The smooth provider of Good Vibes!
By MC Flipside
My name is Natale Michael Pizzonia, a.k.a. MC Flipside. Some of you may be familiar with my work as an artist over the past 15 years. For those who are not, it is unimportant, as I would like you to take a glimpse into the life of an amazingly talented person/soul that we unfortunately lost this past December 2009 (he passed away at 9:15 pm, Tuesday Dec 22 at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial). His name is Patryk Aranin, otherwise known and still loved by so many as DJ Evil P.
The music industry is arguably the toughest business to forge ahead in as you are constantly challenged in an ego driven world… morally, socially, ethically and personally. Do not get me wrong, many positive people do work within it but unfortunately, the egos are there to greet you every step of the way. The old bittersweet adage of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll can become the focus energy in the many players/artists and executives within this world (business).
This article is about a dear friend who succeeded by avoiding all of the aforementioned clichés but sadly, when at the top of his game lost his way. Please continue reading to learn more about this amazing gentle soul who will be forever remembered as a ground breaking artist, constantly giving it his all while both changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people via his art and true love, House Music, while forever cementing his rightful spot on the soundtrack of Toronto’s underground.
It was 1995, I was studying Radio Broadcasting and film at Centennial College in East York Ontario. My life-long affair with electronic music was finally beginning to come to life. The dream of being a successful self-sufficient artist was now a reality and so it began.
A Toronto DJ by the name of Ken Finch asked me to host a late night radio show on CHRY 105.5 called Amplitude and Ambience every Sunday, and it did not take long for them to make me a director on the show to guide programming and musical selection. Enter DJ Evil P…standing around 6 feet tall, dressed in jeans and a printed T with his trademark baseball cap on his head. “Hey, I’m Patryk”, he says to me.
Patryk was pretty laid back and quiet at first but when he stepped into the booth and gracefully cued up his track, I could tell he meant serious business. The mixing was flawless and effortless and I only knew he was mixing because I was familiar with the tunes but the average person would consider it the same song. We are talking transitions so smooth that it made all of us nervous to go on the air after him. He knew he had it.
Week in and week out we would sit there, chat, and connect on so many levels. We both came from a European background, we loved music, food, laughter, movies, and women, etc. At the end of these shows Patryk would drive me home in his Ford Taurus wagon only to have to tap me on the shoulder to wake my ass up. He would get so annoyed but it became our running joke, “Who’s driving Flip home tonight, bet you he’ll be out within two minutes!” He loved busting my chops, but that is what Patryk did when he liked you.
Later that year we decided to become business partners, forming the rave company Good Vibes! The name says it all ? honest promoters throwing an event for the positivity found within the scene. Our first event was at the El Mocambo and we drew about 220 people, the highlight of the night was Matt C dropping Gusto’s Disco’s Revenge. Patryk and I knew we had something going and by our fourth event, attendance had more than tripled, an impressive feat considering we were not booking international talent and keeping in mind the immensity of the rave scene during this time. On a personal note, Patryk met his first long-term girlfriend Charlene Stott, so the Good Vibes kept coming. We had also become residents at the Mississauga super club FX playing our blend of house and hip-hop. Patryk and I smashed it week in and week out. It truly was amazing!
Good Vibes 3 Year Anniversary Mixed by Evil P
Patryk lit up the late nights with his blend of pumping house, soulful vocals, progressive and tribal. Patryk was very open-minded with his style but it was always rooted in solid bass driven house. By 1998, Patryk and I started producing house music with peeps like Paranoid Jack and Isaac S. He knew that international gigs would come if we were musically available on the market so, off we went working away while always being honest and critical towards one another to ensure that we would achieve great heights.
Our personal lives were similar at the time as we both had serious girlfriends and loved films, going out to eat, laughing, and talking about our moms and that we were lucky to be working alongside one another.
By 1999, thousands were attending our events and Patryk knew this rave success had to translate into something more than playing at afterhour’s venues like Basement/Spin Cat/Comfort Zone, so he began to focus on his life-long dream, to control a prime time dance-floor. He wanted a home where he could push himself musically and artistically creating an experience all his own, where all would appreciate his productions and favorite tracks ? Enter System Sound Bar… with Patryk kicking off the millennium in a big way!!
In the year 2000, Patryk got the opportunity he had worked so hard for. Evil P was now the resident of System Sound Bar the legendary Peter Street venue became Patryk’s sanctuary and canvas. Teaming up with one of the most honest club managers I have ever worked alongside, Mr. Orin Bristol. The new System team created multiple successful nights representing everything from House to progressive to drum and bass and even old school! Patryk dealt with artist bookings, flyer design, sound design, promoter relations, etc. Yet every Saturday night Patryk pushed that aside to grace the decks prime time, building it up from rolling house beats, driving beats, melodic change ups and his masterful mixing. Patryk’s sets brought you out of your shell musically and socially. Tracks like Celeda’s Be Yourself and Eddie Amador’s House Music where somehow intertwined within Patryk’s sets week in and week out.
Deejay’s like Steve Lawler and Mauro Picotto built up their Toronto fan base in part thanks to the now legendary Bang Saturdays that Patryk worked relentlessly to build. His productions were being noticed as well and the likes of Eddie Amador and New York’s DJ Disciple called upon Patryk’s twisted house sound. International bookings began to come in and his fan base could not get enough. The pinnacle of his success was the release of the now classic Resonations album. Patryk had achieved all of the things he told me he would and he was ecstatic! It seemed like Patryk could do no wrong musically, but tragically while at the top of his game he began to do wrong to himself.
I ask myself where did it go wrong? What got Patryk started, and furthermore, who lured such a focused and talented man to the underbelly of the house music scene? Patryk never drank when we worked together and certainly never touched drugs as he only sought to get that feeling from house music. Those amazing nights at System became tainted by alcohol and some party favors to take his mind somewhere else.
At first, I believe Patryk was experimenting, but the sampling became indulging and his addictions grabbed a hold of him. System shut its doors on New Years Eve of 2005 and Patryk was now back at ground zero. The scene loves you when you are hot but cruel and selfish if it cannot benefit off you, casting you aside like a leper. With his reality shattered Patryk had lost himself.
In 2007, Patryk booked me for a party and we spoke for a while. I saw the pain in his eyes and it really saddened me because I felt he knew he had lost his way. Patryk still had that smile, good heart and intentions but his belief in self was dwindling. New players were exploding in the global house scene and a new generation of fans began to follow their new DJ/Producer leaders.
His mother tried as did friends/girlfriends and loved ones to help Patryk get back on track. Although he was officially sober by the summer of 2009, his health began to deteriorate. Unbeknownst to many he was also born with a weak liver. Sadly, he became sick after six months of sobriety and finally, nearly four exact years after System shut down Patryk bid us farewell.
In closing, I want you to know that I love him with all of my heart and I will miss him because he was so kind, funny, honest, blunt, dedicated, charming, driven…I could go on… but clearly just like his amazing music, Patryk left us ahead of his time. His spirit and legacy will live forever and I sincerely hope his life story will provide those of you who may be on a similar path to prevent the same conclusion.
Rest in Peace my dear friend.
For Patryk: MC Flipside & Matteo DiMarr – Beside You (vocal mix)
Very adequately written article… I am listening to the “Good Vibes Mix” right now and all the hairs on my body are standing up! It is a shame to lose an artist like this!