Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2007 > January > 08
Monday, January 8, 2007
1/8: V-103/Q100 combo night
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
V-103’s Frank Ski and Q100’s Bert Weiss a few weeks back talked about how it’s difficult for nightclubs to attract a truly blended crowd of races. So the two stations announced this morning they are holding a “Unity” night at Lotus Lounge in the Lindbergh Plaza this coming Sunday, January 14. It’s free from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. V-103 draws a predominately black audience and Q100 brings in mostly a white crowd.
Will this work as more than a one-time gimmick? Are there nightclubs out there that already bring in a mixed crowd?
A few months ago, Weiss called Ski on the air to discuss “Survivor” when the reality show had separated its tribes by race. But the discussion soon segued into Atlanta’s nightlife scene and why most clubs cater specific nights to specific races.
“This is supposed to be the city too busy to hate,” Ski told Buzz. “Whites and blacks don’t party together. When Vision was open, Friday night was my night and Saturday was Bert’s night.”
So they decided to try this experiment in racial mingling, picking the night before Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Lotus was open to the idea but Weiss said “we ran the idea by some club owners and they thought it would never work.”
Since the two stations are rivals and share some audience, Ski said it took a bit of finesse to get V-103’s management to agree. “It was like the Middle East peace talks,” he joked.
Weiss — who said his management was fine with the idea from the start — has no clue how many people will show up but said it’s good to start in a relatively small space like Lotus, which fits about 400 people. “If we do well, we can always go somewhere bigger later on,” he said.
