How things work in other cities, I don't know, but in Chicago at least there's been a recent trend of big-time promoters who long ago left the House Music scene (or were never involved in the first place) throwing "reunion" shows. Others have compared them those obscene "Monsters of Rock" concert tours that roll through auditoriums and stadiums every summer, featuring artists about 20 years past their prime. They're big ticket events far in excess of what most House Music events cost, usually with some sort of radio station sponsorship.
None of this is bad, but some people are taking exception to radio stations being involved. Why? Because radio in Chicago (and elsewhere, but especially here) long ago abandoned the pretense of featuring any kind of dance music, much less House. And the people filing their complaints aren't one of the multitude of has-been DJs or producers with a chip on their shoulder about something that went down during the Reagan Administration, but Maurice Joshua - someone who could headline just about any of these events if he wanted to.
I'd heard that Maurice had gone so far as to call for a boycott of the latest "reunion" show this month, and asked him to explain his reasoning. He replied via email:
I wanted a boycott because Power [92, the sponsor of this particular event] had the audacity to take Boolu's House mixes off and then promote a HOUSE party as the biggest party of 2009 while not playing House Music of the radio... so I decided to write to Jay Allen and tell him I will NOT support this party until he plays or puts the House mixes on air. I know what there are doing is only playin' the mixes until the party on May 15th but WE as a city need to call up, email, and tell Power 92 as well as the rest of these stations to play what MADE Chicago the birth place of HOUSE!
That's Maurice's reasoning, and quite honestly I'm glad to see someone of his stature take a stand for what he believes in.
