[The Audiofiles] Lightning In A Bottle Is Cruising to Central Cali

February 13, 2014February 20, 2014Leave a comment

Of all the magical experiences that 2013 had to offer, hands down – my weekend away at Lightning in a Bottle was hands down the best five days of the year. From the creatively costumed concert go-ers to dance and yoga workshops, right on down to the live musical acts, live art and live entertainment – Lightning in a Bottle expertly tantalizes each and every one of the senses and left me both searching and yearning for more out of myself, my life and the community I surround myself with.

Between last year’s fiasco with the outlying community of Riverside County and a desire to please their loyal fans up and down the coast of California, The Do Lab knew that they had to switch something up about the location. When the festival was still in it’s early years, it was held in the Santa Barbara mountains and over the last four years has been bouncing between locations around Southern California. The weekend deserved a location as unique as the culture it emanates, and with it’s new location in the Central Coast – that’s exactly what it’s getting. This year, Lightning in a Bottle is migrating up to the San Antonio Recreation Area in Monterey County and I couldn’t be more excited. Not only is it equidistant from the amazing music communities in San Francisco and Los Angeles, but the new venue boasts more space than at the Live Oak Campground in Santa Barbara and the Lake Skinner Recreation Area in Temecula. To boot, rain permitting we’ll be able to frolic in the lakes of the recreation area in the sweet heat of Memorial Day weekend; a stark contrast from last year when my friends and I got to tell folks to ‘Nama-stay off the lake!’ while trying to stay out of the immense Summer sun.

During the day, your mind is opened in so many directions with the plethora of enigmatic speakers and workshops. They’re on everything from urban foraging, sustainability, sexuality, your infinite potential, inter-species communication and much, much more. last year, speakers for the weekend included visionaries like Alex and Allison Grey, John Perkins and the author of one of my favorite books ‘Breaking Open The Head’ Daniel Pinchbeck; workshops ranged from ritual movement, hooping, sacred dance and slacklining. Scattered throughout the festival grounds are amazing, living works of art that evolve with the weekend with phenomenal artists from across the country and some of the most fun I had was routinely stopping by my favorites to see how they’re coming along.

As the sun starts going down, the beats begin to pick up and the community truly comes alive – spinning fire, gathering to admire live art and dancing to the infectious, underground sounds that are throbbing through the epic sound systems of the three main stages (the Woogie, Bamboo and Lightning) or one of two smaller stages at the Lumi Lounge and the Temple. Each stage boasted a different assortment of acts, community and culture – at the Bamboo stage, you could get your grime on with gLAdiator, Griz, Kastle, Andreniline and the mud people (like, really though), the Lightning stage held the more theatrical productions like Emancipator and Nicolas Jaar and last but certainly not least, the Woogie got you to boogie with deep house DJs like Lee Burridge, Pumpkin and Marques Wyatt.

I went to Lightning in a Bottle with an open mind and no expectations; what I left with was an enhanced world view, self confidence and an amazing support system of friends new and old.

With a little something for everyone, this is an experience that I truly want all of my friends to be part of. Tickets for this amazing five day experience go on 24 hour discounted sale on 2/18, and on 2/19 they’ll go on sale for full value. Make sure to get yours quickly, this is one weekend not to be missed!

[The Audiofiles] Required Listening for HARD Summer, Day 1

July 29, 2013September 26, 2013Leave a comment

This morning I woke up, looked at my calendar and almost freaked out because this is the last week of July; I’m sure I’ve said this a few times already this year but where the hell has the time gone?! Granted, I’m far busier than I’ve ever been: last November I started volunteering at an organization called the Kitty Bungalow: Charm School for Wayward Cats and was quickly named the Board Liaison for the organization. During my time there, I lost track of a few very important mantras – like love yourself first, be cognizant of the way people treat those who are inconsequential to their lives and that with great power comes great responsibility. Thank goodness I have an amazing boyfriend, support system and family to keep me in check – I was losing perspective, soul and my positive perspective; there was something sucking at my soul and I needed to breathe and figure out why. Ultimately, I realized what was going on in that pretty little mind of mine – I was placing my dreams on the back-burner so I could go and chase someone else’s, and it was causing me the most strange kind of anxiety: that my dreams weren’t _____ enough to chase. And just fill in the blank with whatever you will: good, valid, amazing, wonderful, solid, proactive, achievable, doable. After a few weeks of minor anxiety attacks and frustrations, I realized that what I was forgetting/neglecting/ignoring was the most important part about these dreams: they’re mine.

I took a deep breath to re-evaluate my life’s trajectory and then I made a move: I left the organization. I love cats, I love people and I love making lives better – but it’s difficult to remain affable and altruistic when at the end of the day I’m unable to help myself. Beyond my dreams being deferred, the kicker was that owner of this amazing foundation built on the idea of saving feral cats couldn’t figure out how to treat people. I took a moment and mediated on an adage from an old friend – you can’t win’em all, but you can surely throw the game; so, after toying around with e-mail drafts for two weeks I finally took the plunge and sent in my resignation letter.

It hasn’t even been a month since I’ve sent it – twenty days to be exact – but in my adult life, I can tell you one thing for sure: my soul feels free again. I’ve had the chance to experience, embrace and cultivate so many new and exciting feelings within my heart, soul and head. Each day, I fall more in love with my soulmate – the term ‘boyfriend’ doesn’t do it justice and the English language lacks the capabilities to aptly describe the way I feel inside. He’s my biggest cheerleader, a shoulder to cry on and the best support system – and friend – a girl could ask for. We’ve been able to spend more time together – and productive time at that: laying down the groundwork of our goals and converting them into possible realities. He makes me believe – not just in myself, but in my dreams and the time I’ve invested into them; it’s surreal and I can only hope everyone finds this type of counterpart in their life.

What’s even better is that my dad came into town this weekend and I got to introduce my favorite men to each other – it was so much fun! We ate – oh, we ate – well, had wonderful conversation and I even got to introduce my father to Danny’s mom – best relaxing weekend I’ve had in a while! On Friday we headed over to the Farmer’s Market at the Grove to have some Brazilian BBQ and Pinkberry; on Saturday we got our Eggs Benedict on at an amazing place called Tres at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. They had feta foam on top of the eggs; just process that for a second and try not to drool on your keyboard. During the day, we had an adventure to Universal Citywalk to catch Despicable Me 2 in 3D – if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out. One of the cutest movies I’ve seen in a long time and probably the best sequel ever. Finally, we ended the day with some stellar Sushi and conversation. Sunday morning was for the parents meeting – and that went phenomenally. We all took a walk down to the Farmer’s Market and got some crepes – both sweet and savory – and the Waffles Versaille. I was tres full! Last but not lease we rounded out the weekend with some Abbey Road on vinyl – because why not!

Speaking of being a perpetual five year old trapped in the body of a 28 year old, there are certain things that will simply put never ever lose their meaning to me. There are little bits and pieces of my reality that I covet and keep close to my soul; n no particular order: bubbles, cotton candy, sprinklers that create rainbows, tanlines, live music, miniature bottles of liquor, costumes and fabulous people. There’s something uniquely special about each one of them to me, but if you throw them all together and put a little magic in it – you essentially get a music festival. And speaking of, we’re currently gearing up for one in LA right now! HARD Fest is proud to present HARD Summer – coming up at LA’s State Historic Park. Last year’s event was absolutely ridiculous and this year’s shouldn’t be any different! I’ve compiled a playlist of the Day 1 artists to get down to and I’ll hit y’all with a Day 2 playlist later this week =) enjoy!

Knife Party – Internet Friends
Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand
Dog Blood – Next Order
DJ Fresh – Gold Dust (Flux Pavilion Remix)
Flying Lotus – Until the Quiet Comes
Major Lazer – Bubble Butt f. 2 Chainz
SBTRKT – Wildfire
Disclosure ft AlunaGeorge – White Noise
TNGHT – Acrylics
Tommy Trash – Monkey In Love
Kill the Noise – My World
RL Grime – Pockets
Alvin Risk – SKYCLAD
Destructo – Higher
Oliver – Night is On My Mind
Duke Dumont – The Giver
Will Sparks – Ah Yeah (TJR Edit)
Alex Metric ft Oliver – Motion Study
Keys n Krates – Dreamyness

[Doing It Right] LIB 2013 (or, How I Survived The Hippie Olympics)

July 19, 2013September 26, 20131 Comment

When’s the last time someone not just asked – but insisted – you keep your childlike imagination and magic alive? For most people trying to make a name for themselves, it’s been a hot minute; and from a young age it felt like most of my friends from high school had their formula for success figured out. They left our hub in the Silicon Valley for a four year degree that would inevitably translate to infinite amounts of success in the “real world.*” Me, on the other hand, well….I had loftier dreams and less tangible goals. I found that love and happiness are better when shared, however you can’t hold them in your hands or stuff them in a box in a corner; a college degree doesn’t make either of them more valid and all the money in the world can’t replace them.

You can travel the world and have all the experiences you want, but there’s something so incredibly special and connective about music festivals. But take into account my generations propensity to say ‘fuck the man’ and ‘fuck the system’ and the fact most of our spiritual belief systems have little in common with organized religion and you’ll see that the festival is our ‘church’ and our friends are the ‘community’. Thousands of people jumping to the same beat, hearts syncing in time and singing along with the music; we are in worship and music is our savior. A recent study has even shown choral singing to be on par with the health benefits of yoga. My eyes were opened in 2006 with my first Electric Daisy Carnival and again in 2011 with my first Coachella; but if I said that either of these events held a candle to Lightning in a Bottle I would absolutely be kidding myself. Don’t get me wrong, the music and crowd at the other events are phenomenal in their own right – but Lightning in a Bottle is something completely and utterly different.

The other festivals are centered around music – and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that; but Lightning in a Bottle is about the culture that surrounds music. There were speakers on multitudes of topics, including authors Daniel Pinchbeck (“Breaking Open The Head“) and John Perkins (“Confessions of an Economic Hit Man“), yoga sessions taught by yogis from all over, areas where you could experience sound baths and even a ‘Pineal Playground’ set-up to warp that pretty little mind of yours. Live artists were out at stations around Lake Skinner during the day and had ample resources for inspiration; from light installations in trees to full on fixtures out in the parks – the people of LIB brought their A-game and you could tell how excited they were to share their unique visions and creations with the world. What’s more is that almost everything was interactive – you were encouraged to touch, play and experience. I felt like an overgrown five year old on vacation!

Now, I have to admit I was a little nervous going into everything – I haven’t been camping since I was five and my parents can tell you, I wasn’t exactly “good” at it! I was so nervous that I would be unprepared, so I made a lovely little cheat sheet with a list of all the ammenities I’d need for the 5 day, 4 night excursion and there’s a few things I can tell you off the bat, first and foremost: I TOTALLY overpacked! I could have brought half as much clothing and would have still had options on what to wear; and there was so much creativity that went into some of the outfits! Definitely something to take note of for next year.

And as far as camping is concerned….it isn’t exactly camping when you’re with thousands of your new best friends, kickass sound systems, awe inspiring sculptures and have Lake Skinner as your playground. Everywhere we turned, there was literally something new to experience and someone to meet that chances are – you have some ridiculous connection to. Before the festival even started, I realized in line for wristbands that I was in college dorms with the girl in front of me and for my phone being dead, I ran into at least 50 friends I’d made in college or at festivals. I even met a girl who used to live in my apartment complex in LA!

My friends and I decided to cruise in to Lake Skinner on Thursday night so we could get the whole festival experience; we wanted a chance to set-up our tent in a leisurely manner and explore the festival grounds. We waded through a sea of people to get our wristbands (one thing about hippies – they’re a punctual bunch!), we were lucky enough to have friends there starting at 2pm because the line took approximately 7 hours from start to finish for them, compared to our measly 3 hour wait. Once that was over, you could see eyes light up and smiles pop up on everyone: shit just got so real! Once we got our massive tent it was off to explore…

The second day started with exploring the Temple of Consciousness and the Pineal Playground; we got to be part of a sound bath and then headed down to the lake to catch the view. Between the swings, shade and speakers we had so much to do during the day before the music started; there was definitely a ‘sleep, eat, mingle, rave, repeat’ vibe going on all weekend and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Now, before I get into my favorite pictures from the weekend I have a little PSA about the event. As with every event, not everyone can have a life changing-best weekend of my life experience; it’s simply not feasible – but from the sounds of it people went to an entirely different festival than my friends and I. The Do Lab gave us more than I could have hoped for with festival grounds like Lake Skinner, top notch productions, amazing art and a culture of people that I can only describe as the middle section of a ‘Hippie-Carnie-Raver’ Venn-Diagram. I had the time of my life and I hope everyone gives the festival a chance to change them for the better instead of living vicariously through someone else’s bad dream. Though LIB has been around for a hot minute, being able to experience Lake Skinner together for the first time was such a great experience. Eyes, brains and hearts were wide open and ready to explore. I know a lot of people are whining and lamenting the fact their reality didn’t match their expectations but expectation hangovers happen when people aren’t willing to take responsibility for their actions. I got to explore the festival grounds on Thursday when no one was around and take full advantage of the art, fog machines and light fixtures before people got there; on Saturday when the music in the camp turned off, my friends and I hunted down some music and created our own little community within the LIB community and have created bonds to last a lifetime. Essentially the festival, like life, is an adventure and it’s up to us as individuals to make it magical; and for me – it was so, so much more than that! So on wards – to pictures!

Thursday night at the Bamboo Stage being silly with the boyfriend

Swings, for all ages!

Under the shade of the Tepees

Sunset on Lake Skinner

The people with signs made my day! Also, thank you Mud People for showing us how to get down!

Woogie Withdrawls: It’s a real thing.

Getting to connect with artists and watch them do their thing was awesome; the festival oozed creativity from every angle.

Before I get to the videos I just want to say a big thank you to the crews at the Do Lab and Lightning in a Bottle; this was a truly eye opening and awe inspiring weekend and I can’t wait to move the world the way the festival moved me. I’m a better person for being there and have made friends to last a lifetime. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of all of our hearts for the weekend of the year and can’t wait for the next one!

The Audiofiles: Required Listening for HARD’s Day of the Dead

October 29, 2012August 14, 2013Leave a comment

Halloween is a magical time of year for most people but once you’ve been to Santa Barbara to celebrate the holiday Gaucho style, there’s really no turning back. Instead of just one day of tricks, treats and costumes you can spend the better half of the month in costume. Now that I’m a little older and a tad more mature, I don’t feel the need to party the way I did for it in college. I still have a hard time saying no to fun, but I’d like to think that I pick and choose my battles a little more wisely at this point.

Like I always rave about LA, there are so many – almost too many options when it comes to getting down with your bad self. I tend to be swayed by the social factors – like which of my friends will be there and who would be down for group costumes; but it also comes down to taste in music, how far you’re willing to travel and preferred venue – house party, festival or club. And since I’ve moved to LA, I’ve basically covered all of the bases. My first year, I went to Monster Massive, Hard Haunted and spent the week in Santa Barbara; in 2009, I stayed in to study for the GRE and hang out with my kitties; in 2010 I went to Avalon for Dirty South and last year it was a combination of a great house party in Newport thrown by close friends and seeing Nero slay it at the Music Box. And finally this year I’m going back to my festival roots and hitting up HARD Presents Day of the Dead.

I have somewhat of a lovehate relationship with festivals – they’re crowded, the lines are terrible, lots of pushing and sound systems failing, the beer cups are small, the drinking area is in an undesirable location and lets not even get started on the bathroom situation. But then, there’s this glorious flip side: magical experiences with new friends and old, ridiculous people watching, amazing costumes, incredible performances, surprise guests and celebrity sightings. Over the past few years I’ve been known to say the phrase “Never, ever again…” while leaving but I just keep coming back for more. I went to HARD summer and had a fabulous time so I figured why not give it another whirl – the Metro is free to ride and runs until 3am, perfect for us nocturnal kittens who thrive on the freaks coming out at night.

To better prepare myself for next Saturday’s mayhem, I’ve made a little playlist of the artists I want to see next weekend. Let the countdown to Day of the Dead begin!

Tracklist

Knife Party – Internet Friends
Justice – Genesis
Zeds Dead ft Omar Linx – You and I
Major Lazer ft The Partysquad – Original Don
Blue Foundation – Eyes on Fire (Zeds Dead Remix)
John Dahlback ft Erik Hassle – One Last Ride (Tommy Trash Remix)
Tiesto vs Diplo – C’mon
Jack Beats ft John B – All Night
Dillon Francis & Kill the Noise – Dill the Noise
Massive Attack – Paradise Circus (Zeds Dead Remix)
Moguai & Tommy Trash – In N’Out (Tommy Trash Remix)
Jack Beats – Get Down
Bo Saris – She’s On Fire (Maya Jane Coles Remix)
Chris Isaak – Wicked Games (Soul Clap Remix)
Clockwork – Airflow
Diplo ft Lazrdisk Party Sex – Set It Off
Dillon Francis – I.D.G.A.F.O.S.
Zedd – Stars Come Out (Dillon Francis Remix)
MGMT – Electric Feel (Justice Remix)
Knife Party – Centipede
Major Lazer ft Nina Sky – Keep It Going Louder
Florence + The Machine – Spectrum (Maya Jane Coles Remix)
Felix Cartal – Love (Clockwork Remix)
Knife Party – Rage Valley

Doing it Right: HARD Summer 2012

August 12, 2012August 14, 20131 Comment

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.
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