Halloween marks a new era, so to speak.

In case you haven't caught on to what I've been hinting about over the past few months, my Halloween gig at cville_umlaut is marking the end of one era and the beginning of another.

I'd been a bit burned out on DJing at clubs for a while before I moved up to B'more - it was getting increasingly harder for me to get excited about what was going on with The Dawning, and I felt like it showed. Not that The Dawning and the people who make it up aren't awesome, but I wasn't happy with where it was being held, and I felt very hemmed in by the restrictions given to us by Outback Lodge. They have to protect their bottom line, but getting pre-empted by frat parties and not being able to book bands at will was really difficult for me, and I felt like it hurt attendance a lot, too. There were other factors, too - the wind was taken out of my sails when we lost the building bid for Transmission, definitely. And I was feeling sicker and sicker from the smoke I had to inhale every week, to the point that it was taking two to three days to recover from every Saturday.

Cryptkicker was a breath of fresh air for me - a venue where we could spin what we wanted, with no pressure... it was ratty and rough and a lot of fun. I don't think it was destined to last much longer than it did, despite how much I wanted it to continue. It has a special place in my heart, though. The Dawning fulfilled some huge dreams I'd had; Cryptie was another version of that dream.
After years of being a club DJ, though - the ride's over. I LOVE it, you have to know - I love the feeling of hitting the mix just right, of watching people light up as they hear the songs grab hold of them and drag them to the floor. I get high from hearing people cheer when I get the song they all wanted to hear, or when people come up to the booth to thank me for making them dance, or to ask me what that artist was... but I can't breathe afterward, guys. I feel like crap for days after. I can feel the toll that the club takes on me, and it tells me that it's time to retire from regular gigs and let younger people step up to bat.

So what does this mean? Unless you're booking for a smoke-free club, I can tell you with a sad face that I won't be DJing there. I'm pretty much done, it seems. I might do an occasional Dawning gig, because that's my heart home... but honestly, that's it. I can't even GO to clubs much anymore, it kills me to be there. Just catching someone's secondary smoke makes me feel sick these days.

So. If you want to hear me spin one last big hurrah... please come to Umlaut in Charlottesville on Halloween. If you have another non-smoking function where you'd like a DJ [like Witches' Brew], I'm your girl. Other than that... I love you all. Dance for me a couple of times, would you?

Expect some promised events with Radio Xiane that have sat on the back burner to come to pass. I need an outlet somehow.