Three years ago, Chris Long created sub/division, a monthly Lucky Bar showcase aimed at presenting the best local electronic acts on a tight budget.
To his surprise and utter enjoyment, the night is booming like never before.
"We wanted to give back," Long, 34, said of the showcase, which celebrates its third anniversary beginning this week.
"All you need to do is show up and have a good time."
Long - a music producer himself - knows the ins and outs of the local club scene.
A former cornerstone of the Lucky Bar landscape (while operating under the Longshanks moniker), he currently performs as Monolithium, and will soon celebrate his new recording, Bounce 4 Life, when it arrives Dec. 10 on the Error Broadcast imprint.
While he's essentially a solo artist, Long is quick to credit his many friends and collaborators for the work they put in.
The sub/division braintrust also includes Victoria music-makers Rhythmicon and Eames and Vancouver graphic designer Carlin Bennett.
Long is employed as a project manager for thenumbercreative, a local multimedia agency that features some of the best young talent in the city.
Those outfits are typified by their sense of community. That's the gist of everything Long attaches his name to, including the Rifflandia festival (he edits the yearly Rifflandia magazine and books a portion of the DJs and electronic-based musicians who appear).
He hopes that education will continue to be a building block of the sub/division showcase.
"Dance music has this history of not really standing for anything.
That would be the biggest qualm I have with the [dance music] scene. It doesn't mean anything. That's what punk has going for it, what hip hop has going for it - it really stands for something."
Herewith, a primer.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born and raised in the United Kingdom, in a town called Burnley, just north of Manchester. I was there until I was 10, but I really cut my cloth in Winnipeg; that's where I'm really from.
At which point did you know Winnipeg was not for you?
The day I graduated high school.
When did you arrive in Victoria?
I moved to Victoria just over a decade ago, around 2001.
What brought you here?
Being young, and wanting to not live in Kelowna. Dylan [Pitcher, manager of Lucky Bar] and I are best buds, and we grew up together. We were moving west across sa国际传媒, and spent a year in Can-more, Alta., and the next couple of years in Kelowna, which is culturally bereft. We had friends in Victoria so we moved here.
What is your favourite thing about Victoria?
The immediacy of everything. You can get anywhere and know everyone. There's not the rat race that exists in most major cities. I just love that about this city.
What is your greatest accomplishment as a person?
My wife. I'm a pretty big homebody, and she's not into dance music and doesn't participate in my club life; she's not really even into electronic music. For me, that's the break I need from that life. The quiet time with her allows me to go hard in the other stuff, and the fact that I'm so stimulated in my creative world allows me to come home and be a bushy pillow.
And as a professional?
Making music and having it released. I'm a wholehearted, admitted fan of music before I am a creator. I don't have any grand illusions of where I fit in the universe of music. I'm basically trying to draw from that experience and contribute a little bit to the dialogue. That people find that worthwhile and put my records out still blows my mind.
First album?
LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out.
Favourite album? Company Flow, Funcrusher Plus.
First concert? Bon Jovi and Skid Row.
Favourite concert?
2011 MUTEK [festival], most prominently the updated Plastikman live show. It was f---king unbelievable.
If you had one motto, or rule to abide by, what would it be?
Stick to your guns ... but if your guns are made of sh---y plastic, then get some new guns.
Sub/division will celebrate is third anniversary with a pair of Lucky Bar performances on Friday (featuring Monolithium, Eames and Rhythmicon) and Dec. 21 (featuring Hrdvision, Prison Garde, En Noir, and Trans1ent). For more information, go to subdivnet.com
