Rave America: New School Dancescapes

by Mireille Silcoff

For the last three years, the sale of Technics 1200 turntables (used by DJs in clubs) have outstripped those of electric guitars. Raves have gone from parties involving a few hundred people to commercially sponsored festivals drawing tens of thousands of fans. Rave America is the first book devoted to this massive phenomenon. Through hundreds of interviews with DJs, recording artists, producers, promoters, drug lords, club celebrities, and nightworld casualties, this book takes readers into the deepest recesses of the electronic dance culture, uncovering secrets and stories never before seen in print. Rave America begins with a whirlwind tour of North American club culture in the 70s and 80s, then plunges into the diverse sounds, sights, and histories of some of the most vital rave territories: the deafening walls of sound of DJ Frankie Bones’s earliest New York Storm raves; the acid-fuelled dreams of San Francisco’s hippiefied Full Moon beach parties; Florida’s DJ Icey and his factions of teenage breakdancers on Ecstasy; the dark Satanic techno rituals of the Midwest’s Drop Bass Network; the twelve-hour post-aids “muscle raves” of the cross-country gay circuit parties. Rave America examines both the dreams and nightmares of a pre-millennium continent after dark. Written by noted music critic and dedicated club culturist Mireille Silcott, Rave America: Inside Club Culture will appeal to everyone from the most jaded scenester, to those who just want to uncover a bit of nighttime drama. A definite must for anyone who’s ever wondered what’s been lurking beneath the gleam of this decade’s dance floors.

Genres: Music

188 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 1999

About the author

Mireille Silcoff is a columnist with Canada's National Post. She writes for publications including The New York Times Magazine and The Walrus. She is the founding editor of Guilt & Pleasure Quarterly, a quarterly magazine of new Jewish writing and ideas. She has been a senior editor with the National Post, Saturday Night Magazine, and various other publications. She is also the founder of a string of Jewish discussion salons active in several American and Canadian cities.

Mireille is the recipient of several journalism awards, including National Magazine Awards. Mireille is the author of three books. Her first two are about drug and nightclub culture. She has been called "an ecstasy guru" on television in broad daylight. Her most recent book is Archetypes (McClelland & Stewart; the book is called Urban Animals in the US), a collection of her (now defunct) illustrated National Post column of the same name. Mireille lives in Montreal, where she is currently writing her second collection of short stories. Her first, CHEZ L'ARABE, will be published by the House of Anansi press in Fall 2014.

Reviews

[Alejo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It can be outdated, and as the author notes, Energy Flash gives a more in-depth look of the Electronic Music genre. Anyway, it takes into account other details that other books overlook, and is especially interesting for those into Hardcore Techno (check the chapter about the Midwest).

[Tony G · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed this book, as a very dedicated student of dance music it exposed me to a period of american dance music history i really didn't know much about.

[Marcus Conover · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up for a few bucks at Amoeba in Hollywood, not expecting much from a book written about the rave scene in 1999 (a couple of years after I fell in love with electronic music). To my surprise, this ended up being quite the page turner. Extra points for the author including a section about gay circuit parties. 🏳️‍🌈 Highly recommended!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

rave on. mandy's picture is in this book!