BANG
THE
PARTY
Since 1976 when the The Boat in Kensington Market opened, it operated as a Portuguese seafood restaurant until 1999 and then as a Cantonese karaoke bar offering a finger-food menu known for its kitschy portholes and theme parties. By 2005 More one-off events started surfacing , quickly turning The Boat into one of Toronto's best spaces to party.
In the summer of 2006, talent booker Keith Hamilton took over from the previous event manager Trevor Coleman, phased out the karaoke, and proceeded to fill out the monthly schedule to host approximately 25 events per month. Said Keith "I'm not a promoter, not a solicitor. I don't care if your band can bring 150 people to my club; if I don't like what you're doing I won't let you play. I have a really wide appreciation of music, we don't book a certain style or anything. It's not even that you have to be good. I have to believe in you.”
It was after a very successful night with our dear friend Wes Allen where we breached the Boat’s capacity of just over 100 with an additional 200 causing a panic for the staff and bouncers, Keith asked us if we would establish our very particular brand inside the venue alongside the other established dance events.
For ten years we hosted our monthly Bang The Party at The Boat, temporarily moving our residency to The Drake Underground, The Crawford, Bunda Lounge and then back again for our grand finale. Bang The Party’s concept was a return to the ideals of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s New York scene: a time when pop, art, and dance music had not yet been divided and when disco was in bed with everything that moved. Our sound was not entirely retro as it was also defined by new leftfield house with touches of Brazilian tropicalia, post-punk dance, and anything that embraced bass heavy music—anything that broadened the rules of what dance music could be.
EVENT COORDINATION
GRAPHIC DESIGN
VIDEO EDITING
11 x 17" Screen Printed And Digital Photocopy Posters Created And Designed By Andrew Gavin Hicks And Todd Simmons
One Of The Many Large Scale Murals Wheatpasted Inside Kensington Market Using Multiple Photocopies And Fluorescent Spraypaint
Photocopy Of Our Top 281 Top Tracks Handed Out At Our Last Party, Inspired By The Top Track Lists Found In The Back Of "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey"Recap Video For The Popping, Wacking, And House Dance Competition Inside The Drake Underground. Shot By Ian Schwaier. Animation, Titles, and Editing By Andrew Gavin Hicks LEAD COORDINATORS
Andrew Gavin Hicks
Todd Simmons
GRAPHIC DESIGN
VIDEO EDITING
Andrew Gavin Hicks
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ian Schwaier
DANCE COMPETITION
COORDINATORS
Emily Law
Neo Boog
Lance Johnson
Don Geraghty
Natasha Powell
GUEST DJ’S & PROMOTERS
Jaime Sin
Diana Mcnally
Wil Munroe
Jeremy Glenn
Pooyan Saedi
Circle Research
Jason Palma
Pal Joey
Mikey Apples
David Shaw
Trevor Walker
Dalia Cohen
Andrew Allsgood
Jason Ulrich
Alister Johnson
Brendan Boyle
Jerome Derradji
Dirty Dale
MyManHenri
Liam Crockard
Alex Brooks
General Eclectic
Paul E Lopes
Dave Campbell
Lucie Tic
Cody Lee
Eric Moe