Mon. December 16, 2019
One of the first dance parties of 2020 will be "XxposedAfterhours," starting at 7 a.m. on Jan. 1 at Fantasy Nightclub in Boystown, marking the first-ever event produced by Chicago's own DJ Alex Cabot.
DJ Kardona, coming off his successful debut at Reload Afterhours in Los Angeles during Halloween weekend, will use his Puerto Rican heritage as influence to greet the first sunrise of 2020 with his rhythmic, sexy and energetic house music style.
Cabot will take over at 9 a.m., and he's promising "one hell of a musical journey."
Cabot is partnering with Chicago's Ryan Willing of the Organized Grime Crew "to help with establishing this event as something of my own," he said. "I have worked for Ryan numerous times as one of his resident DJs, and he is seasoned pro when it comes to branding successful nightlife events," including his monthly, Fur-centric GRIZZLY party at Le Nocturne, the infamous TeaDance, CUNTea, at SpyBar, and Sky High NYE, OrganizedGrime's New Years Eve blowout in the top two floors of the Virgin Hotel.
"I am more than thankful to have him as an ally and partner for this launch event.
"Also, I thought it was important to include at this event representation of Chicago's infamous drag scene that really makes up a huge chunk of our LGBTQ+ nightlife and entertainment industry."
To that, Khloe will be joining Debbie Fox as the event's "Mistresses of the afters."
"With them on hosting duties, I am more than confident that our turnout will be record-breaking," said Cabot, 31, who lives in Lakeview.
"The past three years not only have given me the opportunity to spin some amazing marathon sets during the infamous afterhours New Years Day morning as well as the Monday mornings of IML and Market Days. My style of how I play afterhours has become one of the defining aspects of my career as a DJ. As I grow as an artist and develop my brand as a DJ, to me it made complete sense to brand the event as something of my own as well. This has been a career goal of mine and it just so happens that circumstances have determined that this is the most prime time for me to go for it.
"Attendees can expect the multi-layered, drum-driven, dark and sexy afterhours musical journey that I am known for."
So why, Xxposed?
To highlight the music.
"We (will) strip away a lot of the glitzy production elements and leave in its place, the 'exposed' bare bones and foundation of the party, so all that is left are the sexy driving beats, just the right amount of lighting and fog, and of course all the people lost in the music, drenched in sweat, not caring one (bit) about how they look or how many hours they have been out.
"The focus is on the collective experience between crowd,the DJ and the sound."
Cabot is a regular DJ at Steamworks for its weekly Sunday Service event as well as every third Tuesday at Replay Lakeview for its Tat Tuesday event presented by Organized Grime Crew.
Cabot admitted he is excited but also a bit fearful, in a good way, for Xxposed – and beyond that.
"I have many ideas for the future in terms of where I can go with event production," he said. "I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, and now just focus on making January 1st a complete success ... and then explore what the rest of 2020 will bring."
He added, "I think there is something poetic about this launch happening in tangent with the start of a new decade. I want to always be in a state of learning and open to growth, not just as an artist, but as a positive member of society so that I can hopefully be a role-model to the younger generations in our scene. With that, I will always be more than appreciative of blessings and opportunities that have been afforded to me during my six years thus far as a DJ. I would not have the opportunity to launch my own brand had it not been for those who took a chance on me and believed in my work, whether it was people who hired me directly, those who attend almost every single gig and pushed for me hard on social media, to even those who lifted me up during struggles in my own personal life."
Tickets to Xxposed on Jan. 1, 2020 can be purchased at xxposedafters.com. There also is an event page on Facebook.
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