Its amazing how a day in Miami can have such incredible highs and lows. No matter how well you plan a schedule, crap happens. There are negative people in this world who will do whatever they can to mess with you. The important thing is to be a professional, walk away and not let it affect your day. Remember - you bring the party - and only you can control your reaction to the actions of other people (note foreshadowing.)
Friday started with a fabulous 10am breakfast with Billboard promoter Bobby Shaw. We shared stories of the week so far, chatted about records and basically caught up. The Richmond hotel was Big Management central with Gary Salzman having a breakfast meeting and Anton Bass and Sylvia Tosun talking at another table. The darling Sylvia Tosun heard me cough and graciously offered us a selection of homeopathic vitamins to help us fight the residual yuckiness caused by late nights in dark smokey clubs and little sleep. This is just one of the many reasons why we love her.
I headed to the Miami Beach Resort (WMC central) to moderate a panel of Industry Gurus. The people on the panel - made me a little bit nervous, this was a group of heavyweights who have really defined the dance music world from different angles - Wayne Williams (from Trax records to Jive,) Vivian Host (the editor of edgey zine XLR8R,) Andrew Fox (owner of ClubPlanet,) and Andy Horsfield (owner of Global Underground.) We started by tracing the path of an idea from underground trend to international pop movement and I asked a few questions about things I wanted to know about: Global Underground's new alliance with Ministry of Sound, how XLR8R finds their stories, ClubPlanets empire with WantTicktets, and the influence of electronic dance music on Jive's pop stars. The audience asked lots of great questions. Cheekily, I awarded one of the infamous Red Bull Party packs to the best question.
Hanging around the conference hotel, I chatted with Stonebridge who gave me the best quote of the week. "Ed Hardy is the new Von Dutch." Not only do I love Stoney's music and personality, he said exactly what I had been thinking.
It was time to check out some pool parties, so I stopped by the Shelborne for Pacha where I discovered Gold Fish bringing the live instrument vibe to house music. Axwell was up next and the crowd literally ignited to a new level. Next up was the Giant Steps Sunset Sessions at the Delano which was more loungey and soulfu - great pool music to sunbathe to. I popped my head in at the Scion party and the place was packed. I worked my way up Collins pretty much and ended up at FYE where Ultra Music was having a meet and greet. Kaskade was spinning a great set. Ferry Corsten walked in and the crowd went insane. Its great to see a retail chain with such a dedication to house music.