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Human After All

He's only human.

40 DJs from outer space in one building

Local DJs Steve “Medison” Rittner and “Sun Glasses” Mike Marcklinger are most certainly earthlings. I know this because I’ve communicated with them and they seem to share an interest in something specifically human: spinning dance records. The little green men in Mars Attacks weren’t exactly fond of music and I don’t remember ever seeing Sigourney Weaver grinding to Daft Punk with her favorite alien.

The point is, not all DJs are from outer space, as some would have you believe. Regardless of their planet of origin though, 40 of Buffalo’s coolest DJs—spinning everything from techno to drum ’n’ bass, house, disco, and dubstep—will converge on the Ukrainian American Freedom Foundation on Genesee Street on Saturday, September 10, for an all-night dance party called DJs From Outer Space—a fundraiser to support the restoration/renovation of the Dnipro Ukrainian Center, the Cosmopolitan Art Gallery, and the East Buffalo Sculpture Center.

“It all started with a short story that Will Seamans from the Cosmopolitan Gallery wrote about DJs who had travelled through space and lost their ability to make music,” said Christina Laing, media director for DJs From Outer Space.

The event has more than quadrupled in size since the first DJs From Outer Space show was held at the Cosmopolitan Gallery in April. After that first successful rave, Laing and Seamans set their sites on a much bigger party at a much larger venue. The Orioles building on Genesee Street—a massive, three-story hall, home to the Dnipro Ukrainian Center—seemed like the perfect spot, and after a few months of discussion, this structure became the next home for DJs from Outer Space. Medison and Sun Glasses, along with local favorites 3PO, Big Basha, Mario B, Jesse Aaron, Projex, Stuntman, Mark Kloud, DJ Soma, Arehouse, and many more will fill all three floors and an outside tent with intergalactic sounds as well as video images and digital art, 6pm-4am.

“Almost every crew in Buffalo is represented in this massive under taking,” said Rittner, the 28-year-old house DJ and leader of the Queen City Cartel. “I love looking at the line-up and knowing that I’ve seen or worked with 90 percent of them. It’s going to be a real family affair.”

With room for 2,000 humans/extraterrestrials, this event promises to much bigger than the first Outer Space dance party, which drew around 100 people to the blacklight-lit Cosmopolitan Gallery, also on Genesee Street. This will be a unique experience for audience members and DJs alike, especially for those who don’t get a chance to cut their style loose very often.

“Playing clubs all the time isn’t as fun as everyone thinks it is, it’s a lot of work and you have to cater to a crowd, playing what they want to hear. A party like this gives someone like me an opportunity to artistically express myself as a DJ,” said 24-year-old Marcklinger, a member of at least three DJ crews including the QCC, RoboRoc, and B.A.D. (Broke Ass DJ Association). “This is who I am, And this is what I do.”

For these young electronic musicians, this is also a good opportunity to “break bread” and “drop old beef” with fellow DJs who don’t see each other very often. Don’t forget to wear your sci-fi, B-movie-themed costumes, and see you at the Ukrainian Center on Saturday.

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