VURBan Legends

Not ecstatic about CFRN

Publication title: Vue Weekly
Page: 28
Publication date: November 4, 1999
Document type: Opinion
Article author: Dave Johnston
Transcribed by: MW


Many partiers were dismayed at Therapy last Saturday, October 30, when they were informed that the much-touted headliner, Quivver, was nowhere to be found. Needless to say. promoter Nicky Delgado wasn't amused. "He said he missed his flight," he explained. "I won't book him again. If somebody is a no-show like this, it makes the party look bad, and Nexus too."

Delgado also found the vibe to be less than pleasant, regardless of the headliner's absence. "There weren't a lot of familiar faces," he sighed.

The unstable atmosphere wasn't helped by a sequence of unfortunate events that took place throughout the evening. First, the door girl was hit by a blast of pepper spray from an unknown assailant. Later, an unidentified male was found in the throes of a grand mal seizure—which, according to club and event security spokesperson Samson Chui, was caused by a physical ailment, not a drug overdose.

Regardless, the situation has once again raised the alarm among members of the party scene to play it safe. A recent story that aired on CFRN-TV painted a damning portrait of the underground scene, going so far as to quote an unidentified source who claimed during a voice-over that at any party, "at least 90 per cent of the place is on ecstasy."

Despite A-Channel's subsequent and more objective investigation into the rave scene, which presented a wider array of viewpoints on the issue, there appears to be a severe problem with the media's view of our growing underground. CFRN's examination of club culture focused on the darker side of the drug situation, interviewing individuals who were clearly off their heads and unaware of what was going on. Several postings on local Internet message boards indicate that CFRN personnel deliberately sought out individuals who were in an extreme condition. Many people apparently approached the crew asking to be included in the report, and were promptly informed that their recording equipment was "running low on batteries.”

Reg Thomas, CFRN's news director, denies that his crew on assignment were misleading potential interviewees. "We moved on and tried to avoid people who continued to come after us and were clearly out of it," he replied. "We were trying to Interview all kinds of people." On air, CFRN chose to include only those who were obviously in an altered state.

The story also featured an interview with Canada's only medical expert on MDMA, a.k.a. ecstasy, who claimed that the drug would lead to such things as "multi-organ failure." While the expert did point out that raves provide a risky environment for the consumption for drugs like ecstasy, no mention was made of how much would have to be consumed to result in death. The report also failed to make a direct correlation between the 100 deaths a year the expert attributed to ecstasy and the millions of pills consumed every week globally. It seems like splitting hairs, but com-pared to how many people die per month from alcohol abuse, the evidence of ecstasy's supposed deadliness is fairly weak.

This isn't the first time CFRN has attempted to sensationalize rave culture. A story that aired last year was filmed at a party held at the now-defunct Kaos club in West Edmonton Mall, and included footage of a violent altercation between two groups of youths. Based on this isolated incident, the report made the conclusion that fights were a normal part of raves.

"The story that we've done is not an unusual phenomenon," explained Thomas of the station's latest foray. "The fact is that drugs are widely used under these circumstances."

Thomas is correct, but it's clear to those who participate in the scene that parties are about much more than drugs. Drugs may be a visible part of the culture, but they are also extremely dangerous and illegal. No one should have to feel that an unregulated substance like ecstasy is an essential component of clubbing.

What CFRN and many other mainstream media outlets fail to note is that people are motivated to go out every weekend by other factors besides the prospect of ingesting pharmaceuticals. The true drugs of the underground are the music and the community. The fear-mongering, reactionary tactics in mainstream media's coverage of things like club culture (and its cousin, hip hop) do little to help viewers understand what is actually going on. As a result, these reports ultimately fail their audience. They only see the drugs, but they can't hear the music.


Savage beats

Lady Buggin' • New City Compound • Sat, Nov 6

Nexus Tribe, undaunted by their disappointing Shiver party, will carry on with their next guest artist, U.K. spin doctor Anne Savage. The deep house DJ will share the stage with Ottawa's Max Graham, Calgary's DJ Emotion and a host of local talent.

Savage established her reputation in Bolzano, Italy at the age of 19 and progressed rapidly through the ranks of the DJ community. A gig alongside techno legend Carl Cox in 1993 gave her widespread exposure and launched her on a series of appearances throughout the world.

And as if that weren't enough, Savage has also released material through Automatic Records, Tidy Trax and her own label, Freakshow. She has recently teamed up with Graham, with whom she has produced a mix disc and performed on a series of dates.

Graham shares Savage's modest beginnings, having begun his career as a video jockey assistant at the Ritz nightclub in New York City. There he caught the DJ bug, and eventually started playing in teen clubs. He was featured as a guest on MuchMusic's first Winterlude broadcast, which led to further appearances on Electric Circus and the station's Music Video Awards.

In the meantime, Graham began throwing his own parties, creating a successful series of events that garnered the attention of powers beyond the confines of Ottawa. Soon, he was playing with the Chemical Brothers, John Digweed and Kevin Saunderson.

As the flyer says, early arrival is recommended.