[Oh, Snap] Illuminating the Night with the LA Zoo Lights

December 13, 2015December 15, 2015Leave a comment

When it comes to holiday lights, I’ll be the first to admit that my perception is a bit jaded by my frequent festival . Whether it was my first experience at Electric Daisy Carnival way back in 2006 when it was still a one day event in San Bernadino, or my last in 2011 when Tiesto tore the sky open and caused the stars to rain down for what felt like an eternity – the dance music circuit and music festivals have almost spoiled the fun of holiday lights, but get one thing straight – I’m not complaining. I’ve lived in Los Angeles since 2008 and finally – after almost eight years, i got the light show that I’ve been waiting for.

Hosted in conjunction with the Paramount Studios, Cirque du Soleil and Stella Artois, the LA Zoo Lights breathes electric nightlife into the stunning landscape of the LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens. With the real animals in sweet, deep slumber – the true wildlife comes out to play including an electric forest, musical flamingos, technicolor elephants, upcycled singing frogs crafted out of old water bottles, a stunning water-laser show, and so much more.

Upon entrance, you’re greeted by an array of wily monkeys, earnestly plugging in the zoo to set the festivities in full swing while the eccentric melodies of Cirque du Soleil’s latest traveling show KURIOS radiate through the loud speakers. Roaming through the park, Holiday tunes from KCRW ebb and flow out of the Disco Forest while light dances through the trees. Though most of the live animals are asleep, the Lair is still open and sure to creep you out with all of their crawlies; let me just put it this way: thank goodness they’re behind glass! Or hey, if you like that kind of stuff…good for you, or something.

My theory is that you go in the very first group and slowly make your way around, enjoying each and every exhibit. One protip that I will forever live by: since you enter the Zoo by admission time, pick an early time, and show up about 20 minutes after the gates are open – you’ll be able to walk right in and the park won’t be as crowded. And since your tour of the LA Zoo Lights is self guided, enjoy yourself a merry little Christmas and take your time to smell the illuminated roses. We ended up staying for two and a half hours and could have easily stayed longer but vow to come back before the end of the year! The park is open through January 3rd, week days and weekends – so be sure to check the website for availability.

For more on the LA Zoo and the LA Zoo Lights, head to their website and socials – LA Zoo Lights | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

[The Audiofiles] Usher In Winter with Lane 8’s Latest Mixtape

December 11, 2015December 11, 2015Leave a comment

With Los Angeles trapped within it’s version of perpetual Summer, I tend to forget that other seasons exist until we’re thrust into them feet first. Thankfully, I’ve begun to anticipate them thanks to timely mixes from none other than Lane 8, a rising star on Above & Beyond’s Anjunadeep imprint. Now with a host of large festival tour dates like Northern Nights, Spring Awakening, What The Festival and Global Dance Festival – not to mention, with his second album ‘Rise‘ and second North American Tour of the same name under his belt, Lane 8 has perfected his stage presence and ability to feel the crowd, which have both forayed into his exquisitely curated mixtapes.

Over the last year, I’ve found myself drawn to both his moody and brooding downtempo original tracks as well as his magnificent mixes that pull inspiration from each and every pocket of House Music. Deep, Indie, Tech – you name it, he’s mixed it into his wondrous works. Though I’d missed out on attending several of his shows around Southern California, I was delighted to be front and center while he brought the house down at Coachella’s DoLab Stage to watch him turn some of my bass buddies into tried and true Lane 8 believers. Each and every time I dive into a mix, I’m absolutely enthralled and blown away by his musical maturity and his latest Winter 2015 Mixtape is an absolute testament to that fact. Dive right in and see what you think!

For more on Lane 8, make sure you keep tabs on his socials –

Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud

Photo by Daniel Leist

Cross Published on The DJ List

[Oh, Snap] Strolling Through The Stanford Cactus Garden

December 10, 2015December 13, 2015Leave a comment

While roaming back from Oregon to California, the open road delivered a reinvigorating tonic like no other. Between the diverse landscapes and lush landscapes paired with deep conversations and silly banter, wanderlust rushed haphazardly through my veins while the
fire in my heart was reignited. But after almost ten hours on the road, the last thing I wanted to do was get behind the wheel of anything for an adventure to anywhere, so when we brought up the idea of going for an afternoon walk – I was stoked.

The weekend after Thanksgiving marked the first time in forever I’d had some downtime in the area and I wanted to take full advantage of every inch of sunlight. We kickstarted the day from Menlo Park, strolling into a downtown area that felt preserved in time. Green, yellow, and red leaves glided effortless like Rasta confetti while the crisp, clean Autumn air provided refreshing shift from the frigid Winter-like Oregon mornings and perpetual Summer sun and Springtime temperatures of Los Angeles. After going to one of my former favorite haunts for sandwiches, we were off, off and away into Palo Alto to visit some of my favorite hidden gems at the Stanford University Campus.

After 31 years, there’s a lot that’s changed in the Bay Area – but thankfully for me, this is one of the few areas that’s stayed the same – and it holds some of my favorite local landscapes like – like Stanford‘s Arboretum, Mausoleum and the Arizona Cactus Garden. The cactus garden is one of the few remaining landscape artifacts from Leland Stanford’s estate.

Officially named Leland Stanford Junior University, the campus was established back in 1885 in memory of Leland Stanford’s son. Not only was Leland Stanford a former Governor and U.S. Senator, but he was also the Co-Founder and President of the Central Pacific Railroad. Originally, there were plans to build a mansion on the plot of land but once his son passed away from typhoid fever, plans were amended to build a university instead. A true testament to their sense of community, the Stanford’s took it upon themselves to ensure that the entire generation their son would be part of would build a successful world.

A beautiful and lasting testament to the transformative power of love, the cactus garden was restored in 1977 and currently holds over 500 species of cactus and succulents separated by geographic hemisphere and continent. And let me tell you, these specimens were out of this world! I’ve never seen a Joshua Tree so grandiose or cactus so threateningly tall. Plus, there’s nothing quite like seeing the neon blossoms in striking dichotomy against moody shades of green.

Photos from myself, with additional photography from Daniel Leist.

[Make Your Own] Sparkly + Seasonal Home Decorations

December 9, 2015Leave a comment

When I was younger, it felt like the holidays would wait until at least after Thanksgiving to waltz into the world and steal the show. I don’t know if it’s the awareness I’ve accumulated as an adult, or a fact of our modern reality but the older I get – the earlier and earlier the seem to sneak up into the everyday life. Little by little, Mariah Carey and The Ratpack have planted yuletide ear bugs, sweetly serenading me while Christmas commercials run rampant over the airwaves and my visual spectrum becomes inundated with red, white, green and glitter everything. The holiday season provides a wonderful excuse to spruce up the place and though I’d love to ball out and adorn the apartment with brand spankin’ new holiday decorations, I have to admit that there’s something so gratifying and satisfying about making decorations all on your own. Last year, I perfected making homemade candles so this time I thought I’d try my luck at something a bit more naturally beautiful.

Just the other day, when I dropped by my favorite local clothing shop – Native Boutique, I caught myself ogling their adorable holiday dresses, toying with the strings longingly as I lazed through the store. Not only do they have a killer $20 rack outside, but they’ve got a welcoming staff and a stellar selection of clothing for the female young professionals that know how to both work and play hard. While making my way through the aisles, I noticed they had some beautifully simple decorations lying around on cabinets, tables and cupboards – glittery, shimmery pinecones!

With the amount of camping and festivals that Danny and I have been to over the last three years, we’ve actually amassed quite a number of pine cones that are scattered throughout our place – the coffee table, the alter, and in even in a batch of potpourri that I made out of a bouquet of roses. I’d seen a few posts that detailed painting the cones like flowers, but that seemed a bit much for me – glitter, however, that I can do! It’s the perfect combination of natural and whimsical, while providing the perfect accent to any coffee table, window sill – or even in a bowl of pretty and pungent potpourri.

Supplies:

Elmer’s Craft Bond Spray Adhesive
Assorted pine cones in various shapes and sizes, dried flowers
Glitter – my personal favorites are Glow In The Dark Glitter from and Spectra Glitter
Cardboard and Newspaper to cover whatever surface you’re using
Optional:
- Rubber Gloves
- Mixing Cups
- Paintbrush
- Hair Dryer

Instructions:

The great thing about the sparkly, seasonal pine cones is that they’re as easy to make as they sound and the result is beautiful any way you spin it!

Start by laying down a protective layer of cardboard or newspaper over the area you’ll be crafting over – that way you’ll keep all the MOOP (Matter-Out-Of-Place) in one area.
Gather your pine cones and flowers in a central area for efficient work space
In a small mixing cup, add any and all of the different glitters that you’re putting on the first pine cone

If you’d like to spare yourself glitter-fingers, toss on a pair of plastic gloves.
Shake the can of spray glue and remove the plastic top, spray can on a third of the pine cone and loosely sprinkle enough glitter to cover the glue. Repeat on the rest of the pine cone.
Set pine cone in a safe place to set and repeat steps on other pine cones; allow cones to set over night
The next morning, take a blow dryer on the lowest setting and dust off any excess glitter.

Voila! Easy, breezy, beautiful home accents that can liven up any room 🙂

[Traveling Tales] The Best iOS Apps For Roadtrips

December 7, 2015February 22, 2016Leave a comment

From the second I got my first car at 17, I realized that curves are for hugging, being on the road is physically cathartic and that the shortest distance between two points is me in my car with the windows down and music up. Though I’ve developed a map-titude over the ages, I’m constantly praising the cell phone gods that smart phones exist and that developers are willing to share their genius with us. From directions to attractions, a place to lay your head and places to explore – I’ve found a good set of phone apps that have you covered. Just remember – whatever you’re trying to do, wherever you’re trying to go: there’s a better way, and there’s definitely an app for that.

Lodging.

Make sure you’ve got a birds eye view into one if not more, of the following apps so you can get a comfortable roof over your head for pennies on the dollar. My personal favorite is AirBnb, especially because you can snag an entire domicile for an incredibly low rate – or just a single room if you’re flying solo or traveling with your best friend or significant other. HomeAway and VRBO are great resources if you’ve got a larger group in tow, while CheapTickets can find you a discounted hotel room in milliseconds.

So Much Room For Activities.

One of my favorite things about road trips is that they can take you wherever your little heart desires – want to head to the beach and cruise the coast? Do it! Or how about a detour through the desert or a romp near the river? A road trip is the quintessential choose your own adventure experience and you’re the captain. Sometimes, it just takes a wish and a will to find something novel – but if you’d like a little assistance, download Roadtrippers for a nifty guide around your location and it’s comprehensive for the entire United States. After signing up, you can save and share travel routes, not to mention a look into a broad range of activities within a close proximity to your travel path plus the net value of gas for your trip.

Find Yourself

If you’re an iPhone user and you’re trying to get anywhere important, or just find a specific location in general – do yourself a favor and stop using Apple Maps. Seriously. Download Google Maps and Waze immediately, sit back and enjoy the seamless integration and easier to use directions that don’t lead you into the ocean, or into a dead end.

Stay organized.

I don’t know about you, but I love lists – sometimes I even have lists of lists, others I’ll purposely put a few things on it that I’ve done that day so I can instantly feel the struckout satisfaction of what’s been accomplished. But for some reason, When it comes to buckling down and actually packing for a trip I always tend to forget the little things. So a few years ago, I made a master list and saved it to my hard drive; when I got sick of referencing it – I tossed it up into a list on Evernote. A great alternative to a bulky Google Doc, Evernote provides a simple forum for staying on task and on top of your life.

What are your tricks of the trade when it comes to traveling?

Let me know in the comments below!

[Traveling Tales] A Leisurely Road Trip Down the West Coast

December 3, 2015February 22, 2016Leave a comment

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

I’ve been told that there’s only one constant in life, and all ironies aside – that constant is change. As with the old adage ‘this too shall pass‘, I’ve developed a thicker skin and a willful resolve in the understanding that no matter what I’m doing or the trajectory of my life, the chances of a roller coaster moment is coming are high – so hold on and enjoy the ride. The ups, downs and in-betweens are all wonderful side-effects of this passionate, purposeful and perpetual, journey around the sun. This past year alone has been a crazy one, it started with a bang on a social high and it’s ending on a more personal, yet equally loud, roar – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The holidays have always provided me ample time for retrospect, possible due to the lack of a social circle in Oregon – but mostly because of the long flight up and almost two hour drive in from Portland to Corvallis once the plane lands. Even though I’m not originally from Oregon, my dad is and I’ve felt like it’s been my second (well, technicality third home for my entire life). Since I was a wee little one, I’ve been frequenting California’s stately neighbor to North. Plus, now that my dad is inching towards retirement he’s left the busy, bustling and vibrant city life of San Francisco behind while trading it for the slower paced, quieter, country life of Corvallis; where the claim to fame is green grass, football and Oregon State University.

Since they’d spent the last few months moving, my step-mom was over the moon excited to see us for two reasons – it’d been almost four months since the last time the family got together and she couldn’t wait to unload whatever household items they didn’t need into our possession. Whether her excitement was from Column A or Column B simply didn’t faze us – we were over the moon about both! Originally when we discussed how we were bringing it all back to Los Angeles, we’d considered renting a van or renting a U-Haul, and had jokingly mentioned that we could just fill the old ’98 Ford Expedition for a full fledged, super fun road trip – maybe we’d bring it back later in the year and use it as an excuse to come visit again; the options felt endless! Instead of laughing at us, they mused that we might as well just keep the truck since all it had been doing over the last give years was gathering rust and spiderwebs in the garage. Without missing a beat, we jumped with joy and resolved we’d only have to book a one way flight to Oregon – and could spend the tail end of it road tripping down through Oregon to San Francisco and then on to Los Angeles. Sure, we had the chance to travel down this path when heading to and from Shambhala but we’d always been in such a rush and never seemed to have the time to smell the proverbial roses or bask in the delightful Oregon sunshine.

If you’re not from Oregon, one of the first things to understand about traveling during Thanksgiving Break is that you’re going to find yourself in a bit of traffic from the Civil War Game. Every year after Thanksgiving, the Eugene based University of Oregon Ducks take on the OSU Beavers for what’s contended to be the 5th largest college football rivalry in the United States.
If you’re a football fan, it’s a proper time to rejoice – but if you’re trying to make your way down the 5 to California, beware – because there’s really only one major freeway and depending on your timing you might just get stuck in it. That’s literally the only weekend of the year I’ve ever seen traffic in Oregon. Instead of getting stuck in traffic, we decided to not only leave early but to take every detour we saw fit – we were in the mood to enjoy ourselves and for once we weren’t rushing back to LA on zero energy!

Our first stop was the little known Corvallis BMX Park on the edge of the city where the Marys River and the Williamette River collide. Some parts were too waterlog to risk, others were too icy to entertain – but throughout it all it was an enjoyable adventure, even when we had to look up exactly what poision oak really looks like. Then we were off, off and away to a rest stop near Oakland, Oregon that looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale with vibrant greens, radiant yellows and blossoming reds. Time had come to a standstill while we stood there, laughing like five year olds as we waltzed the empty paths around the field, enraptured by our momentary microcosm.

By the time we reached Mt.Ashland, it felt as though we’d experienced the brevity of all the seasons in just a few short hours. First a cool breeze and sparse sunshine, blossoming into sunshowers and scattered clouds as we climbed our way into an indescribable winter wonderland. Squealing like a schoolgirl that hadn’t seen snow more than a handful of times in her life, I pleaded with Danny to pull over at each and every turnout so we could embrace the snowfall, dance on the purity of the ground… and apparently have a snowball fight or two.

By sunset, we’d conquered Yreka and saw a beautiful orange and magenta shimmer off of snowcapped Mt.Shasta

We got to Menlo Park late that night, to wake up to the excitement of a stunning Saturday in the Bay Area. It’d been forever since we’d had a day to just spend some time with my mother and I was beyond happy that she could host us for the weekend. We spent the day gallivanting around the Bay Area to all my former stomping grounds – Strolling through Menlo Park, and into Atherton where my old High School was to grab lunch downtown at Le Boulanger, then into Palo Alto, Stanford Campus and my favorite hidden gem of a botanical garden. It was a whirlwind few days with a lot of driving and a ton of walking, but it felt great to stretch the limbs, expand the mind and really connect with my family and my fiance.

[The Audiofiles] Ferry Corsten Marks 2016 As The Year of The Gouryella

December 2, 2015December 2, 2015Leave a comment

According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2016 is the year of the Monkey – so it’s only fitting that it’s the year Ferry Corsten’s trance monikercomes to life on the big stage. Tried and true Trance fans, raise a glass and rejoice – and prepare for an unforgettable musical journey. Originally a creative collaboration with Tiesto from 1999, the Gouryella side project released only a small handful of highly acclaimed tracks, only to dissipate in the early 2000’s. Don’t be confused If you’ve never heard of Gouryella, you (a) are not alone and (b) probably unaware that he’s produced music under over 20 other pseudonyms, transforming Ferry Corsten into the man of many musical masks.

He’s produced solo albums under three other names, System F, Ferr and DJ Sno-White to produce the currently seasonal Santa’s X-Mas Dance Party from 1996 (yes, almost 20 years ago), while his solo projects range from East West, Festen, Lunalife, Zenithal and Skywalker to collaborations
like Vimana with Tiesto, New World Punx with Markus Schulz, FB with Benny Benassi, and Veracicha with Vincent De Moor not to mention, over a dozen with Robert Smith like Double Dutch, Blade Racer, Starparty and Sons of Aliens. Earlier this year, Ferry Corsten revived the Gouryella alias to release the deliciously driving single Anahera, and you could say that from there – the rest is now history.

In a Facebook note this morning, Ferry stated:

“’ve always loved the musical qualities that make up the Gouryella sound, and in the time when so much trance is swaying too far to EDM, I want to bring big melodies back to a scene I’ve spent my entire career championing. Gouryella will allow me the opportunity to exercise not only my desire to bring back a sentiment to the scene that I think is lacking in some parts, but equally deliver a new live concept that will represent both the music and visuals, as well as enable me to detail further the mysterious naming which has always made up Gouryella and the titles of the singles.”

From the moment I was introduced to his music, I was enthralled and entranced (pun intended) by the musical landscape and auditory adventure provided by both individual songs and his elongated club and festival sets. First it was his phenomenal closing set at the fabled Together As One of years ago, when Insomniac and GoVentures still partnered on the event; Ferry played a passionately playful closing set, extending it an extra half hour for the glowing crowd at The Shrine. Then within the next four months, I was lucky enough to witness him play an intimate, maybe 100 person show at Santa Barbara’s then up and coming dance nightclub – Statemynt. The goosebumps from hearing now classic tracks like ‘Beautiful’, ‘Fire’ and ‘Brain Box’ from right next to the DJ decks are as real eight years later as they were back then.

The announcement of his Gouryella tour comes right before the release of #HelloWorld Part 3 EP, out on his own Flashover Records imprint December 11th.

Pre-order Hello World here!