A RAVE MISTAKE

Apparently The U.S. Senate Has Little Better To Do Than Hassle The
Pacifier-And-Glow-Stick Set

Trying to assemble a group of people to talk about the local rave scene is
a Herculean task. After a few days of attempting to round up DJs,
promoters, crew leaders and club owners for a roundtable discussion, one
learns that it might be easier to get a table dance from Dominique Sachse.
Either the ravers are performing that night or they simply cannot be found
or they just flake out and don't show up. One promoter refused to breathe
the same air as one of his rivals, a man he affectionately called "the
Adolf Hitler of the Houston rave scene."

So it's damn near a miracle that three DJs/promoters would put all the,
shall we say, bullshit aside and head over to an IHOP for a
Wednesday-evening chat. Fortunately, the three gentlemen who did show up
just happen, somehow, someway, to have had no problem with anyone in the
scene, nor are they on anyone's shit list. You'd think they would be a dull
lot. But these three guys -- Ramiro "Relay-One" Casas, Joel "Puff the Magic
Dragon" Poff and the always resourceful John "Kung Fu Pimp" Tran -- have a
lot of informative things to say.

The main reason for this sit-down, as Tony Soprano would call it, was to
discuss the RAVE (Reducing America's Vulnerability to Ecstasy) Act. Drawn
up by four senators a year ago, the federal bill is well on its way to
becoming law. The bill, a rehash of 1980s crackhouse laws, states that any
person throwing a rave or a rave-type event could face a $250,000 fine, a
venue shutdown and even 20 years in prison if drugs are found on the premises.

The guys couldn't help but notice that there are a lot of holes in the
plan. "There's no limit on it at all," says Puff, looking over a copy of
the bill he got from the Net. "Now, if they narrow it down a little bit and
say, 'Okay, all-ages events,' or be more specific with what you're trying
to enforce, it might be a lot better. But right now, it's written so
vaguely that they could pretty much make up the rules as they go."

It's not just onetime rave events that are under scrutiny. There's a good
chance that dance clubs, like local techno hall Hyperia (2001 Commerce),
could become casualties as well. "Under the guise of the act," explains
Relay-One, "legitimate clubs could be shut down just because the powers
that be chose to look at a certain club [as] unworthy under that act."

As many Houstonians know, local authorities already have been cracking down
on raves in the last year. Police officers and fire marshals have canceled
several before they started (often for "fire code violations"). Although
many crews and promoters have followed new regulations to the letter
(holding events in clean, legal venues, requiring that patrons be 18 and
up), many shindigs were shut down nonetheless. It wasn't always so. "A year
or two ago, every Saturday night there would be a rave, either at the
International Ballroom [14035 South Main], the Lone Star Arena [5515 West
Loop South] or De Andas Ballroom [5201 Hopper Road]," remembers the Pimp.
"Now, what they're trying to do is -- or what they did was -- stop these
venues from setting these deals and let the cops stop working there. So,
yeah, they got what they wanted: no more raves." The few who still manage
to throw a party every now and again often have to go back to basics and
hold the gatherings at respectable clubs. Casas and Poff, both from the
Neverland Productions team, recently hired out Live Sports Cafe (407 Main)
with no attendant hassles. "We've never had a problem," says Relay-One. "We
didn't get raided. We haven't had anybody pass out in the corner and get
left there, like they have on the news or whatever."

A couple of organizers have taken the sneaky route. Last May, radio and
concert giant Clear Channel Communications raised some eyebrows in the
community when they held a rave (it was called a "festival") featuring DJs
Sasha and John Digweed, at, of all places, the Verizon Wireless Theater
(520 Texas Avenue). Although some folks commended the slyness of the event
("It's a good thing because the people get to see it," says Pimp), others
couldn't help but consider that if these concert/raves becomes a recurring
thing, there could be a price. "If you get corporations taking over," warns
Relay, "they're gonna dictate, just like Clear Channel does over the radio,
who you're gonna see, what you're gonna hear and where they're gonna play.
The local element is gonna be shut out completely."

With rival promoters at each other's throats, rave-unfriendly local
authorities, the threat of corporations turning raves into legitimate,
beer-sponsored eyesores and a draconian, vaguely worded bill that is likely
to become law, is there any hope for the Houston rave underworld? Well,
during our little session, the boys did shoot around the idea of starting
up a collective of club owners, promoters, DJs and city officials, not
unlike the Austin Nightlife Coalition (ANC). This group would keep raves
alive in the city by maintaining a respectable order of things. Although
it's still just an idea, at least they came together to talk about it.

By the way, if you have a problem with the RAVE Act, you can go to
www.ga1.org/campaign/rave and send an angry letter to Senators Phil Gramm
and/or Kay Bailey Hutchison.