A few days ago Michael Serafini, a resident of Boom Boom Room & proprietor of Gramaphone Records in Chicago, posted a self proclaimed “rant” to Facebook. The author of ‘While My Tutrntables Gently Weep” took this and ran with it in an amazingly long blog post came up with this… While I don’t agree with everything he says 100%, WMTGW is on point with pretty much everything, especially the CLUBS section of the “rant” (below) and most of it describes Sacramento club’s to a T!

Here’s the link to his post and I’ve included the CLUBS portion here…

http://www.wmtgw.com/2011-state-of-the-dj-address/

CLUBS
The result of these “advances” means the average club going audience has gotten used to mediocre DJs & Performances that don’t truly move them; both their body and their soul. So when music directors, general managers, owners, etc. line-up entertainment for their club, especially in the current economic situation, they go for the lowest common denominator. “Who can give me the most bang for my buck right now?” It is about immediacy of return, not about building a club that will reap dividends over time. However, this is just shortsightedness on the part of management as a club with a defined musical direction and a cohesive stable of 2-3 resident DJs versed in diversity and dance floor manipulation will do far better in the long run than a club that does something completely different every night and tries to follow every fad. This lack of know-how and faith combined with laziness and the ever present quest for the easy buck is why management now puts the full responsibilities on the entertainers (DJs & Event Producers) to promote and sell the event and then only offer what is made as a cover charge as compensation. It’s a no-lose situation for the venue because they have nothing invested, they keep the highly profitable bar sales and they receive tons of free advertising for the venue through the various “entertainers” they use to fill their clubs. However, what these people fail to see is that this system waters down the identity, and in turn, integrity of their establishment and does not foster an environment of partnership between the venue and the talent. For example look at the way Robert Williams supported Frankie Knuckles at The Warehouse and then later Ron Hardy at The Music Box. When Frankie Knuckles first began playing his New York styled disco sets at The Warehouse in Chicago (the venue where ‘House Music’ got its name) it was slow and Frankie was not well received, it has been described as luke-warm at best. However, given the unwavering support of owner Robert Williams based on his belief in the music and Frankie, Chicago became the birthplace of House Music. Imagine for a moment if after the first couple of slow nights Williams had cut Frankie and tried to get something more financially lucrative and successful? The same can also be said of Michael Brody and Larry Levan’s partnership which began at Reade Street and led to the legendary Paradise Garage, or Tony Wilson and Rob Gretton’s support of Mike Pickering and the Acid House sound at The Hacienda.

In short clubs truly are no longer clubs, but venues. They are a place for DJs and Event Producers to hold events, not a place for people to get together and unify over a common cause (which in this case is music and nightlife culture). This, combined with lackluster talent, has driven down the club-goer’s desire to attend events, especially when they have to pay a cover. The word that best describes the average American club goer is apathetic. It doesn’t matter to them who’s playing or what’s happening because they simply can’t tell the difference anymore. They are solely there to be seen and get laid. Times were a lot better when it was dance your ass off to amazing music, then be seen and then get laid. To all you club goers out there, times are hard and we’re all trying to save a buck, however that DJ is working hard for your $5, $10 or whatever cover may be, so stop asking to be on the guest list and stop complaining about cover charges. If you don’t have the money, don’t go out and if you just don’t like the cover complain to the venue’s management that they don’t compensate their Entertainment adequately in order to keep the cost down for their clientele.