Origami Angel is a band characterized by a maximalist approach toward songwriting while simultaneously keeping up with short song durations and punk sensibilities. Ryland Heavy and Pat Doherty are able to effectively cram explosive energy into this project for a variety of reasons. The band’s plethora of nostalgia is appealing to anyone who grew up in Y2K, via Danny Phantom, Pokemon, or McDonald’s references and a yearning desire to relive the past. But what is fascinating is that the band is creating new musical content that future generations may want to look back upon in the same way that they view their childhood. Somewhere City is an album that was released in November of 2019, thematically representing self growth and the lengthy process that this entails. I personally discovered this album around finals week, at a peak point of stress in my life. It seemed fitting that the thematic chaos of the music (blast beats, frantic guitars, and vulnerable vocals) is paired with this positive existentialist philosophy toward life. This is a sentiment that a lot of artists are buying into, and in the age of coronavirus, I think it is quite fitting. The band’s sound lands somewhere in the middle of metal-core, jazz, and math rock, with more punk sensibilities and leanings. I notoriously am known for my love of Dance Gavin Dance and other bands in the general punk scene that push boundaries and break outside of the box to create something that is refreshing in a rather saturated market. Origami Angel is clearly an act that knows how to push the boundaries. Blast beats, beautifully crafted guitar work, and the color scheme of the album art work, the record provides a sense of clarity in a chaotic world. If you are looking for an album to lift up your spirits during this immensely complicated and challenging time, then you might want to go to Somewhere City.

Comprised of soothing vocals, rhythmic guitar, and synthy bass lines, Basic Comfort’s Drift encapsulates what it’s like to feel confined within the boundaries of day-to-day life. Good vibes are stamped within the upbeat instrumentation of the piece, containing a hip collection of guitar riffs and catchy harmonies. The bridge section of the tune consists of a half-time feel instrumental feature, with an articulate and clear guitar solo. It loops back to the hook and leaves you wanting more as the band plays out. Drift is a feel-good, realistic song and Basic Comfort truly conveys the style and passion within their band. I can’t wait to hear more from them. Check them out here.

HOUSE SHOW A playlist with a little bit of everything homegrown in Kalamazoo. With a blend of emotional tunes, punk, indie, and everything in between, this playlist offers an inside look (from a socially safe distance) to the local Kalamazoo house show scene and all the beauties the DIY scene has to offer. AT HOME HIP HOP A playlist meant to keep you motivated at home. Filled with local Kalamazoo and underground hip-hop artists. With vibes ranging from party to patience, you can get a new taste of everything hip-hop from home. WIDR TAKES NYC Early this year the WIDR Directors traveled to New York City for the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System conference. We learned a lot and along the way made a playlist perfect for your long road trips (or boring days spent inside) that will keep you on your toes. From k-pop to country, hip-hop and classic rock, this playlist has something for everybody.

Well, this sucks. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this might be my last post as General Manager of this incredible radio station. As the university closes down its buildings until the spread of the virus is over, students will no longer have access to the station’s offices or studio space. Starting today the station is closed until further notice. While my time as General Manager continues until May 1st, it remains uncertain what the future will hold from now until then. As this crisis continues, many students including some of our staff members have returned home to their families, but we want you to know WIDR and the Student Media Group are still here. We will still be attempting to create content for the blog and our other online outlets in support of the Western Herald’s efforts to provide information to the Kalamazoo community. Deep down we know we are essential to our community in a time of crisis more than ever, but we must also do all that's possible to stop this virus from reaching the folks we hold the closest. I also just really wanted to say thank you to our DJ’s, street team, music reviewers, volunteers, listeners, community members, and everyone who has been a part of the WIDR family. I’ve been involved since my arrival to WMU three years ago and it’s been a second home to me ever since. I hope you'll join me in keeping up with the WIDR long after I'm gone. Let the radio evolution continue! Professionally, my thoughts are with my co-workers and other student media staff who’ve been put out of work, or continue to work without knowing whether or not they'll get paid for it. We’ll be handed our final checks on March 31st, when some of us will begin to work unpaid until further notice. We understand not much can be done to accommodate the physical operations of our services as the university closes access to its buildings, but we also believe our presence on campus is one that qualifies the continuation of our paychecks. That’s why over the weekend, we joined media organizations across the world in our declaration as an “essential service". In a petition to the university, our board asked President Montgomery and WMU’s Board of Trustees to consider WMU’s Student Media Group an “essential service” to WMU’s campus in the event of any future movement restrictions. Read the petition here. Note: As of Sunday, Western Michigan University has not responded to the WMU Student Media Group petition to be formally recognized as an "essential service". Our necessity to campus and the greater WMU community has never been more clear than during the public health crisis we are currently facing. Our operation is crucial not only for this campus’ historical archive but for the health and safety of the students, who already paid for our service through the Student Assessment Fee (SAF). The WMU SAF is an annual fee charged to students taking classes on the main campus at the beginning of each semester to fund student groups like Campus Activities Board, WSA and the Student Media Group. Because our compensation comes directly from the university’s SAF funding, our pay is completely dependent on the university and its different departments. WMU’s Office of Student Engagement — the department responsible for the SAF’s allocation and its distribution into student employee payroll — not reporting to work means there’s no one to submit our timesheets. As accommodations have been made to continue paying for other “essential services,” not making accommodations for our pay would set a dangerous precedent. WMU’s student body has paid for our service through the end of the semester. If our already allocated payment is not distributed, students must be reimbursed. To me, what we’re asking for isn't all that radical. We hope the university, and you will continue to support student media at WMU as long as we are still here. We’re also hoping you’ll be following CDC recommendations like practicing social distancing, staying inside, and washing your hands, in an effort to help combat the spread of COVID-19. With gratitude and hope, Zack Zagula General Manager, WIDR FM

Bedroom Pop outfit, Worry Club, will release a new single titled “In My Ear” on Feb 28. Lead artist, Chase Walsh wrote and recorded this track in his small college apartment. The song brings together dreamy guitar riffs, punchy drums, and self-deprecating lyrical content to make a unique indie-punk sound. Recorded with just a laptop, interface, several instruments, and only three microphones the band produced a professional quality track in a tried and true DIY fashion. Worry Club takes heavy influences from Say Anything, The Maine, and Modern Baseball bringing together various styles from each in this new single, In My Ear. The song is a dark take on college relationships and a dysmorphic view of oneself. “I really tried to portray how big of a piece of shit I feel like when someone confesses their feeling towards me.” Walsh said, “The song is really about how compliments can, at times, be more toxic than insults or criticism.” Worry Club will be performing this new single in early March for a live studio session at the Quadio Headquarters in New York City. The band has previously released an EP titled “Chase’s Hands” that gained the attention and praise from the Midwest DIY music scene. They plan to continue playing shows and releasing more new music throughout the rest of the year. LINKS: https://linktr.ee/WorryClub

StartFragment I’ve been a big concert attendee since I was a kid when my parents began taking me to shows ranging from orchestra performances to rock concerts. However, I have not been to many smaller shows especially since being in Kalamazoo. Since joining the street team at WIDR and learning more about the music scene in Kalamazoo, I have been inspired to attend some smaller shows which, luckily for us college students, are much less expensive than stadium tours. My venture into the local Kalamazoo music scene began this Saturday night when I went to my first house show. If I’m honest, I was a bit sketched out to go to this as being in a stranger’s basement seemed a little unsafe to me. Luckily my friend wanted to go as well, and it ended up being one of the most chill (and perfectly safe!) experiences I’ve had in a while. There were multiple house shows going on this Saturday night, so the show ended up having about 25 people there at the peak which as I’ve been told is less than normal. I had never heard of any of the groups that performed but it was a very fun experience none the less. If anyone is like me who gets very annoyed at pop music focusing only on love and relationships, this is the type of event for you. I loved hearing music that covered topics such as hair, traveling, and existentialism expressed through sipping tea. Unfortunately, I was unable to see all the groups perform as I am a grandma and was falling asleep standing up by 10:30 but here are my thoughts on the four people I did get to see perform. Justin Schoenfelder Justin Schoenfelder was the first person to perform and rolled out with a ukulele which made me very excited from the get-go. He played with a lot more energy than I was expecting from a ukulele and it was awesome. If I had to say one musician that Justin reminded me of, it would probably be Tom Rosenthal. He sang about things that we experience in everyday life like rivers and bears but in a very humorous way. Hopie Jo (1st Photo) I personally am not a big fan of country music which was the prevailing genre in Hopie Jo’s music but due to how much personality she had in her performance I really enjoyed it. She sang about everyday topics like growing out your hair and going to the laundromat but was really funny about it. Above all Hopie really is an incredible musician. Her vocal range was astounding and made it very exciting for the audience. She also used a machine to record and layer her own playing in front of us to be a background track for her on stage. As a huge music geek, it made me very happy to see her utilize this cool tech onstage. Palou (2nd Photo) As a human frequently filled with existential dread, Palou’s music really spoke to me. The lyrics of her music focused on complicated issues like finding meaning in life. You would think that this would make the music sad but because she played upbeat, mellow ukulele backgrounds with these deeper lyrics, she maintained an optimistic sound. Palou was definitely the most chill performer I saw that night and I really liked her happy sounding but secretly depressing music. Danny Cozzi Danny Cozzi was a member of a band who was touring from Chicago. He sang and played the acoustic guitar without a microphone which was incredible. He was just belting the vocals and was able to convey a surprising amount of emotion without the help of a microphone. When describing the style of the group’s music, Danny made a reference to the Goo Goo Dolls which felt accurate. He also reminded me a bit of The Wonder Years due to the acoustic guitar, emotive vocals, and singing about getting drunk on a train for one of the songs. He also encouraged some audience participation which was a lot of fun in such an intimate setting. I can’t recommend going to house shows and local concerts enough if you’re looking to enjoy some live music. Concerts are great not just for listening to music but for connecting with people which is especially easy in the intimate house shows. Also check out all of the artists from this blog, they’re incredible and deserve our support. Justin Schoenfelder Instagram Hopie Jo Instagram Palou Instagram Spotify Danny Cozzi Instagram Bandcamp

The author (Far Left) and his friends pose for a photo. It’s no secret that Michigan has been largely tapped for metal festivals in the last few years. Ever since the demise of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival (which has since announced a comeback), the disappearance of Dirt Fest, and to a lesser extent, the cancellation of Warped Tour, the Great Lakes State hasn’t seen a whole lot of metal festivals come through besides large-name touring artists. On top of that, the three-day camping metal/EDM festival Carnival of Chaos was cancelled in 2019 as well, eliminating one of the only options Michigan metalheads had left. It is for these reasons and more that the third-annual installment of Michigan Metal Fest in Battle Creek may have been the most important day of the year for metal fans. Characterized by increased attendance, blisteringly hot weather, and a very diverse lineup, this installment saw MMF continue to make its mark as the must-see heavy metal destination of the summer. What is truly remarkable about the festival is the way it both captures and emulates the feeling of being at some of the earlier-mentioned larger festivals while also presenting it as its own original grassroots project. It has both the large-scale headliners, such as close-out act Hatebreed this year, plus a selection of the best in local and regional metal bands. I’ve been saying this ever since the first installment in 2017, and the team behind MMF has only gotten better at curating the side stages. Despite some technical difficulties with sound and scheduling, the staff was able to get things back on track. Sound issues were sporadic and did not detract from the overall experience. As per the setup of previous years, there were four stages that were divided over two larger ones. While a band was performing on one side, the next band would be setting up on the other. That Saturday, August 3rd, I arrived to the Leila Arboretum at almost exactly 2 PM, just in time to see Mount Pleasant, MI’s own speed metal band Nagazi. Fresh off a tour that was meant to lead up to Michigan Metal Fest, Nagazi was performing on the main stage of the festival for the first time. Nagazi performed at the main stage and were one of the Michigan bands to play all three years in a row. “It was an incredible day,” lead vocalist Joe Hafer said of the festival in an email interview. “You can tell that they are learning and improving every year. As with everything new, there will always be little kinks in the chain that can really screw up the schedule of a tightly planned event like this. And you can tell that extra measures were taken this year to keep things on schedule. 2019 ran like a well oiled machine.” Nagazi was one of only a handful of bands to be invited back to play for the third year in a row. “With there being a limited number of MI bands every year, to be asked back for a third consecutive year was truly an honor,” Hafer said. “There is an enormous amount of talent in this state, and we are fortunate to have an incredible fan base. I know we wouldn’t have been asked back if it weren’t for their continued support.” In the days leading up to the festival, Nagazi had been posting on social media that they would not be talking much during their set to make room for more songs, having crafted out a perfect half-hour setlist. “Set lengths are limited at these large events, and we planned every MMF set to be as seamless as possible,” Hafer said. “For most bands, these shows are most likely your biggest crowds, and often filled with many people who have never seen or heard of you. So this is an excellent opportunity to showcase yourself, and we want to show you as many songs as possible. We crammed in as much rocking metal as we could.” In a day full of death metal and deathcore-type genres, it was interesting to start the day with something more in the vein of speedy thrash metal. It would provide only a taste of what would follow. The next main stage band I saw was Dead Nerves, which is a metal band based out of Western Michigan. I definitely saw them perform at the last MMF installment, but couldn’t remember exactly what they sounded like. Dead Nerves performing at the main stage. Despite being a deathcore band, I liken their sound to being more “downtempo” deathcore - very slow and slamming beats are paired with odd time signatures and dueling guttural vocals to make a unique spin on the genre. Vocalist Tyler Rosema and drummer Michael Geluso both provide their own vocal styles into making one deeply primal sound. Members of Dead Nerves were asked to be interviewed, but did not pan out due to schedule constraints. Although things mostly ran smooth for the day, there were some noticeable sound problems at certain points. Unfortunately for me in this case, they first sprung up during the set of Gabriel and the Apocalypse, which is a band I was very excited to see that day. Gabriel and the Apocalypse performing at the main stage. I know for a fact that GATA are great live; I wrote as much about them in my review of a Lords of Acid concert that they opened for earlier that year. However, technical difficulties got the better of them this time. “We had a couple sound issues, I’m not really sure what was going on with the main sound in a couple areas, but they ended up getting it fixed,” Next Level Entertainment owner and Co-Owner of Michigan Metal Fest Steve Maple said in an interview. “The vocals [during GATA], I don’t know what was going on, they were saying that there was something going on with the effects that they had brought with them. It was what it was I suppose, I can’t really speculate or point fingers.” That isn’t to say that the theatrics and great stage presence wasn’t there - they were still up there rocking and moving the crowd, but after snapping some good photos, I had to exit the area quickly. The technical issues made the mix sound like high-pitched sandpaper in my ears, and even with earplugs in, it was very painful. That’s a damn shame, so let’s hope for the better next time. However, I’d still recommend checking the band out if they’re ever in the area. Also worth noting is that the band schedule was behind by about a half hour for part of the day. Luckily, Maple and the team were able to get things under control. “We ended up getting back on track, but it was a bit of a Faux pas for a minute,” Maple said. “One of the things I did was pull myself out of a couple of jobs while I was there and focused more on production, so I was kind of on top of it on both sides making sure everything was good all day.” Some scheduling changes were also due in part to some last-minute lineup changes. “We ended up having to adjust the time slots, we had to make a couple changes before the show,” Maple said. “That was something that happened this year that hasn’t really happened before. We had to switch out like four bands because of whatever circumstances, my band being one of them because we broke up. It was kind of a lot of scrambling, but we ended up getting all the bands to match up on the shirts and everything.” Because of these scheduling changes, I ended up having to miss the North Carolina-based band FILTH, which is another one I was looking forward to seeing. They weren’t on the main stage when they were supposed to be, and I have no idea where or when they ended up playing. That being said, once the bands were back on schedule, there were no more issues that I noticed throughout the day. Overall, there were much fewer technical difficulties than there were last year. The Breathing Process was one of the highlights of the side stage bands. One cool thing that this festival provides is the opportunity to see metal bands that you’ve always HEARD of, but never actually looked into. On my end, one such band was The Breathing Process, a symphonic metal band from Pittsburgh. With very few preconceived notions, I was impressed with their performance - a symphonic-influenced set was a nice change of pace during the event. Another highlight on the side stages was the Detroit-based metal band FORCES, which was one I had never heard of until this festival. The band certainly lives up to their name - they are a force to be reckoned with. It was kind of ironic that I would be burnt out and exhausted during such a powerful set, but the wear of the day plus the heat made it impossible for me to do anything other than observe from a distance while seated. But in any case, they were another treat to witness. Chalk up another one for the Motor City. In a related matter, members of FORCES have since released a cover of a song by The Breathing Process. The Convalescence performing at the main stage. About mid-to-late afternoon, Ohio-based metal band The Convalescence took the main stage. I’ve seen them perform several times since 2015, and they get better each time. Their symphonic deathcore sound was accentuated by more theatrics than I’ve ever seen them use, and by that I mean there were whole bottles of fake blood being sprayed EVERYWHERE. Since I made a poor choice wearing a white shirt that day, I decided to refrain from getting in the photo pit for too long. It should also be noted that at this point in the day, it was HOT. It was the kind of heat that feels like you’re swimming outside, and despite the fact that I was consciously saving energy for Blue Felix, I was beginning to feel very worn out. Once they took the stage, I summoned up all that stored energy for another chaotic Blue Felix performance. Blue Felix performing at the main stage. Following the release of their newest album Battling Gravity, the set contained a lot of new singles - all of which sounded fantastic. It’s difficult to describe in words the kind of energy that Blue Felix brings to the table - one part punk, one part trash, and all-around LSD-and-Jägermeister-fueled metal, Blue Felix combines several influences into a new spin on the genre. This is what makes them one of the most exciting bands in underground metal today. Blue Felix lead singer Toxsick Tripp. I couldn’t help but think back to the very first time I saw Blue Felix at Rock Fest, which took place in 2012 at the now-defunct Chesaning Showboat. Seven years after being floored by a performance that the promoters attempted to cut short, I was now a college graduate taking photos of them in the pit. A lot has changed in seven years, but one thing remains true: A live performance by Blue Felix is a chaotic spectacle to behold. I even got a setlist and a pick out of it! That show by Blue Felix was a giant expenditure of energy for me, so I needed to find a place to rest (this is how I ended up seeing FORCES). Afterwards, I ended up back by the main stage sprawled out on the lawn as the sun was beginning to dip. During this time, a raffle was held by staff and Miss Michigan Metal herself, Mandy Stephenson. “I want to give a shoutout to Miss Michigan Metal Mandy Stephenson for doing such an amazing job,” Maple said. “She has set the bar for that position, and she is going to stay with us for years to come to help make sure that everybody else who wins that position knows how to do it with such style and grace as she does.” Those interested in the Miss Michigan Metal pageant may be interested to know that the next round will take place later on in February 2020. As I’ve written before many times, especially in regards to this festival, the best sets you’ll ever see are the ones that revive you after a whole day of festival shenanigans. In this case, (HED) P.E., the wild card on the lineup this year, did exactly that. From the moment I realized they were setting up, I bolted up from the lawn and ran back to the main stage as though they were the first band of the day. HED PE performing at the main stage. (HED) P.E. is a fusion metal band, incorporating many, MANY different types of influences into their material. It can be difficult showing them to new listeners, as every album has a different style and no two songs are usually the same. Lead singer Jahred Gomes is now the sole remaining member of the band, but that hasn’t stopped them from constantly churning out quality releases, with 2019’s “Stampede!” being the latest. “HED PE really, really brought it,” Maple said. “There were a lot of people who had either never heard of HED PE, never listened to HED PE, or didn’t care about HED PE, and then they watched them and were like, ‘Wow, who are these guys?’ I’m like dude, these guys are the GOAT (Greatest of All Time).” Being the wild card on the lineup, Gomes made note onstage that he was happy the band had been accepted into the metal community. Their set incorporated punk, reggae, and world music influences, all wrapped up in a nice package by Gomes’ stage presence. No other band on the lineup incorporated playing a melodica into their performance. “Jahred is just such a showman, he is so natural up onstage and he just sucks you into his world,” Maple said. “I love it. I think they were pretty thankful to be there too. That was a really big crowd and it’s in an area that already likes HED PE, so they already had some fans there, but I know they made a lot of new fans that day, and that makes me happy. That’s what this is all about.” The crowd seemed genuinely curious - you could easily tell who was a fan and who was just checking out this band for the first time. I can’t say how many new fans they gained that day, but I can definitely say they made at least one. During the set, a teenage girl tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, do you know who this band is? Because they ROCK!” One highlight from the set was during their song “Raise Hell,” at which time Blue Felix lead singer Toxsick Tripp ran out from backstage and into the crowd to get the pit moving. Once the song fully kicked in, the crowd went OFF. Having (HED) P.E. perform at the festival is something Maple has wanted for a while. “Sometimes I gotta push a little bit because it’s not just my festival and it’s not just me that I want to please,” Maple said. “I do this festival for myself because I love it, but I don’t put together the best metal show around just for my own taste. But with that said, I love me some HED PE and I’ve wanted them to play my festival since day one. I basically had to fight my partners on it, until this year they gave in and said, ‘Whatever, Steve,’ and I was like, ‘Yeaaaah, we’re getting HED PE.’” Most importantly about their set, however, is that in a day full of different types of death metal and deathcore, it was VERY refreshing to have something completely different on the lineup. It was like the musical equivalent of a cold drink of water, and a very welcoming one at that. There isn’t much left to say about HED PE except their set was a blast and it’s very comforting to know that Jahred is still carrying that torch. This is the last photo I took of the day before my phone died. The next band I saw was one that I had never been a fan of before, but was willing to give another shot years later - the infamous deathcore band known as Chelsea Grin. Deathcore was never really my preferred genre, but even to someone like me, Chelsea Grin put on a solid performance that I enjoyed thoroughly. One thing I was not aware of was how many lineup changes this band has gone through since forming; none of the original members remain, and singer Tom Barber is formerly of Lorna Shore. Incidentally, Lorna Shore had previously co-headlined Michigan Metal Fest in 2018. “Chelsea Grin, I love that band with Tom singing,” Maple said. “I was not a fan of them before, but then they got Tom as a vocalist and I was instantly sold. Before, I thought the music was incredible, but I just didn’t connect with the vocals, but Tom is such a force. I got to hang out with him during the day a little bit, they ate breakfast with our volunteers, I thought that was really cool. I got to be onstage when they were doing ‘Hostage,’ and that’s one of my favorite songs in the world right now. I was very thankful to be a part of that.” Having never listened to this band much, I cannot say for sure what songs they played, but I can definitely say the track “Playing with Fire” was done in dedication to the fire spinners and dancers that were performing near the main stage. To wrap up the day, attendees were treated to the undisputed heavyweight champions of hardcore metal known as Hatebreed. As I’ve mentioned, again, and not for the last time, the best sets you’ll ever see are the ones that revive you and give a second wind. (HED) P.E. had already given me the second wind, but could it be possible that a different band would deliver a third wind? In short, yes. While a third wind is rare in my experience, they do occur sometimes, and on that day, Hatebreed gave me the elusive third wind I needed to power through the rest of the night. Although I’ve seen Hatebreed MANY times over the years, this set was the most unique by far - something happened at the airport and they had to borrow equipment from bands who were already there. As a result, they said their set would be a lot of old-school material. In a set full of older-school tracks, the highlight for me was “Live for This.” For me, it was like a nostalgic trip back to previous concerts where I saw Hatebreed perform, most recently at Dirt Fest in Pontiac back in 2015. In particular, I had a flashback to TEN YEARS AGO at The Intersection in Grand Rapids for Decimation of the Nation II, featuring Hatebreed and Cannibal Corpse (which was also the very first time I went to The Intersection). Not to mention, of course, the two times I saw them perform at Mayhem Festival, which were two of the most intense concert experiences of my life. In the middle of this huge nostalgia trip reliving the last ten years, Hatebreed was still onstage delivering an absolutely CRUSHING performance. Since the sun had gone down long ago, the crowd had summoned up the reserves of its power to throw down in a massive pit. Not gonna lie, I had some reservations about seeing Hatebreed perform again, as I had remembered thinking their performance at Dirt Fest had seemed a bit “tired,” for lack of a better term. I can safely say that the very first note had instantly reminded me of why I had ever loved this band, why they were the highlight of Mayhem Festival multiple times, and why I loved going to these types of festivals in the first place. “There’s no argument to the fact that [Hatebreed] is by far the biggest band we’ve ever had at MMF,” Maple said. “I was never really into Hatebreed until it came up as an option, there are certain bands that I just never really took time to get into. Nothing pro or con, I just never got the time to really check them out. We started listening to them and then I went and saw them at the Intersection when we were promoting, we made our announcement that night they played at the Intersection. I went out and watched them put on a HELL of a show. Jamey Jasta is just an incredible frontman, he brings it, he brings a huge personality and attitude to the stage. It’s infectious.” Perhaps “infectious” really is the right word to describe a Hatebreed set - with the slamming hardcore grooves and the massive stage presence of Jasta, it seems borderline impossible to NOT be revived by the energy they deliver. It goes without saying that the final three bands of the day gave everyone a great triple-dose of variety - Fusion Metal, Deathcore, and Hardcore. This is one of the best qualities of the festival - finding the cream of the crop of metal subgenres and placing them all next to each other. To wrap things up, I cannot stress enough that this festival absolutely fills the gap that was left behind in the wake of Mayhem Festival, Warped Tour, Ozzfest and other large-name touring festivals. Anyone who enjoyed going to those types of events would do well to consider this festival in the years to come. The only question that remains now is what will become of the festival. For starters, staff of the festival want to add more attractions for attendees to engage with. “Next year, we’re gonna have a couple more interactive vendors,” Maple said. “We want to have a dunk tank, and we’re talking about doing some kind of thing where bands vote for one member that has to be dunked. We’ve also talked about doing a break room, you go in and smash stuff, or axe throwing.” Maple says there will be even more art on display. “You may have noticed that there was a lot more art this year; That’s just the first installment of what we’ll be growing each year. We will end up with basically one large art display with a ton of metal music. We want to pound culture into these people.” Maple also advises that many of the local and regional artists who have played for years will be rotated out in favor of a newer lineup. “We try to revolve bands out after a couple years, or there’s some bands that played for three years in a row, and they are all aware now that they won’t be playing next year, and it has nothing to do with who the band is, what they do, what their sound is, or anything like that,” Maple said. “[We just want] to really keep it fresh for people, there’ll be some bands that played the first year that we’re gonna bring back again next year, they’ll already have a following that want to help them sell their tickets for MMF. I don’t sit still and I don’t repeat the same thing twice, so you can always look to be a little bit surprised at MMF because I take my job very seriously and I have an extreme passion for this.” Regardless of what shape this festival will take in the years to come, one thing is for sure: Michigan Metal Fest has only continued to grow in its third year, and has only further established itself as the end-all heavy metal event of the summer for Michigan, and perhaps even the Midwest itself. Given the fact that options for heavy metal outings are few and far between in Michigan these days, Maple and company remain humble in the success of the event. “I don’t want to say I feel fortunate, because I don’t wish for any of these festivals to be done or out of the way or anything, I’ve always been the type of person that doesn’t like to consider anyone to be in competition, just in the fact that I like when everybody wins. I just generally wish success on everyone. Being the only festival left that caters to metal music around here though, part of it’s kind of easy because everyone needs this. We felt that with the first year, that this was something that was needed. I feel like the other festivals could fire back up and we’d still be a stand-out just because we go a little bit heavier. We do our own thing, we always have, we don’t really care what everybody else is doing. We want to bring people some serious metal.” In the months following the third MMF, new developments have come to light, such as a new installment of the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival in the works. It is currently unknown whether it will be a full tour or a few one-off dates, but as far as Michigan goes, I’d say that it won’t really matter while we have MMF available. As we begin the new decade in 2020, we can only look forward to the excitement that the fourth installment of MMF will deliver - an excitement that is sure to be welcomed with open arms by metalheads everywhere. The author (right) and a friend pose for a photo. (Courtesy: Rex Elliot) A full photo album can be viewed at this link. To keep up with the crew of Michigan Metal Fest, follow these links for further reading and events: Ardent Entertainment Michigan Metal Fest Facebook Miss Michigan Metal Miss Michigan Metal Pageant 2020 The Music Factory Next Level Entertainment

On January 13th we had our first round of Battle of the Bands performed live through our station 89.1 WIDR FM and streamed on widrfm.net! The two bands battling were Rob Lindsay & His Supergroup and u know / i know. First up was Rob Lindsay, performing with members of his supergroup Diego Agoytia, Micah Stemaly, Nick Calcaterra, Josh Vreeland, Matt Jett, and Kyle Petronio. Describing their sound as a mix of jazz, rock, pop, Latin, and modern classical, they had quite a fantastic performance. After an intermission where we stripped down their set and assembled the next one, u know / i know was up. A combination of funky jazz and indie rock/pop, they blew us away with their music. Performing was Colin Taber, Logan Beck, Quintin Sproull and Josh Moran. With one last break our five judges convened to decide on the winner of the first round of Battle of the Bands. After a few minutes of deliberation, they came to a verdict and announced the winner of our first battle. On to the next round is u know / i know! Thank you to both bands for performing and being so great! Make sure to tune in tonight for the next round of Battle of the Bands live at 7 pm. Final show is at Mute City, with more details to come! Go check these these two bands out on Instagram! @uknowiknowband and @roblindsay_supergroup

Recently I just underwent a rather strenuous breakup that took much mental energy out of me. As a result, I found myself perusing through Spotify looking for an album to help me cope. I listen to many albums each day, being WIDR’s music director and all. What turned out to be a rather simple search led me to a great path of self discovery but also one of the greatest albums of this decade. Let me explain. On a cold January day earlier this year, I happened to check out a single that the band Triathalon was featured on. The main artist? Deaton Chris Anthony. An unknown miracle. This man is from the Los Angeles area, and loves his basketball references. His collaboration with Triathalon should not come as surprising, as they tend to rip genre stereotypes apart, creating a sound which can feature math rock components or more bedroom pop elements, such as their tune with The Marías. But this song, “Mr. Call You Back,” was created shortly after Deaton met the band in the desert. The hilarious thing is that the song’s inspiration came from them searching up “money phone” on Google. The first result? Jay Z holding a “phone” made of money. This is what inspired the single’s album art; a painting of Deaton holding a money phone in a modernistic vaporware-esque background. The video in itself is a trip, and I won’t burden you with all the details, but you can check it out here. Fast forward to a couple weeks back, the album “BO Y” dropped. Strangely enough, I didn’t check out the album immediately. For one, I had no idea if it would help with my creative roadblock. After being completely uninspired to really do anything this Thanksgiving break, I decided to check this album out and BO Y, was I surprised. First, let’s talk from a production perspective. Deaton pulls from so many sources, but the experimental nature is what makes this album spectacular. He pulls from many sources: Toro y Moi, Louis Cole, the 80s, 90s hip hop, while also maintaining the bedroom pop vibe that has been consistent for many artists in the 2010s. Each song has some sort of breakdown, whether it be crying, musical, or somewhere in between (notice Korbin in Orbit’s autotuned screams in “Deatony” or the trap extravaganza “Sid the Kid”). Aside from production, there are so many impressive features. It is rather rare to find an album that contains a song about Tony Hawk, a literal meditation (paying homage to the exercise freaks of the 80s), and a feature with Omar Apollo and Clairo on separate songs. The best part: a hard nod to Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” telling us that we are in a unique musical time period. The most important takeaway from the album is about vulnerability. He touches on subjects of heartbreak, loss, and the superficial happiness that so many young adults find from their technology. In a world where emotional connection has been bypassed to people, this album is an homage to the loneliness that many of us experience day in and day out. But at the end of the day, he chooses happiness. There are so many wonderful components to this album, but it touched my life in such a profound way, and I hope that it inspires others to create. Link here.

8/24/2019, ARAGON BALLROOM, CHICAGO On August 24th, I trekked out to Chicago to go see King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard perform at the Aragon Ballroom on their tour following their newest release of their second album of the year Infest the Rat’s Nest. Along with them they brought Stonefield and O.R.B. While I’ve only listened to Gizz in the past year, this show was the best I had been to in a long time, for a lot of reasons that I will dive into in this post. Stonefield The opening band was Stonefield, a four piece girl band from Australia. Not only are they a girl band, but they are all sisters. They have been a band since 2006, and recently released their newest album, Bent. There are so many aspects of this band that I fell in love with from the beginning of their set. First, Amy Findlay is their lead singer and drummer, and that alone was a treat to watch and listen to. Adding to that, the keyboardist, Sarah Findlay, provided hypnotic organ lines throughout all of the tunes they played. As I was watching them perform I was constantly reminded of a lot of other bands that I love and grew up listening to like Rush, The Cranberries, and even a little bit of Ghost. I ran into two of the sisters after the gig, Hannah and Sarah, and they were both very sweet to talk to. I am very excited to see what this band does in the future and will be following their music closely. O.R.B. Following Stonefield was O.R.B., another four piece also from Australia. For the most part I was pretty indifferent about their performance. I was mesmerized by the guitarist’s skill, however, that was the only thing that I found to be remarkable about their performance. They lacked stage presence, but it may have just been the night. I couldn’t imagine putting on a 45 minute show every night in a time zone that is so far behind your own. Again, following the trend, they had many influences of prog rock, and psych rock. They haven’t released music since last year, but I’m willing to give them another shot when they release a new album. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard The star of the show. I spent the first 30 minutes on the outskirts of the pit. It was definitely the roughest crowd I was in since I saw Andrew W.K. back in the fall of 2017. I was drenched in my own sweat within ten minutes and within the next twenty, I had acquired bruises all over my legs and a rapid heart rate. My abs were sore for the next three days. Unfortunately, I was unable to snag a photo while I was up close, but as soon as I was able to pull my phone out I snapped some shots. Gizz’s music is extremely interesting. Constantly changing time signatures, microtonal melodies, and even some EDM style tunes; King Gizz is going to be a powerhouse in the music scene for years to come, and they’re just getting started. They had a wonderful performance and a great stage presence. Ambrose was getting down playing the harmonica, and Stu was absolutely shredding on the guitar. After the show, my boyfriend and I had a chance to talk to Stu. We talked briefly about Ari Aster films and how wonderful they are. I have only been listening to King Gizz casually for about a year, with the exception of having their most recent album Infest the Rat’s Nest on repeat. I was hesitant and nervous at the thought of entering a crowd where I didn't know all of the songs that a band could be playing in a set. I've grown up listening to pop punk and going to those shows, and no matter how often the bands on stage would preach to love, accept, and respect each other I feel that those attributes are rarely displayed in those concert settings. Whereas last Saturday night there was no primer from the bands as to what I would consider to be no-brainer ways to treat another, and yet even when I was getting thrown around in the crowd, bruises covering my legs the next day, I felt that it was the most respectful crowd I had been in. So with that being said, I’d like to extend kudos to the Gizz fans for being so welcoming and respectful. It was a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed.

Additional editing by Sarah DeHaan Background In 2018, I had the opportunity to attend the first weekend of Electric Forest with the responsibility of covering the festival. Unsure of what I was going to write about, the story turned into a piece profiling three different non-profit organizations that had posted up for the weekend. I found the experience to be very enriching. My biggest takeaway from the weekend was that the magic of Electric Forest wasn’t just in the camping, the music, or the people, it was also working in ways that were previously unknown to me through the missions of these nonprofits. Later on that year, I began my final semester at Western Michigan University, which involved taking Environmental Journalism, a category that I was completely unfamiliar with. Following the class, new ideas and inspirations came to me in regards to pieces that covered festivals. I had the idea long before I applied for a media pass this year that I wanted to write an environmental piece about Electric Forest, specifically about its sustainability practices. I had questions as to what those practices might be, as well as how I could help create more awareness on how the festival cleans up during and after the weekend. I was able to see another side of the magic that happens throughout the weekend that I was largely unaware of. The bottom line is that even simple word-of-mouth information truly can help make a difference in the cleanliness at any type of festival and, by extension, the real world. Electricology - Origins, Purpose, and the Preliminary Interview Educational sign of waste streams inside the Forest The biggest player in the environmental practices of the festival is Electricology, the sustainability program of Electric Forest. Electricology is a division of the High Five Program, which was founded by Rachel Wells-Norton and her husband. In a nutshell, Electricology provides rewards to festival goers for picking up and handing in trash, recycling, and compostable waste while trying to spark inspiration to do better every day. “Our goal is to place responsibility back on the festival patrons to take a stake in beautifying our events,” Wells-Norton said. “We are desperate to transform our crowds into custodians, and we feel that everybody has a stake in the sustainability of events, so we want to do everything we can to make that process as fun as possible for people to participate.” The origins of Electricology lie in the High Five Program, which was created by Wells-Norton and her spouse after seeing piles of trash left behind at other festivals and musical events. “Throughout college, my husband and I were working with some local bands who were starting to tour around and make some of the national festival scene,” Wells-Norton said. “As we worked in merch and promotions for them, we were continuously disillusioned with how messy these festivals were. We saw people with programs and sorting streams, and it was impressive to us that people were making that effort, but we were really disillusioned with the fact that people weren’t complying with it, so we wanted to get to the root of that behavior.” Thus, the High Five Program was created and debuted at the Hoxeyville Music Festival in 2010. “We had a long-standing relationship with the promoters as patrons and employees, and also an emotional stake in the well-being of the property,” Wells-Norton said in regards to choosing Hoxeyville Music Festival to debut their new program. Rather than berate litterers, the program addresses the issue a little differently. “We approached these problems with two strategies,” Wells-Norton said. “One, that we believe that every piece of litter we find is an accident. We want to give you the benefit of the doubt that you are either trying to send us a message that we aren’t providing enough resources for you to do a better job, or we need to educate you more.” The second strategy is to reward those that do their part in keeping the grounds of a festival clean. “We never want to be negative and tell somebody that they suck because they litter, but we definitely want to tell their friends that they’re awesome for not littering,” Wells-Norton said. “If we give that person a prize, then maybe the person that sucks a little bit will at least do the work that we need them to do to win the prize, and maybe in the process they’ll learn that it’s a very rewarding thing to dance barefoot at your favorite festival with reckless abandon and the trust that the ground is clean.” When the program was a success at Hoxeyville Music Festival, the Wells-Norton decided to branch out. “We brought [the program] to [Electric Forest] in 2012 as Electricology in partnership with a number of other sustainability business from around the country. Now, Gemini Production Solutions and High Five continue that tradition today.” There are many opportunities and prizes that Electric Forest patrons can earn through cleaning up and they begin when a patron arrives to the festival grounds. Trash bags are handed out from the get-go, but carpoolers have a better shot at earning an impressive prize right away. “When you arrive, if you are in a car with three or more people, if you ride a bike or if you are on a shuttle, you’re gonna get a chance to win a VIP package for four next year, and an aerial tour of the forest this year,” Wells-Norton said. “We are really trying to get people to carpool, to consolidate their campsites, and be smart about the wastes that they’re bringing, the packing and all that. It’s the easiest first way to win something huge from the forest.” After arriving, patrons can participate in the Electricology “Ecopoints” program throughout the weekend. Ecopoints are handed out on cards when a patron brings waste to an Electricology booth or awarded by Electricology workers in the venue. The card is filled out, dropped into a raffle jar for a specific prize, and drawn from periodically. Participants who go the extra mile have a chance to win the holy grail of Electricology prizes through an Ecopoint leaderboard. “We’re gonna give you a chance to win another VIP package, as well as attend a super exclusive party with Bell’s at a secret location in the Forest,” Wells said. “Those are just for top leaderboarders that pick up thousands of Ecopoints micromanaging litter, hauling people’s trash for them, doing what it takes to fill in the gaps we need to keep the forest looking beautiful.” Arguably, the most infamous aspect of Electricology is the Prize Cart, which makes appearances at the end of headlining sets each night. When the Prize Cart theme song starts blasting through the speakers and the logo pops up on screen, the Prize Cart rolls out from backstage surrounded by workers. The workers hand out trash bags to people still in the crowd and prizes are distributed according to how much trash someone can haul in a short amount of time. “You could be walking away from Bassnectar with a hammock just for picking up some cups,” Wells-Norton said. “It’s going to keep the festival clean and it’s going to be a whole lot of fun while we do it.” To clarify for those that may be wondering, Electricology accepts all bags for trash and recycling and also encourages everyone to bring their own. “We welcome everybody to bring the resources they need from home to do the best job they can to leave no trace at this festival and to maintain a clean site while they’re living here, but we are also doing everything we can to get those resources to you if that’s not something that you planned for, or you just need more,” Wells-Norton said. The organization also asks that everyone sort their bags and waste as much as possible before handing them in. Various signs are posted through the venues to help people learn about what is and is not recyclable. Electricology workers are also happy to answer questions on the subject. “If you bring a bag of recycling with a banana in it, we’ll throw that out, but we’re really hoping people can be smart about keeping clean,” Wells-Norton said. “Glass is not allowed in the campground, but occasionally it does leak through and that is also recyclable. Your cardboard, if it’s nice, dry, and clean, we’ll take that and recycle that. We are composting wet, soiled cardboard as well.” One aspect of the sustainability practices that I was not aware of was the compostable goods. I had no idea that all food waste from the vendors, down to the utensils, is made from biodegradable plant-based material. “Everything that you buy from our food vendors is gonna be a compostable plant plastic,” Wells-Norton said. “Feel free to check the bottom of your cups and it should say number 7 PLA or a Zero [...]that means it’s compostable and its got plant-based plastics to help it break down super fast. In six months, it turns into soil for Michigan Farmers. We’ve got compostable straws, paper plates, napkins, [and] bamboo.” Wells-Norton also provided some tips on how to make connections on whether something is compostable or not. “Some things, like popsicle sticks and gum are compostable too,” Wells-Norton said. “They come from trees, trees come from the ground, compost goes in the ground. If it came from a living thing, it’s compostable. A lot of what we’re producing inside the venue is more compost than it is recycling or trash.” It’s also worth noting that the efforts and practices of Electricology earned them an award from the EPA last year, which Wells-Norton and the organization are delighted about. “We’re really proud of how far this program has come in terms of generating that kind of clean strength,” Wells-Norton said. “Since some of the producers of this festival have made investments over the last few years to take this commitment seriously, we’ve just been so thankful and impressed that the forest family has complied in the ways that we need them to, because we are producing really wonderful content, and once we get the systems down, it allows us to explore other really exciting avenues of places we could be offsetting our carbon footprint outside of just the waste management.” Part of reducing the carbon footprint manifested into bringing the festival back to a single-weekend format, which also resulted in some changes in the festival. Previously, in 2017 and 2018, Electric Forest was hosted over two weekends. 2019 saw it return to its original single-weekend production. “I was impressed and thankful that they made that decision, because they have taken what would otherwise be spent on the production for a second weekend and reinvested it into the property,” Wells-Norton said. “There are going to be some changes that our forest family are gonna see for the better when they arrive onsite. Some of the areas in the Forest are routed differently so that we can maintain the sustainability of those trees and not overwork them, so it was the responsible thing to do as a promoter to reevaluate how much thousands of people are eroding this site that we care a lot about. They're making this Forest a place where we can continue to come back a lot longer than we thought.” Early expectations for how long it would take to clean up the property were set at about 48 hours, but Wells-Norton noted the importance of finding and disposing of every last piece of micro trash on the site, and it was for a reason that I was previously unaware of. “Many people may not be aware, but it’s a horse field year-round,” Wells-Norton said. “They live on the Tripolee stage [area] and the GA campgrounds. They have their babies out there, they eat the grass, they sleep there, they are raised there, so it’s really important to us that we are getting every tiny little piece of glitter out there in the campgrounds, and the more that our Forest family does on their own to pick that up, the easier on us it’ll be afterwards.” I had always assumed that the grounds were used for general camping and vacationing when it wasn’t time for the festival. I figured that if I wasn’t aware of it, there are probably a lot of people that don’t know as well. Speaking of things that I hadn’t thought of, I asked Wells-Norton if there were sustainability tricks patrons could pick up during the weekend that may not be completely obvious. “In a world of direct-to-home delivery, we are all swimming in Amazon boxes these days,” Wells-Norton said. “We say every year, ‘ditch your packaging,’ because you’re not gonna wanna take it home with you and, quite frankly, you’re robbing yourself of a lot of valuable space in your car.” Before speaking with Wells-Norton, I had already been making plans on how to make my own campsite more sustainable, despite never interacting with Electricology before. As the leader of a collective 60+ person interstate squad, I had already begun encouraging my camp members to be more mindful of their waste. I bought two different colored biodegradable bags for us to sort our trash and recycling. I informed Wells-Norton of my efforts to lead by example, and she said that my actions were exactly what Electricology is all about. “That’s the whole point of the program, we’re leading by example,” Wells-Norton said. “Instead of spending time chastising people who don’t have the effort or the resources to do any better, we’re gonna celebrate the people that are already going out of their way. It makes me feel really good that we have, over the years, indoctrinated a generation of festival-goers to be more mindful.” As a personal annotation, I can say that I have seen people be better about picking up trash over the years, generally speaking. I asked Wells-Norton if she had seen improvement in trash pickup herself. “Considerably,” Wells-Norton said. “ The first two years, my husband and I used to run the cleanup crew and walk those grounds with everybody. I think the first year, it took a couple weeks to get the grounds clear. When we started the program and incentivizing everyone, that got cut down to seven days, and then five days, and then we really got it down short enough to where the Forest was able to do double weekends.” If you’ve made it this far into the story and are thinking that this is a lot of information to take in, you aren’t alone. With all of this in mind, I prepared for the weekend ahead with new knowledge of how I could better help keep things clean. Engaging with Electricology Educational sign of waste streams inside vendor area Once I was onsite for the weekend, I was able to survey the field and see the program at work. For starters, there were tons of barrels for sorting waste strewn all throughout the festival. In the campground areas, there are double-stream sorting barrels for both trash and recycling, while in the vendor areas there are three, with the third barrel designated for composting. Different signs are posted at most of the barrels to help educate attendees on how to sort their waste. Posted up elsewhere in the campgrounds and other spots are strategically placed “Ecozone” hubs, where campers can easily pick up more trash bags or other supplies to help stay clean. Campers can also donate unwanted, used clothing, camping gear, and other goods to charity, which is then sent out to non-profits like the Crystal Valley Care Fund. I was able to secure a ride-along with the Prize Cart for Saturday night, which was later rescheduled to Sunday night. In the meantime, I decided to hang out at the Electricology booth in front of the main entrance to meet some of the workers for the weekend. I also had the opportunity to speak with several attendees who were participating in the program. Many of their individual motivations were surprisingly altruistic. My first interview of the weekend was with Elena Ybarra, who was working at one of the booths. Although I had plenty of background information already, I wanted to get another perspective on Electricology and its mission for the weekend. Interviewing the People of Electricology - Elena Ybarra Elena Ybarra was working at one of the Electricology booths all weekend “Electricology is our sustainability program at Electric Forest,” Ybarra told me in an interview. “What we do is incentivize people to pick up trash, do their part, hopefully learn more about compost, [recycling], and landfill, so they know where their waste is actually going. We try to keep the forest clean so that it’s healthy enough to continue, and we just try to educate people all day long and give them cool prizes.” This is also where I was able to get a first-hand look at what some of these cool prizes were. Several vendors had donated items to the cause, everything from free food vouchers to Electric Forest merchandise. Since I hadn’t seen it in action yet, I wasn’t sure how the Ecopoint system worked. “Every Ecopoint card is worth one point,” Ybarra said. “There are different amounts of points you can get for whatever you bring in. You get the points, fill out your name and number on the card, and enter it into our raffle system. We pick winners all throughout the day, we have to get rid of all of our prizes by the end of the festival. [If we don’t get rid of them], we give them out at Prize Cart. Everything is donated by vendors at the festival, so it’s a really good community experience.” Possible prizes for big Electricology winners Participants can drop individual Ecopoint cards into one prize raffle or they can save 50 points to enter the Leaderboard. “With the leaderboards, [participants] get to win four good life passes, a hot air balloon ride over the Forest, and they get invited to a special party,” Ybarra said. “It’s a really good incentive to get people to go, and it’s a good healthy competition." Possible raffle jar prizes for Electricology winners The individual prize raffles are divided up by small jars with the prize title written on them. At times, some of the more popular ones were stuffed full of cards bursting out the top, leading one to believe that the program was successful over the weekend. I wanted to know how well the program was doing this year compared to previous years. Turns out, many people aren’t even in it for the prizes, they are in it because they genuinely want to help clean up the place. “It’s definitely gotten a lot more success,” Ybarra said. “I have so many people coming up to me saying, ‘I love Electricology, I love what you do, I like to tell my friends about it.’ I had one girl [Thursday], we tried to give her a point, but she said, ‘I’m gonna keep it, but I’m gonna find people who are doing good stuff in the Forest and give them points,’ so people are really trying to spread the word. We have handfuls of people on the daily, they come in and say ‘I don’t really want the point,’ and I tell them to keep it, give it to someone else, maybe enter it in for someone else. It’s really great because they’re giving back to people, even though they don’t want to be rewarded for something that they just like doing.” Ybarra had also set her own set goals for what she wanted to do with Electricology, which we were able to discuss. “My goal for this year is trying to get more people to compost and hopefully learn more about composting, just because it’s better for our soil,” she said. “It puts all the good nutrients back into the earth instead of going to the landfill where it’s getting wasted.” I then asked how those goals were going by that point in the weekend. Ybarra’s efforts to educate people in compost were paying off. “I think it’s going really well,” she said. “Last year, we didn’t even have any composting bags at any of our locations and I’ve given out at least a couple rolls this year.” On the subject of the Electricology workers, I asked for tips on what attendees could do to make things easier on people involved with the program. “If there is a festival that has a program like Electricology, or even if they're just handing out bags, make sure you get enough and make sure it’s a clear plastic bag so they can see if it’s trash or recyclable inside the bag,” Ybarra said. “People use black bags, and if we can’t see through it, we’re just gonna throw it away and it could be a whole bag of recyclables that’s getting wasted.” Ybarra believes these types of programs should be available at other festivals. “I definitely think there should be something that’s implemented at any festival, whether it’s a day festival, cultural festival, or food festival,” Ybarra said. “We need stuff like this because we need to make our planet healthy for generations to come. And it helps keep the grounds clean and healthy that more festivals that happen, and we all want more festivals.” Ybarra then told me that the grand prize winners of the Electricology Leaderboard were attending this weekend and were still actively participating. I left my contact information and camp location for her to give them whenever they were around next. I decided to hang out for a bit longer and interview some of the people hauling in waste. My attention was caught immediately by a man who had hauled a box full of it. Interviewing the Participants - Gavin Harkrider Once I saw this man hauling in such a huge load, I knew he was someone that I needed to talk with. Gavin Harkrider of Dallas, TX was attending his second Electric Forest. He spoke with me about his motivations in participating with Electricology. “I care about the environment,” Harkrider said. “We have a duty to clean up after ourselves. The fact that [Electricology] offer an incentive for us makes it even more worthwhile to all the people participating, even if they don’t care, which makes it all the better for the whole environment. That’s why I love it so much.” Harkrider was more concerned with helping clean up, rather than winning prizes. “I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do. I could enter the leaderboard if I really wanted to, and I’m sure I’d get high up in it, but I don’t really care, I let someone else win those tickets. Next year, I plan on volunteering for Electricology because I love the incentive. They’re really welcoming, so it makes it worthwhile.” He then went into further detail on his impressions of the program as a whole. “They help to better the area, which usually, after most other festivals, is trashed and destroyed. They offer all these rewards for you to do it. I’m not too crazy about the awards, but I like to gamble with some lotteries, so why not? I hauled my stuff at least a mile, but I don’t mind,” Harkrider said. Interviewing the Participants - Regina Goncharenko and Tyler Kistner Two participants noticed me talking to Harkrider and asked to be interviewed next. This is how I met Regina Goncharenko and Tyler Kistner of Minnesota. They had hauled carts full of waste to the Electricology booth with them. “I just learned about this, I love the whole system,” Goncharenko said. “Of course there’s a reward, which is nice, but I think it also shows people that eventually, you won’t need a reward, you’ll just realize you’re helping the planet and that’s reward enough. But this system for right now is amazing to get people into helping. Even if they’re doing it for the prize, I think it’s an amazing program to get people to start caring about the earth. If we see someone doing something good, we’ll tell them about the program, and then maybe get more people interested in helping the earth.” Like Harkrider, Goncharenko says her involvement is more for the earth than the prizes. “I just want to help the environment. Prizes are really cool to get people started, but I want to keep it clean. I personally get bothered when I see trash everywhere.” Kistner also chimed in with his own motivations. “We pick up things in general and take it to the closest trash can because just getting it to the place it needs to go is reward enough for us,” he said. Kistner touched on some of the things being done back at their camp to be cleaner. “We put up a trash can in the first 20 minutes [of setting up camp] and we’re like, ‘Hey everybody, there’s a trash bag right here,’” he said. “People ask if they can use our trash can, and we say, ‘Yes, that’s why it’s there!’” Just one giant haul of garbage brought in by Electricology participants Trash barrel containing improperly sorted waste. Note the biodegradable plates, glowsticks, and recyclable Starbucks can all in one bag. One of every type of waste. The pair were very appreciative of the informational signs next to some of the trash cans. “It’s really helpful,” Goncharenko said. “We all assume everyone knows what they’re doing when they recycle, but the truth of the matter is that a lot of people don’t know how to do this, so I think educating people through love instead of being mad at them is gonna help.” “A little sign like that could teach someone for a lifetime,” Kistner added. Interestingly, I was able to inform the two about something that they, like myself, had been previously unaware of, and that was the compostable food waste from the vendors. They did not know that the forks and plates were supposed to go in the compost bin. Just like that, I spread the Electricology knowledge; I can only assume that they did the same with their friends. “I’d like to say there is still hope,” Goncharenko added. “Let’s remember that not everybody knows as much information about recycling as you, so let’s just try to educate people, because you can’t assume that everyone knows this. As long as you increase your own knowledge on how to become more environmentally-friendly, you can also help increase everybody else's, everywhere you go.” Following my interviews with these individuals, I found myself swimming in new ideas. I decided right there that I was going to step up my game in handing in trash and recycling. Regardless of what everyone in my own campsite was doing, and whether or not I won any prizes, I was going to start hauling in our waste myself if I had to. Bringing my own color-coded compostable trash bags and encouraging my camp was a good start, but I knew that I could do better and I was going to start immediately. Like Harkrider told me, it’s the right thing to do. Meeting the Electricology Leaders of 2018 When I returned to the Electricology booth the next day, my timing couldn’t have been better. I was going for a basic check-in, but Ybarra excitedly told me that the Leaderboard winners from last year were at the booth. This is how I met Rex Dickerman and Alexander Katerburg, both of Grand Rapids, MI, and attending their second-ever Electric Forest. Being the big winners didn’t stop them from actively participating this year. In fact, when I met them, they were in the process of hauling the trash of other campers. “At this moment, we’re trying to help some people out,” Katerburg informed me. “A lot of people just set trash beside their campsite and don’t quite make it to the receptacle, so it’s an easy way for us to roll some for these great points and prizes and rewards.” Once proper introductions were out of the way, I got down to business. I asked them about their participation in the program and what it was like winning the score of a lifetime because of it. “Last year was our first Electric Forest ever,” Katerburg said. “We didn't even hear about Electricology until day two, and that’s what started it, because there was nothing we wanted to do from 10 to 2. We didn’t even know about the leaderboard, and the top ten got a really cool private party. There, they announced the top score. We were at the top and won four free Goodlife passes just by picking up trash and going to see shows.” By the time I interviewed the pair that Saturday, they already thought they were doing as well as they did last year. “I’d say we probably got close to the amount of tickets last year,” Dickerman said. “We go around and we try to give out trash bags when we take their trash to keep things in the recycling bins and not all over the ground. We love the Forest, respect the Forest, we want to keep the Forest clean.” The two responded with big grins when I asked them what it felt like to be the big prize winners last year. “It was like none other,” Dickerman said. “We couldn’t believe our first year that we were able to win it just doing something that’s good for the environment, good for people going to the show, and to get rewarded with free passes next year, it couldn’t have gotten any better.” Like many participants, Dickerman and Katerburg recognize the educational potential of a program like Electricology. “There are too many people who will roll up, and [their waste] is three quarters recycling and one part trash, and it’s just kind of sad to see,” Katerburg said. “We try to hit as many different campsites as possible and give them the correct bags,” Dickerman added. “You pick up white bags, and it’s like, ‘I’m sure you could have done this better,’ so when we come back the next day, they improve their environmental impact.” That comment is exactly why people should try to be more mindful of what type of bags they use. If the bag isn’t transparent, recyclable goods may end up getting treated as garbage. While other people are into the program for the sake of helping to clean up instead of the prizes, Dickerman and Katerburg are in it for both. “The prize is the cherry on top,” Katerburg said. “When we first turned in the trash, we grabbed a couple [bags] on the way, and then we found out about the program and thought, ‘Woah, why not? Let’s just keep doing it!’” “We would see our neighboring campsites, just grab from them, and then just kind of spiral out from that area,” Dickerman added. “We realized that it wasn’t a bad way to spend the morning and help out this wonderful event that we love so much.” Most importantly, these two participants were leading by example and inspired others to pick up their own garbage in the process. “It’s nice after you grab six bags of trash hearing behind you, ‘Oh yeah, we should take our trash, too,’” Katerburg said. “Other people started to pick up their stuff and that’s just a nice reminder.” To wrap up things with these superstars, I asked them what they would say to someone if they were actively trying to get them to participate. “We’ve only got one planet,” Katerburg answered. “You’ve gotta try and keep it clean. If you’re doing it just for the prizes, there are plenty of prizes beyond having a green earth and a clean walkway.” Applying Electricology Principles to My Own Campsite Although I did not interview the winners from last year until Saturday, my interviews on Friday had already inspired me to do better. Early on, we had been doing mostly well with sorting our garbage. Obviously, mistakes were made, such as putting plastic in the wrong bag, but some were laughable, such as a half-eaten sandwich shoved into a bag full of plastic bottles. Regardless, I remembered what Wells had told me in our preliminary interview and assumed it to be a mistake. I started hauling bags to the booth and earning Ecopoints, mostly dropping them into jars at random. My conversations with the workers and participants of Electricology had simply made me want to haul trash to the booth because it was the right thing to do and if I won anything while I was at it, that was a bonus. There were two prizes I had my eye on, however they were not for me. The first was an official Electric Forest hat, which I was intending to give to a friend in my camp who brought me to my first Electric Forest back in 2014, and the second was a pair of Blue Gecko-brand “elephant” pants for a woman searching for new clothes over the weekend. I gave the Electric Forest hat I won in the raffle to my campmate Aren Milligan. I gave the Blue Gecko-brand pants I won in the raffle to my campmate Emily Sabourin. Turns out, I won them both. Keep in mind, my camp friends knew that I was writing an “environmental and sustainability” piece about Electric Forest, but hadn’t really asked me any questions about it. Imagine their surprise when I walked into the campsite and started handing out these prizes. Immediately, questions were raised about how I earned them and what they needed to do to get a shot themselves. This is where I feel I was able to make the most impact over the weekend. It wasn’t the fact that I was hauling trash and sorting waste, it was the fact that I was able to catch the attention of everyone when I walked back with prizes. Regardless of whether they were in it for just the prizes or not, I now had my friends helping me haul garbage to the Electricology booth. I had inspired my crew to do better about their own waste and, in turn, was leading by example before I even realized it. I think this is the biggest takeaway for the weekend on my end. In terms of spreading awareness for a program like Electricology, word-of-mouth information goes a long way and leading by example goes an even longer way. It made me wonder how many other people were unaware of it, as well. Starting that Friday afternoon, we were now hauling loads of trash and recycling with us anytime we headed up to Main Street or the venue entrance. I had now successfully inspired my friends to be more sustainable, which was a goal I was trying to achieve over the weekend anyway. So much so, in fact, that it would take one of them all the way to the Prize Cart, which was one of the best moments of the weekend for me. Sunday Night Prize Cart - Where Sustainable Leadership Comes Full Circle The original plan was for me to do the ridealong Saturday night after Bassnectar, but it ended up being switched to Sunday night after The Floozies at the Sherwood Court stage. I was able to meet up with Rachel Wells-Norton and talk about the weekend so far. I was also able to meet several other Prize Cart volunteers, who eagerly explained the process to me. Basically, all you have to do is run out alongside the prize cart in unison, yell “prize cart,” and hand out trash bags to the people still standing at the stage. Electricology Manager Devyn Miller handing out bags during Prize Cart Prize Cart participants lining up after The Floozies Sunday night Sounds simple, right? It is, but actually participating in the Prize Cart routine is very exciting. As soon as the Prize Cart theme song kicked on over the speakers, I cannot deny that I was hit with an adrenaline rush the likes of which I had yet to experience at Electric Forest; a rush that could only be felt when you know you are doing something to make the Forest a better place. Participants piling up trash behind the Prize Cart This would lead to one of the biggest highlights of my weekend. After all my efforts in getting my friends to be more sustainable, the big moment came right out of the gate. My friend Austin from camp was right at the front of the stage, ready and willing to participate in the Prize Cart shenanigans. As soon as I saw him, I knew that all of my efforts had paid off; I knew that I did, in fact, make a difference. My campmate Austin Himmelein won a poster and a case of Red Bull from the Prize Cart As for the rest of the participants, I ran out of bags to hand out very quickly and decided to stand back and observe. Quite frankly, I was astonished. In the span of 10 minutes or less, the Sherwood Court area was, for all intents and purposes, spotless. I couldn’t believe it. In all my years of attending Electric Forest, I had never seen that area so clean. The patrons were eager to pile up the trash behind the Cart and one lucky winner walked off with a new ENO Hammock. My friend Austin ended up leaving with an Electric Forest poster and a case of Red Bull. Sherwood Court was practically spotless after being cleaned by Prize Cart participants At this point, it didn’t matter why the people were picking up the trash. What mattered is that it was getting done. I left the Sherwood Court stage that night feeling elated, knowing that I made a difference in the Forest myself and had helped other people make a difference themselves. It goes without saying that this elation was mixed with the bittersweet feelings that come on Sunday night knowing that my time in the Forest was almost up for the year. But now I had several new ideas of how I could be even more sustainable in the years to come. Post-Festival Interview - Rachel Wells-Norton A few days after the festival ended, I had the opportunity to catch up with Rachel Wells-Norton to discuss the events of the past weekend. I had a few more questions, but I also wanted to collect her thoughts on the overall experience. “We are thrilled at the level of participation from our forest family at EF2019,” Wells-Norton said. “We feel like people came to our stores right out of the gate, ready to sign up for a leaderboard, ready to compete for prizes. We are thrilled with the level of participation we got from the carpool contest, as well. We were able to keep a manageable size on our campgrounds, as well as give away a really banging prize of an aerial tour on a balloon lift to a group of kids.” I was unable to meet with the winner of the Leaderboard this year, but whoever it was put in a massive effort to keep the Forest clean. “Our leaderboard winner this year brought in just shy of 4000 Ecopoints, and he brought half of them to the Ecopoints party in stacks of fifty with rubber bands,” Wells-Norton said. But of course, it isn’t about who won the most prizes or who collected the most Ecopoints. What matters is the end result. “The most important part of all of this is the way the Forest family left this property,” Wells-Norton said. “We have never seen such giant green open expanses between the piles. We feel like everybody really made an effort to bring their waste to the piles to tear down their campsites, to even bring donated gear or salvaged broken metal tent frames. It’s remarkable how the Forest family left this year.” I had to tell Wells-Norton about my own experiences throughout the weekend. I explained how I encouraged my team to be more responsible about their waste, gave away prizes that I won myself, and how it all led up to at least one person participating in the Prize Cart. “That’s literally what the program is about, the idea that one person does the right thing,” Wells responded. “You can show someone how we like our Forest family to treat this property when they’re there. The other element is that it’s so much fun to be involved than to not be. You build stronger relationships with your campsite, you win prizes, you’re able to use that experience to express gestures of gratitude to other people in your life for other unrelated things, and that makes us happy to hear that, because that’s truly what the message of this program is.” In regards to further questions that I still had, one thing that people I spoke with over the weekend kept bringing up was a lack of compost bins and fewer informational signs in the GA campground areas as there were in the vendor and Forest areas. The simple answer is that more barrels and signs take up resources that could be better allocated elsewhere. “A lot of the recycling that you’re seeing in the campgrounds is not a controlled situation, so wherever you see signage, it’s because that’s a controlled situation for us,” Wells-Norton said. “We are serving compostable utensils in [the vendor] area, we are in charge of a majority of the waste that’s being produced. That’s why we choose to run a three-stream system there, that’s why we choose to sign it to ensure that people understand how to sort it.” Places in the GA grounds, such as Camp Blueberry, are very far away from where compostable materials are being used. In short, compostable barrels are placed where staff know that compostable materials are being used, I.E., the vendor areas. “In that way, we can put our eyes on what we can help and what we can control and in that way we can ensure that the product we’re generating for our composter in Zeeland, [Mich.] is as clean as it gets,” Wells-Norton said. “It’s more advantageous for us to focus on the areas that we know we can help than to waste too much time out there. That’s why we have the ecozones in the campgrounds. Up in the venue, we really want to focus on the compost.” As for the barrels, it takes a lot more work than one might expect to place them throughout the venue. “There are thousands of barrels and it takes quite a bit of time for us to pound a fence post into every single one of those trash cans,” Wells-Norton said. “Not to mention we have to zip tie multiple signs and print special signs for that. From a sustainability perspective, it’s a different waste of resources, so there’s a balance there.” All of this information was very enlightening, and caused me to think about sustainability in new ways. Of course, there was one last order of business to discuss, and that was how people can get involved with the program. How to Get Involved with Electricology The first thing that interested participants should know is that Electricology receives workers through the program FanStaff. Through this program, employees earn an hourly wage that offsets the price of a wristband. Gemini Production Solutions, the waste management division of Electricology, manages the workers over the weekend while they’re at the festival. As for the type of people who can apply, Electricology accepts all kinds. “We want anybody from any kind of background that’s interested in participating in the Forest to join our team,” Wells-Norton said. “Anybody can come into our team with a skill set they want to learn or bring to us. We have a place for you.” Many people join the Electricology program not knowing exactly what they want to do, but then find they have interests in other areas as a result of participating. “We help people find what they’re into,” Wells-Norton said. “We’ve had people move on from our program and go into artist relations or site ops or move into marketing.” Whatever your experience may be, joining Electricology can be an excellent learning opportunity to educate yourself about how to sort waste better, among other related topics. “We’d love to teach you how to sort properly and how to bring positive messaging to positive situations that can motivate crowds to be a positive force in their communities,” Wells-Norton added. Before one can even think about volunteering, however, there are several ways to keep an eye out for when the opportunities come up. “The first thing we invite everyone to do is to follow us or like our pages on our social channels because that’s where we put on announcements in the off-season for places to sign up and more detailed positions,” Wells-Norton said. From there, it really depends on how you want to participate. If you want to participate in the programs beyond Electric Forest, there are several opportunities available. “If you’re interested in working on the waste management team as a local, you should definitely follow Gemini Production Solutions,” Wells-Norton said. “If you’re interested in working in the prizing elements of what High Five is doing here in Michigan, you should go to https://www.thehighfiveprogram.com/ and check out the internship program that we’re running. This is year-round outside of Electric Forest, our top interns come and work in our stores for us as part of our team.” If you just want to join in over the weekend, keep an eye on the FanStaff program. “That’s a great way for you to get a deposit on a ticket and then work a really cool variety of jobs all over the site that will allow a paycheck that offsets the cost of your ticket and still gives you exclusive camping options. Any one of those things are gonna get you to somebody that would love to talk to you about joining our team” Wells-Norton added. After learning about how to get involved behind the scenes, I only had one last question for Wells-Norton and that was to leave me with any closing thoughts. Closing Thoughts - Wells “We are just thrilled with the way the program ran this year,” Wells-Norton said. “We are thrilled with the way that Electric Forest ran. It is an absolute pleasure to work with Madison House and the folks over at Insomniac who provide this festival and this program for the festival. It’s an incredible group of professionals that really care deeply about doing a good job, about doing the right thing, about providing wellness and amenities for the entire population. We care about the community of Rothbury, Montague, New Era, White Hall, and we are honored that they let us come back every year. Most of all, the fans just crushed it this year. We’re so proud and thankful, and we cannot wait to come back and blow minds for a tenth anniversary in 2020.” Final Thoughts - Personal Reflection As I’ve written before, the magic of Electric Forest is all around and it works in ways that may not be completely obvious at first glance. But, if you decide to keep searching, you will be astonished at what you discover. At Electric Forest last year, through my work with the non-profit organizations that had set up shop, I discovered a different kind of magic unto itself. Those three organizations were essentially setting out to help attendees become better and healthier people. In the case of Electricology, I discovered very quickly that attendees can become creatures with better habits by helping to clean the grounds that we call home. By extension, if attendees can continue implementing these eco-friendly lessons beyond the Festival, then they are helping the entire planet that we call home. In principle, this is what we should all be doing anyway. Not just cleaning up after ourselves and sorting our waste better, but applying the lessons we learn during a festival to our lives back home. If every single attendee does this in some way, I firmly believe that the world, in turn, becomes a better place, even if it's just a little bit at a time. That’s what I find to be truly magical about programs like Electricology. They point out ways that you can help make a difference, both big and small, reward you for doing so in the process, and leave it up to you to decide how far you want to go with it,all in the name of the greater good. It was a very educational experience and it made me wish I had interacted with the program years ago as opposed to starting now. But, as the saying goes, better late than never. Just like last year, it made me wonder just how much was left at the Forest that I had yet to see. It is my opinion that the prizes should be the least of our concerns when we are helping to clean up. We should simply do it because it’s the right thing to do. But, if the chance at winning a prize causes even one person over the weekend to change their habits for the better, that’s a victory in and of itself. Since returning home, I’ve noticed that I’ve become even more self-conscious about my environmental habits. I now take much better care in sorting my waste, I’ve switched to a refillable water bottle, and I encourage others to be better about their own habits where applicable. I suppose this means that the goal behind Electricology has been met. I would like to re-emphasize that leading by example in my own camp is where I was able to make the most impact over the weekend. Thanks to the pre-emptive measures I took in helping to make our campsite more sustainable, I do believe that we did better on our waste output this year. Once the prizes came into the picture, my camp got much better about hauling their waste to the Electricology booth. Whether they were in it for the prizes or the environment is besides the point. What matters is that it got done. More importantly, however, I was able to get at least one person to go all the way up to participating with the Prize Cart and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was when I saw Austin out front at Sherwood Court. Thanks to that level of participation, I absolutely relish the fact that I helped make a difference at Electric Forest.That’s my biggest takeaway from the weekend overall:it only takes one person to help others do better. Word-of-mouth information is a very powerful means of communication and I believe that my friends choosing to participate because of me is a perfect example of that. Which is exactly what I hope to achieve with this writing: not just to encourage patrons to participate with Electricology in the years to come, but to be all-around better about cleaning up in general to improve our lives. In the words of Alex Katerburg, “We only have one planet.” Let us all do our part to make sure that the Forest stays healthy for us to enjoy it, and let’s do our part to make sure there’s even a planet for the Forest to take place. As for me, I’ll see you out there next year on the Prize Cart frontlines, trash bag in hand. Happy Forest, my friends. Further Reading Electricology: https://www.facebook.com/electricology/ https://electricforestfestival.com/participate/plug-in/electricology/ https://www.instagram.com/electricology/?hl=en https://twitter.com/Electricology Gemini Production Solutions: https://www.facebook.com/GeminiProductionSolutions/ https://geminips.com/ https://twitter.com/GeminiPSTweets The High Five Program: https://www.facebook.com/thehighfiveprogram/ https://www.thehighfiveprogram.com/

During the last weekend of July, something special happened on the riverfront nestled between the two cities of Detroit and Windsor. A relatively intimate music festival that was free of the hour-long lines, cramped crowds and the daunting task of choosing which artist to see with your friends. In truth, I decided to attend MOPOP because it was a festival I had never been to, the tickets were relatively cheap and seeing live music at least once per summer is considered a necessity for me. I had almost no plans the week leading up to the festival; I didn’t even have a place to stay. One thing led to another and I ended up making last-minute plans to stay with some friends who had a house ten minutes outside the city. With that being said, I had little to no expectations going into the weekend. I simply was hoping to hear some good music and share some good company. To say the least, MOPOP was a dream. The weekend started early Saturday afternoon with Snail Mail and JID. Two energy-packed sets that had the entire festival dancing with their hands in the air. After taking a quick breather we walked back towards the venue and were entranced by vocals and shortly after found ourselves at the King Princess set. A band that none of the people I was with or myself had heard of prior to that very moment, but they took the stage with a strong presence and delivered a killer show. I feel like MOPOP was filled with pleasant surprises and bands that I didn't know until I was listening to them live. It was refreshing and I can say that almost all the bands I saw will be added to my heavy listening rotation. The Saturday headliner was Vampire Weekend, a band I fell in love with in high school. Playing their classics and a lot of songs of “Father of the Bride” (the album that dropped this past May). Sunday came with an earlier start and more music. We caught the last 4 songs of Goth Babe’s set and I was blown away by the vocals and guitar riffs. Afterward, we moshed to Tiny Moving Parts, a punk band that brings me back to my middle school days of listening to Blink 182 on the bus ride to school. Next, we found ourselves meeting up with some friends at the CAAMP and then Yellow Days concerts. Both equally enchanting but nothing quite like the Tame Impala set that ended the festival. Overall I can honestly say these words can’t possibly do the festival justice, and I am okay with that but I can say MOPOP was a dream, a small paradise nestled between two cities, and if you are ever given the opportunity to be spontaneous -- take it, I promise it will be rewarding. You have my word... Saturday Sets: Snail Mail, JID, King Princess, Vampire Weekend Sunday Sets: Goth Babe, Tiny Moving Parts, CAAMP, Yellow Days, Whitney, Kali Uchis, Tame Impala Favorite Sets: ampire Weekend, Yellow Days, Whitney, Tame Impala

Electropop quartet Ladytron has been a staple of my show since the very beginning, even before The Eleventh Hour existed as it does now. When I heard the announcement that the band would be releasing a new album, their first in eight years, it goes without saying that I was beyond excited! Fans received a small taste of the album last summer, with the release of singles “The Island” and “The Animals”, released alongside a remix of the latter track by synthpop royalty Vince Clarke (of Depeche Mode and Yazoo fame). This was just a hint at what was to come several months later, but I knew that we were in for something truly special. The passage of time between releases hasn’t hindered the band at all, returning with all guns blazing in their eponymous and sixth studio album. The album is driving from the start, the opener “Until the Fire” building layer upon layer of sound until the listener is barraged with waves of analog synths. Don’t let the driving beats deceive you. There is a real darkness lying underneath in the lyrics. One of the beauties of this album is that it is paradoxical, in and of itself. It is desolate, yet hopeful, proclaiming, “we are sirens of the apocalypse”. It paints a futuristic picture, but couldn’t more at home in the present. There are also tinges of nostalgia for the familiarity of home and for what has been in the track “Far from Home”. Helene Marnie and Mira Aroyo’s vocals are haunting, the melodies twisting in unexpected and almost unsettling ways. One of the best examples of this is the dance floor-ready powerhouse “You’ve Changed”, the intro crescendoing steadily into a ripping sawtooth synth line. Marnie is relentless in her vocals, challenging, “Come take me on, you’ll lose. It’s your happiness, but what’s real? I’ll make you sorry, oh yeah!” The album puts you in a state of fervor and doesn’t let go, never wavering in its intensity. The following track “Horrorscope” is no exception. It remains true to its title in that its unnerving with a discordant vocal among the cacophony of synths and hazy guitar. This discord breaks into an ethereal calm, ending with the poignant “Tomorrow Is Another Day”. The lyrics are lamenting of the past, but again optimistic, ending with the title line “tomorrow is another day”. And what a powerful end to an album. I found this album resonating with me profoundly in a way that I can’t entirely explain. Perhaps it’s that this album couldn’t be more appropriate for the times. But what I do know is that without a doubt, this is one of my most favorite releases of the year so far and was well worth the wait! Favorite Tracks: “The Island”, “Deadzone”, “You’ve Changed” To keep up with the band, you can visit Bandcamp as well as on social media: Facebook: @ladytron Twitter: @LadytronMusic Instagram: @ladytron

FINKEL is a Los Angeles based electronic soul/pop duo. They will perform August 8th at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids. The versatility in their music covers anything from a subtle hang to a full on dance party. Consisting of driving bass lines, cool synths, and chill vocals, their sound appeals to a wide variety of listeners. It was a pleasure getting to chat with them about their musical journey and creative process. What drew you to the music industry? How did you get your start? Who are you inspired by? Jane: The music industry is fascinating from every angle. We love working on and expanding our artistry and knew if we wanted to truly take it on, we’d have to see the entire project as a cohesive piece. We both play and work in the industry, which really feeds its progression. Brian: This answer is dumb, but it’s the only thing I can conjure up - we are inspired by everything / everyone. I feel that our art is reactionary and that we are merely a creative vessel for what our senses take in. Jane: When I keep my eyes and ears consciously open, pretty cool things show up. This year, we have been paying a lot of attention to the intense effect color has on everything. What’s an average day like for you? Brian: It depends if we are on tour or at home in LA, but really average days don’t really exist for us. That said, I’ll divulge a semi-normal day at home in California - We wake up at 6:00a / 6:30a and have a water. We meditate. Jane has breakfast / coffee (I intermittently fast). We start work around 7:30a. Jane works in the fashion industry and splits time at the studio and doing content creation from home. I work in the music industry and am emailing every hour of the day for the most part. We’ll throw a workout, a rehearsal, individual music practice, and some writing in the mix (about an hour each per day). We’re always scheming for the next tour, album, song, video, etc. so there is constantly work to be done. It’s all fun, though, so work might not be the most operative word. Perhaps decidedly-driven, focused-fun. Jane: Brian covered that one well! We are constantly trying to find the balance between work and play. Each one is the necessary shadow of the other. It can be hard for us to take a break… so this is me reminding us to sit down every once in awhile, haha. LA isn’t exactly inexpensive, and this job doesn’t come to those who wait, but there isn’t room for growth in a mind and body on fire! Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music? Brian :Always. Depends on the track. Again, nearly all of our music is reactionary to what is happening around us. We like to sneak fun alliteration, double meanings, funny (to us) quips, symbolism, etc. into the mix when we can. Jane: Oh certainly. We like to think of this as our super art project, and it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without a few twists and turns! Do you collaborate with others? What is that process? Jane: We looooove working with other people. Watching how the mind of another constructs something like a beat can really open up a whole new creative process. We try to maintain the student mindset, and working with new people allows the floor to open up to a whole new kind of creative play. Plus, it’s just plain fun. The process changes with each artist, because the writing process between even just the two of us is never stagnant. If you come in with too many things you do and don’t do, you are really cutting yourself off. Brian: Constantly. Whether we work with different song writers, producers, visual artists, animators, actors, whatever - we are always collaborating. It’s our belief that isolation inhibits progress and to be able to speak to / for the masses, you have to get to know as many walks of life as you can. Also, because everyone comes from different backgrounds, the process changes with every new collaboration. Even repeat collaborators bring new magic to each new project. Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans. Jane: One of the most precious and beautiful parts of the industry are the connections that occur. We love meeting new people, encouraging them on their paths, and just kicking it and having a good time. We often work remotely on our technology, so our response time is freaky fast (please don’t sue me Jimmy J’s). Brian: Social media certainly has a vice grip on our communication patterns. However, we love interacting with, and meeting new people. Going and grabbing a drink with a stranger that likes our music has always been one of our favorite activities. We’ve met a lot of great friends by them coming to a show as a stranger, courageously coming to the merch table to say hi (we aren’t intimidating, however meeting new people always takes courage), and then making a plan to have a hang after the show. We are addicted to these types of interactions and can’t help but be drawn to face-to-face communication. Blue light on screens hurts the eyes, people are much easier to look at. What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? Why? Brian: Waking up in new places every day, eating each new city’s “staple food”, rapid change, and meeting new people. We love it because it shakes up the monotony and adds color to every moment of the day. Jane: This lifestyle really works well for us. We are most comfortable when constant change is occurring around us, and we maintain our “normal” by working with and being around one another. I know working with your partner isn’t for everyone, but it works well for us. I love that this job provides an adventure we can share, involves constant creative growth, travel, new food, new people, new experiences… the list goes on. My least favorite part… I love cooking, and I don’t get to eat my food on the road. I miss my healthy stews. Have you ever dealt with performance anxiety? Brian: Absolutely, meditation and breathing helps incredibly. After nine years of practice we still get butterflies, but it’s a lot better now. Jane: Definitely, but it’s kind of fun! I have actually been thinking about this a lot lately. I’m thankful I have the opportunity to regularly scare myself in the name of art. All of that pent up energy turns into adrenaline, and then… I turn into a wild gal up there. It’s addicting. I get nervous less and less, but I’m almost coaxing it into existence now. Tell me about your favorite performance venues. Brian: I really love Bell’s Eccentric Cafe (Kzoo: I used to work there, so I’m a bit bias), Schubas Tavern (Chicago, IL), The Morraccan Lounge (LA, CA), and 20 Monroe Live (GR, MI). That said, it’s a dream to play Red Rocks in Colorado and play The Masonic Temple in Detroit. Fingers crossed. Jane: I have my favorite spots, but it’s mostly about how magic takes hold of a particular evening. Sometimes this undeniable connection and excitement flows through everyone, and the most unlikely situation turns into a madhouse… and I mean that in the best way possible. What’s the best show you’ve ever played? The worst? Brian: Thankfully there have been a lot of bests, and subsequently a lot of worsts. Best shows have been at Blissfest 2019, at Schubas Tavern in Chicago, and Bell’s Eccentric Cafe in MI. We also had a dope set in Missoula, MT at this bike shop. Too many to count. Worst shows - man alive, we’ve had our fair share. Perhaps one that took place in Charlotte, MI in 2015 OR New Orleans, LA in 2014. Both made us seriously consider quitting music altogether. Jane: Best show ever??? Gosh. Recently, a few of my favorites were at the Lunchbox in Phoenix, our last Bell’s Brewery show, every show at Mac’s Bar, and Club Bliss at Blissfest. For Club Bliss, so many people were trying to cram into that small space that they had to take out all of the chairs and open the windows to let more people join the party. It was rad. What advice would you have for other musicians? Brian: If you love it, don’t stop. Cliche as it may be, this industry is not for everyone. Figure out why you love it and just keep following the fun. Honestly, that’s the case for every industry. The older I get, the more I am confronted with the fact that time isn’t guaranteed. You shouldn’t be wasting yours doing something you hate, or even moderately like. Jane: A lot of people told us you shouldn’t go into music for the money. That was often said with a laugh and a slap on the back. I didn’t fully understand that at first, and the meaning keeps changing. Possibly this wasn’t what they meant, but right now I’m taking that as not letting money be a part of your creative decision making process. Making music purely to make money, makes bad music. Social media: Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube Website Music: Spotify Apple Soundcloud Bandcamp Tidal NEWS COMING UP in 2019: We have a kickstarter campaign active right now. We’re trying to fund our debut EP, Backpack of Snacks. We have lots of dope incentives to give back to people in exchange for their monetary help. Those include: exclusive t-shirts (designed by Jane), 5 panel hats, pre-order of EP, personalized voice-mail recording, personalized portrait by Jane Spencer, and the opportunity to be in our next animated music video. Kickstarter ends on August 17th. Other important dates: July 30th - New animated video for our song “k i n d o f d a y”, by Robbie Shilstone August 20th - Single release of “J Walk” featuring Nnamdi Ogbonnaya October TBA - Debut EP release

The sixth annual Gridlife Midwest Music and Motorsports Festival may have just been the best installment yet. Thanks to several continuing improvements, the premier automotive event in the region continues to outperform itself, even in the face of extreme weather conditions. It was yet another wild kick-off to the festival season in Michigan for both racers and music fans alike. Background for the Unfamiliar - Several Gridlife events take place in different areas of the country throughout the year, with the Gridlife Midwest installment being the most iconic. Taking place at the beginning of each summer at Gingerman Speedway in South Haven, MI, some of the best drivers in the country and beyond compete in different categories of drift racing and time attack battles, while a curated selection of artists provide the soundtrack to the madness. Generally, the lineup consists of local and big-name electronic and hip hop artists who perform throughout the day and long into the night. Some famous returning drivers returning to the track this year included Ryan Tuerck, who was driving a new Toyota Corolla Hatchback with 1000 Horsepower this year, as well as Vaughn Gittin Jr., who drives a Monster Energy Drink Mustang, and is my personal favorite driver to watch at the festival. Meanwhile, a massive car show is on display, where drivers are able to show off their custom-built rides. Just about every make and model is lined up and down the grounds, making it a cornucopia of eye candy for automotive enthusiasts. All of this is rounded out by the different stages, where DJs and artists pump out sick beats and hot jams throughout the day. As I’ve written before, this festival is unique to any other on the circuit, as the focus is predominantly on the motorsports and racing, whereas the music is more of a bonus, taking a backseat to the daily drift battles. What’s New? The biggest new addition this year was the installment of a classic arcade and console gaming lounge. After hosting different “GameNight” events in both Chicago and Los Angeles, the decision was made to bring the event to the festival this year. All games available were free to play. The selection of games was excellent, both modern and old-school. Consoles available to play included the Nintendo Switch, which had games like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart, while classic Super Nintendo games were also available. There were also full seat-and-steering-wheel setups for the new Forza game, which multiple players could compete in at one time. It proved to be the most popular through the weekend, as there were hardly ever any seats unfilled. There was also a superb selection of arcade cabinets available to play. They ranged from the classics like Galaga and NBA Jam to other favorites like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mortal Kombat 4. Having the fourth game in the series available was a nice touch - in my own experience, arcades usually only have Mortal Kombat 1 or 2 on display, and rarely 3 or 4. Improved Bus Stage Last year, one of the features of Gridlife included a Silent Disco stage built out of an old school bus called the “GoodBus Stage.” This year, the bus had been fully upgraded, completed with a whole extra stage added to the top. If you don’t know how a Silent Disco works, participants are given a pair of wireless headphones with multiple channels. Different DJ’s spin music into the channels (blue and green) without creating external noise, which is ideal for after-hours dancing. The GoodBus is ran by the Chicago-based electro-funk duo GoodSex, who also performed on the main stage that Friday. Gridlife isn’t their only stop on the circuit - the GoodBus travels to multiple festivals far and wide, setting up their own renegade stage all over the country. I briefly met the pair last year, who gave me an impromptu tour of the bus. This year, however, I was able to sit down after their set and have a full interview with Joe Domingo, one half of GoodSex, to find out the story behind the bus and the GoodSex philosophy. Interview with Joe Domingo from GoodSex “Good Sex is the one thing we all agree on. It’s black, white, tall, old, gray, doesn’t matter who you are, you enjoy good sex,” Domingo said in an interview that Friday. “It’s love, it’s the one thing we can all agree on. Our mission statement breathes from that ethos - it is better to be good to people, you get a better return. Life is easier when you’re nice.” While the group plays mostly electronic funk music, each set is specially catered toward the setting and the crowd, depending on the festival. “Tonight, I knew SoDown would be playing after us, and we’d have more of a dubsteppy sound after us, so we were transitioning that sound,” Domingo said. “I think our set was indicative of that, in the way that it transitioned the flow from a heavy dubstep bass sound to a funky feel-good throwback sound, and it left room for the remaining artists to build it back up.” The GoodBus serves not only as a fun after-hours stage, but also as a full-on vehicle for getting the GoodSex message out to people. “As GoodSex, we decided to figure out a way of getting our message out to a mainstream audience,” Domingo said. “We bought a school bus, gutted it, decked it out with birch wood and steel, sound and speakers and love, and turned it into a mobile soundstage. So now we parade from festival to festival, utilizing it as a tour vehicle and also a sound stage.” The GoodBus has already been to festivals like Summer Camp this year, and will continue onward to Electric Forest and other festivals. “The GoodBus is our embodied brand,” Domingo said. “It’s how we get our music and our word and footprint out there. It is a culmination of everyone on the team coming together, doing what they’re good at, and showcasing that GoodSex vision and embodying it into a personable form.” As previously mentioned, the GoodBus received some upgrades this year, mainly in the form of a better and safer stage on the top. “We had the roof last year, but we did not have railings up,” Domingo said. “When you’re on top of a bus, you don’t feel safe. Now it’s fully projection-mapped and everything is enclosed, it’s officially another level of the bus.” Other Musical Highlights (Friday) Besides the funky sounds of GoodSex, other highlights from Friday night came by way of Houston, TX-based rap duo Blackillac. The pair provided plenty of hyped-up rap songs interlaced with funny banter to an enthusiastic crowd as the sun was beginning to dip, setting the bar for the events of the evening. Second to last for Friday night was EDM DJ Luca Lush, who provided the crowd with several dubstep and hardstyle remixes of popular songs, both in the world of EDM and beyond. Following Luca Lush was headliner Ghastly, whose sound is difficult to describe in words. His set took elements of different genres and presented them alongside bizarre visuals, creating a visceral audio and visual experience. I was mostly transfixed by his presentation, and the set was over before I even realized it. He ended his set by encouraging the fans to come to the Silent Disco, saying that he’d be happy to hang out and talk with fans, and to not be shy. I found this to be a classy touch of showmanship. Saturday Night Shenanigans It’s impossible to explain the events of Saturday night without first discussing the weather situation. Gridlife 2017 was marked by extreme heat, while Gridlife 2018 saw its fair share of storms. Gridlife 2019, however, was characterized by both extremes of good and bad weather. While the temperature was very comfortable and ideal throughout the weekend, Saturday evening was ravaged by a storm that rolled through. Around 7 PM, one of my neighbors ran by my tent. When I popped out to say hello, he was getting inside of his, and yelled “See you tomorrow, dude!” “What do you mean? What are you talking about?” “Look behind you!” When I turned around, a MASSIVE black cloud was rolling in FAST. Text messages began coming in on my phone from Gridlife, advising patrons to take shelter. I hunkered down back inside my tent, and wisely so. If I hadn’t, my tent would have blown away, like several others did. Here’s a video that someone else took of the storm rolling in. After a while, I emerged from my tent to survey the damage. Much of the campground now looked like the entrance to Mordor from Lord of the Rings - everything was gray, wet, and muddy. Tents and canopies were strewn from being blown around, most of the attendees were honking their horns and hollering, and several carts were driving up and down the aisles, checking to see if anyone needed medical assistance. It seemed like complete chaos, though it had not delved into anarchy. I was very impressed with how well the staff were handling the situation. Thanks to the live update text line, we were able to stay informed on when the racing and other attractions would open back up, and it was nice to see the medical staff double-checking with patrons. In the aftermath, the sun once again broke through the clouds. It was very surreal - it was now very cold, despite the sun, and it seemed like we had experienced all four seasons in the span of just a few hours. Of course, this led to some main stage schedule changes. Dubstep producer Dogma had been scheduled to play that evening, but needed to be bumped to get the main stage back on track (remember this for later). I joined up with some friends to go check out Oliver Tree, the second-to-last main stage performer of the weekend. I had absolutely no knowledge of what his music was like, only being previously informed that he was sort of a “weird rapper.” I guess that’s one way of putting it. He was certainly weird, dressed in JNCO’s and a 90’s-era Styrofoam-print tracksuit with a bowl cut, but his sound reminded me a lot of that poppy MySpace style in the late 00’s (3OH!3, etc). I was personally not a fan of his performance or his music. I wouldn’t even call his genre rap, but I guess I wouldn’t know how else to describe it. I was confused as to why he was on before Getter. Even though they do have a song together, I felt that this was the furthest thing away from Getter as possible. Maybe it was an effort to have more variety on the lineup, but it left me feeling more perplexed than anything. It was certainly the “wild card” performance of the weekend, but in my opinion, that wasn’t a good thing this time around. That isn’t to say that the large crowd that had gathered wasn’t into him. Clearly, this guy is WAY more popular than I realized. The crowd of (mostly younger) fans were all screaming his lyrics with him word for word, while also responding to his performance with wild cheers. So obviously this guy has a big fanbase, and that’s great. It just doesn’t include myself. Furthermore, Oliver Tree has since announced that he is going on his farewell tour later on this year, so it is cool that the fans who got to see him at Gridlife were able to experience this opportunity. It very well could be the last. Getter, meanwhile, was arguably the set with the most anticipation for the weekend. It’s no secret that the last few months have been tumultuous on his end - after revamping his style on his latest release, reports began coming in of fans booing him at his own shows, which lead to him cancelling his entire tour. Questions were raised on whether that cancellation included Gridlife, but fans were assured that he would still be playing. And he DID play. I have very fond memories of seeing Getter at Electric Forest in 2016, which was an all-dubstep set, but I haven’t actually heard much from him since then. I decided to approach this one with a fresh, open mind, and make my own call on it. If my understanding is correct, the previous tour was mostly new material, but his set at Gridlife seemed to include a little bit of everything. It was one of the most diverse of the weekend - incorporating and chopping many different styles of Electronic music, he delivered a very lively set that was hype at times, lower-tempo at others, and all-around bizarre. As far as the crowd reception goes, they were LOVING it. When Getter announced that he was going to play a new song, the crowd responded with enthusiastic cheers, just as they did when he first took the stage. It seemed he had hit that perfect balance between both old and new material. Getter ended his set with many thanks, vowing to the audience that he would learn how to drift and come back next year to drive and race, with the crowd screaming for more, even after the lights came on and Getter had left the stage. Although the main stage closed for the weekend after Getter, the GoodBus would still be going strong for the remainder of the night. Remember how I mentioned Dogma earlier? Well, he was able to play a set after all. He took the top stage of the Bus (Green Channel) and delivered a very heavy meat-and-potatoes dubstep set. Like I’ve said before, the best sets you’ll ever see are the ones that revive you, even after a whole day of festival activities. I was about to leave the Disco for the night, but figured I’d stick around for a minute longer to see what it was about. Needless to say, I ended up staying and rocking out for the duration of his performance. He ended up being the final set of the Bus that night, and my personal favorite set of the weekend. Interviewing the Drivers, Part 1 - Levi Brown, Kalamazoo During the races Saturday, I was able to speak with local Kalamazoo-area racer Levi Brown, who drives a modified 1991 Honda Civic about his history with Gridlife. “I’ve been coming to track events probably since I had my license back in 2003, 2004,” Brown said. “I started doing some Autocross stuff and then I started coming out here to Gingerman. I started getting more into it when Honda Meet came around, and I've been following Gridlife since day one. Once they started doing the whole time attack thing, I started doing time attack.” Brown has been using his Honda Civic for almost 10 years. “I actually bought this car before the Gridlife stuff started going on,” Brown said. “I’ve had the car for about eight and a half, nine years now. Kept it pretty simple, I put a different motor in it, tweak some stuff on it here and there. Simple stuff, I keep it manageable and fun.” The Civic that Brown drives was number 420 in the competition. Unlike Kalamazoo-area driver Trent Meister, who chose 666 as his own number, Brown’s number was chosen by an unknown staff member as a joke that stuck. “This number was actually chosen for me the first time they started doing the banners and door cards,” Brown said. “I never figured out who picked it for me, but they gave it to me. Since the first Gridlife that they started doing the time attack stuff, the number stayed with it. I just rolled with it. It’s become part of the car more so than anything.” Brown also spoke about his performance that Saturday. “The track felt really good my last session,” Brown said. “It rained earlier, I didn’t go out midday, so this one was the last chance I had to put down another good time. I didn’t get down to my personal best, but I got back to about where I’m usually at. I don’t change much on the car, so I’m right where I usually am, so I’m happy with that.” Despite not beating his own personal best time, Brown said that he had gotten closer than he had in quite a while. “About a year and a half ago at the Fall Gridlife event, I got down to 01:39.0, and I was consistently in the 39’s that weekend,” Brown said. “This weekend, my fastest was only at 01:40.5, so I’m a little over a second off my fastest pace. It’s been about a year and a half since I’ve been down even into the 39-second range.” Interviewing the Drivers, Part 2 - Richard J. Hixon, Georgia Tyler KO Photo One thing I haven’t been able to do in my three years of attending Gridlife is to interview an out-of-state Pro Driver. After the festival was over with, I had an opportunity to interview Georgia-based driver Richard J. Hixon, who was racing in a streamlined 1989 BMW 325 is, about his experience with Gridlife and his origins as a racer. After competing at the Gridlife South event in Atlanta, Hixon made the decision to apply for his first Midwest event this year. “The cool thing about Gridlife is going to these different race tracks,” Hixon said. “You get the opportunity to drive the big tracks that otherwise would be [really far away]. To be apart of it is an honor, and it’s super special to go out there and rip this stock E30 with the big boys. It’s a crazy feeling.” Hixon first became interested in motorsports-related activities when he was a teenager, at which time he was still living in his home state of Texas. “Me and my buddy had some go-karts, I just had one of those flat ones with a sort of lawn mower engine on it,” Hixon said. “I would go as fast as I could and try to keep up with the guys on the trails. I didn’t really do anything motorsports related for a long time, that was just an exciting period in the summer. In 2014, there was a car meet for a shop that I worked at and helped promote. One morning, we showed up in the lot, and it turned out that if we blocked off local traffic, we could do whatever we wanted in the parking lot to an extent. We decided to put on a little show late at night, doing drift stunts around cones. Two guys thought it was cool, and told me to check out Lone Star Events and to try an actual track. I started driving those. I did two months out of that year, and continued to 2015.” After a career change, he moved from Texas to Georgia and began participating in races at Road Atlanta, at which time he began participating with Gridlife. “Gridlife started coming around for 2018 at Road Atlanta for Gridlife South and applications were opening up, so I decided to apply, and I got in,” Hixon said. “I went to Road Atlanta for South last year, and that was a blast. It was fun to drive my first real big track like that in an open environment where you can just drift however you wanted to. It was completely crazy, the crowd went nuts, it was like a basketball game every time I ripped it through the Horseshoe with my hands out the window. So of course, After all that, as soon as I heard about the Midwest opening applications open up this year, I applied and got in.” Although Hixon didn’t start drift racing until 2014, he has his car for almost ten years. After a series of blown engines and other car issues, Hixon was gifted the BMW he races with today. “My wife’s parents used to live out here in Georgia, they had this BMW that her father had bought to daily drive and take to Road Atlanta for track events, but he realized very quickly that racing wasn’t for him. So they ended up giving the car to us. I daily drove all over Houston. It was just an A to B car at the time. In 2012 or 2013, my dad offered to fix the car for me.” Speaking about his experience with his very first Gridlife Midwest experience this year, Hixon spoke about his performance over the weekend with excitement. “I think my best session was on Saturday when it rained,” Hixon said. “I did spin more than usual, but I was able to link some high-speed sections, and after doing it in the wet, it made me realize I could do it in the dry if I try a little bit harder.” However, he cited his Sunday performance as the highlight of the weekend. “The last two sessions on Sunday,” I was chasing the high-power guys, and started grip running several of the sessions just so I could chase them at high speeds,” Hixon said. “That was honestly the best part of the weekend.” Another highlight of the weekend for Hixon was being able to perform drift tricks for the crowds who had gathered to see the races. “My favorite part was whipping those third-gear Manjis [swinging the car from one side of the road or track to the other, along a straight section of road] down the straight,” Hixon said. “Just to get the car wide open like that was pretty fun, there’s not a lot of opportunities or tracks where you can safely do that, where there’s room for run-off if you do make some sort of error. That was interesting to just be able to hit it from side to side, kind of like some real-life Forza.” Hixon thought that the crowd needed more of a show than was being displayed. “It just seemed like the spectators got so excited that someone was giving them a show on that turn,” Hixon said. “The way I see it, Gridlife gets you full course for the weekend, and if you aren’t driving every turn that’s out there, then you aren’t really taking advantage of your driver fee. So if your car will do it without overheating, I say why not?” Speaking about the overall festival experience for the weekend, Hixon was impressed. “It was a blast,” Hixon said. “I walked through the campground area after checking out the music briefly, and there was a little group of six or seven E30’s all squaded up. I ended up chatting with those guys, it was cool meeting regular stock E30 dudes from that area and seeing what mine used to be like. If you get in my car now, it’s not a stock E30 anymore. On track, there was a lot of good etiquette, I didn’t really have any problems that I might have had at previous events, so that was nice. Everyone just went full send out there.” So What’s the Big Deal, Anyway? In my opinion, the big draw for Gridlife Midwest is its ability to bring together different types of crowds over one weekend. You have racers, music festival types, and people that are in it for both, like myself. But that seems to be the general consensus of the festival population, anyway. Everybody I talked to said something to the same effect, more or less. “I like the whole thing just because of the variety of stuff that’s out here. For any automotive type person, they’ve got the time attack battles, wheel to wheel, drifting, show car stuff. All the people that you get to hang out and see, the whole festival side of it, the music people that come in, it brings a whole different perspective of people in here. Just different varieties of people, and it’s way more than a lot of events I’ve been to, so it’s just the variety and the amount of stuff to do, it keeps you busy. You go out for a session, come back in, and there’s something going on.” Levi Brown, Kalamazoo-area racer. “It’s gonna help the motorsports to grow, because you’re gonna get people that come for the music and [stay] for the drifting. Your hardcore race fans and global time attack guys, they are there for that reason, but then you have your drifter and music people, and your campers that are there for the party. Then, they leave and follow your instagram and keep up with drifting, and next thing you know, they’ll go to a formula drift event or something just to check it out. You really never know where it’s gonna go or how people’s mindsets are gonna change after their first event, and an event like Gridlife with the music festival is a really good open-door opportunity to bring all those different crowds together and give the motorsport a little more exposure.” Richard J. Hixon, Georgia racer “I think the best part of Gridlife, part of it is the car community and seeing people with everything under the sun all coming together to hang out and party, a whole bunch of different types of events in one place, that’s what really does it for me. It’s eclectic, but it’s a real good time.” Eric Woodward, Attendee from Ann Arbor, MI “It was not what I was expecting. I thought I knew what would happen based on last years Gridlife, but this year overall, I really liked it. It was very unexpected. I can confidently say I had a good time. I would probably just explain it as camping, the first half of your day will be watching looking at cars, seeing them drift or race, or just checking them out, and the second half of your day is music festival vibes. It’s a nice little getaway, you just meet new people and get to have a lot of fun. I think I’ll come back.” Claudia Danowski, attendee from Orland Park, Chicago, IL. “It’s really the grouping of demographics. Typically at festivals, you’ll see a bunch of festival people, but it’s a closed door. They were at the last festival, and it’s the same people you see throughout the summer. [Gridlife] is a branchout, you can reach so many more people in different places from this festival, because it is a hub of talent. Whether it be music, cars, whatever it is, there’s a lot of cool talent around here, and that’s what makes it different.” Joe Domingo, Performer, Goodsex The past two years, I’ve seen Gridlife continue to grow and flourish as it carves out its own niche on the festival circuit, and this year is no exception. For auto enthusiasts, this is the premier automotive event of the midwest, and for live music and festival fans, this is an excellent way to kick off the festival season, and a great alternative to other festivals such as Summer Camp. I can definitely say that, despite the weather, this truly was the best Gridlife yet. It only continues to improve on itself in ways both big and small. Now that I’ve been able to attend three years in a row, I think that it’s safe to say that, no matter what year your first year attending will be, chances are it will be the best Gridlife to that point. Here’s to many more years on the Blacktop.