20 Years Ago Today...

Twenty Years Forward: Celebrating FORWARD's Legacy and Honoring Two Irreplaceable Souls

Twenty years ago today, on June 25th, 2005, OmniEra produced its first in-house event, FORWARD, in Oakland, California. What began as an artist management company representing over 20 diverse talents—DJs, musicians, producers, dancers, visual artists, and our dance group N-Effect—had evolved from supporting larger production companies around Northern California to a moment of realization: "Hey, we could do something ourselves!" And with the tremendous support of our music and dance community, we did exactly that.

OmniEra Entertainment was born in the late spring of 2002, starting with just two fire poi performers and a dance group. As our collective grew and friendships deepened, we discovered something magical—a place where we could think outside the box, collaborate, innovate, dream, support, and grow together. Coming from San Francisco's diverse underground scene, we printed our manifesto on the back of our first event's flier:

"Calling all party people... We're not here to preach how good it was 'back in the day'. We're not trying to bring back the 'old' vibe. It's time we appreciate all we have right here in our scene, make ourselves better, and move FORWARD."

We couldn't have imagined the impact this event would create. While we were hoping for 250-300 people, about 500 showed up—the only time I've ever gone over capacity. But more than numbers, we created memories that have lasted decades, marking countless firsts for us, our attendees, and paving the way for FORWARD: Step 2 and Step 3 to follow, along with countless other events in the 2000s and until today. The success was remarkable, especially considering we were competing with San Francisco's Pride weekend, EDC in Southern California, and our dear friends at DOTS, who coincidentally had their event the same evening. All were greatly attended, proving the strength of our collective community.
​
We wanted to represent the full spectrum of dance music genres and honor the various production crews we'd been part of, resulting in a lineup of 30+ DJs from across Northern California, complemented by artistic activations and performances throughout the evening.

Remembering Two Irreplaceable Hearts

Though dozens of people have supported OmniEra throughout these two decades, we wouldn't have survived without two extraordinarily special souls: Chris "Cloudskipper" Madore and Carlos Alfonzo Lopez, aka Suprimo.

Chris became my right-hand partner starting at the end of 2003. While I handled management and harbored big dreams, he possessed the technical mastery of sound, lighting, and production that I lacked. Our partnership weathered every season—collaborations and arguments, adventures and late-night calls, being there for each other even when we drove each other crazy. He took the words from our FORWARD manifesto and transformed them into a track bearing the same name. For two solid decades, we were integral parts of each other's lives (the only person I talked on the phone with more than him was my mom), until he sadly passed away on November 30th, 2022.

Carlos and I first met in 2002, though our friendship didn't deepen until a year later when he was organizing one of his events. I kept pushing him to promote in San Francisco while he was still living in the South Bay—a dynamic that would define our friendship for the next two decades. We constantly pushed each other, supported each other's growth, served as each other's biggest cheerleaders, and navigated life's countless twists and turns together. In 2006, we fell in love with wine at a downtown SF wine bar, inspiring us to create "Wine Snob SF"—a blog that evolved from the MySpace era through Instagram, with a website that was unfortunately taken down this past year following his unexpected passing on April 11th, 2024. He was my number one person and partner in life. 

Moving Forward with Their Spirit

The loss of these two people creates a heartache I can never fully overcome. Part of me wanted to quit everything—OmniEra after Chris, and everything after Carlos. But over this past year, I've learned that although they're no longer physically here, they remain with me. I feel their support and encouragement in my mind and heart constantly, guiding me forward.

I wouldn't be who I am today, and OmniEra wouldn't exist, without these two extraordinary people. My love and loyalty to them endure eternally, and we will always dedicate and remember Chris and Carlos in everything OmniEra becomes, no matter what direction or turns our future may take.

As we celebrate twenty years of FORWARD today, we honor not just an event or a milestone, but the beautiful souls who made it all possible and continue to inspire us to keep moving forward.

Thank you everyone for all of your support, always.

~ Samantha T. Marie