Neu Romance
10 year Anniversary Party!!

Come celebrate with The Neu Romance DJs and our special guest DJ HERBERT HOLLER one of the co-founders of NYC's hottest Friday night dance party FREEDOM!!

Neu Romance 10 year Anniversary Party!! Feat Dj Herbert Holler from The Freedom Party NYC!! For those of you who do not know about Freedom Party NYC ....it's the BEST And longest running Friday night dance party in NYC and we are honored to have one of the founders of Freedom helping us celebrate our Milestone!!

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Ten years! So many of us have married, divorced, had babies, switched jobs, switched states, grown up, and moved on in the last decade. Ten years ago I was listening to the "Afterhours" show late night on WKNC, and was amazed and inspired by the music the DJs were spinning. Matheis, Alphonse, and Dave Hogan were laying the soundtrack for the folks who wanted an experience beyond the range of local commercial radio. Daniel Moore was spinning "Raw" at Sushi Blues"; Matt Routh was doing "Jazz Anew" (Jazz Anew) at Humble Pie; Keith Ward was laying it down "sketches of Spain" style every Wednesday night at Helios. Blake, Merlin, and Soundmachine were all doing weeklies at the time, but I can't remember where. Tommy L. was pushing the breaks and drum & bass scene hard, and Eric Deitsch was selling out shows at Kings. There was a website called "Carolina Spins" that every DJ between D.C. and Northern Florida could list their events and promote their shows. The talent pool was rich back then, and a young DJ had plenty opportunity within the Triangle area to learn his or her craft. Neu Romance was born at this time, and this was the right time and Kings was the right place. I remember talking to Steve Popson about doing a Sunday show with me bartending and playing this music I was listening to with my c.d. players and mixers on the bar. Steve said, "Fine. We'll try it out for a few months, and see how it works out". Since that first Sunday Neu Romance has hosted Maceo Parker, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Valient Thorr, Melvin Sparks, DJ Rasoul, and too many local bands, DJs, musicians and artists to name. We were the proud hosts of countless Carolina Rollergirl parties, and were thrilled to watch that league blossom from the beginning. We also hosted fundraisers for a diverse group of organizations including Aids Alliance Services of NC, NC Conservation Network, Habitat For Humanity Warmth for Wake, The Women's Center, the Triangle Urban League, and many more.

But the part of this that makes me the most proud is that in my home town I, with the help and inspiration and support of a LOT of very talented people, was able to do my part in creating an environment wherein people of all walks of life could come together, and be cool with one another. Black, white, brown, gay, straight, rich, poor, fat, skinny, foreign and domestic could all share the same space, feel equal, and get their groove on. Of course, I had no idea we would celebrate an anniversary, much less ten of them. All that being said ten is a good round number - and the perfect time to wrap it all up. I have lived in Raleigh my entire life, and some of my fondest memories are Neu Romance memories. Downtown Raleigh has grown and changed tremendously in the last decade, and this show has run its course. Through its inception at the original Kings Barcade, and incarnations at Tir Na Nog and Alibi Bar, to its current home at Five Star, Neu Romance has enjoyed an amazing amount of support and enthusiasm from the staff and ownership of all these places. And we will be forever grateful!

I used to say that if all of my friends would come to Neu Romance at least four times a year I would be happy. Well, I'm asking you to come just one more time. Saturday, April 13th will be the last show as a weekly event. We will surely do events occasionally throughout the year, and at different locations, but as a weekly we are done. Five Star has been wonderful to us to the last few years, and I want to thank Khoa Dinh and Michelle Bender especially for their support. This is not our first "last" show by the way, but we intend to make it our best. With the help of resident NR DJ and Brooklyn native, Mark Toney, we have enlisted the help of NYC DJ, Herbet Holler ( Freedom Party ). Herbert has what is currently the longest running dance party in NYC (10 years!), and as a favor to Mark he is flying down to Raleigh just for us. We will also be blessed with one of my favorite house DJs of all time, Daniel Moore - DJ LeMoore (Glamoore Productions). These two will be joined by NR favorites Keith Ward, Mark Toney, and my man, fifty grand, DJ Castro. Dancing is serious business, and if you like dancing we want your business. The main event kicks off at 10pm, but we have a special appetizer before that. Drew Davidson (a.k.a. Drew Diggle) and myself (DJ Madcow) will be spinning a special "old school" dinner set at Five Star starting at 8pm. Its special to us because its the music that inspired Neu Romance - that sexy, "unclassifiable" music the DJs were spinning on Afterhours ten years ago. We encourage folks to make reservations for dinner between 8 and 9:30, because sometime after ten we will be moving tables to make room for the get down. We also want your help filling the front room with Neu Romance dinner patrons as a show of appreciation for all the love and support from Five Star these last few years. Plus, the food is awesome!

Well, that's it. A little wordy perhaps, but damn, it's been ten years. I haven't even begun to reminisce... remember the Vagina Monologue benefit? All of us have had a beautiful time playing the music we love these last 10 years, and I have made many wonderful relationships along the way. Thank you to all the DJs that played for free; thank you to all the folks that stayed up late on a school night; thank you to all the venues that let us drink for free; and thank you most of all to all the producers, musicians, and DJs that gave us all this beautiful music! Thanks also to Kaci Torres and PBR for your contiued support through many NR events, and great PBR swag. And thanks also to the Raleigh Public Record for you in-kind donation. Cheers to you all!

-Chico Scott

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