Florida
Welcome to Miami: White Party 2007
By Bryan Ochalla

Oct 23, 2007

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know White Party Week is just around the corner (Nov. 21-26, in fact).

Jamie Baxter, chief operating officer at dance music label Centaur Entertainment, certainly knows what’s on the horizon. He should, since he’s been working with the producers of the annual fundraising event since 1998, when Centaur released its first White Party CD with DJ David Knapp.

This year could be called a return to form for the New York-based company, since the last time it released an official White Party CD was back in 2002 with Knapp and DJ Tracy Young. The homecoming release, due out in November, will feature veteran DJs Warren Gluck and Wendy Hunt, with proceeds once again benefiting Miami-based HIV/AIDS service organization, Care Resource.

Baxter may be a busy guy these days, but he was kind enough to spend some time with GayWired.com recently, chatting about his first experiences with White Party and what people can expect from the one-two punch of this year's CD and event.

GayWired.com: How exactly were you involved with White Party at the start and how has that evolved over the years? 

Jamie Baxter: Centaur's role in White Party is as an official sponsor. We have produced the official benefit CD over the years, with proceeds from the sales directly benefiting Care Resource—to date our cash contribution to care resource is over $135,000. 

In addition to producing the CD, Centaur has also contributed as a sponsor through a variety of marketing efforts to help build awareness for White Party. These efforts have included things like pitching the CD to the press for reviews, scheduling DJ interviews, hosting club/bar pre-parties around the country, hosting CD-release parties for each new White Party CD and preparing e-mail campaigns—all of which bring even more exposure and attention to the White Party Week events.

GW: This year's CD features the work of Warren Gluck and Wendy Hunt. How did they get involved with the project?

JB: Warren and Wendy both are DJs that Centaur has worked with in the past and we love their work. This year Warren is the DJ for the main White Party event so he was an obvious choice for the CD.

Since we wanted to use two DJs for this year’s CD, we looked for someone who would compliment Warren, and Wendy stood out as a perfect cohort. They have a very similar musicality and they work very well together. 

Wendy is featured at the Heatwave Pool Party, which takes place just before the White Party, so the concept is to make it a full day of music to remember.

GW: What can people expect from this year's CD? Anything different from past years? 

JB: I think that is a better question for Warren and Wendy, but they have made it clear they want to create something very special—not only so people have a great CD of music to enjoy, but so they can help Centaur raise as much money as possible through CD sales to give a big, fat check back to Care Resource.

GW: You've organized a month of pre-parties leading up to White Party this year. Where did this idea come from and what can people expect from them?

JB: We're excited about the month of pre-parties—16 to be exact. They’re taking place all over the country. We have done this many times in the past with White Party and other events we have sponsored and we find it to be a unique and exciting way to make White Party local, build awareness and interest among people to attend White Party and offer up a night of fun with CD giveaways, ticket giveaways and lots of great music.

GW: What about White Party itself—what can we expect from Centaur there?

JB: Centaur will be in Miami full force during White Party, doing everything we can to sell as many White Party CDs as possible. That is our primary goal, so you'll see us selling at the welcome center, at the pool party, at the beach party and even many of the local retailers. We encourage everyone to show their support for White Party with the purchase of a White Party CD—or you can even buy the album on iTunes in November when it's available.

GW: What else is in store for you this year or next?

JB: This year is pretty much wrapping with the new White Party CD being released. Next year will be another great year for us with lots of new releases that will certainly include another Pride CD, the fifth annual Gay Days CD from Gay Days in Orlando, as well as new Global Groove releases and a two-CD set that we are releasing with Junior Vasquez. Stay tuned! 

For more information about Centaur, go to www.centaurmusic.com. For more about White Party, go to www.whiteparty.org .