Rave America: New School Dancescapes [Paperback]

Mireille Silcott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999

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. The book 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. From the most jaded scenester, to those who just want to uncover a bit of nighttime drama, this book is a definite must for anyone who’s ever wondered what’s been lurking beneath the gleam of this decade’s dance floors.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Mireille Silcott is the co-author of On E: A Book About Ecstasy, forthcoming from Omnibus Press. She is the former music editor of the Montreal Mirror and has covered the dance music scene for MuchMusic, the CBC, and Global television networks.

About the Author

Mireille Silcott is the former music editor of the Montreal Mirror and has covered the dance music scene for MuchMusic, the CBC, and Global television networks.

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press; 1st ed edition (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550223836
• ISBN-13: 978-1550223835
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,691,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TELLS IT LIKE IT IS, December 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rave America: New School Dancescapes (Paperback)

This book is an amazing chronicle! The author seems to have travelled to all of these diffferent rave cities and capured what seems like the true spirit of every one. The stories she unearths are just amazing--and she is pitiless in unearthing them. And I'm talking heavy stuff. This is the best book I have ever read about American club culture. It is beautifully and simply written, the analysis is succinct, and I think it would appeal to both the raver and the cultural scholar alike. A true find!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every Raver should read this book, April 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rave America: New School Dancescapes (Paperback)

If you are a party kid wondering how the scene finally reached your part of the US you should read this book. It reveals the history of the rave and how the different styles of electronic music were created. City by City the story of DJs, promoters, and the common partier are told with an unbiased tone giving you the freedom to create your own views about the scene.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it is amazzzzing, January 17, 2000

By 

Bobby (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rave America: New School Dancescapes (Paperback)

I agree with the previous review­this book is great. Culturally fascinating, especially the gay circuit chapter at the end. An important book I think