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Goon Entertainment's Romero keeps the Asian party scene updated
by MICHAEL CITROME
"Just because you call a party Sukiyaki doesn't mean a lot of Asian people are going to show up," says Romero, half joking and half deadly serious. As Montreal's biggest promoter of Asian parties, he's seen Asian culture and design become one of the biggest fads of the last two years. But Romero is keeping it real. He knows the tastes and needs of the Asian crowd. "These kids listen to hip hop, they listen to R&B, they're into the music."
Romero has been promoting parties in Montreal for 12 years now, but this native of Guyana wasn't always in the Asian scene. "I'm part-Asian myself, my grandfather was Chinese. About four years ago I met someone who was doing Asian parties who offered me the opportunity to get into that."
Romero ended up running the firm Rennie and Company, which had already been doing strictly Asian events for about 13 years. Goon Entertainment is the younger-oriented branch. "Goon Entertainment came about last year. Goon is the young kids, the more funky people."
A lot of the legwork and DJing is handled by Goon's other crewmembers, Jericho and Double Chin. "I'm more like the Dai Lo, big brother," jokes Romero. The challenge he faces in the next year is the way in which the scene is changing. He says Asian people are going out to mixed events in greater numbers. "It's being fragmented now. There used to be parties with 1,500 people. Now, Asian people party elsewhere. They go out on a weekly basis, they don't wait for Asian parties."
So the Goon Squad's mission is to move with the times. "I've always built my reputation on not putting all my eggs in one basket. What we want to do right now is provide a mix of entertainment to the Asian market on a weekly basis."
The next Goon Squad event is the Chinese New Year, Saturday, January 27 at Studio. Celebrating the Year of the Serpent, Romero promises something very special. "Like never before, with the surprises we got in store."
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