When we started Ourdancefloor.net a little over a year ago things were much different than they are now. The quarantine was slowly coming to an end, and we were ready to head back out on the road. We had always been road people but 2021 was a year we will never be able to duplicate, and we saw places and things we always dreamed of, and the things we saw before, felt new again, considering what we had been through.
But with each trip and amazing experience I had out there, I was always left with the same feeling. A longing for home. A need to reconnect with the place that introduced me to this music and this culture. Where would I be if New Mexico didn’t embrace me? If they didn’t see me for who I really was and asked me to become that person? It’s a strange moment trying to understand a culture only to realize at its base this will always be a community first.
A group of people who will look out for each other, cheer each other on, and most of all, grow up together. We have that advantage that I don’t feel other music scenes have. We are a part of each other’s lives, and because of that we have watched each other evolve. Our failures, our successes, our moments of awkward and unexpected truths we have together, and I don’t feel that is meant to be taken for granted.
That is why I want to write about Gizmo today, a person that I met two decades ago, although we were two very different people back then, weren’t we? She isn’t a DJ, but then again neither am I. In fact, this website was never meant to be devoted to DJ’s and yet still, you’ll find the only people I’ve written about so far have been DJ’s. Now that has to change. Now, we have to talk about the people on the dancefloor. The people who contribute to the vibe and the community, and in the end, our beautiful culture.
I’m not even sure when we first met or even that we spoke much. Things were different back then in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Everybody went to the rave to escape and to let go. We left our everyday identities behind, and we became our true selves in the only place we were allowed to be those people, at the fuckin rave. We really fell into it too. In fact, I didn’t even know her real name until we met years later as adults.
When we first met my name was Mango and her name was Gizmo, and we were just two raver kids dancing in the night. Most of the time back then it was never a long conversation as much as it was a ‘Hi, how are you?’ or ‘I’m so glad you came.’
We were teenagers. We had so little to talk about. So little experiences of our own to share. It’s so funny to think of that now. We wanted to so badly to be in each other’s lives and yet each of us were just at the beginning of them. So unaware of how the world was really going to change us.
Today, you know her as Shawna Lovato, but looking back I remember a raver named Gizmo who seemed to always have a wig on, but then again, I feel like everybody did. Or maybe their hair was actually that color, or maybe we were just rolling balls, and everything looked multicolored, or maybe I just have one memory and I’m seeing it over and over again. It’s really hard to say, but even with saying that the image of her from those days is still so clear, and I feel that will always be the Gizmo that we all know. The Gizmo we found in the darkness covered in smiles and glitter.
The story of Gizmo the raver is not the only reason I’m writing today, though, because what needs to be said abut Shawna is not just that she’s been a part of this for as long as any of us, but also that she’s just as committed as ever. Supporting those around her, sharing their music, and videos of them playing. She isn’t just some random dancer in the crowd, she is a voice of the New Mexico rave scene who has experienced it all, and still wishes to be here with us. She wishes to support right here and right now.
On a side note, I owe Shawna credit for introducing me to musicians and acts that I love, such as George Fitzgerald, Gorgon City, Lensmen and Calibre during a time when we needed new music in our lives. But don’t we always?
It was when we had just moved back to Albuquerque from Las Cruces after finishing college. We were awkward antisocial adults now and reintroducing ourselves to the New Mexico Rave Scene was a strange and unusual feeling.
We had been away for nearly a decade, hidden away in our own personal bear cave together, my love and I, learning and growing and becoming adults. Wondering if we’d ever go the rave again. And we did. But when we did, we found something we didn’t expect.
We found many of the people from our youth still there. Still dancing, still living, still supporting this culture. Gizmo was one of the first people to welcome us back. And don’t even get me started on the pizza party’s we’d have.
But that’s Gizmo. That’s New Mexico. You’re not just a person in the crowd, you’re a part of our scene. You’re someone that people value. The rest of the world doesn’t allow that. They don’t want to acknowledge how desperately we all need each other to survive.
Don’t be so naïve to forget how much House Music saved your life. But it wasn’t just the music, you see? It was the people you found it with. They are what helped you get through, and in this case, welcomed you back.
But see that’s not all Gizmo is these days. Now, you can go and experience the Gizmo vibe all on its own. Every Friday at patio 201 Shawna is hosting an event showcasing some of the best up and coming DJ’s New Mexico has to offer. This week, on Friday, April 29th she has DJ’S Aimee Jane, Call Me and Davey Jones doing a b3b all evening long, and when you combine that with good food, cold drinks, and a welcoming environment for all ages, you suddenly have something that isn’t just unique to New Mexico, but also a true representation of Shawna herself.
The idea is a place for people to just chill and enjoy talking to one another again surrounded by good music and a growing culture. I suppose in the end, what I value most about Shawna is the fact that she will always be someone willing to have a conversation, and through that conversation you will find absolute love for the music. Our Music.
So please go and enjoy the moment. Watch the sunset, groove to the smooth music, and acknowledge the fact that the people we are surrounded by are not just people who share the same likes and interests as you; they are the ones who help get you through. They are the people you met one day in the magical unknown that we call the Rave. Was it coincidence? Or was it fate? Don’t let these connections go. Don’t take them for granted, but most of all, don’t let them be forgotten.
See you on the dancefloor.
Ourdancefloor.net 