Last Sunday was the most caring and important show that I've ever been to. It really gave me hope for Columbus, and it really meant a lot to several people. The show: "Booty Bounce". The Cause: a charity event to raise money for one of our own.
Our bouncer "Handcuffs" has been with us only a few short months, and to be honest we weren't too sure about him right at first. See, the handcuffs threw us off, we thought he was a cop. But that didn't stop us from really putting in time to get to know him, didn't stop us from being friendly and it didn't stop us from getting involved when he needed help.
The sad story behind that is that his brother died recently, only months after Handcuffs spent all of his money to bury his mother. So we stepped in. Steve and Nice Entertainment threw a show in honor of him, all door proceeds going directly into Handcuffs wallet.
It was a good night for a multitude of reasons. For one, it was Stevens first party and he was ecstatic at its success. For another, Handcuffs couldn't get over how many people showed up for him, the day after St. Patricks and only hours after a terrifying tornado warning. Halfway through the night we had raised half the money that he would need to bury his brother. It was not a huge event, but a fair amount of people came and they donated good sized amounts of money. One guy gave Steve 300 dollars, and I think many of us would have been willing to donate that if we had the funds to do so.
What was interesting was the fact that none of the "key" players in this scene came to show support. Well, except for Push. I want to give him credit for that. And maybe they did pop in with some money, but I didn't see them. I think it would have been really good to have them there in person to show that they honestly care about the people that keep them and their people safe.
However, I'm pretty excited about the people that did in fact come. It was everyone that could make it out and that really cared. My boyfriend Ket and I didn't hesitate as soon as we found out about the show, did not consult our schedules, did not even hardly have to talk about it. Simply, we knew we were going to be there.
And the people that threw the party, Steven and Derrick and his partner (names are not changed) are really getting into the scene deep. Steven I know, is certainly doing it. He's only been with us since this winter and already he is deep into our local radio show, throwing parties, considering his own production company, and learning as much as he can about the scene as possible.
I can't tell you how glad I was when he told me that "The scene is 20% the music and 80% the people." I couldn't agree more, and I'm glad that he is being such a go-getter. Steven is what is coming up hot in Columbus, and he is what we need. He's humble, and in it to get people to have a good time. Our conversations often revolve around how unhappy we are about how the scene is so profit-based.
If you ask me, certain players in the scene are trying have more than their share. And Steven may be the guy to found a subculture within the EDM subculture. A group of revolutionaries, intellectuals, and free thinkers. People who know its about the environment and the people. Who still believe in the concept of PLUR. And I am damn excited to be part of it. Look out Columbus, I think this may be happening. Led by the people that I not only respect, but admire. But don't blab about it too soon, apparently Nice Ent even asked for permission from A and C to do the show. So that he wouldn't tick them off. As if doing a charity show for one of our own was stepping on their toes. Big things are afoot, keep your eyes and ears open and hopefully you wont miss them!
We are the true scene in Columbus. I don't care about making the columbus EDM scene into a "legitimate business" I care that my friends and my business partners are legit fucking people. And we are, so watch out!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
New shit
I am pretty tired and I have work tomorrow so I'm going to write pretty quickly. I may come back later but for now, here are some thoughts for tonight...
V was telling me about a lot of crazy VJ stuff that he plans on doing in the next few weeks and the next who knows when. Lots of fun stuff like live camera feeds and live filtering. 3-D Projector screens and some more stuff that I didn't fully understand. The point is that even though he is very new to visuals he already has a vision. I find his visuals much more stimulating than any others I have seen, and he's about to make shit kinda crazy. Very interactive.
Which got me to thinking about the scene as a whole, and I believe that I have stumbled upon a truth. Columbus has spent years focusing on just the DJ's. Probably that is because all of the party companies are run by music makers and players, but keeping that in mind, its no wonder my local scene is a flaccid 2-D disappointment. Columbus's only focus is on the music, not the party.
I'm glad V got into visuals though, because I think he's about to change all that. His vision is something exciting and hopefully the people "up top" will notice. Parties shouldn't be just about the music, but in columbus that just about covers it.
The end, I am going to go back over this and rewrite it for sure, i'm certian the writing sucks. But thats my thoughts for now, and I do believe they are important ones.
V was telling me about a lot of crazy VJ stuff that he plans on doing in the next few weeks and the next who knows when. Lots of fun stuff like live camera feeds and live filtering. 3-D Projector screens and some more stuff that I didn't fully understand. The point is that even though he is very new to visuals he already has a vision. I find his visuals much more stimulating than any others I have seen, and he's about to make shit kinda crazy. Very interactive.
Which got me to thinking about the scene as a whole, and I believe that I have stumbled upon a truth. Columbus has spent years focusing on just the DJ's. Probably that is because all of the party companies are run by music makers and players, but keeping that in mind, its no wonder my local scene is a flaccid 2-D disappointment. Columbus's only focus is on the music, not the party.
I'm glad V got into visuals though, because I think he's about to change all that. His vision is something exciting and hopefully the people "up top" will notice. Parties shouldn't be just about the music, but in columbus that just about covers it.
The end, I am going to go back over this and rewrite it for sure, i'm certian the writing sucks. But thats my thoughts for now, and I do believe they are important ones.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
What I will in fact be writing about, and why I am writing again at all.
So this decision to start writing again came up somewhat suddenly. Like a whole half hour ago. Why am I writing again? Because I don't want to forget. I don't want to let all of my experiences be lost to the void. Because I want there to be an accurate and honest portrayal of the scene somewhere. And when I say accurate, I define that as "a truth in perception."
In context with that, I am also writing because I think that there will be a lot to say in the upcoming years. I have decided to go on an adventure. I plan on visiting and living in many cities and discovering what their scene is all about. I am on a quest, a journey to find a place that has a local scene that I connect with. Its going to take a long time, but thats the beauty of it, now I have a kind of purpose that lasts longer than a paltry goals of my peers. Maybe then, I can imagine following through with my larger aspirations.
I have fallen totally out of love with the local scene, but I do have hope for other places. Columbus is corrupt and hostile. Local parties should be a refuge for like minded people, a safe place. But it is an alien environment for most of us. Even once we get comfortable with what we have, it still doesn't feel right. When I say us, I do mean other rave-y individuals, the colorful ones who expect to find great things in the scene, and find only confusion. We shut out others, I do it too. We don't let new people into our lives (even our scene-life) Even people we have seen around for years we refuse to get to know better. It is an envoronment of mistrut.
But I have hope that it is better elsewhere. Cleveland maybe, or pittsburg. I may travel down to california or new york. I'll visit them all and live in them all, but no schedules, Ill travel and leave when the time is right.
What? Don't believe me? Just because I still haven't tried living on my own yet? I've got news for you, I'm an independent. I am happiest by myself and my job lets me travel wherever the hell I want, for however long I want. So this is about to happen, this is my new life.
But I'm not ready yet to break free. I do still have to try that living on my own thing first, here in columbus. I plan on moving out soon, within a few months down to campus.
In the meantime, I'm not writing about the scene as a whole anymore. Its a waste of my time and it doesn't interest me. Instead I will write about the people I know and are friends with. Core members of the scene that the "scene leaders" don't really have much respect for. These are the real deal type people. New to the scene and veterens. People who care about community. These are the friends I have found, these are the people worth paying attention to.
Your welcome. The columbus branch of this blog is about what really goes on behind the scenes. I can couldn't care less for what dj is getting popular or what party companies or planning on doing in the future. I never really did. This is about the people, this is about a part of this scene that more than likely, you will never experience or even be exposed to.
Next post will be a rememberence of a recent impromtu "naked party".
In context with that, I am also writing because I think that there will be a lot to say in the upcoming years. I have decided to go on an adventure. I plan on visiting and living in many cities and discovering what their scene is all about. I am on a quest, a journey to find a place that has a local scene that I connect with. Its going to take a long time, but thats the beauty of it, now I have a kind of purpose that lasts longer than a paltry goals of my peers. Maybe then, I can imagine following through with my larger aspirations.
I have fallen totally out of love with the local scene, but I do have hope for other places. Columbus is corrupt and hostile. Local parties should be a refuge for like minded people, a safe place. But it is an alien environment for most of us. Even once we get comfortable with what we have, it still doesn't feel right. When I say us, I do mean other rave-y individuals, the colorful ones who expect to find great things in the scene, and find only confusion. We shut out others, I do it too. We don't let new people into our lives (even our scene-life) Even people we have seen around for years we refuse to get to know better. It is an envoronment of mistrut.
But I have hope that it is better elsewhere. Cleveland maybe, or pittsburg. I may travel down to california or new york. I'll visit them all and live in them all, but no schedules, Ill travel and leave when the time is right.
What? Don't believe me? Just because I still haven't tried living on my own yet? I've got news for you, I'm an independent. I am happiest by myself and my job lets me travel wherever the hell I want, for however long I want. So this is about to happen, this is my new life.
But I'm not ready yet to break free. I do still have to try that living on my own thing first, here in columbus. I plan on moving out soon, within a few months down to campus.
In the meantime, I'm not writing about the scene as a whole anymore. Its a waste of my time and it doesn't interest me. Instead I will write about the people I know and are friends with. Core members of the scene that the "scene leaders" don't really have much respect for. These are the real deal type people. New to the scene and veterens. People who care about community. These are the friends I have found, these are the people worth paying attention to.
Your welcome. The columbus branch of this blog is about what really goes on behind the scenes. I can couldn't care less for what dj is getting popular or what party companies or planning on doing in the future. I never really did. This is about the people, this is about a part of this scene that more than likely, you will never experience or even be exposed to.
Next post will be a rememberence of a recent impromtu "naked party".
Independent
Alright, so Rave Bright is going back up, but not the way it was before. I'm writing this blog for myself now, nobody else. I'm not posting articles, i'm not posting about people in the scene. I'm writing about myself. This means that my readers (thats you, if your out there) can go fuck themselves. Because I dont give a shit what any of you have to say about my writing or my opinions. If you want to read this shit, do it. But if you don't, X out and shut the fuck up.
We have the right to free speech in America, and I'm going to use it. We have the right to opinions, and I am going to have them. Not only that, I will post all the shit I want about drugs, I
will be as negative as I want, and I will certainly mention if there is some bad shit going on in the scene if I feel like it.
Basically, the people of columbus are trying to take the fun out of the rave scene, but they don't want me to bring that up. Maybe, if I walked into a club and saw a bunch of ravers having a good time, getting along, and feeling colorful I would have more good things to say. However, the Columbus EDM people are trying to make "raves" gritty again, but not in the good way. It seems like the leaders of the "scene" and many of the Dj's want people to go for the music, and only the music. And possibly the drinking. I think they could care less for the people that dance, socialize, do party drugs, laugh, discover something new, make a new friend, etc. They aren't worried about fun, they are worried about profit.
Walk into a Leboom someday, or just flip through the photographs posted about the night, your going to find a room full of black. The photographers in the scene take wide shots of the whole room. Presumably to show just how many people a DJ got into the venue, guess how much they made in door fee's?! Drinks?!, The pictures say, "don't you see how successful the scene is? We are generating loads of faceless people, we are legit because we bring in cash."
I would be much happier with a smaller amount of people that actually matter. An actual scene in Columbus, a community. However, the amount of like-minded people that go to these events is dwindling. We all have different goals, and it seems not enough time to share them with eachother or find common ground.
What you don't see in most photographers work is people having fun. I could look at albums of pictures from the Electric Daisy Carnival, because they all have their own story. You get to glimse a moment in some other persons life. Shots of individuals just don't make it into the albums as much as they should. (However, to be fair, there are some current photographers that are doing a bang up job. But these are not the local photographers that are getting work in columbus, they are not in league with the people that "run the scene").
I'm seriously fucking tired of worrying about what the other people in the columbus scene are going to say about what I write, what my opinions are, etc. Because it is very rarely accepting. Even when Rave Bright first began, it wasn't for the main players, it was for the fans. My target audience was really the glow babies, the raver kids, the kandi kidds, the dancers, the people who take electronic music, and let it become just a part of their culture.
So yes, Rave Bright is back up. Read it if you want, but don't try and use gossip to blow it out of proportion. To all of you "scene leaders" I'm not a threat anymore, I'm not marketing my blog to anybody, or even going to mention it to anybody. Rave Bright is going underground.
To everybody else, if you are indeed reading this, welcome aboard. Shit is about to get real.
We have the right to free speech in America, and I'm going to use it. We have the right to opinions, and I am going to have them. Not only that, I will post all the shit I want about drugs, I
will be as negative as I want, and I will certainly mention if there is some bad shit going on in the scene if I feel like it.
Basically, the people of columbus are trying to take the fun out of the rave scene, but they don't want me to bring that up. Maybe, if I walked into a club and saw a bunch of ravers having a good time, getting along, and feeling colorful I would have more good things to say. However, the Columbus EDM people are trying to make "raves" gritty again, but not in the good way. It seems like the leaders of the "scene" and many of the Dj's want people to go for the music, and only the music. And possibly the drinking. I think they could care less for the people that dance, socialize, do party drugs, laugh, discover something new, make a new friend, etc. They aren't worried about fun, they are worried about profit.
Walk into a Leboom someday, or just flip through the photographs posted about the night, your going to find a room full of black. The photographers in the scene take wide shots of the whole room. Presumably to show just how many people a DJ got into the venue, guess how much they made in door fee's?! Drinks?!, The pictures say, "don't you see how successful the scene is? We are generating loads of faceless people, we are legit because we bring in cash."
I would be much happier with a smaller amount of people that actually matter. An actual scene in Columbus, a community. However, the amount of like-minded people that go to these events is dwindling. We all have different goals, and it seems not enough time to share them with eachother or find common ground.
What you don't see in most photographers work is people having fun. I could look at albums of pictures from the Electric Daisy Carnival, because they all have their own story. You get to glimse a moment in some other persons life. Shots of individuals just don't make it into the albums as much as they should. (However, to be fair, there are some current photographers that are doing a bang up job. But these are not the local photographers that are getting work in columbus, they are not in league with the people that "run the scene").
I'm seriously fucking tired of worrying about what the other people in the columbus scene are going to say about what I write, what my opinions are, etc. Because it is very rarely accepting. Even when Rave Bright first began, it wasn't for the main players, it was for the fans. My target audience was really the glow babies, the raver kids, the kandi kidds, the dancers, the people who take electronic music, and let it become just a part of their culture.
So yes, Rave Bright is back up. Read it if you want, but don't try and use gossip to blow it out of proportion. To all of you "scene leaders" I'm not a threat anymore, I'm not marketing my blog to anybody, or even going to mention it to anybody. Rave Bright is going underground.
To everybody else, if you are indeed reading this, welcome aboard. Shit is about to get real.
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