Bloody fight at AbundanceNW BBW New Years Eve party…what’s next?
By Daniel | January 5, 2010
If you’ve been keeping up with the tumultuous venue history of Seattle BBW party promoter Luke Henson and AbundanceNW, you might be as surprised as I that last month the group decided to again hook up with the location which dissed them on several occasions, Chihuahua’s Cantina in Auburn.
For several years, AbundanceNW had a successful run of events at Chihuahua’s and all seemed well. Then about a year and a half ago, Chihuahua’s suddenly told the group they didn’t want them there anymore, forcing Abundance to cancel an already-announced event.
About 5 months later Chihuahua’s agreed to let the group hold events there again, which they did for another 3 months. Again, all seemed well. Then around Christmas 2008, 2 days before another big event the group was planning, Chihuahua’s AGAIN canceled and told the group not to come back.
But apparently it was not about the plus size crowd, it was about Abundance in particular. Because Chihuahua’s instead made a deal with San Francisco-based plus-size party promoter “DJ Zulu” and his group Big Boogie Nights to have parties there…which they began immediately.
After that promoter had several unsuccessful events there, Chihuahua’s ended that arrangement in Spring, 2009.
Which brings us to the Abundance New Year’s party. For the life of me, I can’t understand why they would rekindle a partnership with a venue that dissed them not once – but twice – to hold yet another event. A venue who obviously is not interested in working with him, except perhaps when they’ve run out of other options. To me it smacks of the guy who only calls the fat chick when he’s between girlfriends and needs to get fucked.
After the New Year’s party went on as planned, one of the attendees posted this to the AbundanceNW group:
When leaving the other night, we found my car a wreck, windows smashed out, blood on the inside and out… yet nothing stolen! The person(s) whom are responsible are cut quite badly; btw ya left your blood and chunks of your skin in and on my Car…THANKS! I am sure someone knows who they are… we are a close group and for the most part know names and faces.
At first I was infuriated that we as a group can’t get together to celebrate without having some sort of drama and of course I wanted justice, now I just want to know what happened! If you got into a fight, so be it, you had to be 21+ to attend … take ownership in 2010 for your adult actions!
My personal feelings aside… this sort of thing makes it hard for others to want to come out for fear they will have to endure fights, drama and just plain stupidity. I hope your proud to bring this kind of crap to not only Abundance NW and Chihuahua’s but to my family! Any information you have would be helpful… wouldn’t you want to know if it were your car?!
Oh sure. Those involved in this bloody melee are going to step right up and “take ownership” for perhaps thousands of dollars in damage and a possible arrest because they’re “adults”.
So along with patronizing a venue that dissed Abundance again and again, this is the type of dangerous criminal behavior that one must fear when attending events there?
And it gets better! It appears that unfazed and unconcerned for the safety of his members, Luke announced yet another event at Chihuahua’s just two weeks after this bloody crime. Really? Does Luke need the money that badly that he would violate the trust of his members seeking a “safe and accepting environment” at which to party?
On this blog, all I can do is offer my opinion. I’m not hating. I’m not (as Luke claims) jealous. I’ve been active in fostering and nurturing and supporting plus-size community in the Northwest for nearly 10 years. I think the more choices the better.
Anyone who wants to go and keep company with people who would perpetrate such violence can go and have a great time. If AbundanceNW wants to continue to do business with a venue which has not once, but TWICE dissed their group, canceled events with only a few days notice and, in Luke’s words, is “looking for More short term $” that’s up to them. But whether it’s the venue, or the type of people the group attracts, I don’t want to risk being at the site of more drama and violent crime by going to AbundanceNW events at Chihuahua’s. Do you?
Personally I would have told the bar to pound sand after all that’s transpired. Just like most women would tell an ex-lover who wanted to get back together a third time after being kicked to the curb for another woman to find another warm place to put it. I can’t think of ANYTHING a venue who had treated me like that could or would say to get me to come back. And certainly not sell out the safety and dignity of those who support my group.
Not only is that no way to do business, but is that a message to send to individuals who join plus-size groups to raise their own self-esteem because they know that they deserve to be treated with respect? I don’t think so. So why would any BBW spend money there?
There’s gotta be 5000+ bars in our area, surely there’s at least one who won’t treat a BBW group like shit!
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Who wants to be a diva?
By Daniel | November 12, 2009
I’ve gotten some MySpace bulletins lately from Plus Size clubs in LA and Vancouver hyping their latest event and encouraging people to “join all the sexxxy divas”.
Really?
The term ”diva” seems inexorably tied to a woman who is spoiled, egotistical, hard to get along with and feels everyone should cater to them. Remember when Naomi Campbell hit her assistant over the head with her cell phone? Being termed a “diva” doesn’t seem like a positive moniker.
So why do some BBW’s adopt that identity? You can usually recognize them by their online nicknames … usually ones that include the words princess, queen, wench, goddess and ”phat”.
These gals don’t want to be accepted for who they are. They revel in being larger than life. They parade their fat as a badge of honor to be treated like the diva they think they are (or should be). If fat is WHO you are rather than WHAT you are, that’s not size acceptance, that’s exploitation.
Apparently it’s OK to be exploited, as long as you exploit yourself. Then supposedly it’s not exploitation, it’s “empowerment”! All those guys who ever rejected you be damned! Now it’s their turn to grovel. And they are SO going to show their titties in fat fetish mags!
The interesting thing is that there are so many guys who are anxious to buy into their role (rolls). Something tells me it has more to do with fetish than acceptance.
IMHO clubs who promote themselves in that fashion aren’t promoting size acceptance, they’re promoting “diva-ism”. How does that further the respect of fat girls?
Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Let me entertain you
By Daniel | April 4, 2009
The other day, a member of another local BBW group must have seen my Yahoo Messenger online indicator on so she IMs me with something like “What’s up, I saw you in another group I’m in.”
I respond with a greeting, tell her I’m fine and what’s up with her. She then asks what my name is. Well DUH! You mean you’re going to IM someone just because they’re in the same group as you without even looking at their profile or seeing anything about them, not even their name?
I thought A/S/L went out in the 90s with the popularity of AOL chat rooms. Today most all of us have online profiles with lots and lots of information. I have one on Yahoo, one on MySpace, others on Facebook, Multiply, Twitter and even a slew of pics on Flickr. Oh, and three blogs. Not too hard to score online info on yours truly.
I replied with the link to my Yahoo profile. Then, nothing for like 10 minutes. Finally she IM’s, “So?” Hmmmm…what does that mean? So *what*? Shouldn’t she come back with something relevant to my profile, or at least because her profile was blank, some similar information about herself? So…I’m now supposed to carry the conversation with her because she’s bored and wants to be entertained?
If you have an interest in talking to ME – rather than just anyone with their Messenger light on – then I don’t think it’s too much to ask someone to take a few minutes to *at least* know my A/S/L before IMing me. If you don’t, it just tells me your a lazy troll, and probably someone I don’t want to talk with anyway.
Very matter-of-factly I replied that there must have been some reason she IMed me in the first place and what was it she was interested in? Immediately I start getting messages like why I’m now all hostile and was told to go fuck myself. Oh reeeeally?
Turns out this gal was also a member of BBWNorthwest. And as it was evident on my profile that I was the moderator of that group, you think a member wouldn’t tell the group owner to go fuck themselves. So I informed her who I was and that I wasn’t interested in having someone in my group with that attitude. She said if I removed her as a member, “That’s gay.”
Best part? She replied to the auto-generated “You have been removed from the group” file:
I have been kicked out of this group because I am disliked from one of the owners (Daniel) which has nothing to do with any of the reasons below. I am reporting this discrimination directly to Yahoo.
Wow…”disliked”? Was I the one who told her to fuck off? Yup, that’s discrimination alright!
I’ve always said that an IM conversation is like meeting someone at a party. You have to have a reason to approach them, then something to SAY that will make them interested in continuing to talk with you. Because there are lots of other people at the party you can be talking with. (Or other things you can be doing than entertaining some stranger who happened to IM you!)
I would chalk it up to this gal’s youth (she’s 23) except wasn’t that generation born and raised on the internet? Shouldn’t that medium be more familiar and natural to her? I guess netiquette/manners is a different story.
I’ve been told I invented the phrase “cerebral foreplay”. It’s been on my AOL profile since the early 90s and my key to interesting banter online. It certainly beats boorish come-ons. And don’t you have to have enough mental capacity to say something insightful afterward besides, “Was it good for you?”
OK, “Don’t use your teeth so much down there” could be a close second.
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Not with a bang, but a whimper
By Daniel | March 22, 2009
It’s interesting of all the blog entries I’ve written, that the one that’s gotten the most hits ever was about Cali promoter of Big Boogie Nights BBW parties Darren Battle a/k/a DJ Zulu. It also brought out several BBWs who commented on his “use of women and manipulations” and calling him “a liar of mass proportions”.
A promoter’s job is to hype. The press and PR Darren’s Bay Area parties received over the years seemed enviable for anyone engaged in producing plus-size events. But in this pursuit, there is presumably a righteous component: being a size-acceptance advocate. Respecting your patrons beyond their payment for your services, but honoring their pursuit of a safe and accepting environment which fosters self-esteem and works toward lessening society’s stigma about fat people.
Darren wanted to expand his parties beyond California and made various attempts in Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Hey, healthy competition is the American way. IF it’s healthy. So when last December in his latest attempt to establish a foothold in Seattle he did a surreptitious deal with Chihuahua’s Cantina in Auburn – the very same venue where long-time Seattle BBW party promoter Luke Henson had dozens of events for his plus-size group – I called foul.
Needless to say it raised a lot of ire and resentment against DJ Zulu and his new events at Chihuahua’s. In a uniting of purpose rarely seen in the local BBW community, Big Boogie Nights was boycotted by the frequent patrons of local BBW events. The Yahoo and MySpace groups which were the largest communication channels for reaching the local BBW community didn’t give the events any mention. What’s a promoter to do when he’s burned most all of the local bridges to the audience he’s trying to reach?
Apparently, get fired.
You’ll find no more mention about Seattle events on Darren’s website, nor on the venue’s website. Maybe the lack of support made his crowd smaller than that of Abundance NW, which the venue complained was never big enough. Maybe Darren broke up with the girlfriend who apparently was able to comp him airline tickets to make his Seattle visits possible. Either way, it appears that Big Boogie Nights in Seattle have ended not with a bang, but a whimper.
Will Abundance NW resurface at Chihuahua’s? If I were calling the shots, I wouldn’t even consider it as the venue owner is without a doubt a co-conspirator in treating the group badly and with disrespect. For now, it looks like Luke has been successful in producing some Friday night club nights in Tacoma which have rekindled his group’s support.
And the beat goes on.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Hate the player, hate the game
By Daniel | January 19, 2009
Last July I shared my opinions on an event being promoted as the “BBW Community Honors & Awards Celebration” at which more than 1/3 of those “honors and awards” were for BBW porn models and websites. The promoter was Darren Battle, also known as DJ Zulu, the owner/promoter of the Big Boogie Nights BBW dance events primarily in the San Francisco Bay area. Battle had for many years tried to make inroads into promoting events in the Northwest; in July, 2004 he convinced bar owners in Portland and Seattle to let him promote one-night events there. By most accounts, both failed miserably.
Here was the review I posted the next day.
Not hatin’, just pontificatin’
Since BBN started at 9, I would have figured by 11:45 it would be the prime of the evening.Not one soul was on the dance floor! I don’t think I saw more than 6 people dancing during the time I was inside. (I got bored and went out to the patio where some friends were sitting.)
I came in, paid my $10 and got a wristband. One of the first things I noticed is that half the people there did not have a wristband. I assume that meant those who didn’t “come” for BBN did not have to pay the cover. They were mainly young skinny chicks with their young buff boyfriends. And a 60ish couple who looked very out of place. I heard there was food earlier, but it was gone after about an hour. (Should the cover have been less after the food was over?)
The BBN crowd was centered at a mass of tables adjacent to a small (10X10?) dance floor in the corner. Most everyone seemed more interested chatting than dancing. Some of the music was very good, but unless I missed some skillz earlier in the night, Zulu didn’t do a single beat mix! I found it disappointing – as a DJ I really love to hear a great mixmaster throwing down. He basically slammed one song into another…I would have hoped a “club DJ” would be a better beatmixer.
At the end when Zulu played a final slow set (looks like the music ended about 1:15 – not 2 am) there were about 10 couples who spread themselves out along the back wall to have room to dance…the most dancers I saw all night.
I would say all told the number of fat wristband-wearing people was maybe 60? Looked like mostly all Auburn regulars. Didn’t see very much “crossover” … maybe only 5 people who come to BBWNorthwest dances.
I’m sure others will have differing opinions, but as for me… this edition of BBN was most certainly NOT “off the hook”, or “you can’t sit down”, or any of the hype I’d been reading. Perhaps Zulu had an off night?
OK, let me interject that although I’m 46 I have a good appreciation for current music. I do about 60 gigs a year (weddings, corporate) and “Milkshake” with the best of ‘em.
I’m all for a variety of BBW dances, club nights, events, whatever. Different strokes for different folks and all that. I always do a few sets of club music at BBWNorthwest gigs, but there is also a variety of rock, country, oldies, disco, 80’s, etc. The BBW community comes in many ages, races and sizes and I try to be an inclusive as possible so everyone can hear something they like. But if all you like is hip-hop, I’m glad there are outlets for that too.
Although I promote my own BBW dances, I have no qualms about telling it like it is about other events. (Isn’t that what these diaries are for?) There were several PSBBW Tukwila dances I thought were terrific! If the music was slamming and the dance floor was packed, I would SAY so! As a DJ I love to see a great gig, no matter who does it.
I had high hopes because I’ve been following all the BBN gigs for almost 2 years and reading all the press coverage. He’s a great promoter! But I was very disappointed.
Before I left I went to shake Zulu’s hand and said, “Hey I’m a fan and wanted to meet you…I’m Daniel from BBWNorthwest.” For someone who is not about drama and being inclusive…his expression changed fast. Almost hostile. I asked if he was going to be back to Seattle, he said yes he was going to do it once a month. I smiled and said, “Wow the commute has gotta be tough from Cali.” He mumbled something I didn’t understand and turned back to putting his gear up for the night.
I don’t know…whenever another DJ comes to see my show, I always give a big greeting, let them look at my gear, etc. Even those who are just guests…why not smile and be friendly? Didn’t they just put money in my pocket by buying a ticket? I have never said anything bad or mean about Zulu. So why the cold shoulder? Who knows!
Although the bar is about 5 minutes from my house (and they did a great job remodeling it since their White Buffalo days) I don’t think I’ll be coming back to BBN. Might go back to the bar though…turns out they have a regular DJ who plays there Fridays and Saturdays and there’s no $10 cover.
But I do wish Zulu the best of luck and am glad he is making another choice available to the BBW community.
Faced with this underwhelming response, wouldn’t it seem any promoter would learn from this experience and resolve to cater to his audience. Not Darren, he knew better. It was OUR fault for not appreciating him! We obviously should have known what HE was all about and come to worship. So before he left town, Darren he sent a parting shot to the members of his now-defunct Yahoo group.
From: djzulu65
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 4:39 PM
To: BBN-NW@yahoogroups.com
On behalf of the Triple Bs of BBN’s Seattle, I want to thank you all for coming out to our opening. While the numbers weren’t what we expected, it’s a new place, a new venue and to me a new community!
We appreciate some of the feedback we’ve received, especially the feedback that was constructive. We will not take into consideration the feedback of other promoters in the community at all :)
BBN is a work in progress so I recommend you truly visit what we are trying to do. Our vision will not change and it may or may not be what Seattle needs and/or wants. One thing Big Boogie Nights is about is diversity. Our demographics in all of our locations reflect the demographics of our local communities and that is also what we expect in Seattle.
I apologize for those who came to hear rock and roll and mostly old school, you obviously didn’t visit our website, or read our very clear FAQ. I mixed things (Hip Hop, Reggae and R&B) up for the first two hours then I strictly played beats the last hour and fifteen minutes before going into slow jams. BBN isn’t know for playing slow jams so that probably won’t happen again but for the last 30-15 minutes of the night.
BBN is interested in people joining our marketing team. Those who are clubbers and not looking for gimmicks, cupcakes or cheesy events my parents don’t even attend. IF you are open minded, active in the size acceptance community, are sexy with who you are, into CLUB music and diversity and know fat chicks, fat men and those who love us rule, please contact DK or myself at djzulu65@yahoo.com If you’d like to see BBN a success help us get the word out! Tell people about us, our mailing list and our vision.
One Love, Darren
ps stay tuned, we aren’t done!
Indeed he wasn’t done. OK, history lesson over. Fast forward to September, 2008 when Darren again had designs on promoting BBW events in Seattle and posted ads on Craigslist directed at bar owners looking for a new promotion. A couple of weeks ago, a new Big Boogie Nights event was announced in our area. Was it a new choice for our robust plus-size community. Nope, it was the very same Auburn location where Abundance NW group owner Luke Henson had been promoting BBW nights for many years.
Did Darren pull the rug out from under Luke? Was it the venue’s owner who approached Darren or vice versa? Either way, why not instead offer people a choice by seeking out a different venue. Or at the very least, show a modicum of class in not dissing a fellow promoter in his own house? According to reports, that wouldn’t be consistent with how Darren “does the damn thing”.
And that’s why suddenly my blog entry from last July is suddenly getting all this attention.
And probably why Darren just sent me this email:
On Mon, 1/19/09, DDB <djzulu65@yahoo.com> wrote:
Subject: Dear Dan
Dan,
These is the only email addresses I have for you so I apologize if it is not personal.
I sent a simple response to your blog that attacked me. I am not going to use your personal blog page to make my case or am I even trying to make my case as I don’t expect or want your endorsement of me and/or my promotions or venues. I don’t like how you try to keep people apart and you in my opinion you are mean spirited and hateful. You are going after me just like you’ve gone after others, including Luke who you DID attack in the past and that’s not from here-say, that’s directly from Luke. Perhaps you have an issue with men of color promoting events geared towards people of size?
You attacking me or attempting to build hate regarding me will fail. It’s failed in the past and it will fail now. I will throw my parties and those who want a good nightclub life experience will attend. It doesn’t effect you in anyway so I have no idea why you have such a hard time with that. It makes me think you are just a miserable person. If my parties don’t’ succeed in Seattle it will be strictly because I am not throwing a good party. The reason why you are struggling isn’t the economy kind Sir. In negative economies, escapism and partying spots usually thrive. Look at the 80s, this is where the dance culture thrived, there were even hard times in the 70s and the disco movement grew through that. Hip Hop exploded in the 80s. All these were as people were looking to dance their troubles. My parties in the Bay are still well attended and if I am throwing a good party here that is DRAMA free and NOT about me, or about my thoughts and opinions (and believe me, I have strong opinions) they are about the party. I don’t need kudos about me, directly because my parties aren’t about me. My parties are NOT a movement, they are simply that, a party.
A party, Dan, that you have mimicked on several occasions especially in 2002, when you would do your theme nights similar to mine, one month after I did (My marketing and former website designer informed me of that).
I don’t know you and quite frankly I don’t care if I ever run into you. Because based on outside appearances you aren’t someone I’d like to know. You want me to be ashamed that I ran parties that were lifestyle based including BDSM? I’m not nor will I ever be! There are places for people to show their expressions and I provided that. It wasn’t a success because I provided that, it was a success because people came and enjoyed it.
There was nothing wrong with the Bygies concept and I am proud of it and sad it didn’t pan out. Perhaps someone will do something similar if this is truly a community (and please don’t think because you, I, Luke, Cher etc throw parties that that and a few blogs and a website makes us a community, it doesn’t. Where have I see YOU at community events across the country? And I’ve been to SEVERAL!)
I was informed that you decided to respond to my post and I have to say I’m glad to see you had the balls to post what I said but if you honestly think that was going to draw me back to your blog or have a public war with you, you’ve are so wrong, I haven’t even read the response. I wouldn’t give you more publicly than you already tried to get. I must say in way I should thank you because in the past 3 days I’ve received more emails of interests from people in the Seattle area that either dislike your parties or your representation that they are excited that Big Boogie Nights is here.
In closing I wish you are Happy King Day and Inauguration Week.
Best,
Darren
Wow, attacking you? Any opinions I’ve ventured have been based on actual words you’ve written or events I’ve seen first hand. That’s not an “attack”. Just an observation.
And forgetting about BBWs for a second, as a professional DJ, I believe it is the height of insolence to insist, “Our vision will not change and it may or may not be what Seattle needs and/or wants.” Perhaps that is where we part ways. If MY parties don’t succeed, I’m at least taking some of the blame for the music mix.
You mention that your parties are not “a movement”. The only movement I ever want to see at our dances is some booty shaking! But where our events differ is that we have a rich community behind it and it attracts like-minded people. There is an increasing number of fat people who are secure in who they are and just want to party. They don’t need the “community” … just a place to shake their ass. Not a thing wrong with that! (Didn’t Luke have that covered already?) But I do believe the number of fat people who have NOT achieved that type of self-actualization and confidence outnumber those who have. For them, “community” goes part and parcel with having fun dances and events.
You want to promote a Player’s Ball? Terrific, because that’s one thing that fat girls don’t get enough of. They love getting their hopes up over someone who tells them everything they want to hear, only to be unceremoniously “played”. You want to have an “honors” event for fat girls who get paid to play with their pussies on cam? Yup, that’s certainly a tribute to size acceptance.
Look, have any kind of party you want…but don’t represent them as something positive for size-acceptance. You support the community? That must be why you sought to siphon off people (and dollars) from BBW Network’s Vegas Bash instead of supporting their club nights.
As for your lifestyle, it’s no one’s business unless you put it out there in the street. I’ve engaged in private hedonistic pursuits, but it’s not part of my identity, nor fodder for the events I promote. And as for your inference that I am racist? I voted for Obama because he was the best man for the job: neither in spite of nor because of his race. Just as the mission of BBWNorthwest has always been to promote acceptance for everyone neither in spite of nor because of our size. Acceptance, not fetish.
For all the emails you’ve gotten who “dislike your parties” that’s cool. I know there are many who love to dance to beats all night. And they should have as many alternatives as the market will allow. Which is why I supported and promoted Abundance NW events and announcements to our group. He’s also been to many a BBWNorthwest event.
But why not offer another choice to the local BBW community instead of hatin’ on a brother!
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
