Статья о поездке Scott Brown` а в Москву - G-BOARD

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It`s funny how and where hardcore pops up these days. I`ve been to Russia a few times to play, but this summer I returned to Moscow
to play one of the strangest gigs i`ve ever played in my life. I think every DJ at some point has played at their mates` birthday, or
warmed up to a room with four people dancing - well this was a bit of both rilled into on! I got a last minute booking to play at a
`private party` which didn`t realy make any sense to me, but a booking is a booking. Flights, accommodation and Visa were all paid
for in advance so there was no cause for concern (apart from the fact Russian Visas are a nightmare to get - unless you`re a Chelsea or
Man Unt supporter!).

A few days before I flew out, my friend Andrey Or-Beat contacted me from Russia to tell me he was in town. He`s actually lived
in Toronto for the past ten years but was home in Moscow visiting his family at the same time I was to play, so I quizezed him about
the booking. Stanislav (or Stas) from Ozzo-promo who had booked me had been a bit vague on whether or not Andrey would be allowed on the guest list.
I thought tis may have been down to the fact they didn`t see eye to eye until Andrey told me that it was a COMPLETELEY private party -
basically it was a guy with money who was throwing a birthday party in a club purely for friends and family! How much money do these Russians have!?
When I finally made it to Moscow via Germany, they told me a bit more about the situation. Apparently it`s very common for wealthy Russian
tycoons to hire in `stars` for personal appearances. Madonna and Kylie Minogue are stars that have done a similar thing before.
The Russians pay extravagant amounts to get `stars` over, mingle with the people at the party, then fly them back home, and no one ever hears about it!
The press rarely catch on, or might get a trip off. Other than that its hush hush, and large sums of cash are exchanged. Now, I can`t put
myself in the same league as those people, but to think someone would do that for a hardcore DJ is mind blowing! Turns out the guy
was a big Mr Brown fan and wanted me to come and DJ at his birthday it was getting more and more strange as time progressed.
After checking in at hotel and getting some russians Borsch (traditional Russian soup) down my throat, I headed down to the Metro station
`Partizanskaya` (interestingly named after the Soviet `Partisans` who resisted the Nazis during World War 2). A few stops later
I was at Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square) where I meet with Andrey and my companion for the trip, `Victor`, who had some
bottles of Baltika beer for me to enjoy as I walked around the Kremlin walls and Red square. I found some subtle, but for me very noticeable
things about Russia. Smoking is still legal indoors and you can walk around the streets with bottles of beers. Stalls seeling beer, hot dogs
and fast food are situated all over the city, many of them open 24 hours... I forgot how much your clothers smell after being in a smoky
building! You can find somewhere to drink at any time of the night, even if its a park bench! (Funnily enough, the biggest chain selling hot dogs
I was called `Stardogs` but in the Russian Cyrillyc alphabet, it looks a bit like `crapdogs`!)....

We walked around discussing the event i had to play that night no one really had a clue what it was about or who the guy was, just that it was private
and I had limited guests to take in. i had to play a 2 hour set and all i knew was that I was to play UK Hardcore (not Dutch hardcore or `Mainstream`
as they call it)! After filling myself up with some huge bottles of beer, I decided to go back to my hotel and get ready. I Was staying at the
Gamma Delta hotel at Izamailovsky Park, two of the last of five building to be erected to purposely host athletes and guests for 1980 olympics in Moscow.
The place is a bit out of date, doesn`t have air con, needs a refurb and has brown tap water, but given Moscow is the most expensive city in the world,
it suited my needs! Victor came back to pick me up after midnight and we headed of to this mysterious party. There was no advertising, no other `named`
DJ`s and no one other than the booking agent and my friends knew I was even in Russia! We arrived at the venue after about 40 minutes of Moscow traffic - a very cool,
modern place down a few sets of stairs. It was like gatecrashing a wedding. Everyone was dressed in suits, cakes were on tables, a band had been on,
and strippers were noe on the stage as another DJ played some euro-pop in the background. What had I let myself in for?!
Then I saw the bar....

The guy had laid on everything for free, so the people behind the bar continually topped up beers, left champagne sitting in glasses, shots of vodka,
whiskey, teqila and even soft drinks just sat at the bar waiting for people to indulge. I did... a little bit too much if I`m honnest!
I was drunk before I went on the decks but with the locals feeding me shot after shot of Vodka and Whisky, it wasn`t long before I was DJing, leaning
against the wall for support. Andrey thouht it was hilarious so took some video footage for me to enjoy the following day. The guy
seemed happy enough, and although we had an in-depth conversation about life, i can`t remember his name or how he got his fortune - what a dick I am!
All through my set managet to keep about 10 people on the dance floor at one time which was astounding, considering, i played one or two records
times (oh the shame). After my stint on the decks, I decided i was too drunk and Viktor drove me back to the hotel. Apparently I feel asleep in the car,
woke up and tried to throw rubbish out the car window (while it was still rolled up). That night was hazy. the next day was hazier, but I lived to tell
the tale! What a strange gig....!

The next few days were spent catching the sights in Moscow. I`d been to the Kremlin, Red Square and St Basils before so this time i did some
different things, including going to what was formerly the largest McDonalds in the world (opened in 1990 on Pushkin Square) as wel as going to Sparrow hill
- the location of Moscow`s Ski Jump, one of the Stalin `7 sisters` buildings - home to a dozen VIP taxi`s (converted Porsche`s etc) as well as a fantastic view
of the Luzhniki stadium with hosted Manchester United/Chelsea Champions League final (and former home to the Moscow Olympics).

Within a few days I was back in the UK to play at Missing in Manchester - it had all passed too quickly. I`d experienced some great things, such as
Russian chocolate `Slava` and `Alenka`, a strange drink called Kvas made from bread and a delicious, if not strange, cake called Pryanik, from the Russian city
of Tula. By the time I got home, word had filtered onto Russians hardcore forums that I`d been and gone, which pissed some people off but at least we know
hardcore is still alive and kicking over there! Andrey Or-Beat has just hosted an to 1,000 people which looks set to mark his return from Toronto to Moscow.
Incedentaly, I swear Andrey is stunt double for tennis legend Roger Federer - something he found annoyingly amusing. Andrey told me he play golf and one day in
the golf shop in Toronto the guy made joke trying to fit a tennis racquet in to his golf bag! I`m sure no one else will see the resemblance but I found
it funny all the same.

From Russia with love...
`Til next time
Scott

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