'It's all about the musicf
DAISY BAIN
StaffWriter
The club drug ecstasy has
become more and more popu
lar, and has now engulfed the
rave scene. According to one
promoter, about 80% of club
kids are on ecstasy, and the
idea that you can control that
number as a producer is a joke.
“It’s not like we allow it; it’s
how well you can hide it,” said.
Don Rome, a Portland rave pro
ducer. According to Rome,
security checks everyone as
they walk in the door. One male
officer checks the men and one
woman officer checks the
women. ' Many people sneak
into the raves and nobody
checks them.
There are also security
guards known as the roamers.
Those are the guards circling
the premises looking to stop
any fight; they are ready to
throw :out anyone who is bla
tantly selling or .consuming any
kind of illegal substance.
A service that some produc
ers provide is te§t kits that tell
whether or not the drug really
is’ecstasy. Businesses like
DanceSafe proyide these kits.
While there is a controversy
about allowing kids to test their
drugs, and then get them back,
many people say it is better to
know what you really are tak
ing. Many drug dealers pro
duce
a
drug
called
Paranethoxyamphetamin, or
what is commonly known as
PMA. Six people in the United
States have died from taking
what they thought was the drug
ecstasy, but in reality it was
PMA. PMA is a hallucinogenic
that raises the body tempera?
ture and is highl>toxic. Drug
dealers sell this drug more of
ten because it is much cheaper
to manufacture and have simi
lar looks and affects as ec
stasy, but is much more dan
gerous.
“If I was going to a raVe, I
would love it (DanceSafe), but
as a producer I would not have
it because it costs money,” said
Rome.
According to Partnership for
a Drug Free America’s annual
report, marijuana use has
dropped for a third .straight
year, while the use of ecstasy
has risen. About one out of 10
teens has at least tried the
drug.
“The kids can get drugs
through the high schools; it’s
available everywhere you go,”
said Michael Mathis in an in
terview with Owen S. Good, a
reporter from The Rocky Moun
tain News. Mathis is a rave site
owner in Boulder, Colorado. “If
anything, it keeps them more
_ _ _ _ _ z_
Feature
TI he CI ac I íamas P rínt
safe because they’re in a moni
tored setting.”
When Rome was asked how
he could control the drug use
in his parties, he said more se
curity. “Everybody’s turning
their heads, including the par
ents,” Rome said, referring to
the under-aged kids who are
staying out until 6 a.m.
The unfortunate death on
March 3 of 19 year-old
Clackamas student Melissa
Flaherty again raised the issue
in the Portland community
about ecstasy. Not many
people think of the drug as le
thal, but when mixed with alco
hol or any other drug, death is
possible.-
“I was surprised to hear that
someone died. I think if you
know.how to take ecstasy, it’s
safe if you know what’s in your
pill,” said Tony Penn, who was
at the rave Flaherty attended
the night before she died. “As
long as you keep everything
under control, everything
should be OK,”
Many non-ravers believe
these parties are one big orgy
ofHffgh-teenagers. They be
lieve that the war against raves
should start with making the
parties illegal.
“Raves shouldn’t get a bad
tap because a couple people
don’t know what they’re doing.
Tfi ere are about the same
amount of people doing drugs
at a club downtown as there are
at the raves,” said Penn.
“It’s all about
the music,”
said Rome..
‘The better
the DJ’s,
the more
people will
come to your
rave.
People
don’t come for the
drugs; they come
for whoever is spin
ning that night.
There are some DJ’s
that might not ever come
back to Portland. Those
are the parties that get
really big.”
“A lot of raves are
a fashion show,'
said
Rome.
It’s a whole
new culture.”
-I like the
style of music
better now that I
don’t go to the raves be-
cause of the things I have
seen there,” said Patty, Drebin,
a twenty-year-old exclubber.
“Minus all of the bad things
I have seen, those parties are
the coolest things I’ve ever
been to,” said Drebin.
Drebin said that people
overdosing or laying down
on the sides of the dance floors
sick and/or tripping out from
taking acid and. ecstasy, com
monly known as candy flip
ping, are the “bad things.”
According to some clubbers
and producers, the bad press
raves are getting isn’t fair. The
deaths of people are sad, but
the people in favor of these
raves feel that it really is ’all
about the music’. They believe
nobody can stop kids from
abusing drugs and they don’t
want those people ruining their
weekend fun.
On the flip side, others be
lieve that those who go to
raves are engaging in weekend
fun that is dangerous and care
less. Some believe that some
thing needs-to be done to stop
the rise in the use of the drug
ecstasy.
Michelle Wiley has her own
philosophy about raves.
“There are just a lot more
people who go to the raves
than at the clubs downtown,”
Wiley said. “Of course, you are
going to hear about things
happening. There are more
people. Why doesn’t anybody
talk about the good things? A
lot of these kids could be out
on the streets doing a lot worse
things than just dancing and
having a good time with their
peers.”
WedNEsdAy, M arc L i 14, 2001
Raves from a raver's
perspective...
The Print spoke with a 20-year-old who is one of the many people
who not only go to raves, but live a lifestyle brought on by raves,
record spinning, and the drugs that are typically involved in this
sub-culture. The frank answers below are from that interview.
How was tiie rave last Friday ?
“There was a lot of media coverage at the party last night (Mar. 9). The media
kind oftwists things up. They ask a lot of questions and use excerpts to tell half
the story to sell their show for the night”
Was there a lot of security?
“They had fire marshals out there. They checked out the venue.”
Don’t they usually?
“I see them at every party.”
And security usually pats everyone down?
“Yeah, they always have security. The security at the show last week (Mar. 2)
was more than at any other Portland party I’ve seen. Over 30 security guards,
and they usually have 10 or so at a party. And they also gave out free water at the
door.”
Does that usually happen?
“It depends on the party, but the DJ that was spinning Paul Oakenfold, usually
gives out free water. 1 think it’s in his contract”
I’ve heard how dehydratingE and dancing are. How many people
are on drugs at the raves? Is everyone on something?
“Not everyone. 1 go to a lot of parties sober. I go really for the music and for the
atmosphere, all the kids. Usually the kids who do drugs, it’s one Of their first
parties; you kind ofgrow out of it A lot of older kids really don’t do drugs. The
hype is that when you go to a rave, you’re going to do drugs and get all flicked
up. It’s not really like that The kids I hang out with are a totally different crowd.
There’s this incoming crowd of kids who always go out and do drugs, but then
after a Couple of parties they start sobering up, and then another influx starts. It’s
like the drugs are kind of an intro to the scene, but you don’t need the drugs to
party.”
So you only do the drugs for awhile?
“Yeah, you grow outof it. It’s a phase; you go out to shows, enjoy the night, get
high on themusic, h igh on the vibe. Vibe is really what it’s all about You really do
grow out of the drug phase. “
How much have you taken at one time?
“I abuse drugs a lot I’ve taken way more than the norm.”
How many in a day?
“This weekend, I went through 15 pills.”
So what are the raves like?
“People will hire different DJ’s to come in and put on the show for the kids. It’s
basically like a concert”
With the lights, visual effects, lasers, smoke...
“There’s all that shit.. .fog machines, strobe lights, disco balls... people get all
dressed up.”
And what’s with the beads?
“They’re kind of like friendship bracelets. I give them to people and trade ‘em.
They’re just for decoration; you get all pimped out decked out in your candy.
They’re part of the scene.”
So the raves started because DJ’s started spinning records?
“Raves have been around since the ‘70’s and they’ve just now been getting in
the mainstream media. Jhey’ve been going on since before I was bom. They’re
just underground parties; kids go to listen to great music. I think of it as an art I
spin records myself. Whenever I spin, I like to put on a great show for people. I
try my best It’s just some people’s thing; it’s just a hobby for some people. You
can go out and meet tons of people, like 90% of the friends I have in Oregon I’ve
met at parties. The other 10% I met through work and other people. Soalotofmy
friends are party kids - that’s how I meetpeople. It’s kind of like a social circle. I
know a lot of the people out there; you see a lot of the same people. It’s like a
commun ity; it’s kind of a unity thing. I’ve been partying for three or four years
and it still hasn’t gotten old for me; it’s still about the music - great music.”
How old areyou?
“I’m 20. I’ve been partying since I was 17 and I’m about to turn 21.1 started
partying in high school, then I did the college thing. 1 went to a couple of
schools, it didn’t work out for me, then I moved here. I’ve been partying in
Portland since October. Still haven’t figured out what I want to do here.”
How many parties have you been to this year?
“One every weekend since October. There’s a party every Friday/Saturday.
Sometimes you go party hopping and catch three parties in a night But, if you’re
going party hopping, you’re not doing drugs, you’re going out there to catch
different DJ’s, meet with different people, there’s different scenes in different
parties, like different parties have different music. The scene’s getting really big
in Portland. When 1 started partying in October the scene was small. Compared
to New Orleans, this is still a small scene. We had world renowned DJ’s that
would even fly in from overseas. All the really big parties and big name DJ’s are
out in Seattle.”
It sounds like a whole different lifestyle.
“ Yeah, it’s kind of like neo-hippie, neo-disco - like a modernized version of kids
going out to clubs, dancing all night You’ve got the bunch that do drugs and
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