RAVES - THEY'RE ALL THE RAGE

Parties Part Of U.S. Trend That Appears To Be Ever-Changing

SAN JOSE, Calif. - They began as all-night dance parties hidden in abandoned
warehouses, drawing dozens with the promise of an underground thrill. But
savvy promoters and easy access to cheap drugs, especially Ecstasy, are
luring huge crowds to heavily hyped parties across the country and pushing
raves into mainstream youth culture.

From Miami to Chicago to the Bay Area, raves are all the rage.

Underground parties that once drew crowds of 20 have mushroomed into massive
all-night events that draw tens of thousands. But raves are also creating
problems for cities across the country - and some are taking drastic action.

After a recent party in San Jose that drew 20,000 ended in eight arrests and
more than a dozen reported drug overdoses, Santa Clara County officials
booted a rave set for last Saturday, prompting promoters to change the venue
to the Fresno County Fairgrounds.

"Cyberfest" - billed as the largest rave west of the Mississippi - was
expected to draw 80,000 revelers, mainly teens and young adults. More than
6,000 tickets to the event have been sold in San Jose.

For some partygoers, the draw is the promise of complete acceptance.

"They have something for everyone, so everyone has a good time. They're
incredibly popular with everyone, not just teens, not just old folks.
Everyone is going," said Michael Ortega, a 43-year-old contractor from San
Jose, who said he "raves " at least twice a month.

Ravers and promoters have come up with a buzz word for the rave culture -
PLUR, an acronym for peace, love, unity and respect.

"It's all about just loving one another," said Andrew Ng, a college student
from San Francisco, who spent hours dancing at a recent San Francisco rave
called "Trance Force."

But the popularity of raves , driven by a wave of publicity that drenched
the rave culture, has morphed PLUR into profit.

"The scene has been taken over by people who don't understand what it's all
about. They come because they want the drugs," said Julie Jaciuk, a
21-year-old from Fremont who was at a June rave at the Santa Clara County
Fairgrounds. "When they grow up and realize that it's about the music, the
people, things will be better. Raves have become this big, trendy thing. It
shouldn't be that way."

Part of that trend includes the popularity and availability of Ecstasy, or
E.

"A rave without E is like a car without wheels. It just doesn't go
anywhere," said Jess Dunton, 22, as she sat on the floor during the "Trance
Force" rave in San Francisco.

Christopher Kwok, who will be a junior at San Francisco State University
this fall and is a rave regular, said Ecstasy is simply part of the rave
scene. "People who take it consider it an added bonus to the music and
stuff," Kwok said. "I don't need it; the music is enough for me."

The prevalence of Ecstasy at the dance parties is obvious to law enforcement
officials.

"Our people there estimate that between 40 and 60 percent of the people
there were high," Sgt. John Hirokawa of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's
Office said of the June rave in San Jose.

Ecstasy, a synthetic amphetamine derivative, produces feelings of euphoria
and typically sells for $20 to $30 a pill, San Jose police said. The illegal
substance also can cause depression, severe anxiety, paranoia and in some
cases, death.

"How are you going to arrest 4,000 people in three or four hours? Our people
can't act on it because they are outnumbered 20 to 20,000. We can only make
sure things stay in control," he said. Of the eight arrests during last
month's event, two were for selling drugs, the others for minor assault and
being under the influence.

In the aftermath, Santa Clara County supervisors decided the risks were too
great and told the promoter of several Santa Clara County Fairgrounds
parties that all future events were canceled.

Veteran ravers who attended underground parties years ago said today's raves
have changed dramatically for the worse, drifting far from their original
purpose.

"The raves I go to draw really friendly people who treat each other with
respect - and that's what it's about: the music and everyone being together
for the music," said Jennifer Innes, who has been going to raves for three
years. "People know that although drugs are a part of the scene, no one has
to take them. . . . It's being turned into a scene about drugs rather than
music."

For more than a decade, the rave scene consisted of clusters of small
all-night parties where people danced to electronic or "techno" music.
Locations were kept secret until the night of the event; partygoers picked
up clues that typically led to abandoned warehouses.

But as word of the underground parties spread, and raves received publicity
focusing largely on the prevalence of drugs and underaged teens, the parties
grew so large that they moved to legal public venues - and promoters started
cashing in on the trend.

Tickets that once sold for $10 to $12 now go for as much as $50. Tickets for
last week's "Cyberfest" in Fresno sold for $30 to $50.

Coolworld.com, the event's promoters, say their parties are dance
entertainment music festivals, not raves . But that concept is lost on the
ravers who consider Coolworld parties the ultimate rave.

And while the event was not being billed as rave, Marco Traversa,
Coolworld's vice president of marketing and operations, said they welcome
everybody.

"There are many positive aspects to the rave community," Traversa said. "So
many of these events bring people together. It's the new rock 'n' roll."