My Valentine’s sucked! That’s right my man didn’t get me anything! But than again many straight guys just don’t get Valentine’s Day. All I wanted was a card, a box of chocolates, or flowers. Even a “Happy Valentine’s Day” would’ve have sufficed.

To be honest who am I kidding I didn’t come home till 3:30pm on the 14^th after my events I had to host at, and chillin with my friends. So, in his defense I may not have gotten me anything either.

What didn’t suck were the Valentine events. The Scenester Showdown at The Barn on the 12^th was great! Jamal had the DJ booth set up on the dancefloor on the main floor of the venue which makes for far better interaction with the DJ.

I’ve seen one laptop set up during a set, maybe two while the next DJ is setting up, but never three alongside two CDJs, seriously! That’s a mad set up. Word on the dancefloor was that DJTK was the Showdown hands down!

And let me mention the sweet gift bag for the winner, Johnny T. He sure got a lot of goodies to make his Valentine’s complete alone or with that special someone courtesy of Stag Shop.

CiRCA’s “Love, Sex & Magic” was also great. Damn! My Scenester Radio producer and BFF gave me chocolates and even CiRCA brought tasty chocolate, strawberry treats to our table.

Joe Ghost who opened for Behrouz and Addy totally got me; his beats were bumpy and awesome. Yet I didn’t get a chance to see him. Hence the Ghost maybe?

All was good till the fire alarm went off. That’s right around 3am just as we were headed to the DJ booth area to get our dance on, the music shut off and firemen came in. Yes some were hot (no pun intended), but since it would be a bit for them to sort this fire thing out in a venue the size of CiRCA we decided to call it a night and head back to the studio.

My Valentine’s had no spark, and ended in a false alarm. Good times!

Now that it’s over I move into March hoping for warmer weather and some crazy parties upon us. I’ll be a host at Deko-ze’s birthday at Footwork on March 5^th with Adam K and Mark Falco also on the bill.

March 6^th is DJ Bliss’s “Elevate 1-year Anniversary” at LOL Lounge with Addy, DJ Saeed, Matt Gracie and more…

Let’s not forget infamous JaXx HouZe 9 – The Enchanted Tribal Platoon will detonate April 2010. Talk about sexy men in army fatigues gyrating to tribal house. Yummy!

For guestlist for any of these events please email [email protected]

See you on the dancefloor!

Here we go with traditional Valentine’s Day and the somewhat new Family Day holiday upon us. I remember my first Family Day weekend it was when I was a host at the infamous Comfort Zone and it was just after the overly publicized Project White Rabbit raid. The club was so empty and clean I could actually smell bleach, yet it was great to be in that place only with those who genuinely loved the music and weren’t there for any other reason.

Three years later I’ll be celebrating this holiday with a buffet of beats with what will be packed dance floors, with music supplied by some of Toronto’s finest, and one American finest, Behrouz at CiRCA.

First up is The Scenester Showdown Friday February 12^th at The Barn featuring four of The Village’s favourite DJs all battling it out on the decks; Jamal vs. Jeff Kirkwood vs. Rhubix vs. DJTK. It’s free till 12am and only $5 after. You can’t get a better Valentine’s deal than this!

And if you’re into winning sexy, luscious prizes Scenester is holding a contest to win a Valentine’s Day prize bag filled with sweet treats courtesy of Stag Shop, Scenester Magazine, The Barn and Hype energy drink. (Here’s how to enter). Maybe for some this might be the only chance of getting a Valentine’s Day gift.

I’ll only be getting a box of chocolates from one of my BFFs, and that’s cuz we already planned on buying each other a box of chocolates. Let’s face it, it’s really it’s an excuse to have chocolate!

Its time for some Love, Sex & Magic at CiRCA on Saturday February 13th with Behrouz and Toronto’s deep beat devil DJ Addy. Also on the bill are Chris Fresque and Joe Ghost.

Advance tickets are only $20 with guestlist being $25. For tickets or guestlist you can contact Scenester at [email protected].

As I wrote this I was trying to think of my most memorable Valentine’s Day and I have to say it was with another one of my BFFs. It was about four or five years ago. We left Comfort Zone on Valentine’s Day in the evening, her with a shiny glass decorative figurine her boyfriend bought her that lit up when she put it together showcasing a glass statue couple in the middle of it. Yes it was intricate and different, yet somehow strangely lovely.

I on the other hand had a rose my boyfriend gave me earlier in the day which by this time was wilted and crunchy. My BFF and I ended our sad Valentine’s Day with each other (no boyfriends they were bouncers and had to work) taking our somewhat paltry gifts back to her place, but not before buying a pint each of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

This is a festive time of year and a time for giving and remembering.

At Scenester’s Christmas Party we proudly donated 250 lbs of food to The Daily Bread Food Bank. I have to thank all staff, affiliates (GayGuideToronto.com & Shaun Proulx), advertisers and friends for helping make Scenester what it is today.

The DJs Who Stole Christmas…Again! At Toronto’s Footwork was off the hook and the DJ who stole it was Paranoid Jack. Wow! Such great ear candy!

New Year’s Day (NYD) is fast approaching, and to think some only feel New Year’s Eve is the time to party! Steve Lawler hits the CiRCA decks in the main room along with alongside:
Nevio , Michaelangelo, Nick Golden & Mike Dubb. Doors, 10pm – 8am Jan 1, 2010.

Lawler is labeled as a forward thinking, groundbreaking Pioneering DJ/artist. Wow! Talk about a great way to bring in 2010 with a hard bang! And if you want to go I suggest getting your tickets now for only $30.

Please email [email protected] by 2pm Dec. 31, 2009.

PHOTO: Ryan Parks

As I head out till the next decade starts recent news came to me of DJ Evil P’s death. He passed away at 9:15pm Tuesday Dec 23 at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital due to a long battle with Alcohol.

I interviewed him for a DJ Report in issue 3 of Scenester Magazine when it was in print. If you’re lucky to have this collectors copy take a re-read and refresh yourself as to why he was a good DJ to hear. He brought it to the decks time and time again.

In my DJ Report I asked him what is one of your favourite tracks of all time. He replied, “Guns & Roses – “November Rain”.

Why?

“The songs ability to make you feel a wide range of emotions in less than 10 minutes.”

Patryk I’ll always remember your beats as danced to them upon System Soundbar’s and Comfort Zone’s floor.

Evil P – R.I.P.

See you on the dancefloor!

With all the parties going on and so much to be a part of this year I’ve decided to do things a bit different. I’ve decided to host only a select couple of events of which I’ve been asked to host. For the first time I even had to turn down one due to another club asking me first.

The one party anyone who is a true house-head and Deko-ze fan should attend is his “The DJs Who Stole Christmas…Again?” This marks pt. 2 to this series and it takes place on Friday December 18^th at Toronto’s Footwork.

I host many of Deko-ze’s events and have done so for the past 6 years, and aside from the Mayhem events (God! They were great!) We did, “The DJs Who Stole Christmas” is a true festive event. What other DJ do you know dresses a Santa? I too will once again wear my Santa outfit courtesy of my sponsor Stag Shop.

What makes this year’s event so special is the line-up Deko-ze pulled out of his Santa bag; Kenny Glasgow, Paranoid Jack, Tim Patrick and new up and comer, Chris Ink.

Deko-ze isn’t called “Canada’s hardest working DJ” for nothing! He’s a bright shining star within Canada’s scene and is one of our greatest producers. He had his first residency in ’91 at a gay venue in Saskatoon called Numbers (later Divas) to now maintaining residencies in: Vancouver, BC; Victoria, BC; Calgary, AB; London, ON; Niagara Falls, ON; Montreal, PQ; St. John’s, NF. He’s signed to a multi-year artist/producer development deal with Hi-Bias Records and most notably known for his energetic and charismatic stage presence, engaging personality, strong technical skills, and original approach to programming which has uniquely cultivated a huge following in both the gay and straight scenes.

Mr. Kenny Glasgow is the epitome of classic cool. He’s a Canadian icon. A pioneer. And a major contributor to the culture and movement that is house music.

And yes you read it right Paranoid Jack will hit the decks in front of a massive festive crowd all eagerly awaiting every “Jack” beat that they’ve longed to hear for the past several years.

Tim Patrick is the type of producer who’s guaranteed to immerse you on the dancefloor by his delicate mixing strategies. He was Toronto’s eye weekly #1 House DJs 3-years running. His reputation is as one of Canada’s most skillful DJs.

Chris Ink is a fast riser within Toronto’s electronic music scene who supports, excites and impresses many with his deck presence.

I simply had to plug this mad event not only cuz it’s my favourite of the year, but there’s nothing of its kind which happens at this time of year.

Then on New Year’s Day (NYD), and to think some only feel New Year’s Eve is the time to party! Steve Lawler rocks the decks at CiRCA. Lawler is labeled as a forward thinking, groundbreaking Pioneering DJ/artist. Wow! Talk about a great way to bring in 2010 with a hard bang!

“The DJs Who Stole Christmas…Again?” Guestlist please email [email protected] by 8:30pm Dec. 18, 2009.

Steve Lawler Early Bird tickets ($30) at CiRCA on NYD please email [email protected] by 2pm Dec. 31, 2009.

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Listen to something different, Scenester Radio; pick an episode, download and listen how you want, when you want, where you want. This week is The Miss Raquel & Cam Maxwell Show: Ageless in the Scene.

See you on the dancefloor!