Noizemag
Encyclopedia
NoiZe Magazine is a published guide to Circuit parties, gay
dance events, and festivals. For 12 of its 17 years, it was known under its original name Circuit Noize.
Noize has been quoted and referenced in mainstream publications such as Out
, the New York Times
, Genre
, and the Chicago Tribune
. Original Circuit Noize articles have been used by various local AIDS
and gay health organizations for Education
, Safe Sex
, and Harm reduction
. In 1998, the documentary film “Got 2b There” by José Torrealba
featured Circuit Noize as an authority within the Circuit community.
listing upcoming gay-themed benefit events
occurring on what was becoming known as "the Circuit". Kammon was witty and passionate about the parties he loved, and the general sense of community
that they inspired in him. For the second issue, he partnered with friends Stephen Ceplenski and Gary Steinberg – an L.A. couple also deeply involved in the Circuit scene – who agreed to publish Circuit Noize as a magazine instead of a flyer, selling ads to the promoters of the parties listed in the calendar. The magazine has run quarterly ever since.
As Circuit Noize became a fixture in the Circuit scene, Kammon listed the events and helped create the very idea of a “circuit” of gay benefit parties. He also gave a platform to friends in the Circuit community to express themselves, exploring the issues facing the mostly gay audience
that attended these events regularly. Kammon himself wrote regularly about things such as Circuit spirituality and the complexities of drug use in the scene. In addition, Kammon ran regular features profiling the DJs, promoters, and personalities that made the Circuit come alive. In 1998, Kammon turned to a friend from New York, Jeffery Taylor, who took up the duty of editing the submissions for clarity and grammar, as well as producing profile content.
and places such as the Saint at Large. Urban gay men suddenly had the opportunity to mingle and party freely amongst themselves with a brash openness that had been unheard of until then, and the explosion of the Stonewall
movement ushered in an era of cultural and sexual expression that was both liberating to gay men and somewhat shocking to the average heterosexual. The harsh reality check of the AIDS crisis in the 80s forced these revelers to fight a long, lonely battle to raise money and awareness for a disease that many ignorant people felt they deserved. Benefit beach parties sprang up in the gay summer hideaway of Fire Island, and soon the concept took off and became a staple for raising the much-needed funds to get the ball rolling for local AIDS treatment and prevention organizations such as Gay Men’s Health Crisis.
Once the Circuit became a definable concept, the list of parties vying to be included grew longer and longer. Some notable events include White Party
in Miami, Black Party in New York
, Cherry in D.C
, and Southern Decadence
in New Orleans. Circuit Noize listed them all, and covered the events and the lifestyle surrounding them.
Kammon was well aware of the complex psychological and personal issues that the Circuit audience left at the door when they came out to play, and addressed topics such as safer sex, harm reduction in relation to drug use
, and overall spirituality
and wellness
. Despite the minor controversies that sprang up around the Circuit as it became a global playground for a mostly white, wealthy demographic, Kammon never stopped believing in the importance of the community that it provided to the Circuit crowd. Even those who never attended the parties soon got the idea that there was a worldwide network of people celebrating gay culture and raising money to help those in need, and some would argue that the Circuit helped cement the idea of a global gay community into the minds of the general public.
and maintenance
of Circuit Noize in the hands of Ceplenski, Steinberg, and Taylor. Taylor enlisted his friend and a Circuit Noize columnist, Michael Taylor (no relation), to help him helm the editorial side, and at the end of 2006 the four met in L.A
. to brainstorm
how to best carry on Kammon’s legacy. The decision was made to do a re-launch as noiZe, encompassing everything that Kammon held dear as well as updating the design elements and broadening the content to include things not directly Circuit-related but relevant to their gay audience. Introducing the tagline “Celebrate. Explore. Live.”, noiZe promised to cover the Circuit as well as the events, people, and issues that had grown beyond the Circuit.
The move was misunderstood by some to be a repudiation of the Circuit, and was greeted with mixed reactions, sparking a piece in Out Magazine by Steve Weinstein, a well-respected New York editor and journalist. The piece, titled “Save the Last Dance”, questioned whether the name change reflected a larger decline within the Circuit world, and noted that different types of events, such as festivals and all-gay cruises, were on the rise.
These changes, far from proving that the Circuit was dead, were actually a reflection of how successful the Circuit concept had become over the years. There was a dedicated audience for these types of events, and more importantly, the Circuit audience was willing and able to travel
extensively to participate. Hoping to grab some of these gay travel dollars, outfits like Atlantis started producing gay vacation packages in Mexico
as well as a successful series of gay cruises in places such as the Caribbean, Spain
, and Asia
. The concept of the Circuit party itself was also expanding into the idea of longer festivals - Black & Blue in Canada
, Mardi Gras
in Australia
, as well as Europride
and Loveball in Europe
. Gay pride festivals all over the world also took on some Circuit aspects, throwing huge closing parties with top Circuit DJs and performers. Working now as noiZe allowed more free rein in covering all of these events.
The first issue of noiZe, and the 51st issue overall, laid out the noiZe mission in a piece called “Flipping the Circuit Breaker”, which asked :
NoiZe then made the unlikely move of recruiting Steve Weinstein to be their Editor-in-Chief, asking him to help get out the message that noiZe would still cover the Circuit as well as emerging forms of gay entertainment
and fundraising
. With a veteran editor at the helm, noiZe looks to continue expanding its message and continue its influence within the gay community with regards to hard reduction, safe sex, and the responsibilities of partying with integrity.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
dance events, and festivals. For 12 of its 17 years, it was known under its original name Circuit Noize.
Noize has been quoted and referenced in mainstream publications such as Out
Out (magazine)
Out is a popular gay and lesbian fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any gay monthly publication in the United States. It carries itself in a similar editorial manner to Details, Esquire, and GQ. Out was published by PlanetOut Inc...
, the New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Genre
Genre (magazine)
Genre magazine was a New York city-based monthly periodical written for gay men. It was owned by gay press publisher Window Media.-History:...
, and the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
. Original Circuit Noize articles have been used by various local AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
and gay health organizations for Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, Safe Sex
Safe sex
Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions...
, and Harm reduction
Harm reduction
Harm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...
. In 1998, the documentary film “Got 2b There” by José Torrealba
José Torrealba
José Torrealba is a Venezuelan football striker who currently plays for Venezuelan First Division club Mineros de Guayana and the Venezuelan national team. He is nicknamed "El Buda"....
featured Circuit Noize as an authority within the Circuit community.
History
Started in late 1993 by Steve Kammon from Florida, the first issue was nothing more than a foldout flyerFlyer (pamphlet)
__notoc__A flyer or flier, also called a circular, handbill or leaflet, is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in public place....
listing upcoming gay-themed benefit events
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
occurring on what was becoming known as "the Circuit". Kammon was witty and passionate about the parties he loved, and the general sense of community
Group (sociology)
In the social sciences a social group can be defined as two or more humans who interact with one another, share similar characteristics and collectively have a sense of unity...
that they inspired in him. For the second issue, he partnered with friends Stephen Ceplenski and Gary Steinberg – an L.A. couple also deeply involved in the Circuit scene – who agreed to publish Circuit Noize as a magazine instead of a flyer, selling ads to the promoters of the parties listed in the calendar. The magazine has run quarterly ever since.
As Circuit Noize became a fixture in the Circuit scene, Kammon listed the events and helped create the very idea of a “circuit” of gay benefit parties. He also gave a platform to friends in the Circuit community to express themselves, exploring the issues facing the mostly gay audience
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
that attended these events regularly. Kammon himself wrote regularly about things such as Circuit spirituality and the complexities of drug use in the scene. In addition, Kammon ran regular features profiling the DJs, promoters, and personalities that made the Circuit come alive. In 1998, Kammon turned to a friend from New York, Jeffery Taylor, who took up the duty of editing the submissions for clarity and grammar, as well as producing profile content.
Themes
The roots of the Circuit lie in the all-night bacchanals pioneered by people such as Larry LevanLarry Levan
Larry Levan was a DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern dance club. He developed a cult following who referred to his sets as "Saturday Mass"...
and places such as the Saint at Large. Urban gay men suddenly had the opportunity to mingle and party freely amongst themselves with a brash openness that had been unheard of until then, and the explosion of the Stonewall
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
movement ushered in an era of cultural and sexual expression that was both liberating to gay men and somewhat shocking to the average heterosexual. The harsh reality check of the AIDS crisis in the 80s forced these revelers to fight a long, lonely battle to raise money and awareness for a disease that many ignorant people felt they deserved. Benefit beach parties sprang up in the gay summer hideaway of Fire Island, and soon the concept took off and became a staple for raising the much-needed funds to get the ball rolling for local AIDS treatment and prevention organizations such as Gay Men’s Health Crisis.
Once the Circuit became a definable concept, the list of parties vying to be included grew longer and longer. Some notable events include White Party
White Party
The White Party is the name of a number of circuit parties held annually, catering to the LGBT communities. Its name comes from the requirement that party-goers dress in all or almost all white...
in Miami, Black Party in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Cherry in D.C
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and Southern Decadence
Southern Decadence
Southern Decadence is a week-long, predominantly gay-male event held in New Orleans, Louisiana and its environs by the gay and lesbian community during Labor Day Weekend, climaxing with a parade through the French Quarter on the Sunday before Labor Day...
in New Orleans. Circuit Noize listed them all, and covered the events and the lifestyle surrounding them.
Kammon was well aware of the complex psychological and personal issues that the Circuit audience left at the door when they came out to play, and addressed topics such as safer sex, harm reduction in relation to drug use
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, and overall spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and wellness
Wellness (alternative medicine)
Wellness is generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being. It has been used in the context of alternative medicine since Halbert L. Dunn, M.D., began using the phrase high level wellness in the 1950s...
. Despite the minor controversies that sprang up around the Circuit as it became a global playground for a mostly white, wealthy demographic, Kammon never stopped believing in the importance of the community that it provided to the Circuit crowd. Even those who never attended the parties soon got the idea that there was a worldwide network of people celebrating gay culture and raising money to help those in need, and some would argue that the Circuit helped cement the idea of a global gay community into the minds of the general public.
Evolution & Redesign
On Sept 13, 2006, Steve Kammon died, leaving the ownershipOwnership
Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an object, land/real estate or intellectual property. Ownership involves multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different parties. The concept of ownership has...
and maintenance
Maintenance, Repair and Operations
Maintenance, repair, and operations or maintenance, repair, and overhaul involves fixing any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken...
of Circuit Noize in the hands of Ceplenski, Steinberg, and Taylor. Taylor enlisted his friend and a Circuit Noize columnist, Michael Taylor (no relation), to help him helm the editorial side, and at the end of 2006 the four met in L.A
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. to brainstorm
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which a group tries to find a solution for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members...
how to best carry on Kammon’s legacy. The decision was made to do a re-launch as noiZe, encompassing everything that Kammon held dear as well as updating the design elements and broadening the content to include things not directly Circuit-related but relevant to their gay audience. Introducing the tagline “Celebrate. Explore. Live.”, noiZe promised to cover the Circuit as well as the events, people, and issues that had grown beyond the Circuit.
The move was misunderstood by some to be a repudiation of the Circuit, and was greeted with mixed reactions, sparking a piece in Out Magazine by Steve Weinstein, a well-respected New York editor and journalist. The piece, titled “Save the Last Dance”, questioned whether the name change reflected a larger decline within the Circuit world, and noted that different types of events, such as festivals and all-gay cruises, were on the rise.
These changes, far from proving that the Circuit was dead, were actually a reflection of how successful the Circuit concept had become over the years. There was a dedicated audience for these types of events, and more importantly, the Circuit audience was willing and able to travel
Travel
Travel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...
extensively to participate. Hoping to grab some of these gay travel dollars, outfits like Atlantis started producing gay vacation packages in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
as well as a successful series of gay cruises in places such as the Caribbean, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. The concept of the Circuit party itself was also expanding into the idea of longer festivals - Black & Blue in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, as well as Europride
Europride
Europride is a pan-European international event dedicated to LGBT pride, hosted by a different European city each year. The host city is usually one with an established gay pride event or a significant LGBT community....
and Loveball in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Gay pride festivals all over the world also took on some Circuit aspects, throwing huge closing parties with top Circuit DJs and performers. Working now as noiZe allowed more free rein in covering all of these events.
The first issue of noiZe, and the 51st issue overall, laid out the noiZe mission in a piece called “Flipping the Circuit Breaker”, which asked :
NoiZe then made the unlikely move of recruiting Steve Weinstein to be their Editor-in-Chief, asking him to help get out the message that noiZe would still cover the Circuit as well as emerging forms of gay entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
and fundraising
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
. With a veteran editor at the helm, noiZe looks to continue expanding its message and continue its influence within the gay community with regards to hard reduction, safe sex, and the responsibilities of partying with integrity.