We want the entire world to be both universally accessible and comfortable and it’s just not possible; everyone wants peace on Earth and a world-wide middle class and an extended life expectancy for all. It’s time to be a little realistic for a minute. There’s only a certain amount of resources the world can produce, both of the renewable variety and the nonrenewable. I’m not a scientist or anything, but I’m pretty sure the human population passed the point of being able to live on the amounts of said resources sustainably a long-ass time ago. Both the best and worst things about humans is our ability to put reality aside and think outside the box sitting in front of us. A dog sees a dead dog in the street and it’s like oh, a dead dog…. squirrel!!! But for us (and often for the animals we like to project our feelings onto) there’s the who did it? why’d they do it? did they deserve it? and myriad of other pointless questions to be dealt with.Read the rest of this entry »

I get asked all the time, “What is it that Yo Miami does exactly?” and until recently I never really had a satisfactory answer. I was forced to resort to long, vague explanations involving aspects of promotion, management, advertising and a few other fields. What made it all the more frustrating was that I knew if there’s one thing a company needs in order to move forward and evolve organically, it’s an identity. Finally as I was reading a magazine article (on a train in France of all places), a word jumped out and things almost audibly clicked into place:  Ecosystem.

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What makes a musician or band stand the test of time? What gets people crazy and girls fainting like the Beatles or Elvis? Why am I asking myself these questions? After seeing the guys of Arboles Libres put on the best show I’ve seen from them to date at their “Father” album release party I couldn’t help but compare them to the greats and wonder why that was the case. It’s one thing to see a band put on a good show (as is generally the case with Arboles anyways), and another entirely when the whole audience is riveted and you can feel something palpable in the air drawing them to the stage.Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Guest Blogger: Raquel Ofir

In less than two weeks, the first-ever Lights Out Festival will launch right here in our very own Wynwood Arts District. Part light show and part musical explosion, the festival will be every electronic music lover’s dream come true. With what is sure to be a high energy, electrifying extravaganza, you hardly need a ton of other reasons to go to this event. If for some reason you’re not convinced from just those few sentences though, here’s a list of The Top Five Reasons to Attend LOF:

1. The Talent

This one-day music festival is packed with both national and local artists. While the main stage indoors will host mostly well known acts such as Felix Da Housecat and Brass Knuckles, the outdoor stage will have more up and coming performances serving as Dementia Events’ spotlight on Miami’s local talent. LOF is anticipating over thirty acts including RJD2, Felix Cartal, and Miami’s own The Digital Breed. Lights Out Festival is combining big name artists with newer performers to create what is sure to be an amazing event. For more information about the festival’s set list, check out www.lightsoutfestival.com.

2. The Atmosphere

This one-day festival is meant to be a marriage between light and sound. Dementia Events is combining intoxicating beats with hypnotizing light shows to create a one of a kind audiovisual experience. With buzzing acts, a laser and spotlight show, an interactive dance floor, a vendor market, and live art installations, Lights Out Festival is going to be a high energy, jam-packed, electronic musical event celebration.

3. The Price

The Lights Out Festival is more than just another entertaining event. Its focus is to provide people with the artists they love at an affordable price without decreasing any part of the experience. At a starting price of thirty-five dollars for general admission (ticket prices rise every two weeks, tickets are currently forty-five dollars), Dementia Events (the brains behind the festival) has brought the opportunity to see a variety of high-demand performers along with awesome new artists to check out together in one event when usually it would cost the same amount to see just one of the acts on the anticipated set list. Even VIP tickets are more affordable than most music festivals, starting out at seventy dollars (now eighty dollars) and including an exclusive package of a private viewing area, private entry, wait service, and air-conditioned bathrooms.

4. The Feel-Good Aspect

By attending Lights Out Festival, not only are you taking part in an explosive electronic music event, but you’re also helping out the community. Dementia Events has pledged to donate five percent of event proceeds to local music programs and public school systems, so while those crazy dance moves you’ve been practicing in front of the mirror may not help anyone on the interactive dance floor, your attendance will actually serve the community.

5. The Historical Moment

Picture this: You are in the midst of an enormous crowd, bumping together to the electric beats pounding out of the speakers. Hands up, eyes closed, you feel the bass drop in the soles of your feet and you see the lights flashing around you, even behind your eyelids. It is as if the entire audience is dancing together, high on adrenaline, celebrating electricity and existence. This is the first-ever Lights Out Festival. You are part of this historical moment, the debut of this festival that blends expression and entertainment, sound and sight, the known and the new into one all-night (and actually affordable) event.

Stay tuned for more coverage including features on some of the acts that will be performing.

Ever since my first trip to Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2011, I’ve been intrigued by the strange and colorful animal known as the music festival. Being a generally cynical introvert though, you can imagine that being stuck in the midst of tens of thousands of mind-altered, free-loving folks might not be my ideal surroundings. Bonnaroo turned out to be an interesting introduction to the world of music festivals to say the least, but without it I don’t know if I would have made it to the ones I’ve gone to since then. After attending my third festival (Hangout Music Festival) I can definitely see that each one truly is unique, and everything, from the access you have to the setting of the festival itself can have a substantial impact on how you experience it.

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Are you from Miami originally? If not when did you move here and what made you want to stay?

“I actually thought that I was 3^rd generation Miami (or “Miamuh”) until I recently found out that my grandmother was from Key West, and not Miami. So I suppose I’m kind of a “Conch” too. The scientific term for what I am is “Jewban” I think. My Ma came from a nice Jewish family and went to Miami High. Then one day she buys a brand new ’66 Mustang Fastback from a handsome Cuban car salesman and here I am.

I guess growing up here was something like if “I Love Lucy” was shot on the set of “Cocaine Cowboys,” if that makes any sense. I actually have always despised Miami; even as a child I couldn’t wait to leave, and I have several times. But one thing or another keeps dragging my ass back here… If I die in Miami I’ll be so disappointed in myself.

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What twisted path of fate took you from being a little girl growing up in Miami, the booty capital of the world, to the synth-rock drummer extraordinaire we all know and love today?

“Even as a baby, my mom tells me I used to bounce exactly in time to the beat of music playing and stop once the song was over. I ended up playing percussion in the bands at both my middle and high schools.” It was around this time, while she was still playing with all-girl punk bands, that she met Steph Taylor, the key-tickling second half of the State Of. They didn’t form a band quite yet though, and she continued playing open mic nights and various gigs. “Then in ’99, Suenalo contacted me to play a show with them and I guess they liked what I did because they had me come back for their next one.” Over the past 15 years she’s continued playing with a plethora of bands, and at this point has played with over 35 different ones (while also playing steady State Of gigs for the last 5 years).

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Here goes, the final segment for this round of YoFlo write-ups:

After an extended stay in St. Pete it was time to head reluctantly home, with one final stop planned for the trip back: Solomon’s Castle.

Even though this was one of the few itinerary items that we had planned before we left, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this place. I can tell you though, that as you make your way down the long country roads that lead you there, you definitely feel like you’re entering a world that shouldn’t exist in the same state as a city like Miami.

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I had to take a hiatus due to the multitude of events going on around town that I had to cover (see: Virginia Key GrassRoots Music Fest), but I’m back with the next segment of the YoFlo series.