Buzz (DC)
Buzz – once called "Washington's best electronic dance night" by The Washington Post - was one of Washington, D.C.'s longest running dance parties. It was co-founded by DJ/promoter Scott Henry and DJ/promoter and DC music store (Music Now) owner Lieven DeGeyndt at the East Side Club and then relaunched in October 1995 at the now demolished Nation, formerly the Capital Ballroom.[1][2] At its peak it was one of the largest dance parties on the East Coast and voted "Best Party" four years in a row by then electronic dance music culture magazine URB (magazine). Buzz attracted the world's top electronic dance music artists to Washington, DC.[3]
Contents
Beginnings
Buzz first began in 1993 at the Eastside Club in DC. Early line-ups included prominent east coast DJs like Moby, Little Louie Vega, Frankie Bones, and Josh Wink. The Eastside club events ran in conjunction with a party on the lower level of the club called, Serve, which featured mostly house music. Buzz went through several other venues including a location next to The Ritz and a temporary underground venue off of New York avenue in DC before relaunching at the Capital Ballroom in October 1995.[1] The Capital Ballroom changed management in 1999 and became known as Nation (nightclub).[4]
Fox 5 Incident and Aftermath
Buzz was shut down temporarily in 1999 after Fox 5 (Washington, D.C.) WTTG reporter Elisabeth Leamy broadcast murky hidden camera footage purportedly showing drug use at the party during sweeps week. Buzzlife Productions owners Scott Henry and Lieven DeGeyndt filed a lawsuit against Fox 5 and a settlement was reached out of court.
On September 18, 2002, Buzzlife Productions issued a press release stating that due to "increased pressure from the DC Government, the United States Military and the United States Federal Government, Buzzlife Productions announces that its weekly event, Buzz will no longer take place in Washington, DC, effective immediately.
"A two and a half year investigation of DC nightclubs was launched by the military to supervise the off-duty hours of their local personnel. Unfortunately, the irresponsible behavior of a few triggered a large-scale clampdown on all military nightlife activities. In early September Nation nightclub was declared off-limits to all servicemen. However, the “witch-hunt” was not over.
"In an unprecedented move, the United States Military and the DC Police Department joined forces to share information and resources targeting both the Friday night event Buzz and the nightclub Nation. Innocent patrons were harassed and Nation management was threatened with legal action that could result in the loss of their liquor license.
“'It is unfortunate that events that cater to the youth of America historically become targets of government agencies,' comments Amanda Huie, Buzzlife Director of PR and Marketing. 'As leaders in this industry, we will not allow Buzz to become a scapegoat, and in essence, tarnish all electronic dance music events.'”[5]
Buzz relocated to Baltimore at Redwood Trust for about a year, and returned to Nation in 2003 as Cubik.[6][7]
Buzz persevered despite an anti-rave climate, leading a petition drive to defeat the RAVE Act, and despite Department of Defense rules restricting military personnel from attending Buzz and Velvet Nation, the gay party held at Nation on Saturday nights.[8]
End of Nation Era
The creation of the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium led to Nation being torn down.[7][9]
The end of the Buzz at Nation era was marked at its closing party on July 14, 2006. Artists included Scott Henry, Lieven DeGeyndt, Lonnie Fisher, DJ Dan, Utah Saints, Rabbit in the Moon, DJ Micro, John B, Scott Hardkiss, Fort Knox Five, Tittsworth, and Palash.
Final Party
Below is the Buzz Closing Party Set List as posted to message boards the night of the event:[10]
- Front Room
- 08.00-09.00 – Sinestro
- 09.00-09.45 – Lonnie Fisher
- 09.45-11.00 – Scott Hardkiss
- 11:00-12:00 – John B
- 12.00-01.00 – DB
- 01.00-02.00 – Palash
- 02:00-03:00 – Fk5
- 03.00-04.00 – Feelgood
- 04:00-close – Sunshine Jones of Dubtribe Soundsystem
- Rubik Room
- 09.00-10.00 – Scientific
- 10.00-11.00 – Jeremy Granger
- 11.00-12.00 – Mike Myers
- 12.00-12.50 – Switchstance & Adegen
- 12.50-01.40 – Wes Smith & Smalls
- 01.40-02.30 – Joe Kopasek
- 02:30-03:30 – Illeffect & Deinfamous
- 03.30-04.30 – Jesse Tittsworth
- 04:30-close – Muramasa
- Main Room
- 10.00-11.00 – Dave Trance
- 11:00-12:00 – Lieven
- 12.00-01.00 – Dave Ralph
- 01.00-02.00 – Micro
- 02:00-03:00 – RITM
- 03.00-04.00 – The Utah Saints
- 04:00-05:00 – DJ Dan
- 05.00-close – Scott Henry
Resident DJ's
Resident DJs over the years included Scott Henry, Lieven DeGeyndt, Charles Feelgood, John Tab, Muramasa, Dave Ralph, Deep Dish, Dieselboy, Donald Glaude, and Tall Paul.[11]
In 2000, Donald Glaude recorded a live set at Buzz that was released as "Mixed Live: Buzz @ Nation" on Moonshine Music on June 26, 2001.[12]
Post-Nation
Buzz was resurrected for several weeks at FUR nightclub in DC beginning September 21, 2007, and Buzz held events at various other DC venues including Avalon, Ibiza, 2K9, and Woolly Mammoth.
In October 2009, Buzz hosted a Caribbean cruise event called the BuzzBoat. Their second BuzzBoat was in October 2011, with a lineup that included Scott Henry, Charles Feelgood, Frankie Bones, DJ Icey, Simply Jeff, 2Rip, Monsterz Under the Bed, Danchik, and Proxxy & Lantern.[13][14]
See also
- Nation (nightclub)National and International Artists who played Buzz Events
- A-Sides (Fuze, UK)
- John Acquaviva (Definitive Recordings, Canada)
- AK1200
- Anabolic Frolic
- Andy C
- Aphrodite (artist)
- MC Armanni Reign
- DJ Baby Anne
- Bad Boy Bill
- Bassbin Twins
- Boy George
- Luke Brancaccio
- BT
- LTJ Bukem
- The Chemical Brothers
- Cirrus (band)
- Sandra Collins
- Carl Cox
- The Crystal Method
- D:Fuse
- DJ Dan
- DJ Dara
- Dave Trance
- DJ DB
- Deep Dish
- Dieselboy
- Digweed
- Dylan
- Evil Nine
- Fatboy Slim
- Charles Feelgood
- Felix da Housecat
- Seb Fontaine
- Fort Knox Five
- Frankie Bones
- Freaky Flow
- Freq Nasty
- Laurent Garnier
- Donald Glaude
- Gehno Aviance
- Goldie
- Grandmaster Flash
- Gridlok
- Grooverider
- Hardkiss
- Richie Hawtin
- Hive
- Danny Howells
- DJ Hurricane (Beastie Boys)
- Hype
- DJ Icey
- Jason Jinx
- Jimmy Van M. (Ministry of Sound)
- John B
- DJ Keoki
- Laidback Luke
- DJ Jen Lasher
- Steve Lawler
- Christopher Lawrence
- Layo & Bushwacka!
- Little Louie Vega
- Timo Maas
- Mampi Swift
- Marky
- Masters at Work
- Meat Katie
- Micro
- Miss Kittin
- Mixmaster Morris
- Moby
- Morpheus
- Morel (band)
- Erick Morillo
- Paul Oakenfold
- Anthony Pappa
- Photek
- Rennie Pilgrem
- Mauro Picotto
- Planet of the Drums
- Ryme Tyme (Virus, UK)
- Steve Porter (producer)
- Rabbit in the Moon
- Dave Ralph
- DJ Rap
- Nigel Richards
- Ryme Tyme
- Dave Seaman
- Roni Size
- Ed Rush & Optical
- Sage
- Roger Sanchez
- Sasha
- MC Sharpness
- Simply Jeff
- DJ SS (Formation)
- Tall Paul
- Taylor
- Snooch
- Technical Itch
- Teebee
- Tiesto
- Tittsworth
- Pete Tong
- Total Science
- Urban Assault aka Faust & Shortee
- Utah Saints
- Paul van Dyk
- Josh Wink
- Mrs Wood
Regional DJ's
- Adegen (Object Oriented Bliss)
- Accela (ohm resistance)
- Alex Whalen (Yoshitoshi)
- Ben Ko (Step Syndicate)
- Bobby Jae (Upfront)
- Bryce (Blended)
- Ed Bailey (Velvet)
- Sam "The Man" Burns
- Buster (Snowball Collective)
- Carlo (4twenty4)
- Chris Warin (DC Skillz)
- Contrast (Liquid Lounge)
- Cortex (DC Skillz)
- Deejay Clutch
- Deinfamous
- De Rigueur (Citrona/Timewarp)
- Dirty Hands
- DJ Rise (Liquid Lounge)
- Edan (4twenty4)
- Ellis (Liquid Lounge)
- EJ (Liquid Lounge)
- Entity (Ultraworld)
- Eternal
- Gehno (Snowball Collective)
- DJ Hope (4twenty4)
- DJ Pokey Jones (SSS / BradwaterMafia)
- Houston (Telemetrik)
- Hyx (Telemetrik)
- IllEffect (Expansion Broadcast)
- Illusion (DC Skillz)
- Implicit
- Impulse
- Imri Jonas
- Jammin' James E
- Jerramey Sin
- JMe (Round Table Records)
- Joe Kopasek (KidzThatGroove.com, Shorty's)
- John Tab/JTFlassh (Buzzlife/A.L.I.A.S.)
- JonH
- Jungle Jessi
- K-Yun
- Kaotix
- Kaya (Liquid Lounge)
- Ken Lazee
- Kiko
- Lantern
- Leni K.
- Lovegrove
- Luis and Locks (Contact Records)
- LXG (Transit/LJ Crew)
- Mark G
- MC Mecha (2Tuff)
- Miah (The Syndicate)
- Micke / Michael Tinder (Liquid Lounge / Buzzlife / Yoshitoshi.com)
- MirrorminD
- Moody Moore
- MRN (Matt Nordstrom)
- Mr Phipps / Snapdragon (Superclique / Squirrels / Genrevore)
- Mugoth the Destroyer (DC Skillz)
- Muramasa (Buzzlife)
- Nysus (Give / EE)
- Dave Nada
- Phase (Netwerk/The Syndicate)
- Prophecy Projekt
- Proxxy
- The R
- Ransom (Step Syndicate)
- Rob-One (Snowball Collective)
- Ron Delay (DC Skillz)
- Scientific (Liquid Lounge)
- Phil Scott (Netwerk)
- Shamus (Snowball Collective)
- Shaun Cox (Global Dance Radio)
- Sheila Storms
- Simetra (Round Table Records)
- Simon (The Syndicate)
- Sinestro (The Syndicate)
- DJ Slant (2 Tuff)
- Smalls
- Wes Smith
- MC Son of Nun
- Spiggy
- Stress (2Tuff)
- Submerged
- DJ Sun (Ultraworld)
- Suneel
- Sinthetix
- Switchstance (Object Oriented Bliss)
- Telemetrik
- Thunderball (ESL Music)
- Tom B
- Ty T
- Tzeech
- Xodus (Metatrack)
- Zelda (Metatrack)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 All The Rave: The Rise of Techno Music Has Created a New Phenomenon - The Celebrity Dance Deejay, by Alona Wartofsky, The Washington Post, August 2, 1997
- ↑ Nightlife Agenda, Fritz Hahn, July 13, 2006
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Online Chat with Scott Henry, by Eric Brace, www.washingtonpost.com, February 12, 1999
- ↑ Posted Buzzlife press release "Buzz Ends Its Nine Year Run in Washington, DC," Amanda Huie, September 18, 2002
- ↑ Redwood Trust, Baltimore (Nightclub Review), Remix, February 1, 2003
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Good-bye Nation. Hello H St., NE, Fritz Hahn, The Washington Post, December 29, 2006
- ↑ Ravers Against the Machine: Partiers and the ACLU Take On "Ecstasy" Legislation, by David Montgomery, The Washington Post, July 18, 2002
- ↑ Velvet Touch, by Randy Shulman, Metro Weekly, June 29, 2006
- ↑ "Buzzlife Closing Party @ Nation REVIEW", accessed 7.16.13
- ↑ Buzz 8.24.01 lineup posted on candy-ravers Yahoo message board
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Donald-Glaude-Mixed-Live-Buzz-Nation-Washington-DC/release/127814
- ↑ Electronic Dance Fans are in a Buzz, by Fritz Hahn, The Washington Post, September 14, 2007
- ↑ Boarding the BuzzBoat with DC Legend Scott Henry, August 2011