Who are Tom and Gary?
Tom and Gary are two lifelong friends who conceived, birthed, and have undertaken to popularize the Decentralized Dance Party.
Their full inspirational bio is located here.
What is a Decentralized Dance Party (DDP)?
The DDP is a portable, battery-powered Party System.
It consists of hundreds of Party People, carrying boomboxes, and a DJ who wears a backpack, containing a powerful FM transmitter.
All the boomboxes are tuned into the DJ’s master FM broadcast, resulting in a mobile, synchronized sound system. This Portable Dance Party roams the night, generating complete awesomeness, street by street and block by block, onto buses and subways, into public fountains and beyond! Inevitably interfacing with the public, together we create an infectious epidemic of fun! A Roaming Party Adventure that lasts all night long!
But don’t take our word for it:
The link below showcases the evolution of the Decentralized Dance Party: from 20 people to 20,000 in the span of 6 short months!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUKu_idyzm8
But what does “decentralized” mean?
There is no central audio source and no central location.
We become become a roaming, decentralized audio source.
Is the DDP a flash mob?
No, because DDPs don’t disperse after 5 minutes… which is characteristic of the traditional flash mob.
The DDP is a roaming Party Adventure and it lasts all night long!
Is the DDP mobile clubbing?
No, because mobile clubbing is where everyone wears headphones and dances silently to their own music.
The DDP is nice and loud, allowing anyone to enjoy and join in the Party!
Is Partying really an Art Form?
Yes.
Is The DDP Really High Art?
Yes.
How So?
Not only a revolutionary affront to traditional perceptions and precepts, the DDP is also widely recognized as the ultimate interdisciplinary medium, creatively melding Music, Dance, Theatre, Karaoke, Comedy, Chaos, Adventure, MCing, DJing, Fashion and Military Stratagem; gleefully repurposing public space and stimulating all senses in an intensely interactive Auditory Adventure!
Crowd-Sourced Communal Fun Creation at its finest, participants become performers and inhibitions are overwhelmed as we all rise together in a chaotic+joyful monument to the Human Spirit!
But I was at a Party last week and everyone was just sort of standing around and looking at each other’s clothing.. it really didn’t seem very Artful to me.
That wasn’t a Party.
So what constitutes a Party then?
Party (Pärtē)
noun
A joyful transcendence of inhibitions, set to music.
At least a few people must completely lose their minds,
reborn as children in fearless joy and unconcern.
Booze is often required, but not if the Party is good enough…
How much does it cost to create a decentralized sound system?
About $1200 for a nice backpack-borne portable setup like ours (including 20 boomboxes).
A cheap, no-range setup that works for small, stationary parties can be created for about $500 (including 20 boomboxes).
We’re going to film a video soon detailing how to create your own DDP…
What is the range of your transmitter?
Our transmitter is powerful but legal, and not powerful enough to interfere with any commercial broadcasts.
It has a range of about one city block, and when transmitting our Party Broadcasts, we use a vacant FM band which sits adjacent to two other unused bands, thereby ensuring we don’t interfere with any commercial broadcasts.
Make sure to thoroughly research all local laws and test your equipment before undertaking to create a DDP of your own!
For the first two DDPs, we used the “Whole House FM Transmitter”, and with a range of about 100 feet, it worked really well.
You can buy them here for about $100 (and we get a small commission :)
Do you really need a mixer to create a decentralized sound system?
No… but only with a mixer can you attach a microphone and lead the Party.
For the first two DDPs, we used a gigantic boombox (The Base Station) in place of a mixer.. so that is a more cumbersome possibility.
Does the Power Glove really control the music?
Yes. The Wease managed to rig the Power Glove to control the volume and skip tracks!
Will any portable stereo work with a decentralized sound system?
Any radio that can receive an FM signal will work, even your lowly alarm clock radio!
How many boomboxes do you lose every Party?
Between five and ten get lost or destroyed every time we Party. The Final Olympic Party we lost about 60- but it was worth it.
Does everyone need a boombox to participate in a DDP?
No, only those who are cool enough to carry them. They can also be passed around. It only takes a few good boomboxes to ensure decent sound distribution.
Does anyone else do Decentralized Dance Parties?
Not to our knowledge.
How was the DDP conceived and birthed?
She was conceived on a warm Summer’s evening back in 2006 during one of Vancouver’s infamous “Midnight Mass” midnight bike rides…
A couple of us had boomboxes mounted on our bikes, playing tunes from our ipods.
But when the ipods both died, we decided to tune our boomboxes into the same radio station.. and the effect was very cool indeed!
It wasn’t until 2009, however, that we finally got down to business and invested the time and money necessary to bring the DDP to life.
Have you guys considered other applications of your decentralized sound system?
We really want to use our system as a PA for a band to perform a live show in an unusual/risky location or while traveling across a city/theme park/war zone. This would be a great music video, with our candidates of choice being HORSE the band, Andrew W.K. and Dying Fetus. Let them know please.
But any good bands with cool fans who’d be down to participate, please get in touch.
Cities lacking in cool venues and bands having trouble getting gigs also now have a novel and affordable option…
Portable, loud and difficult to shut down, a decentralized sound system would also be a great tool for protestors… way better than a traditional megaphone to make your voice heard, and the transmitter/speaker could easily be hidden from view (much harder to silence)…
Is it true that Tom and Gary are supposed to hurt themselves at every DDP?
Yes, but sometimes we forget.
Decentralized Dance Parties look like a lot of fun. How can I participate?
If you live in Vancouver, join our mailing list and facebook group to receive information on upcoming events.
I don’t live in Vancouver, but I want to host a DDP in my town. Do you have any tips?
Very soon we’ll be releasing a “how to create your very own DDP” video.
Are you ever going to take the DDP on tour?
Our dream is to one day do just that.
We want to traverse the globe and risk it all, dragging boomboxes through the most treacherous places on earth; meeting crazy new friends, wooing exotic women, inviting death and pumping Party music across the craziest adventure the world has ever witnessed…
Our wish list includes:
-Hitchhiking Nunavut to Argentina, including the dreaded Darien Gap
-The “Axis Of Evil” tour (Iraq, Iran, North Korea)
-The “Stan” tour (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhistan)
We are dead serious.
We will martyr ourselves in the name of the Party.
Any media executives or energy drink purveyors looking to support a legit reality series with balls and purpose, look no further.
But ideally, our dream is to pull it off simply via donations and the goodwill of other human beings…
Why do you do this?
We do it because we like to feel alive.
Sharing the music we love in an adventurous atmosphere with close friends and complete strangers makes us very happy.
In fact, it seems to make everyone very happy.
Greater Intentions also loom on the not-too-distant horizon…
I really like what you guys are doing and had a blast at the last DDP and want to support this.. do you accept donations?
We do and we’d really appreciate it, as DDPs don’t come cheap!
You don’t even need a credit card to donate.. just a bank account that does e-transfers or Paypal… there’s a donations tab on our homepage or you can just e-transfer to 
Thanks!
What is Four Brothers’ Pizza?
The best pizza.
What is Booty Bass and Eurodance?
It is hands-down the best Party music of all time and formed a significant part Tom+Gary’s musical upbringing.
It is all we usually play, besides Andrew W.K.
But towards the end of the night we always play Hard Rock, like Van Halen and Journey and Meatloaf and Bon Jovi and Death Metal if we feel like it.
And you seriously listen to that stuff?
Every day.
We truly love it and do not suffer embarrassment.
Do you ever have problems with the police?
After over a decade of intensive research, we’ve discovered that wearing costumes pretty much guarantees you Safe Passage. Dressed like a person from another generation or another planet, it’s pretty unlikely you’ll be regarded as a serious threat.
Real criminals don’t wear neon or dress like bananas.
And they would never, EVER hold a balloon.
After dealing with horrible shit all day, the police are generally amused by our antics and during the Olympic DDPs they Partied right along with us and helped us lead thousands of Partiers through the city. The VPD has been consistently cool with us- Big Thanks.
Whistler police are another story, and for that reason it’s very unlikely we’ll ever bring another DDP there…
Should “Dance”, “Adventure” and “Party” really be capitalized?
As with any hallowed cultural institution, Yes.
See also: Four Brothers’ Pizza
Any more questions can be posted here, and will be answered here.