Godfather of rave

A legendary dj comes to Fitchburg

By Noah Schaffer

It you want the real rave experience, skip the nightclubs. That's the advice from Frankie Bones, the legendary DJ whose techno has been the soundtrack to many an all-night rave party. "At this point, if a rave is held in a club, it's not really a rave," says Bones. Sure, a night club promotor can bring in some out-of-town djs resulting in "a packed party that may even be a slammin' night. [But] it's still at a club. An expo center with 3000+ defines a rave in the year 2001."

That's the kind of rave Frankie Bones will be spinning at this Friday night, when he hits Fitchburg's Wallace Civic Center. It may seem surprising that a Fitchburg hockey rink would be the venue of choice for a rave's blaring electronica, intense light show, and flashy customers, but because the Wallace has an unusually late curfew, the party can go a lot longer than it would at a club with a 2 a.m. closing. Just last month, some 3500 ravers packed the Moonshine Over America tour, according to organizers.

"Fitchburg has been a key location since 1993, drawing thousands," notes Bones.

The dj, often referred to as the "Godfather of the American rave scene," grew up on the tough streets of Brooklyn. Frankie Mitchell became Frankie Bones in 1982, "when I started my graffiti years, writing on subway cars. My tag was `Bones.' I was really thin, cause I had a bad habit of buying records with my lunch money . . . it just fit."

Eventually, the spray-paint took a full-time back-seat to the records. Bones went over to Europe in the late '80s, and scored a gig spinning for a crowd of 25,000 outside of London. Determined to bring the techno experience to the United States, he started the now famous "Warehouse Parties," underground raves in large, often abandoned buildings.

Although Bones is playing halls with an actual license these days, his DIY attitude remains. He takes pride in selecting every record himself, and has refused to dull his hard-driving sound. "If I had to explain my style, it would be `the style you didn't expect,' sonic-structured and hard- wired electronics with intent to remove roofs from buildings," muses Bones.

"The bulk of my set is techno mixed with trace/house/rave/breaks/progressive with traces of old-school stuff updated for the millennium -- pushing the boundaries for the future, without leaving anyone in the past. They sometimes might understand it, but they might hate it."

Besides his never-ending live schedule, Bones has released a number of recordings. The latest, You Know My Name (Moonshine), pumps through Bones' own tracks, as well as those by a host of techno hot-shots. DJ Food, the British team who have made some of electronica's most interesting moments on the Ninjatune label, drop by to "fill in the blanks."

Spinning live and preparing a release are two different art forms, notes Bones. "I've always made mix tapes from as far back as '82. My approach toward a recording or a live set is the same, but with a tape or CD you can re-record as many times as you like. My current CD was re-cut four times, and I did this because every time I listened to the master, I heard tracks that would fit together and sound smoother in the mix. You can't do that with a live set unless you practice at home, which
wouldn't be as spontaneous."

Bones was also recently featured in the motion picture Better Living Through Circuitry, a documentary on the current rave scene. Catching a sneak preview at a New York University film fest, Bones got to see an audience unaware of his presence laugh at his lines. Reflecting on the film, Bones says "I know it left a lasting impression, although I didn't realize how bad my Brooklyn drawl really is."

While the major-label interest in electronica has come and gone, Bones sees the US underground scene finally catching up with Europe. He points to recent events in Detroit and California that drew more than 40,000 dancers. Musically, Bones sees US djs holding their own as well. "It's nice to know, even though 10 years may have passed, there's still something to look forward to."

The few times the mainstream media has come knocking on Bones' door, it hasn't been to talk music at all. The techno world is often cited in news reports about youth using ecstasy. Many of the stories mirror the hype the media created about drugs and rock and roll in the '60s. Bones admits that kids do drugs at parties, but adds that the positive, love-and-peace vibes of raves are never mentioned.

"It's unfair," reflects Bones, "but isn't life unfair in general? I've been offered to go on Dateline and other TV programs, but I have declined because the revolution will not be televised!"

Frankie Bones will appear with Roc Raida and many other djs at the Exhale Dance Party at the Wallace Civic Center, in Fitchburg, on Friday, December 8. Tickets are $35. Call (978) 345-7300.