Pour Out a little H2O for my Hommies,
This Goes Out to all the Ravers, Who have Passed on to Rave at the Heavenly Festival in the Sky!! P.L.U.R. See You on the OtherSide!
https://youtu.be/U4mYeu20Bu0
Paul Van Dyk is making his Return at EDC Las Vegas!! His music has been an inspiration to fans, promoters & other artists all over the world.. Trance use to be known as the Gateway Genre into EDM. PVD was 1 of the 1st big producers to put North America in a Trance. Insomniac Events Hosts Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas Nevada & Celebrates 20 Years! What a great event to welcome PVD back from his fall during a performance that resulted in a concussion. It’s a New Rave World is a phrase I like to use almost every time I Post anything about Dance Music & Share anything on our Culture. It’s an exciting time to be alive with so many opportunities as technology has changed the World! EDC Vegas is less than a week away & Festival season 2016 is in full swing! I wanted to translate my experiences into sound b/c that’s what speakers do (VibeGuy’s a Speaker)
EDM Biz Week starts today!. A conference for the EDM industry that takes place every year the week before Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas. Many of the industries top Artists, Agents, Label heads, Fashion Designers, Media, Artist Managers, Promoters & basically anyone/everyone that wants to press play on dance music becoming a better experience for all of us! My goal was to finish my provisional patent application that would allow me to start networking under patent pending status. I’m excited to tell people about my idea & hope it will create opportunities for others. This is why I decided I better not go & I need to keep trucking along but what better place to network than EDM Biz Week. Even though I can’t attend, I have been following the hot topics of this years conference. I figured I would at least share my thoughts & views from my experience & hopefully others will too because I believe that thru diversity lies the opportunity to solve a variety of problems. I do applaud EDM Biz Week & Insomniac for all that they do & I think this topic is one that needs to be taken seriously. I hope to write 1 more blog post before the end of the week in regards to the topic “what happens after the drop”, so stayed tuned for that post but this 1st topic hits close to home & I hope together we can all make a difference. Below is VibeGuy’s Story & Pitch for R.A.D.D.
One topic that is always danced around inside our culture but focused on by those outside of us is: “Drugs & Dance Music”
As mentioned, I’m a huge fan of Paul Van Dyk & have seen him perform on 2 different occasions. In 2008 I saw him perform at the World Famous Lizard Lounge in Dallas, Texas. A performance I will never forget. I remember the track selection was unique. He played a variety of genres, some new music, some old but all came together in a magical way that brought a unique energy out of the crowd. I believe a good set for a DJ/Producer/Artist or whatever name you prefer should take fans on a musical journey with the Artist deciding what music roads to go down. The best definition I have heard define music; a rhythmic marking of time & an artistic expression thru sound that reflects feelings, emotions & experiences of the time. PVD performed with 3 CDJs, a mixer & 3 mini midi keyboards that all were used thru out the performance.(if I remember the set up correctly…🤔) He appeared to put everything he had into his set, as if his goal was to release all the energy & emotions he had stored up, onto the dance floor.. I could tell when he played, that this was his way to escape & some may even use the phrase “in a Trance”.😁 By the end of the performance the promoter along with a few big security guards surrounded him & quickly escorted him back to the kitchen area away from the chaos & fans. Johnny Funk the resident jumped on the decks to close out the night, a difficult task at hand but I have never seen a resident that can do it with such style & grace like Johnny Funk can. After a short time PVD comes out of his trance & pops back out from the kitchen area to sign autographs & thank fans for their support. Which says a lot about him as a Artist & adds to the long list of reasons why I will always be a fan of the Man; PVD!!
I saw PVD perform on 1 other occasion. It was a Thursday night show in Dallas Texas at Club Blue & the year was 2006. My Friend Tommy (quick link to a video of Tommy that is awesome & I hope goes viral one day)
https://youtu.be/v97mWT-c1eE
Ok, back to the story…Tommy was with me because VibeGirl had to work. I had just started Vibe Entertainment & Promotions with big dreams of throwing events & bringing as many new fans into the scene as possible!
PVD’s agent at the time was Pam & her agency was Producer Artist Management. PAM also represented DJ Icey & Baby Anne 2 of the 1st Artists we booked & promoted to start things off. The other reason we were going to see PVD in Dallas on that Thursday night was to meet Disco Donnie. Meeting Disco Donnie will have to be a story that I tell another day but I will say that my goal ever since that night was to create magical events & still be able to attend & be part as a fan! I guess because of everything going on that night, I don’t remember a whole lot about the performance but there was a song that PVD played that stuck in my head & I was determined to find the name of it. This was long before Beatport made a deal with Shazam, so Shazam barely recognized even mainstream EDM tracks at the time. I tried to find the set list on the Internet but had no luck but I ended up discovering the name of the track when a local DJ played it at a party. I ran up to the booth so excited & the DJ was happy to share the name of the artist & track. After his set we talked more about music, the local scene & how fast Dance Music was growing all over the world. We actually had attended the same high school but ran around with different crowds that didn’t get along but neither one of us cared about that any more, especially now that we were united thru sound. Unfortunately the friendship was short lived as a result of a horrible car accident my new friend DJ Tim O’Shea Lost his Life leaving a gig late one night. Alcohol & Drugs were rumored to be part of what caused the fatal accident. His fiancé was in the car & it’s a blessing she survived but I can’t even Imagine the heartache from such a devastating loss. Tim was a great guy, a talented DJ on the rise & PLUR radiated thru him both when he was on & off the decks. After the funeral I posted PVD’s track “The OtherSide” from our MySpace in dedication to Tim. It’s a beautiful song that I try to share with anyone that I see struggling from the loss of a loved one.
About 2 weeks ago a friend asked if I had heard about the 2 people that passed away at a Music Festival in Tampa over Memorial Day Weekend. The news was a sad as always. All weekend long SMF had filled my social media with posts of pics, videos & positive vibes from Tampa as Ravers celebrated life during the long holiday weekend!! It’s sad anytime a young person dies & I think about my friends & family that lost their lives to alcohol & drug related accidents over the years. To many lives lost to soon. In fact I can’t think of anyone in my life under the age of 30 that passed away, that alcohol & drugs were not a factor in some way. The Kandi bracelet that VibeGuy wears & the emoji ghost that appears at the end of social media posts I do in remembrance of my best friend & brother that also struggled with drugs & alcohol..(in many ways this is what’s lead to the patent but that’s a story I hope to share another day) Memorial Day is done in remembrance of the men & woman that died fighting for the freedom that we have today. I know we are all very thankful for this freedom. It’s a blessing to able to hear people from around the World drop bass & not bombs. I believe it was President Obama that was giving a speech on Memorial Day & he made the comment that it’s important to remember those the paid the price of sacrificing their lives for our freedom but it’s also important to learn from mistakes made in the past that resulted in lives being lost from war & tragedy.
Sometimes we make decisions that are right, sometimes ones that are wrong. Either way we need to learn from the decisions & be thankful we are blessed with the opportunity to make mistakes & learn from them. In 2014 the number of drug related deaths passed the number of deaths from automobile accidents. I think this is partly b/c of innovation making cars safer but also reflects changes taking place in society. No matter the cause it’s important to learn about the harmful affects & educate others of short term & long term consequences of all decisions. When I was growing up Drunk Driving was one of the #1 killers of young people. Information passed on to buckle up, don’t drink & drive, don’t text & drive played a key role at saving many teenagers lives! MADD Mothers Against Drunk Driving was an organization that made a big impact to help with a problem! (B/c if Moms not happy, no body is going to be happy) after reading about the topic at EDM Biz Week titled “Drugs & Dance Music” I wanted to share my thoughts & suggest maybe an organization be started to educate Ravers about the importance of staying hydrated b/c a lot of times when drugs are involved, it’s side affects like dehydration that result in death. Also naloxone is now being offered over the counter & this is a drug that is administered to overdose patients. Education & information can save Lives! Also remember it doesn’t matter what your vice is to much of anything can be bad for you. I was thinking of a cool name & RADD came to mind. Ravers Against Dumb Drug use.. j/k Ravers Against Drugs & Dehydration. I guess the options are endless but I wanted to share! Rave On & Rave Responsibly!! Congrats to Insomniac on 20 Years of EDC!! EDM Biz Week, Hopefully I will See you Next Year…👻~✌️🎶🌐