Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 28, 1995 TAG: 9505300084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
What began in England in the late 1980s now thrives in Roanoke. Non-stop and frenetic, raves rally teen-agers and young 20-somethings to party all night, tune in to the beat and create their own fantasy.
"Raves are very cliquish," one 19-year-old raver said. "It's one specific group drawn together. They're the different people of society."
Authority figures from London to L.A. have denounced raves for promoting drug use and corrupting minors. But still, the young rave on. As a newspaper from Scotland put it, no one "can dance on the grave of raves."
Hallucinogenic drugs like LSD and Ecstasy appeal to some, but it's the never-ending beat, the strobing lights and the accepting atmosphere that keep ravers coming.
"This isn't a contest to see who can do more drugs," one Roanoke raver said. "For me, it's somewhere where I can finally fit in, where I can be me."
At least once a month the night-clubbers, the gays, the punkers, the misfits and the rockers all plunge onto the same dance floor and indulge.
Check today's Extra for our report on the rave scene
by CNB