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Before phones. Before socials. Before the scene became an industry.

Sean Quinn was in it.

In this episode, we go deep into Melbourne’s golden era of clubbing — the nights at Mansion, Dome, Chevron and QBar, the chaos of touring with The Prodigy, and what it was really like playing major festivals like Big Day Out, Summadayze and Kiss My Grass.

This isn’t just nostalgia.

We talk about:
 • The nerves before walking on stage
 • The highs and crashes of the dance music industry
 • Touring stories you won’t hear anywhere else
 • How Melbourne’s club scene exploded — and what changed

For anyone who lived through Melbourne’s club era, this one will hit.

And for those who didn’t — this is what it was really like.

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🎧 The Danny Rants Podcast
 Conversations with the people who built the culture.

#SeanQuinn #MelbourneClubs #BigDayOut #DanceMusic #MelbourneSound #Summadayze

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Before the sold-out clubs.
Before the packed dancefloors.
Before Latin music became a dominant force in Australian nightlife.

This is the real story of Jimmy Toro.

Raised in Western Sydney by parents who came to Australia as refugees, Jimmy grew up surrounded by resilience, sacrifice, and strong community values. What started as a love for music and DJing slowly evolved into something much bigger — building La Cueva, now one of the most influential Latin nightlife brands in the country.

In this episode, we go deeper than the dancefloor:

Growing up in a refugee family in Western Sydney

Finding identity through music and nightlife

The rise of Latin culture in Sydney & Melbourne nightclubs

A community and culture many Australians rarely see

This isn’t just about parties or promoters.
It’s about heritage, hustle, and building something from nothing — while carrying the weight of family, culture, and expectation.

Welcome to a side of Australian nightlife you probably didn’t know existed.

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John Course is one of the true pioneers of Australian dance culture.

From the late 1980s onward, John was at the forefront of shaping how dance music was played, shared, and experienced in Australia. Long before festivals dominated the landscape, he helped define an era where clubs were the heartbeat of culture, DJs were tastemakers, and records travelled through word of mouth, dance floors, and trust.

In this conversation, John reflects on his journey from early obsession with music, to becoming a driving force behind influential platforms like Vicious Recordings, and how those moments helped push Australian dance music onto a global stage.

We talk about:

His early beginnings and lifelong obsession with music
His impact on dance culture from the 80s through the clubbing golden era
Favourite moments from decades behind the decks
The evolution of DJs, clubs, and audiences
And how he’s still influencing dance culture today, without chasing trends
This isn’t just a look back — it’s a story about longevity, passion, and how real cultural impact is built over time.

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They tried to kill it. Again and again. But Melbourne’s most iconic underground radio station, KISS FM, just won’t die—and Tim Byrne & His Wife are the reason why. In this episode, Danny Rants sits down with the longest-standing working DJ in Australia to unpack the unreal journey of KISS FM: from its early beginnings to big corporate pushback, almost going under multiple times, and the relentless fight to keep independent dance music alive on Aussie airwaves. From launching the Kiss My Grass Festival to championing Melbourne's local club scene, Tim has seen it all—and lived to tell the tale. This is the untold story of the station that shaped a generation… and the man who refused to let it fade out.

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Ever Dreamed of Working in Music Festivals? Here's the Truth From the Inside.
This episode pulls back the curtain on the wild world of music festivals. From artist logistics to booking, creative, media, production, operations, and marketing — we break down every job it takes to make a festival happen, some you no doubt have never even heard of! 

 Featuring Danny Rants & Daniel McFayden from Happen Group we dive into:

• What each role actually does
• How to break in and get noticed
• What we look for when hiring
• The high-pressure, high-reward chaos of pulling off huge shows and who is involved 

Whether you're a student, DJ, content creator, or just obsessed with live music — this is your roadmap to getting a foot in the door and making it a full-time career.

Watch it. Save it. Share it. Your backstage pass starts here. 🎟️

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In this episode, I sit down with the king of polished nightlife — Nick Russian. From his early days on reality TV to building some of the most iconic, celebrity-packed venues in Melbourne, Nick opens up about juggling egos, dealing with drama, and what it really takes to run clubs where the guest list reads like the Brownlow afterparty.

We dive into:
The rise of Melbourne's A-list nightlife
How he became “The King of Beautiful People”
His start on reality TV and how it launched his empire
The secrets to staying relevant in a scene that burns people out
The pressure, the glamour, the wins — and the war stories

If you've ever wondered what it’s like behind the velvet rope — this is the episode.
 Welcome to the most polished chaos in nightlife.

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In this episode, we sit down with Aussie hip-hop icon Pez, who opens up about the wild ride of blowing up, vanishing from the spotlight, and finding his way back again. We talk about the dizzying highs of fame, the brutal reality of health battles, and the pressures that come with tall poppy syndrome, stage fright, and partying too hard.

From The Festival Song to finding faith, this is Pez like you've never heard him before — unfiltered, honest, and deeply reflective.

🎤 Fame, fallouts, fear, and finding peace — this one goes deep.

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Melbourne’s nightlife was built on chaos, innovation and iconic dancefloors — and Alex Mate was right in the centre of it. From Mansion to Fantasia, Dome and the legendary Hard Kandy, Alex helped shape a club era that defined a generation.

In this episode, we dive deep into the stories you never heard — the rivalries, the line-ups down the block, the DJs who blew the roof off, and the moments that made Melbourne one of the greatest club cities in the world.

This is real club culture, told by the people who lived it.

🎙 Guest: Alex Mate
🏛 Clubs: Mansion, Fantasia, Dome, Hard Kandy
🔊 Hosted by: Danny Rants

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Melbourne most iconic and notorious nightclub. Alex Mate head promoter talks on its origins 

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What So Not sits down with me for a massive chat about rule-breaking, reinventing yourself, and what the future of DJing actually looks like in the age of AI. We cover his come-up, the chaos of touring (including splitting his head open), moving to America, surfing, and living with Daniel Johns during COVID. Pure honesty, wild stories, big perspective — this one goes everywhere.