Rave to the Grave

Rave 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

Terre Thaemlitz on Club Propaganda, Ambient Rebellion and the Queer 1980s NYC Underground 08/11/2025

HAAi on Doofs, Pingers, Acid Lizards and Risk-Taking in Techno 06/06/2025

Junior Sanchez Part 2: Wu-Tang House, DJ Hijinks and Remixing It All 03/24/2025

Junior Sanchez Part 1: Raving, Housing and Causing a Ruckus in Early '90s NYC 02/05/2025

Stacey Forrester on Drugs, Harm Reduction and The Future of Festivals 12/24/2024

Handsome Tiger on Indigenous Bass, Pow Wow Drumstep and Decolonizing the Dancefloor 10/14/2024
Handsome Tiger on Indigenous Bass, Pow Wow Drumstep and Decolonizing the Dancefloor
The literal translation of his Arabic name, Handsome Tiger is the moniker of Vancouver-based producer and DJ Hussein Elnamer. Hussein got his start in metal bands, found dubstep and is currently fusing the genres big low-end and 140 tempos with global club and bass rhythms in an effort to “decolozine the dancfloor.” Hussein talks about growing up mixed-race in Canada – his father is from Libya and his mother is Anishinaabe Métis – and how he’s fusing indigenous /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/33433157

El Hornet on Pendulum, Punk Rock and the Pleasures and Perils of Living Drum & Bass 09/06/2024
El Hornet on Pendulum, Punk Rock and the Pleasures and Perils of Living Drum & Bass
We're headed to Perth, Western Australia to catch up with Paul Harding aka El Hornet, one-third of drum 'n' bass group Pendulum, who have reached huge heights with their hard-driving neurofunk bangers that lay bare the group's background in heavy metal and hard rock. Paul is a hilarious storyteller and we talk about CB radio, surfing with sharks, trading beer for mixtapes, losing a dead person at a Pendulum show, being broke in DJ Fres /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/32949112

The Librarian on Bass Coast, Vibe Management and Partying in British Columbia 04/11/2024
The Librarian on Bass Coast, Vibe Management and Partying in British Columbia
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 /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/30775683

Moshe Kasher on Bay Area Raves, Burning Man and the Long Strange Trip That Led Him to Comedy 02/10/2024
Moshe Kasher on Bay Area Raves, Burning Man and the Long Strange Trip That Led Him to Comedy
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 /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/29882578

Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin on Soundsystems, Nightclub Design and NYC's Nowadays 01/16/2024
Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin on Soundsystems, Nightclub Design and NYC's Nowadays
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 wha /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/29503893

Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin on Mister Saturday Night, Post-9/11 NYC Nightlife, and Making Partying Their Job 01/13/2024
Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin on Mister Saturday Night, Post-9/11 NYC Nightlife, and Making Partying Their Job
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 ab /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/29470298

Shawn Reynaldo Saw Claire Danes Eat Shit at Berghain 09/22/2023
Shawn Reynaldo Saw Claire Danes Eat Shit at Berghain

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 /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/28111466

Furacão, Pancadão & Proibidão: House of Pris on the Early Days of Baile Funk in Brazil 08/26/2023
Furacão, Pancadão & Proibidão: House of Pris on the Early Days of Baile Funk in Brazil
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 b /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/27857712

Kevin Carpet on Being a Human Carpet in NYC 06/11/2023
Kevin Carpet on Being a Human Carpet in NYC 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 were afraid to ask! Hosted by Vivian Host (aka DJ Star Eyes). For more info and extras, visit Ravetothegrave.org or Instagram @ravetothe.grave. /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/27106572

McKenzie Wark on Writing on Raving, Transitions, and the Techno Dancefloor 03/28/2023
McKenzie Wark on Writing on Raving, Transitions, and the Techno Dancefloor
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, cult /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/26363364

Seana Gavin on Spiral Tribe, Cyberpunk Soundsystems, and Adventures in Tekno 11/27/2022
Seana Gavin on Spiral Tribe, Cyberpunk Soundsystems, and Adventures in Tekno
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 cros /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/25142244

Shawn Caesar on Baltimore Club and Keeping It Unruly 09/13/2022
Shawn Caesar on Baltimore Club and Keeping It Unruly
"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). Vis /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/24362067

Steven Klavier on Club Etiquette, Weird Afters and Working Behind the Scenes at NYC Nightclubs 08/10/2022
Steven Klavier on Club Etiquette, Weird Afters and Working Behind the Scenes at NYC Nightclubs
Guestlist 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, bod /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/24011676

Flapjack on the Best Parties, Burning Man, EDM and Rave Shit (Literally) 06/10/2022
Flapjack on the Best Parties, Burning Man, EDM and Rave Shit (Literally)
In 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.
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Flapjack on the Hardcore Underground, the Lessons of the '90s, and Kandi Kid Pride 05/11/2022
Flapjack on the Hardcore Underground, the Lessons of the '90s, and Kandi Kid Pride
Literally 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 @ravetothe /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/23074013

Marco Passarani on The Birth of Roman Raves, Breaking Techno and His Many Hustles 03/23/2022
Marco Passarani on The Birth of Roman Raves, Breaking Techno and His Many Hustles
Italy'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 Vivian Host (aka D /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/22550015

LinaLovesIt on the Bloghouse Era, 2010s Gossip, and Documenting the Scene 02/16/2022
LinaLovesIt on the Bloghouse Era, 2010s Gossip, and Documenting the Scene
Rave 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. For fans of /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/22160618

Chris Liebing on '90s Techno, The Omen, and Musically Letting Go 01/10/2022
Chris Liebing on '90s Techno, The Omen, and Musically Letting Go
Germany'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 for DJs on how /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/21723743

Elijah of Butterz on Grime History, Bad DJ Gigs, and How to Run a Successful Brand 10/04/2021
Elijah of Butterz on Grime History, Bad DJ Gigs, and How to Run a Successful Brand
Elijah & 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. /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/20694173

Maria 909 on Growing Up Hardcore, The Limelight & 90s NYC Raves 08/23/2021
Maria 909 on Growing Up Hardcore, The Limelight & 90s NYC Raves
Maria 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 sleeps. Visit Rave /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/20227178

Noncompliant on Techno Feminism, Midwest Raves and Accountability in Club Culture 07/23/2021
Noncompliant on Techno Feminism, Midwest Raves and Accountability in Club Culture
Noncompliant (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 accountability in c /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/19911671

Kurt Eckes of Drop Bass on Going Furthur, Satanic Rituals and Hard Acid - Part 2 06/18/2021
Kurt Eckes of Drop Bass on Going Furthur, Satanic Rituals and Hard Acid - Part 2
Kurt 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.
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Kurt Eckes of Drop Bass on Hardcore, Acid Tests and Midwest Raves - Part 1 05/28/2021
Kurt Eckes of Drop Bass on Hardcore, Acid Tests and Midwest Raves - Part 1
Kurt 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 to cops, d /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/19272035

Harry DiY on DiY Sound System, the Dawn of UK Rave Culture and Fusing Anarcho Punk & Acid House 04/30/2021
Harry DiY on DiY Sound System, the Dawn of UK Rave Culture and Fusing Anarcho Punk & Acid House
Nottingham'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 raving really did /episode/index/show/ravetothegrave/id/18921413

OJ San Felipe on Filipino DJ Parties, Blood-Soaked Punk Shows and How to Perform Live 03/26/2021
OJ San Felipe on Filipino DJ Parties, Blood-Soaked Punk Shows and How to Perform Live
NYC 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.
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Rave to the Grave

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