Winter Music Conference Organizers Try to Muzzle Disco Innovator
World's first disco television producer bows out after being told to "be objective"
Press release
March 25, 2002
For Immediate Release
MIAMI, March 25, 2002. In what has transpired into a war of words Marty Angelo, creator, producer, and writer of Disco Step-by-Step ™, the world's first disco dance television show, announced today that he would not continue to seek participation in any discussion panels at this year's Winter Music Conference.
"I submitted my credentials to the panel coordinator back in early January of this year," stated Angelo. "No one ever got back to me, so I resubmitted them again a few weeks later and still no one even called to say yes or no. That got me wondering."
Angelo sent numerous emails and faxes to the Winter Music Conference and finally did hear from newly appointed panel coordinator, Frank Ceraolo. He apologized about the lack of communication, stating his paperwork must have gotten lost, but was interested in having Angelo speak on a Marketing/ Promo panel. Then after a week of no communication at all, Angelo re-emailed Ceraolo, and to his dismay, was told by Ceraolo: "I am a "little" concerned about you being part of the Promo panel, because of your company name....people 'above' me have expressed concern that the moniker "DISCO" is a little "outdated"."
Angelo responded back to Ceraolo explaining the word disco should not be a cause of concern. Ceraolo fired back an email to Angelo, which stated: "I really do not want you to go off about the 'disco' thing, because OTHERS are just as sensitive-- and you know why. I am not embarrassed about DISCO...I love it personally. However, others here (above me) are more 'sensitive'. You let me know what your thoughts are, and if you can be 'objective', let's put this to bed."
Angelo, whose roots are drenched in the disco field, was one of the original members of various disco Dj organizations such as: New York Disco Record Pool and the International Disco Record Centre. He was founder of the Buffalo New York Disco Record Pool and in the late '70s produced the world's first all disco dance television show. Angelo also produced and hosted two live disco radio shows, was a correspondent to Billboard Magazine, Cashbox, Disco News and Record World, and in 1979 helped organize the first, still on-going, annual event: "The World's Largest Disco" … which according to The Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that the crowd of 13,000 made the first event the largest disco event of all time.
Angelo's music business background also goes back even before the disco era when he managed various successful rock bands, promoted concerts, and produced records. He and former Beatle, George Harrison and rock legend, Jimi Hendrix discovered a group from Buffalo New York called the Raven. Angelo also managed the popular '60s band, The Grass Roots, and traveled around the world working with just about every major band.
"I think an organization who specializes in promoting mainly dance music should be ashamed of themselves for this type of behavior," Angelo remarked. "It is one thing to not be on any panels but to ask me to be 'objective' in using the word 'disco' … is a bit too much for me to handle. Whatever happened to our primary constitutional right: "freedom of speech?"
"Disco never died or disappeared … it evolved into the dance music that we have today, and one of the very reasons why there is even a Winter Music Conference in the first place! They boast that over 6500 music industry professionals and enthusiasts from around the world will converge in Miami Beach. Representatives from over 60 countries were in attendance last year including executives from major and independent record labels, publishers, promoters, managers, agents, artists, DJs, remixers, producers, radio and video programmers, retailers, Internet companies, equipment hardware and software manufacturers, as well as media from around the world.
"Last year I actually placed a 1/4 page display advertisement in WMC's attendee directory. I gave them over $600 for that ad and no one.. not one person … ever complained or objected that I not use my company name in that ad. This is some kind of double standard.
"These people are making a small fortune off of an industry which disco helped start. I would think the attendees would love to hear about the era, which still feeds them. There are not many disco innovators still alive yet alone willing to talk about such a controversial subject.
"Where do we live, Nazi Germany? The old Soviet Union? China? Cuba? Afghanistan?" Angelo asked the Winter Music Conference panel coordinator. "Why are you are trying to control what I say just because you do not like a particular "word" which is the very word that continues to put money in people's pockets and food on their tables?"
"Now I know what Afghanistan women must feel like when they are forced to wear 'Burqas' (veils to cover their faces and bodies.) just because they are women. I know it maybe stretching this a bit … but in a small way I can understand discrimination and stupidity a bit better today than yesterday."
Angelo points to his website,
http://www.discostepbystep.com, which he designed for historical purposes, stating: "If you look on my website you will find a page called: "Did Disco Die?" (
http://www.discostepbystep.com/did_disco_die.htm)
And on that page is a list of 48 different names of today's dance music genre. Each name can 'only' go back as far as the word 'disco'. They all started AFTER the original disco era… from '2Step to US Techno' … every single one of the dance music genre's listed is rooted in disco … Just because some people "expressed concerned" about the word DISCO does not give them the right to muzzle people who want to point back to it and give credit where credit is do. How dare they try to control what people say.
"Shall we just sweep the entire disco movement under the rug, and pretend it did not exist? Steve Dahl, a rock music radio station disc jockey tried to kill disco in Chicago back in 1979 when he promoted "A Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park, but that did not work. All disco did was reproduce itself into hundreds of smaller genres.
"Suppose rock and roll innovators Wolfman Jack or Alan Freeman were still alive today, (not that I think I am on same level as them) would the WMC say to them: 'You can participate on a panel but because you promoted early rock and roll music be 'objective' talking about it. You can be on a panel but we will not use your company name: 'rock and roll'. I am sure there would be plenty of people who would want to hear what they had to say at a winter music conference. How could people not be interested in hearing from the very innovators who started a business they are still making money in?"
Angelo tried continuously to reason with Ceraolo until he received Ceraolo's final email response stating: "Look, I really don't have time for this. I have tried to do my best...but I do not need someone who is going to complain, 'bitch' or moan about concerns that are not my own. I have a job to do...and at this point, this has become too "high maintenance" for me. I am sorry that you could not be 'satisfied' with what I was trying to do. You should be proud of your company and its accomplishments, but I am not going to get into a 'debate' or argument with you about any of this."
When asked how he felt by Ceraolo's remarks, Angelo responded: "I am totally insulted, ashamed, and angry that this whole thing has turned out like this. But you know something? I am not surprised … because people in the music business have not changed very much over the years, they still like to... eat their young!
"To comply with the WMC's demands would mean to take a seat in the back of the bus and our founding fathers fought too hard for me not to stand up to this freedom of speech infringement. I prefer to bow out of this controversy instead of giving into a 'Sieg Heil' mentality! I am tired of seeing our freedoms slowly deteriorate."
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Originally Written by Bernie
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