Date: Sun, 21 May 1995 12:25:59 -0700 (PDT) From: styLEN Subject: Chicago Sun Times aritcle To: Midwest Raves Alright everyone...it happened in detroit....now chicago.... i'm not going to say much about the article it really speaks for itself... CHICAGO'S UNDERGROUND PARTY SCENE Youths Flocking to 'Raves' For Dancing and Drugging As far as police and parents know, "the scene" doesn't exist. They don't see hundreds of teenagers climb dimly lit stairwells and three-story fire escapes into warehouses and lofts across the city. They don't smell the marijuana smoke hanging in the air, or trace nitrous oxide and hallucinogens common there. And they don't hear the music blare in boarded-up industrial strips. That's because those behind the underground parties, known as "raves," work hard to cover their tracks. This nocturnal society of promoters, disc jockeys, partygoers and vendors is shrouded in secrecy for good reason: It's illegal, and it's big business. Every weekend, hundreds and often thousands of city and suburban youth come to party when most Chicagoans go to sleep. They borrow their parents' sedans and station wagons to travel to spots that don't show up on most city maps. "The rave scene is huge right now," said Raphael Rodriguez, a 22-year-old Chicago DJ known as "Lego." "A true raver will travel from state to state for a party." The majority, ravers say, are from Chicago suburbs. Most of them can't get into legitimate clubs, and they wouldn't want to be there anyway. They don't like the "antiseptic" atmosphere. Besides, at a rave, there are no restrictions. Doorkeepers don't ask for ID's or care about curfews. Often, a variety of illegal drugs, such as ecstasy, LSD, and "disco biscuits" - wafers made of speed and heroin - are for sale. Word of raves spread is spread via voice mail, glossy fliers and on the Internet. Even then, locations are disclosed only hours before the party at a checkpoint, such as a coffee shop or record store, where promoters sell tickets. All of these "security measures" help reduce the chances of a party being busted, and they add to its allure. Police are aware of isolated parties - they walked through one in an Uptown theater and shut down another in a Fulton market arehouse last month. But they didn't discover a Bucktown rave that required partygoers to climb a three-story fire escape. And they don't seem to be aware of just how sweeping the scene is today or how organized it is. "We're aware of the trend in other cities," siad officer Patrick Camden, a spokeman for the Chicago Police Department. "But it's not occurring to any great extent in this area." Yet ravers say there are at least two and sometimes as many as four of the parties every weekend. Recently, about 600 teenagers, dressed in everything from baggy jeans and midriff-length tops to vampirelike costumes and drag, packed into a small North Side theatre for a party called "Abductions." They paid $12 each to get in. Some came th hear the scene's hottest DJs spin techno music, notable for its lack of vocals and relentless, rapid beat, and others came to dance. But many seemed more interested in sucking on $5 balloons filled with nitrous oxide - laughing gas - as anesthetic and the drug of choice for the evening. Some, smoking marijuana, never apporched the dance floor. Instead, they stared at the sea of sweaty, bouncing bodies and two cloth screens, flashing nothing but grainy, imageless film strips. When a thick cloud of smoke filled the crowded theater, the DJ warned: "Hey, if you want to smoke, you have to go outside. If you want to do nitrous, that's cool." At another rave earlier this spring, two officers writing parking tickets outside the Congress Theater at 5am expressed ilttle concern that more than 1,000 teenagers were wtill dancing there. They assumed the party was legal because the theater has a license for entertainment events, they said. Had they walked in, they would have found hundreds of youths who appeared hypnotized as blue and green beams fo light flashed across their faces, and at least a dozen kind rolling around in the aisles and on the stairs. Raves aren't just about drugs. "I'm personally totally clean," said Ellyn Ong, a 17-year-old from Glendale Heights. "I can get the same euphoric feeling from the music pounding through my chest, the lights and smoke in the room." Others say the scene's appeal is in its promotion of "good vibes," "positive energy" and ideals such as peace. "It's the only place where you can get this type of unity, and where it doesn't matter who you are, what color you are and what you socioeconomic class is," said Gary Johnson, 23, of Wheaton. Whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians go to raves, as do heterosexuals, bisexuals, and gays. Promoters argue that they offer teenagers something they can't find anywhere else: acceptance. "Gay couples, freaks and th emerely odd, the ultraconservative all find harmony in the music," said a 21-year-old Chicago promoter named Zeke. But while they're all finding harmony, ravers say, their parents either don't know where they are or they don't they don't care. "I'm sure most of them are saying they're sleeping over of baby-sitting," said Marissa Escalante, 18, of Barlett. "At first, that's what I did." "My mom thinks I'm clubbing," said R.J. Ranola, 17, of Lombard. "But my dad knows...and some of my friends' parents are pretty lenient." Whetever the case, parents aren't calling police to complain. "If it is going on, it's so underground, we don't even know it's happening," said Chicago Police officer Pat Casey, a 34-year-old woman who went undercover to a rave 1993. Two years ago, police raided raves when parents called or when they got other tips. Back then, more promoters help parties on the same night, and they were calling on each other, some said. Just hosting a rave is illegal when organizers don't have amusements licenses. The city wouldn't issue them for a one-day event, even if illegal substances weren't sold. Entertainment events can be held only in biuldings that have passed fire, health and safety inspections, said John Holden, spokesman for the City Revenue Department. The department has raided about a dozen of these parties in the last year. Though inspectors were under the impression that things had quieted down, Holden said, 'it appears things have picked up again." Promoters have teamed up to throw even bigger parties, and they've corralled their one time competitors as "investors." These investors help pay under-the-table fees for spaces, entertainment, security and promotion. While they share the loss if the rave isn't a financial success, they also can pocket thousands of dollars - tax free. Although promoters admit they're breaking the law, they say they're providing kids something they desperately need: a refuge from the rules. "When you're home, you have to be what your parents want you to be; when you're at work, you have to be what your boss wants you to be; when you're at school, you have to be what your teacher want you to be - you have to go by all these rules and regulations." said a 24-year-old promoter, "Pre-cious" Rivera. "These kids need a way to vent frustration." --By Sharon Cotliar staff writer This aritcle appeared in the Chicago Sun Times Sunday, May 21 1995, p. 1. The only contact info I have available is the number in the front of the paper for the news/editorial office: (312) 321-3000. They are, of course, closed until Monday morning. If anyone else has any other means of contacting them via email other formats, please pass it on. Once again, utter bullshit from the ever-loved media. Peace, styLEN