Rave to the Grave
30 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 39 ratingsRave to the Grave features wild stories, insights and electronic dance music history as told by the world's most interesting party people. Hosted by Vivian Host. Recorded at the Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center, NYC. Follow us at http://ravetothegrave.org
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Episodes
Moshe Kasher on Bay Area Raves, Burning Man and the Long Strange Trip That Led Him to Comedy
February 10, 2024 01:55 - 1 hour - 239 MBIn the last 44 years, Moshe Kasher has been a flyering bear, a sober ecstasy dealer, a sign language interpreter, and a gate monitor at Burning Man. He is now a stand-up comedian living in Los Angeles, and he has a new book out called Subculture Vulture, about the six subcultures that have defined his life. Moshe joins on Rave to the Grave for a funny conversation about Bay Area raves of the '90s, Bonny Doon, PLUR, pacifiers, the Thunderdome, what Katamari Damacy has in common with trauma, a...
Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin on Soundsystems, Nightclub Design and NYC's Nowadays
January 16, 2024 04:06 - 1 hour - 88.5 MBJustin Carter and Eamon Harkin are DJs, founders of the parties Mister Saturday Night, Mister Sunday, and Planetarium and the Mister Saturday Night record label, as well as New York City nightclub Nowadays. In part two of our interview, we dive deep about opening and running Nowadays, the NYC underground scene at the moment, and how cultural and political shifts impact the underground. If you’re interested in soundsystems, nightclub design, Brooklyn after dark and/or what it takes to run a c...
Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin on Mister Saturday Night, Post-9/11 NYC Nightlife, and Making Partying Their Job
January 13, 2024 08:33 - 1 hour - 95.9 MBJustin Carter and Eamon Harkin have spent the last 20 years helping shape NYC nightlife but these days, they're best known as the owners of Nowadays in Ridgewood, Queens, which is, in many people's estimation, the best club in New York right now. Justin and Eamon are also DJs, run the record label, and are the hosts and residents of long-running parties Mister Saturday Night, Mister Sunday, and an ambient chill-out affair called Planetarium. In part one of this two-parter, we talk to the duo...
Shawn Reynaldo Saw Claire Danes Eat Shit at Berghain
September 22, 2023 05:54 - 1 hour - 221 MBOver the last 20+ years, Shawn Reynaldo has been a DJ, record label owner, radio station manager, journalist and the editor-in-chief of XLR8R magazine. He's a one-time staple of the San Francisco indie rock scene, a former promoter of tropical bass and UK funky parties, and also one of the pre-eminent critics writing about house and techno for Pitchfork, Spin, NPR and beyond. Velocity Press just released Shawn's first book, First Floor Volume 1, which collects the spiciest thinkpieces and...
Furacão, Pancadão & Proibidão: House of Pris on the Early Days of Baile Funk in Brazil
August 26, 2023 23:29 - 1 hour - 96.3 MBWhen 1980s electro and freestyle music from Miami, New York, and Los Angeles touched down in Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian cities, it ignited a wildfire in the minds of local DJs and soundsystem operators. Out of the hoods – in Brazil known as favelas – emerged the ass-shaking sounds of baile funk. You may have heard baile funk hits by Pablo Vittar, Diplo & MIA, and Karol G, but on this episode we're taking it way way back to the roots. Raised in Fortaleza in Northeast Brazil, Priscill...
Kevin Carpet on Being a Human Carpet in NYC
June 11, 2023 02:30 - 1 hour - 157 MBMultiple nights a week for the last four decades, Kevin Carpet has rolled himself up in a body-sized custom carpet and placed himself in bars, clubs, and the streets of NYC for folks to step on, bounce on, take pictures with or... whatever they want really. We talk to Kevin about stepping out at legendary '80s nightspots like Danceteria and the Peppermint Lounge, the ins and outs of his profession/obsession, fashion, kink and consent, how he compares to other human carpets worldwide, and his...
McKenzie Wark on Writing on Raving, Transitions, and the Techno Dancefloor
March 28, 2023 06:50 - 1 hour - 189 MBMcKenzie Wark is an Australian born writer, critical theory professor, and trans-femme techno raver currently living in NYC. Her latest book, Raving, thinks deeply about dancing, dissociation, drugs, bodies, and identity as McKenzie, recently transitioned, navigates the queer ravespaces of Bushwick, Brooklyn. On the line from Berlin, we talk about experimenting with language and writing, bodies and the beat, smart vs. stupid drugs, the intersection of transness and techno, Kathy Acker, cultu...
Seana Gavin on Spiral Tribe, Cyberpunk Soundsystems, and Adventures in Tekno
November 27, 2022 21:51 - 1 hour - 196 MBSeana Gavin is a London-based visual artist who spent 10 years immersed in the free party culture in the UK and beyond, traveling to week-long parties in Czechoslovakian fields, French mountains, and Berlin squats with soundsystems like Spiral Tribe, Bedlam, Desert Storm, and Hekate. Her photos and diary entries of the adventures of these roving cyberpunks are collected in books like Spiral Baby and Spiralling, and we sat down to talk about the intersection of punk and rave, border crossing,...
Shawn Caesar on Baltimore Club and Keeping It Unruly
September 13, 2022 14:59 - 1 hour - 165 MB"Tear the Club Up." "Watch Out for the Big Girl." "Bring In the Katz." Shawn Caesar of pioneering Baltimore Club music label Unruly Records joins us to talk about some of Baltimore Club music's greatest bangers, and takes us back to genre's roots in the hip-house scene of the late '80s and early '90s. Learn about Bmore club's inspirations, how it's evolved over the years, and the life and times of some of its icons, including Miss Tony and Club Queen K-Swift. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ St...
Steven Klavier on Club Etiquette, Weird Afters and Working Behind the Scenes at NYC Nightclubs
August 10, 2022 02:36 - 1 hour - 150 MBGuestlist etiquette, artisanal ketamine, sordid afterhours parties, club sex and trapeze artists are just some of the topics we delve into with Steven Klavier, a house vocalist and nightlife staple who has worked in a bevy of NYC clubs including House of Yes, Verboten, Thompson Hotel, and Public Records. Along the way, he's been a door person, bartender, booker, stage manager, and many other unofficial positions that have put him on the frontlines of all the blood, barf, bodily fluids, and b...
Flapjack on the Best Parties, Burning Man, EDM and Rave Shit (Literally)
June 10, 2022 19:23 - 1 hour - 197 MBIn part 2 of our interview with rave icon Flapjack, we talk renegade Burning Man, the business of EDM, the importance of DIY art and culture, haunted weed, and get treated to a steaming handful of wild party stories, including a trilogy of poop-related bad trips. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka @stareyezzz). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram @ravetothe.grave.
Raver icon Flapjack on the Hardcore Underground, the Lessons of the '90s, and Kandi Kid Pride
May 11, 2022 04:58 - 1 hour - 178 MBLiterally a pied piper of the underground (happy) hardcore scene, L.A. DJ, promoter, fashion designer, vinyl collector, and JNCO enthusiast Flapjack joins us to talk about being a Raveaissance Man. In Part 1, we explore how he got so hardcore, kandi culture, being sober but loving drugs, sacred objects of the '90s, DIY ideals and creativity, plus we workshop party names. Stay tuned for Part 2. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram at @ra...
Flapjack on the Hardcore Underground, the Lessons of the '90s, and Kandi Kid Pride
May 11, 2022 04:58 - 1 hour - 178 MBLiterally a pied piper of the underground (happy) hardcore scene, L.A. DJ, promoter, fashion designer, vinyl collector, and JNCO enthusiast Flapjack joins us to talk about being a Raveaissance Man. In Part 1, we explore how he got so hardcore, kandi culture, being sober but loving drugs, sacred objects of the '90s, DIY ideals and creativity, plus we workshop party names. Stay tuned for Part 2. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram at @r...
Marco Passarani on The Birth of Roman Raves, Breaking Techno and His Many Hustles
March 23, 2022 22:23 - 1 hour - 187 MBItaly's Marco Passarani has been DJing and working in record stores since age 10, and releasing records since 1993. A native of Rome, he walks us through the transition from disco to rave, the evolution of city's unique "broken beat" sound and details the scene at some long-forgotten spots like Borgo Sabatino and Piper. We also talk about his Tiger & Woods project, his complex relationship to Italo disco, smiley pants, the DJ hustle and why techno was and is still the future. Hosted by Vivia...
LinaLovesIt on the Bloghouse Era, 2010s Gossip, and Documenting the Scene
February 16, 2022 22:41 - 1 hour - 171 MBRave cruises, mermaid outfits, scene hair, nasty hot tubs, Skrillex on the couch! Join American scene queen Lina Abascal (aka @linalovesit) as we revisit the bloghouse era of the early 2000s, the subject of her new book Never Be Alone Again. We talk which DJs were hot (or not), how the internet and technology has transformed culture, wild parties & free booze, bloghouse coming back into style, and how Lina spun her career from professional party girl to book author, journalist, and professor...
Chris Liebing on '90s Techno, The Omen, and Musically Letting Go
January 10, 2022 03:37 - 1 hour - 152 MBGermany's Chris Liebing has been a mainstay of the European techno scene since the late '90s, running the CLR and Audio labels and playing music that explores every dark, melancholy, pummeling corner of kickdrum and hi-hat. Upon the release of Liebing's second album for Mute Records, Another Day, we talk about his forays into more chilled realms of electronic music, his formative years at clubs like the Omen and Tresor, Berlin vs. Frankfurt, and the meaning of techno, plus he offers advice f...
Elijah of Butterz on Grime History, Bad DJ Gigs, and How to Run a Successful Brand
October 04, 2021 06:20 - 1 hour - 231 MBElijah & Skilliam are a DJ duo and owners of London’s Butterz record label, which since 2010 have done more than anyone else to promote underground UK genres like grime, bassline and UK funky to the world. We talk to Elijah about growing up grime and what the music means to young black Londoners of his generation and talk about grime’s best MCs, mixtapes, and artifacts. Elijah also recounts some of his most ridiculous DJ stories and drops wisdom on how to maintain longevity in dance music. V...
Maria 909 on Growing Up Hardcore, The Limelight & 90s NYC Raves
August 23, 2021 06:35 - 1 hour - 180 MBMaria 909 has operated behind the scenes at some of the most famous events on the East Coast, from The Limelight nightclub to Industrial Strength parties, from Def Mix deep house events to Melting Point protest raves. Promotion, record distro, management: she's done it all. She joins us to revisit the dark and light of the 90s NYC rave scene, from growing up near Coney Island and falling in love with hardcore to witnessing the death and rebirth of the underground in the city that never sleep...
Noncompliant on Techno Feminism, Midwest Raves and Accountability in Club Culture
July 23, 2021 19:47 - 1 hour - 236 MBNoncompliant (fka DJ Shiva) is an uncompromising techno DJ/producer from the conservative state of Indiana, a queer punk skateboarder who would go from playing in barns and VFW halls to headlining in Berlin and Australia. In this interview, recorded as lockdown restrictions were easing in May 2021, we talk Midwest raves, learning to DJ on crazy equipment, speaker freaking, phone taps, buying mixtapes from The Blessed Madonna, sci-fi and epidemiology and the importance of community and accoun...
Kurt Eckes of Drop Bass on Going Furthur, Satanic Rituals and Hard Acid - Part 2
June 18, 2021 16:40 - 51 minutes - 118 MBKurt Eckes put Milwaukee on the map in the ’90s with his Drop Bass Network parties and Even Furthur festival. In Part 2 of this interview, we talk about Satanism and rituals, how to throw a rave, the craziest stories from Furthur, the RAVE Act, the Drop Bass label and Midwest hard acid, plague raves and starting a Kult. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram at @ravetothe.grave.
Kurt Eckes of Drop Bass on Hardcore, Acid Tests and Midwest Raves - Part 1
May 28, 2021 05:16 - 1 hour - 141 MBKurt Eckes put Milwaukee on the map in the ’90s with his Drop Bass Network parties and Even Furthur festival. With an aesthetic that combines heavy metal, Satanism, the acid-fried 1960s and a heavy dose of humor, Drop Bass became legend around the rave scene and beyond, while championing the darker, harder sides of electronic music, from gabber to hard acid to drum 'n' bass. Kurt is a true rave outlaw – in Part 1 of this interview, we talk about big ideas, heavy music, farming, how to talk t...
Harry DiY on DiY Sound System, the Dawn of UK Rave Culture and Fusing Anarcho Punk & Acid House
April 30, 2021 07:46 - 1 hour - 104 MBNottingham's DiY Collective, formed in 1989, were one of the UK's first house sound systems and played a huge role in rave culture as we know it today. DiY co-founder Harry calls in from Wales to talk about fusing punk ethics to acid house, his best friend Woosh, what it was like at Castlemorton in '92 (the largest illegal rave ever), the Criminal Justice Bill and rejecting capitalist club culture. Also, DiY's 40-person SF apartment, drug trips, fighting for your right to party and how ravin...
OJ San Felipe on Filipino DJ Parties, Blood-Soaked Punk Shows and How to Perform Live
March 26, 2021 23:28 - 1 hour - 146 MBNYC scene staple OJ San Felipe of X-Ray Eyeballs, Acetone 4 and Sahd Wyte Guyz on growing up in SF's Mission District, the Filipino party culture that birthed the West Coast scratch DJ scene, the NYC underground past and present, and blood-and-piss-soaked rock exploits, plus how to write a song, perform live and wild out while sober. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram at @ravetothe.grave.
Marke B on 80s Detroit Clubs, the Evolution of Queer Nightlife and Documenting the SF Scene
March 06, 2021 06:05 - 1 hour - 182 MBSF mainstay Marke Bieschke on Detroit clubs of the 1980s and ’90s, the birth of techno, NYC club kids, legendary looks, VOOM raves, writing about partying, the changing tides of queer nightlife, co-owning The Stud and San Francisco clubbing past, present and future. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram at @ravetothe.grave.
Ms Easy on Managing Clowns, Viking Festivals, Rave Outlaws and Loving the Moment
February 12, 2021 05:18 - 1 hour - 162 MBL.A.-based performer Ms Easy on her extraordinary journey from St. Louis rave fixture to globe-trotting performer to managing clowns, stilt walkers and Fishy Fish as Entertainment Director for Insomniac, who throw massive EDM festivals like EDC and Beyond Wonderland. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram at @ravetothe.grave.
Bill Bernstein on the NYC Disco Scene, Nightlife Photography & Legendary Clubs of the Late '70s
January 17, 2021 18:21 - 58 minutes - 134 MBIn the late '70s, photographer Bill Bernstein tirelessly documented NYC's freaky and fabulous nightlife, producing some of the most iconic images of the disco era. We talk about the unique conditions that birthed the disco movement, photographing in the dark and the scene at legendary clubs like Studio 54, Paradise Garage, GGs Barnum Room and Xenon, plus his current work shooting Brooklyn's gender-fluid nightlife scene. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or fo...
Jubilee on Florida Raves, Bass Music & Writing Term Papers on Ecstasy
December 28, 2020 21:40 - 1 hour - 94.3 MBNYC DJ/producer Jubilee of Magic City revisits the Florida rave scene of the '90s, reveals the secrets of how to party hard (and smart), plus talks about the halcyon days of the Hollerboard, NYC jungle and the wild twists and turns of DJ life. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram at @ravetothe.grave.
Michelle Lhooq on Rave Utopias, Future Drugs & Autonomous Zones
December 19, 2020 01:25 - 1 hour - 110 MBCounterculture journalist and party girl Michelle Lhooq on rave utopias (and dystopias), new frontiers in drug culture, the Asian rave scene and the intersection of protest and partying. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram at @ravetothe.grave.
Barbara Tucker on House Music History, NYC Nightlife and Her Legendary Dance Hits
December 11, 2020 17:09 - 58 minutes - 81 MBIconic house music vocalist Barbara Tucker talks about her life in music and dance, NYC nightlife over the years, the making of "Deep Inside" and what house music really means, plus gives us a taste of those legendary vocals. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram at @ravetothe.grave.
AC Slater on Night Bass, Rave Antics and How to Be a Successful DJ
November 24, 2020 03:58 - 1 hour - 148 MBL.A.'s bassline king AC Slater talks about epic rave adventures, American cheese, the heyday of happy hardcore and how to build your own EDM empire. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). Visit RavetotheGrave.org or follow us on Instagram at @ravetothe.grave.