Thread by @CosmoBaker

THEAD: I’d like to talk about a place & some people that are really special to me. I’ve been a DJ for 30+ years and have traveled the globe having played in countless venues. But there is ONE venue that has always been near and dear to my heart, and that is @HifiClub in Calgary

https://twitter.com/HifiClub/status/1326312412975308800

Many years ago @SmalltownDjs & @smalltownpete threw the popular party "Hai Karate" at a club called The Night Gallery in Calgary. This party became so successful that Pete & Mike took the brave leap and opened up their own venue. And thus, the legendary @HifiClub was born

In the mid 00s when @ItsTheRub really started to gain international momentum the very first place to ever book us outside of our country was Pete & Mike at @HifiClub - I think it was maybe our second gig in Canada ever. And I never could have imagined how great the response was

In fact we played on a Thursday and they were so jazzed with what @djayres & I did that they asked us to stay in town another night and had us open for our friend @A_SKILLZ, who had already been well established in that scene by that point. We all had an amazing time

Outside of the United States easily my biggest fan base is in Canada, and the fact that these guys took a chance and put us on has no doubt been one of the most monumental watershed moments in my entire career. I can trace so much of my success directly back to @HifiClub

And that's also not to overlook how because of playing @HifiClub that lead to so many more opportunities to play coast to coast across Canada. It was the entry point to access of an entire community of music lovers and people who love to dance together in unity

Many of my best friends are Canadian, and if I had never played @HifiClub I doubt I would have ever met them. So not only is the venue instrumental in my career but also in the fact that so many people I love I've met though having walked though that door on 10th Ave in Cowtown

To me that speaks volumes about Pete, Mike and the rest of @HifiClub crew - they fostered that community like it was family. From the staff to the talent to the patrons: everyone felt at home there. Everyone felt like they belonged to something special and unique

Not only was its existence a huge contribution to Calgary, and Canada in general, but also to the world of music at large. And their bravery to present to their community new acts and new talent was unparalleled. They always looked at what was new, exciting, and NEXT

They were one of the first places to take a chance on ME. Just like they were one of the first places to take a chance on others. Like @diplo, like @CalvinHarris, like @flyinglotus, like @The_xx, and like so many other people whom I know in my peer group. We ALL felt HOME

One of my favorite memories was back in '05 I routed a nationwide tour of The US & Canada for the XXXplosive project that me @PASEROCK & @NAEEMmusic did. It was something like 12 cities I think and Ottawa was the first Canadian city on that tour.

There was an immigration snafu and we were denied entry into the country which set us back 2 days. That is akin to falling dominoes - it would have been impossible for us to try and pick up the dates of the tour and the entire thing was in jeopardy of collapsing

That's when @smalltownpete took it upon himself to move mountains, and fully expense, making sure that the three of us got up to Calgary to play that leg of the tour and singlehandedly saved THE ENTIRE TOUR. THAT was the level of commitment they had to their artists & community

One of the other things about @HifiClub is that creatively one could really stretch out there and try new things and be bold and adventurous in what it was you wanted to do and it ALWAYS WORKED. The patrons of this special place were always up for it!

I have fond memories of playing in this club for hours AFTER the doors closed, where we would have intimate parties playing everything from Big Mama Thornton to Kraftwerk to Fleetwood Mac. FUN TIMES!

Now venues are closing left and right and nobody knows what will happen next. It's an apocalypse type event with no end in sight. And we have to do all we can do to help protect our industry which is why SAVE OUR STAGES is so important saveourstages.com

These venues are crucial to the lifeblood of so many artists like me, but also to so many of the people who work in them from the soundtechs to the servers, the bookers & designers, the accountants and the management to the custodial staff and so on and so on...

And lest we forget what these venues mean not just economically to their cities and communities, but what they mean spiritually to the patrons and the dancers and the clubbers and the people who go out to collectively dance with their chosen family

One last thing about @HifiClub - TO THIS DAY, whenever I have a new idea, or a thought about a routine and performance, in my mind, when I see it, it 100% always is with me standing on the stage at Hi Fi in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

So RIP @HifiClub and love to @smalltownpete @SmalltownDjs & the rest of the Hi Fi family. I would not be here and not be the person I am without what you gave to me, to all of us. Love you dearly and here's to what comes next 💞