Accusing Voodoo of being in it for the money is completely wrong. No-one promotes techno nights in the UK for the money (except maybe Atomic Jam, they're part of a large rave promotions company). Sustaining a techno night in the UK is the hardest job in the game because the market is so small - that's why there's rarely more than one techno night in any given major city. Promoters like Voodoo have to go for DJs etc that a) they can afford, and b) will bring people in. Cajmere has been playing Voodoo for years and has obviously built up a good relationship with the promoters and the crowd. Same for Craig. It's likely both give Voodoo a break on their price because they know they will have a good night there.
Thing is, over the years there aren't many people Voodoo haven't put on. I'm sure they'd like to be able to fly in DJs from anywhere and everywhere, but just can't afford it. If American DJs want to come and play here they have to remember that the additional cost of flights and hotels etc represents a considerable extra burden/risk for the promoters. In my experience too many foreign DJs think the techno scene here is like the rest of the dance scene when in fact it's very small and specialised, more than almost any other genre of club music. They (and I'm not just talking Americans) think that just because they have put a few twelves out they can command fees of hundreds and hundreds of pounds when the reality is that perhaps one shop in any given city stocks their music and has maybe sold ten copies of their record, if they're lucky. So what I'm saying is that the reason there aren't more Detroit or foreign DJs booked to play in the UK is that the scene is so small, they too often charge way too much and bringing them over involves a lot of extra expense for promoters who are lucky if they can get a couple of hundred people through the door. Cyclone is right, the UK press have helped create a situation whereby the UK public has been encouraged towards faddishness. It is extremely difficult for promoters to operate in the face of this - that's why most techno nights here don't last more than a couple of events - and Voodoo deserve every credit for keeping it going for seven years. Seven years! I know the people who run Voodoo, they are 100% into the music and they are decent people too. But the club is their job (these things inevitably require full-time committment), they have to make a living and aware of the environment in which they have to operate and that inevitably influences their actions. OK, I'm done. Tom
