Moshe Kasher on Bay Area Raves, Burning Man and the Long Strange Trip That Led Him to Comedy
Release Date: 02/10/2024
The Librarian on Bass Coast, Vibe Management and Partying in British Columbia
Rave to the Grave
We're headed to the woods of Western Canada to talk to Andrea Graham, a bass music DJ/producer known as The Librarian and the co-founder of British Columbia's music and arts festival Bass Coast, which she established with her friend Liz Thomson in the small coastal town of Squamish in 2009. Ahead of Bass Coast's 16th year this July, we talk running a festival, harm reduction, bass music, environmental awareness, vibe setting, charcuterie plates, what goes on party-wise on the West Coast of Canada and how she had the courage and drive to make an independent festival happen. Hosted by Vivian...
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Moshe Kasher on Bay Area Raves, Burning Man and the Long Strange Trip That Led Him to Comedy
Rave to the Grave
In 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, and finding himself through raves and comedy. He is currently on a book tour around the United States,...
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Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin on Soundsystems, Nightclub Design and NYC's Nowadays
Rave to the Grave
Justin 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 club, this episode is for you. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). For more info and extras,...
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Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin on Mister Saturday Night, Post-9/11 NYC Nightlife, and Making Partying Their Job
Rave to the Grave
Justin 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 about Mister Saturday Night's 15-year anniversary, the dos and don'ts of fog, wild times at...
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Shawn Reynaldo Saw Claire Danes Eat Shit at Berghain
Rave to the Grave
Over 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 hot takes on electronic music and culture that he's penned over the last couple years in his popular...
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Furacão, Pancadão & Proibidão: House of Pris on the Early Days of Baile Funk in Brazil
Rave to the Grave
When 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, Priscilla Cavalcante a.k.a. House of Pris joins me to talk about her experiences in first-wave baile...
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Kevin Carpet on Being a Human Carpet in NYC
Rave to the Grave
Multiple 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 wildest and most famous encounters. It's everything you wanted to know about being a human carpet but...
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McKenzie Wark on Writing on Raving, Transitions, and the Techno Dancefloor
Rave to the Grave
McKenzie 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, cultural theory, and McKenzie's extraordinary journey from growing up in an Australian mining town to...
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Seana Gavin on Spiral Tribe, Cyberpunk Soundsystems, and Adventures in Tekno
Rave to the Grave
Seana 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, fashion, friendship, adventure, freedom, and just how dirty things can get. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka...
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Shawn Caesar on Baltimore Club and Keeping It Unruly
Rave to the Grave
"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 Star Eyes). Visit us at Ravetothegrave.org or on Instagram at @ravetothe.grave.
info_outlineIn 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, and finding himself through raves and comedy. He is currently on a book tour around the United States, followed by some comedy dates. Find out more at MosheKasher.com. Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). For more info and extras, visit Ravetothegrave.org or Instagram @ravetothe.grave.