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By Josh Hall
 Well
it seems now more than ever the club movement is in full swing and
had pinned Boston as its latest Mecca to shine down apon. With the
exposure of the club life style in all facets of public media,
Boston, the once humble town is no longer turning its back on the
realm of electronica. In each of the cities quarters you can now find
quite a few bars or clubs pumping the once voodoo music. Even
Historical faniuel hall is no longer a stranger to the infectious
grooves and basslines of this Chicago born style of music. On any
given night you can go to the Rack, the exchange, dockside or even
the purple shamrock and be whisked away to an Ibiza in this once pub
filled acre of the city.
So, whom do we
have to thank for this? With Boston radio having more and more
mixshows and stations like 93.7, 98.5 and 101.7 we now get the pumpin
sounds of the nightlife in our cars and walkmans.
With radio taking
helm the crossover Status of this music is ever growing. Which are
both its pearl and its penance. The underground scene has always
embraced the club music, days far back as the world famous loft in
Boston had this music keeping people moving till the sun came
up. And in a city that goes to bed at 2am. The opportunity for this
music to rise was dampened by this curfew. So it seemed that it would
stay in the underworld. Now as we see house music on TV in
commercials, as background music in some of the last few years'
biggest movies we aren't able to turn our backs any longer.
As far as
corporate America is concerned this is nothing more than a passing
fad and they'll jump on the bandwagon to move their product. Many
companies now use the "DJ" image or even the club itself to
move their products without regrets or realism to the nightlife we've
come to embrace.
This usually
causes a movement to die or rise; there is no in between. Like the
big swing movement a few years back, everyone is jumping on the
bandwagon. Vinyl shops in Boston are on the climb so us DJ's can get
our hands on the hottest tracks available. The thing is with this
music is that new songs come out every single day, so staying on top
of the hottest tracks is a full time job for your hard working DJs.
And for the aspiring DJ it's not cheap to get things goin. For an
aspiring DJ; here's what a price breakdown might look like:
2 technics 1200
turntables 900.00
1 pioneer
mixer
1000.00
2 ortofon
needles
240.00
1 effect
processor
500.00
misc cords and
plugs 50.00
100
records
500.00 (imports go from 5.99 to 12.99 each)
3190.00
So, as you can see
it's a hefty investment. These guys mean business. But 99 percent of
your DJ's do it for the love. Contrary to popular belief they don't
get paid insane amounts of money. So this music generates a lot of
blood sweat and tears, every set is a ride. Venues like Avalon and
axis have made it great for the locals by importing some of the
worlds best DJ's. On any given night you can catch Jonathan Peters or
be fortunate enough to see Bad Boy Bill or Danny Tenaglia work the
venue into an absolute frenzy. Even Mtv's Dj Skiribble is a Boston
favorite hittin the palace north of Boston quite often. These guys
are phenomenal in there craft, they draw a huge crowd every time they
come to town. But don't be fooled!! Boston has some pretty
Outstanding stars you might just want to see for yourself. Most
places have a Resident, or permanent DJ, who might be there on a
nightly basis and have a huge following. Tim Ryan of Axis fame who
spins "spin cycle", live from axis every Friday night on
wfnx from 12 to 2am has quite a dedicated following and has broken
into the cyber world with the site Icast (www.icast.com). With fellow
Boston superstar and jet set DJ Brian
Roche ( www.brianrochemusic.com ) keep
the net pumpin with mixshows. Make no Mistake About it, Boston is a
well respected in the music community especially for its unknown club DJs.
What will Boston
do with its new found joy? Rumors continue to circulate about the
city extending the hours past 2 am and allowing bars and clubs to
stay open later. More and more new clubs are popping up with some of
the greatest sounds ever heard. Don't take a backseat on this ride,
the opportunity to witness this art is apon us, and the house nation
will rise. The Pubs and bars will always cater to our need to relax
and enjoy a Sam Adams with friends and family. But now that Boston is
on the fast track to stardom do take advantages of these great
venues, and what they have to offer. If it's the classy ambiance
of The Rack or the wildness of the Purple Shamrock, Boston has
everything you want in night life, and thanks to places like
backbaybeat.com we are no longer in the dark. The commoner is now on
the inside.
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you think? Post your comments on our Forums.
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