DJ shows love for Vegas, Marquee nightclub and a good joke
A few months ago, DJ-producer Deadmau5 tweeted a photo of a gold-plated Ferrari and said it belonged to his DJ-producer friend Kaskade.
This seemed absurd, since Kaskade is A) Mormon, and B) one of the nicest, most humble guys in the Las Vegas club scene.
But many people believed the joke. Even I believed it.
"How can Kaskade afford a gold Ferrari?" people would ask me.
I kept responding: "I’m sure he used all the money he’s saved from not doing drugs or drinking, since he’s Mormon."
Alas, it turns out the gold Ferrari was a prank, and Kaskade (Ryan Raddon) has been getting a big laugh out of the joke, as he explained to me through a smile at Marquee nightclub.
"It’s funny, because a lot of people really believed. Like: ‘Look dude, it’s on Twitter! Kaskade’s gold-plated Ferrari!’ " Kaskade said.
"I just tweeted (Deadmau5) back a week ago and said, ‘I’m gonna pick you up in my gold-plated car.’ "
Actually, Kaskade could afford such a luxury vehicle, since he’s earning, certainly, millions of dollars a year — much of that by performing regularly at Marquee and Encore Beach Club.
He told me he’s spinning at Marquee through the end of 2011, at least. And he’s in contract discussions to stay here in 2012.
"We’re figuring out next year as we speak," he said. "I love Las Vegas. Marquee is an amazing, amazing venue.
"This is really my favorite club in the world right now, and I think there are a lot of guys that would line up behind me" to second that notion.
"If they’re not saying that, then for sure they’re saying this is their favorite club in North America."
The key to making a perfect club vibe, he said, is perfecting the sound and visual systems; designing a good performance-space layout; and attracting a crowd that parties but also digs electronic music.
Marquee fills that bill, he said.
"The vibe in Vegas is tough to beat," he said.
"(Clubbers) know the music now. When I played here two or three years ago, they were still learning about it," he said. "But now people want to party, and they know the music. That’s any performer’s dream."
By the way, it should have shocked no one that pop-hit-maker Kaskade was just named best American DJ by DJ Times magazine.
At a ceremony at Marquee near midnight Sunday, he was presented with the spoils of that award: a gold-plated DJ mixer by Pioneer.
He can text a photo of that gold-plated gear to Deadmau5.
Doug Elfman’s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Contact him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.
