DANCEMUSIC ORGANIZATION of AMERICA THROWS THEIR SECOND EVENT IN BROADWAY FASHION
After the first D.O.A. (DanceMusic Organization of America) at Webster Hall, Sean McGarr, President of Webster Hall records, explained that the committee which heads D.O.A. would, in its meetings, look at the good and bad points of the first D.O.A. event and make changes on improving the evening. Marina, who performed at the first D.O.A. event, came away, from that first event, with a feeling that the artists weren't treated very well, and that the evening was put together terribly. Marina, of MRK records, sat down with Lon Ballinger (owner of Webster Hall), and Sean McGarr, and explained how she visioned a show that would hold the attention of the people. Marina put her ideas to the D.O.A. committee and was told to go for it. To Marina, Sean McGarr, Lon Ballinger, and the D.O.A. committee we say mission accomplished...
In every single aspect the event was improved:
PROMOTIONS
It was evident from outside the club that promotions for the second D.O.A. event were improved-it was as crowded outside the club as with any other major event at Webster Hall. It was clear that promotions were directed towards the general public, yes, the ones who buy the music. One could also tell that the crowd was better informed. They knew that it was not an ordinary night at Webster Hall and were expecting to see a show. One of the main sponsors of the event was DMA (DANCE MUSIC AUTHORITY magazine). DMA was celebrating their fifth year anniversary. (Congratulations DMA)
TIMING
Timing is everything. At the first D.O.A. the show didn't take place until late in the evening. By that time most of the regular people at the club were whacked out on drinks and didn't care to watch any show. This time around the show started much earlier, it allowed the crowd to take in what the entire evening stood for.
THE SHOW
The opening of the event was quite impressive. You could easily compare it to an opening of the Grammy's. After Ellen Harriss delivered the opening address, it was on to the show. Within seconds the stage was taken over by professional dancers (not those cheesy ones you've grown accustomed to seeing at club shows). The choreography was incredible; the dancers flipped, spinned, and danced in timely fashion. While all this was happening, laser beams spelled out the names of guest DJs and performers on the white screen behind the dancers. Those behind the scenes knew who was to thank for the professional overtone of the event. It was Marina of MRK records who directed and put the together the choreography of the evening.
ARTISTS
Five artist performed: Barbara Tucker of Strictly Rhythm, Marina of MRK, Darrell Martin from Jellybean recordings, Hazell Dean of MRK, Pure Sugar from Geffen, Georgie Porgie from Music Plant, and Lil Suzy from Metropolitan records. Once again Marina has to be mentioned. Marina did her homework, before the event she read all the bios on the artists and presented each of them with a gift based on their bios; now isn't that just too much :) .
MARINA AND HAZELL DEAN OF MRK RECORDS
Crowds are usually cheering or dancing along when artists perform-not with Marina-they stood silent and motionless to take in the incredible choreography. Her act started like a scene from the Broadway musical "Phantom of the Opera": dimmed lighting just enough to view a ghostly like appearance of Marina and her twelve dancers. This girl puts on one hell of a show. All Dance Music artists should take pointers from her act. Before she got off the stage she was joined by the legendary Hazell Dean. MRK records is one of the reasons the night went on without a hitch: President of MRK records Roy Kamen was running the show from the backstage, MRK's manager was handling the main spotlight, and MRK's audio engineer was taking care of the sound.
Okay, so what needs to be worked on? Nothing is perfect, but this D.O.A. event was a close to it as you can get. The only one thing which needs to be worked on is the the length of the show; some artist were allowed to sing one to many songs, and there were just too many artist scheduled. We are sure Sean McGarr and the D.O.A. committee are working on making the next event event better than this one; and if it is, you're not going to want to miss it.