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The world is your oyster, don’t go dancing
Reported by Adam Symbiosis
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Submitted 13-12-06 23:16
“The world is your oyster” and “One day this will all be yours,” two things most of us heard from our parents. Now cast your minds back to those heady days of youth, what were you doing? Doing homework, tick. Chasing someone for a kiss, tick. Playing footie in the street, tick. These days kids are more likely to be checking out new tracks on MySpace, texting their mates, before heading off to the nearest available venue to have it to nu-rave.
But that’s nothing to do with the rave scene we know and love. More akin to the Madchester explosion led by The Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays, nu-rave (a term coined by the Angular Recording Corporation but made famous by the music magazine NME) is again guitar-based music fused with dance style riffs and loops. The problem is (at least for the dance scene) that these kids want to hear more guitar music and want to go to gigs rather than go to clubs and hear dance music. As more people have less time to dance because they’re setting up homes, having kids or just sitting at their desk sniping and bitching over the internet, there are less people going to the clubs. It seems these people aren’t being replaced by a new wave of dance enthusiasts. But what are the reasons behind this and what can be done?
Everyone knows of the cyclic nature of music where one style of music might be the flavour of the year, hated the next, then brought back the third but something else must be happening. It occurred to me as I read through an article about under age gigs that there doesn’t seem to be any promotions in London working on bringing new members into the fold and while they fight over ever decreasing numbers other genres and promoters rub their hands in glee.
To investigate further I talked with Ross McGregor of NRG DJs. Running both under age and full parties for the past 4 years in venues around Scotland he seemed like the perfect place to start. “Our current events are NRG under 18s, NRG V.I.P under 18s and NRG (over18s) in both Aberdeen and Dundee and we are close to also confirming
an Edinburgh venue.”
Running NRG V.I.P more regularly but in smaller venues, the other two events are held in 1000 capacity venues, that’s a lot of kids but what are they listening to? “When playing to under 18s you have to appeal to everyone therefore we play a bit of everything, however I always do a 45 minute set of what I would play at over 18s as I want people to enjoy what I enjoy.”
Marketing his events as parties for everyone and realising that most kids don’t have access or maybe even the want to go to single genre parties, I’m surprised at the attitude of some DJs he knows. “I know some who won’t play to under 18s as they can be tough. Kids know a lot about music and if they don’t like it they won’t dance to it, it’s that simple. Many people will dance to anything once they have had a drink!”
With sizeable attendance figures maybe all is not lost north of the border, still what was his take on the downturn. The key point he brought up was lack of easy access to dance music for kids. “Dance tracks are not in the charts like they used to be towards the end of the 1990s. I was looking for some tracks on a large commercial legal download site and I found it really hard to find things I would play to over 18s but it was filled with the likes of The Killers and Razorlight.”
When the main thrust of dance music played in prime time shows is based around themes of naked frogs then you’ve got to worry. Tellingly, out of the five most popular shows on the Radio 1 website only one is dance orientated, The Essential Mix. In fact look at the key evening dance DJs on Radio One and the music that’s played. Dave Pearce concentrates on classics and is well known for his cheese, Eddie Halliwell is the ultimate marmite DJ, Judge Jules doesn’t seem to be pushing the envelope anymore and Pete Tong is the wrong side of 40. This sounds like a distinct problem for dance. Are kids able to relate to someone who looks like and is old enough to be their dad? Especially when the only activity seen behind the decks is a wry smile and maybe a hand in the air? Maybe this is one of the key reasons nu-rave is so popular, as the bands are of and around the same age as the crowd. You also have to look at pirate radio stations, the mainstay of many a youthful hour, which these days are filled with the sounds of garage, grime, D&B and associated genres. Rock or urban it is then.
Slacky, a clubber from London, went to his first rave 13 years ago at Stern’s Nightclub in Worthing. “I remember my parents hiring out a minicab to take us all up there, I was 15 at the time and was well in to my hardcore and rave.” He’d heard about it from a flyer picked up at a branch of Our Price records, proving the popularity back then of under age raves. “I used to get tapes sent to me by my older cousin Danny and with all the pandemonium at the time with ecstasy and the illegal rave scene it was obviously a serious draw to a teenage boy like myself.”
Has the scene then become so homogenised or even just demonised as to have lost its draw to the younger members of our society? Slacky thinks so: “Back in the early 90s it was so new, the music was fresh and everyone loved it because of that. Now we’re spoilt for choice but there is no new blood because the majority of youngsters see the music as uncool. Seems to me that they don’t differentiate between any of the genres, for example, hard techno and trance. Radio stations playing commercial crap don’t help either. There’s been a few times where I’ve been DJing at parties and I’ve got talking to a group of youngsters. When I mention I play techno, they turn their noses up. “That’s gay music innit,” being one of the more eloquent responses I’ve heard. Nine times out of ten, once they’ve heard some of it, they like it, especially the bassline stuff. This to me shows how a little education could turn things around.”
Education is the key. Exposure to new forms of music and understanding should be part of every young adult’s life experience. How many times do you hear of kids wandering the streets in an almost feral life, with nothing to do and nowhere to go? Why does this happen in London, one of the world’s great cities? Ross McGregor thinks the under age party is a gateway to the adult world, taking the kids off the streets to have a good time in a safe and fun environment. I think having a range of music played and even the option to buy some to take home and listen to can only be a good thing for kids as their knowledge, experiences and likes develop and grow. But it’s not happening here. Why not? Maybe it’s the regulations.
It’s vitally important to understand the legal aspects behind running this sort of party. While just about anyone can throw a party for consenting adults, hosting your own extravaganza for minors might get you into a lot of unwanted trouble if you don’t take the time to research fully. Firstly, you’ll need to be checked out by the police for any convictions that might hinder your access to children. You’ll also need to work with the police, the venue and the licensing authority to ensure that correct licensing is in place.
Ian Graham, policy manager for the clubs and vice unit at the Metropolitan Police explains: “In order to run an event for under 18s a premises would need to ensure that it had the appropriate licence for the activity, so for a dance event a licence to provide entertainment is needed. There are however issues with access to premises that also have a licence to sell alcohol. In any premises where the primary or exclusive activity is sale of alcohol then all persons under 18 need to be accompanied by a person over 18.”
While the alcohol should be locked up at the time of the party it is one further hurdle to overcome by research or negotiation. Correct supervision is also important continues Ian: “These events often prove more difficult to manage than first envisaged as particular care has to be taken with young people. In the past some of theses events have got out of hand and significant disorder has occurred, particularly if local gangs meet at the event.”
So, having the correct staff on hand to respond to the children’s needs while making sure they are safe and haven’t smuggled in any thing dangerous or illegal is vital. To this end you should ensure you have first aiders and SIA licensed security staff available and keeping a close eye on proceedings. .
If you think now your ready to jump in and provide a safe and welcoming atmosphere for the clubbers of tomorrow then go for it. Under age events properly organised and run can attract kids from miles around and live on in their memories for a long time. As long as you understand the dangers and potential pitfalls and have proper plans in place then there’s no reason why your under age event can’t be as successful if not more so than an adults party. Remember to promote the party properly, maybe get your little brother or sister involved and get all the correct documentation and people in place and ready — but most of all, have fun and good luck!
Adam Symbiosis 
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Other Features By Adam Symbiosis:
Godskitchen Xmas Party: Reviewed
The Big Chill: Reviewed
Tiësto at Victoria Park: Reviewed
Lilly Allen: Reviewed
Digital Society May 2009: Reviewed
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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