RIP Patryk…..thanks for everything you did for me back then.

Gus 

Great read, good times at System.
And to think, we were in the lineup the night it flooded, decided to split (think we went to Guvernment?) and missed dancing in the water. 

12:10 am on November 11, 2014 







festerfro18

System Soundbar, I miss you so much!!
My wife & I, and many of our friends, used to travel from London to Toronto almost every weekend to hit up Bang Saturdays.
Thank you for the great article!! 

2:41 pm on June 13, 2014 







Lindsay (Lady Linzee)

Thank you to all the contributors to this article! What a great way to pay homage to System!
As a resident at Bang Saturdays for over 2 years I wanted to give a shout out to all of the amazing Djs, promoters, door staff, bartenders, Orin and everyone in between for being a part of so many amazing memories. It was truly an honour to be part of the System Soundbar family. And family … it truly was! The Dj’s I played alongside were my dear friends and mentors and I was privileged to know them! Some of which are still a very important part of my life today! 
Sending mad luv out to the System crew! Those days are forever in my heart! 

11:33 am on January 20, 2014 






Daniel Bloch 

Where do I start;
System Soundbar was the best atmosphere in Toronto for Dance music!
Staff: Always friendly, never coked up bouncers, friendly bar-tenders with big smiles, one of the first places to serve thai-redbull!
Soundsytem- Always amazing! I remember seeing some of the best djs in the world here and the music was always dark and dirty!
Resident Djs – Respectfully I wish a lot of these guys had regular gigs and promoted alot of the djs that would come through the Breathe parties, sadly this dies when the club closed but the residents were always amazing! 
Best memories;
I was 19, and this was my Friday night spot! I never made it out to Sister Bliss as she played a few months before my 19th Birthday, but I remember Danny Howelles, Hybrid, Mauro Picotto, Dave Seaman, Steve Lawler, and maybe Sander Kleinenburg, JohN Digweed, Jimmy Van M, I have a feeling Oakenfold might of played here once and I know I saw Max Graham. 
Favorite Party – TILT with Park and Wilson and John Graham and Nick Warren and John 00 Fleming
2014 – Props to the boys at Toika lounge for re-uniting this group, sadly many of the great djs in the world dont do small clubs anymore. 

9:48 pm on January 19, 2014 







Neil Mass Law Gardiner 

Had some great times at System Soundbar. Still have a lot of memories of being there with a few people that are no longer with us. I had the chance to perform there over the years with the Empire crew and a few others. I remember how excited we would get when they would change something in the venue. Wether it was upgrading the sound system, moving the DJ booth from the entrance to the back or the installation of a window’d lounge that would be the location of some great convo’s, B-day parties and good times. Definitely played a big part on the timeline of Toronto’s Dance music industry. 

10:50 am on January 17, 2014 






Marcus Visionary

Love System. We were spoiled there. Orin was so professional and always treated us with great respect and we never had a problem being paid a generous wage. This was a place that so many DJ’s cut their teeth and hone their craft. Big thanks to Ruckus and Orin for including me in such a special time! If only club owners today had a similar vision! 

11:33 pm on January 16, 2014 







Jay Kaufman

I read this again after seeing it linked about clubs going dark (forever) on an Internet forum and noticed a factual error. While Jesse Brown has been involved with Destiny since the late 1990s, he did not co-found it. That honour belongs to Eric Sands AKA Eryik S, who co-founded the seminal Canadian rave events company with Ryan ‘OS/2′ Kruger (now president of Electronic Nation Canada) back in the early 1990s. Eric was also a frequent reveller at the Breathe nights, as well as DJing quite a bit around the city.
Breathe for me was my home away from home. It was the place I finally got to finally meet fellow DJ/producers I’d admired or networked with. It was the place that Mike Greco banned me from the DJ booth for doing so too! It was also the place that I knew, if for some reason I went with no friends and no money, that I would be amongst friends when I arrived and cover would be taken care of. It was the place where after dancing for 6 hours straight, I went home inspired to my studio and stayed up 24 hours and wrote my first ever vinyl release – which later got played in the club. It was the place where I lost my mind to people like Hybrid, Cass, Oliver Lieb, Noel Sanger, Chris Fortier, Mark Scaife playing one of my tunes, Danny Howells and many others. I miss it a great deal. Toronto hasn’t replaced it since and I don’t think it ever will. 

1:17 pm on October 3, 2013 






Time Traveler

Hmmn, where do I start…?
I was at UWO doing CompSci & got hired in TDot for a 16 month Internship around 1999. At the beginning, me & my roommie would do Gino/Top40/R&B clubs – eeew!! 
In 2000, by a stroke of LUCK, some girls (ok, I was trying to pick one of them up!) at a clothing shop by Yonge & Bloor invited me to Turbo, so I dragged my rommie along. Wow, I had never experienced the EDM scene up to that point. I was in Heaven.
The sound, the peeps, the ‘underground’ club feel, & that all-important ‘vibe’ (I think you know what I mean!). It was all THERE! Simply perfect!
Gino & Top40 clubs were history for me after awakening to the underground EDM scene. It was like night & day!
After Turbo, I started going to Life (across from Money). That’s where I fell in love with DJ Myka & Kenny Glasgow’s incredible sound as well as Most Wanted Entertainment events! Those 2 DJs changed my life with their unique styles that could keep me dancing ALL NIGHT. Simply amazing!
I then started club hopping, religiously, to System, Comfort Zone, Film Lounge, The Guv/Kool Haus (especially for big events like Labour of Love, etc.) & other EDM venues or special events. Those experiences transformed me. Why? Because I finally found the music that I’m still passionate about TODAY! Progressive House/Trance & Techno will ALWAYS be a part of my life until the day I depart Mother Earth into another existence — especially the dark stuff. I love that Dark Tribal Proggy sound!  
Whenever I made plans to go to System, I’d get excited in anticipation of what delicious new sounds I’m going to hear that night. I was thrilled knowing that the clubbers were there, first & foremost, for the MUSIC & to DANCE! 
Breathe nights at System were out of this world – a phenomenal success. If you got there too late, too bad – lineup! The DJs rocked my world. They always delivered the goods. And the staff were a delight: Friendly, laid back & professional. Reminds me a lot of Aria’s staff in Montreal, which also closed down.  
Anyhow, I just want to give a BIG shoutout to everyone who made System what it was. Reading this fabulous article by Denise only makes me realize what we’ve all LOST. I don’t know if I’ll feel that same vibe any where else. Clubs today play such CHEESY music & I just don’t see that PASSION in the clubbers. Perhaps I’m too spoiled after experiencing Toronto’s talented local DJs who played at System & other EDM venues around that time. 
One observation: I now realize that the people whom I ‘connect’ with the best also share a LOVE for Electronic Dance Music & the scene. They’ve consistently been my most cherished friends.
The TDot EDM scene during System’s prime was, unquestionably, one of the BEST underground club scenes on the planet. I have no doubts about that! I’m also very thankful that I was able to experience the Montreal EDM scene for a bit, too (ie. Bal en Blanc, Swirl, Stereo, Aria, Beach Club, Sona…).
As I travel around the world now, I’m fortunate to have lots of goood beats on my laptop from that magical era when I accidentally stumbled upon Toronto’s remarkable EDM scene.
So long, System! I will NEVER forget you because you live inside of me now! 

7:45 pm on July 1, 2013 






Ecstatic Clubber 

Cool series and cool read on a great club. Those were some great days. But I would have liked to hear more about how these clubs got away with allowing rampant E to be run. Here you had a club where alcohol wasn’t the drink of choice. Rather it was water. I always remember being shocked at how mainstream the drugs were. What did these owners think of all that? 

2:52 pm on December 28, 2012 






Robert Moses 

All good things… 

9:04 pm on December 5, 2012 







Damien

Why did they leave the hot water running in the bathrooms non stop? 

10:15 am on April 19, 2012 







Jessi 

So you would buy the cold bottled water. After 2am, other than door entry the club cant sell booze, and make money, so they sell bottled water at a premium. The Guvernment does that too. Lots of clubs used to do that.
System was the first club I ever went too and it totally changed my world, my life. Amazing article Denise, well done. 

6:56 pm on July 13, 2012 







lol 

back when DJ’s played records and not shitty dubstep remixes off their laptops or cheesy rihanni house remixes or dj’s with mouse heads 

9:20 am on April 19, 2012 






Stacey

Great article, its nice reading about System and having a little blast to the past…..
There was a vibe about that place that always made you feel like you were home, the people felt like family and the DJs ALWAYS seemed to crush the place week after week. Every Friday night you knew there was a place to go where it was a guaranteed good time, I met my boyfriend there, Ive met life long friends there and had experiences that i will never forget. System Sound Bar had its own sound that always had the dance floor bouncing, i find myself still saying to this day “this track reminds me of system”. There was a genuine feel there that you could feel from EVERY body who walked through the door, they were all there for the music. There wasn’t any thing fancy or gimmicky about the place it was just comfortable, and home for a lot people. The day that place closed its doors was the day the scene in Toronto changed forever…. 

2:31 pm on April 17, 2012 







Mike 

What she said. 

12:37 am on December 19, 2012 







Matt Coleridge

Great article Denise, you really managed to capture the spirit of what System was. Thank you for letting me be part of it. It was a magical time in my life that was over too quickly. I miss the club immensely.
I also want to echo the sentiment of how important the staff were to System. From Orin on down everyone was wonderful. Management, security, bar tenders and bus staff … you were all more important than any DJ or promoter. Thank you.
Farewell 117 Peter 

10:59 pm on April 16, 2012 






Orin 

Well Said Matt, well said. System would have been nothing without the great staff we had there. Too many to mention but one that can not be forgotten is Huey, another special person from the System family who is no longer with us. So I want to thank him, the Djs, the bussers, bookers, bartenders, security, coat check, sound guys, techs everyone. As you can see from this article and the responses you have made a huge difference not only in my life but in the lives of very many people. 

3:01 am on April 17, 2012 







Jerry

To Orin and Matt,
Im honoured and privileged to be there during that scene with you guys and the other great people who were there too. Thank you. You both did a great job there. I accidentally went there one night in 1999 because I was kind of feeling down and was looking for a bar that was open late. I saw people lining up on peter street and asked what it was because it wasnt obvious that it was a bar or anything. So I lined up and am I ever glad I did. The music was and still is the best I have ever experienced. I went there regularly every weekend and lost myself in the music and it helped me. I also met some great people. The bouncers were nice guys…. my sad condolences about Huey. To you guys and all the great people I met there….Thanks 

12:45 pm on December 4, 2013 







Susan Oh

Thank you for article, Denise. Thanks for running such a great crew and place, Orin!
System changed my life and shaped my ongoing love affair with electronic music. I had some of the best times, quirkiest friends, biggest laughs and longest dances of my life in that joint. A friend who was writing a story for the New York Times on club deaths in 2001 asked me once why clubbers put up with packed, sweaty rooms and pricey drinks, and I replied, “I don’t go to church – I go to my (favourite) club. It’s my community.” System Breathe Fridays was my community. I met a number of the close friends I still have to this day there, on the dancefloor. There has never been a club like it for me anywhere in any of the cities I’ve lived in, even now in Chicago. I miss it like my misspent youth. 

5:41 pm on April 16, 2012 






Paul Mitchell

I was in the house the night of the flood. Crazy good times! 

3:26 pm on April 16, 2012 







Chris 

My friends and I used to drive 90 minutes down the QEW from St. Catharines just to go to System. It was totally worth it every time. 

2:44 pm on April 15, 2012 







Miss Raquel 

Thank-you Denise for writing about such a monumental time in our musical lives.
It was filled with truth.
(Sorry just had to add this folks, didn`t mean to post twice to make anyone mad). 

1:26 am on April 15, 2012 





Miss Raquel 

System is where my life changed.
One day I simply emailed the club and asked that since I finished work at 2am may I be put on a late night list if available.
It was available to me for two years. I never met Orin until about a year an half into my late night visits to System. He always put me oh his list without meeting me.
I later on my show “electronica“on bpm:tv publicly thanked him, and have did so when I finally met him in-person.

- I took a cab and entered System by myself knowing I’d meet my friends there to dance the night away.

- I later would host my first Mayhem with Deko-ze and the PPM crew there. 

- Then I put on my first JaXx HouZe – Enchanted Tribal Platoon event there with no one there to manage the club but me and floor manager who stayed in his office all night.
Orin and Jose had faith in me that I could handle a night running it myself and that I did.

- It was a place where I was told in the DJ booth by a girl whose brother who was a cameraman for bpm:tv to watch my my back cuz when bpm:tv is done with me they will toss me out the door with no regard.

- It was the place I first heard Donald Glaude and Mauro Picotto.

- It was also the first place I dropped “e” by seeking it out in the washroom for my friend and I.

- My hairdresser (at the time) was Huey`s (head bouncer at System) wife and she would tell me how he would come home and be all chatty cathy while she was still tired and wanted to sleep.

- System was my everything musical. It helped me launch into my career. I miss it. 
R.I.P. 

1:22 am on April 15, 2012 







Paul 

Normally I don’t ever comment on blogs and news and all that, just because I’m paranoid about privacy. But System was a special phenomenon. It came about at a perfect time in my life, as I’m sure it did for all of you. Thanks for giving us the story on System. The history, all the diversity of people and music, and the beautiful tales about great human beings who went out and had a hella lot a fun. Remember the blackout of the summer 2003? System was one of the few places who stayed open. Who recovered fast. We were ragged desperate and bleak that Friday night. But they took it on. We danced beside portable power generators, the humming throbbed in tune with the tunes. The night was booked, and great DJs were scheduled. Our group of friends had been looking forward to it. And it happened anyway, in the midst of an enormous North American power crisis. God Bless You, System Soundbar. 

5:48 pm on April 14, 2012 







Fritz Bang 

Sensational series, this, Denise!
May I add that Then & Now will not be complete without including in its oeuvre The Subway Room at the Spadina Hotel, Catch 22, Stilife, 318, and The Wabash.
Thanks for the memories. 

3:01 pm on April 13, 2012 






Jennstar

Denise – you are awesome! Your articles are always bang on. What a great place System was – I had many a fun time there with all of the crew – especially with Patrick-Evil P (RIP), the Snowmen, Mark & Joanne, Petta, Stretch & Hooker and of course Orin. Who can ever forget about Orin – a true player from the start – who fully supported all genres of EDM. I loved System!
P.S. Happy Birthday! 

9:24 am on April 13, 2012 






canuck1975 

What a great article, Denice. System was one of my favourite places to go to. As a somewhat obvious gay guy it was a safe place to be at that wasn’t in the village that played music that wasn’t tribal divas wailing away to the latest Rauhoffer remix that sounded like the last one (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
There are few nights out that I really can say I remember from beginning to end but that Picotto night is one of them. I still talk about it to friends who weren’t around to be there. It was truly epic and off the hook and one of the best rave-club nights this town had ever seen. 

8:16 am on April 13, 2012 







Derek

Some of the best memories of my youth were had at System…
The friends, music and memories were unforgettable… A girl and II started frequenting anything and everything System 8 years ago … that girl is now my fiance, soon to be wife and we still recall nights at system like they were yesterday… 
Unless you were a system head this must sound crazy…but for those that were, you know your still lifting up your arms and waiting for the base to drop
To go somewhere and know you were surrounded by people just like you , who came for the love of the music like you did made it a place like non-other…
The night Congo-Natty rocked out until 8am for their last time ever at System on that loaded Saturday is still playing in my head years later..
Thanks for giving us back System, for at least a minute, while reading your article…. Man I miss it 

1:37 am on April 13, 2012 






phil_s 

Great article, the memories are now flooding me; the ones that stick out the loudest are James Holden, whose stock was just rising due to his highly acclaimed Balance compilation [2003]; a different night featuring Desyn Masiello, who was riding high on a recent WMC-special Essential Mix feature [2005]; and a Fukhouse event where Tiga absolutely stole the show from headliner Dan Bell by delighting the crowd with a mash-up set ranging from electro-pop through rock mash-ups (Tiga had recently released his DJ Kicks compilation entry, again, to much acclaim [2003]). These extremely timely and globally-relevant bookings were game-changing nights for me, and I’m sure many others. And of course, Breathe Fridays. I firmly believe that during its peak, it was the best party in the city. 

12:16 am on April 13, 2012 







Cat in the Hat

Such fond memories of this magical place.. sad to see it reduced to rubble. The golden era will be forever etched in the memories of the ones who “got it” and are hopefully still “getting it!”
Dance like your vagina is on fire bitches! 

7:56 pm on April 12, 2012 






Andy M

I remember it was December 1999, we went to see a film at Paramount and it was sold out, so we accidentally ventured into System and we were like WTF is this madness. Then it became my favorite club, still remember that awesome lounge area that had beautiful textiles hanging from the ceiling, saw the best DJs at one of TOs best clubs. RIP System Soundbar. 

7:50 pm on April 12, 2012 







Gparty

Missing from the article was the long running techno night Blue Thursdays put on by the guys behind Speed records and Blue recordings which continued later at Turbo. 

5:52 pm on April 12, 2012 






Orin

Great article Denise. This is the first article I’ve read on System that truly captured System and all its facets. Thank you. 

3:43 pm on April 12, 2012 







Mit Rowe

Also an important part of the System experience were the staff… be they bouncers, hosts, bartenders, or management. The whole establishment had a family feel to it that i really appreciated. 

3:53 pm on April 12, 2012 







qt 

I will n ever forget System and all of the thiungs I did to msyelf down there. PLUR! 

2:52 pm on April 12, 2012 







Marcus Visionary

Great article Denise! Big thanks to Orin, Ryan, Jesse and all of the Dj’s who played at System on the regular. We were truly spoiled. This club was so instrumental in keeping Jungle, Drum and Bass alive in Toronto as we moved into the 2000′s. 
Salute 

2:51 pm on April 12, 2012 







Mike Greco

Nice article. I was sad to see the building in the midst of being demolished a little while back when I happened to walk past.
I’m also glad to see that you got a chance to speak with Mark Scaife, Matt Coleridge and Deko-ze about Breathe. I enjoyed having the opportunity to work with each of them. That goes for Orin Bristol, as well. Without the freedom he gave me in terms of who I booked, and how I chose to promote the night, Breathe could never have been as successful as it was. He basically put the full power of the venue in my hands and that lead to so many DJs playing their first-ever Toronto gigs at Breathe.
Finally, I’d like to say a special thanks to everyone who ever spent an evening with us at Breathe. And even more, there’s a core group of people who came out when Breathe was brand new and not-popular (when other promoters in the city were laughing at the idea of a strict prog-house music policy) and who kept coming back. And bringing their friends. The real ‘heads’. That was the Breathe Family. They were the people I booked DJs for. Those were the people that made Breathe.
So, farewell System Soundbar. I hope the people living on that corner wake up in the middle of the night to faint echoes of bass rumbling up from the cellar. I hope your ghost haunts the fuck right out of the condos built where you stood. 

2:14 pm on April 12, 2012 






EveryonesOpinion

I have so many memories of System – especially from it’s Hip-Hop nights on Thursdays. It was a great place to hear the latest & greatest House out. I miss this place almost as much as I miss Roxy Blu.
Thanks Denise ! 

1:41 pm on April 12, 2012 







Nate

I was at the Mauro Piccotto show. It was life changing.
I miss System. Memories of this place are cached away in the “best times” section of my soul and mind. 

10:41 pm on April 12, 2012 







Steve Mac 

This man knows, System, Roxy along with the short lived but classic Aria on Richmond are the places I miss, a time of friendliness and open mindedness in the T-dot club scene that may never be seen again…and I love that she mentioned the Mark Farina/pipe burst event, my favourite of so many great nights at “Systems”  

9:30 am on April 13, 2012