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I Made A Website For My Girlfriend.
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Unknown User replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 12:41pm |
 Coolness: 3800 | Update » United_As_1 wrote on Sat Feb 10, 2007 @ 7:11pm All outlets are fully stocked with $20 advanced tickets for "This is How We Do" Part 3 on March 3rd 2007.
Go and pick up tickets now! And don't forget that if you are coming from out of town to email united_as_1@rogers.com to receive an entry fee of $20, the same as an advanced ticket. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» daFTWin replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 12:47pm |
 Coolness: 277155 | WHERE ARE THE MARINE ANIMALS!??!!? |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Unknown User replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 12:49pm |
| Coolness: 3800 | i thought they were lodged in your ass, along with a fairly large bag of you know. Update » figure8 wrote on Fri Jan 19, 2007 @ 2:27pm Dj Galaksy ouvrira la soirée avec des gros son du sud |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» screw_you replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 12:51pm |
 Coolness: 77760 | damn katherine u gotta big ass! |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Unknown User replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 12:53pm |
| Coolness: 3800 | isabel, you are the meanest person alive. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» daFTWin replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 12:56pm |
| Coolness: 277155 | [ www..Really ] fairly large bag?!!? All for me and no one else?!?!.. YYYAAAAYYYY!! Update » StereoVoice wrote on Fri Jan 19, 2007 @ 2:47pm The grammy winner & legend David Morales will be @ Stereobar, Wednesday January 24th for a special edition of Sex Appeal.
His 'boy' Danny Torrence is also on the bill for a perfect match and a very hot weeknight... Update » StereoVoice wrote on Tue Jan 23, 2007 @ 4:06am Niko Leger - credits: Ian-Mtlnights Interview
Niko Leger made the transition from bartender to management @ Stereo back in December 2003, ushering in the Niko era…an era that has brought Stereo unprecedented success combined with a renewed In light of Niko’s special Sex Appeal birthday bash @ Stereobar on January 24th w/ David Morales and Danny Torrence, Mtlnights decided to ask him a few questions: What’s your official job title over @ Stereo? My business card says General Manager… *grin* Niko, being an educated man with a background in business administration, did you ever foresee yourself being where you are right now? Absolutely. I’ve spent most of my week-time over the last seventeen years studying or handling businesses, and the most part of my weekends working with the public in hotels, restaurants, bars, and afterhours. In a way, it was merely a question of time before my business interests crossed paths, and fused with my passion for nightlife. Stereo originally recruited Sandra Oka, my production & dancing partner, and I to bartend, and entertain the crowd a mere 6 years ago. Over time, management got wind of my background. Back in the day, I was not really interested in the idea of consulting for a nightclub which didn’t seem like a serious or proper business compared to the corporate clients we usually handled. But, Stereo was a very different, and enticing challenge. With its well-known brand, its legion of fans, the intricate passion of the DJs, their intent to franchise internationally, and such, they definitely got my attention. I joined the executive team as a consultant in December 2003. I turned down many offers for a permanent position as the months went by. As a consultant, I’m definitely at my best with specific punctual interventions. I don’t usually get tied down in operations. However, given the peculiar nature of this business, and the challenges it was facing and considering the huge potential, I eventually got swayed into a management position. First, as a promo director, and then eventually as a GM. There were a lot of players involved back then and the first year was very tumultuous. We knew were the club needed to head but just couldn’t get all the owners to row in the same direction. It wasn’t until January 2004 that we got a true hold of Stereo, when David Morales and Scott Lancaster retained sole ownership of the club. That’s when the real turnaround process started. Stereo had accumulated debts in the high 6 figures, and was on the verge of a 4th bankruptcy in 6 years. It’s really not the money making machine that some patrons make it out to be. Stereo had always been a labor of love created by true artists for the pleasure of the DJs, and the dancers alike. We don’t believe in the bad karma of bankruptcies so we fought hard as a team to dig ourselves out of the hole. Given the extreme patience of our staff and promoters, the dedication of our owners, the flexibility of our suppliers, and the loyalty of our dear patrons, we have managed to prevail. Stereo has cleared more than half its huge debt and also reinvested a few much needed hundred thousands to upgrade the club (heating, AC, sound, etc.). I am thrilled with where we’re at, and I can’t thank David, Scott and our team enough for the incredible journey we embarked on. Taking into account that the club world is generally an extremely ‘flighty’ industry, what in your opinion has enabled Stereo to stay open for as long as it has (8 years and counting)? On top of surviving competition with Sona, Sona 2, Aria, Gravity, Red Lite and Circus to name only the most important, Stereo has also managed to gain such an intriguing international reputation. For all these years, patrons from all around the world kept telling me how unique Stereo was. I felt it with all my might and passion, but still couldn’t really grasp it. You’re thinking “yes of course it’s an amazing club but one of the best in the world? Come on!” Think of some of the clubs in Europe, in Italy, Greece, Spain…think of Eastern Europe.. think of New York of LA, Miami, San-Francisco, etc. One of the best…really? And over time after surveying the original founders and so many international legends and exchanging with incredibly well traveled connoisseurs and aficionados, I came to some conclusions. Contrary to most of the legendary clubs, Stereo has a relatively intimate setting. It’s a small club. That creates a lot of warmth, a very powerful vibe, and sentiment of closeness with the DJ, and the crowd. Thanks to the original work of Angel, and the incredible passion and dedication of David Morales, it has one of the best sound systems in the world. That allows music to truly transcend the club experience. And there’s obviously something to be said about Montreal. With its multicultural, rich, somewhat European sense of nightlife, and hospitality that makes it so warm and exhilarating. Stereo is so much about its people, staff and patrons alike. Thanks to Montreal’s true music lovers, Stereo is a bias free zone. And that counts for a lot. As much as some people have sadly lost themselves in the scene, some people have truly traveled the inner path to self and found themselves through the rite of communing to house music. It’s absolutely incredible but Stereo has the power to change lives on the dance floor. That brings some of the best talents in the world in that very peculiar setting and just ignites passions. When the moment rises and a shiver of goose bumps rushes through the crowd like the ebb and flow of the sea, it’s just an indescribable feeling. There’s much more to it. It’s a gestalt thing where the whole definitely profoundly exceeds the sum of its parts but I humbly believe those to be some of the ingredients. Witnessing the transformation of the local rave scene from the utopian paradise it was back in 1993 to the Godskitchen / Bal en Blanc corporate monolith it is today, do you feel that the afterhours industry in Montreal will continue to remain economically viable outside of the corporate realm, unlike the rest of the continent where the Pachas and the Crobars of this world seem to dominate so much? The afterhours market in Montreal is obviously a niche market. I would be surprised if even 10% of the club patrons actually attend afterhours. And a lot of people agree that it’s declining. It might or might not factually be the case. The tobacco law has an effect across both markets. Cocooning had a big impact on the bar industry. The suburban market developed whereas before the whole greater Montreal converged to bars on the island. I know some downtown club owners who make 2-10 % of what they did back in the 80s and 90s. And yes there’s a big concentration in corporate events but Montreal still has a strong underground scene with multiple private raves every single weekend. I personally believe that we should unite as club owners and lobby for Montreal to adopt laws similar to what Europe has. It makes absolutely no sense on a community level to release tens of thousands of patrons drunk in the middle of the night at 3:30 when there’s not even proper public transportation available. That seems to be encouraging criminal behaviors such as drunk driving, fights, assault and abuse and such. By allowing clubs to serve and operate until people feel like going home, you’re avoiding many of those problems. It creates a more gradual flow of people going home when they had enough. If somebody wants to take the metro or the bus home at 5 or 6 in the morning, they have the possibility to do so. And people would not be as drunk when they walk out of the club. By giving a cutoff time you’re concentrating the alcohol intake in the last hour before closing. It would be a much smoother process if we were to make the change. Montreal would largely benefit as a tourist destination of choice and a key player in the house and musical scene as well. I recall with great fondness the days when big tobacco money paid for big name DJ appearances @ Stereo every other week, with immaculate decorations adding to the intense vibe that already permeates these types of establishments. Niko, how has the loss of big tobacco sponsorship affected the industry as a whole? That program was a genius initiative by B&H. Strike a deal with clubs, cater to a captive audience, and only allow them to use your brand. It was genius. The patrons subconsciously associated moments of bliss with their brand, and ended up switching brands. If I recall correctly with an investment of a few millions, B&H ended up grabbing 11% market shares with that program. That’s absolutely incredible! The loss of that corporate sponsorship program obviously impacted our budgets, and the industry a whole lot. At the same time, that program also had its pervasive effects by initially raising the DJ fees in Montreal. Some other cities laugh at us wholeheartedly when they see the concentration of talent we offer in Montreal, the competition amongst clubs, and the amounts we pay for the population we have. It definitely had a huge impact on the scene. Some were for the best, and some for the worst. In the end, it was pushing the use of tobacco, and we’re thrilled that the law doesn’t allow smoking anymore. Although we’re grateful for the benefits of that program, we were never really comfortable with endorsing a product like tobacco. Some people may find that surprising because their perception is that afterhours are all about drugs. That may be true elsewhere, but Stereo is first and foremost about the music. You would be surprised with the amount of people that do very little drugs or no drugs at all at Stereo. We have a whole segment of professionals in their thirties and forties that just can’t have drugs as a part of their lifestyle. You’d be amazed to see how many people wake up a Sunday morning (Disco Nap), have their breakfast and come to Stereo at 8-9 am to dance for a few hours. And we love that! Montreal has yet to tap into the full potential of corporate partnerships, and true sponsorship programs. We’re very much behind the Europeans when it comes to that. I’ve noticed the gradual migration of Montreal afterhours to the gay village, what factors do you feel contributed to this? There’s definitely a concentration with Circus and Stereo, but I wouldn’t call it a migration. Stereo’s location was by design and carefully selected by its founders. The gay community gave us the scene whether its in New York or Montreal. They were at the heart of it. We’re partying and working on their legacy so it was a natural choice. Circus was more the result of circumstances. They couldn’t operate their banquet hall the way they intended to, so they eventually decided to embark on the journey of operating an afterhour. It definitely created a very interesting dynamic in the village, and that was accentuated with Aria’s closing. But, I don’t think we’re facing a migration in my humble opinion. What parts of your job do you enjoy the most? Dislike the most? Well I obviously dislike what the scene does to certain people. A lot of people haven’t achieved any sense of inner peace and fuel unhealthy patterns in the nightlife. It hurts to see people you consider friends lie, steal and fraud. Especially in our case, when we’re blessed with owners who don’t operate the club to gain financially, it tears me from the inside when I look back at all the fraud and theft we had to deal with, especially for what is essentially a collective or artists. It’s mind-boggling. As you travel through life, you can choose to have a connecting or a conflicting vision. Sadly our industry is riddled with many people with a conflicting vision rather than connecting, and a vision of scarcity rather than abundance. As far as what I love doing, not a lot of people know what I really do. I’m a business process analyst. That’s where I excel. However, I have a very paradoxical personality. What most people don’t know is that I’m first and foremost an artist. That allows me to have knack for creative management, to think outside of the box, and keep a peripheral integrated vision. I do however have a very natural talent for analysis, and rational thinking. Makes for an unusual but interesting combination. At first I had to concentrate a lot on operations, which for someone like me can easily be a drag. Now that we have dug ourselves out, and that we can count on a team of very capable people to insure the operations, I can focus more and more on the business behind the two clubs. It’s starting to take shape and form. We almost made it this year, but due to circumstances outside of our control, we still need a bit of time to completely absorb the debt. Within about a year, we should be debt free. We will finally have completed the 3-year turnaround process, and will enter a new era. Then you will get to see where we’re all headed with this, and what we really have in store for you. We’re happy we’ve covered some ground, but to tell you the truth, we haven’t even started yet…lol J Not everybody has had the opportunity to work as closely as you have with a Grammy Award winner like David Morales, do you sometimes have to remind yourself of that fact? Every week! What an incredible journey. Some people don’t realize the full scope of his career. Take a look at his bio and his track record. It’s absolutely stupendous, the people he’s worked with, and what he accomplished over the past few decades. David is such a complex, intricate, fascinating artist, and individual. We’ve become great friends, and I’m truly blessed to have him in my life. He’s a very giving person on so many different levels. I had to win him over as the years went by, and he’s truly allowed me to do so. One of the great things about him is that he gives his people a chance to truly shine. Although he’s a superstar, he doesn’t make it all about him. It’s about us (his trusted team), the music, and the music lovers. Stereo is just the beginning of the journey for us. We have a few surprises in store. Any plans in the works for Stereo / Stereobar that we should look out for in 2007? We keep improving Stereo and Stereobar with minor renovations and upgrades, and we’ll keep doing that. David has some serious sound overhauls in the making, but we haven’t decided on precise dates yet. We have a project for Stereobar that will take things to a whole new level. We’re working on putting together a new formula that will redefine the nightlife product we offer in itself. It’s a whole new concept, and approach. It’s been brewing for two years already and could be at least another year in the making. Something to definitely look out for… but that can’t be revealed for now! To this day, I still regret missing the first Sex Appeal back in November 2005…Niko, what do you have in store for us @ your upcoming birthday celebration on Wednesday, January 24th @ Stereobar with David Morales and Danny Torrence? Actually Sex Appeal is a branding that’s prior to its Stereobar form. Sex Appeal was actually a direct expression of my renewed dedication to nightlife. Around 2000, my partners and I decided to shelve Ace Factory, our board game design company that occupied the most of the previous years. It was a good move for us to put the project on hold for the time being, given the market context even though it took a lot of discipline. After 4 grueling years of hard work I needed a change from heavy office work. That’s when I decided to spend a few years more involved in nightlife. Bartending has always been a great way to spend weekends listening to the same music, and meeting the same people as if you were to go out while earning some money on the side. In the bartending industry, there’s not much work security. You’re always at the mercy of club politics. I realized in my early days of promotion (back in the early 1990… oups there goes my age…lol), that creating your own night is an excellent way of circumventing that, and in a way almost become your own employer. I partnered up with Sandra Oka, and we founded 911 Productions, our own little production and dance crew. We started producing 911 Thursdays at Backtrack, and hosting dance competitions until Greg from Parking eventually recruited us to move our night to Wednesdays at Parking for the original Sex Appeal Wednesdays. We had an excellent year hosting anywhere from 150-550 people, bartending for them, and producing a dance act every week. It was definitely a lot of fun. On the night of the anniversary, Greg announced that he had decided to move in another direction, and we parted ways with Parking. We had many offers to produced Sex Appeal Wednesdays elsewhere, but were both faced with personal hardship. Being the workaholic that I can be, I needed to take better care of my health, and Sandra’s mother was fighting an exceptionally tough battle with lung cancer. It was only natural for both of us to take a break from the scene. We kept bartending one night a week at Stereo, who had recruited us in the meantime given the solid following we had created over the 2-3 years of 911 Productions. On top of the nights we were producing or hosting, we also provided dancers to a lot of major events such as Black & Blue, Red or Bal en Blanc. That was also a lot of fun. We really have to thank those organizations for what they brought to Montreal in terms of exposure and recognition. Stereo wanted to make the best of our networking so they hired both of us to fill in the position of bartender / entertainer. So we would come in full gear, and while one was bartending the other one would freestyle. I have a lot of good memories from those years as an entertainer as well…lol. For the longest time, people kept asking us to rekindle Sex Appeal. With the modifications that we did to Stereobar over the last few years we felt last year that the bar had become a proper environment to rekindle that fire. Given our occupations, we can’t put a tenth of the energy we use to, and the night has had its up-and-downs, but is growing. We’ve left the performing acts aside for now, but will invest more energy in the spring to make sure we gain the full momentum the night could achieve. We’ll definitely keep you posted. On the 24th, you can expect once again, a very unique occasion to hear David Morales in a very intimate setting. That creates a whole different vibe that’s been so much fun and with such musical quality every time he comes to Sex Appeal. You can count on Danny Torrence to warm up the room the perfect way for El Presidente to take the helm, and just rip it See you on the dance floor! J Come check out Niko’s special Sex Appeal birthday bash @ Stereobar on Wednesday, January 24th w/ David Morales and Danny Torrence from 10PM-3AM. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Unknown User replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 1:15pm |
| Coolness: 3800 | yay! |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» El_Presidente replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 1:26pm |
 Coolness: 300045 | who is your girlfriend? |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» screw_you replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 1:28pm |
| Coolness: 77760 | wasnt it you tipsy? |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» daFTWin replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 1:28pm |
| Coolness: 277155 | You gotta go to the webpage and find out..Its a marine animal...
*Hands herself a normal sized bag of shut up* |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Unknown User replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 1:29pm |
| Coolness: 3800 | dont forget the one in your ass. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» daFTWin replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 1:31pm |
| Coolness: 277155 | AND SHUT THE FUCK UP! |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» screw_you replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 1:33pm |
| Coolness: 77760 | nice ring kafwin ..is it new? |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» daFTWin replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 1:36pm |
| Coolness: 277155 | No.. I think thats his girlfriends hand. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» screw_you replied on Fri Nov 22, 2002 @ 1:40pm |
| Coolness: 77760 | SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU STUPID DIRTY SLUT!!!!! |
I Made A Website For My Girlfriend.
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