When I returned home I wondered how I missed something this valuable and amazing for the past 13 years. That aside, I will attempt to give a daily break down of some of the events I attended and people I met. I can't possibly mention every little detail so forgive me for leaving certain people/things out. Here goes...
I started the trip off walking around the city of Amsterdam to
get a feel for the lay of the land. It wasn't long before I passed a coffee shop and somehow I stumbled into the Red Light District (despite it being 10am). After a few wrong turns I finally found the Felixis Meritis, registered, and got my ADE bag filled with promotional materials and the most wonderful delegate book ever! Outside, I met up with Jackie McCloy, Brad LeBaeau and a few others. It was a good introduction but I had no idea what I was in for the following day. After grabbing a pesto "toastie" and a cappuccino I continued to walk around, take flicks and absorb the beautiful city.
Wednesday night I went to the Melkweg and I heard Dr. Lektroluv, The Subs, Shameboy, Dj Fencic and Agoria. I must say...Dr. Lektroluv really put on a great show and so did the Subs. It turned out to be a later night then I wanted for my first night out but whattagonnado?!
Thursday morning was eventful to say the least. I woke up to
construction directly outside my hotel window and to top it off Victor Franco placed a prank call that ironically coincided with the noise from outside. After laughing with Victor and Cevin Fisher for about an hour we finally decided to get motivated and get to the conference. Thursday was a bit overwhelming for me as it was the official launch of the ADE but I took it all in and enjoyed every moment. I met a ton of people and exchanged CDs and business cards with everyone. I was starting to feel the jet lag and the lack of sleep from the night before so I actually stayed in Thursday night to catch up with myself and be ready 100% for Friday. (I know...pu$$y move)
I was up bright and early Friday morning and headed straight to the Felix. I was able to check my e-mails and catch up on some of the meetings I missed on Thursday. Luckily I was able to meet with Ellen from Fusion Music, Sergio Mega from CTS Records, Rene for Deep Bass Records and a slew of other industry people. I was really lucky because everyone I met in Amsterdam was really good people. I also attended the "Focus on USA" panel facilitated by Jackie McCloy. The panel included Lainie Copicotto, Emma Hoser, Brad LeBeau, Rosie Lopez, Gary Salzman, Jim Tremayne, Cary Vance and Michael Weiss. After the panel there was a 'meet and greet' with free booze and this is where I had the chance to talk with Rosie, Gary and Matt Rodriquez from AM Only in more detail. I also had a nice conversation with Jacinta and Colin Barnes. Since I had a couple of beers in me I decided to keep it going strong and Paul Sparkes and I did just that.
Paul, Victor and I made a pit stop at the room to freshen up and then we all headed over to the Olympic Stadium where Cevin Fisher, Kid Massive, and Prok and Fitch were playing. The party wasn't packed but I met some interesting people and had a good time none the less. It was also Ellen's (CEO of Fusion Music) birthday so I was happy that I got to celebrate with her. From there we took a cab to Panama for the mn2s party but by the time we got there we only had about 45 minutes before it closed. I did spend time and had some motivating conversations with Oscar P, Davidson Ospina and Christian from Soundz Limited which was cool. Victor and I weren't ready to call it quits so we took another cab to The Sand for Cocoon after-hours but that winded up being closed. From there we drove back into the main square and tried to get into The Zebra for the cr2 party but the line was so out of control that at that point we were just like "F it lets go get food". Kind of disappointing but once again; whattagonnado?
Saturday was the one day I finally got to sit in on a few panels. I
attended "We Did Madonna", "20 Years of House Music", and "Demolition part XIII". That night Victor and I went to Escape for the Defected party. The night started out great, we got a bottle and I was pumping out my promo CDs like no other. Then the party just started tapering off and I decided to call it quits so I could have a productive last day in the city of Amsterdam. I went and got some late night food and headed home. (I know...I'm always eating...lol)
Of course it rained on Sunday and by this time I had a cold in full effect (I couldn't believe that Amsterdam doesn't sell cold & flu pills) but I still walked around to take more pictures and look for souvenirs. I had a nice dinner Sunday night and then I went back to The Melkweg for Sander K, Rene Amesz and Deadmou5. Sander and Rene were great but I must say that I was disappointed with Deadmou5 as he played a very flat minimal set that went nowhere and he definitely lost the energy that Sander injected from the set before. Victor and I closed it out and we only slept for about 2 hours before it was time to pack it up and head out to the airport. We took some last minute pictures on the canal and off we went.
Over all my trip to Amsterdam was amazing and I'm going to be a regular at the ADE like I have been at WMC. I give Amsterdam and the ADE a A++.
My hat goes off to Richard Zijlma and his staff from Buma Cultuur for executing a perfectly run music conference.
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