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Electric Forest Festival 2013 - Ferris Wheel Views By Day

If you've ever driven through the states of Iowa and Nebraska on Highway 80, you can visualize the corn fields that seem to go endlessly in all directions. You can't help but be blown away by the immensity of it all. Driving through the general camping at a large outdoor music festival like Electric Forest has a similarly profound impact. The difference is that after five minutes of being awestruck by the amount of corn, you're bored as heck; whereas the scenery on a drive through EFF couldn't be more entertaining. Landscapes like these fill you with wonder about what the view is like from above. Lucky for those curious minds at Electric Forest, there is a super fun way to find out.

The Ferris Wheel towering above the main entrance is one carnival ride you'll never forget. The saying goes that 'A picture is worth a thousand words' which may be true, but it doesn't fully convey the powerful feelings that are experienced firsthand. You may enjoy, be impressed by, and even learn from the photos I've taken below but trust me, it's nothing like actually being there.

These photos are daytime views but sunset and night views are equally stunning. Keep in mind that they were taken on the first day - before ALL of the festival attendees had even arrived! If you weren't able to ride it this year, I would HIGHLY recommend you do it next year. The mass of organized chaos is a breathtaking sight and it's 100% worth it!

Inspirational Track: New World - Rise Above (Trance)
Listen on YouTube
Listen on Beatport

Thousands of Tents, Vehicles, and People

Security Check at Main Entrance

Arial View of Tripolee Stage

Electric Forest Festival 2013 - Finding Friends (Part 2) Totems & Flags

How to find friends in a crowd of tens of thousands??? In my last blog post I wrote about the mysterious force that amazingly draws you to your friends and helps you find them without even really trying. As neat as that is, you may not wish to leave finding your friends entirely in the hands of fate. In that case, groups of friends create totems, flags, signs, or markers to help them locate the rest of their clan in the massive sea of people. These crafty creations bring a whole new meaning to the phrase let your freak flag fly!

There are so many benefits to having these such as:

• No Need to Use Your Cell Phone - conserves your cell battery (so you can take more pictures/video), often you can't hear your phone or feel it vibrate in that environment, or it may already be dead.
• No Need to Strain Your Voice - either by calling out your friends names in the crowd or yelling into your cell phone - save your voice for letting the DJ know how you're feeling :)
• Become an Icon and Make New Friends - outsiders can appreciate your art and come over to chat with you about it.
• Make a Statement - Show your Chicago Blackhawks pride for their recent Stanley Cup win, express your undying love for Steve Carell, or simply prove how creative you are!
• Help Others - Festival-goers will use your totem as a way to find their friends to by saying something like, "I'm up to the right side of the stage, near that wicked foam dragon totem!"

So before you head off to your next outdoor music festival, consider getting together with your friends and creating your very own group totem. It will be a really fun, rewarding time in and of itself and will add so much to the festival experience overall. You'll be glad you did!

There were a lot of marvelous totems at Electric Forest Festival this year. I'm sure many factors were considered in the planning process like height, weight, cost, power supply, carrying method, etc. It was obvious that their creators devoted much time, energy, and money into making them and I give major props to these artists. They add so much character, color, and enchantment to the vast, crowded landscape. Well done and keep it up!

Inspirational Track: Hugo Gracowski - Totem (Original Mix) Genre: Minimal/Progressive House
Listen on SoudCloud
Listen on Beatport

Electric Dream Catcher Totem

Dancing Around Electric Jellyfish Totem

Electric Foam Dragon Totem

Sea of Totems, Flags, Signs, and Markers

Find Your Friends!

Rainbow Daisy Pinwheel, Inflatable Cactus Totem, Steve Carell Totem

Electric Forest Festival 2013 - Finding Friends (Part 1)

When you arrive at an outdoor music festival, setting up your campsite next to total strangers is a game of chance like drawing names out of a hat, and in this case, a hat that contains over 25,000 names in it. You really have no idea who your neighbors are going to be for the next four days. Are they going to be inclusive, enjoy the same music, be considerate, etc? There is no way of knowing until you've already set up camp and begun a dialogue with them. By then it may be too late - and who wants to tear everything down and move somewhere else??

I would venture to guess that the general mindset of the majority of people who attend these festivals is similar in that they just want to have a good time, no drama, feel peace, freedom, love, and so forth. I can safely say that there is a greater likelihood than not, that you'll enjoy the company of your neighbors. If not, perhaps your karma is trying to teach you something... :)

In my case, I couldn't have ended up with cooler neighbors. I mean it - these three guys are rad. We had great conversation, enjoyed listening to the same music, shared our supplies with each other, looked out for one another, and I trusted them completely. At first we were strangers, and by the end of the festival we were friends. I'm confident I'll keep in touch with them for a long time and I hope we'll meet up again at events in the future.

Another amazing experience is when you are at a festival with that many people and yet you somehow unexpectedly run into friends of yours that you know from back home. Like somehow, a couple of needles in a haystack should suddenly meet somewhere in the middle, just because they're both needles and that commonality is enough to bring them together. Even when finding people you planned to meet up with it was like, "I'll find you in The Forest." and by some magnetic, cosmic energy - you would!!!

So what started out as a solo mission for me, ended up as my having experienced a great feeling of companionship throughout the Festival. Thanks to all my friends there, both old and new, for adding so much more to that wonderful adventure. See you next time!

Inspirational Track:  GQMF -  Friend (Dubstep/Electro)

GQMF - Friend --- Listen to it on YouTube

GQMF - Friend --- Buy it on Beatport

Walking to main entrance

Having a refreshing brew

Time for the after-party!

Finding friends in the crowd

Electric Forest Festival 2013 - Morgan Page

Morgan Page is one of my favorite house/trance DJs on the top 100 charts today. His progressive style is captivating and when you listen to his tracks, you can't help but move and humm along with them. He's been nominated for a Grammy Award a couple of times as well as five different International Dance Music Awards including Best American DJ (2012). He's also a real inspiration to me personally because he's the same age (we were born within a few weeks of each other). I was super pumped up when the second phase of artists performing at EFF was announced and I saw that Morgan Page was headlining this amazing event.

So after quickly setting up camp and hastily preparing my camera equipment and supply backpack, I headed into the Forest. I must admit it was difficult to focus on my mission of getting to the Ranch Arena stage with all of the distracting eye candy along the way; but as I said before, Morgan Page's only set wasn't something I was willing to miss. I attempted my best tunnel vision possible and let my ears guide me to the place I needed to be.

His set was nothing short of fantastic. It was everything that's expected of a first-class DJ and more. It started raining about halfway through his performance but that didn't stop people from dancing. In fact, I think it really added another element (besides literally) in that these true die-hard fans weren't going to let anything stand in their way of having a great time and enjoying the music. When lightning suddenly flashed across the sky in the distance and the thunder roared, the crowd immediately answered back by cheering and roaring loudly at this incredible natural display that added to the ambiance of the Electric Forest.

We were lucky to be the first to hear a new single release of his called Your Love featuring The Outfield. Click here to listen: Morgan Page ft. The Outfield - Your Love (Beatport version) The crowd loved it!!!

So thanks to Morgan Page for bringing down the house and setting the stage for an epic festival. I made many new friends over the next few days and he was one of the most talked about DJ's at EFF, loved by fans both old and new!

Electric Forest Festival 2013 - Arrival & Camp Set Up

June 27th, 2013 - the moment was finally upon me, the one I'd been waiting for ALL year long. I had arrived at Electric Forest Festival in Rothbury, Michigan. The rush of pure adrenaline came over me like a tidal wave. I literally screamed out a "WOO HOO!" and a "HELL YA!!!" and probably a "F@#K YA!!!" too as I made my way to the entrance of the 'back 40' of the Double JJ Ranch/Resort. It probably seemed funny from an outside perspective as I was driving alone, practically jumping out of my driver's seat. It was way too difficult to contain my excitement. After all, I knew what last year's experience was like and I could only imagine what surprises awaited me in the Forest this time.

After picking up my media passes and getting through security, I set out to find a campsite, the perfect spot I would happily call home for the next four days. Considering I had arrived in the afternoon on the first day, I assumed it wouldn't be very hard; I couldn't have been more wrong. The place was packed! Driving through the sea of colorful people, cars, and tents was super entertaining though, and I finally found my spot at the far end of the campgrounds. It was quite a hike to the main entrance, but at least it was a straight shot from there, and I really liked the names of the cross streets - I was at the corner of Forest Lane & Jam St. The energy all around was amazing as everyone wandered to and from getting set up and preparing for the evening ahead.

Setting up my base camp was quite easy as I've had a lot of experience doing it. I clicked, snapped, tied, and secured everything together as quickly as possible because I was in a hurry to see one of my current favorite DJs perform - Morgan Page. He was only going to play one set at EFF, and I was NOT going to miss it!

Here are some photos of my base camp location:

Corner of Forest Lane & Jam Street

People Settling In

My Bass Camp

Forest Lane Leading to Main Entrance

Inspirational Track: Morgan Page (ft. Lissie) - The Longest Road (Deadmau5 Remix)

Jack of All Trades, Master of...?

For many people (myself included), choosing a career path in life can be a long and difficult process. It has always amazed me how many people know exactly what they want to do from such a young age. Little 'Tommy' knows (practically from birth it seems) that he wants to be a firefighter and that's exactly what he ends up becoming. Little 'Amanda' ends up being a veterinarian like she always wanted. I have always been somewhat envious of this type of person whose plans are all laid out, because for them, the path is clear without a whole lot of guesswork involved. Those kids go to school knowing exactly what classes they need to take to achieve their goal. For the rest of us, education is a discovery process and one of constantly asking ourselves, "What am I going to do with my life?"

As for me, I'm the 'jack-of-all-trades' type. My father raised me in such a way as to learn as much about everything that I could -- from construction skills to entrepreneurship. Following in the footsteps of this driven, do-it-yourselfer wasn't always easy, but has proven invaluable time and time again and I'm proud of the skills I've acquired in my life. That being said, it also has made choosing a career path exceptionally difficult. I truly feel I can do anything I set my mind to, which is why it's been so hard to pin down one thing to pursue as my career.

My journey in the 'work' part of life has been a wild one! I've done construction, washed carts at golf courses, owned a vintage clothing store, was a diesel mechanic, built websites, installed satellite dishes, worked at a winery in production, taught English in Asia, sold high-end IT equipment, been a magazine publisher, and that's not all! Those jobs were everything from a means to get by, to following a passion, to seizing an opportunity I felt I couldn't pass up.

So how do I know for sure that I want to pursue a career in the electronic dance music (EDM) industry??? How does one know when they have found their true calling? I had a very interesting revelation recently. In any of the aforementioned jobs I've had - I wasn't willing to settle for anything less than achieving the highest position or salary possible, yet I wasn't willing to make all of the sacrifices necessary and do whatever it took to continue on in that industry, regardless of the income potential. For example: I'm not a morning person and this has made demonstrating my commitment level to these other jobs that require an early start - a constant challenge. Being a night owl, I just can't get excited and motivated to get up at 5 AM, but find it natural and thrilling to stay up until then. It's during the wee hours of the night that I thrive and my creativity abounds.

The realization struck me like a lightning bolt that I would be willing to do any job in the EDM industry, as long as it meant I could be a part of it. I would happily build and clean a stage, as long as it meant I could be next to it listening to the greatest DJs perform. Of course I would naturally still set out to achieve the highest form of realizing my dream, but all the sacrifices wouldn't feel so much like sacrifices and I would be keen to make them for the chance to simply be a part of something I love so much.

Though the constant soul-searching since high school has been frustrating to say the least, I don't consider any of the time spent doing those other jobs a waste just because they weren't the right career path. I'm truly grateful for the experiences, knowledge, and relationships I've gained along the way. Perhaps most importantly (as it relates to pursuing a career in EDM), is that I've done all of these other jobs whistling while I work. I've spent all this time listening to what I love most. Now I'm ready to say my piece through music. And I will devote myself to this art until I can master it to the greatest extent of my ability.


Inspirational Quotes:

"Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person." ~ Albert Einstein

"Once you decide on your occupation... you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That's the secret of success... and is the key to being regarded honorably." ~ Jiro Ono

Inspirational Track:

Believe in Me - ATB