Avalon
What's with all the negativity towards Avalon? For those of you who don't know me, I've been the resident here in NY since January of 2004. I don't think I know anyone on this board personally but after browsing it the past 2 days, I'm finding that there seems to be a lot of negative vibes thrown our way. I'm taking some of these harsh things about our club a little personally since I've been with the Avalon company for 6 years (I was one of their residents in Boston before this).
What's been bothering me is that the general complaints about our club is what's plaguing just about EVERY club I've ever been to. Bad crowds, shitty sound system, too crowded, too hot, etc....Well, the reality is that no nightclub is perfect. I've been to just about every single major nightclub in America including all 3 Crobars, all 3 Avalons, Spirit, Twilo (RIP), Sound Factory, Arc, Tunnel, The Roxy, Spundae (LA), 1015 (SF), Space (Miami), the list is endless......Here's the simple reality about all of these clubs. On certain nights, yes, they are too crowded, hot, and have bad crowds. I don't think I've ever seen a crowd worse than Space in Miami. Not only were the club patrons rude and obnoxious, but so was the staff. And if you want to talk about tempurature, when there are 2000 people packed into a club, yes, it's going to get hot. I've been to other major clubs in NYC in the summer and let me tell you, I came out soaked from head to toe. And as for our sound system, the only thing I can say is that it all depends on what our guest DJ requests to use as a mixer. Folks, it ALL starts with the mixer. It acts as a pre-amp and no pass filter, amp, or speaker is going to correct the sounds coming out of that horrible Pioneer mixer that most "big name" DJs request (ie Tiesto, Ferry, Bad Boy Bill, Judge Jules, Mauro).....Part of my job is to keep our big name DJs happy and I absolutely cringe when they ask me to install the Pioneer into our booth.
And we go through painstaking efforts to bring in the best international talent from around the world. We've had just about EVERY big name DJ on the planet (minus PVD and Sander) and we still consistently bring in diverse sounds. Running a successful nighclub is almost impossible in NY and when I stop to think about it, Avalon does do a good job. And believe me, I was amazed to see what Crobar has done with their space as well. Back in September, I was in awe of their decor, sound system, lighting, and design. But every nightclub suffers from the same problems on any given night. I'm positive that the VERY first review about the upcoming PVD event at crobar will say that it was too crowded and hot.
And just about every DJ that comes through our club raves about how much fun they had playing it. Now that's gotta speak volumes about how we do things. Nightlife and dance music in general is struggling a little right now and it's negativity from it's own patrons that's killing it. Come out, have a drink, and just attempt to have a good time, no matter where you go. That's all I ask.....
Finally, if you come to Avalon and are having a shitty time, come and find me and explain your gripe. Chances are I'll smile and say "buddy, lemme buy you a drink." Or even better, I'll give you my personal email where you can write to me anything you think we can do to make things more enjoyable.
best,
Ed
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