Octavia St. Laurent (Courtesy NYTimes.com)

Daryl Marcus presents GROOVY at Bar 13. Tonight’s event is a fundraiser to benefit the familes of Octavia Saint Laurent a fixture in the house music scene for over 20 years. Octavia passed away on May 17, 2009. As far as we’re aware, no details have surfaced as to the cause of death.

The event showcases 20 different Guest DJs on 3 floors of music from house to hip hop. There will be surprise vocal performances all night on the Bar 13 rooftop (moved inside if it rains). DJs Jellybean Benitez and Hex Hector wlil be spinning with Andre Collins of The Warehouse and Better Days. More surprise DJs are in the works, but no news yet from the Daryl on who those will be. I guess you should show up to find out. Work!

Octavia St. Laurent Benefit Party Flyer

Octavia St. Laurent is a transgendered fashion model, nightlife maven and activist featured in the 1990 film, Paris is Burning, by Jenne Livingston.

Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the poor, African American and Latino gay and transgendered community involved in it. Many consider Paris Is Burning to be an invaluable documentary of the end of the “Golden Age” of New York City drag balls, as well as a thoughtful exploration of race, class, and gender in America. – (from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Is_Burning_(film))

St. Laurent was a fixture in the transgender, gay, lesbian and bi-sexual “ballroom” community also known as “ball culture.”

Ball culture, the house system, the ballroom community and similar terms describe the underground LGBT subculture in the United States in which people “walk” (i.e. compete) for trophies and prizes at events known as balls. Those who walk often also dance and vogue while in various genres of drag often trying to pass as a specific gender and social class. Most people involved with ball culture belong to “houses” led by a single leader. – (from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_culture).

Why is “ball culture” important? From the early 70’s to the today, the LGBT community has driven dance music and DJ culture in the United States and around the world. Growing out of the Disco movement of the 70’s, House Music and the nightclubs, bars and other indoor and outdoor events and venues that feature the music have been part of the social fabric of this specific community, which influences the larger electronic music movement world wide. As mainstream Ameria has turned to Hip Hop and Rap as it’s primary form of popular music, the LGBT community has never wavered from its support of Dance and Eectronic music. It’s important to understand how this group’s embrace of DJ culture fueled and continues to support the music and the lifestyle. Individuals like Octavia St. Laurent are notable for their celebrity status within house music sub-culture, as they are the drivers of the fasion, dance (Vogue) and attitude that supports nightlife as part of the entertainment arts that we continue to enjoy today.

Here are some links for you to check out:

• Michael Musto / Village Voice
• The Vine
• Octavia Saint Laurent – Wikipedia
• IMDB – Octavia Saint Laurent
• Brooklyn Blues Blog
• TransGRiot Video Clips Collection

Watch the YouTube video from Paris Is Burning:

– by Tony Z.

Last Wednesday night, despite the lingering rain that has been pestering New Yorkers for the last month or so, I decided to venture out to the newly revamped Mansion, which is now known as M2 UltraLounge–the stealthy moniker that is cover for what’s supposed to be Ministry of Sound’s new NYC effort. If Pacha can bring the funk to New York, then Ministry of Sound sure can too, even if it it takes over a space that has seen it’s better days. I wasn’t much of a fan of Crobar, the club’s original incarnation. But, I must say the venue’s design team have given a touch of class to a huge room that was sorely lacking sophistication.

Showing up to Bacardi’s B-Live was, for me, an off, then on again affair. It was 11 pm and I’d just arrived to my friend’s house across the Hudson in Guttenberg, NJ, where I’m staying for the month to be closer to the city. I knew I had to get up for work early, because I commute about 1.5 hours each way to the office in Long Island. As I sat down to check my Facebook messages, I saw a friend sent me an earlier note asking if I was going to go. If so, she was wondering if I was going to take some shots that she could use for a publication she writes for. Despite my better judgement, I knew she needed my help. I got my butt up off the couch, jumped in the car and shot into the city to see what I could come up with. After all, she’s a great gal and I don’t mind doing a favor for a friend.

Remember, I’m supposed to get up at 6:30 AM to make my way to Long Island for my day job. Staying out late on a Wednesday night is not something I’m accustomed to, but it was for a good cause. Plus, I got some great video and ran into some friends, including Armand Van Helden and my man Ricky and his production partner, Ray, who are working on some tracks as Housing Project (MySpace). More on new music from that crew another time, for sure.

The night was definitely jackin. I go there just in time for the last 1/2 hour of Jazzy Jeff’s set. Every element of every track dropped in that 30 minutes was a bomb that warmed up the crowd for A-Trak, who broke out a big beat infused set of electronic, rock and urban rhythms that kept the crowd jumping until around 3 am. Then, it was DJ AM’s turn to take the wheels. After a few intro tracks, he dropped Notorious B.I.G. and the late night revelers kicked into gear once again.

For Bacardi, this certainly was a highly successful branding experiment. To pack an NYC venue on a Wednesday night until the wee hours of the morning says something about the talent and the offering. Bacardi staffers were everywhere throughout the venue, directing punters to get the pics taken in the Bacardi photo booth, have a custom T-Shirt printed on-the-spot, or grab a rock inspired poster. Throughout the venue, Bacardi imagery was in full effect. Of course, the sure winner was the HUGE, fully lit boom-box, which backed the DJs on the stage. I saw some walking around with messenger bags with a boom box pic printed on the flap. For a commercial effort, they got it right. People dug it and it wasn’t too obtrusive. Even the tour bus out front was hot, which photos of the DJs plasted on the sides.

All in, it was a pretty exciting night for Bacardi and NYC. Definitely a hot event. If B-Live is coming to a city near you, I wouldn’t miss it.

Check out the videos and photos below of Bacardi’s B-Live stop in NYC.

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Electric Zoo Festival

Electric Zoo New York – to be held in Randall’s Island Park, New York City on Saturday, September 5 & Sunday, September 6, 2009 – releases the latest notable additions to the massive line-up. On Saturday, the festival kicks off with Buzzin’ Fly label head and Everything But The Girl’s Ben Watt, Deep Space dub master Francois K, pioneering Rhythm & Sound’s Mark Ernestus featuring Milton Henry, Berlin’s first lady of techno Cassy, and rising Detroit/Berlin transplant Seth Troxler. On Sunday, the newest additions include; a DJ set from British electropop band Hot Chip’s Felix Martin & Al Doyle, Norway’s space-disco kings Lindstrom & Prins Thomas, and NYC’s own burgeoning star Jason Jollins.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th

• Armin van Buuren
• Deadmau5
• Benny Benassi
• Danny Tenaglia
• Roger Sanchez
• Luciano
• Robbie Rivera
• Tiga
• Ben Watt
• Francois K
• Busy P
• Marco Carola
• Chus & Ceballos
• Kaskade
• Steve Aoki
• DJ Mehdi
• Paco Osuna
• Mark Ernestus (Rhythm & Sound)
• featuring Milton Henry
• Chris Lake
• Speedy J
• The Whip
• Martin Buttrich
• Cassy
• Yuksek
• Seth Troxler

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th

• David Guetta
• Ferry Corsten
• Richie Hawtin
• Markus Schulz
• Special Disco Version featuring James Murphy & Pat Mahoney (LCD Soundsystem/DFA)
• Felix Martin & Al Doyle (HOT CHIP) DJ Set
• Andy Butler (Hercules & Love Affair)
• Frankie Knuckles
• Lindstrom
• Prins Thomas
• Steve Bug
• Audion
• Josh Gabriel
• Desyn Masiello
• James Holden
• Adam Beyer
• Tom Middleton
• Nathan Fake
• Menno De Jong
• Chateau Flight
• Jason Jollins

Electric Zoo Festival

Electric Zoo New York – to be held in Randall’s Island Park, New York City on Saturday, September 5 & Sunday, September 6, 2009 – is pleased to announce more acts at this year’s inaugural festival.

The world’s No.1 DJ ARMIN VAN BUUREN and French superstar house music sensation DAVID GUETTA will helm an unprecedented line-up of over 50+ artists across 4 stages, covering all genres; House, Techno, Trance, Electro, and Indie, including DJs and live acts.

On Saturday, the heavyweight line-up is joined by Canadian prog/tech star Deadmau5, Montreal’s club veteran Tiga, LA’s scenster DJ Steve Aoki, Ed Banger, electrohouse DJ Busy P, fellow French cohort DJ Mehdi, English electro-rock band The Whip, and fiery French live act Yuksek. On Sunday, NYC’s own disco-house purveyor Andy Butler of Hercules & Love Affair, UK progressive house darling Desyn Masiello, Swedish techno auteur Adam Beyer, prolific Jedi/producer /remixer Tom Middleton, next-wave computer rock technoist Nathan Fake, and Parisian experimental house/techno outfit Chateau Flight join the festivities to close out the weekend.

The principals of Made Event, Mike Bindra and Laura De Palma explain their vision for the festival:

“We have been inspired over the years by what happens in Europe each summer, and we’re very excited to be bringing our version to America; Electric Zoo, New York’s first electronic music festival. Our intention is to showcase the top artists in each of the sub-genres, there will be something for everyone – a literal ‘zoo’ of electronic music. For us, this is the culmination of many years of dedication and hard work. The realization of this goal is another step forward for electronic music here, and we’re laying the foundation for many years to come.”

Special introductory ticket prices for Electric Zoo end on 12 midnight June 18th. Use promo code EZNY for $45 single-day passes and $80 double-pak two-day passes for General Admission. VIP single-day passes are available at $120 and VIP double-pak two-day passes at $225. VIP passes include a separate VIP entrance, access to VIP lounge with private cash bar, exclusive viewing area at main stage and access to VIP-only deluxe bathrooms. Tickets are available at www.electriczoofestival.com.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th

• Armin van Buuren
• Deadmau5
• Benny Benassi
• Danny Tenaglia
• Roger Sanchez
• Luciano
• Robbie Rivera
• Tiga
• Marco Carola
• Chus & Ceballos
• Steve Aoki
• Busy P
• Kaskade
• DJ Mehdi
• Paco Osuna
• Chris Lake
• Speedy J
• The Whip
• Martin Buttrich
• Yuksek

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th

• David Guetta
• Ferry Corsten
• Richie Hawtin
• Markus Schulz
• Special Disco Version featuring James Murphy & Pat Mahoney (LCD Soundsystem/DFA)
• Andy Butler (Hercules & Love Affair)
• Frankie Knuckles
• Steve Bug
• Josh Gabriel
• Desyn Masiello
• James Holden
• Adam Beyer
• Tom Middleton
• Audion
• Nathan Fake
• Menno De Jong
• Chateau Flight

Bacardi B-Live Web Site

BACARDI® B-LIVE™ is an nnovative global concert series that is touring the United States, mixing today’s hottest music with the very best in BACARDI cocktails.

A-Trak, DJ AM, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Drop the Lime, and Steve Porter will perform in New York at BACARDI B-LIVE, Wednesday, June 17^th, 2009. This national summer music series brings electro-pop and indie/electronic music to the masses and is taking place at the M2 Ultra Lounge (530 W. 28th St) at 9pm.  The performers will take the stage where they will showcase their own, unique styles to produce a one-of-a-kind performance.

Tickets are $15.00 at WWW.BACARDI.COM/BLIVE. You must be 21+ to purchase and party.

BACARDI has created the ultimate atmosphere for today’s hottest music and the very best in BACARDI cocktails.  Urban fashion andculture, as well as current music trends are reflected through the memorable tour design elements.  An old school boom box, designed by multimedia environment company, Moment Factory, illuminates the room and serves as a backdrop for performances.  Vintage photo booths, vinyl records, retro TV’s fitted with plasma screens and classic vending machines complete the look and feel of the tour.  To reach the avid consumer base of poster collectors and graphic designers in the music world, 10 internationally renowned artists created designs for t-shirts and posters.

Attendees (21+) will have the opportunity to sample custom-made BACARDI rum cocktails at the BACARDI Bespoke Bar. This premium bar allows for attendees to sample and create their own cocktails with the help of a talented mixologist. These unique and personalized cocktails are made using the freshest ingredients, fruits and flavor combinations.

Here’s 10 hot−no wait−cool videos culled from YouTube for your enjoyment. I’m not saying they are the best videos, but they certainly give you and idea of what was going on at WMC this year.

1. Swedish House Mafia

Swedish House Mafia (Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso & Steve Angello) dropping their new track “Leave the World Behind” (Dirty South remix) at Beatport Pool Party during Winter Music Conference 2009 in South Beach.

2. Way Out West at the DJ Mag Party

3. ROGER SANCHEZ – BANG THAT BOX LIVE FROM MANSION WMC 2009

4. WMC 2009 Promo – Dubfire @ BEATPORT Pool Party w/ LEE KALT – House Music TV 167

For when you want to WATCH more than you want to LISTEN… DUBFIRE of DEEP DISH takes the stage at REMIX HOTEL – BEATPORT Pool Party. JESSICA and MALINDA show the crowd that good looks and hot bodies go perfect with house music. The crowd is all fired up as the “DEEP of the DISH” takes us all on a mid-afternoon tour of the Underground.

5. WMC 2009 – Louie Vega (WhodanyTV.com)

“Little” Louie Vega rocking the party at the Beatport stage during WMC 2009, Miami Beach. He is half of the famous production team Masters at Work.

6. Sharam- party all the time @ Cameo March 25th WMC 2009

7. Lil Jon + Diplo @ Mad Decent WMC 2009 Pt. 1

8. Steve Lawler @ DJ Mag Pool Party, Shelbourne WMC 2009 03/25/2009 3

9. Ultra Music Festival 2009 Miami – Carl Cox day 2

10. Armand Van Helden – “Where’s Your Head At” @ Mn2S Nikki Beach WMC 2009

A3C Festival

(ATLANTA – April 7, 2009) The A3C Hip Hop Festival organizers announced today that the 5th installment of the annual A3C Hip Hop Festival will take place across multiple venues in the East Atlanta Village, October 1-3, 2009.

The A3C Hip Hop Festival has grown exponentially over the past 5 years to become the largest Hip Hop festival in the southeastern United States. Past events have featured a historic reuniting of Hip Hop legends The Juice Crew, the nationally acclaimed breakdance battle “Red Bull 4 Corners,” fashion shows, producer battles, street art exhibits, a world class producer battle, technical demonstrations, panels and over 40 live performances annually.

Past performers range from major label staples like Biz Markie, The Clipse, Little Brother and Bonecrusher, to independent mainstays like Del The Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief, Aceyalone, Black Milk, as well as up and coming superstars like Wale and B.o.B. The festival also strongly focuses on having a solid representation of smaller, national-touring, regional and local artists.

The move to fall dates and the move to a multi-venue format will allow the A3C to continue to bring more content to balance craved Hip Hop fans across the country.

Brian Knott, A3C Hip Hop Festival founder explains, “This year’s event represents for us the final step in a plan that was hatched five years ago. When we started the A3C we had the dream of bringing a balanced Hip Hop event to Atlanta that would someday rival what SXSW and CMJ have built in New York and Austin for rock music. With the overwhelming success of last year’s event we felt this was our opportunity to make a bold move and do something in Atlanta that would serve as an annual rallying point for all the elements of Hip Hop and all the flavors of Hip Hop music nationally.”

The East Atlanta Village (EAV) has experienced a meteoric rise over the last two years with the opening of a number of new listening rooms, small and mid-size venues. While still maintaining its independent attitude, the growth of the EAV has created for the first time in a decade a centralized area in the city to hold a multi-venue event and still enable fans to walk from room to room.

“Five years ago when we started A3C the EAV was still on the cusp of becoming what it is today. The growth of the EAV and the growth of the A3C have really been very similar. It seems like we are arriving at this point at the same time and we are really excited about the marriage. We feel like the EAV is our 2nd street in Austin,” said Knott.

ABOUT THE A3C: Now in its 5th year, the A3C Hip Hop Festival is a 2 day, 3 night event held annually in Atlanta, GA featuring live performances from some of Hip Hop’s most elite artists. The live performance schedule is enhanced by day and nightly events showcasing some of the most exciting break-dance, graphic art, fashion, film, equipment demonstrations and panels relating to Hip Hop culture.

The 2009 A3C will be held in multiple venues all located within easy walking distance of one another in the East Atlanta Village. Since 2005, the event has featured over 200 of the most exciting artists in Hip Hop including The Juice Crew, Biz Markie, The Clipse, Souls of Mischief, Little Brother, Wale, and B.o.B.

In 2008 the event was attend by over 9,000 fans and featured partnerships and co-sponsored events with MySpace, Red Bull, Scion, URB, Pabst Blue Ribbon, New Era and Stanton.

– from A3C Festival Press Release

There’s nothing like being friends with the DJ, lol. I shot this video from the booth at Aero (off 23rd and Collins) on Saturday night, March 28, sometime around 3 AM. The club was jumping as AVH kicked his classic hits, including My, My, My, Witch Doktor, Full Moon and more. The crowd was having such a good time, this dude started throwing money around…literally! He threw a stack of dollar bills up in the air. Too bad it wasn’t C-notes. I guess it’s the economy and he must have been holding back.

Seeing Armand giving the punters what they came for, over twenty two years since we’d first met in Boston in the late 80’s, got me reminiscing. I remember when we used to drive home from the East Boston studio of Mega-Mixx, the remix service we worked for back then. While Armand was remixing tracks til the wee hours of the morning−like Shawn Christopher’s Another Sleepless Night−for the long defunct service, I was in the back room calling mom and pop vinyl shops in Japan, Australia and Germany to sell them the latest issues.

We’ve both come a long way and have enjoyed success doing what we love to do. My career took me toward the Internet, while Armand pursued making great house music (and we can’t forget about hip-hop with Sampleslaya).

Shout outs to Ricky, who’s in one of the photos below. Ricky is a long time friend of Armand and he’s such a stellar guy. He told me he was making tracks now, so look out for Ricky’s studio sessions, soon to hit an MP3 player near you.

Also in the booth, Dan Ross from X-Mix, Mark Farina (jumped on the decks after Armand), Atrak, Kimyon, Ricky and Australia’s Ashley Grey from Xelon Entertainment.

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Fresh of my set at the Adidas store, I’m hanging with superstar Entertainment Attorney, Matthew Kletter and DJ Elyse (Ft. Lauderdale – systemaddix.com) at Cafe Del Sol somewhere on Collins Avenue. We’re getting ready to head to the IRIS rooftop party, then to the X-Mix event at Aero. Stay tuned for more updates from WMC.

Yahoo Music! GM, Michael Spiegelman hosted today’s panel on Social Media and Revenue at the Winter Music Conference 2009. Guest panelists included Andrew Fox from ClubPlanet.com, Ron Sperling from ConcertSceneTV.com, Micahel Lucero from Microsoft’s Zune digital music platform, Jim Mahoney from A2IM and Ron Suarez from LoudFeed.com.

Most of the discussion centered around using social tools to build an audience and then take your perceived reach to brands to capture discretionary spending dollars that brand manager have to play with. Andrew Fox implied that in today’s music market, brands are were the dollars are coming from, taking up where major labels have cut back.

The colorful Ron Sperling from ConcertSceneTV.com gave his perspective as a media producer and former ad agency executive who has created experiences. He impressed upon the room the importance of the live element of music and how larger dollars are won because of the importance of the fans personal connection to the music and how that effects what they’ll spend.

Yahoo Music! GM, Michael, Spiegelman did an excellent job in his first year moderating the panel, pulling an impressive list of guests to the table. In year’s past, WMC has had a difficult time pulling executives from this level of the Internet industry, but this year was an exception.

Micahel Lucero from Zune briefed the audience on brand deals with artist through Microsoft products like the X-Box and let artists know that Zune does have programs for new artists to get exposure through the service.

Rod Suarez was making his first ever WMC appearance both on a panel and as a delegate to the conference. His company, LoudFeed, is providing artists with viral marketing tools.

We were walking to dinner from the Royal Palm and bumped into Dave Dresden and Davey Gold (pesudo-retired dance music industry radio promo veteran and New Jersey DJ) on Collins.

On Friday, March 27th at 4:00 PM, Netmix founder and Zaah Technologies VP of Product Development, IA and UxD, Tony Zeoli, will participate on the RSS Feeds, Podcasting & Webcasts panel at the 2009 Winter Music Conference.

This panel will address the ways in which new music is being presented today – access, distribution and dissemination of both dance music and information. Also, this panel will discuss the innovative advances in technology ushering in this dramatic shift that’s transforming the music & broadcast industry.

Moderator:

• Laura Betterly- Yada Yada Marketing, Inc

Panelists:

• Jonathon Alexander- Tap It FAME
• DJ Philammon- BPM.FM
• David Porter- 8tracks.com
• DMS12
• Asya Shein- MIR Media
• Anthony Zeoli- Zaah Technologies/ Netmix

The List Web site

Looking for the hot parties at the 2009 Winter Music Conferece? The List, a web site created by the organizers of the WMC, is the best place to begin your search. Check out The List on the Winter Music Conference Web site.

The site is updated weekly with a countdown to the conference, which takes place from March 24th to the 28th in sunny, Miami Beach. Check the main Winter Music Conference Web site for conference details.

Mindshare: The Party flyer

Netmix.com and Zaah Technologies present Mindshare at Label Lounge, where Music Technology professionals meet New Media folks for a night of networking, music and play.

DJ Tony Z makes his return to the DJ booth to blend warm house vibes from the tech house, techno and deep house genres. DJ Madsol Desar puts a classic vibes house set together.

From 7 to 9 PM, the networking gets started with a $4 Happy Hour(s) drinks special on beer and mixed drinks.

Our Netmix gift-bag raffle takes place at 10 PM. With the purchase of a drink between 9 pm and 10 pm, get a ticket for the raffle and you’ll have a chance to win the following:

10 gift-bags will be raffled off. Each bag includes separate items donated by various partners, including New Riders, RockYourReligion.com, PhetusExclusives.com, BM Linx, Kristine W, Threadless.com, 622Photography.com, Zaah Technologies and more.

• A $50 T-Shirt Coupon Code from our friends at Threadless.com
• An 11 x 17 print of “The Colored President”: a portrait of Barak Obama by urban artist, Vic Nisoci (ArtWeCan.com). The original oil on canvas was donated to Russell Simmons Hip Hop Summit Action Network’s Hip Hop Inaugural Ball; it will be auctioned later next month.
• The new dance single, “Never,” by accomplished dance artist, Kristine W.
• A pre-release album from BM Linx entitled “Black Entertainment”
• Designing for the Social Web (Voices That Matter) by Joshua Porter (New Riders, 2 copies) – ISBN 0321534921
• SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate (Voices That Matter) by Joel Postman (New Riders, 2 copies) – ISBN: 0321580087
• Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click? (Voices That Matter) by Susan M. Weinschenk (New Riders, 2 copies) – ISBN: 0321603605
• A special Netmix Podcast MP3 Data CD, containing 3 Netmix Podcast MP3’s – Subscribe to the Netmix Podcast Feed at: http://tinyurl.com/5wqm3m
• Netmix/Phetus Exclusives T-Shirts (5) from Urban Art inspired brand, PhetusExclusives.com
• A Peace Pendant from RockYourReligion (1)
• 100 Free Prints from PhotoMama.com
• 15% off of photography services from 622photography.com
• A hardcover copy of “Outliers,” the latest book by Malcolm Gladwell

BM Linx

Kristine W "Never"