Boogie

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It all started a long, long time ago....way back in 19plinketyslonk, when I was a young lad hot-footing it down to the Locarno in Birmingham on a saturday afternoon to the under-16's Saturdisco. Yep, imagine me in my blue velvet T-shirt dancing away to Saturday Night Fever and Disco Inferno, et al. Heady days, I tell thee.Well, once I'd gotten the bug there really was no stopping me (well, there was but that's another story, only to be told in late night drunken ramblings). From there, thinngs kinda moved along quite steadily (from what I can recall - it's all so long ago and I'm so old it all gets a bit muddled!) - there was disco, new romantics, two-tone and then, one bright friday afternoon, the whole world changed forever. It was a programme called The Tube. On that programme was debuted the infamous Rock Steady Crew with their amazing b-boy shenanigans, brought over here by Malcolm McLaren and the tune was Buffalo Gals. Next monday morning at school and everyone was chatting about how the bleedin' hell these blokes were able to spin on their heads, hands, backs and just about anything that could be spun upon. "They must have some sort of spinning plate mechanism that you can't see" was one theory put forward to much nodding and chin-stroking agreement.Well, that was me well and truly hooked. Not just with the manipulation of the human form but also the amazing music. Sounds that were just so fresh and electrifying. I know that to many young 'uns today this may all be old hat, but you have to remember that this was the early 80's. It's now 2006, a difference of roughly 20-25 years. Now imagine what the music had been 20-25 years earlier than the early 80's....d'you see what I'm saying? As well as the electronic sounds conjured up by the early synthesizer pioneers of the New Romantic sound, my headspace was being attacked by aural sensations that were inconceivable only a few years before. Inspiring is a word that just doesn't give enough oomph to what I was feeling.So early 80's electro grabbed me by the balls and screamed at me to get with the programme, which I did. Body-popping and b-boying my ass off with all my buddies had me ruining my college career at the earliest possible opportunity. What the hell did i need an education for when I had music???? Huh?? Come on now, don't tell me you're thinking I should've stuck with the college thing.........Well, life's a funny old bitch. I then found myself going to hip-hop alldayers at The Powerhouse (which funnily enough, a few years earlier had been the Locarno!) to see the likes of Herbie Hancock, Roy Ayers, Afrika Bambaata and so many more legendary artists perform to a packed house of b-boytastic partygoers from all over the country...boy, the passion these people had for music was something to behold.And then the wilderness years came........which, as mentioned earlier, can only be discussed during late-night drunken ramblings. Here's not the time or place.So, fast forward to 1995. I'm working as a kitchen manager (Doh!)at a very trendy restaurant-cum-bar on Broad Street (euch!). I go with some mates to a club whcih itself has entered the hall of fame of club venues in Birmingham - the Que Club. It was the launch night of an event called Bubble Club, an allnighter for just £5, music on a kinda trancey techno vibe.......another impacting moment in my life. That then led to me spending every friday and saturday in the Que Club, going to whatever I could get tickets for, spending all week looking forward to the weekend, week in week out, narcotic-munching, glostick-swinging, drug-fuelled-dancing-maniac (now i look at the kids doing it now and I still can't believe that we were doing the exact same thing 11 years ago and they still think they've found something new!!!).Anyway, I started to think to myself that I could put on an event. I don't know why I thought it and if somebody were to ask me today if they should get into promoting I'd tell them not to unless they wanted to risk mental instability, loss of rationality, a hole in your bank account the size of the milky way and at least one stomach ulcer. But it gnawed away at me, so eventually I took the plunge and decide on organising an event called Circle Tribe. I still have that first naiive flyer and I often look at it with a warm feeling in my...........pants. It was all going so well until the venue was repossesed by Birmingham Cuty Council with only two weeks to go to the event. All my money gone, just like that. And the Cupid Stunt who was supposed to be my 50-50 business partner just left me to it. Yeah, cheers mate!But as I have said many times to many people, when we are babies we learn to walk by falling over at least a thousand times. So when we grow up, why do we suddenly think that we should give up after the first one or two falls? I just continued and continued no matter what hardship I've had to go through, whether it be personal or financial. It's really hard putting your all into event after event for it not to work (and usually because of something or someone out of your control).Eventually I had the fortune to be involved in some pretty good promotions. The one that really kinda put me into the place I am now was a night called Boogie Down Brum. That's where the name Boogie Dave has come from, it just seemed to follow me after the demise of that event. Boogie Dave or, to some, Boogie Down Dave. Weird how names attach themselves to you.That was back in 1998, the year that Boogie Down Brum saw off invading promotions like NY Sushi. It wasn't that we were trying to compete with those people it just happened that way. There's so much that went on surrounding Boogie Down Brum there just isn't enough space on MySpace to write it all down (and really, it was such a hedonistic blur of alcohol and drugs I'm not really too sure what happened most of the time!) but it was good fun and a bloody good experience. It allowed me to meet so many talented artists and develop long-lasting relationships with people I admire that I have to be grateful for everything that has led on from it.And the promotion of events has continued to this day. Now I am fortunate enough to be able to say I promote Drop Beats Not Bombs which is a really unique event. Conceived as an antiwar event in 2003 Drop Beats Not Bombs has evolved to become a monster of an event. 3,300 people in through the door at the last one with another 700 people turned away...absolutely amazing. The words to describe it don't come anywhere near the experience so I'm not even going to try. Have a look at www.DropBeatsNotBombs.co.uk and have alook at the little video clip - that'll give you an idea. Even better, come to the next event. It only happens once every 6 months so you've no excuse. Unless you live in Australia....and even then, flights aren't too expensive............And now I am the proud co-promoter of a new era - Rockfall. Myself and my co-promoter, Marc Reck, have worked bleedin hard to get this new night off theground. Taking place on a fridy night at The Medicine Bar is not the easiest of things to pull off..but we have managed it with some hardcore promoting. We've provided something new and exciting and, with a little bit of luck, we should see this lasting a good while yet, bringing fresh underground and breaking (excuse the pun) breakbeat producers from all over the place. We both have a good feeling about it and judging by how its going things should turn out all shiny and nice.But ya never can tell in this game.So we'll see.Anybody who's managed to read all the way to this point deserves a good stiff drink and a round of applause. If you're interested in hooking up feel free to contact me. The door is always open.Peace y'allBoogieAnd this is Si loving the music:
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