Dean Murphy [pictured right] is one half of the Rawhide Entertainment team that has been putting together the biggest and best queer parties in Melbourne for the past five years. Along with his business partner Bill Gianolous, they have been responsible for putting together winning parties like XTC and Rawhide. More recently they have had huge success with Crash Palace and over this Easter long weekend just passed they held the hit party Trailer Trash. This Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend, Dean and Bill have once again created the party to be at – God Save The Queen.
If his name isn’t familiar, then his face definitely would be. Now aged in his late thirties, Murphy is good looking with an effervescent personality, and a smooth masculine radio voice that adds clout to his presence. He is a Melbourne identity on the scene, though he does choose carefully where he goes.
What many people may not know about the high profile party organiser is that he is also an elite athlete. Murphy has been diving since the age of 12 and is in fact, a champion diver.
“Diving is my time out,” says Murphy about the sport he loves, “Often with the work I do there is so much pressure and noise. When I’m diving it’s like meditation. It’s like it’s just me and the water… it’s just me and focusing on one thing – diving well.”
Earlier this year he won a Gold Medal in diving at the FINA championships in Perth. He also won a stack of medals at the Sydney Gay Games and Montreal Out Games. And he’s not done winning yet, with his sights firmly placed on the Out Games in Copenhagen and the World FINA Championships in Sydney.
It’s not surprising then to know that during the day Murphy trains and coaches elite athletes. He also works part time doing consultancy and events for radio stations such as Fox FM.
“That’s how it all started really. I was working doing huge promo events for Fox FM and loving it, and the opportunity to run a party just landed on my lap,” explains Murphy about how the party journey began for him. “I knew I had what it takes to do it, and I’ve always wanted to do a party. I thought to myself ‘how hard can it be?’ And the next thing I knew Bill and I were running our first XTC party, and then our second… to rave reviews.”
So given his experience of running successful parties over the past five years, I asked him what he thought the key elements were to creating a great party. Murphy attributes it to three main points – listening to your audience, the organisers’ intentions and most importantly, the music.
Let’s face it, the gay scene is fickle to say the least, and very picky. One minute something is burning hot, and the next it’s as cold as a corpse. According to Murphy, it’s very important to respect and understand your audience.
“They [the audience] are always telling you what they want. All you have to do is listen,” explains Murphy, “For example, ‘affordability’ was one concern that people kept talking about. We listened, and kept party ticket costs as affordable as possible, with maximum bang for your buck.”
An organisers intentions are also important to Murphy, when it comes to what makes or breaks a party, “It’s all about what kind of party you want to run and why. Do you just want fast money? Do you want loyal clubbers? Do you want to create something real and lasting? Is it about ‘you’ or ‘your audience’?”
What makes parties like Rawhide and Crash Palace so successful is that they take gays out of the standard queer clubs and into somewhere new where they might not usually go. Crash Palace for example takes place at the Men’s Gallery, which is a renowned straight ‘Gentlemen’s Club’ on King Street. This idea of going ‘outside the scene’ has become important at a time when huge warehouse parties don’t happen anymore, and amazing venues like the Docklands are no longer available.
There is no doubt however, that the biggest factor in creating a winning party is the music, and it’s in this area that Dean and Bill consistently deliver the goods, with the biggest line-ups of some of Australia’s best DJ talent. And they are constantly looking around for new talent, giving opportunities to up and coming DJ hopefuls. This Queens Birthday Long weekend is no exception, with an incredible line up of 13 DJs from Melbourne and around the country.
“I don’t take anything for granted. I run each party like it’s going to be my last, and because of that, we put in our best effort and make it the best it can be… I give it all I’ve got,” says Murphy. “That’s why I can confidently say that this is going to be our best party yet.”
Take a walk down memory lane and check out past galleries from Rawhide, Crash Palace and Trailer Trash.
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