What's that sound? Raves on the front page of the Edmonton Journal, February 26, 1993.

~ ~ This article brought to you by the patronage of A.B. ~ ~

It has been 25 years since the Edmonton Journal published a front page, feature length article about something never before heard of: “raves.” The city newspaper's February 26, 1993 edition landed on the doorsteps of Edmontonians and titillated them over their porridge. The headline, white on black, shouted in letters an inch high:

Headline of the February 26, 1993 edition of the Edmonton Journal. "RAVE ON: A Dance Party for the 90's Flower Children"

It was the first time raves appeared on the Journal's front page.

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E-town Rave History Project Seeks Volunteers

E-town Rave History Project can't be done by one man

The E-town Rave History Project is growing by leaps and bounds. To use the lingo of software startups, it's time to "scale" the project.

I'm looking for volunteers to analyze the growing number of flyers, newspaper articles, and interviews in my collection. In some cases, you will be getting your hands dirty with primary source materials that haven't seen the light of day in 20 years.

Here is where we will start:

• You will receive a scanned flyer (example)... you will type all the words including DJ bios, schedule information, and any text.
• Or, you will get a scanned newspaper article (example)... you will use OCR to convert image to text, and correct the output.
• Or, you will get raw of images scanned flyers... you will crop the images and save them in accordance with a naming convention.

Things get interesting fast: the next tasks centre on linguistics and statistics. If you're interested in working with exclusive interview footage, that's on the menu too. See below for more details.

So I ask you:

• Are you a data nerd? 
• Are you good with language (spelling, grammar, punctuation)?
• Are you careful and precise? 
• Do you love the whole universe of techno -- from the 1980's on? 
• Do you want to actually MAKE history in Edmonton?

Find me on Facebook and get in touch.

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E-town Rave History Project at AEMCON

This week, I am speaking on a panel at the Alberta Electronic Music Conference (#AEMCON2017).  The talk is called "Alberta's Dance Music Legacy" and I am presenting some preliminary results of my E-town rave research. 

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Period (A) -- The Primary Sources

Who doesn't love a good party flyer? Remember the exciting feeling of picking up a flyer for a killer party, feeling its weight and its finish, turning it over in your hands? Remmeber how the flyer itself -- the colours, the typography, the graphics -- would signal what kind of vibe the promoters were going for? How the party flyer something you could look forward to and hold on to?

In this article, we dive head first into the primary source material at the heart of the E-town Rave History Project -- party flyers.

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"A town that works hard, plays hard" -- Edmonton, Sketchiness and the Early Dance Music Scene

My Interview with Prosper Prodaniuk - Part 1

Interview Date: August 5, 2016

Interview Location: Second floor, Enterprise Square 
(Old Eaton's Building), Edmonton AB

Interview total time: Part 1, 58:45

In this interview, Prosper Prodaniuk, music journalist, deejay and participant-observer of the rave scene since back in the day, shares his thoughts about the rough edges of Edmonton's dance music scene, and memories of formative events back to childhood. Sports World Roller Rink, the Syrena Club in the basement of Polish Hall, that empty clothing store at the top of Edmonton Centre -- all are discussed.

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Ten Early Edmonton parties (1991-1993)

From My Interview with Art Sproul (Part 1)

Interview date: May 16, 2017, 8:00 PM Eastern

Interview location: By telephone (Montreal-Edmonton)

Interview total time: ~2 hours (first 30 minutes represented here)

In this excerpt, Art Sproul -- part owner of the record store Breakaway Music and rave promoter from 1991 to '93 -- recounts the parties he promoted in Edmonton from 1991-1993, at Flashback[2], the Bronx, Dance Factory [0] and [1], as well as the venue that would (under duress) become Rebar.

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DJ Soulus (Roost; Rebar; GOMP), rave scene pioneer

Interview Transcript: Alicia K (DJ Soulus)

Interview date: August 7, 2016, 11:00 AM

Interview location: Alicia’s house, ground floor, sitting room Edmonton, AB

Interview total time: ~45 minutes

Alicia spins liquid drum 'n bass under the pseudonym Soulus.  She is a photographer and graphic designer who produces flyers for parties and club nights promoted by, among others, Grumpy Old Men Productions (GOMP) and their associates. 

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