Monday definitely isn't the night most people set aside to go clubbing, but a few local DJs have set out to change people's party schedule, hosting one of the best new nights at Moe Joe's each and every Monday evening.
Jeremiah Rusznyak - better known by his stage name, DJ Neoteric - is one of the four talented DJs who have teamed up to organize a bangin' new night, The/Wht/Out, which kicked off in mid-November.
"We wanted to assemble a diverse team who were really in touch with the music we wanted to play," Neoteric explained in a recent e-mail, "We have Ned Kelly from Australia, local legend (Raw) Baanks from Whistler, plus Sam Demoe and myself, from Vancouver. We all bring something different, but come together to form like Voltron. We also have amazing international guests stopping by often, too!"
Dubbed The/Wht/Out, the name makes reference to one of the "best things" on offer in Whistler: the snow.
Neoteric has been DJing for almost 10 years. He got his start on Whistler's scene with one of the local faves, Mat the Alien.
"He'd have me fill in for him when he went out of town," Neoteric recalled. "From there I got to play the different clubs in town and built up relationships."
Today, people can find him playing a selection of house, disco, Top 40 and partyrockers at clubs throughout town. But Neoteric and the rest of The/Wht/Out crew thought something was missing on the local music scene. While plenty of great dance music is being churned out at clubs around town, they felt there was still room for something fresh, something foreign.
"It may sound cliché, but we really wanted to do something different," he said. "Whistler has a strong international presence and we wanted to capture those ears and play the best in new dance music from all around the world. We aimed to focus on the younger set and those that wanted an alternative to the club nights currently out there.
"The more the merrier, I feel. Dance music is finally getting big again in North America, after years of being somewhat niche. The kids are on the blogs and ingesting music faster than ever, so we aimed to create a night where you can come and hear the best in new dance music!"
Their concept hinges on the music, which features artists like Crookers, Jack Beats, Fake Blood, Switch, Riva Starr, Afrojack, Diplo, Mad Decent, Sound Peligrino, Dim Mak, Made to Play and Dubsided.
But in a party-plenty town like Whistler, it's always tough to sell a new nightly concept.
"Whistler has its established nights - on this day, you go to this club, that day, you go to that club. Which is great. But for Monday nights we wanted to inject some fresh energy and also cater to the locals and hospitality industry who might not work on Mondays. These are generally the young kids, the travelers who wanted to come out and just wild out!"
So far, the night has been a big hit with the locals. And Neoteric believes it has real staying power, especially since they seem to have been able to tap into the industry crowd.
"It's been amazing, every week I'm surprised at the great requests we get. Also, we get people in and keep them on the dance floor all night, which is amazing. Half of the time we are playing tracks they've never even heard. So it's a testament to the crowd and how much they are into new sounds and dancing because the music is good, not because they know the song, you know? The following has been great, people have really put aside Monday as a party night!"
