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Glow against the flow
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by JACK OATMON After 10 years of throwing some of Montreal’s most immersive and explosive club events, Neon’s respected dons reflect on the tribulations of a music scene increasingly dominated by big names, baron-like booking agents and flopping fads. Ever the iconoclasts, their introspection seems as caustic as even their critics’ claim, and their honest, straight-up attitudes make for fascinating insight, both on the present and the future of the business. Mirror: What does the anniversary mean to you as a landmark or a symbol? Is it just business as usual, or do you feel a greater symbolic meaning? Justin Dallegret: I think after 10 years, you need to ask yourself what’s next. Or maybe ask yourself what has it become. Are the reasons you’re doing it the same as when you started? Are the rules the same? Are the interests of the clients the same? Over 10 years, everything changes. What you had started as a reaction to what was going on at the time has now become mainstream. What always excites me is what’s around the corner. So it’s interesting that after a decade, I would be wondering what a reaction to Neon would be—who is going to do it? M: And what is the lesson of your experience for the people who aspire to begin creating their own scene and legacy? JD: My advice to anyone starting out would be to not look at what other promoters are doing, but do it as they believe it should be. Break rules. Start small and do it differently. You will build a loyal following. And most importantly, just have fun. And oh yeah, keep it dark and loud. M: What do all the big changes in the business mean, in terms of record labels folding and changing attitudes toward parties? John Hatz: Culturally, it’s scary. People are going to gravitate towards what they think they should gravitate towards, not what they like. And that, overall, might hurt creativity. Plus there’s so much garbage being put out, because there are no more filters, that the garbage dilutes all the good stuff too. But at the same time, the no-filters thing can let true genius out. The people who couldn’t afford the $10,000 studio and didn’t want to kiss ass all day to get on a record label could actually put something out now. M: How do you think the changing economy will affect the situation? JH: I think what’s truly recession-proof is a solid little bar, a good Verres Stérilisés. People are always going to want to come and drink. But shows? People will go out to party, for sure. But I’m wondering whether someone like MSTRKRFT fits into that. Will they spend $40 to go see Justice? Or will any techno do? So what that might actually do is give birth to a cool, new, locally based grassroots scene. Which I think would be amazing. Like, fuck this. People used to come to our parties just to hear Tiga when he wasn’t an international celebrity. We’d sell 800 tickets and it would just be Jordan Dare playing. Will it go back to that now, because people will want to start over? That’s what I’m hoping—for some cool resurgence of like, “Fuck big DJs.` ANNIVERSARY PARTY WITH BOYS |
