| ICK! |
[13 Oct 2006|07:10pm] |
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mood |
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 disgusted |
] |
i dunno why i'm updating my journal with a random observation like this...but Burger King poutine is quite possibly the saltiest, most disgusting thing i've EVER had the displeasure of eating. *rinses mouth thoroughly*
it was suggested to me that it's likely not made at the restaurant, but prepared somewhere else and heated there. to which i have to ask - is the 'somewhere else' the DEAD SEA? ewwwwwwwwwww. let's hope that salt was iodized, 'cause if it was i won't have any thyroid problems for the rest of my life.
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[16 Sep 2006|11:36am] |
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mood |
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 groggy |
] |
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music |
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Rotersand - Dare To Live (SR Version) |
] |
because of the recent negative coverage of goth culture coming out of the shootings at Dawson College in Montreal, i decided to get in touch with the local newspaper (The Belleville Intelligencer) to see if they were interested in speaking to people from the local scene (tiny as it is) about what happened...
they ended up doing a sit-down interview with me, and apparently a reporter is coming out Sunday night when i'm DJing to take some pictures and do a report for the local paper. hopefully it turns out well, and helps people to see that "goth" does not equate with "heavily armed psycho in a trenchcoat"
hopefully lots of people will come out this Sunday :)
Sinister Sundays w/ DJ Lunaslave
playing industrial, gothic, synthpop, and dark alternative
8 PM - 12 AM+ @ The Bohemian
248 Front Street, Belleville, Ontario
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| talk about interesting cravings... |
[15 Sep 2006|03:07am] |
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music |
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Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing) |
] |
all of a sudden, i have the overwhelming urge to eat soba (japanese buckwheat noodles)
i probably haven't had soba in 5 years. why now? hmmm.....
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| my reaction to the tragedy in montreal... |
[14 Sep 2006|06:59pm] |
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mood |
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 discontent |
] |
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music |
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VNV Nation - Darkangel |
] |
let me start by saying that the bulk of this post, although not all of it, is just a cut/paste from a reply i made to a thread @ http://www.vampirefreaks.com - but i'm going to go a little more indepth with it, i guess.
first of all, let me start by condemning this senseless, horrible act of violence. all murder (whether it's isolated murder due to the behaviour of some individual or group, or legally sanctioned, widespread murder on the part of the state) is wrong.
however, using the occasion of murder to engage in senseless condemnations of an entire group of people is also wrong. there's a term for this kind of reaction: Moral Panic.
for more info on the term, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic
it's truly sad that people out there seek to exploit a tragedy such as this by pointing their fingers at a (generally vulnerable) minority. and whether that minority is goths, or comic book readers, or witches, or communists, or gays, or Elvis Presley fans, or people who play roleplaying games, all of these groups (among many others) have historically served, at one time or another, as a convenient scapegoat for those who would rather point fingers during a time of crisis than seek to truly understand its root causes.
even if the person responsible for this terrible crime in Montreal did label himself as a 'goth', what does this matter? how is it even newsworthy? one doesn't even hear about the musical tastes of a criminal if they happen to be big fans of Frank Sinatra or Garth Brooks.
but because goth comprises a 'subculture' - distant from the day-to-day lives of most people out there, it's somehow acceptable to blame it? i suspect that it has less to do with the actual features of goth culture (particularly its interest in artistically exploring the darker side of life) and more to to with the inherent vulnerability of the group.
the question is, what can we do to prevent the spread of moral panic, in all of its forms? well, we can't really do much, except not contribute to it ourselves when a member of some group does something bad by labeling that entire group as worthy of condemnation.
beyond general terms, i have to get more specific, because this hits close to home. as the DJ for the local goth/industrial scene, tiny as it is, i have to ask what i can do, to ensure that the finger isn't pointed at me, and at us?
when it comes down to what we can do specifically to protect our own community, of goths, rivetheads, etc etc from these kinds of accusations, we CAN do something. actually we have a couple of choices. we can take the easy path, of withdrawing from the mainstream even more - god knows it's certainly tempting - just not worry about it, and then act surprised and wonder why the media is pointing the finger at us next time something like this happens. or worse, act like it's simply inevitable no matter what we do.
or, we can get off our lazy, nihilistic, individualistic asses and try to organize events and provide information that will help others outside of our community to understand who we are and what we're interested in. they don't have to like it, or share those interests with us (and chances are they won't like it or share those interests with us) but by pulling back that veil of mystery a little, hopefully we can build a stronger identity within our community while at the same time building bridges to the outside world that currently sees no viable alternatives but to condemn us or mock us (and rip us off every year for their fall fashion collections)
this horrible crime in Montreal was committed by individuals, and we shouldn't lose sight of that. we're all individuals and have individual responsibilities. but that doesn't mean that we don't have collective responsibilities too, as people, as citizens, as members of our communities, and yes, even as members of this larger, global community that many of us call 'goth'.
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| ugh... |
[13 Sep 2006|11:47am] |
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mood |
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sick |
] |
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music |
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Snog - Make The Little Flowers Grow |
] |
why am i always sick? for the past few weeks i've had a nasty ear infection, which started to go away, but now it seems to be back and i alternate between having muffled hearing and being pretty much totally deaf in one ear - on top of it now, i've got a nasty nasty cold which is actually feeling a lot like the bronchitis i had about 7 years ago. and god knows just how ill THAT ended up making me. i ended up going to Japan while i had it, and kinda struggling my way through it, but the whole time my feelings were alternating between being excited about being there and wanting to crawl in a hole and die because of how sick i felt.
now there's no Japan, just the hole, off in the distance somewhere, getting closer. :( i called into work today and i HATE missing work because of illness but i just do not feel like being there at all.
in other, perhaps brighter news, i've been watching the X anime (the TV series) and i'm completely hooked. after being a fan of the comic for about 10 years and liking the movie (which was fun but made absolutely no sense trying to compress several years worth of story into 2 hours) i am *loving* this TV series. i'd seen one episode (the first one) a few years back which showed promise but i never expected the series to be this good. now i've only watched a few, but can't wait to see more!
X was always my favorite manga (despite the lack of an ending) but i think i might've found a new favorite TV series as well :) my favorite anime TV show was always NGE...X is giving it a very good run for its money, and if it remains as good as it's been so far, will replace NGE as my favorite :)
although i'm not into anime as much recently as i used to be, i still like it, and after going to that convention the bug has bitten me again, so to speak. Natalie and i recently borrowed a bunch of old Ranma 1/2 from one of our friends, which was pretty fun to watch again (hadn't watched those in years!) i also borrowed Weiß Kreuz which i'd heard quite a lot about over the years (mostly from the yaoi lovers out there, you know who you are) but haven't really gotten around to watching yet, apart from the first ep which i liked but Natalie wasn't really into. looks like i'll be watchin that one by myself, unless i can somehow convince her otherwise! (given the choice, though, i'd rather talk her into watching X with me)
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| my awesome weekend :) |
[04 Sep 2006|06:11pm] |
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mood |
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 lazy |
] |
| [ |
music |
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Urceus Exit - Metro (Shy Brothers remix) |
] |
on the weekend, i went to toronto to Fan Expo 2006 - it was a comic/sci-fi/anime/horror/gaming convention with lots and lots of cool stuff. i attended with my girlfriend and we ended up having a great time.
between us we bought a bunch of stuff - manga, action figures, Pocky, Magic cards (i finally got a Library of Alexandria!) as well as getting the autograph of Juliet Landau (Drusilla from Buffy/Angel)
funny story to go with that one - we get up to the autograph table and the picture we wanted was also the picture everyone else wanted, or so it seemed. the person ahead of us in line purchased the last one, and so we were going to have to settle for another picture. until my gf asked if they had any more copies, or if the copy in her display was the last one.
so Juliet then proceeds to stand on her chair, and remove the last copy of the picture we wanted from her display, replacing it with another one, just so we could get the picture we wanted signed. that was extremely nice of her, and i wonder if most would've gone to that trouble to make their fans happy :)
Saturday night we attended the Masquerade (in other words, a bunch of cosplayers doing various random skits on stage) at the convention, which was fun, if kind of bizarre. some of the costumes were pretty cool, but Shakespeare it wasn't. ;) there was this guy there who built an absolutely incredible Gundam costume that apparently took him about 5 months to construct. if we go back next year (we're hoping to!) i've been thinking about doing the cosplay thing, which is something i've always avoided in the past. the question is, who could i dress up as? :P
also, on Friday night i attended a concert by Ayria at Savage Garden. WHAT A SHOW! I've never gone to a live performance there before, and wow did they ever bring the goods! that was one of the most fun, energetic shows i've ever been to at any venue, of any genre of music. it started out with people just kinda settling into things and slowly getting into the groove Jenn and Joe were laying down for our listening pleasure, but after a couple of songs the energy level just grew and grew until about 200 people were jumping, swaying, and just dancing their asses off!
i was really happy to be there to experience that - as someone who's been a fan of Ayria for ages it was great, and i was honestly a little hesitant going in because often that kind of music doesn't necessarily translate well to live performance. all of my doubts are gone now, at least in their case. :)
i ended up buying a t-shirt there, as well as getting a couple of signed copies of their CD Flicker - one for myself and one that i'm going to give away as a door prize some night when i'm DJing ^^
i also got hooked up with some other CDs courtesy of Artoffact Records/Storming The Base, for which i'm very grateful :D i haven't listened to the others but so far i'm loving the Urceus Exit disc (listening to it right now in fact)
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| no Sinister Sunday tonight... |
[03 Sep 2006|06:37pm] |
it's been preempted for some concert or something - no idea who's playing. but i should be back again next week...
i just got back from Toronto, was up there all weekend and had a great great time - more on that to come later :)
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| Sinister Sunday playlist - August 27, 2006 |
[28 Aug 2006|04:11pm] |
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mood |
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sore |
] |
| [ |
music |
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Dir en grey - Berry |
] |
last night when i went in, there was an entirely different mixer, cd deck and speaker setup. i vastly prefer the old setup but i can live with this one. the speakers sounded really terrible until i fooled around with various setting for about an hour. now they only sound sorta terrible. :P lol well no, it's just that i preferred the old sound. as for the cd deck setup, etc, it's ancient! takes about 10 steps what it took 2 to do on the old one. oh well - i'll get used to it i guess, and just hope that the old system ends up making a return.
pretty fun, enthusiastic audience this week, and a lot more DANCING which i am always happy to see! because of the outdoor smoking laws there's this strange thing where people come out to hear the music they can't hear anywhere else in town, and then end up on the back patio half the night, chainsmoking their lung tissue away, where they can barely hear the music. :P it was kinda neat too, i was getting ready to shut down for midnight, but just a bit before then a bunch of people who were there earlier came back, bought a bunch of drinks and kept things open another hour :D
Sinister Sundays w/ DJ Lunaslave
playing industrial, gothic, synthpop, and dark alternative
8 PM - 12 AM+ @ The Bohemian
248 Front Street, Belleville, Ontario
(+ means if there's enough people around to justify it i'll be spinning until 1 AM)
( this week's playlist... )
and in other news, my earache is still bad but at least now i have some medicine for it, and i wish i could be in Toronto today to watch Dir en grey, KoRn, Deadsy, and Deftones...oh well i'll be there Friday to see Ayria :D
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| i feel like someone's drilling into my skull |
[27 Aug 2006|04:22pm] |
trying to release spiny little alien babies from my ear canal.
in other words i have a really *bad* earache in my right ear :( friday night it just came on all of a sudden like BAM and it's progressively gotten worse. i've gotta go to the doctor tomorrow. this is driving me insane. i have to wear earplugs at work because of the background noise levels and just getting it in and out of my right ear made me want to cry/scream/murder/seppuku.
on a happier note, i'm very pumped up about going to Toronto this coming Friday! my beloved Natalie and i are going to the big sci-fi/anime/horror/comic/geek convention next weekend. i'm interested in checking out the gaming stuff and seeing Juliet Landau (Drusilla from Buffy) and she's interested primarily in the anime stuff. i'm into that too, just not as much as she is :)
other awesome, awesome news connected with this upcoming weekend: Ayria will be playing at Savage Garden! i've always wanted to see Jenn and co. in concert, and now's my chance! i think i'm as excited about that as i am about the con!
the best thing about this upcoming weekend, however, will be just getting the chance to travel outside of the local area with my gf. i think we've ventured outside of the Belleville/Trenton area once, and that was to go to Kingston for a night. so this will give us the opportunity to change our surroundings and have lots of fun.
lastly, on a completely different note, i've been updating my iPod like mad, not with music, but with political speeches. i found a website with lots of socialist mp3 files. so now i can walk around and listen to 100+ hours of Marxist lectures. what's better than that?
http://www.mp3.internationalsocialists.org/
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| Sinister Sunday playlist - August 20, 2006 |
[27 Aug 2006|03:41pm] |
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this was kind of a fun one, when i showed up there was a film crew there! Chris and John, the hosts of Chris and John's Road Trip, which is a show on OUTtv, were filming stuff for their TV show. earlier that day the local LGBT community had their annual "Pride in the park" thing. so i came in, played music for a while, and then had to shut it all off while they filmed a little bachelor auction skit as a fundraiser for the local LBGT youth group. after all of that was done, the lights were finally darkened and the music kept going strong all night:) lots of people who generally don't come out when i DJ were there because of what they were filming, and overall the vibe seemed to be overwhelmingly positive towards the music, with one person going so far as to tell me that it's the best stuff he's heard in Belleville in 8 years of being here :)
Sinister Sundays w/ DJ Lunaslave
playing industrial, gothic, synthpop, and dark alternative
8 PM - 12 AM+ @ The Bohemian
248 Front Street, Belleville, Ontario
(+ means if there's enough people to justify staying open i'll be spinning until 1)
( this week's playlist... )
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| Sinister Sunday playlist - August 13, 2006 |
[20 Aug 2006|04:09pm] |
| [ |
music |
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XP8 - Muv Your Dolly |
] |
i'm still DJing, although i haven't posted any new setlists in a while. this one has a humorous story to go with it, so i just *had* to post it. i promise to try and keep up with the updating more :)
what an interesting time i had last sunday...
it was pretty dead early on, and some weird drunk guy wanders in off the street, and starts yelling and complaining about the music i'm playing (i think i was playing Juno Reactor, and he wanted to hear Triumph and Styx)
i'm like 'uhh, nope, sorry i don't have anything like that. this is the kind of thing we do here Sunday nights' - and then this guy is like on the verge of tears (and more than a little intoxicated) asking me why i can't play Triumph for him.
he goes away for a moment, comes back, asks for Queen, i tell him that i like Queen but i don't have any on me 'cause that's not the kind of thing i generally play but that i can play Nine Inch Nails covering Queen (Get Down Make Love) for him if he wants to hear that...nope. not good enough? sorry. can't help you. bye. so he walks away and throws up in the middle of the floor. and then he walks back over, lights a cigarette right in front of me (smoking in bars is totally illegal in Ontario) and is hanging over my CDs...i keep telling him to go away 'cause i don't want his sick on my music, and to put out his cigarette - he doesn't do either until he gets kicked out by the bartender. damn. never before have i had anything like that happen, and hopefully, never again.
Sinister Sundays w/ DJ Lunaslave
playing industrial, gothic, synthpop, and dark alternative
8 PM - 12 AM @ The Bohemian
248 Front Street, Belleville, Ontario
one more thing about the hours - apparently if there's enough people there (crowd has been kinda hit or miss lately) i'll be open till 1AM, not 12. so come on down and keep me open an hour later! :D
( August 13th setlist )
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| Head On - Apply Directly To The Forehead! |
[13 Jul 2006|05:53pm] |
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mood |
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 annoyed |
] |
Head On - Apply Directly To The Forehead! Head On - Apply Directly To The Forehead! Head On..ummm that just might be the most annoying TV commercial in history.
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| Sinister Sunday playlist - July 9th, 2006 |
[13 Jul 2006|05:32pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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bouncy |
] |
| [ |
music |
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The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Can You See Me |
] |
nice to get back to DJing this past Sunday...didn't have a set the week before that (July 2nd) because the place was all locked up. i showed up, but it wasn't open due to staffing issues.
no such problems this week! everything went well, my girlfriend came to check it out for the first time, which was great, it's not really her kind of music but she didn't mind it, i was just happy she could attend and meet some of my friends :) there was also a surprise appearance of a friend of mine who had moved away to the US a while back, which definitely shocked me!
overall, a really fun night.
Sinister Sundays w/ DJ Lunaslave
playing industrial, gothic, synthpop, and dark alternative
8 PM - 12 AM @ The Bohemian
248 Front Street, Belleville, Ontario
( this week's setlist... )
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| ranting on the subject of 'girly' drinks |
[07 Jul 2006|11:05am] |
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mood |
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 pensive |
] |
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music |
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A Perfect Circle - Judith |
] |
like most other bizarre cultural things related to our concept of gender, there exists something known as the 'girly' drink...
where did this concept come from? a drink is a drink! enjoy it, and be happy. the drink doesn't have XX or XY chromosomes - and even if it did, that's not always an accurate way to determine gender anyway ;)
i got into this conversation last night after work, after i stopped at the bar with one of my co-workers and the subject of 'girly' drinks came up in jest, to which i had to respond by quickly finishing my draft beer and defiantly ordering one :)
The Cosmopolitan.
to some people that's THE girly drink and to others it's a really, really gay drink. why, 'cause of the color? yeah, it's a little pinkish. i also happen to find them extremely freaking tasty, so whatever.
The Cosmopolitan also has WAY more alcohol than that oh-so-masculine beer you're holding, buddy, and it's not nearly as pink as that Pepto-Bismol you need to swill down after deciding your life just wasn't complete without those extra hot peppers on your steak sandwich, so chill.
there's already a huge divide in the way food products are advertised - for just one example, if you see someone eating a salad or some new low-fat product in a TV commercial, you're pretty much certain to see a woman eating it in the ad, a woman narrating, etc etc. there are other examples too, watch TV and try to point out which foods and drinks are supposedly 'masculine' and 'feminine'.
how much further can this go? is this a future that we really want? one where everything is divided (completely arbitrarily, mind you) on the basis of gender? is this helping us as a society at all? or is it simply helping out the corporations who wish to turn every single thing in our lives into nothing more than an easy target demographic they can peddle their merchandise to at an overinflated sticker price?
there's already some degree of gender segregation in conventional grocery stores - but maybe the day is coming when there will be separate men's and women's stores, like we have now with clothing or whatever. these won't replace the existing grocery stores - the woman of the house needs to go out and shop for the family as well, right?
but there will be separate stores as well - the women's will contain nothing but low-fat products, with extra sugar taking its place of course. also sold will be various salad ingredients - all designed for a guilt-free eating experience.
the men's grocery store will heavily emphasize red meat and various high-fat, high salt snack foods. real men don't feel guilty about actually enjoying their food. unless it's one of those fruity little low-fat yogurts or something, because after all, if you eat one of those and listen closely enough, you can hear the testosterone screaming and writhing in agony as it cries out in desperation for a slab of sirloin.
forget such antiquated notions as 'crossdressing' - the real gender outlaws of the future will be guilty of - you guessed it *gasp* 'crosseating'
'Oh my God, Bill, you're eating a salad. Do you just do this on the weekends, or are you having the surgery?'
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| this week's playlist :) |
[28 Jun 2006|06:05pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 (awake, sort of) |
] |
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music |
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current edition of Distorted Circuitry |
] |
not as busy this week, unfortunately, but still a few people there drinking and dancing to the sounds of the tunes i was playing :)
if you're reading this, and you're 19+ come on down and enjoy the Quinte Area's only regular dark music night.
the who, what, and when, yet again:
Sinister Sundays w/ DJ Lunaslave
playing industrial, gothic, synthpop, and dark alternative
8 PM - 12 AM @ The Bohemian
248 Front Street, Belleville, Ontario
( this week's playlist... )
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| another night, another success! |
[19 Jun 2006|01:53am] |
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mood |
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 accomplished |
] |
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music |
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The Who - My Generation |
] |
i've been feeling really, really awful this weekend (it's as if something's draining away all of my energy - really strange) and i had to drag my ass down to the Bohemian to do another DJ set, but i'm very glad i did!
once i got into my set it took my mind off things and made me feel a little better...good crowd tonight, too :) i think there were about 20-25 people there, and most but not all seemed to come for the purpose of checking out the music and hanging out - there were a few there that didn't come because i was there but i didn't scare them off either, which is a bonus...
for the longest time i had major doubts about whether a goth/industrial night could succeed here in Belleville, as it's a scene generally associated with larger cities, and even in many big cities the scene seems to be in a decline currently...
i think my doubts are slowly being removed. granted it's hard to judge after just 2 weeks, but even still, the attendance is improving, people are getting into the tunes, buying drinks, and having a good time - and they're talking about coming back regularly, which makes me very happy!
once again, the relevant info, for those who still don't know...
Sinister Sundays w/ DJ Lunaslave
8 PM - 12 AM
@ The Bohemian
248 Front Street, Belleville, Ontario
( ...and here's my playlist... )
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| ick... |
[18 Jun 2006|01:23am] |
| [ |
mood |
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exhausted |
] |
| [ |
music |
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The Prodigy - Out Of Space |
] |
i can't explain it at all, but for the past 2-3 days i've had *no* energy to do much of anything...missed the last couple of days at work because of it, too :(
i think on Monday i'm going to go to a doctor to get checked out - on Friday i had some stomach cramps and a headache but that went away, and now i just feel like i'm being completely drained of energy.
i'm still going to make it to my DJ night, but i'm probably going to be dragging my ass getting there. hmm...could this be chronic fatigue syndrome or something? i really hope not... :/ i've had people suggest that it could be anything from mono to anemia to parasites. i just hope i'm feeling better soon so i can get back to work...
going to go out for a walk now - it's late and all, but considering that i slept all last night and pretty much all day/evening today as well, i think i need some fresh air.
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| my first DJ night! and it went very, very well... |
[12 Jun 2006|01:27am] |
| [ |
mood |
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 satisfied |
] |
| [ |
music |
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Fictional - Opportunities |
] |
something i've been wanting to do for ages is start up a dark music night here in Belleville, and tonight i finally got the chance. there's absolutely nothing in this city resembling a goth/industrial scene, much to my dismay over the years. wanting to change this but not quite sure how other than trying to find a gig spinning the tunes i love, i pitched the idea for a dark alternative music night to the owner of a local bar, and he seemed interested in the idea...i played my first set tonight :)
i wasn't quite sure how many people would be interested in such a thing, but the Sunday night at this place was generally pretty dead, so more than 3 or 4 people would be an improvement in attendance.
to my great surprise i ended up with about 15 paying customers there. which isn't a lot of course compared to a club night in a city with a regular scene, but for a first time thing with no promotion beyond word of mouth so far, i'd say that's pretty successful!
as for the music i played, i stayed away from the Converter, Iszoloscope and Imminent Starvation (which i would've loved to play) and just focused on popular dancy industrial/futurepop/whatever, some NIN/Manson/KMFDM type stuff and some classic goth tunes and darker industrial music.
for anyone into this kind of music, consider for a second that not only were songs like Headhunter and Bela Lugosi's Dead never overplayed here, they were never even played here at all, so i decided to go for a kind of 'dark music for dummies' kind of feel - mixing in the classics that people everywhere else are incredibly sick of with some more current, fresh stuff...(actually come to think of it, Bela actually got requested...lol)
i think it ended up being a pretty good mix overall, and i was also pleasantly surprised at the number of requests i recieved. granted nobody (other than one guy who i've turned on to this kind of music) was requesting any EBM or futurepop, but it's nice to learn that there are actually other people in this town who enjoy listening to Skinny Puppy and The Sisters of Mercy... :)
as it turns out it's going to be a regular thing now, every Sunday from 8 PM - 12 AM (they close early on Sunday nights - perhaps that will change if i keep bringing in more clientele)
...in case you're wondering where, it's at The Bohemian, 248 Front Street, downtown Belleville, Ontario, Canada ^_^
( here's the setlist... )
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