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June 30, 2004
Circuit boys are most recognizable by their gym bodies, worn hairless to accentuate muscle definition.
They get this label from the circuit of massive dance parties they attend around the world. Thousands of buff gay men travel the circuit, in Toronto one weekend, Buenos Aires the next and perhaps Madrid later on.
Chad Simon, 27, will attend Saturday's water-based Aqua Party during Pride festivities at the Docks. The night's most popular accessory is a Super Soaker water gun.
Preparing for a circuit party requires dedication. It involves a serious workout regimen, multiple tanning sessions, exfoliation programs and diet. At these parties, shirts are removed almost immediately and tucked into the waistband of low-rise jeans or shorts. This year Simon, a Toronto real estate executive, is having a custom outfit made at Joave, mid-thigh Lycra shorts and matching stencilled body paint on his torso.
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Circuit Boys
Toronto Star
June 24, 2004
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June 25, 2004
By Jim Tremayne
Published in the February 2004 issue of DJ Times Magazine
Volume 17 - Number 2
tune in Saturday night July 26th 9pm. ET on Circuit Candy for two hours of DJ Eddie Cumana!
Every dance label would like to have production and songwriting talents on which it can count. For Lilla Vietri, owner of New York-based house label Kult Records, she has Dynamix, makers of big-room jams that offer radio-friendly hooks—the kinds of sounds that tastemaker DJs like Junior Vasquez champion in his all-night sets before they make their way to the mainstream.
Comprised of DJ/producer Eddie Cumana and songwriter/keyboardist Beppe Savoni, Dynamix has helped carry Kult with artist-fronted cuts like “Don’t Want Another Man” (with Tina Ann), “Never Get Me” (with Nina Eve) and “No Man Can Tame Me” (with Inda Matrix). Back on DJ turntables with “Bodyfly,” another anthemic Inda Matrix cut, Dynamix remains the face of Kult Records in many ways.
Not only is Cumana Kult’s main production talent, he’s also helped transition the label in the emerging digital realm. Kult’s e-commerce plan for ’04 includes sales and promotion of digital music via their website (kult.com). Cumana’s efforts—creating the original productions, digitizing Kult’s entire catalog, even implementing the site’s Flash code—were vital.
“The music business is so different now that you either expand or change,” says Vietri. “This is the next phase. Also, it was important to revitalize our catalog, so that songs that have become classics are now available all the time. The life of an underground vinyl record is too little. Eddie’s work has helped the label change and grow.”
DJ Times: How are Dynamix and Kult approaching ’04?
Cumana: Aside from the productions, which will include a multi-artist album called Rhythm Beatdown, I’m focusing on the launch of Kult’s e-commerce component. Our entire catalog will be available for single downloads and custom CDs, as well as vinyl from Kult’s back catalog. We want to make Kult a fully functional digital label.
DJ Times: Describe the Dynamix sound.
Cumana: Stomping big-room music that’s artist-driven. But as a DJ, I’d refer to my sets as hypnotic journeys. I like to take clubbers on a ride.
DJ Times: Why do you think you’ve had success with Dynamix?
Cumana: Those songs are hooky enough and the production is tough enough to sit right in between clubs and the radio. As far as my personal contribution to the success of my productions, I’d have to say it’s been my DJ mentality. In addition, since I opened my production studio back in ’96 and served as the in-house engineer for three years, I have spent countless hours programming and refining my kicks and experimenting with gear to find my “levels.” I found that if you want to learn about a piece of equipment, the best thing is to throw away the manual and play with it without knowing what it’s supposed to do. With this philosophy, I’ve found many ways to create and process my sounds.
DJ Times: So what’s is in your studio?
Cumana: For sequencing, I use Emagic Logic Platinum and Propeller- head Reason 2.5. For mixing and recording, I have: an Apple G4 with a Pro Tools|24 MIX3 recording system; JBL MPX 600 amps; Alesis Monitor One and Yamaha NS-10M monitors; Audio Technica AT4050 and a Neumann U87 mics; and various signal processing gear. For sounds and synths, I have an Akai MPC-2000XL; E-Mu SP1200 and XL Lead; Roland Juno-106, JP-9090, JD-800, Jupiter 8 and SH-101; Korg MS-20, M1, and Trinity Plus; Sequential Circuits Prophet 1 and Prophet 5; an Access Virus; and a Novation Supernova.
DJ Times: Is there a piece of studio gear that you can’t live without?
Cumana: The UREI/UA 1176 [limiting amp], the Teletronix LA 2 [valve leveling amp], the API pre-amps, and the Avalon Design VT-737sp [tube compressor/EQ]. They’re invaluable for their unique texture and the way they address the sounds you put through them.
DJ Times: Which producers and remixers influenced you the most?
Cumana: Quincy Jones and Giorgio Moroder for the foundations they laid for us to build on. Tom Moulton for all the Salsoul classics. Mark Liggett, Chris Barbosa and Mark Kaman for some of the most memorable ’80s club hits. C+C Music Factory, Louie Vega, Kenny “Dope” [Gonzalez] and, of course, Stonebridge for some of the most durable ’90s hits.
DJ Times: When you’re spinning, what DJ gear do you prefer?
Cumana: Technics SL1200 MK2 or Stanton STR8/150S turntables, UREI 1620 or Allen & Heath X:one V6 mixer, Pioneer CDJ-1000 MK2 decks, Korg KAOSS pad, Lexicon Jam Man and a kick-ass booth monitoring system.
DJ Times: How does a producer or remixer make money these days?
Cumana: A lot of labels now expect everyone to do mixes on spec [i.e.—you get paid later, if at all]. This practice has been adopted across the board and a producer must invest time without any sure compensation and bidding against lots of other remixers. I recently did a spec remix for a well-known, legendary artist. While that was shelved because of various issues, the artist loved it so much, she now has a new recording contract and a new album and contacted us for an official remix for her next release. So I think spec mixes still can work. Even with the state of the music industry today, you still have to invest in yourself even harder.
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June 12, 2004
Tune in tonight at 9pm. ET for two one hour mixed sets from Outlet Radio's resident DJ, DJ Eddie Cumana! Eddie presents two hours of awesome mixed sets every other weekend right here on Outlet Radio. Eddie is with KULT Records and part of DYNAMIX. You can learn more about him here.
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June 10, 2004
gay singer Ari Gold takes pride in being out in the pop world
Interview by Randy Shulman
Photography by Duane Cramer
One of the biggest thrills of Ari Gold's life was the day he met Madonna.
"Actually, I exchanged words with her," recalls Gold, whose own pop stardom is on the rise. "I don't think that constitutes as meeting her. Nobody said, 'Madonna, this is Ari.' It was backstage at the Rosie O'Donnell Show. I told her that I liked her boots and she said 'Thank you.'"
Gold, who was raised an Orthodox Jew, says it was the pop superstar who helped him "realize there was a world outside of the Yeshiva [Jewish Orthodox school]." To that end, he dedicated a song to Madonna on his new album, Space Under Sun. The name of the song? "Fan-Tastic."
"I'm a fan first," says Gold. "Before anything else, I'm a fan of music. You have to be. Why would you want to make music if you weren't a fan of music?"
Gold, 27, will headline at this weekend's Capital Pride Festival, alongside Melissa Ferrick, Simone Denny and Sophie B. Hawkins. His sweet, buoyant tenor voice coupled with his boy-band dance-driven musical stylings have helped get Space Under Sun noticed by more than a few pop critics, gay and straight. And his unapologetic use of the male pronoun in his love songs bears forth his resolve to make it in an industry where it's not always easy -- or a good career move -- to be out.
read more: MetroWeekly - 06/10/2004
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June 07, 2004
By Mike SchneiderORLANDO · Greg Ruffer scanned the hotel's exhibition hall and realized something was different about the vendors catering to the 14th annual Gay Days.
Instead of the ubiquitous rainbow flags, T-shirts and trinkets found at most gay events, there were Bloomingdales merchants offering $500-a-setting china for bridal registries, Nordstrom makeup artists giving makeovers and a skin care company selling eye gel for $110 an ounce.
Some attendees, whose numbers could reach 130,000 this weekend, say the upscale slant is a sign of progress at Gay Days, a march toward the mainstream in an age of gay marriages in Massachusetts and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on television.
"Maybe there isn't such a need for a rallying symbol since gay is more mainstream," Ruffer said of the absence of rainbow merchandise. "Maybe we're in a new era."
Read More: Sun-Sentinel
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June 03, 2004
Columnist Shmuley Boteach responds to pop queen's retort
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Waging a cultural battle with pop star Madonna, WorldNetDaily columnist Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has responded to the entertainer's reaction to his labeling her a "slut" and a "vulgarian."
The war of words began when Boteach wrote a column for the Jerusalem Post urging Phillip Berg, the head of the Kabbalah Center, to removed Madonna from her role as the spokesperson for the religious movement.
"Earth to Phillip Berg: Do us all a favor and dump Madonna as your principal spokesperson," Boteach wrote. "Sorry to be so crass, but Madonna is a slut. Yes, she may sing, and she may dance. But she is famous for being a slut. And no religion dare have a slut as its principal representative."
read more at WorldNetDaily
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