This weekend my friends and I had a blast at Ultraviolet, a party down in Lithia, FL. As an outdoor rave, I expected it to be full of craziness and awesome music, which we definitely experienced plenty of.

The ride down to Lithia was easy enough, nothing major along the way but we did get caught up in a few accidents – a bikefest was going on, hopefully they’re all alright.

Missing our exit, we got a little sidetracked but we eventually found the spot.

It was being held at Jeff’s place, a ranch, with plenty of room for people to camp, park and have a good time.

My friend Paris rode out to the party with me, his first time experiencing something like this so it was a blast to introduce him to the music and parties I love.

Once he got there his eyes lit up, he knew it was going to be wild.

(This isn’t Paris but he did have the same expression – priceless)

Waiting for my friends to arrive, we took the opportunity to chat with a few people and run into some old friends.

James and company showed up, trying to flag me down by calling me, only to be a few cars away – figures.

Believe me, a 2 hour drive to a party is still a pain in the ass but it’s all worth it once everyone shows up. We went ahead and tailgated for a short while, drinking a bit and catching up to speed on everyone whose coming out and what’s everyone been up to.

It’s awesome having party friends, although you can barely ever remember everyones’ name, they’re still a welcome whenever you bump into another.

In we went.

I quickly came down to earth when I stepped in a big pile of cow shit but fuck it, shit happens.

We set up tent and low-and-behold, my bud Josh and company were right across from us, this was getting better and better.

Usually I keep my phone off (because it’s usually dead) but I kept getting texts from people I know arriving, so we did the meet and greet, caught up and decided to get the party started.

TEK throws some amazing parties, they’re really holding it down and Ultraviolet was by far one of the biggest they’ve held in a long while.

The ranch was like la-la land, there was UV art all over the place. Many times I almost feel into the brook in a drunken stagger but not this time.

Booming, the bass hit hard and fast, everyone was starting to get into it, people glowing, flashing lights, connecting and uniting.

It’s best to leave out some of the details but it started to get really crazy from then on out.

I’m glad we brought a tent because I was floored. I’m a little bummed because I got into it way to quick, I missed an act or two but it pepped me back up and I got right back into it.

Gotta love all the POI dancers, the bright light of the fire surrounded by woods feel so natural and at home. Big ups to them.

Before long we kept running into more people we knew, growing the circle more and more. Like any party, groups tend to fracture as others chill out or get to the floor – we needed to be right down with the music.

I subscribe to the ‘Fuck It’ mentality when it comes to outdoor parties. I grab a few supplies (cigs and beer), a wad of cash and show up, everything else I let the chips fall where they may.

Ultraviolet 4-24-2010

Dj Truk {TEK} = Tampa Electronic Krew | MySpace Video

This attitude generally always leads to some kind of wild nite as you begin to curse the lack of food, tent, fire and other things you generally forget to bring.

I tell myself everytime I’ll invest in a good tent, fire pit, bring food and supplies but it never happens. Oh well, the music and people are all I need.

Speaking of food, I ran into (I’m sorry, I forget your name again) the guy I met at an old party that set up a grill and made food, steakhouse style (with all the flipping and shenanigans).

It’s funny as hell watching everyone get blown up by a grill and him tossing food.

The music kept booming and by far my favorite set of the nite was by Mix Vicious (psytranceeee!). The music in general was really great, tons of great acts that brought some killer music in their mixes. Blah, I wish it was still going on.

Well, it didn’t take long for things to get a little out of hand. Although, from what I understand, the music was low enough after midnight, the neighbors hassled the cops so they had to come out.

So they wouldn’t get their gear confenscated, they had to finally shut down the music around 3am. But everyone was still going.

The groups converged and everyone stared in awe as the POI dancers did their thing. Everything became a bit intimate, we ran between camps to meet up with the people we know.

James and company had to book it around the same time, working on Sunday’s always suck but you gotta make a living so off they went.

Paris and I, however, stuck around (a major reason was that the cops were waiting around outside ha – not falling for that shit again).

The odd sense of paranoia finally started to wash over everyone. It happens. The time of the night where everyone is coming down and exhaustion is setting in, it begins to be quiet and there’s a chill vibe running through the air.

Finally, as the sun rose, we rode out, a long ass haul back to our warm beds and something to drink and eat besides booze.

Ultraviolet was a lot of fun, really put all on all our edge. Outdoor parties are always the way to go down here in Florida, it’s good to get outside the clubs and warehouses to experience nature.

All this drabble aside, Ultraviolet was fuckin kick ass.

(Check out some more pics on Truk’s page: Ultraviolet Pics)

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Although it was a pure haze of experience through the weekend, I learned a few things along the way that I think will be helpful if it’s your first time going to Ultra Music Festival.

Some of the things that happened are comedy gold while other things will be really helpful to know.

Check it…

Be Careful What You Drink

Me and my friend Anthony went down to Ultra last year and had a blast. The only problem is that we didn’t bring enough money so we had to split drinks between us.

Running out of beer sucked and the worst part was that water was ridiculously over priced.

It ended up being Ant and I passing a water bottle back and forth whenever we bought one but there was one problem: Ant didn’t tell me he had bronchitis.

So, after drinking after him all weekend I returned home with a horrible cough and felt dog shit awful.

To make the matters worse, I some how got pink eye. So there I was going into work, exhausted, dying and my eyes were pink and closed shut from gunk. Yeah, they sent me home.

Always Pick Up Strange People

Despite what your mom told me, we ended up picking up random people along the way to help them get around.

The first was a guy from Philly that we found in the middle of a cracked out neighborhood. We were trying to find our way to the next club after the first day of Ultra and stopped to ask a security guard. When he didn’t prove helpful, the dude ran over and said he was looking for the place too.

I said hop in and off we went.

We later found out he sold bongs and pipes. Cool.

Later on after we left the venue, there was some dude that got ditched by his friends. Without a ride back to his hotel, Ant and I felt like in the helping mood (probably because of the effects of…nevermind) and decided to drive around Miami, looking for this guy’s hotel.

We ended up driving around Miami for about 2 hours which was pretty cool. We listened to the dude’s mixtape – drum and bass.

Lesson learned? There are a lot of cool people during UMF, pick em up!

When we finally found his hotel we dropped him off and went on our merry way – the wrong direction down a one way lane.

VIP Isn’t Worth It

During the second day of Ultra we were beginning to get a little ballsy and decided to sneak into the VIP area.

As a group walked up to go inside, the bouncer opened the gates and we jumped behind the people. We proceeded to talk loudly as if we were apart of the group and in we went.

Walking around the area I have to admit it was pretty nice, it wasn’t nearly as packed as in the open area.

The only problem was that the people there sucked. They were literally sleeping.

Besides the lack of enthusiasm from the people in the VIP area, they still sold booze and water for full price. You paid all that money and you didn’t even get a discounted rate?!

Miami Traffic Sucks

As Ultra let out it became pure mayhem.

We got back into our car and decided to head over to an after party. If I knew then that I’d almost have a nervous breakdown I would have suggested to wait for the crowd to die down a bit.

We were stuck in traffic. Not just traffic, gridlock.

People would run the red lights so when you had the green, you’d be stuck in the same spot. It literally took 15 minutes to go each block.

To make the matters worse, we were on a 2 lane strip with high walls when a fire truck pulled up behind us. Try cramming 2 lanes of cars into one without any sidewalk or median to get over to.

I almost lost my shit.

Sneak In What You Can

Down the road are tons of liquor stores.

Because Ultra charges such a high rate for alcohol (I think a shot of vodka was about $8!) we decided to sneak some in.

I decided to go with the old baggy pants and stuffing my shoes method while Ant went with the classic “under the balls” trick.

We got in with about 10 mini shots of vodka and whiskey each, saving us about $100 for that night.

Tip: They do pat you down but not thoroughly, just put them in areas they aren’t going to touch like your crotch or shoes.

Long story short, we had a blast, ‘cept Ant was tasting balls for the rest of the night.

Bonus Tip/Suggestion

Be prepared to pay out the asshole for just about everything.

Parking is usually $40 if you want to park really close to the area. If at all possible, grab a hotel that’s close and cab it.

Speaking of hotels, if you drive about 30 mins north of Miami, you’ll be able to find hotels for about $50 a night. If you time it right, you can check in just as they start the next day, so it feels like you got 2 nights for 1.

Final tip: Don’t be an idiot. There are tons of people walking around trying to sell stuff, a lot of narcs, a lot of bunk.

See You At Ultra This Year!

This year we are going at it in full force. We’re coming down with a huge group, renting a car, getting a hotel and meeting up with other groups of friends we know.

If this is your first time, be prepared for a wild night out, it’s massive.

Just use some of these tips and you should be able to survive UMF.

See you out there!

What are your tips on how to survive Ultra Music Festival?

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After looking at a few parties, we decided to swing by the U Name That Party at Rock Bottoms Farms Compound in Orlando. The flier said it all:

I’m a big fan of the Tampa electronic music scene, TEK is doing a great job to bring a lot of parties to the area. Additionally, Ybor is a really amazing place to find some very fun clubs (plus they serve alcohol til 3am). The problem is that Tampa is 2 hours away, quite a trip to make when you’re going out for only 4 hours at a club.

This is why Orlando is quickly becoming a really great scene for electronic music. Recently Orlando has begun to resurge with electronic music that isn’t just in clubs. What we found on the outskirts of Orlando was truly amazing.

In a dirty warehouse, dark electro, minimal, tech house and more was blasting. As we pulled up, we didn’t know wither we should worry about all the homeless people wandering around or all the glass we were driving over.

The line up was:

• Dirty Fidget Thug – Fidget House
• J Sly – Hard Electro/Minimal/DnB
• DJ E – Tech House
• DJ Ken-E – Minimal/Tech
• Matt Shea – Funky House/Techno
• DJ Emessee – Hardcore/Hardstep/Dnb

Once a month a party is thrown at this small warehouse, it can only hold about 200 people but the people you find here are the die hard fans of the music and the scene.

Grafitti littered the walls, cracks, wood, glass littering the area and you could get some nasty cuts if you weren’t careful; this was raw.

The people we met there were a class of their own, they were there to party. They weren’t there just to stand around in their popped collars, they were there to dance and have fun.

The music was pounding. With such a small venue encased in concrete, the sound echoed and boomed. The crunch of electro house filled the room while lasers and lights flashed in our eyes. It was like being locked in a building full of the craziest, wildest people that you instantly fall in love with.

Because Rock Bottom Farms Compound is on the outskirts of town, there are some small “rules” to the party. Technically you aren’t allowed to bring alcohol on the premise, it’s a place people are partying at but it’s definitely not a club or bar – cops will show up.

The actual location is really awesome, the Orlando skyline lights up the night yet you feel like you’re in the middle of no where. The compound opens up to a courtyard were we played dodgeball and wall ball – hey, it was fun. The warehouse was small and opened up to a fire pit for everyone to chill around.

The DJs had passion – real passion for the party and the music, they really gave everyone a great vibe – cheers to them!

As the party went on and we met more poeople, found drinks, finished packs of cigs, found glowsticks, danced hard, the DJs really stepped up and played some slamming minimal/tech house.

The best part about the warehouse was, since it was so small, that we were able to get to know people without being lost in a gigantic crowd. The people there were real, they all had stories, these were the people on the fringe of society, raw people.

The party wained on and we continued to get lost. The smells of dirty ravers filled the air, thick smoked flooded the room, lasers danced in your eyes, the bass crushing your chest and people going crazy.

The night was dying down but the people were still at it. We converged on the fire pit and watched the flames dance as the smoke poured from our mouths – cigs. Everyone had a chill vibe and knew the party spirit filled us all.

With an hour to drive home and the exhaustion of dancing hard for hours on end, we decided to call it a night. It was such a perfect night to get out, we really needed this.

Talking to a few people on the way out, we knew whenever we’re back in Orlando again, we’re coming to another party here.

It’s hard to describe what went on, you had to be there and I highly recommend coming out and helping to promote the Orlando scene. Tell all of your friends, bring in your crew, let’s fill this place up with as many people as we can get, hardcore people. We will bring back that raw experience in a city that continues to become full of people that don’t seem to care about the music – let’s take it back for us.

Come and hang out, listen to music, get the raw experience, support the Orlando scene, have fun, be safe and jam out.

Til next time.

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We decided to all meet up at this small pizza bar across the street because they were selling $2 beers, much more affordable than the $5 beers in the club.

After going through a few rounds and talking about music we decided to head inside and start off the night.

Level 3 turned out to be a really well laid out club although it did take us a minute to find how to get on the upper floors (door to stairs was hidden in the corner).

The first level had a full bar, some loungy VIP area and a very massive sound system. Everyone entering the club was congregating here so we decided to check out Level 2 for a bit while all of the new people started to settle in.

Level 2 had a clear floor where you could view what people were doing below us. The music was pounding and we were beginning to get into it.

After grabbing a few more drinks, we all decided to run around the club and see what was going on. The 3rd level of the club was located on the roof, nice clear skies and relaxed atmosphere.

We ran into a few other people we’ve met at other parties including some of the people from TEK like Truk (big ups!).

It’s always a surprise when you run into people you’ve ran into at the last parties, this was the case for the NYE event. One guy we met at Hallucination Before Christmas that was giving light shows turned up so we chatted a bit and decided to combine all of our lights.

For NYE we brought back the white LEDs but many more. The LEDs fit around your fingers so you can whip your hands around and leave all kinds of crazy trails.

The DJs played some nice, punchy sets. The music was bumping and we were having a great time.

Not surprisingly, we got asked by many people to give them light shows so we lined them up on the wall and let the shows begin.

People really loved the shows, we got plenty of hugs all around. We also got a lot of contact info for when we we’re back in Tampa – sweet!

It was reaching 12 o’ clock so we gathered everyone up and grabbed a beer. It struck 12 and everyone went apeshit, lots of hugs, kisses and people screaming, definitely the best NYE in a long time.

The night continued on and we continued to party.

Finally, it was reaching 3am and people were starting to clear out. People were getting tired and ready to chill out at after parties and their friends. We decided to wrap it up and go out with a bang – we all got together and said our goodbyes and headed out of the club.

Not without grabbing a final picture:

From left to right: James, Me, Gaby and Sam

So, that was our NYE.

Overal, the music was amazing, the club was great, the party was really massive and everyone had a great time.

Can’t wait until next year.

What did you do on NYE? Post below and let’s hear how your partying went!

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Pioneer, Beatport, DJ Mag and Let’s Mix are holding the Next Generation DJ Contest that allows up and coming DJs to enter the contest and win amazing prizes.

This is no small contest.

The grand prize winner of this contest will win:

1. A pair of Pioneer CDJ-2000s
2. Be apart of Pioneer’s exclusive test DJ group
3. A Pacemaker
4. Coverage in DJ Mag, Beatportal and Let’s Mix
5. A compilation release on Beatport
6. A trip to WMC 2010 in Miami
7. Play at Beatport and DJ Mag parties
8. Exclusive DJ contract

The NGDJ contest is no mere simple mix contest. Contestants are to show they can help promote themselves using social media and other forms of online networking.

The first round will only choose the top 100 DJs that have entered. This first selection ends on January 31st so hurry up and enter!

To make the first round of the contest, DJs have to acquire a minimum of 200 votes. Afterward, the top 100 DJs are judged by their highest average rating.

In stage 2 the final 100 DJs have create an additional mix between February 1st through February 20th. At the Stage 2 point, DJs are determined by their overall average, rating and determined by a panel of judges from all over the industry.

The NGDJ panel of judges are looking for the next superstar DJ that, not only can show off exceptional mixing skills, can create their own brand, manage their profile and promote themselves.

There will only be 1 top DJ of the Next Generation DJ contest but there are still plenty of prizes to go around.

DJs that place 2nd and 3rd will receive:

1. A Pioneer CDJ-2000

2. Presentation to DJ companies for promotion

3. A Pacemaker

4. Promotion in DJ Mag, Beatport and DJ Sounds

DJs placing between 4th and 50th place will win:

1. Promotion in DJ Mag, Beatport and DJ Sounds

2. A Pacemaker (60 GB)

DJs that place 51st – 100th will win:

1. Coverage of the contest in DJ Mag, Beatport and DJ Sounds

Any beginner DJ can enter this contest to show off their skills. This is the perfect opportunity to get your name out there. Don’t wait to  get your submission in, just create a fantastic mix and promote the hell out of yourself.

How to enter

1. Record your best DJ mix (really put a lot of effort into this)
2. Visit Letsmix.com and register an account
3. Upload your mix (only 1 mix can be entered)
4. Promote the hell out of yourself!

Have you entered the Next Generation DJ contest? If so, post a comment below for people to find you and help vote on your mix!

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This night we wont forget in terms of the amount of awesome that went on like light shows, the music, oh, and getting hit by a car.

Before heading out we all decided to meet up at my friend James’ (Cognitive Function) house. While there we decided to make a set of LED gloves out of white LEDs and gloves. Using some day-glow markers, we drew up some pretty sweet designs which glowed in black light. Overall, success.

Around 8:30 we finally headed out. We swung by the store to pick up some cans of food because Hallucination Before Christmas was also taking donations for the hungry. I bought 3 large cans of ravioli, sweeeet. While in line we successfully convinced the clerk we were apart of a Grindcore band that didn’t know how to play our instruments.

Finally setting off, it took us about 1 1/2 hours to get to Club Czar which is located right in the middle of Ybor.

Getting inside we were immediately blew away by how awesome the club looked. There were 3 areas: a general loungy type bar, a middle bar area with a floor and the final room with a large dance floor and bar.

The music they were playing was absolutely killer. The first room had some bangin toons, second was similar but the third room took the cake. The third room in Czar had some really sweet minimal going on.

We were some of the first on the floor so we stood up next to the bass bins, loud as hellll. The first thing we noticed was this old guy in a santa hat and a speedo – you only find this stuff at electronic music parties.

After the crowd started to fill in, we kept hitting the bar. Not bad prices but the fact that I kept running into people I know and buying them shots wasn’t helping my budget.

After a short amount of time James put on his gas mask that he painted up orange and black – really killer looking. I grabbed out my set of LEDs and start flailing like a maniac.

Almost immediately we were confronted by this really cool Asian couple so we gave them a light show. They gave us some glowsticks for the night and chatted for a bit – wish I could remember their names.

As the party went on we continued to cause some mayhem on the floor. The toons continued to bang as the vibe started setting in really nice. We ran into people that were obviously doing…stuff…so we hunched over them and gave them all sorts of awesome light shows – all of them loved it, should have seen their faces.

In the distance I heard dubstep playing so I grabbed my friends and dragged them into the room. Standing right up on the DJ booth, we jammed out to some really filthy dubstep tracks.

As soon as I turned around, I found someone I’ve partied with a long time ago and kept running into, so I bought him a shot and a beer.

The party kept going, lots of great tracks, a girl doing acrobatics on a swing, hugs for people, running around and jumping like mad.

When the party finally came to a close everyone wanted more but alas we had to pour back into the streets.

Heading home it got quite interesting. Just as I fell asleep in the car I was woken up by a loud ass boom and my friend freaking out. I look behind us and all I see is a SUV spinning around behind us – we got rear ended.

Just to make it clear, James was DD.

We jumped out and assessed the damage, it was bad:

After exchanging some information a lady cop finally arrived. Let me detail what happened:

Lady Cop: “Are you guys okay?”
Us: “Yeah, everyone’s okay”
Lady cop gets in car and leaves

Uhhhhhh, good job Florida patrol.

So, after calling again we finally got a cop to come out and write a report. Then after the cop, tow trucks finally arrived along with James’ parents – thank goodness.

In all, it took 3 hours to get everything worked out, good thing no one was injured or we’d be f%#@ed.

So, overall, the party was awesome as hell. If you didn’t make it out to Hallucination Before Christmas you missed out on a great party. The car is pretty much totaled and James will be getting a new one, so it’s all good in the end.

Moral of the story? If you stop at IHop on the way home you can avoid serious accidents.

Just wanted to share.

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Combine the fact that my friends have finals within the next few days I’ve virtually been shit out of luck on things to do on the weekends.

Luckily there’s a pretty awesome looking event called Hallucination Before Christmas coming up this weekend in Tampa, FL – roughly 2 hours away, not bad.

If you happen to be in the area, I suggest checking it out. I’ll be the one flailing like a maniac up front on the bassbin.

I’m really stoked to catch Monk, Screwface, Jackle & Hyde and the others in the line up.

HBC is also doing a food drive at the same time to help feed people which I think is really great of them. Gotta bring 3 cans.

I promise I won’t bring 3 cans of creamed corn.

More info on HBC and where to buy tickets

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