With how big EDM music is in Colorado, how come there aren’t many Festivals in the state?

That’s a question that has a few different answers. Depending on how long you have been in this world you might know that Colorado has had a number of successful (and unsuccessful) EDM festivals throughout the years. Staples like Sonic Bloom, Arise, Global Dance, and if you are old enough to remember, we even had an EDC Colorado in 2010! *Seriously, look it up. It was 1,000 degrees out and I drank too much and puked everywhere at a 12th Planet set. So where did they all go? One of the main reasons is a little thing called Radius Clause. A radius clause prevents certain artists from performing in the same city, if they already have a booked show in that market. Fun fact: I’m on a radius clause for Red Rocks right now! Fun! Back in the day any random wook with a farm and about 10 grand could round up some speakers and some research chemicals and throw their own festival because none of the more established venues in the state were fucking with EDM at the time. This allowed festivals like Sonic Bloom and Arise to flourish. But with radius clauses sometimes spanning six months, to even a year before a show, it makes booking the top tier artists mostly impossible. I know what you are thinking: why don’t they throw a festival with more up-and-coming artists and avoid the radius clauses? Well, you aren’t the first person with a sprouted bucket hat and a dream to think of this. They have tried time and time again to throw more underground EDM festivals in Colorado, booking mostly smaller or unknown talent and most have failed miserably. How do I know this? I HAVE PLAYED PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THEM. Ten years ago if there was a hula hoop and a folding table in the woods, there was a 200% chance I was on the lineup. The other main reason is permitting. It takes a lot of space to fit stages, hat pin vendors, campsites, hat pin vendors, food trucks, bathrooms, more hat pin vendors, and the only places with that kind of space are the more rural areas of Colorado. Guess what? They don’t super duper want us there! Often they will bury new festivals in permitting requests and legal issues until it’s literally not viable to hold an event in that county. One such unlucky start up fest that was being thrown by some friends of mine had jumped through all the necessary (non hula) hoops only to have the county pull the permits on the first day of the festival, and police forced everyone off the land right after they had opened the gates. In the words of Joe Exotic: “They were never able to financially recover from this.”

 

How do you feel about the announcement that GRiZ is making his comeback? 

Normally, I’m not a fan of this new trend towards scarcity marketing where everything needs to be bought RIGHT NOW, or you will miss out forever. It started with concert tickets, has taken over clothing and sneakers, and if I have to see one more “Limited Edition” product at the grocery store I’m going to puke Baja Blast Midnight Purple Edition straight onto the King Soopers floor. But for GRiZ, I’ll make an exception. Maybe it’s his smile, or maybe it was that one time he complimented my music backstage at Red Rocks, but I just can’t hate on him for anything he does because his vibes are immaculate. Flattery will get you everywhere with me, so one nice compliment and I will forever be ride or die with GRiZ. 

Social Media has ruined April Fools’ for me, how do you deal with it?

I personally avoid the socials during this time, and choose to focus on my in-person prank game.  For instance, one time I was walking home from class and found an industrial sized roll of tin foil on the side of the road. I waited until one of my roommates was out of town for a week and then threw a “get high af and wrap everything in my roommates room in tin foil” party. We spent hours and hours hand wrapping every piece of clothes in his closet and every single thing in his desk. We did his bed, his pillows, the floor, until every square inch of his room was covered.