Hey Y'all
For those unfortunate folks who for one reason or another were unable to be
with us this past weekend...we felt you and we missed you all at once. For
one...where was Alton Miller??????!!!!
Anyhoo, thanks to modern electronics I can WRITE my piece as my voice is
completely thrashed from talking over music with sooooo many faces and
people that over the years (when Detroit was a desolate wasteland) would
crawl out of their respective holes right around midnight and go in search
of a party that they only received sketchy directions for and drive through
some rat infested, broken glass strewn, rickety ass alley in search of a
beat when there was NONE anywhere else in the world.
It was a choice (Thank You Ron and Chez!!!)and a necessity. I simply needed
to dance and be stimulated by innovative music when the whole world screamed
disco sucks and radio permutated into something I no longer recognized...the
old school of Detroit's electronic family, quite literally saved my life.
From the Music Institute (Thank You Alton Miller!!!) to Underground Nation
(Thank You Blake Baxter!!!) to innumerable ramshackle warehouse (Thank You
Camillo/Voom/Meredith Ledger!!!)and loft parties to the gay nightclubs
(Thank You Ken Collier!!!)holding it down...we all believed in something
when the rest of the world simply didn't give a fuck about any of us.
Because we were all pretty much oddballs and living on the fringe of a
cynical society where art and the like were considered an 'unnnecessary'
expense and therefore had no vision much less musical vision to keep peoples
hearts hopeful or lead them toward positivity and unity...when Detroit was
economically a wasteland and many couldn't find work or were continually
being laid off or losing their jobs because of downsizing...we would gather
around the age-old nouveau drums and forget about AAAALLLLof it dreaming of
Brighter Days (thanks Dajae/Caj!!!)
Even though many didn't know me, it simply didn't matter as my hopes and
energies were quickly incorporated into a whole with the rest of the folks
who eventually came to know me because the music would simply light me up.
I would generally leave these gatherings sometime between the magical hours
between night and dawn, walk outside to a deserted street, drive home, pick
up a pen write poetry for 2-3 hours to finalize each and every one of those
inspiring nights, so lifted and cleansed of the bullshit I'd been lugging
around for the last one or two weeks since the last time I went to 'church'.
We developed our own "Matrix", if you will, masses of human bodies giving
energy and creating and powering one gigantic dylithim crystal (thanks Gene
Roddenberry!!) and even amongst complete strangers, for the very first time
in my life I felt as if I belonged to something and that something was akin
to a higher realm that required no application, no money (save for the cheap
entrance fee), no special clothing, no identification, nothing more than a
passion for something better and intangible (Thank You Terrence Parker!!!)
That eventually broke out of its confines and was set free and unleashed on
the world...(Thank You Neil Rushton!!!)
"Fast Forward" (Thanks Alan Oldham!!!) Memorial Day weekend year
2000.....Being a "senior" member of the energy/force of this city, I've seen
some amazing things happen over the years. I've seen the vibe go through
sooo many changes, die, rescusitate and re-invent itself (in spite of the
British media!!!) all the while all of us would fall apart, come together
--vibe again, go our individual ways, talk shit about each other, get mad at
each other and fall back in love all over again--when the vibe was right.
This weekend was a MASSIVE version of all of that and more because it was
soo long and hard in the making. We used to say "Ain't no party like a
Detroit party cuz a Detroit party is LIVE" and this weekend was that
revisited on a grand scale.
This was 15-17 years in the making PEOPLE!!!!!!!! What most of you do not
realize though is that the blood, sweat, tears, aching feet and backs, lack
of sleep, arguing, migraines and slave labor to a cause BIRTHED THIS
OPPORTUNITY. It was the sum total of hundreds of peoples mad possessed
energies!!!!
There is NO WAY this event could have happened without the Mad Mikes, The
Jeff Mills', The Electrifyin' Mojos, The Theo and Hassans, The Sundiatias,
The Stacey Hales (DRMC...), The Laura Gavoors (no shame!!), The Kelly Hands,
The Mike Huckabys, The J.D. Simpsons, The Cornelius Harris', The Krista
Witherspoons, The Brigitte Banks, The Santonio Echols', The Kent Spencers,
The Korey Enyards, The Zana Smiths, The Ron Saundersons', The Mike Clarks,
The Anthony Shakirs, The Gary Chandlers, The Marshall Jacksons (Cheeks), The
Darrell Shannons, The Delano Smiths, The Darnell Smalls, The Vernon
Englishs, The Stephanie Carrs, The Johnnie Jacksons, The Todd and Hassans
(Direct Drive), The Darrell Harveys, The Art Paynes, The Cliff Thomas', The
Mike Hymes', The Gary ?s (Melodies and Memories), The Alan Esters, The Duane
Bradleys, The Kevin Dysards, The Jim Stones, The Papa Rons, The Alvin
Hills/Dj Monks, The Abdullah Haqqs, The Neil Ollivierras, The Bangin' Buzz
Gorees, The Eddie Flashin' Fowlkes, The Angie Browns', The Reggie And Doug
Craigs, The Herdest Cummings, The Rick Davies--the Derrick, Juan and
Kevins--and multiple, MULTIPLE others that lent their energies and passions
to our mad, mad machine over the years!!!!
Thanks to Carl Craig and the DEMF crew all of our dreams reached a high
point this weekend with our being able to bring our respective familys
together and FINALLY let them see for themselves what we have been doing all
these years when we couldn't give them our attention or time because we were
ball and chained to our respective duties. I met folks' moms, dads,
sisters, brothers, aunties, uncles, cousins, grandmas, grandpas, babies,
etc. for the very first time because of this. It WAS the forum and first
time for many of these people to see what we have all contributed to.
I kept saying this all weekend and feel compelled to say it again here to
those I perhaps didn't see and have been towing the line all these
years...IT REALLY DID MEAN SOMETHING AFTER ALLL!!!!!....All those
unappreciated EXTRA things we did, with no thanks, no money exchanging
hands, no sleep...culminated in this past weekend. 10s of thousands of
people I've never seen before, of all ages, colors and backgrounds wiggling,
nodding their heads, bouncing babies on their hips and otherwise bumpin to
our beat along with me. Who woulda thunk it possible???
Wheeew....I'm sure I can speak for many when I say that I am purely
exhausted, but it was INFINITELY worth it!!!! The prime directive guided
all of us around the world and for a brief moment the mothership came home
for some SORELY needed attention and shore leave... After all is said and
done one phrase supercedes all and aptly wraps this up, because the prime
directive was designed with a very specific goal, getting folks to forget
the dumb shit, forget their differences and simply SHUT UP AND DANCE!!!!!!!!
Warp Speed Ahead....and ENGAGE!!!
LOVE + LOVE, thanks and much respect to my mad, dysfunctional, MAD extended
Detroit FAMILY and a Big Kiss to Mr. Craig!!!!!!
I'm sooooooooo proud of all of you!!!!
LOGAVO (.....in the throes of Afterglow)
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