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 August 2002
European Tour- Ibiza Diary
The first stop was sunny Ibiza where the clubbers are clubbers and the dealers are making lots of money. They put Nick, Laura, Dr. Mike and I up in a perfectly run down estate that had seen better days. We were greeted with Yellowed, peeling paint, and old/used-up furniture, towels, and sheets. NO A.C. The yard, though obviously once very nice -fountain and all- was now the perfect place to raise chickens. But, it had a hammock, and after all- it was fuckin' ibiza! Whooo hoooooo! Oh yeah, it was also on the "family vacation" and "never getting a taxi" side of the island. The first night on the club
circuit was to hang with and witness the talents of Dave Seaman,
Anthony Pappa, and Kasey Taylor (Ocean Wave). The Club was beautiful, with a huge deck right on the water. And the sound (in fact, at all the clubs) was absolutely the best crystal-clear, full sound I've heard anywhere. All three DJs played tight sets. The sound they spun, believe it or not, was pretty much straight-up Trance. A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL BORING DJS, YOU CAN START PLAYING MELODIES AND HOOKS AGAIN, THE UK JOCKS WENT BACK TO THEM WELL OVER 6 MONTHS AGO!!!!!!! We were all sportn' the cowboy hats proud stylee. Laura, Dr. M, and I invented a new dance- the techno two-step. We hear now that the entire island of Ibiza is NOT doing it. Altogether a great night. The best 8oz, $9 waters I ever tasted...honestly. The next night was the big one. Me
and Pete Tong at Pacha. The flyer had it billed as a double
headliner thing. Anyway, went on 2am-5am. Even was cocky enough to
play an intro. Put the record on the 3rd deck (it always looks cool
to make people THINK yer on 3 decks) I'm ready to rock....and the turntable starts making this distorted, horrible feedback sound, the entire system starts cutting out from the noise. D:Fizzle has arrived, an' e' aint from rownd here! Other than that though, the Pacha booth wins the award for the best booth I've ever worked in. And the club has got to be the most beautiful and vibey place I've ever seen. The entire thing has this clay, Spanish courtyard feel. The main room holds about 2,000, and there are an aditional 3 rooms and a roof top deck. Unbelievable club and sound system. Had the time of my life. The Place went ballistic. Nice! Just make sure you tell Oakey the turnable furthest right is n' great shape, use that one. Pete played a tight set and
finally shut the place down at 7:30, so we high-tailed it to Space
where some DJs we never even heard of were throwin' down some "ouch"
level hard minmal trance. Luckily the music changed to "pumpin'
techno funk sumthin' kinda prog. but hard, too" and a solid mass of
dancefloor freakishness ensued until sometime around 11:45am.
The official Ibiza hit- Layo and Bushwacka "Love Story" Tim Deluxe mix. Very Nice. As you can imagine, we were
sufficiently wrecked for the 3rd night (Dr. Mike and Laura's 4th)
but we did manage a touch of Tim Deluxe and Darren Emerson before
passing out in pools of our own vomit. I'm a bit hammered and I'm
seriously missing Jenni- I haven't been laid in two days!
wait...been here since....DOH!!!! -Oh, and a special thanx to Nick,
Mike and Laura for all leaving on a plane and leaving me ALONE in
the Estate de Dirt. The place was creepy to say the least, but I
figured, what the hell, just one night alone. Got up at 7:00pm that
night. Something about the house just wasn't feeling right. Went to
get some air and a bite to eat. Returned at 8:30 to find that
somehow, the power to the entire house was somehow now OFF. With 30
min to dark, no phone, no-one reliable to call, and a 5am wakeup the
next day to get to my plane, I was fucked!!!! Searched the grounds,
nope, fusebox aint workin'. Flashlight? Negative. Candles? You
guessed it. I start to hyper-ventilate. Run to small cottage at the edge of the property in a panic. Flip the switch. It has power! Yes! My lifeboat. It's 8:50 now, almost pitch black in the Amityville estate. In a mad-dash I throw all my unpacked and strewn-about stuff into whatever's available, clean out whatever beer and food's left in the kitchen while the voices behind me are shouting "geeeeeeeeet oooooouuuuuut". I'm not kidding, creepy, I'm seriously getting chills typing this. I Spend the night in the guest cottage with the doors locked and no AC. Eight beers later I'm feeling better. Keep hearing noises in the big house... maybe it's the lack of Sarah tone inn- or the lack of knowing how to spell it....hmmmmm. 4 hours later I'm on a plane to Switzerland. Two flights later I'm in Geneva at
11:15. No ride, cab-it to the hotel and there's no reservation. The
life of a superstar my ass! I suck!!! Finally get things sorted,
here for two days and the only person I know is busy. Oh well, time
to get adveturous and explore the city. They're our allies in the
"axis of evil" thing, right? Or is it access. Or excess? Dammit! I'd
call Bush but he'd arrest me on the new Rave Act thing. Whoever
voted for him...YOU SUCK (except Jamie). Sarah Tone Inn not
returning my calls now.... Time to explore solo style. Sit down at a
nice cafe on the lake, "Yeah, I'd like a burger, and a beer."
Waiter: "Sivous pooh condoh pee uh pooh cooooolah wee wee?"
Me: "No there's no WE WE, just me... you speak U.S?" Okay, sorry, dammit! But
seriously, this city has got to be the most beautiful city I've ever seen. Beautiful classic architecture sitting on a lake as crystal clear as the San Marcos river. Sailboats, people sunbathing, strolling, rollerblading- though the old school roller-skating is now back IN- and generally smiling and speaking French. The glorious Alps make an amazing backdrop to the city. And get this.. I've only seen one McDonald's!!! All these people are thin! Really thin!!! (except the American family I saw walking in to the McDonalds). They're all dressed very European!!! I see a lot of people wearing Versace (I think it's pronounced vir-sase). Had dinner with Chab. Yes THE Chab (really nice guy by the way) about to pack up my records for the show tonight. Allllright.....very sorry for the
length. Also for how long this email is. I thought u guys cared?!
I'm out, I miss you all very much! After a brief jaunt of label
meetings in London I'm back to the states Tuesday night. Europe's
cool, but the food ain't all that. Can't wait to get back! Much luv
to all!!! December 28, 2002
San Francisco, CA Dropped back into one of my
favorite cities, San Francisco for another 5 hour set at Release.
1015 not looking quite as busy with New Year's just a few days away
but that didn't stop a great night. A Special thanks to all of the
crew that come out and make the night so special. Especially the new
after-party creation of "dry hot-tubbing". Ouch! A strong dance
floor until 6:15am. Nice!!!! Shots to Nick McGeachin for all the
great music you find me! And of course Asuman, JB, Geneva,
Katherine, Camilla, Andrea, Sam, Scott Card, Mirabella, Shannon and
whoever I'm missing here. Always good to see you in
SF!
December 31, 2002
Columbus, OH An extended 4 and a half hour set
at the new and plush Moda nightclub. A beautiful club and top notch
sound and light experience. Red Bull and champagne- ya gotta try it.
Went into Claude 9's studio the week before just for this night to
do my own little remake of U2's New Years Day just for this night.
Went over like a charm. Nothing but smiling faces after that.
Special thanks to DJ Shell Robinson for the best opening set I've
heard all year. The best. Period. Will be flying her to open up my
SF Release night March 1st and she's gonna dominate!!!! Keep your
eye on this one folks. A big shout out to my wifey Jenni, and Dr.
Mike, Laura, Alma, John, Dan, for flying in for this one and making
it so special. And to Shell, Michael and the crew for the after-festivities. Now for some sleep. |
