The End of an Era For A Nightclub I Helped Open - RIP Lotus in Red Deer

Once upon a time, I was a nightclub/rave DJ. In 1999, the owner of the bar I was working at opened a new club, called the Catwalk. He sent me there to help open it, and I ended up becoming the resident DJ for about 5 years. Back then, they called me Spaz.

A few years after my departure, Catwalk became Lotus, mostly in name only. The place more or less remained the same - a giant concrete building that had a thundering sound system and a pretty amazing light show.

From time to time, when I am feeling old, I think back on the glory days of stuffing over 1,400 people into the club, the dancefloor packed from 10pm until 3am.

A week ago, I received a phonecall from one of the management. The building had been sold, and after nearly 2 decades, the club was closing its doors permanently. I was asked to come play a set one last time for the final night. I was honoured. I couldn't say no to that!

As soon as I arrived this past Saturday night, I began streaming from my phone. I couldn't miss the opportunity to do what was never available to me 20 years ago - to share and broadcast the night.

Unfortunately, parts of the stream were, of course, flagged for copyright, and muted in the final video. But I did manage to dig them all out and salvage a copy of the set for those who wanted to enjoy some old school, late 90s/early 00s techno, trance, pop and hard house.

For anyone who is intersted, the link is here to listen on my mixcloud page.