Another Major DJ, Mark Farina, Booted From DJ Booth? A CALL TO ACTION!

Again, seriously? Another DJ, and not just any DJ but a legendary one, kicked out of the DJ booth, for playing too much House?! That is exactly what happened this weekend to veteran DJ Mark Farina, at Club Marquee in Vegas no less, a club that has been hosting parties to House heads for quite some time now! What is going on here?

Actually, we don’t have to be rocket scientists to find the answer to that question. Bottom line is Electronic Music’s own popularity is working against it.

See, every 10 years or so dance music crosses over into the pop charts, resulting in a wave of quickly churned out pop friendly hits (most would call it garbage). Inevitably, these pop fans start showing up at our underground clubs, or in the case of club Marquee, mainstream dance clubs. These Top 40 pop fans have no real deep knowledge of the scene. In fact, they don’t even know their own so called favorite dance artists discography beyond whatever single is currently on the charts, which, let’s face it, is way more prevalent these days with our a la cart singles shopping done online. Unfortunately, when these so called dance fans begin showing up at the clubs and hear all this music they are not familiar with, well, veteran DJs like Dennis Ferrer and Mark Farina get the boot!

Does it suck? Hell yeah. For us true fans, it’s a deplorable act, which goes against everything we believe it. But guess what, there are those who don’t understand this viewpoint and think we’re just some bleeding hearts. So, let me take a minute to explain it to these people.

Imagine someone who’s never read a comic book in their lives and is only familiar with Captain America from a lunchbox a classmate had back when they were a toddler 15 years ago, walked into the Avengers movie and started complaining about the characters motives, their actions, the plot, and so on? Now, stay with my example here I’m not going off the far end; imagine if this individual had the ability to complain to the Director and have the plot changed, on the spot, without any consideration for the history of said characters, the franchise, or the real fans. Would suck wouldn’t it?

Well, obviously this can’t happen with a movie, it’s already in the can and if you don’t like it you’ll be out $12 bucks and never have to watch it again, leaving the real fans to enjoy it as is for eternity. Unfortunately, it is not the same in the clubs.

When someone likes a dance song, they naturally want to dance to it. When they realize their bedroom or living room is too small to properly get down they look for a “dance” club which they believe is likely to play that music, they get the boys or their girlfriends together, and they go to that club. When they hear all this boom boom boom instead of the wiggle wiggle wiggle they were expecting, they get upset and from their “entitled customer” viewpoint, they feel they have a right to complain. Do you think they realize what they are doing, much less care? No, they don’t. So they complain to the club management and our beloved DJs, professionals with years of investing blood, sweat and tears towards their career are treated like some unruly patron and fired on the spot. It’s wrong on so many levels and if you didn’t understand it at first, I hope I’ve cleared it up for you a bit.

Now, can we honestly expect every person that goes to a dance club to be a bonafide House head? No. But should clubs be treating DJs that they hire knowing full well what their “sound” is by the way, like this? Hell no. Obviously money talks and the money they are making at the bar from these pop patrons is much more important to them but, it doesn’t have to remain like this. Maybe it’s time DJ take a stronger more unified stance.

I don’t know the finer points regarding the contracts agreed to between these superstar DJs and these super clubs, but you don’t have to be a lawyer to know that there are protective measures one can take to prevent such things from happenings. First things first, DJs must begin to stand firm against these types of actions and include a clause in their contracts that states they cannot be pulled if the patrons complain.

Club owners, you should know who you are hiring and have a clear understanding of the type of sound they bring. I’m not for taking away a customer’s rights to complain but the DJ is not in charge of marketing. Ultimately it’s the clubs responsibility to properly market the nite and venue to the appropriate crowd. If the crowd doesn’t like a certain DJ, that’s between them and the club. Promote accordingly and stick to it and if things just don’t work out on a particular nite, and hey, it happens, then swallow it, learn what your customers want and hire accordingly the next time but have your DJs backs, at least for that nite for Gods sake! Stop being so obviously spineless. Where’s your dignity or is it only as deep as your profit margin?

And this must be said, underlining all this, is the talk of the “real” vs. the “fake” and since so many true House heads, DJs and fans alike, have been speaking up lately about how much they hate the commercialism House and EDM is experiencing lately, maybe this is a wakeup call.

Dance music is underground, always has been always will be. So if this commercialism is a real, legitimate concern of yours and you are a “real” DJ or “real” fan, put your money where your mouth is and boycott these clubs once it happens to you or any other DJ. I know for DJs this is easier said than done, these super clubs pay top dollar but, is it worth it? At the end of the nite one must keep their dignity intact and have respect for themselves and their craft and in the case of DJs, their fans.

And fans, you don’t get off that easy! If you consider yourself a real fan you need to begin supporting our underground DJs in a much deeper, more meaningful way. You too must stop visiting any club that ejects a DJ for doing his job! And since they won’t realize it right away, and to leave a lasting impact, we need to use social media and spread the word every time something like this happens; tweet and retweet, tell all your friends to boycott these spots, create memes, perhaps funny fliers mocking the venue in question, videos would be great. The possibilities are like creativity on the Internet, endless. However we do it, we need to make these clubs realize the potential money they are losing out on because they are worried about a few bucks from some ignorant patrons on some random nite.

And let’s be real, how about actually buying your favorite DJs music, their CD compilations, their remixes, and so on, and not just downloading them for free from your homie down the street or favorite bit torrent site? How about actually attending the local club, even the hole in the wall lounges and basement clubs where the cover is $20 and the drinks are a whopping $8 for a glass of juice with a bit of cheap vodka. I mean, if you’re a “real” fan these issues are the price you pay to make your way to the dance floor where you really show your love for these Gods of the nite. And that’s what it is really all about, right?

Let us know what you think in the comments, on FB/Twitter, and more importantly, if you are a real fan, spread the word.