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Mar 26,2006 - Apr 2,2006 |
Rockateria: Bringin' it Back
Rock 'n Roll and Wild Rides
By Maic Oz
Over the years Toronto has grown saturated with dance clubs that have flooded the downtown core. Rock n' roll nights seem to have become a thing of the past. Looking to shake it up to your favorite band? Get ready for a long haul or hit the Phoenix. The Gasworks days of parking your bike in front of the club are as good as gone. Or are they?
Veteran event hosts Geo and Billy X think differently. The Crystal Room (567 Queen St. West) has become home to their Thursday night gig Rocketeria. I caught up with this dynamic duo just moments before the night got on its way.
Apart from hosting, Geo, you're also on the decks.
G. That's right. We're doing a diverse genre of music with rock as the main theme: early rock, classic rock, alternative rock, remixes and mash ups.
B. We're going to be showcasing what we perceive to be a rock n'roll lifestyle. In the summer you'll see a lot of motorcycles and custom bikes. We're also going to have a lot of live acts. Last week we had Rachel Serling from the Pussy Cat Dolls come and set up a burlesque show for us. Soon we'll have fashion shows and art exhibits all with a rock 'n roll theme to them.
Billy, you've been in the scene for a bloody long time. I mean you're still young but your name has become quite iconic to many special nights.
Both Geo and I have been around for a long time in the entertainment field here downtown. I started in the very early eighties working as a bar-back in my uncle's disco when I was sixteen years old. Then I went to university for a few years but didn't find that too appealing. Then I worked at a club called the Silver Crown. That was one of the first to push new wave music like the Cult, the Cure, that sort of stuff. From that point on I started being involved in other clubs downtown. For a while I worked at the Gotham Club in Markham. It was way out in the middle of nowhere but happened to be the leading place in the city for alternative and industrial music.
This was in the late eighties.
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