It was 2009 and the rise of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) in America started to invade the North Bay’s music scene when four friends and former SRJC students formed a group devoted to EDM. Tyler Hemmingsen, Garret Ennis, Jason Frank and Richie Lucov felt this new music had a lot to offer them.
After becoming avid fans, one-by-one they each began trying their hand at being disc jockeys and realized they had a love for music that went beyond simply listening. They founded “San Frandisco,” a crew that has become a driving force in the creation, production, booking and promoting of EDM in the North Bay.
The four founding members of the group have flourished with success and San Frandisco has grown to 14 members. But it’s not just being a top-notch DJ that grants permission into their group. It’s people with a true passion for EDM that San Frandisco seeks out, people who are determined to help spread their music through live performance, producing shows, writing new music for mixes or promoting the group.
The group started throwing events around Sonoma County during the last few months of 2010. The shows were quite successful, packing the venues beyond capacity. With more people looking to get in, the management of the venues became upset about people trying to sneak in. Due to a limited supply of Sonoma venues willing to promote EDM, the group soon began to branch out to San Francisco and all over the North Bay.
The group began to play more shows and soon realized that the blow-up of a genre has drawbacks. There were more venues opening up with EDM acts and with the demand came more half-hearted DJs looking to capitalize on the the trend. San Frandisco members began to notice what they call party saturation: increased space which allows an increase of acts played on the same nights, lowering attendance. The scene began to trade quantity for quality.
“All of a sudden there were 20 or 30 venues willing to book EDM acts when just the year before there were only five or six. And with the demand came more DJ’s looking to capitalize off the popularity,” said Tyler Hemmingsen, a former SRJC student and founding member of the artist name DJ Tywrex.
“I’m not gonna say that I’m not in this for the money, but when I started seeing seedy DJs who were just in it to make money and get into parties for free, then we started to see the party saturation,” Hemmingsen said. “If the DJ isn’t a true fan of the music then something seems missing in his music and his performance, and with those key essentials missing, the audience is less connected and the show is a dud.”
Realizing that so many influences in San Francisco were competing over the same fan base, the group decided to reach back to its roots in Sonoma County. San Frandisco will begin its resurgence at Maverick’s Oct. 12. Run by the former owners of Kodiak Jack’s, Maverick’s has two dance floors, a bar for those 21 and over and concessions for those 18 and up. With its 600-person capacity, Maverick’s is the county’s largest nightclub, located between the Airport Movie Theater and Funky Monkey on Aviation Boulevard.
The party dubbed the “Dazzling Disco” starts at 9 p.m. with a runway fashion show featuring 16 models wearing custom lingerie designed by Dazzle By Lex, a costume and lingerie brand founded by former SRJC student Alexis Mijares. Her line has become quite popular, dressing playboy models and women nationwide.
The fashion show is $20 and includes a free drink, appetizers and entrance into a raffle for an outfit custom designed by Dazzle By Lex. Mijares said, “This event is gonna be amazing! Besides a runway show full of costumes, make-up, hot models and big hair, we’ll have an after party with great music. Plus if you want to play the model we will have a photo booth where friends and couples can take pictures with each other.”
The after show will feature an official San Frandisco show. Headliners include DJ Jays One, the official Redbull party DJ. He’ll receive support from the San Frandisco crew, specifically DJs Tywrex, Absoul, Kid Clark and duo Gritlock. General admission is $10 for 21 and over and $15 for 18 and over.
Special $5 entrance into the after party for those with proof of SRJC enrollment.
The Facebook event page can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/events/224671924328815