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Scotto, a founding father of EDM and rave culture, on everything from coining the phrase EDM, Ravestock at Woodstock 94’, Boiler Room, and NASA.
In every era, there’s a movement that is impactful and paves the way for pop culture in the future. When it comes to EDM, rave culture, and fashion, this movement has largely to do with Scotto. Scotto or DJ Scotto is one of the city’s best lighting designers, a multi-media artist, producer, and a founding father of EDM and rave subculture within the US. While Scotto is most well-known for his infamous NASA parties or for throwing the first foam party in New York, he has impacted all aspects of creative expression for many years to come. His efforts pushed rave culture and EDM into the mainstream media. Without this, the subcultures would not be what they are today. Scotto paved the way for creatives and club culture as we know it.
Scotto and DB Burkeman created NASA, which stands for Nocturnal Audio + Sensory Awakening, in 1992. NASA was one of the seminal birthplaces of American rave culture and music. NASA was held Friday nights at The Shelter in Tribeca and quickly became a home for many. DJs such as Deee-Lite, Kevin Saunderson, Moby, Frankie Bones, and many others filled NASA with groundbreaking electronic and dance-music sounds. Unlike many other clubs, NASA had a music policy that was unbound by genre. Iterations of sounds like house, acid house, garage, techno, and many others were played for those that attended. NASA became influential when it came to both music and fashion and was regarded as the Studio 54 of the 1990s.
Although NASA only lasted a year, it continues to have a long-lasting impact. Scotto’s NASA brand was responsible for creating the movement of the logo being played with by fashion houses and brands. In 2012, Scotto collaborated with streetwear brand VFILES and released a capsule collection. The NASA logo was then licensed to Louis Vuitton and Kenzo. Celebrities such as Frank Ocean, Danny Tenaglia, Borgore, and various others were spotted sporting Scotto’s infamous NASA brand.
In 1994, Scotto made music history by delivering the first-ever major EDM festival to America by providing Ravestock to Woodstock 94’. Ravestock at Woodstock 94’ was a festival within a festival and featured acts such as Aphex Twin, Deee-lite, Orbital, and many others.
In addition to taking the music scene by storm, Scotto, alongside photographer David LaChapelle, Chloe Sevigny, iconic Designer Stephen Sprouse, and many others; produced DROP, a music and fashion magazine.
I had the opportunity to speak with Scotto on everything from his legendary NASA parties, Ravestock at Woodstock 1994, how club culture has changed, and his thoughts on today’s fashion in comparison to the late aughties…
GIRLONFILM IN CONVERSATION WITH SCOTTO:
GIRLONFILM:
FOR THOSE THAT ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH YOUR WORK, PLEASE TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. WHAT WAS YOUR INITIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF EDM, RAVE, AND CLUB CULTURE?
SCOTTO:
During my typical experiences in the Towson suburban Baltimore high school, I was discovering who I was and what type of music I like - developing my artistic concepts. I fell in love with our high school theater lighting/set production while simultaneously sneaking out to clubs in Baltimore and DC. Understanding nightlife, fashion, and social dynamics, trends, and styles. This was like 1986/1987.
We were so lucky to have an all-ages Friday night club called CIGNEL, run by a flamboyant gay man named bubbles, with a 6-point Richard Long Soundsystem, an incredible light show, and DJs playing new wave/industrial dance and club remixes.
For those who don’t know, Richard Long designed some of the best clubs in New York, including Paradise garage, Roxy, and Palladium. I threw some small all-ages shows & would DJ & do lights in downtown Baltimore and Towson - a college town. Playing acid house and early rap like EPMD, ll cool j, biz Markie, PE Kraftwerk mantronics, Todd Terry, Tackhead, front 242, Depeche Mode, and Meat Beat Manifesto. Even producing some shows booking these types of events with my club partner DJ Scott Henry - but quickly realized I needed to be in New York City.
Right after high school, that’s exactly what I did with $75 in my pocket.
I went straight to the Palladium and got hired to be on the production and promotions teams handing out flyers. Later, I got to be at the front door as well. I also had a day job near Times Square fixing lighting equipment, so there was very little sleep from the beginning. This was an exciting time before we even call these things Raves.
GIRLONFILM:
YOU BOTH RAN AND CREATED NASA, THE 90’S VERSION OF STUDIO 54. WHAT WAS THIS LIKE?
SCOTTO:
After I settled into a groove and people in NYC nightlife knew who I was in the scene and what I was capable of, whether it was my light show or a party I was throwing, I set up the Friday night contract at the SHELTER.
I reached out to several other like-minded leaders in our scene, including Dante, who ran Evolution rave and club events, Moby (I was already his lighting director/stage manager on tour), Dmitry of Deelite, DJ Soul Slinger (owner of liquid sky design and clothing brand with a shop on Lafayette Street), Jonathan Kadish (who was initially with Rockpool Record Distribution, later formed Satellite Records), and DJ DB who had a cushy A&R job at Profile Records, and a keen eye for design as well as a gifted ear for music.
After we got NASA up and running, we bought out Dante because it was losing money for the first eight weeks. DB was paying for the flyers we would take turns designing; I would cover the staff and promo costs. Were the ones really supporting it.
DB and I had come up with the concept NASA which stood for “nocturnal audio + sensory awakening,” as a broader concept for what was happening around us culturally.
NASA started on Friday nights in Tribeca on July 23, 1992, and lasted exactly one year.
As I look back on it now, there were many similarities to my personal experience as a teenager at the quality production we had at CIGNEL Back in Baltimore.
NASA was all ages, had no alcohol/no liquor license, and I hand-picked high school and college kids with great energy and vibes, other people already within the club scene, and fashion and creatives to help get the word out to like-minded people.
We had a very open policy and tolerance for experiencing and experimenting with substances and tried to create a safe space for that. We had a chill-out room with a comfortable lounge environment and chill-out music playing like the orb, an area where kids could graffiti and express themselves, and I was the first real club in New York that I know of to format 5 to 6 DJs throughout the course of the night.
I would program the music to flow and build up by the type of DJ and genre. At that time, most of the clubs would have a single DJ play all night, or in the case of Limelight at the time, there would be a guest DJ and the resident club DJ.
Everyone who came to NASA or was involved at the beginning of the rave scene on the East Coast, the West Coast, or anywhere in between knew they were a part of something bigger than themselves, that we were the future and that someday everyone would know this subculture.
I ran the entire NASA club from a beeper and fax machine. Lol.
GIRLONFILM:
IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU THINK CLUB CULTURE HAS CHANGED SINCE? HOW DO YOU THINK CLUB CULTURE HAS BEEN AFFECTED SINCE, EITHER POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY?
SCOTTO:
There is really no way to compare what happened in the early 90s and the birth of our Rave culture. It was pre-cell phone, pre-Internet, and we were at this amazing intersection of analog and digital technology coming together in every aspect of our life. With Macintosh computers and the invention of intelligent lighting/moving light fixtures, advances in sound, and of course, the styles the producers were coming out with.
In 1992, the emerging rave fashion was instantly recognizable to others on the street and would be an immediate connection and conversation starter to make a new friend. “If you know, you know.”
GIRLONFILM:
IN ADDITION TO CREATING NASA, YOU PRODUCED MANHATTAN’S FIRST RAVE AT THE STUDIO 54 SPACE. WHAT WAS THIS LIKE?
SCOTTO:
Before NASA, leading up to it, about a year before that, I was the technical Director at Limelight, working with the club kids and my friend Michael Alig when he started DISCO 2000 with DJ Keoki. On Wednesday nights, that started it all. The whole team came in, and we renovated Limelight extensively while it was open and re-opened it in December 1991. I was the technical Director and redesigned all the lighting with my friend Arthur Weinstein. I left the club in the spring of 92 to produce independent events.
At first, I was working at the Danceteria venue.
Then I cut a deal for Friday nights at the legendary studio 54 venue, now under management by the same people who ran the Ritz. Famous for huge concerts like the Ramones. We would dismantle the big rock ‘n’ roll stage, lower the PA rig onto the ground, and create a massive dance floor like in the studio days.
It had a massive video wall comprised of mini television monitors that came in and out on a truss. I set it up to play Nintendo games and brought in a laser from San Francisco and some psychedelic visuals. This was officially Manhattan’s first rave.
I had the first ever US appearance of Rosalia; her hit “everybody’s free” was at the top of the dance charts & had MOBY perform with DJ Scott Henry and Frankie Bones, and Danny Tenaglia played in the infamous studio 54 basement! This culminated during the new music seminar, the standard industry gathering for dance music. I was pulling on average several hundred people, up to 1200 people.
I would buy radio ads on hot 97 promoting Rave the Ritz. Rave, rave, rave, lol, doing the radio announcer voice myself with a track that I and Ani Schempf (DJ on-e, and a member of the band Deee-Lite) made for the commercial. I’m confident it was the first time the word rave was ever advertised in America.
At the Ritz/studio 54, my friend Charlie Martin, the lead soundman there and at CBGB’s, introduced me to the co-owner of the shelter, Charles Benanty, who also had a recording studio below studio 54. Engineers like Shep Pettibone and artists like Madonna would record. As soon as I saw the shelter and heard the sound, I was in love and knew this was going to work.
The transition from my “rave the Ritz” events to NASA only took a month.
GIRLONFILM:
YOU WORKED WITH ARTHUR WEINSTEIN, A CLUB LEGEND THAT REDESIGNED NIGHTLIFE AT LIMELIGHT. WHAT WAS THIS LIKE? OUT OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT YOU HAVE WORKED WITH, DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE? IF SO, WHO AND WHY?
SCOTTO:
Arthur Weinstein. Definitely an NYC legend.
When I first met Arthur, I was working as assistant technical Director at the RED ZONE (where they filmed new Jack city) under David Wolfe, who hired me there after I finished touring with the Rolling Stones on the steel wheels tour. Arthur came in to talk to Club owner Maurice Brahms smelling like alcohol with “powdered donuts” around his nostrils, lol.
We worked together at the old Underground club Maurice owned, at Andy Warhol’s old studio space, becoming a club that DJ Larry Tee named “Le palace de Beaute.” His Tuesday nights in the space called “love machine” with RuPaul were amazing.
I was highly organized/a little OCD, especially when it came to my tech room and tools, and Arthur would come in like the Tasmanian devil and destroy the feng shui in about 30 seconds, lol. His wife was redesigning the club also. That was 1990.
Later on, in 1991 when we were first hired by Peter Gatian at the Limelight. The entire lighting system was a disaster and a very complex old patch while Arthur was trying to come up with concepts for the space. Frankly, we were butting heads a little bit, but I allowed him to have his space and time out of respect for him and the history. So early one afternoon, we were sitting at the bar having Stoli pineapples, and I made a suggestion. I got up and showed him by holding a light in my hand with the entire club dark, and a lightbulb went off in his head, and we just connected from that moment on, coming up with such a brilliant idea together, and we were a great team.
We ended up putting in some intelligent lighting which was new to most nightclubs, along with lots of pin spots - the infamous dancers in the cage. He was such a huge supporter of mine when I started NASA. He was always giving me really smart advice on everything.
We had an incredible team of people, including club Director Steven Lewis, Michael Alig, Colleen Weinstein, Arthur, myself, and dozens of other creatives. Steven Lewis and Arthur Weinstein are definitely my top five favorite people to work with, as well as Phil Smith of TWILO- who gave me an incredible budget to rent a massive lighting system. Every 6 to 8 weeks, we would drop the rig and redesign the whole club so the regulars would come in and feel a different environment! Out of all the nightclubs, I could get TWILO, the darkest.
I guess if I were to round out my top five favorite people I worked with, it would be Gatien. I threw a bunch of raves over the years at Tunnel while running lights there, and while he was under investigation, it was fascinating to have first-hand witnessed all of the things he had to do daily while also under FBI surveillance across the street. The conversations that we would have about the culture, the club, the business, the investigation, the safety, and public issues that we had to address all of it, just fascinating individual.
In our industry, you have to take really big risks, and that takes a set of balls that few people possess. He stood up to Giuliani when he was a powerful mayor.
Arthur and I went on to the Tunnel 93/94 nightclub, then he went and did some stuff at the USA club while I went over to TWILO from 96-99 as lighting Director and special events. There’s a whole other book there, ha.
GIRLONFILM:
WHEN LOOKING AT FASHION TRENDS, HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE THEM TO THE TRENDS WE SEE TODAY? WOULD YOU SAY THAT MANY OF THE TRENDS YOU SAW THEN ARE RETURNING?
SCOTTO:
Yes, I’d say that some of them are returning, which is great because a lot of the energy returned organically. Back when we launched NASA in the summer of 1992, everything was DYII, do it yourself. The baggy jeans would be cut at the bottom, and the fashion-conscious kids would cut up their Kitty pajamas and sew in a triangle at the bottom to make them wider.
Along with the platform shoes and dancing makes you look like you’re floating. Back then, you could instantly tell someone liked being a “raver” or into certain styles of music by the fashion, the brand like liquid sky clothing or FUCT, Klauber, triple 5 soul, sabotage, fresh jive… and, of course, NASA t-shirts.
Fast forward 22 years… I do a small licensing deal with VFILES for one of our lithograph flyer designs where we incorporated the Nike logo. All of a sudden, we have everyone from Kylie Jenner to Kanye to Future to Frank Ocean, Bieber, Skrillex, Tony Hawk, and Katy Perry all wearing my brand like 2014 to 2017.
I still make every T-shirt and hoodie by hand in my studio in between touring.
It’s pretty much a staple of Rave fashion today (available at shop.scotto.tv)
It was really the thing that launched the whole NASA trend, but since we don’t own it, the taxpayers do; everyone pretty much bit our style. Including Heron Preston - but still managed another licensing deal with Kenzo/Louis Vuitton during the hype.
I’ve always loved Rave candy being traded at raves and festivals. It follows the core value of PLUR.
GIRLONFILM:
YOU BROUGHT RAVESTOCK TO WOODSTOCK 94’ AND MADE MUSIC HISTORY BY DELIVERING THE FIRST-EVER MAJOR EDM FESTIVAL TO AMERICA. PLEASE DISCUSS THE PROCESS OF THIS. WHAT WAS THIS EXPERIENCE LIKE?
AT THE TIME, EDM WAS CONSIDERED “UNDERGROUND” HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE MUSIC CULTURE THEN TO TODAY’S MUSIC CULTURE?
SCOTTO:
So Rave stock 1994... at Saugerties. Ha! I still can’t believe that actually happened the way it did. It was so dreamy and surreal while I was producing it but let’s back up to 1992…
I had a series of meetings and put together a team, including Lady Miss Kier of Deee-Lite. Her lawyer was also Michael Lang’s lawyer from Woodstock and wasn’t quite ready to fully comprehend my vision, but I put a preliminary pitch package together and
I started to hype up the concept when I was getting some press in New York for NASA, and well, just being me, lol…
So, Details Magazine came out in January 93’ right as we were about to go on the Nasa “Rave New World tour” with Moby, Prodigy, Richie Hawtin, and Dan Bell as cyber sonic, with me on lights and the MC. I was completely unaware of the impact of a magazine like “Details” around the nation …until you’re an actual full-page photo with quotes inside lol; wow!!!
I had an 800 number that got over 22,000 phone calls that month and a very expensive phone bill. If you ever get Press, never give them your phone number lol.
So that started the interest in Ravestock, - and I initiated a fax campaign in early 1994 to PolyGram records and the Woodstock offices and somehow got through to them. We had some meetings, and the lawyers gave me a 40-page document to sign lol. One of the lawyers turned out to be one of my partners down the road, and he told me to trademark Ravestock, which I did immediately. We got a whole bunch of artwork together and quickly rushed the lineup with literally zero budget. I think we ended up getting about 13 grand from Woodstock to do it, with the label supporting the artists that we booked to write off in promotional costs.
It was such a crazy time because we were filming the movie Kids at the time, and I was shooting a video that I costarred in with legendary rocker Joe Cocker. I had to keep working because we didn’t really know it was going to happen for sure until about 10 weeks or less from Woodstock itself. I think I initially found out in May 1994 that we got the green light after they initially announced the lineup and ticket prices - there was a backlash, and at the time, $135 was an insane price for three days festival, apparently lol.
So, they brought us in to be like the second wave talent announcement, along with some other bands announced, we could target market for them, and it worked. I printed 100,000 mini posters, and we blanketed multiple cities and markets with these, including many shows of lollapalooza and raves all over. We ended up being able to deliver Ravestock to the south stage on Friday night all night into Saturday morning, as well as Sunday night after Peter Gabriel finished at the main stage.
This was the same stage that Green Day performed with the infamous mud fight.
I cannot believe how powerful the sound system was when I dropped the first ever EDM/dance record at Woodstock.
Friday night featured Deee-Lite, Little Louie Vega with India live, Aphex Twin, Orbital & The Orb into the sunrise.
I looked out into the crowd, and there were probably 75,000 people in front of our stage, writer David Prince from reactor magazine, out of Chicago, challenged me to strip naked when I introduced Aphex twin to him, so of course, I accepted the challenge, lol.
There is a famous story where Aphex twin did not want to sign the release forms that we had to sign as a part of our deal with Woodstock so that his image and likeness could be recorded for the film. He did not want to sign it at first - so we put another DJ on, and his label freaked out and made him sign it, lol. I had already Lived on a tour bus with Aphex twin during our NASA tour and newLived on a tour bus with Aphex twin during our NASA tour and knew that he played better when I pissed him off…
I’ve never heard him play so hard as fuck then at Woodstock 94; it was fucking so hard as fuck than at Woodstock 94. It was fucking phenomenal! He was quoted in Rolling Stone, so he would never do another live show again after that, which held true for many years.
Sunday night included Frankie Bones, so Slinger, and another performance by the orb.
It’s pretty cool that Rolling Stone said we were really the underground of Woodstock that embodied the original spirit after the event happened.
Then we packed up the turn tables and mixer and headed straight to the underground Woodstock gathering at the original 69 site in Bethel… where a lot of artists from the original 69 site were playing again…
I talked to many people and convinced them to let us set up, and right after country, Joe played. As the sun came up me and DJ soul slinger from liquid sky introduced them to the future, I told them you might not like what you hear, but your grandkids will someday, and we want you to know that the same energy and love and peace translates through this music to the new generation.
GIRLONFILM:
YOU’RE KNOWN FOR BEING ONE OF AMERICA’S FOUNDING FATHERS OF THE RAVE AND EDM CULTURE. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO HAVE COINED THE PHRASE AND BE KNOWN AS ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF EDM?
SCOTTO:
Well, there was definitely a small network of us in the North American market back in the late ’80s into the 90s; since the rave kids would travel to raves up n down the east coast in 91/92/93, we tried not to step on each other’s toes in the beginning, and support each other with bus trips. So, like, Lonnie from Ultraworld in Baltimore would take Thanksgiving weekend; for instance, in DC - I would do Maskarave for Halloween in New York City… etc.
We didn’t know they were raves at first; they were definitely different than the club kid outlaw parties. They were only lasting 1/2 hr., then they tromp off to clubs.
I was just following what felt right and my passions at that time in place. I guess because we were in New York City, we got a lot of press attention, and that included some of the reality TV shows. I got invited onto the Jane Pratt show, and we were all lured there under somewhat false pretenses, although I knew the show would touch on drugs- they brought some anti-drug expert that is a total douchebag to this day, lol, Shane something.
Anyway, during my explanation of explaining dance music to people who might be watching daytime TV in the middle of Kansas or some housewife somewhere in the suburbs, I made a comment about all forms of electronic dance music, and a few years later, that term sort of more broadly defined the subculture as EDM.
Every single one of us put our heart and soul and so much time, money, and energy into doing things and doing them the right/correct way, with quality production. I think if you did a survey, most of us would be really proud of the fact that this music has transcended and infiltrated the entire world, we can all meet on the dance floor and I really still believe that it could create world peace in the midst of war and hate.
I have a unique position in our culture, and I constantly speak to others in the industry, like Destructo, or disko Donnie, about the responsibilities we have in engaging the youth beyond the escapism of the weekend,
As part of creating a community, we need to make sure everyone is registered to vote and understands basic civic duty, step outside of one’s self and see the bigger picture, how we interact with our world and how we can make it better.
In the 50+ years I’ve been alive, we’ve lost parts of creating a community. We need to make sure everyone is registered to vote and understands basic civic duty, step outside of one’s self and see the bigger picture, how we interact with our world and how we can make it better. In the 50+ years I’ve been alive, we’ve lost 45% of our animal species, and our planet is sick… The world is super overpopulated, and we are going to be stretching natural resources thinner…
I hope we can continue to do a better job in that aspect.
GIRLONFILM:
YOU PARTICIPATED IN THE FAMED CLUB KIDS’ OUTLAW PARTIES IN NEW YORK CITY. FOR THOSE UNFAMILIAR WITH OUTLAW PARTIES, PLEASE DESCRIBE WHAT OUTLAW PARTIES CONSISTED OF. WHAT WAS THIS EXPERIENCE LIKE FOR YOU? WERE THERE ANY UNWRITTEN RULES? HOW DID PEOPLE REACT TO OUTLAW PARTIES THAT DID NOT DIRECTLY PARTICIPATE IN THEM?
SCOTTO:
I did participate in many of the club kid outlaw parties in New York City, helping Michael Alig set up or break into a space or hold the boombox for Keoki with his mixtape. It’s hard to explain if you weren’t there; definitely watch the movie party monster because we did a good job re-creating that…
Basically, Michael Alig would get a budget from whatever club he was throwing a party at to get some liquor and basic supplies and then tell everyone to meet him at a corner or at a Burger King in Times Square or a pier on the W. Side Highway…
Everyone, of course, would have some sort of outfit planned out. They would never last very long because of the element of surprise… kind of like flash mobs today, so the police would come. Everybody would get all excited from the thrill, and everyone would jump over to the club for more drinks at an open bar and have something exciting to talk about. It was a pretty brilliant plan to make sure people came out to HIS party...
But very different than what we did with Raves. We never really wanted to get busted or shut down - just dance.
In New York City, that proved to be very difficult, so when I did decide to put together NASA, it kind of brought both elements together where we had a warehouse type of vibe, but legal. The consistency of being every Friday, as well as being able to really spend more time and energy fine-tuning the production of lighting and sound and visuals inside, gave us an edge over others in the tri-state market who would choose that raw unlicensed warehouse and potentially get busted.
In December 92, we were all getting raided - they shut down Frankie Bones rave in Manhattan and a couple others. As well as my New Year’s Eve rave from 92 into 93 which I held at the basement of the Guggenheim Museum in Soho, we all ended up with huge fines, court dates, community service, and lots of legal fees. Another story for another day, but one day my book will be out, lol.
GIRLONFILM:
IN 2014, YOU DID A BOILER ROOM SET WITH FRANKIE BONES AND KEOKI. HOW DID YOU GET A BOILER ROOM SET, AND WHAT WAS THIS EXPERIENCE LIKE FOR YOU? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR DJ SOUND?
SCOTTO:
Yeah, 2014 was a fun year. I was doing maskarave at Pasha NY… as the official after party from pier of fear with Knife Party. I love that my brand of Halloween could survive all of the changes in the scene over the years and still be a relevant event… so it was myself, Dmitry of Deee-Lite & Keoki headlining.
Boiler room reached out to me to do the rave-style lighting for Frankie Bones and Keoki, and during the event itself, I was DJing the 1st set and then ran lights for Frankie Bones, Keoki, and love & logic. We had a healthy budget, but I really wanted to do something different and not have so many people behind the DJs but more lighting to make the episodes stand out but still represent the core values of Boiler room. It was great that the team listened to some of my ideas and allowed me to implement them. But I really enjoyed playing to that crowd. It was during the Brooklyn electronic music festival their official photographer came and took some great photos.
I would like to thank DJ Scotto for the interview. You can find DJ Scotto below…
Rep the legendary downtown NYC rave party of the early ‘90s, NASA:
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