Why DJ Quality Control Does Not Exist In The Rave Scene

Prior to the 1980s there was no such thing as a world famous club DJ. There were famous radio DJs who had shows broadcast across the nation, but club DJs didn't enjoy such fame. There was no rock-star lifestyle. Club DJs got paid very little and were given very little respect. They were treated like any other employee and expected to work long hours. Spinning for long hours made these DJs realize the importance of mixing it up and keeping the audience interested. If the DJ couldn't keep the audience interested, they were fired and replaced with someone who could. To make matters more difficult, they also had to compete with DJs at other local clubs.

These factors created an early form of quality control. The lack of fame and money meant only truly passionate individuals became DJs. The need to keep audiences interested for long hours, the threat of being fired, and competition with other local DJs raised the standard for club DJs. The 1970s introduced the use of slip cueing and later beatmatching to mix tunes. Attention went from playing individual tunes to crafting a set. DJs learned how to tell stories with their music. Turntablism further pushed the skills of DJs. It was during this time that DJing really became an art form. The standard for being a club DJ had been raised even higher. By the 1980s these DJs would find themselves traveling the globe and becoming super stars.

It didn't take long for promoters to realize that if people were willing to pay top dollar and travel great distances to see one DJ, then they would be more inclined with multiple DJs. To achieve this goal, DJ set times had to be reduced. Instead of one DJ spinning for ten hours, there would now be two DJs spinning for five hours, or three DJs each spinning for over three hours. While this strategy worked, it also hurt the art of DJing. DJs had less time to develop a connection with their audience, less time to be creative, and were less inclined to take risks. But promoters cared about the success of their events, not the art of DJing.

Clubs vs Raves

The club scene would eventually give birth to the rave scene. Raves differ from clubs when it comes to the attitude towards money. Raves are thrown with the purpose of creating a singular experience. Rave promoters desire to generate a profit to continue to throw more events, but many are content to just break even. Some will even accept a loss of revenue should the event create a memorable experience. Many ravers tend to believe that promoters are either in it for the music or the money, and if a promoter seeks a profit then it shows where their allegiance lies.

By contrast, clubs must generate a profit in order to stay in business. This means that money is taken more seriously. Since a DJ can make or break a club, the DJs are also taken more seriously.

Contrary to popular belief, raves are not about the music. Raves are parties with the purpose of having a good time. While the main focus may be the music, raves are also about dancing, socializing, dressing up, consuming substances, and soaking up the atmosphere. You don't need awesome DJs to have a good time. Most ravers can have a blast just socializing with their friends. My experience is that most ravers put their friends before the music. I'm sorry to say this, but we don't take DJing as seriously as we should.

Why We Rave

The Scene at its Peak

I entered the scene in the late 90s. Though I regret not being able to have joined sooner, I am fortunate to have caught it at its peak. When I entered, the average DJ set time was 2 hours. The average event lasted from 10 PM to 6 AM and offered two to three rooms. This meant the average event hosted 8 to 12 DJs.

I currently reside in central Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. are all within 2 hours of where I live, and New York is a little over 3 hours away. Some of my friends focused on New York, and attended such clubs as Twilo, Limelight, and the Tunnel. Others focused on Philly, but most of us (including myself) focused on the D.C./Baltimore scene. Additionally, we had our own local club called New Energy located in York, Pennsylvania. It was possible to rave at Fever in Baltimore on Thursday night, attend an after party the next morning, take a nap, then travel to Buzz in D.C. on Friday night, attend another after party, take a nap, then travel to New Energy on Saturday night, and attend another after party the next morning. If Buzz in D.C. was overpacked, you could also try the Edge or Tracks which were both located a block away. Aside from these regular club offerings there were countless raves going on. Leaving these events would result in my window plastered with flyers from as far north as Massachusetts and Connecticut to Virginia in the south.

The UK magazines that I was reading were also remarking on how the scene was bigger and better than ever with no sign of stopping. Mega clubs such as Cream and Gatecrasher ruled supreme during this era. It was an awesome time to be a raver.

The Attack on the Scene

The popularity of the scene did not go unnoticed. The excessive drug use brought negative attention from both the government and the media. Undercover reports exposed the drug use to the public and demonized the scene. In D.C., Fox news ran a story about Buzz that resulted in the club being shut down for a year. It's still talked about to this day, and the report can be found on YouTube. Ecstasy use was declared an epidemic, and all the networks, even MTV, did specials full of deceptive propaganda. Only Peter Jenning's report, "Ecstasy Rising", covered the topic fairly.

Raves got raided and clubs got shut down. If the government couldn't shut down a club for drug use, they would find safety violations to shut them down. Venues stopped hosting rave nights and even the term rave became taboo. Promoters found it increasingly difficult to find host venues. Lawmakers then drafted the Rave Act which held promoters responsible for drug use found at their events. Promoters were basically guilty until proven innocent. Many doubted the law could pass by itself, so the sneaky bastards in Congress appended it to the Amber Alert Bill. Soon almost all the parties disappeared.

Multiple sting operations lead to many drug dealers being arrested, which resulted in a decline of drug use at raves. Suddenly ravers weren't connecting with one another as they had before, the DJs didn't sound as good, and many ravers had difficulty staying up until 6 AM. The raves just didn't seem as much fun as they used to be. Many of the ravers felt it was time to move on. Some focused on their career, some decided to start a family, some moved on to other hobbies, and some did all of the above. The drop in attendance lead to promoters losing money on their events. It would take them months to save up enough to throw another event. I went from raving every weekend to just a few parties a year. It was a horrible time to be a raver.

Bars vs Raves

Despite the decline in attendance, there were many still passionate about the scene. While every scene has its day, we weren't willing to let it go. Eventually promoters convinced local bars to host EDM nights.

Listening to electronic music at a small local bar was quite a different experience. Many of the venues had small dance floors, and very few had any intelligent lighting. They offered one room of music, and were only open until 2 AM. This meant that only two DJs could be booked with two hour set times. The drugs of choice at raves were ecstasy,LSD, and special K, but at bars it was alcohol. The rave drugs allow for an emotional connection among ravers, and allow ravers to get lost in the music. Those who didn't dance could sit down in a dark corner and get lost in the music. Alcohol doesn't offer the same experience, and there were no dark corners in these small bars. The more emotional styles of music, such as trance and progressive, just weren't as effective being played in a small bar. While clubbing and raving have an adventure quality to them, there was little adventure to be had at bars.

The bars were also 21 and up, and this did much to alienate a large percentage of ravers. The younger crowd tend to be more excited than the older crowd, and with less responsibilities can contribute more to the scene. By alienating this demographic, both the energy and attendance suffered at these weekly outings.

We had been spoiled by the rave scene. We were used to raving until 6 AM and listening to 8 to 12 DJs. Seeing only 2 DJs spin until 2 AM just didn't seem as appealing, and we couldn't justify driving two or more hours to these events. While the all night raves attracted ravers within a 2 hour drive, the bar nights only appealed to the local ravers and there weren't that many of them. Promoters had to contend with the fact that many ravers had moved on to other things, and only local ravers over 21 would attend their events. Instead of pulling a crowd of 300, they would be lucky to pull a crowd of 40.

Electronic music isn't popular in America, and most venues lost money hosting EDM nights. It wouldn't take long before they told the promoters to take a hike. I watched countless weekly events fail after only a few attempts.

The bar scene offered us a place to congregate with our friends and listen to the music we loved, but it was no replacement for the rave scene. Many weekly events failed, others struggled with attendance, and promoters still lost money on the few raves that were thrown. A new approach was needed. The strategy that the promoters finally settled upon would not only revitalize the scene, but would also hurt the art of DJing. In my next article I will discuss what this strategy is, the pros and cons of this strategy, and how promoters have exploited it at the expense of the DJs.

Josiah Cochran
December 3rd, 2012