Andrew Braithwaite

If you remember the episode of "The Simpsons" where Homer foils a secret plan to move Springfield's beloved baseball Isotopes to Albuquerque by recognizing Southwestern condiment's on the ballpark's hotdogs, then you might want to keep your eyes peeled for Bass Ale and Fish `n Chips at this Sunday's Spundae Chicago Two Year Anniversary party at Vision Nightclub. That's because Spundae Worldwide recently struck a deal with the UK's Goliath of club promotions, Godskitchen, to create Godskitchen North America.

While the official Godskitchen website reports the company's delight in having "recently taken over the largest dance promoter in the U.S. market," and lauds GK's chance to move in on a market that big UK promoters have historically had difficulty tapping into, the man behind Spundae Chicago is excited about the partnership.

"I only see this as a positive," Matt Rodriguez explains via email from Colorado, shortly after producing an event in Denver. "It has expanded the scope of the company, our reach on a worldwide platform, our leverage in the music industry and I see it only helping dance music in the US."

Rodriguez, who became associated with Spundae Productions while living in San Francisco, came to Chicago after being approached by Lucas and Adam King of Relode Chicago to produce Spundae. "I'd been attending Spundae since its inception eleven years ago at [San Francisco club] DV8," says Rodriguez, and when Brooks Pettus, who takes over as CEO of Godskitchen North America, introduced the idea of taking Spundae's concept beyond San Fran, Rodriguez "was hired on to be the point man, producing events from city to city."

Rodriguez's confidence in the new entity is stoked by the fact that the US-based production team has remained intact through the merger. "It only helps the company as a whole to have US based operations in the US," says Matt, who is now the production manager for all North American events. Certainly one of the most significant benefits of the merger is Spundae's access, through Godskitchen, to top-level talent, already one of Spundae's greatest strengths. Dutch trance master Armin van Buuren tops the big anniversary bill.

(2004-05-25)

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