i don't condemn drug use, i am not crusading against drugs, and this is not to push an anti-drug message. i will make it clear that i will use non-drug-use, just as gandhi used non-violence to overthrow the violent british empire in india. people with brains are the ones i'm trying to get to, they can get the message.

[Guest pod]

Hey, don't slag on the English around here!

[ryan2772]

like i said, i tried this for a couple of years. we even did road-side cleanups. sure you want to get to the folks with brains, but NEWSFLASH most americans don't have brains.

[Guest endymion]

the campaigns for anti-drug laws couldn't possibly ONLY affect rave culture. they affect all live music.

The RAVE Act is overbroad and over-restrictive primarily because irresponsible ravers freaked out lawmakers. Ravers hurt electronic music. If not for ravers there would be no "RAVE Act", get it? It isn't the "CRUSH LIVE MUSIC EVENTS Act", it's the "RAVE Act". The intent was to stop raves, the lawmakers got overenthusiastic like you're doing and gave us a law that is overly restrictive. We have video tapes of spaced-out ravers doing whippets from carnival balloons in forest clearings and then passing out on camera to thank for that.

In the UK people also enhance their music listening with drug use. In night clubs. Far fewer 14-year-olds dying face down in the woods, fewer freaked-out lawmakers, more dynamic electronic music culture that society as a whole embraces and celebrates.

Wrap your head around this one, since you are so enthusiastic about "saving" Central Florida electronic music culture: ravers killed Florida breaks. If it hadn't been for a bunch of irresponsible drug freaks overdosing in the woods all over Florida, the world would now know Florida breaks as a dominant electronic music style. Bunch of ravers were more interested in drinking GHB and running around in the woods, law enforcement all over Florida was forced to crack down. Our area was forced to oppress rather than celebrate, it's directly the fault of the irresponsible drug users, and now Florida breaks are basically dead. Sorry if I'm insulting any Florida breaks fans but Dutch trance and UK house are dominant styles now partly because they are celebrated in their home areas, not persecuted. The ravers are the reason for the persecution.

You are not doing anybody any favors by trying revive something that will draw increased negative attention to all electronic music events in Florida, at a time when things are looking relatively positive for the long-term survival of some form of electronic music culture in Florida.

[Guest HangTheDJ]

by the way everybody, if i'm coming across as an arrogant fool who is stubbornly gonna go on no matter what, here's the deal...

i will take EVERY good argument for and against, and weight them out. i'm not gonna be unilateral about this.

and for anyone who would hate for my idea to go on...have no fear, because this is going to take a long time. i have to rally support, THEN i have to raise money. and it will only work if i find a large number of people for it. i can't do this by myself.

[Guest HangTheDJ]

Hey, don't slag on the English around here!

slag or not, the english were cruel to the people of india earlier last century ; )

[Guest endymion]

You don't have the option of being unilateral about this. If you attempt to act unilaterally then you're going to find yourself listening to a boom box in the middle of the woods all by yourself with nobody around to pass you a can of Deep Woods Off.

We have given you a bunch of feedback, now pay up: were you under the impression that you would get a positive reception with this idea partly because of the word "Junkie" in our name?

[Guest HangTheDJ]

you all are making good points. i am going to interview doctors, lawyers, policemen, dea agents, and i will be bringing all YOUR good points about my ideas to them too.

[Guest HangTheDJ]

You don't have the option of being unilateral about this. If you attempt to act unilaterally then you're going to find yourself listening to a boom box in the middle of the woods all by yourself with nobody around to pass you a can of Deep Woods Off.

We have given you a bunch of feedback, now pay up: were you under the impression that you would get a positive reception with this idea partly because of the word "Junkie" in our name?

absolutely not. i was looking for online forums about electonic music. do you think that my idea is a conspiracy against rave culture because of my screen name? : )

[Guest endymion]

Nope, just curious. Thanks. I get edgy sometimes about the name with the RAVE Act floating around. It wasn't intended as a drug reference but so many people who I meet assume that it was.

[Guest HangTheDJ]

the word "Junkie"

this never occurred to me, in all honesty

[ryan2772]

by the way everybody, if i'm coming across as an arrogant fool who is stubbornly gonna go on no matter what, here's the deal...

i will take EVERY good argument for and against, and weight them out. i'm not gonna be unilateral about this.

and for anyone who would hate for my idea to go on...have no fear, because this is going to take a long time. i have to rally support, THEN i have to raise money. and it will only work if i find a large number of people for it. i can't do this by myself.

i think that we can all appreciate your effort and enthusiasm. the point is that that era came and went. you have to move on, focus your energy on something else, maybe another social issue that really needs some attention. there's plenty right here in florida that needs help.