S.F. cops may have gone too far in seizing DJ gear at underground parties

Yet there are also DJs who admitted to wrongdoing and still don't have their gear back from the cops. DJ Pee Play, part of the Honey Soundsystem collective, says his crew lost essential parts of their setup — a mixer and CDJs — after they threw a small illegal party in a garage six months ago. He says he has paid a fine for the infraction and is still waiting to get his equipment back. "We've been to court cases, community court — it's like every three weeks having to go to a government office," he says.

Individual victims have their theories — mostly concerning overzealous officers with anti-speakeasy agendas — about why DJs and others are losing their property at underground parties. Granick says she worries that the SFPD's actions could end up chilling an entire creative class in San Francisco — which is already happening with some of the DJs involved in these raids.

Tom Dougherty

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Credible says she had to think twice when a friend asked her to DJ at an art gallery last week. "I feel 'once bitten, twice shy,' kinda thing," she says, "where I don't want to DJ anymore. I've been DJing for 12 years and I feel like a criminal, and it sucks."