Blog

Whether you’ve been throwing parties for 20 years or for one year, you will have “hecklers;” the people who seem to always have something to say about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. And is was no different for the early days of Disco Donnie Presents. But Donnie always knew how to turn something negative into something fun.

One of the ways Donnie kept in touch with attendees was through email lists, “So basically, [after] I’d come home from a show, I would check to see what people thought about it and how I had done,” laments Donnie on his former post-show routine, “They were very critical people, it was like the worst-of-the-worst. They were never happy with anything.”

Creating [Another] Random Title

Most of the earlier parties had a very relaxed look on stage access – in fact, it was almost encouraged. But not everybody liked the view from down below, “[At the party] you had people dancing up there and whatnot, and I got an email of someone complaining that there were ‘stripper sluts’ on stage up there.” Never one to dwell, Donnie took the critique and got creative, “So when I started thinking about Halloween, I just printed that email and started messing around with different concepts.” Much like the random hodgepodge genius that was Psychedelic Pimp Daddy Land, so was the plight of Vampire Stripper Sluts from Outer Space, “It wasn’t necessarily gonna be a Halloween concept, I just thought it would be cool to tag those names together. I strung together vampire stripper sluts and the outer space thing kinda tagged along with the old movie theme concepts I’d done.”

The First Vampire Stripper Slut

The events leading up to first Vampire Stripper Sluts from Outer Space in 1998 were less than desirable. Always known for having innovative and creative fliers, Donnie wanted the Halloween event to be the first rave to have a 3D flier – an novel concept that as it turned out, was easier said than done, “I didn’t get a chance to see the design on the flier until I went to go pick them up at the airport,” Donnie remembers, “the internet wasn’t as accessible as it is today, so it was just really problematic to have to scan an incredibly large image and send it to somebody.”

Even though he was unsure of how the flier turned out, Donnie was still prepared to see the design through, “I bought a whole bunch of 3D glasses that I was gonna staple to the flier so everyone knew it was 3D.” As Donnie opened the box, excitement turned into anxiety rather quickly, “The flier was super blurry and was not even remotely in 3D.” But that wasn’t the only problem with the flier, “I booked DJ Shadow to headline the jungle room, which was a really big deal at the time, but the designer forgot to add his name to the flier and didn’t realize it until after all the fliers had printed. So they had to manually add his name in the smallest font to fit in the little bit of space left on the back.” Admittedly, that quick fix, albeit the best that could’ve been done, was the catalyst another incident Donnie was about to face.

Taking to the State Palace Theater on October 31st, Überzone, one the staples and all-time favorites of the rave scene, headlined the event. Joining him was pioneering UK techno artist Luke Slater, Perfecto Label favorite Sandra Collins, American progressive trance talent Christopher Lawrence, and lest we forget, DJ Shadow. The show went off without a hitch… almost. As the party was coming to a close, DJ Shadow had a little “fun” with the audio equipment. To quote one reveler from an archived rave forum, “Didn’t Blackalicious with DJ Shadow destroy the sound system in the Jungle Room? Literally?” Yes, is the answer to that question. But despite the damage, most of the security and audience were unfazed, “They probably thought it was part of the show,” jokes Donnie.

Spaced Out Vampire Stripper Sluts

Another memorable edition of Vampire Stripper Sluts took place on October 27, 2001 at State Palace. Headlined by Deep Dish, who has just reunited recently, performed a six hour set at the Halloween event. Sandra Collins returned, joining Sharam and Dubfire on stage, but the show also had veteran UK drum and bass acts Stakka & Skynet and Usual Suspects, influential German drum and bass talent Panacea (who performed a three turntable set), and the UK’s IDM and breakbeat fusion talent, Jega. If ever there was a lineup to send you to outer space, this was the one to do it.

The Vampire Stripper party has become a staple during the Halloween season as years passed. And if you thought Psychedelic Pimp Daddy Land and Vampire Stripper Sluts from Outer Space and something in common, you’d be right, “Those are kinda like brother and sister parties… Or at least cousin parties!” Donnie chuckles.