Oct 12, 2011, 4:12 a.m.: Go Ventures posted an update on Monster Massive's Facebook page around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. This is not the official statement Gerami promised would be released Tuesday on the rave's official website. They repeat their assurance that Monster Massive will happen at Oak Canyon Park yet offer and apologize to customers for censoring their comments on Monster Massive's Facebook page.
Go Ventures apologizes to all of our Monster Massive supporters and patrons for not meeting the timeframe for providing an update on Oak Canyon Park. We realize that this creates more uncertainty for everyone but we are working night and day to clear up the situation. Monster Massive will be at Oak Canyon Park and we will release more information shortly. We apologize for deleting some comments but we have read them all and will address the issues with facts, not rumors or hear-say. We have worked for nearly 14 years building the Monster Massive brand and over a year planning this show. We do not plan on letting down any of our customers, production staff, artists, employees or supporters.
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UPDATE 10/11/11 19:49:53: Gerami answered our call this evening around 7 p.m. PST. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the statements made in the previous update to this article. He questioned the validity of our source with an ad hominem argument against the former employee he assumes is our source.
We spoke for approximately one minute. After we encouraged him to finally tell his side of the story, the call was terminated and he ignored several of our calls after.
Gerami told us yesterday that a statement would be released to confirm that Monster Massive will be held at Oak Canyon Ranch, after a meeting with James Events owner Garry James. Gerami said they were to sort this out today and James Events' denial was due to a “miscommunication.” As of 7:50 PST, no such announcement has been made. We stand by, eagerly waiting.
We've reached out to Armin van Buuren's team for comment and are awaiting a reply.
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UPDATE 10/11/11 10:16:10 AM: Monster Massive has not held an official contract with any venue for its 2011 incarnation, says a former Go Ventures Inc. employee who requested anonymity. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (where the festival has been held for the past 13 years) turned the group down because a USC-Stanford football game was already booked for Oct. 29.
Since that denial, the former Go Ventures employee said subsequent attempts at securing an alternate venue led to a string of denials. Early this year, Go Ventures set its sights on becoming the Port of Los Angeles' official event organizer and promoter. “They thought they were a shoo-in considering they put on some of the largest raves in the country,” the anonymous employee said, adding the company planned to hold Monster Massive at the Port once it was given the job. This was a multimonth application process.
In April, headliner Armin van Buuren's management team requested to see Monster Massive's venue. Often dubbed the “No. 1 DJ in the world,” van Buuren and his management were told when Go Ventures booked them that Monster Massive would be held at the Port of Los Angeles, even though the management company hadn't yet secured a contract with the Port for the event.
When van Buuren's team came to Los Angeles from the Netherlands to
view the venue, Go Ventures couldn't get access to a walk-through for the Port because, well, it didn't have a
contract yet. Instead, Go Ventures had a helicopter fly over the port to
show Van Buuren's team the supposed venue.
The deal with the Port of Los Angeles did not go through. “We never
looked for an alternate venue [until the deal with the Port of Los
Angeles fell through],” the former Go Ventures employee said. “Reza
[Gerami] believed 100 percent that this was going to go down.”
Go Ventures' president and CEO, Reza Gerami, is now assuring fans it
will be held at the Oak Canyon facility in Silverado on Oct. 29. He told
the Weekly, “Rely on us. I have no statement other than what we've
always said: Monster Massive will happen, the artists are confirmed, the
venue is confirmed.” He added that Go Ventures will make an official
statement via its website Tuesday.
[
Gerami said the group has refrained from speaking publicly because the
owner of James Events, Garry James, was in Turkey and Athens, Greece, for
several weeks. It wanted to meet with him before making any official
announcements. Gerami, who is also a DJ slated to perform at Monster
Massive as DJ Reza, said he's on a 24-hour-hold from releasing further
information.
“Hopefully, we'll be able to release some good news [Tuesday],” he said.
The former Go Ventures employee said he's not so sure. “If [Gerami]
did have a contract, it would be taking place there, no problem,” he
said. “Bottom line: they never, never, never had a contract from day one.
They've been accepting money from people since July knowing they were
lying about where it's taking place.
“It's not fair for Reza to add another million dollars to his bank account by stealing from the ticket buyers,” he added.
According to the former employee, he anticipates that if Monster
Massive does not happen, Go Ventures will not be quick to offer refunds.
In the past, Go Ventures has reimbursed unsatisfied customers with
offers of complementary admission or VIP admission to future
events.
“It's obviously a big, big show,” the former employee said. “Monster
Massive is Go Venture's bread and butter.” Monster Massive, entering
its 14th year, draws upward of 70,000 attendees and
several large-name DJ acts, including Armin van Buuren, Moby and Deadmau5.
One of Go Ventures' other raves, Love Fest, took place at Oak Canyon
Park in August, and it did have a contract for that event. Love Fest is
the longest-running dance-music festival in the U.S. and was Go Ventures'
first official rave in 1992. It draws approximately half the attendance
of Monster Massive, but has several off-shoots such as Love Fest Vegas
and Love Fest Hawaii.
In addition to being denied by the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum,
Port of Los Angeles and Oak Canyon Ranch, the former employee said
Monster Massive was turned away by the Anaheim Convention Center and
the Home Depot Center in Carson. The North County Times reported that the Lake Elsinore Motocross Park turned it away in September.
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ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 7, 2011, 5:05 P.M.: Monster Massive, an annual Halloween mega-rave, has advertised this year's event will be held at Oak Canyon Ranch in Silverado (not Orange, as some of the fliers are saying) on Oct. 29. Top DJ acts such as Armin van Buuren, Erick Morillo and Moby are slated to perform.
The companies have about three weeks to get their act together. Read all about the finger-pointing after the jump.
Calls to Go Ventures and James Events were not immediately returned. We will post updates as they happen. However, both have released official statements on their websites and Facebook pages.
From James Events' Facebook page:
Go Ventures, Monster Massive's promoters, issued a counter-statement via its Facebook page on Wednesday at 5:42 p.m.:
This post was followed up with this status update today:
Check back for more information as it arises.
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When not running the OCWeekly.com and OC Weekly’s social media sites, Taylor “Hellcat” Hamby can be found partying like it’s 1899.
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