Adventures in Promoting

7-8 years ago, I found myself not concerned with the behind the scenes aspect of all night events ("rave" is a poison term). I would go to a ticket outlet, pick up a ticket for myself and a few friends, and anxiously await for the date of the party to roll around the corner. It was fantastic with it's simplicity. My only real worry was making sure we got there early enough to avoid a massive line up. Because dammit, it can be cold outside in Edmonton, and it's not uncommon at any given event to wait for up to 2 hours if you arrive there late. These parties were a dime a dozen; promoters were plentyful, venue owners eager to make a little extra money by having random kids dance all night at their venue. Even the DJs seemed to be a tightly knit group of people all anxious for the next chance to entertain the teeming masses.

Year by year things were changing, however. Media attention was being attracted. Mistakes of few promoters were being amplified. (Referring to 'Ascension'. And rightfully so). Soon enough, there was so much Red Tape surrounding the idea of having an afterhours event, it started to become too risky, or too expensive to throw a successful party the way people were used to doing it. Venues were becoming scarse, and By-laws were introduced. The city (more so the mayor at the time) was throwing a ton of time and effort into crippling the scene.

The first set of these by-laws essentially made it nearly impossible to hold an event. The dance scene was on hiatus. Even the afterhours clubs were feeling the grip tighten. Peaceful protests were organized ('Right to Dance' rally). Soon enough, these by-laws were amended to what City Officials believed would ensure a greater amount of safety for the patrons of these raves.

Not a single party was thrown for over 2 years.

In retrospect.. I almost got involved in the promoting game by a total fluke. I mean, who hasn't said to themselves "It would be cool to throw a party like this". Morbid curiosity led me to downloading a full list of the City if Edmonton bylaws. Followed by a few phone calls, just to see what was involved, no real intention of throwing a party. Then a chance meet with an already established promoter from another city got the wheels in my head turning. One year after this moment, was 2004's "Metropolis" by Boodang Music Canada.

I had no idea of the door I was opening.

Since that time, Boodang has pulled the scene up by the bootstraps. Legitimately. Everything as been by-law compliant. We staff paramedics at all events, we staff off-duty police officers at all events. We supply free drinking water at all our events, so on and so forth. We have to appease Capital Health, Fire Marshall's, Edmonton Police Services. And we have.

As such, over the last year or so, the scene has had a resurgence. I see flyers on my car for other events. I frequent forums and find anxious people plugging their events. It brings a smile to my face. But on the other hand, it makes me a bit leery, just because of what I've seen happen before. And because of the scare I had with the city on Thursday.

Lucky 2007 was SO very close to being canned due to a clerical error. Some lost paperwork actually. I call the Supervisor of Licencing for the City on Thursday at 10am, just inquiring as to the final bill for their referral services as required by the bylaw. He returns my call promptly, albeit, very unsettled, as this is the first he's heard of any rave for upcoming Saturday. Stress ensued.

After the initial "holyfuckingshitwhatdowedonow?!", he said he was going to get a jump on this, however, the only major question mark would be as to if Edmonton Police Services would be able to be staffed at this event. At this point, I got him to level with me and give me the worst case scenario:

"You won't be able to have your party, and if you did, there would be repurcussions." And that was more or less the end of the conversation.

So now I have a rush of thoughts ranging from angry ticket holders, all the way over to the possibility of being fined and/or detained. Doesn't sound like a very Lucky weekend to me! Sweating bullets for several hours was now the name of the game. Including calls to business partners, as well as my girlfriend to just calm me down. I re-faxed all the paperwork to the City that they had lost.

My phone rings: "I have good news and I have bad news.. the good news is, we got your fax.. the bad news is, you can't have your party..." This was followed by complete silence, and a simple.. "What??". Thankfully, he was joking. April Fools is still a few weeks away, but damn, he got me good.

We then discussed a little more about how this situation can be avoided in the future. He said it would have been very easy for him to tell me that I was on my own, and that was that. But, he didn't want to do that, because of the work we've done with them in the past. We've met them eye-level on everything they've required, and have had nothing but good feedback. "If this was any other promoter, you would have been out of luck Damon".

This segues into my point. I used to think that the Bylaws were a way for the municipal government to get their share of the pie when it came to events they had no control over. I thought the fees were silly, and the hoops we were going through we needless. After doing over 8 events in Edmonton, I can see that this is most definitely not the case. These are actually safeguards that are in place to make people feel, and actually be safe at our parties. So they can enjoy the music, and the DJs they paid to see.

As such, I heed other promoters to take the time to educate themselves regarding the organization of events. It's more involved than paying a deposit on a hall, renting some sound, and getting your friends to DJ. It's taxing on your personal life, it's stressful, it's hard work, and there's an entire process involved that I don't think people know actually exists. If you open the door to your event without a valid "After Hours Dance Event" business licence, you're taking that responsibility on yourself. And you run the chance of reaping what you sew.

I, more than anyone want, to see the scene flourish once again, and that's the reason why I moved forward with it. I'd just hate to see a needless rave related incident send something so many people love into a tailspin again.

I'm done with my soapbox for now. See you all at the next event. :)

---Dr Jekyll (Damon)