Advice to a New Club Promoter

There is only one golden rule: The ONLY thing that gets people into events is other people. If you already have people coming, other people will come. As far as nightclub events go, this is the ONLY rule that matters. I promise you. Other rules: As a promoter, your...

Chicago Rock Cafe Cats

All this digging out old stuff from my past as a Chicago Rock Cafe DJ in the 90s reminds me that they used to have this thing called “Chicago Cats” or something. Basically, the bar staff would work out a dance routine to something awful, like...

The Thinking DJ

In 1996, all the Chicago Rock Cafe DJs got together and had a big meeting (unpaid). They put on their very best thinking caps and entered the Chicago Rock Cafe ‘Think Tank’, chaired by the self appointed ‘Head DJ’, where they voiced their very...

How to Create An Atmosphere as a DJ

This diagram came from the handout provided by Luminar Leisure during one of their monthly “Patronise a DJ” meetings (which, I hasten to add, I never attended, despite constant ‘last’ warnings). So in 1997, nearly ten years after turning...