From: patrik@cup.portal.com (Patrick M Crumhorn)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: UPI reports on Cali Raves
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 16:13:53 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)

=START=   XMT: 18:41 Wed Aug 19  EXP: 19:00 Thu Aug 20 

"RAVES" PRODUCE LUCRATIVE COUNTERCULTURE MOVEMENT 

SAN FRANCISCO (AUG. 19) UPI - Twenty-five years after the acid-laced Summer of
Love, a new counterculture generation is coming of age in San Francisco. 

In 1992, the ''cyborganic bee-inn'' has replaced the ''Human Be-In'' of a
quarter century ago; the ''Psychotropic Carnival'' has replaced the 1960s Acid
Test in drawing thousands of young San Franciscans out for an all-night
celebration. 

Known as raves, high-tech dance parties orchestrated by celebrated DJs mixing
loud techno music with computer generated video and laser light shows from dusk
to dawn and beyond, these marathon festivals have become a popular and
profitable counterculture industry. 

At their best, raves are viewed as a strong underground movement that is
creating and nurturing a sense of community and equality among a new
generation. At their worst, the parties are regarded as the product of
manipulative and greedy promoters who host the events with nothing more than
profit in mind. 

In either case, raves continue to expand and grow. 

On any given weekend, thousands of ravers decked out in ''Cat in the Hat''
hats, psychedelic jumpsuits and a kaleidoscope of dress pay anywhere from $15
to $30 to attend a rave in some empty warehouse or vast field an hour or two
from the city. 

Many participants will also lay down another $20 for a hit of the designer drug
Ecstacy to fuel their all-night dancing beneath the laser lights and video
snippets parading across screens around the dance floor. 

Timothy Leary, the former Harvard professor who popularized the use of LSD
three decades ago and has appeared at several raves hosted by his son in Los
Angeles, says raves have much in common with the Acid Tests of the 1960s where
hippies experimented with the drug in an attempt to produce personal and
spiritual freedoms. 

''(Raves) are very much like high-tech Acid Tests,'' Leary said. ''The
difference is that the kids are a thousand times more sophisticated and worldly
now than hippies were back then.'' 

But musician Genesis, a member of the band Psychic-TV that appeared at a
''cyborganic bee-inn'' this month, views raves as more of a consumer-oriented
venture than the Acid Tests. 

''It doesn't touch as many bases in the senses as it could,'' Genesis said.
''In this age, people are expecting a fast return on their investment.'' 

Rave promoters can walk away with tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of
dollars a night by charging the average $20 door charge while also selling
so-called ''smart drinks,'' amino-acid laced beverages that energize dancers
and sell for $3 to $5 each. A New Year's Eve rave produced by a group known as
ToonTown was reported to have taken in $175,000 at the door. 

''My understanding is that these (raves) have no spiritual, philosophical or
religious connection,'' said Lt. Mike Ferguson of the Sonoma County Sheriff's
Department, which recently arrested the host of an outdoor rave for allegedly
creating a nuisance in Santa Rosa after 70 neighbors near the party complained
about the noise. ''It's simply for money, and a large amount of money.'' 

Other rave critics are worried about the liberal use of the drug Ecstacy by
party-goers. Ecstacy, or MDMA, was used in the early 1900s as an appetite
suppressant but has now become a popular drug among young adults. 

A pamphlet distributed at some raves says the illegal drug can ''provoke an
intense, energenic, spiritual high or lead to warm loving relaxation ....
Sensual yet not necessarily sexual, beautiful and sometimes dangerous, Ecstacy
covers a wide range of human emotions.'' 

It is the dangerous aspect of the drug that worries some doctors. In a recent
issue of the British science journal Lancet, researchers reported that Ecstacy
had caused at least seven deaths in England. The article attributed several of
the deaths to hyperthermia caused by individuals dancing at all-night parties
such as raves while on the drug. 

Darryl Inaba, director of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic Drug Detox Program,
said Ecstacy works as a basic amphetamine that can cause depression and other
negative side effects. 

''We're worried about any new drug, especially one that's promoted as being
safe and non-toxic,'' Inaba said. ''Most people in the drug scene (of the
1960s) learned that drugs were a misguided spiritual search.'' 

Rave promoters say critics have misjudged the parties. 

Promoter Mark Metz said that while drugs play a role in raves, they are not
essential. 

''There has always been a catalyst in new scenes,'' Metz said. ''But that
doesn't mean you need drugs. Most people like to go to raves unadultered.'' 

ToonTown, which recently incorporated to become Virtual Realty Inc., released a
two paragraph statement before their latest event, the ''Psychotropic
Carnival,'' describing their intentions. 

''The purpose of ToonTown is to bring people together to dance in an atmosphere
of peace and safety,'' the leaflet read. ''We believe music can create harmony
where there is discord and create unity and common purpose where there is
conflict.'' 

The leaflet went on to discuss the drug issue by stating ''intoxication caused
by alcohol or drugs can be personally dangerous and spoils the fun for everyone
else. We ask that you ... respect yourself and those around you.'' 

Raves are generally traced back to England in the late 1980s, where a
disenchanted group organized late night, Ecstacy-fueled parties where pounding 
vocal-less techno house music revved up to 150 beats a minute blasted from
speakers. The raves grew in size and popularity and British authorities
eventually started to clamp down on the parties. The restrictions prompted some
English rave promoters to move to the United States to promote their ideas. 

Large rave scenes have popped up not only in San Francisco, but also Los
Angeles, New York and other urban centers. The scene has also gained a
following in parts of India, Indonesia, Belgium, New Zealand - and a promoter
is working to popularize the scene in Sweden. 

Metz says the events have a message to convey. 

''The message behind the music is a positive one,'' Metz said. ''(A rave)
unifies people and makes people realize we are all equal.'' 

Metz is also co-owner of Ameba, a clothing store on Haight Street that caters
to ravers with a unique array of kaleidoscopic clothing that can cost as much
as $70 for a dress and $25 for a shirt. Following on the success of Ameba,
three new stores catering to ravers have opened in the Haight in the past four
months. 

At the intersection of Haight and Ashbury, where the Psychedelic Shop opened in
1966 to promote the positive uses of LSD, now stands Behind the Post Office 
a closet-sized store where ravers squeeze in to pick up invitations for the
next raves or purchase a new hat or shirt. 

A few blocks away sits HouseWares, a ''rave gear'' store that opened July 4
with stylized hats, clothing, pendants and tapes of the area's favorite rave
DJ's music. 

''I wanted to have a business of my own, but I'm not in it for the money,''
said Perry Weisberg, co-owner of HouseWares. ''There is a rave fashion, but
there's a whole peaceful, positive movement for change behind it. 

''Or, it can be a movement for change if greedy people don't take it over,'' he
said. 



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