From laura@usl.com Thu Aug 20 09:35:19 1992
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 11:58 EDT
Subject: UPI rave article lifted from the net

UPI NewsFeature

	SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- Twenty-five years after the acid-laced Summer
of Love, a new counterculture generation is coming of age in San
Francisco.
	In 1992, the ``cyborganic bee-inn'' has replaced the ``Human Be-In''
of a quarter century ago; the ``Psychotropic Carnival'' has replaced the
1960s Acid Test in drawing thousands of young San Franciscans out for an
all-night celebration.
	Known as raves, high-tech dance parties orchestrated by celebrated
DJs mixing loud techno music with computer generated video and laser
light shows from dusk to dawn and beyond, these marathon festivals have
become a popular and profitable counterculture industry.
	At their best, raves are viewed as a strong underground movement that
is creating and nurturing a sense of community and equality among a new
generation. At their worst, the parties are regarded as the product of
manipulative and greedy promoters who host the events with nothing more
than profit in mind.
	In either case, raves continue to expand and grow.
	On any given weekend, thousands of ravers decked out in ``Cat in the
Hat'' hats, psychedelic jumpsuits and a kaleidoscope of dress pay
anywhere from $15 to $30 to attend a rave in some empty warehouse or
vast field an hour or two from the city.
	Many participants will also lay down another $20 for a hit of the
designer drug Ecstacy to fuel their all-night dancing beneath the laser
lights and video snippets parading across screens around the dance
floor.
	Timothy Leary, the former Harvard professor who popularized the use
of LSD three decades ago and has appeared at several raves hosted by his
son in Los Angeles, says raves have much in common with the Acid Tests
of the 1960s where hippies experimented with the drug in an attempt to
produce personal and spiritual freedoms.
	``(Raves) are very much like high-tech Acid Tests,'' Leary said. 
``The difference is that the kids are a thousand times more
sophisticated and worldly now than hippies were back then.''
	But musician Genesis, a member of the band Psychic-TV that appeared
at a ``cyborganic bee-inn'' this month, views raves as more of a
consumer-oriented venture than the Acid Tests.
	``It doesn't touch as many bases in the senses as it could,'' Genesis
said. ``In this age, people are expecting a fast return on their
investment.''
	Rave promoters can walk away with tens, if not hundreds, of thousands
of dollars a night by charging the average $20 door charge while also
selling so-called ``smart drinks,'' amino-acid laced beverages that
energize dancers and sell for $3 to $5 each. A New Year's Eve rave
produced by a group known as ToonTown was reported to have taken in
$175,000 at the door.
	``My understanding is that these (raves) have no spiritual,
philosophical or religious connection,'' said Lt. Mike Ferguson of the
Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, which recently arrested the host of
an outdoor rave for allegedly creating a nuisance in Santa Rosa after 70
neighbors near the party complained about the noise. ``It's simply for
money, and a large amount of money.''
	Other rave critics are worried about the liberal use of the drug
Ecstacy by party-goers. Ecstacy, or MDMA, was used in the early 1900s as
an appetite suppressant but has now become a popular drug among young
adults.
	A pamphlet distributed at some raves says the illegal drug can 
``provoke an intense, energenic, spiritual high or lead to warm loving
relaxation .... Sensual yet not necessarily sexual, beautiful and
sometimes dangerous, Ecstacy covers a wide range of human emotions.''
	It is the dangerous aspect of the drug that worries some doctors. In
a recent issue of the British science journal Lancet, researchers
reported that Ecstacy had caused at least seven deaths in England. The
article attributed several of the deaths to hyperthermia caused by
individuals dancing at all-night parties such as raves while on the
drug.
	Darryl Inaba, director of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic Drug Detox
Program, said Ecstacy works as a basic amphetamine that can cause
depression and other negative side effects.
	``We're worried about any new drug, especially one that's promoted as
being safe and non-toxic,'' Inaba said. ``Most people in the drug scene
(of the 1960s) learned that drugs were a misguided spiritual search.''
	Rave promoters say critics have misjudged the parties.
	Promoter Mark Metz said that while drugs play a role in raves, they
are not essential.
	``There has always been a catalyst in new scenes,'' Metz said. ``But
that doesn't mean you need drugs. Most people like to go to raves
unadultered.''
	ToonTown, which recently incorporated to become Virtual Realty Inc.,
released a two paragraph statement before their latest event, the 
``Psychotropic Carnival,'' describing their intentions.
	``The purpose of ToonTown is to bring people together to dance in an
atmosphere of peace and safety,'' the leaflet read. ``We believe music
can create harmony where there is discord and create unity and common
purpose where there is conflict.''
	The leaflet went on to discuss the drug issue by stating 
``intoxication caused by alcohol or drugs can be personally dangerous
and spoils the fun for everyone else. We ask that you ... respect
yourself and those around you.''
	Raves are generally traced back to England in the late 1980s, where a
disenchanted group organized late night, Ecstacy-fueled parties where
pounding, vocal-less techno house music revved up to 150 beats a minute
blasted from speakers. The raves grew in size and popularity and British
authorities eventually started to clamp down on the parties. The
restrictions prompted some English rave promoters to move to the United
States to promote their ideas.
	Large rave scenes have popped up not only in San Francisco, but also
Los Angeles, New York and other urban centers. The scene has also gained
a following in parts of India, Indonesia, Belgium, New Zealand -- and a
promoter is working to popularize the scene in Sweden.
	Metz says the events have a message to convey.
	``The message behind the music is a positive one,'' Metz said. ``(A
rave) unifies people and makes people realize we are all equal.''
	Metz is also co-owner of Ameba, a clothing store on Haight Street
that caters to ravers with a unique array of kaleidoscopic clothing that
can cost as much as $70 for a dress and $25 for a shirt. Following on
the success of Ameba, three new stores catering to ravers have opened in
the Haight in the past four months.
	At the intersection of Haight and Ashbury, where the Psychedelic Shop
opened in 1966 to promote the positive uses of LSD, now stands Behind
the Post Office, a closet-sized store where ravers squeeze in to pick up
invitations for the next raves or purchase a new hat or shirt.
	A few blocks away sits HouseWares, a ``rave gear'' store that opened
July 4 with stylized hats, clothing, pendants and tapes of the area's
favorite rave DJ's music.
	``I wanted to have a business of my own, but I'm not in it for the
money,'' said Perry Weisberg, co-owner of HouseWares. ``There is a rave
fashion, but there's a whole peaceful, positive movement for change
behind it.
	``Or, it can be a movement for change if greedy people don't take it
over,'' he said.