Under the blue sky…

As lover of electronic music and never witnessing the supposed rave scene back in the late 90s and early twenty-first century, I always felt the term rave died then when underground scene died. Electronic music is no longer an underground category. Everybody secretly loves electronic music and even my mom does but she doesn’t know it. The word rave to me describes an illegal, drug-laced electronic music party. This really isn’t the case nowadays with legitimate promoters encouraging a clean, fun environment to enjoy electronic music. These legitimate “raves” are dubbed massives or as our European-counter part would say, festivals. Coachella is a festival so what makes Electric Daisy Carnival any different?

Recent events such as a the death of a 15 yr old girl at Electric Daisy Carnival has brought to question the safety of raves in Los Angeles. However, is rave really the term to describe it? Is taking “raves” away from Los Angeles going to change the usage of drugs with electronic music? Sorry, folks, “raves” don’t exist anymore. Though we do still use the term to describe the event due to the type of music and crazy laser and light shows, but these days it’s a whole different flower. By banning these festival events from Los Angeles, you’re basically asking for these events to go underground again; to be run by non-legitimate promoters that will not encourage the safety of others. When you hold big events like Electric Daisy Carnival in Los Angeles it is a huge liability and risk to take on. And the promoters know what the heck they are getting into. So what needs to be changed? The promoters? The audience? Probably both.

I chatted with a colleague of mine and he believes what needs to be changed is drug education, awareness, and enforcement. The promoters need to raise the awareness of the dangers of substance abuse and educate the masses. This would be a wise thing to do because one, it covers the promoters ass by basically saying “hey, we’re doing something!” and two, all the drama surrounding “raves” they can’t really say the promoters aren’t doing anything. I know my views tend to be simple but do we really need to over-complicate situations? I just feel this entire drama llama was simply a lack of accountability. People simply refuse to be accountable for their own actions. So I believe the media has blown the entire situation out of proportion. Let’s here the truth and not protect the victim’s mistakes just because she’s dead. Let’s learn from them.

So it seems I have started to rant but the point is these events aren’t raves. It’s a massive or a festival. Come on, do you really fucking think people at Coachella aren’t dropping?

2010… the year of artist albums. Markus Schulz ‘Do You Dream?’ is releasing soon; Armin van Buuren is putting the last touches to his album; Gareth Emery’s first is due out later this year; and something totally not Trance-related, Roxanne Emery’s solo/artist album is due as well.

I’m happy to say I’ve been a Trance enthusiast for over a year. A year seems quite short but the year has been filled with amazing musical experiences. From deciding I wanted to aspire to be a DJ to traveling across the world to London to see a friend and experience the superclub, Ministry of Sound, and to meeting my favorite DJ five times (and counting I hope). If this hasn’t been a musical journey for me, I’m not sure what would be considered one.

One of my favorite DJs, Lange, is releasing his 2nd artist album in less than 30 days. I’m quite excited for this one as I’m suspecting the sound would be quite an evolution from the first. The first single ‘Live Forever’ is already rockin with amazing remixes. Before I rant too long about remixes, I did feel the remixes for ‘Live Forever’ is justified as it brings out many different elements of the tune. Sometimes I don’t understand why some tunes have remixes if the dang remix sounds like the original a little too much. Anyways, it’s going on loop now.

I’m not sure if I can wait 30 days but I’m sure it is worth it in the end. Check out the album teaser site: http://harmonicmotion.djlange.com/

DJ Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaange. I was able to catch DJ Lange for the first time at Ferry Corsten’s Once Upon A Night at the Palladium in Hollywood back in April. I unfortunately missed most of Lange’s set because I arrived late and it took a bit to get in. It was great to see a DJ I’ve been admiring since I fell in love with Trance. There were a few tunes that really hooked me in and his tune of “Out of the Sky” with Sarah Howells was one of them.

I must say I’ve gone through a phase of being madly into Dutch DJs/producers since they really dominate the Trance scene. Yet as the year progressed I have really developed my sound preferences and DJ preferences. Oddly I made a 360 lean towards English DJs – Gareth Emery, Andy Moor, Lange, Ashley Wallbridge to name a few. I’m also a big fan of German DJs/producers such as Cosmic Gate and Kyau & Albert. I still have a lot of appreciate for the Dutch DJs. Also doesn’t help I’ve caught 5 events with Gareth Emery.

The biF and I arrived at Circus to see Lange a little after midnight. He had actually already gone on stage. I saw Stacey of course and I asked her when he came on. I only missed 10 minutes. I was sad to see how empty the club was. When I mean empty, I mean there is enough dancing room for everybody and I was able to stand in front with ease. Not that I mind that much as I love to have space to dance and breath without getting stepped on, as a DJ you want to see a full house. It took a bit to get the crowd warmed up but I cheered and danced like a maniac to make up for it. Hehe.

Lange dropped a few tunes I’ve been dying to hear spun. Andy Moor’s “She Moves” and of course Lange’s first single off his upcoming album “Live Forever”. You can see both videos I made from the event on my YouTube page. You can also see the pictures I took of Lange that night. A bunch of people were getting pictures of him looking at their camera posing and stuff. He didn’t get me looking at him! Only one shot when others got like 3-4! I made the biF get one too and he did. Teehee. I also got an autograph. I was surprised at how tall the DJ booth really was when I walked up to it. It seemed shorter. So anyways… there I was with my hand leaned over with a sharpie and a pink paper (obviously asking for an autograph). He took it and signed it. While he was returning it to me I made the heart symbol with my hand (I obviously couldn’t reach him and he couldn’t hear my appreciation of course). He gave me back my notepaper and then extended his hand to shake mines. I was ecstatic as I shook his hand. Had a big grin on my face probably.

His set ended at 2AM, which was perfect I thought. This was time for a picture! Lange was awesome enough to step down and sign some autographs and take pictures with some of his fans. I was patiently waiting for my turn and this other girl was as well. She managed to ninja in and she was awesome enough to shove me in before these 2 guys could snag their pic. I literally slipped in and put my arm around him. Haha. He said something along the lines to me “That was very fast.” I got my picture, thanked him for the awesome set and forced a hug on him. Not sure if he saw the hug coming. lawl.

All in all it was quite awesome first getting the autograph and the hand shake. The picture was definitely a plus. Thank you, DJ Lange for that amazing night!

Ahh… this mix has been available for a couple weeks now but I’m so lazy to update my blog. I really should but you know me, I’ve said that before.

This mix is much darker than the Cake Mix. I wanted to make something a little more mysterious, haunting and somber. As always, I threw in a Gareth Emery tune of some sort.

It took me a very long time to mix this. I fumbled a lot here and there and had to start all over when I blew a mixpoint. This isn’t the most perfect mix but definitely one I’m happy with so far. I didn’t want to kill myself with the tunes over and over.

Alright, this is the moment I’ve been waiting for awhile. Getting all my equipment wasn’t an easy thing and I’m only in Stage 1 of my equipment buying. I currently have the software, studio monitors, and a Numark DJ controller. CDJs are next on the list but these babies are a bit expensive haha… but anyways, after much practice, I recorded my mix that I am decently happy about. Definitely some improvements I can make but I’m not hatin’.

So I managed to catch 2 out of 3 DJ sets of Gareth Emery here in Socal. I technically could have attended the one in San Diego but the drive was a bit too far and I don’t have that much money to spend. XD

Mr. Emery is amazing as always. Another good set at Avec. I’m pretty sure he knows me by face now so when his set at Avec ended, I was trying to reach him through the crowd and he saw me. He signaled at me and wee… I hugged him, got a personalized autograph and a picture. Told him I’ll see him Saturday and he exchanged the same words.

Now Saturday. Oh my god… that night was FUCKING EPIC. 4 hour set by Gareth Emery! He kept the whole night rocking! At no point was the even bored. I wish my feet didn’t give so I can dance all night! I can’t even describe how amazing it was and I’m sure Gareth was amazed himself haha… At the end he signed autographs and then came over by where I was to say hello and sign more autographs. I gave him my silver sharpie that I didn’t ask for back. At one point the bouncers were pushing people away after he signed many autographs and had a million picture taken. I had to get my moment before the bouncers didn’t allow any more contact. Gareth signaled at me a bit earlier but I said I could wait. I wanted a longer moment. I didn’t but I still got a great picture with him.

I was truly amazed by the set at Circus and it kind of makes me think if I could accomplish the same feat. Lots of practice and heart me thinks! Gareth Emery for #1!

As always, I’m behind on my blogging. I always want to blog about the neat things I buy or the cool things I do but I just never get around to it. Still better late than never.

Last week I finally got my new laptop that I preordered off Amazon.com. Amazon.com is my favorite shopping website. If Amazon.com has what I’m looking for, you can bet I’m buying off Amazon. For the last 3 weeks I’ve been getting package for myself. I am expecting 1 more until my hiatus at least that’s what I think.

So anyways I first preordered the Asus UL30vt-X1. The UL30vt is the newest edition to the Asus laptop line and with a friend’s recommendation I ordered it. The same friend told me a few days later about the next release off the UL30vt line, UL30vt-A1. The -A1 comes with an additional 1 year global warranty and a larger battery capacity for a small price increase. Since my -X1 didn’t ship, I canceled it and ordered the -A1. The laptop wasn’t expected to ship until the 2nd week of January so holding off was quite a pain since I did all my normal computing on a laptop. Since my friend ordered his before mines he got his shipping notice before I did. I only later find out he cancels it as well! He canceled it because at CES Asus displayed the UL30jt! The jt has an overclocked processor, bigger harddrive, and a better video card. Now we can’t be Asus buddies but hey he’s the one without a laptop now, not me.

This laptop is very nice. It’s widescreen like my previous HP but its slight over an inch bigger which is a definite plus. The LCD is also very bright and the dual graphics card allows for optimized battery consumption. This baby can technically run for 12 hours straight on battery with the appropriate settings. Only downfall for me is the lack of an optical drive. It’s cool because I ordered one off Amazon.com. This isn’t much else I can say about it. It does my normal computing and I’m not hardcore like those other geeks when it comes down to review the laptop. It’s sturdy, I like the keyboard, the multi-touch mouse area is a bit sensitive but other than that, this laptop comes with a good price. And of course I can run my games on it.

About a week ago my bF had a dream that we were one of the 3rd place winners for an event hosted by the Gareth Emery team. The event consisted of tickets being given away for attendence to Gareth Emery’s first RAIN Nightclub gig in Las Vegas. 1st place being a nice package and 3rd place was a pair of VIP tickets. Winners were announced last week but I wasn’t selected, neither was the bif or the sis. I whined to Gareth over Twitter that it was rigged so I didn’t win. He just lol’d and I mentioned I’ll be going anyways! So I bought General Admissions for literally an 18 hour trip to Vegas. No sleep!

A week later, today, I randomly woke up at 6:30AM-ish today. I had a bit of trouble going back to sleep but I eventually did. I official woke again at about 11:30 and logged onto the Interwebs to check my email. There it was. A congratulatory email for me winning 3rd place in the Gareth Emery competition. Did I miss my name the first time in the winner announcement? I contained my excitement just in case it was a fluke so I replied to the email to make sure it was legit. With a reply an hour or so later, it was legit. I got a pair of VIP tickets to Rain!!!! Excited as I could be my next issue was returning the GA tickets I already bought. Luckily we got that resolved easily with the loss of only $5 due to the non-refundable service fee.

I don’t feel it was a coincidence I won the tickets but that might just be hopeful wishing. Either way, a big thank you to Gareth Emery and Andrew for making this happen. Seeing my favorite DJ three times in less than a year!

So it was Christmas day. Not like I’m big on the holidays or it actually means anything but commercially, it was Christmas day. I’m staying with my bF at his place and in the morning I wanted to use my laptop. I turn it on like I normally do for the last 22 months but this time Windows doesn’t boot. Okay, it’s cool it’s happened before. Forced Shut Down and I attempted again. Windows did not boot again. The LED lights are on, I hear the fan and hard-drive running but nothing on my screen.

The bF did a little research and found a thread with users who have the exact same laptop and are experiencing the same issue I’m having. Apparently, the GPU on the TouchSmart tx2000 dislodges when it gets too hot. The gpu is soldered on instead of pinned. There were discussions on how to fix the dislodged gpu it but there is no permanent fix. HP has refused to acknowledge the issue. Other users have had this problem surface after 17 months of usage. It took me 22 months probably due to the usage of a laptop cooler.

I’m going to be getting a new laptop now and selling my TouchSmart to whoever knows how to fix it. The bF forbade me from getting another HP and that is exactly what I am doing. Sorry HP, I’ve been a customer for years but you have definitely lost me here. So here’s a blog post dedicated to you.

This past Saturday (10.10.2009) Gareth Emery spin’d at Vanguard in Hollywood. Of course I was in attendance because I adore Gareth Emery. Gareth and I are also Twitter buddies. Hah… I know I make it sound like we best friends or something but it’s cool to me. He replies to my questions and comments to him occasionally and was cool enough to answer my question to his set time. 11:45PM to 2AM he replied. Perfect in my opinion and he agreed too.

I first attended my first Gareth Emery gig at the Ministry of Sound in July. I was already a fan and planned on seeing him already but he tweeted at me (I forgot why) noting I should go as well. After his set then I camped the DJ booth. Just waiting on the stairs to snag a p1x when the security guard was nice enough to let me in the booth. :0 I stood there waiting earnestly with my camera, snagged a picture, chatted with him, and hugged him many times. I mentioned to him then my Twitter name and he recognized me. It was a start of an awesome… fan/DJ relationship.

So back to Vanguard. I arrived with my boyfriend, Eric, and my sister. I had already bought tickets through will call and thinking it would just be the three of us my sister runs into her friends! Whack I’d say. The tickets were also blank with no writing or indication Gareth was spinning that night. Eric and I took it as a little hopeful sign meaning we were going to get his autograph on it. We go inside and Kristina Sky is spinning. I find a comfy spot close enough to the stage so when I can easily paparazzi style some pictures of Gareth when he comes onto the stage. They layout of Vanguard changed once more since the last time I saw it. The DJ booth was bigger and I felt there was more space to everything. I wonder if they rearranged the tables or maybe I’ve just gone on too crowded of nights. [cough] Armin [cough] Ferry [cough]. Gareth appears at 12AM-ish and the crowd cheers! Of course I did!

I danced to the entire length of his set along with my biF. I had this most amazing feeling while being there. My boyfriend was behind me and Gareth was in front of my eyes. It felt so good to share a moment I tend to only keep to myself with somebody I love.

Anyways! Gareth kept the crowd roaring all the night. Highs and lows– he really got our energy up and it was such an indescribable feeling. He took us on a journey and one that would end to bring in Menno de Jong.

After Gareth Emery’s set I immediately started to look for him around the DJ booth. He started to stand by the booth’s stairs and I waved too him. I think he noticed me as he comes down the stairs I asked for his autograph and he told me he couldn’t do it just yet because the security was being “dicks”. I laughed. Him and security guard camped near the booth but at a corner of the club. This guy was hogging Gareth even when I noticed Gareth was trying to let him go. Lol. I had to be more aggressive to I ninja’d in after the guy moved off. I told him he had another amazing set like I experienced in London and he said he found it much more enjoyable in Los Angeles. Eric helped me snap a picture and I asked for his autograph earlier. He asked if I wanted something special on it and I told him just my name is fine. He wrote more than just my name. “Keep Twittering” and autographed my ticket. I thanked him again and hugged him one last time. He said to me “See you soon”. I stepped off and ecstatically jumped up and down with Eric. Mission accomplished! Best part of all, Gareth recognized me as that nut from Twitter and London… haha.

I don’t mean to sound like a creeper but I really adore Gareth Emery. One, I think he’s an amazing producer and DJ and two, after meeting him in London, I felt like a real connection – fan to DJ. He really engages with his fans and I’m lucky to be one of them. It’s really hard to describe right now how it makes me feel but totally not in a creeper way. Just very appreciative and thankful.

I also printed out my 2 pictures with him and framed it along with the autograph ticket. Not a creeper at all I swear.