Boys Noize – The Bouncy Kitty

In standard, normal, everyday time it’s really only been a week since I’ve been home from Lightning in a Bottle but truth be told it feels like another century ago; another me ago, even. If you want to get down to brass tax – yes, in all honesty the weekend was absolutely transformational, mercurial and magical all at the same time. I’ve spent the past week in a solid state of reflection about life, the universe…and literally anything and everything under the sun.

My love; my life.

Part of the reason Lightning in a Bottle was such a big deal for me emotionally was that it represented multiple turning points in my life. First and foremost, back in 2010 I actually had a ticket for LiB – but because I was just diagnosed with Vasovagal Syncope I sold my ticket to get my health back on track. The year after, in 2011, was my best friend’s bachelorette party in Vegas and there was no way in hell I was missing that – so this year, my adventures to and at LiB seemed more than necessary and slightly overdue. Then mix in equal parts falling in love with my boyfriend while two of my best girl friends leave LA for Montreal and Boston respectively, and I had a whole mess of a machine to figure out for myself. Phaedra and Jessica represent two different worlds of friendships to me, but are equally loyal and loving friends; it was a blessing to have them get to know each other last summer and as people have always said – how lovely it is that I’ve met two souls who make saying goodbye so difficult.

It’s not that I define myself by the friendships I keep, but I place a lot of value on their opinions and moral codes; then again, shouldn’t we all? In the absence of both of them I’ve been doing some soul searching and emotional wandering with this mantra in mind: we’re all cups, full to the brim of emotion and with each interaction with others we’re constantly tipping out our emotions and being refilled by the thoughts and feelings of others; I’ve come out of my shell within the last two years and maybe the shape of my cup has shifted, or I’ve switched from still to bubbling water. Either way, I’ve watched myself grow – mature – evolve – and I simply don’t have the same needs, nor the same amounts of patience, that I used to have. Meaning a lot of introspection into what it means for me to both have a friend and be one.

Besides taking time to detox and emotionally decompress, this past week has been about intertwining friend groups and developing the framework for future plans and ideas. Simply put, every since LiB there’s been a sense of passion, dedication, creativity and urgency from my group of friends – business plans, life goals, trajectory altering decisions – they’re being made en masse and I couldn’t be more impressed. As my boyfriend put it – they didn’t call it the ‘Maybe Lab’ and they don’t call it the ‘Do Lab’ for nothing; we can’t wait to see what’s possible when we put our minds together for something positive!

Besides the introspection, we did manage to have a bit of fun over the past week: last Thursday I discovered that one our of favorite DJs and Producers – Pretty Lights – was playing a free show at the Amoeba records in Hollywood so I went with a few of my guy friends and had an absolute blast! He even freestyled for us – so legit.

Pretty Lights gettin’ funky

And now, for the next two weeks, I’ll be doing absolutely as little as possible as I get ready for the ruckus and shenanigans of Hard Summer! Just because I’m not out and about prancing to the beat doesn’t mean I feel like sitting still – so here are some jams to help you get through your Monday – your week – your whatthehellever – just dance!

Tracklist:

TJR – Whats Up Suckaz
Disclosure – F For You (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix)
Skrillex & Damian Marley – Make It Bun Dem (Dead Battery Remix)
Major Lazer – Get Free (Ft. Amber Coffman) (Andy C Remix)
Fatboy Slim & Riva Starr – Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat
Sound Remedy – Chiaroscuro (Original Mix)
Boys Noize – Starwin
Diplo ft. Mike Posner, Boax van de Beatz, RiFF RAFF – CROWN
Mounties – Headphones (Sleepy Tom Remix)
Neon Jungle – Trouble (Monsieur Adi Remix)
Foreigner – Cold as Ice (A.Skillz & Nick Thayer Bootleg Remix)
Major Lazer – Bubble Butt (It’s The Kue Remix!)
Gareth Emery & Krewella – Lights and Thunder
Thrift Shop – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Kinetik Groove Remix)
HeRobust x gLAdiator – We Are
Rusko – Lift Me up
Deadmau5 – Suckfest 9001
Knife Party – LRAD (Erotic Cafe Remix)
Calvin Harris feat. Ayah Marar – Thinking About You (Laidback Luke Remix)
Krewella – Live for the Night
Sleepy Tom – Let It Go
Tommy Trash vs A Trak – Tuna Truffle (Tommy Trash Coachella Snack)
Matthew Koma – One Night (Vicetone Remix)
Smallpools – Dreaming (The Chainsmokers Remix)
Capital Cities – Safe & Sound (Panic City Remix)

One of the best parts about living in Los Angeles (and trust me when I say there are a lot of great things about living here), is that there is never a shortage of fun to be had – especially in the summer months. The sun is bouncing down on the city, and the city bounces back with some crazy fun parties located anywhere and everywhere: hotel rooftops, parking garage rooftops, warehouses in the depths of downtown, and sometimes even a Tiki Boat!

Just last weekend, HARD Fest hosted HARD Summer at LA State Historic Park in downtown Los Angeles. What’s typically a relatively quiet sanctuary in the middle of a bustling city was transformed into a menagerie of colors, glowing objects, and kandi covered ravers. The festival lit up the downtown skyline for two days from the early evening deep into the night and boasted top notch acts in multiple genres. A definite perk of HARDsummer was that riding the Metro was free; no one had to worry about traffic, parking or who would be tasked with driving us home.

First, let’s get real for a second, and I love getting real: the lineup for the first night was less than impressive; however it was also a lot less packed. The crowd was easier to navigate and even though I lost my phone, I didn’t lose my friends. Secondly, let me tell those of you that have yet to attend a multi day festival: it is aggressive! Admittedly, my exhaustion after day one was mostly due to running from stage to stage in search of a danceable beat – but there were a few DJs that made my heart happy and made faces in the crowd melt.
Continue reading →