Neon dances to a different beat
Concert promoter marks 15 years
John Hatz, the one constant presence throughout longtime concert promoter Neon’s history, is considering the ramifications of being 40.
He’s not ancient by any stretch — although the company he co-founded 15 years ago is a survivor in music business terms — but in a recent interview at Neon’s Rosemont office, the weight of the birthday milestone is used to explain how Neon gradually shifted from being synonymous with electronic music to an all-purpose, non-genrespecific promoter without it appearing all that drastic.
“It’s been a transition over time,” says Hatz, the only remaining member of the original three-person crew, which included globe-trotting DJ and producer Tiga Sontag and Guru energy drink creative director Justin Dallegret. “I went from doing it out of love and having a feeling about what could be a good party, to turning 40 and realizing that this labour of love has become my career.”
Hatz co-founded what was then called I Love Neon with the idea of throwing electronic music shows with a strong visual component in unique places. The style of music they happened to like — more pop-friendly electro — simultaneously exploded in popularity worldwide, and Neon was able to successfully ride that wave from smaller digs on the Plateau to the SAT on Lower Main, where it still holds many of its shows.
As trends evolved, it went from producing only a handful of shows a year to a few dozen, and for the last four years has done more than 100 annually. Whereas in the past Neon restricted itself to electronic music shows, it now dabbles in rock and hip hop.
“Fifteen years ago, you couldn’t put house music DJs with drum ’n bass or techno DJs, and that was just within electronic music,” Hatz recalls.
The biggest difference be- tween then and now, Hatz says, is music fans don’t wed themselves to a particular scene or style. “It was a phobia of ours (to promote shows outside of electronic music), but in reality, it was just us who felt that way,” he explains.
“Musical genres are colliding. The same kids who go to dubstep shows will also go see Arcade Fire. We did a co-production on a show last month, where we paired Jacques Greene, a DJ, with Doldrums, a live band, and it went flawlessly. People who came for only one of them ended up existing in harmony with people who came for the other.”
Up until last year, Neon was a two-man operation, but it’s since expanded to a team of seven, and has also sprouted limbs beyond promoting: It has a visual design entity, called Neon Productions, and recently founded Common House, a band management division.
For its 15th anniversary show on Friday at the SAT on Lower Main, Hatz says Neon will be returning to its multimedia roots. Tiga will be DJing, but will be doing so inside the SAT’s Satosphère, a domed enclosure where images, produced live, will surround the dance floor.
Bands nowadays tend to create their own visuals, so it’s a rare opportunity for Neon to put its artistic expertise to work — every employee is also proficient in visual design — in a show context.
With his team now in place, Hatz hopes he’ll have more time to create shows with distinct visuals. He’s particularly fond of the days when he, Tiga and Dallegret would devote an entire night to designing a single show flyer.
“I don’t identify with all of today’s music,” Hatz admits. “But what hasn’t changed is the reaction. At the events we do now, I see people getting excited about the music the way I used to back then. It’s not my time anymore, but that’s okay.”