Date: Wed, 23 Feb 1994 08:59:43 -0500
Subject: Re: why are u at raves?

...to hear incredible music, to dance, to explore warehouses, to explore the insides of bridges, to roll around in dirt, to meet ne-ravers, to recruit ne-ravers, to socialize, to take a road trip, to explore a new city, to take a nap, to deprive myself of sleep, to exchange email addresses, to exchange snail mail addresses, to exchange smiles, to make new friends, to watch dj's mix, to get chased by police, to hear more incredible music and dance some more, to evade police, to make friends with police, to hug people, to gaze at a full moon and the stars around it, to watch other people dance, to watch a sunrise, to step away from my weekday life and gain a new perspective on it, to meet aliens, to meet locals, to practice telepathy, to feel bass vibrate my inards, to collect flyers, to go to some public place with fellow ravers after a rave and be laughed at by non-ravers because we are freaks, to experiment with drugs, to learn about myself, to learn about others, to learn about our ancestors, to learn about our world, to make our world a smaller place, to collect stickers, to draw, to paste stickers on other people, to de-stress, to watch lasers, to write, to play with glow toys, to play with toys that adults wouldn't otherwise play with, to act like a fool, to watch video toasters, to share a ride, to share my food and water and candy, to share my thoughts, to help create an incredible vibe, to share that incredible vibe, to hear some cool music see some cool lights, and dance a bit more...

...there are a million reasons why I go to raves but this is all I can think of at the moment.

I don't rave for any _one_ particular reason. Or do I?

If it were only about music and nothing else then I would buy records and take them to the public library and sit myself in one of those little cubicles with a record player and headphones and I would isolate myself from the rest of the world so I could concentrate on the music and nothing else.

If it were only about music and dancing then I would steal the record player and take it to my secret hideout and dance the night away all by my lonesome.

No, it is all a bit more complex than just music and dancing, I'm afraid. So I ask myself what is the main thing that keeps me coming back? What makes me put jillions of miles on my car every weekend? Why am I at raves despite seeing things that really bother me nine months into this little adventure... like people fighting, people stealing my shit which is a big problem lately, people that _absolutely_ have to find some kind of drug before they begin to think about having fun...

Yeah raves in general make me extremely happy, but why? Why not just listen to this wonderful music at home if that is what it's mainly about - the music? Oooh this has had me stumped for the last couple of hours trying to figure it all out but now that it finally hit me it is so simple...

It is YOU all that keep me coming back... You know the main points I threw out at the beginning of this message? - listening watching exploring learning sharing etc... Well I have discovered a group of people that is extremely passionate about listening, watching, exploring, learning, and sharing like no other group of people I have come across before. (when I say we/you I mean ravers in general, not just the people on this list) And I also think we are passionate about doing all this _together_ and because of that we bring out the best in eachother like no group of people I have ever seen before.

Does anybody understand what I am saying? I am really struggling to put this into words and when I read back over it I'm not sure the point comes across...

Yes we have our little differences, and yes there are people who do nothing but detract... But in general it is the PEOPLE I see around me that keep me coming back for more. The fact that I can look around me and see people haveing more fun than they should be allowed to, dancing, listening, watching, learning, sharing - people that are busy figuring out what they can give to our little scene rather than looking for something to take away from it - that is what continues to amaze me the same as it did on day one.

So I guess this is my answer Re: why are you at raves? Yes I go to dance and to hear excellent music and for other reasons. But the main thing that keeps me coming back for more is that I enjoy the company of all these incredible people.

When I stop finding these people - that is the day I will just sit at home and listen to the music.

Does anybody else feel the same?

Take care...
jabber