american techno scene-011010010011010111

[Dustin Zahn]

Hahah, wow. I don't know if it's THAT awful. :) There is light at the end of the tunnel in the U.S.

[gunjack]

fuc king koma hahah thanx for posting the poster, but i got your "schranz" en mis pantalones!

[koma]

no hablo espanol, senor
but I'm glad you realised i'm the f*ck king :eyes:

[djshiva]

Also, add to the fact that gas has reached $3US/gallon (go ahead EU, laugh...it still hurts us)....

i know its off subject, but that really makes me laugh, we get raped for fuel in the uk. I bought fuel just outside london for a rip off £1.04 a litre.
At todays exchange rate 1.8588 we pay $8.78US per gallon in the uk

i won't speak for you guys across the pond, but i will say that what kills us in america in regards to gas prices is the woefully BAD state of public transportation. many metropolitan cities (i speak specifically toward indianapolis, where i live) have mediocre or barely there public transpo, so cars become a necessity instead of a luxury. plus, if you want to travel from city to city (remember how BIG this damn country is), your choices are limited to cars, airplanes (super expensive), greyhound (BAD, takes too long and many times will not get you where you need to go), and train (also takes forever and may not stop where you need to go).

these things have had a major impact on techno in the states, as dustin pointed out earlier. you can drive for 12 hours and STILL be in the US, and in the middle of nowhere. it's tough to really be cohesive when we are all so separated.

thank gawd for the internet. access to music has gotten better, even if our ability to play it for the people has not.

[Adrenalin]

I consider myself extremely lucky because I live in Vermont, USA so I'm only about 2 hours drive from Montreal, Quebec, Canada which has one of North America's most vibrant electronic music scenes. It's sad that I live in the U.S. but since I play techno and mainly promote techno I have to travel to Montreal to play. I host a monthly club night and host all night parties in Montreal, which is no easy task when I live in another country, but with the U.S. scene so separated geographically, overly strict laws, etc., it's well worth the traveling and extra effort to be part of the Monteal techno scene. Christ, I drove 7 1/2 hours to Toronto a couple weeks ago to meet up with Alex Calver!! Well worth the trip too.

Also, a lot of people in the U.S. electronic scene aren't exposed to real techno music because there isn't a lot of places that have techno artists regularly. The reason I say "real techno" is because a lot of people call anything electronic Techno! haha! So the only stuff that they hear is commercial house, trance and breakbeat, which are all huge in the U.S. Plus, people in the U.S. aren't as liberal or open minded as other countries. Most clubs in the U.S. are all about image and money. A majority have strict dress codes, drink minimums, etc. **** that! Montreal is very European, unlike the rest of Canada, so I guess I've been spoiled by that laid back, open minded attitude.

And sadly, most music listeners in the U.S. take what's fed to them by the commecial markets, so the cheesy pop songs, trance DJ's, hip hop rappers, etc. rule U.S. night life. Don't get me wrong, there's some great techno artists in the U.S. like Michael Wenz, Dustin Zahn, The Germ, etc., but they are spread out over the county like butter on toast which makes it difficult to work together to build a better scene.

I personally think the U.S. is hopeless on this topic.

[DjSolaris]

OK, as far as america goes, from being here and well in hopes to give everyone the skinny. The ones here who do throw events have had our run of problems. As everyone knows, Rave Act and such have hindered things by scaring people into submission. The midwest still has its problems when things do go in our favor.

A few to note.
1. As a techno artist myself I come across people that when they ask what I play and I reply "techno", then comes the de facto response "so is that house or trance" at which time I spend another 15 min or so explaining the diffrence.

2. Within the Midwest expecially, clubs are hard pressed to go outside the norm of what is played within the pop / alternative radio stations. Club owners in majority I have found to be older and dont understand nor grasp what electronic music is, let alone techno. The rare few that do are well off. but controlled by a few individuals that keep a grasp on thier market. which leads me to...

3. The promoters that I have come across have 'played it safe' and believe that techno will never be huge. Even when shown diffrently thier own preferance to book house dj's lead to a overkill of one genre within the spectrum. The ones that do throw techno have proven to be rather successful within the one off shows. Alas, the preferance of those few to keep house going, because it is all they know or understand hinders us even further.

4. Lack of music has left people unaware. With few techno dj's there is a limited amount of resources that can be obtained by the average person. While the regional techno artists do work together, it seems that no one can afford to keep up on thier record fix and shell out for a few hundred cd's to get to the populace. Music is a drug and while I have been guilty of both ends, I also understand that building knowledge of a music is paramount in creating a sustainable and viable market within the US. The old hayday of parties for parties sake are over, and so too are the times where people went out without knowing who an artist is. Mostly for the fact that back then music was rampant and people could obtain it and have something to base what thier expierence will be like.

5. With fuel prices going crazy here in the US. (I know we dont even compare to other parts of the world), we find flights, booking fees, and everything else hard to fathom when you have to budget on 300 people at an event. We have to then stick to more regional acts than bringing some of you I would love to get here. The other side of this coin is the lack of cooperation it seems from promoters in other cities to get flight share and such worked out. More to the point is the inability to find a contact and obtain the heads up so it may be arranged.

These things placed together hinder the growth of the market and hinders the Midwest as I see it from gaining exposure. Lack of radio here also hinders from attracting new consumers. Also, I must note that within the Midwest i do not consider chicago, since i believe that it has a bit more of a foundation than the other areas such as St Louis, Kansas City, Oklahoma, Ect.

Any comments / suggestions on this matter please let me know, because I would like nothing more than make this country more bangin'.

[DjSolaris]

Like adrenaline saiys it is true. I notice that with all of us spread across the country it is hard to collaborate on things...something I hope to ammend here in Kansas City and attempt to solidify more of a state fo Techno

[holotropik]

WOW!
The US sounds a lot like Australia
with the whole distance thing
and the 'safe' pop-music mentality.

Although I reckon we are doin OK here
Melbourne has quite a good thing.

[S/E]

You guys have described the problems with techno in America quite well.

There are small pockets of people who enjoy the music but we're scattered over a very large area.

Most people I talk to have no idea what I am talking about when I say techno....

[ryry9379]

Every time I say I'm a techno DJ, the very first response I get is "Oh! I love Paul Oakenfold!"

[Jay Pace]

:razz:

[koma]

Antonio, how was it in Mexico??
I dont remember reading a review or something...

[DjSolaris]

Now we must take them in mass... Fully hypnotize them and infiltrate the place.

[RDR]

Every time I say I'm a techno DJ, the very first response I get is "Oh! I love Paul Oakenfold!"

:lol:

Feelin your pain....

[The Overfiend]

Antonio, how was it in Mexico??
I dont remember reading a review or something...

The people of mexico are amazing. Really hospitible and corteous.
The shady ones could catch my sack.

[Adrenalin]

What part of Mexico? I DJ'd in Octlan & LaPiedad a couple years ago, which is just west of Guadalajara. I had such a great time and the people were a blast, except the one drunk that stared me square in the eyes and said "I ****ing hate Americans." That was a little unsettling, but understandable considering our president and our government.

[Spire]

people in america hate techno because it's just boom, boom, boom, boom, tsk, boom, tsk, boom, tsk, boom, tsk, tshhh, boom, boom, tsk, tshhh......................... yeah, guitars are MUCH cooler.

[The Overfiend]

Antonio, how was it in Mexico??
I dont remember reading a review or something...

The people of mexico are amazing. Really hospitible and corteous.
The shady ones could catch my sack.

None of the
Mexican people were shady at all.
My issue is with people who get too familiar.