Planned for years as an annual event, and finally started in 2015.

The basic concept is simple:

We play some vintage techno/ravey stuff, and invite as many people as possible to come out for a party.

If you enjoyed the techno/rave club scene back in the day, then you'll probably love this event.  If you were an actual participant in the Tulsa scene back in the early 1990s, then you're probably going to see a lot of familiar faces in the crowd that you haven't seen for a while.

"An Old School Techno Night 2" will be the closest you can get to climbing into a time machine and transporting yourself back to the techno club nights of the 1990s... and it functions as a "reunion" of sorts.

The most notable exception is that Vickie Cleveland won't be showing up to give everyone a hard time.

We can but hope.

The idea for "An Old School Techno Night" came a few years ago, when DJ Badger was listening to some old techno remixes from the early 1990s.

"There were these old compilations I had from a San Fransisco-based DJ-only remix service, with songs like 'Rockin' Down the House' and 'Far Out' and 'Papua New Guinea' - just classic stuff - and it hit me: I LOVED this music. Certainly others out there did, too.  However, there were no events geared toward this type of music anywhere in Tulsa."

Indeed, Tulsa had offered a vibrant community of clubgoers - young and not-quite-so-young - who had swarmed, for years, to events like the old Cain's "Retro Nights" and Okkle's "80s Prom" and "That 90s Party."  ResurXtion also provided a welcome monthly retreat for those who were looking to get their classic new-wave fix with a little bit of industrial thrown in.

However, nobody had ever really sat down and hammered out a night specifically dedicated to classic techno/rave tracks, even though the demand was clearly there.

"This was - quite literally - years in the making.  I started goofing around with tentative setlists in an Excel spreadsheet all the way back in 2010!  I actually started doing the graphic work on the first flyer back in 2012, but I didn't know which other DJs I would ask to join me, nor where we would have it, nor when. I started discussing the event as a possibility with DJ Khayyim in 2013.

Somewhere along the line - 2012ish? - GJ McAbee, who was my next-door neighbour about a decade ago, founded the 'Ikon-Ites Unite' group on Facebook.  Both Geej and I were just BLOWN AWAY at the flood of people who joined up almost immediately.   That was a great sign.  So, while I continued the discussions with Khayyim, I also got Geej's stamp of approval, which was a really big deal to me, and brought him into the conversations regarding the music and overall concept as well."

(Just like last year's party, "An Old School Techno Night 2" has earned the official Geej McAbee Seal of Approval.)

The first attempt at "An Old School Techno Night," featuring DJs Badger and his respected colleague Khayyim, occurred on March 28th, 2015 at the Fur Shop.  Unfortunately, a few days prior to the event, a storm damaged the roof over the upstairs area... so, the event had to be moved outside.

The weather was not friendly.  It was so bitterly cold that the Fur Shop kindly brought out their outdoor heaters, and the wind was coming in so strong from behind the outdoor stage that it was blowing the tonearms on the turntables around, forcing Badger to play most of his sets from CDs.

Other unexpected issues arose as well, when the third DJ chosen for the event (who had never shown up for any prior event-prep meetings) sent in a message stating that he wasn't going to be arriving until later in the evening... so he was dismissed.  The same thing happened with the event's scheduled photographer.

Yet, despite this "comedy of errors" nightmare, the reviews were good and compliments rolled in, with many in attendance saying things like "The music was great... but you should do it again, INSIDE."  There was an impressive turnout, including people who had traveled all the way from Texas for the event.

Badger and Khayyim managed a victory, but they knew that they could do better, and that people deserved that, and they shouldn't have to wait a year for it.

So, on August 7th, 2015, a "Do-Over" event was scheduled.  Due to scheduling issues with the Fur Shop at the time, Badger moved the party to the Yeti, Khayyim joined him again, and "An Old School Techno Night [The Do-Over]" turned out to be a success as well - even though there a Charli XCX concert at the Cain's Ballroom killed practically all of the available parking.

Obviously, we are looking forward to making "An Old School Techno Night 2" bigger and better than ever... and there won't be another one scheduled until next year, so if you're interested, be SURE to make it out for this one!

(For those of you who wonder:  The August 2015 event was not called "An Old School Techno Night 2" because it wasn't considered so much a "sequel," but rather a "replacement" for the first event after all of the problems we experienced.)

ARCHIVED SITES:
"An Old School Techno Night"
"An Old School Techno Night [The Do-Over]"