My Interview with Prosper Prodaniuk - Part 1
Interview Date: August 5, 2016
Interview Location: Second floor, Enterprise Square
(Old Eaton's Building), Edmonton AB
(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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| Prosper Prodaniuk in 2016 |
~ ~ Key Concepts ~ ~
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| Edmonton on the globe. Source: US Central Intelligence Agency 2016 |
- Edmonton of the late 1980's, early '90s: "A really big small town."
- Many record collectors in the city. Deejays obsessed with new records.
- Before invention of internet, one or two copies of a given record would arrive in Edmonton ever.
- CJSR: A part of the scene since the start.
- Sound Connection: major Edmonton record store. Groove Asylum too.
- Edmonton: a history of all-ages dance events.
- Polish Hall: home to an underground nightclub before it was a venue for raves.
~ ~ Interview Transcript Part 1 ~ ~
JP: All right, joining me now, Prosper Prodaniuk, producer and announcer of Future Funk on CKUA; columnist and reporter of electronic, classical, dance and alternative music for SEE Magazine; Producer, announcer and reporter for CJSR.
PP: Yep.
JP: Prosper, thank you for joining me today.
PP: Hey you're welcome. I'm excited. This is Edmonton. This is a story that needs to be told. This is stuff that needs to be talked about.
JP: This is a great story. Prosper, where did you grow up?
PP: I’m Edmonton born and raised. For the first five years of our life we lived in my dad's building. My dad had a building on Fort road, about 66 Street, that he had his architecture and engineering business in and we lived on the top floor. My mom, she had her beauty salon in there and then she had three kids as well.
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| Summer night, Edmonton's Rundle Park. Source: Wikimedia |
JP: Where did you go to school?
PP: Our school, elementary, was Rundle Heights Elementary, which they’re knocking down now they're going make big mega-school out there on that site. Did Londonderry, grade seven to nine and then we moved out to Westmount, Ross Shepard 10-12.
JP: What was it like to grow up in Edmonton?
PP: It's fabulous. I mean, Rundle park! That's where a lot of my memories come from.
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| "Edmonton was like a really big small town." Main Street in Strathcona, Alberta [now Whyte Avenue in Edmonton]. Postcard dated 1907. Source: Peel's Prairie Provices |
We're talking about music today -- one thing about Edmonton is that there are a ton of record collectors here. And as one of my friends Chris Waterton said -- he's a deejay and producer around here for a lot of years, he lives in Los Angeles now -- I said, “Man, there’s a lot of record collectors around here. Between all of us we’ve got every record on earth. And not just electronic. There’s hardcore jazz collectors, hardcore classical collectors." [Chris] said, “What the fuck else are we going to do here? What do you do in the winter ...when it's minus 30? What else are you going to do except go down to the music store, buy a few things and then listen to them?"
You know, I've found a lot of smaller cities and disconnected cities, they carry that collector-hoarder kind of mentality because it's just not as easy to go out, and it's not as easy to go for a ride in the country as it is in other places. So you just sit at home and collect stuff.
Oh and then the other thing: you know, we're talking about Edmonton, what it was like to grow up in Edmonton. [05:00] Edmonton, I kind of thought it had its own vibe for a while, but Edmonton kind of reminds me of a lot of mid-west cities and a lot of grungier East Coast cities in the United States, places like Pittsburgh, Detroit, you know, beat-up very hardworking blue-collar towns.
What I learned very early, -- I kind of started partying, drinking when I was like 12-13 -- a thing I learned very early is that a town that works hard plays hard a lot as well.
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| A General Motors TH65307N bus. Source: the Bus Preservation Page. |
But what I did love about all that side of life is that I started to discover, 12 or 13 -- what I love is that Edmonton is a pretty fucking sketchy city too. It's not too hard to find some illicit fun, a little back alley fun -- and I love that. I love that part of any city. Even when we travel, even when [my wife] and I went to Europe for a month for our honeymoon. I don't want to see the glossy tourist places. I want to go to the sketchy, crappy parts.
You know, an old saying: if you can dance with the poor, you can live like the rich.
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| That weird corner downtown, 104 Street and 99 Av. |
But I just enjoy being around it for some reason, not enjoying or not partaking, not ever. I don't like anything too polished or too nice. And I never have. I like the rough edges of everything.
I know you're focusing on a specific time but all of that Edmonton sketchiness history, and dance music and alternative history which is very rich, that kind of has to come into play. A lot of things that happened at that time came from that time. Especially some of the rougher edges, and we can talk about that as we go on. Compared to the other cities that I've been around and lived in and stuff, there's a very rough edge to Edmonton's dance scene. And not always in a good way.
EDMONTON in the Canadian news -- 1981
DANCE TURNS INTO RIOT
"Edmonton, Alta. -- A Klondike Days street dance in downtown Edmonton turned into a riot on Wednesday night [July 15, 1981] when heavy rain forced bands at the dance to shut down early.
"Police arrested several people and a few others were taken away in ambulances. [...] Streets were littered with broken bottles, empty cans of solvent and passed out drunks."
Source: The Globe and Mail, July 17, 1981
JP: Did you listen to the radio when you were growing up?
PP: Tons. See, my sister and I, we were a little bit left to our own devices because my dad was super busy with his architectural engineering business until the mid-eighties when that went under because the whole province went under. And my mom was busy with my oldest brother. My oldest brother has severe nonverbal autism and epilepsy and stuff. So she was like taking care of him all the time.
We listened to tons of music. My autistic brother listened to music all the time. We had a very large music collection, I think partially because my parents liked it, and then partially because part of autism is that if you're really into something you really get into it, so my brother had no problem playing the same record over and over and over again, all day. And so I think [my parents] just kept buying records to stay sane. You know -- “Here's the new one! Here's the new one!” And they collected a lot of stuff. My mom liked anything that was fun. Progressive, for white parents in the late 1970's, early '80s -- we had a lot of disco. We had a lot of early hip hop. But she also liked her Barry Manilow and ELO [Electric Light Orchestra]. I think she just liked anything fun.
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| Kraftwerk, live at Royal Albert Hall. Source: freq.co.uk |
Another recording that's ultra-familiar to me is -- I got this little seven inch when I was a kid. You would go to K-Days [Klondike Days] and you throw some darts and they give you a grab bag and in there was a 7", a disco 7" by a group called Space. You got to go and listen to these two tracks. It's like very proto-techno, very proto-trance. It's by an artist from France called Space and two songs were [♫] "Just Blue" on one side and [♫] “Final Signal” on the other side.
"You got to go and listen to these two tracks."
1. [♫] Just Blue 2. [♫] Final Signal
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| Hi Kids! What the Fuck is Techno?! |
And then again -- with my brother we listened to it over and over. When you're a kid you have five or 10 cassettes you have four or five records you're just playing them over and over again.
JP: Do you remember any other ‘firsts?’
PP: Arguably my first party is...
Despite my brother’s issues with autism my mom worked very hard with him and taught him to swim, ride a bike and roller skate. So we used to go to Sports World all the time when it was right on the LRT tracks, right by the Stadium station. We used to go to that place all the time. Tons of gangs used to go to Sports World all the time -- but tons of kids too. I remember I was about seven, having a Pac-Man birthday there. We used to go there, and we went there one night -- and I'm like six or seven -- and it was one of the funnest nights of my life. It was disco night. The lights were way the fuck down, except for a little bit of neon. I'm a kid. There's people doing drugs and shit in the corner. And Just disco, all night, mixed together by an actual deejay. So good… Playing some hits of the day, but then also just playing like you hear now with techno or trance, a guy just playing with two records for 10 minutes, keepin’ that beat going. That night was very influential on me.
We went to Sports World a hundred times after that, it wasn't the same as that night. I think my mom was like, “Holy shit, we walked into disco night and we're not coming to the next one.“
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Prosper recollects these early techno experiences:
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So then I started listening to CJSR all the time, a lot. And then, like I said, kind of left to my own devices a bit so: [00:15:00] listening to a lot music, buying a lot of music, listening to a lot of radio, buying lots, reading a lot of music magazines, and watching TV although TV was probably the least interesting part of it for music.
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| A&A Records & Tapes Source: Youtube.com |
Sound Connection, downtown when it was right on 101 Street, right by [Victoria Composite High School]. 12" singles. Paying way too much money for them. I mean you know the dollar was shit at the time against the UK pound, just paying way too much money for records and CDs and stuff. So you know you’re saving up for ever until you can afford each one. Still listening to the radio and stuff the whole time and talking to the guys there.
JP: Can you paint a picture for me of the record store Sound Connection? What was it like?
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| Advertisement for Sound Connection. Source: The Gateway, March 27, 1980 |
So you walk in, you go to your right. It's four or five glass cases with cashiers on top of them. The glass cases have your coolest box sets and whatever. And then to your left you had some records and T-shirts. I think mostly some rock and pop was over there and some jazz and stuff.
And then, on the far left, what I always remember – and this is in the glory days in the music industry too – was: all day every day, they had buyers there, just sitting there as people brought in their CDs, brought in their LPs, bringing shit in, all day, everyday. [00:20:00] And they didn't -- they would have refused stuff on condition --but they would never refuse it for what the music was. I think the best record stores that I have been to all over the world, they have everything. And you have to have everything, because you don't know what people are going to buy.
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Prosper: "Arguably the first house/techno
cassette I ever bought."
Jive Presents: Acid House (1989)
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By the time I was going to it, [Sound Connection] was well respected as one of the top five records stores in Canada.
I’ll never forget the day after going there for a while, somebody said, Yeah the main floor is all right, but what you gotta do is you gotta go downstairs. Because you have to understand, at a time like late 1980s, early '90s, no one gave a fuck about disco and old electronic music. So they had all the stuff from that era downstairs because it wasn't selling. And a friend of mine -- I think Cory Payne had mentioned it once and I think, I know for sure Mick Sleeper the Reggae DJ at CJSR had mentioned it -- they're like, Nah you want to go downstairs because that’s where all the good shit is, and it'll be like a dollar. You could walk out of there with a big stack and they would just charge you a buck apiece.
So you went downstairs – a dank, shitty, fucking hundred year-old basement with nine billion records. I bought a ton of my early dance music from there.
You know, I was obsessed. I think as a deejay, most deejays are obsessed with what's coming up right now. What came out this week. What came out today. Especially back then, a lot of the deejays who were on CJSR, a lot of deejays who played the parties, raves and the radio -- a lot of times with Edmonton one copy of that CD would come in, one copy of that 12" would come in ever. And you wanted to buy it because no one else had that tune.
But yes, Sound Connection was a beautiful place. Lots of wood paneling, lots of wooden bins full of records and stuff. And I mean it was the best record store for a long time. SU Records, I heard a lot of stories about SU Records on campus and it was nice too but it more catered to like the jazz and experimental and punk crowd.
JP: And just one quick follow up question, where was [Sound Connection] in the city?
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| Sound Connection, 10726 - 101 Street |
PP: Sound connection was on 101st street just north of 107th Ave forever. It was basically nestled between 107th Ave and Vic Comp high school. And then like I said -- late 1990’s, early 2000s it moved to 124th Street and about 109th Ave. And then the original owner sold it and the guys moved it to Whyte Ave for a few years, Whyte Ave and about 103rd street.
Sadly it closed down just a few months ago. Now it's done. It just wasn't the same.
And that's too bad. I think with the original owner it probably would've lasted forever because he just knew how to run that quintessential record store.
JP: Can you talk to me about the first times you started to get involved in Edmonton's nightlife?
PP: Involved, like I said, from about 12-13 years old. [00:25:00] We used to take the bus downtown and hang outside of Flashback and Rock City. I never got involved with a lot of sketchiness but I had friends who had no qualms about it. I had sketchy friends. I never got really involved with any of the sketchiness but I loved being around it, and had some great sketchy friends.
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| Page 1 of the Top 70 list from Hot Trax, for November 13, 1987. Source: Flashback Facebook page |
And so I went there -- it had its own separate entrance. And then one afternoon, four or five in the afternoon -- doors open to the club. I'm shopping for records or whatever and again -- I look just like this minus 80 pounds but I'm tall and old looking. So I go into the club, just to hang out for a bit. And this is the afternoon -- it's a bar literally at that point. There's a little bit of music playing in the back, but mostly it's 90% gay guys just getting off work and coming and having a beer. So we were just hanging out there and it's like, Oh it’s a club. Staying a little longer, the music’s getting a little hotter, pretty good... and then I got asked for my membership and I didn't have one, so I had to leave. We're talking like that's about 1989 now, 1990.
We'd end up -- one of the first times like I really actively went to a club -- like you got to remember to this whole time, loving dance music, loving electronic music, always buying it, always reading about it. But still adventurous and going out with friends and stuff. And we ended up, a friend of mine, I think I was 14 or 15 -- it was right before we moved out to Westmount -- and he was 16. He had a friend who was Polish and she just lived like 97th street kind of by where the Italian Centre shop was. We used go to her place once in a while and I would stay around listening to music. She was super into disco, high energy, house, techno. And what she would do -- and partially because she’s a super attractive lady -- she would go out and stuff and guys would constantly give her mix tapes. She would be friends with deejays and she would just go to the parties all the time. So I would like play these mix tapes at her house all the time. And you know she taught me to dance and taught me how cool the clubs were.
You couldn't barely buy any of that [music] in Edmonton at that time. You could buy a little bit of it at Sound Connection -- but again, only if you got lucky to go there on the day that the record was there before somebody else bought it.
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| Edmonton's Polish Hall, 10960 - 104 St. Note side entrance to Syrena Club. Source: Shamelessly stolen |
So I remember going to Syrena. That was my first real club, I mean other than going to the Sportsworld disco night. And it was very similar vibe right, sketchy and rough, Polish gangster looking dudes and stuff. And the music was fucking fabulous.
There's nothing like hearing that music in the club. It's made for the club -- the highs, the highs of the high hats and the snares and stuff, the high frequencies, just those low frequencies really kicking your chest. An 808 bass drum on your CD player, as opposed to 808 bass drum in a club. That was my first clear club experience and we rolled with her a few times.
For myself, once I moved out to the west end I kind of got disconnected with a lot of the sketchiness. Like I would still go downtown, I would take the bus and stuff, but I kind of got disconnected from those sketchy friends. And I mean I would still party but [00:30:00] it was mostly with preppy friends at Ross Shep [Ross Shepard High School] which of course was very preppy school at that time. I still loved the music, I still bought the music, I still went downtown all the time to buy the music, still rolling in those parts of towns but -- let's just say I wasn’t rolling with prostitutes and gangsters as much by the time I was 16. I kind of had already been there done that.
JP: What was it like to go out? Did you get dressed up?
PP: Oh yeah, it was super preppy at that time. What I would do is I would kind of save up my little money a little bit. And then every year Henry Singer would have a sale for a couple of days and it would be 50% to 75% off and you’d walk in there and they took out everything from the warehouse. So that's when I would go buy my Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren. That that sweatshirt that was regular 200 bucks, now you could get it for 70 bucks. And that was the style at the time.There was a really great -- there was kind of a clothing store, I want to try and remember the name of it, but it was at the top of the Edmonton Centre, like the very fucking top. And they brought in a lot of fashion, but the guys there were super into the club scene as well. So if you wanted to learn about music, or you wanted to learn where the cool party was -- I'm already talking about 1990-91-92 -- if you want to know where the cool party was you talk to them. They'd be like, Oh, Flash is doing this, or, There's this warehouse rave, or, You know somebody doing a party in Dad's automotive garage or whatever. You would find out from there.
And again, it was at the top, top [of Edmonton Centre]. Half the place wasn't rented out at that time. If you’re going up there, you're going up there for a specific reason. Like you're not getting a lot of casual traffic up there.
If you want to talk about sketchiness and stuff -- the late 1980s, early '90s was Edmonton at its shittiest moment, which is when cities are most exciting. Going out [in Edmonton then] was a very exciting time. You never knew what you were going to get. You never –
I was very much about the music. Like I would go dance for four or five hours straight no problem. Like, Hey! Walk in -- I'm talking 15 through about 21-22 years old -- walk in, Hey everyone nice to see ya -- then go dance for 5 hours, and like not talk to anybody. Stayed up all night a lot around that time. It was like a sense of pride when you walked out of the club or the rave or whatever it was like all bright out and you're like, “All nighter!” You were very proud of yourself.
JP: I remember when it used to snow over the course of a party. Not knowing and you would come out and everything would be white and shiny. Those are some of my fondest party memories.
PP: Aren't they?
One of my favorite memories from university was -- our house was literally right on the Groat road between 107th and Westmount Mall. Lots of times in the winter when it was maybe -5, -10, gigantic snowflakes, walking home from the university down the hill, across Groat road, some fabulous music in my walkman and I think people have to remember those times, some of the great things about Edmonton.
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| Traci Lords on the flyer for "Cosmic Jam '95." |
And, I think eventually Traci Lords didn’t show or something, something, visa problems, whatever. But it was a fabulous party. And I remember that time –
Again the date, the date escapes me but it was time of the year that shouldn't have been snowing. We hadn't had snow for weeks. Go in to the party, we come out, seven or eight hours later and like it's Armageddon outside. Some freak fucking crazy winter storm. The roads, we're all like we're talking 4:00, 5;00, 6:00 in the morning. Nobody's really driven on the roads yet. It was -- I think it was kind of the Argyll-ish area. My friend Ryan in this little Mustang is trying to drive us all home back to the west end and it's just like ...fuck.
And that happened to a lot in April, May...
[Editor's note: "Cosmic Jam '95" happened in November so maybe we are remembering the first snowfall of a season, not the last. But I can personally confirm as an Edmontonian, that unexpected snow did happen a lot, in April, May...]
PP: The Bronx, only went a couple of times.
Let's put it this way: I could’ve had so much more fun in high school because what was happening some of the friends I used to talk to, what they were doing, during high school, is they had memberships at Flash [Flashback[1] -- Ed.] so they went to the fucking Flash and Bronx all the time. But I wasn't close enough friends to be like, “Yeah I'm jumping in the car with ya and going on a Saturday night, you know.”
You had all the punk and fucking grunge, a lot of that used to be at the Bronx, like you know they you know people always talk about how they were at, You know the Nirvana show and all that kind of stuff. And we had a few -- lots of flannel in high school, lots of toques. And lots of those kids would go to the Bronx too.
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| Bronx, 10030 - 102 St. A private club for "Members & Guests" |
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| Advertisement for Divine Decadence in its original location, 89th Avenue and 112th Street. Source: The Gateway, October 3, 1989 |
One thing I used to do kind of when I was you know taking the bus and I was buying a lot of records I think is -- and I mean it’s the reason they did it -- I would always be looking at the flyers on the posts [downtown] and the flyers, on the billboards. Advertising early raves, or advertising the Dance Factory.
But I think in those times a few kind of the casual friends I have now, damn, they went to Flash every weekend. They went to the Bronx every weekend. I mean if it was meant to happen, it would have happened but it was it was a cool place.
JP: That far back at the SportEx, 1995?
PP: Oh yeah. Maybe more like 98 or 99. But I remember the first big party I had to go. Kevin Saunderson who had never been here, Green Velvet who had never been here, at the SportEx. And I was just like holy shit.
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| Flyer for Cirrus 23 nightclub, 10089 Jasper Ave. |
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| Logo for Def Star, promoters of "Ascension" (April 1, 2000). |
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| IN THE NEWS: A graph of the occurence of the word "rave" over time in Edmonton's print newspapers. The sharp increase labelled 'A' starts on April 2, 2001, one day after "Ascension." |
JP: The warehouses, airplane hangars: all over the city? Where were they?
PP: Kingsway.
JP: The Kingsway --
PP: When the airport was open.
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| "View of hangars and aircraft of the Municipal Airport, Edmonton, Alberta" (post card c.1940). Compare the size of the figures, left, to get a sense of the size of raves in Edmonton in the 1990's. Source: Peel's Prairie Provinces |
PP: Yeah. Yeah. And different weekends there would be parties and different hangers. Because you would rent it out. Just be like, Hey, We're going to have this party and then you would rent it. You know people come and fucking trash it and then the guy who owned it would never like to have a party again. So you talk to somebody else who lets you throw a party. That happened a lot in the 90s where locations would be different all the time because a lot of places were like, “Sure you can have your little dance party here” and then like, “Nope you can't have any fucking parties here any more.” So locations changed all the time.
JP: I think that happened with the Bus Barns.
Early rave imagery often imitated or parodied corporate logos. Here are three examples from the book Rave Culture by Jimmi Fritz. The author says: "Although light-hearted, there is a larger political statement being made. [... Ravers] are challenging the power and authority of these mega corporations by showing the corporations may have less power than they would like us to believe.
PP: Were you ever at "Ravers of the Lost Ark" [May 6, 1995] in the Garneau Theatre?
JP: Oh my God no but I saw a flyer for Temple of Boom. [00:45:00]
PP: Exactly. Vapo-Raves.
JP: Ravin' Bran. This is all before my time.
Examples of Edmonton flyers that also parody corporate logos.
"Ravin' Bran" (May 6, 1995) and "Vick's VapoRave" (November 13, 1992)
PP: That very UK influence. The Edmonton scene was very UK-influenced at the beginning from the late 1980s to the mid '90s. They were basically copying what like Cream and Shoom and Oakenfold and all those guys. They're basically kind of copying what everyone in the UK was doing.
And then somewhere in the mid to late 90s when the sketch came back, we kind of picked up more of what like someone like Richie Hawtin talks about when they talk about the Midwest rave scene, where it's kind of an isolated place and people just come out and have a good time and they're up for it, but it's a little more rougher edged and gritty. And so the rave scene here now, and kind of from the early 2000s, was a lot more of that [00:46:00] Midwest-y kind of Detroit, Minneapolis, Milwaukee vibe. And that's kind of what Edmonton's rave scene was like.
But at the very beginning, UK, you wouldn't see people all PLUR'd and candy raver-ed out. You went to raves by kind of late 80s, early 90s, mostly those times were, Everyone looks fabulous, everyone was wearing the best clothes and people would go in suits and you know of course, a lot more gay people in the scene back then too. Because it was happening a lot more in the gay clubs, more through the LGBTQ community. So you know lots of gay bros, like perfectly sculpted, in perfect clothes, looking perfect. You know it was a lot more dress to impress in the late 80s, early 90s and then that kind of just started to go away in the mid 90s and things got a lot more out just more grungy here and fun ravy gravy candy kid parties.
A Musical Aside: "Really indicative of the UK interpretation of house and rave was [♫] "Theme From S-Express" from 1988." -- Prosper
JP: Let me ask you a question that I bet you can talk about at length which is: Can you situate Techno in the broader musical context in Edmonton. What gave rise to it? What were the factors that laid the groundwork for techno to, for the rave scene to take root? [47:40]
PP: Hardcore record collectors here, great record stores, and people just desperate to have a fucking good time.
JP: Can you talk to me about some of those people?
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| Footnote. Scroll dowwwwn... |
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| This is DJ Bannock, browsing for records at Groove Asylum, photographed for the cover of Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity by Adam Krims, published (2000) by Cambridge University Press. |
In our scene I mean the big guys were laying down the foundations from the ground floor. If you want to start specifically you know[49:00] Cory Payne, Tryptomene, DJ Dragon. You know I mean those were like you know -- already in the early 1990s, mid '90s those guys were already Dons of the scene. Nicky Delgado. You know, some of the guys that used to be the residents at the dance factory, like Waylon Sherrington and those guys. And, those were the guys playing really the first records a lot, so they became the guys.
I mean anybody can deejay but I don't ever remember them being struggling deejays. They had their craft down pretty early. And so even in the mid 90s you would go to parties and they would throw down a three hour flawless set of fabulous stuff.
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| Three of Edmonton's original DJ's, featured on "Rock Star" trading cards for Lush Nightclub. |
JP: How did people find each other back then, before the Internet and before smartphones? [00:50:00]
PP: Record stores.
JP: Record stores.
PP: Clubs. So you would go to a club -- that was the best part too, right, is that, I mean obviously just like the industrial scene, just like the punk scene --
Alternative music is for alternative people, people who don't fit in the boring, normal everyday box of shit. So you're just so excited, you read about it at a record store, you see it on a flyer, you go to that thing... And then you're like, Oh all these people are just like me. And all these people don't necessarily get along with the normal part of society and all these people have the same thoughts as I do and of course they love the same music that I do. So you instantly become friends.
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| A typical venue for mid-sized parties in the mid-nineties. Strathcona Community Hall, 10139 - 87 Ave. Source: strathconacommunity.ca |
Or -- I mean, how many times, how beautiful and awesome was it, was, it was probably just like when you had some of your parties and I guarantee you, there were a few people there, going to that party and that was their first party. And they thought, This was fucking awesome. And these people are awesome. And this is where I wanna be. I feel like an outsider in normal life but I come here, I feel great. We're all having a good time and your life gets a little bit better because of that. And that happened a lot.
JP: Those were really great times. It was a really good part of being alive in Edmonton.
PP: And it's true because when you're a kid in your house, a teenager in your house, and school, and when you're especially one of those kids, you don't quite fit in with everybody or whatever. The first time you start going to these parties it's just like, Oh! this is what I'm supposed to do. And then you have a great decade. Or you have a great two decades. And it's all groovy from there.
JP: Let's put in a break.
PP: Sure.
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| The original city logo, developed in 1976 and adopted in 1977. "A town that works hard, [raves] hard." |
PP: That's a big question. Let's go for a walk, let's go to our car. Ah, that's a big question.
~ ~ [♫] Musical Postscript ~ ~
In addition to the history described in this interview, Prosper deejayed under the name Marquez el Prodan at parties by Grumpy Old Men Productions, and others. He also promoted his own series of events called "10x10."
One such party (May 6, 2005) was named "Charevari," named for:
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| [♫] "Sharevari" (1981) by ANumberOfNames |
[♫] "a once-heard, never forgotten track [...dedicated] to the Charivari parties that happened in west Detroit in the late 70s-early 1980's" (Prosper Prodaniuk).
"...Interpreted by some enthusiasts as an early example of techno music" (Source: discogs.com)
~ ~ Index of this Interview ~ ~
Bronx
• @39:21 memories of the Bronx
• @39:48 Sean opening for Frontline Assembly at the Bronx; and some alt-dance night at the Bronx
• @40:00 cool place to be, Divine Decadence on Whyte
• @41:00 grungy
• @41:10 Bronx was the place to be, but Prosper didn’t go as music, too much focus on music school, etc, bars etc
• @42:01 Lush, $.50 highballs, fabulous music
• @38:20 Italo disco friends all had memberships to Flash and the Bronx
• @38:50 punks, grunge
CJSR
• @35:05 radio shows at university; @48:38 Teddy Pemberton, show on CJSR, used to DJ discos
Cirrus 23
• @43:00 Dance Club, tried to open on 101 and Jasper next to New City;
CKUA
• @00:09 Prosper was deejay at CKUA (Future Funk) and did a bunch of shows on CJSR
Cosmic Jam '95
• @35:55 took preppy friends to Traci Lords party
• @36:11 Warehouse on south east side
• @36:25 Traci Lords didn’t show
• @36:44 snowstorm mid may like armageddon
• @37:20 common occurence in April or May
Dance Factory
• @40:40 Dance Factory; open all night (no booze)
• @40:15 smaller events, flyers on posts and flyers on billboards, advertising early raves or Dance Factory
Deejaying
• @22:00 DJ’s obsessed with newness
• @49:25 Edmonton's first DJ’s and good DJ’s
• @49:40 always had their craft down early, even in mid 90’s
• @55:50 DJ’s want to be on flyers, be part of it
• @58:25 Edmonton's 'not undenaibly great' DJ's
• @48:49 Founders in Edmonton: Cory Payne, Tryptomene, Dragan, @49:02 mid 90’s; @49:11 Nicky Delgado
• @54:52 a deejay vignette: @55:10 always get paid when you play at a commercial establishment, plus bar tab; @55:30 parties are different; @55:40 parties tend to not make money
Divine Decadence
• @40:08 was the cool store on Whyte Ave
Edmonton
• @18:29 all that Edmonton sketchiness history, dance music history which is very rich
• @18:40 especially some of the rougher edges
• @18:50 very rough edge to Edmonton’s dance scene
• @22;16 one copy each of CD’s, 12” per city
• @25:10 friends on Saturday night; $150-$200 paycheque; @25:30 sketchy friends;
• @27:00 italo disco; high energy; hard to find in Edmonton; @27:15 if you got lucky
• @29:44 moved out to west end, got disconnected from sketchy Edmonton
• @29:55 partying with preppy friends while at Ross Shep; @30:15 by age 16, 17
• @30:53 saving up money, Henry Singer sale 50-75% off, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, style
• @memory of clothing store at top floor of Edmonton centre run by guys super into club scene; through to @31:55 learning where are the parties in 1990-1991-1992
• @32:30 sketchiness in the late eighties - early nineties was Edmonton at it’s shittiest moment; @32:58 when cities are the most exciting; transformation of neighbourhoods, cities, through to @33:35;
• @33:15 favourite memory; lived in Westmount; lots of times in winter, walking from University down, cross groat road, fabulous music in Walkman; @35:45, remember those times
• @34:00 snow during party
• @37:50 sketchy, then went to Ross Shep; @38:08 didnt go out a lot at that time; @38:19 could have had more fun if had connected with techno fans at work
• @38:30 Ross Shep = 3500 people, close friends, acquaintances
• @39:29 BEAM; Boreal Electroaccoustic Music
Firsts: Raves, Gigs, etc.
• @12:33 Prosper’s first party at Sportsworld, through to @13:55
• @14:05 first time hearing techno at friend’s;
• @16:07 first experience in real club (Flash[1]), through to 17:15
• @39:50 first time at Bronx
Flashback
• @16:20 Hot Wax = record store in back of Flashback;
• @38:20 Italo disco friends all had memberships to Flash @38:40 and the Bronx;
• @38:50 punks, grunge
• @41:40 some people went to Flash every weekend, Bronx every weekend; cool place;
Flyers
• @40:35 advertising early raves, or Dance Factory
Groove Asylum
• @14:16 Catch the beat still exists
• @47:55 Al Luyckfassel (?); owned Groove Asylum; jazz, electronic music collector, owned Groove Asylum on 107th south of Sound Connection
• @48:20 [Al] had a magical musical ear; used to be buyer/seller at Sound Connection, then started new store
Internet
• @28:27 before internet and smartphones, no qualms/reservations in clubs
• @50:00 before internet and smartphones, people met in record stores and clubs
Music
• @10:55 disco, hiphop in the home record collection
• @11:05 Kraftwerk; @11:15 sounds like the future
• @11:35 little 7-inch record from K-days Space - Just Blue; @11:52 proto-techno, proto-trance; through to @12:20
• @12;15 when you’re a kid you have like five records
• @14:05 First time hearing techno at friend’s; @14:48 1986 on CJSR; @14:40 Chicago tracks, UK;
• @50;13 alternative music is for alternative people; though to @50:40
• @53:20 music obsessed at time of partying
• @29:09 nothing like hearing that music in the club, highs lows, 808 bass in a club;
• @29:35 mixtapes, vs music experienced in a club
Nexus 4
• @42:13 first glory days of Edmonton’s rave scene; Sportex, @42:25 megaparties, DJ’s artist
• @42:40 first big rave at Sportex 1998-1999 (Kevin Suanderson, Green Velvet)
"Other" Clubs
• @12:33 Prosper’s first party; @12:45 Sportsworld; @12:53 Pacman birthday, through to @13:55
• @12:57 disco night @ Sportsworld; description
• @24:55 first times involved in Edmonton’s nightlife; @25:00 Flashback, @25:01 Rock City
• @27:30 Syrena, club inside Polish hall; age 14-15 @27:50 would play Euro dance music; description of club; @28:50 sketchy, rough, polish gangsters, fabulous music
• @28:00 pre-internet, no qualms, no cameras
Other Scenes
• @39:13 lots of flannel at high school
• @39:10 Nirvana show
Promotion
• @50:40 i remember going to those early parties…. @50:54 description, friendly
• @51:00 how beautiful and awesome when you’d throw a party and some people, it was their first party... through to @51:30
Record Stores
• @16:15 from Sound Connection to Hot Wax
• @16:20 Hot Wax = in back of Flashback
• @22;16 one copy each of CD’s, 12” per city
• @22:30 mail-order, pre-internet;
• @22:40 buy local or travel;
• @22:50 detroit record stores
• @23:05 SU Records
• @23:15 glory days of record stores in every city
• @24:25 Blackbyrd; Listen;
• @24:43 Sound Connection was quintessential record store
• @50:00 before internet and smartphones people met in record stores and clubs
• @27:00 italo disco; high energy; hard to find in Edmonton;
• @27:15 element of luck involved with finding music
Scene
• @18:00 Glory years 2000-2010
• @25:45 loving dance music, electronic music; going out; @26:00 going out at age 15 to friend's house 97 Street; @26:30 disco high energy techno; @26:40 mixtapes, parties; @26:45 mixtapes, cool clubs; @26:58 going out with girlfriend of friend/ them; @29:09 sound in the club
• @30:25 getting dressed up; money / not money, through to @30:53, style
• @33:50 sense of pride when clubbing all night
• @43:00, @43:15 money started to roll in; @43:24 just gotten out of warehouses hangers, @43:35 Ascension
• @45:12 early Edmonton scene was very UK influenced ; @45:22 copying Cream, Shoom, Oakenfold
• @45:30 mid-late nineties when sketch came back
• @45:40 midwest raves scene; @45:49 rougher edge and gritty;
• @45:57 rave scene now since mid 2000s, Detroit, midwest, Minneapolis Milwakhee, @46:05 but in beginning, UK styles @46:15 raves in late 80’s early 90’s; @46:25 mostly everyone wore best clothes, suits, @46:34 many more gay people; LGTB; @46:43 gay bros; @46:50 dress to impress; @46:55 started to change in mid 90’s
• @47:35 what enabled the rave scene? record collectors, great record stores, and people looking to have a good time
• @50:00 before internet and smartphones people met in record stores and clubs
• @50;13 alternative music is for alternative people; though to @50:40
• @50:40 i remember going to those early parties…. @50:54 description, friendly
• @51:49 extreme expansion on a person’s universe when starting to go out
• @52:00 i was sad, awkward, etc… but now… 000 @52:25 connecting with people at parties; making friends; @52:41 party friends, spend time with. party friends like work friends. @53:40 suddenly had many friends
Sherrington, Whelan (Locks Garant)
• @49:20 Whelan Sherrington
Sound Connection
• @15:30 Prosper being told, If you want any of that stuff [Dance Music] you have to go to Sound Connection downtown, 101 St
• @15:45 dollar; exchange rate against UK pound
• @19:00 picture of Sound Connection store; @19:20 Sound Connection = one of top five record stores in Canada; all day people bringing in records; @20:05 would not refuse music
• @20:20 best record stores all around the world have everything
• @20:25 dance 12-inch singles; dance cassettes; dance CDs; tons of records; @20:45 cassettes; @20:52 1987-88-89-90 though til late 90’s
• @21:00 moved to 109st with limited stock
• @ 20:10 but you want to go “Downstairs”; @21:28;
• @21:32 Cory Payne says, you want to go downstairs, $1 records; @21:51 description of downstairs
• @23:01 sound connection, beautiful place
• @23:30 the location: Sound Connection was on 104St north of 107 Av, @23:45 late 90’s early 2000s moved to 124 St and 109Av; then @23:45 moved to Whyte Ave; @24:00 then closed down; @24:15 mismanagement
• @48:20 Al (collector) had a magical musical ear; used to be buyer/seller at Sound Connection, then started new store (Groove Asylum)
• @24:43 Sound Connection was quintessential record store
Universal Dance Productions (UDP). See also Nexus.
• @44:50 Garneau; Ravers of Lost Arc
Venues
• @12:33 Sportsworld parties, through to @13:55
• @44:00 warehouse, airplane hangers, in Kingsway
• @44:18 different weekends, parties in different hangars
• @44:26 cycled through hangars
• @44:35 locations cycled
• @39:21 memories of the Bronx
• @39:48 Sean opening for Frontline Assembly at the Bronx; and some alt-dance night at the Bronx
• @40:00 cool place to be, Divine Decadence on Whyte
• @41:00 grungy
• @41:10 Bronx was the place to be, but Prosper didn’t go as music, too much focus on music school, etc, bars etc
• @42:01 Lush, $.50 highballs, fabulous music
• @38:20 Italo disco friends all had memberships to Flash and the Bronx
• @38:50 punks, grunge
CJSR
• @35:05 radio shows at university; @48:38 Teddy Pemberton, show on CJSR, used to DJ discos
Cirrus 23
• @43:00 Dance Club, tried to open on 101 and Jasper next to New City;
CKUA
• @00:09 Prosper was deejay at CKUA (Future Funk) and did a bunch of shows on CJSR
Cosmic Jam '95
• @35:55 took preppy friends to Traci Lords party
• @36:11 Warehouse on south east side
• @36:25 Traci Lords didn’t show
• @36:44 snowstorm mid may like armageddon
• @37:20 common occurence in April or May
Dance Factory
• @40:40 Dance Factory; open all night (no booze)
• @40:15 smaller events, flyers on posts and flyers on billboards, advertising early raves or Dance Factory
Deejaying
• @22:00 DJ’s obsessed with newness
• @49:25 Edmonton's first DJ’s and good DJ’s
• @49:40 always had their craft down early, even in mid 90’s
• @55:50 DJ’s want to be on flyers, be part of it
• @58:25 Edmonton's 'not undenaibly great' DJ's
• @48:49 Founders in Edmonton: Cory Payne, Tryptomene, Dragan, @49:02 mid 90’s; @49:11 Nicky Delgado
• @54:52 a deejay vignette: @55:10 always get paid when you play at a commercial establishment, plus bar tab; @55:30 parties are different; @55:40 parties tend to not make money
Divine Decadence
• @40:08 was the cool store on Whyte Ave
Edmonton
• @18:29 all that Edmonton sketchiness history, dance music history which is very rich
• @18:40 especially some of the rougher edges
• @18:50 very rough edge to Edmonton’s dance scene
• @22;16 one copy each of CD’s, 12” per city
• @25:10 friends on Saturday night; $150-$200 paycheque; @25:30 sketchy friends;
• @27:00 italo disco; high energy; hard to find in Edmonton; @27:15 if you got lucky
• @29:44 moved out to west end, got disconnected from sketchy Edmonton
• @29:55 partying with preppy friends while at Ross Shep; @30:15 by age 16, 17
• @30:53 saving up money, Henry Singer sale 50-75% off, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, style
• @memory of clothing store at top floor of Edmonton centre run by guys super into club scene; through to @31:55 learning where are the parties in 1990-1991-1992
• @32:30 sketchiness in the late eighties - early nineties was Edmonton at it’s shittiest moment; @32:58 when cities are the most exciting; transformation of neighbourhoods, cities, through to @33:35;
• @33:15 favourite memory; lived in Westmount; lots of times in winter, walking from University down, cross groat road, fabulous music in Walkman; @35:45, remember those times
• @34:00 snow during party
• @37:50 sketchy, then went to Ross Shep; @38:08 didnt go out a lot at that time; @38:19 could have had more fun if had connected with techno fans at work
• @38:30 Ross Shep = 3500 people, close friends, acquaintances
• @39:29 BEAM; Boreal Electroaccoustic Music
Firsts: Raves, Gigs, etc.
• @12:33 Prosper’s first party at Sportsworld, through to @13:55
• @14:05 first time hearing techno at friend’s;
• @16:07 first experience in real club (Flash[1]), through to 17:15
• @39:50 first time at Bronx
Flashback
• @16:20 Hot Wax = record store in back of Flashback;
• @38:20 Italo disco friends all had memberships to Flash @38:40 and the Bronx;
• @38:50 punks, grunge
• @41:40 some people went to Flash every weekend, Bronx every weekend; cool place;
Flyers
• @40:35 advertising early raves, or Dance Factory
Groove Asylum
• @14:16 Catch the beat still exists
• @47:55 Al Luyckfassel (?); owned Groove Asylum; jazz, electronic music collector, owned Groove Asylum on 107th south of Sound Connection
• @48:20 [Al] had a magical musical ear; used to be buyer/seller at Sound Connection, then started new store
Internet
• @28:27 before internet and smartphones, no qualms/reservations in clubs
• @50:00 before internet and smartphones, people met in record stores and clubs
Music
• @10:55 disco, hiphop in the home record collection
• @11:05 Kraftwerk; @11:15 sounds like the future
• @11:35 little 7-inch record from K-days Space - Just Blue; @11:52 proto-techno, proto-trance; through to @12:20
• @12;15 when you’re a kid you have like five records
• @14:05 First time hearing techno at friend’s; @14:48 1986 on CJSR; @14:40 Chicago tracks, UK;
• @50;13 alternative music is for alternative people; though to @50:40
• @53:20 music obsessed at time of partying
• @29:09 nothing like hearing that music in the club, highs lows, 808 bass in a club;
• @29:35 mixtapes, vs music experienced in a club
Nexus 4
• @42:13 first glory days of Edmonton’s rave scene; Sportex, @42:25 megaparties, DJ’s artist
• @42:40 first big rave at Sportex 1998-1999 (Kevin Suanderson, Green Velvet)
"Other" Clubs
• @12:33 Prosper’s first party; @12:45 Sportsworld; @12:53 Pacman birthday, through to @13:55
• @12:57 disco night @ Sportsworld; description
• @24:55 first times involved in Edmonton’s nightlife; @25:00 Flashback, @25:01 Rock City
• @27:30 Syrena, club inside Polish hall; age 14-15 @27:50 would play Euro dance music; description of club; @28:50 sketchy, rough, polish gangsters, fabulous music
• @28:00 pre-internet, no qualms, no cameras
Other Scenes
• @39:13 lots of flannel at high school
• @39:10 Nirvana show
Promotion
• @50:40 i remember going to those early parties…. @50:54 description, friendly
• @51:00 how beautiful and awesome when you’d throw a party and some people, it was their first party... through to @51:30
Record Stores
• @16:15 from Sound Connection to Hot Wax
• @16:20 Hot Wax = in back of Flashback
• @22;16 one copy each of CD’s, 12” per city
• @22:30 mail-order, pre-internet;
• @22:40 buy local or travel;
• @22:50 detroit record stores
• @23:05 SU Records
• @23:15 glory days of record stores in every city
• @24:25 Blackbyrd; Listen;
• @24:43 Sound Connection was quintessential record store
• @50:00 before internet and smartphones people met in record stores and clubs
• @27:00 italo disco; high energy; hard to find in Edmonton;
• @27:15 element of luck involved with finding music
Scene
• @18:00 Glory years 2000-2010
• @25:45 loving dance music, electronic music; going out; @26:00 going out at age 15 to friend's house 97 Street; @26:30 disco high energy techno; @26:40 mixtapes, parties; @26:45 mixtapes, cool clubs; @26:58 going out with girlfriend of friend/ them; @29:09 sound in the club
• @30:25 getting dressed up; money / not money, through to @30:53, style
• @33:50 sense of pride when clubbing all night
• @43:00, @43:15 money started to roll in; @43:24 just gotten out of warehouses hangers, @43:35 Ascension
• @45:12 early Edmonton scene was very UK influenced ; @45:22 copying Cream, Shoom, Oakenfold
• @45:30 mid-late nineties when sketch came back
• @45:40 midwest raves scene; @45:49 rougher edge and gritty;
• @45:57 rave scene now since mid 2000s, Detroit, midwest, Minneapolis Milwakhee, @46:05 but in beginning, UK styles @46:15 raves in late 80’s early 90’s; @46:25 mostly everyone wore best clothes, suits, @46:34 many more gay people; LGTB; @46:43 gay bros; @46:50 dress to impress; @46:55 started to change in mid 90’s
• @47:35 what enabled the rave scene? record collectors, great record stores, and people looking to have a good time
• @50:00 before internet and smartphones people met in record stores and clubs
• @50;13 alternative music is for alternative people; though to @50:40
• @50:40 i remember going to those early parties…. @50:54 description, friendly
• @51:49 extreme expansion on a person’s universe when starting to go out
• @52:00 i was sad, awkward, etc… but now… 000 @52:25 connecting with people at parties; making friends; @52:41 party friends, spend time with. party friends like work friends. @53:40 suddenly had many friends
Sherrington, Whelan (Locks Garant)
• @49:20 Whelan Sherrington
Sound Connection
• @15:30 Prosper being told, If you want any of that stuff [Dance Music] you have to go to Sound Connection downtown, 101 St
• @15:45 dollar; exchange rate against UK pound
• @19:00 picture of Sound Connection store; @19:20 Sound Connection = one of top five record stores in Canada; all day people bringing in records; @20:05 would not refuse music
• @20:20 best record stores all around the world have everything
• @20:25 dance 12-inch singles; dance cassettes; dance CDs; tons of records; @20:45 cassettes; @20:52 1987-88-89-90 though til late 90’s
• @21:00 moved to 109st with limited stock
• @ 20:10 but you want to go “Downstairs”; @21:28;
• @21:32 Cory Payne says, you want to go downstairs, $1 records; @21:51 description of downstairs
• @23:01 sound connection, beautiful place
• @23:30 the location: Sound Connection was on 104St north of 107 Av, @23:45 late 90’s early 2000s moved to 124 St and 109Av; then @23:45 moved to Whyte Ave; @24:00 then closed down; @24:15 mismanagement
• @48:20 Al (collector) had a magical musical ear; used to be buyer/seller at Sound Connection, then started new store (Groove Asylum)
• @24:43 Sound Connection was quintessential record store
Universal Dance Productions (UDP). See also Nexus.
• @44:50 Garneau; Ravers of Lost Arc
Venues
• @12:33 Sportsworld parties, through to @13:55
• @44:18 different weekends, parties in different hangars
• @44:26 cycled through hangars
• @44:35 locations cycled
~ ~ A Footnote [ * ] about CJSR ~ ~
"Teddy Pemberton, also known as DJ T.E.D.D.Y.
is most often credited with introducing
the sweet sounds of hip-hop to the city of Edmonton.
"In 1980 he began broadcasting The New Black Sound Experience
from the University of Alberta's campus radio station, CJSR.
"Pre-Teddy, hip-hop in Edmonton was scarce [...]
"With The New Black Sound Experience
[Teddy Pemberton] created a vehicle for hip-hop in Edmonton.
"Fellow CJSR DJ and Edmonton-based writer
Minister Faust
claims that Teddy was the first to refer to Edmonton
as E-town."
Source: MacDonald, Michael B.
Remix and Life Hack in Hip-Hop: Towards a Critical Pedagogy of Music
(2016)
The Store was urban renewal – the guy there had great music. Introduced me to kraftwerk, thinkman/Rupert hine, even Stan Getz Bossa Nova, and many others
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