The following text comes from the book's Introduction, written by editor Michael Tullberg.
"The rave scene is filled with all sorts of people, and all have different stories. It is a diversity that mirrors the best aspects of this country, and that is not an accident.
When I began covering the American rave scene in the mid-1990s, I was immediately struck by the unique sense of participation in the scene by the fans themselves. This was unlike any other social scene I had witnessed before, and I had seen plenty. The rave scene was different, in that the fans were just as an important part of this pop culture equation as the artists were. It allowed the near-total freedom of self-expression, in terms of fashion, musical taste, and of course, dance. You could literally do anything on the dance floor. You could be anything on the dance floor, and you wouldn’t be judged or belittled. The rave scene eliminated the barriers of class, social status, race and sexuality, and since it also had the best beats on the planet, there were glorious opportunities to celebrate life through dance.
However, traditionally the voices of the fans of electronic music have been overlooked by the mainstream media, who have instead chosen to focus mostly on the various controversies surrounding the scene, usually
in a very negatively slanted fashion. You know the old saying: “if it bleeds, it leads.” I consider this to be deeply unfair, because it is the fans who are the backbone of any scene or movement. You can have the best DJs in the world at a party, but if no one is there dancing to their music, all those DJs are doing is playing for each other. In the final analysis, it is the fans who ultimately make a music or social scene possible, be it rave, rock, hip-hop, jazz, whatever.
Back in the day, magazines like URB and Lotus performed the function of letting the fans air their views and experiences. Very often stories would appear in these publications that bore a distinct resemblance to some found in this book. Sadly, those magazines are no more, which is one of the reasons why this collection has been assembled. A group that has grown and evolved as successfully as the rave scene has over the last twenty-five years does not deserve to be simply singled out and dismissed by those who do not understand why these people do what they do.
Some of the stories within are of one night. Others cover years of their author’s life. Both are legitimate, for they show how peoples’ lives are affected by the rave scene, both in the short-term and lifelong. Some events are epic, and some are more pedestrian in nature.
Both the old-school rave and EDM generations are represented, because both are part of the greater history of this scene, and therefore both must be represented. From Josh Wink and Paul Oakenfold to the Chainsmokers and Skrillex, from vinyl to CDs to laptops, from warehouses to stadiums…it’s all part of the same overall story, and the individual tales are the bricks that make up this big, beautiful house.
We have parties in all sorts of locations included here. We start with the original acid house explosion in England in the late ‘80s, and wrap up in the modern EDM world of today. There are massive stadium gigs
like Electric Daisy Carnival, and the ultimate counter-culture celebration, Burning Man. There are parties in the desert, in huge mansions, and in secret warehouses. We have young EDM writers barely out of their teens, and old-school rave veterans pushing middle age. These are more than just partyers—they’re representatives from a unique era in pop culture history, telling how the rave scene grew, thrived and survived against no small amount of adversity.
The opinions of the writers who have contributed to this project are their own, and some may seem to contradict others. That’s fine, because the rave scene is not a unified bloc. People from different places and times are naturally going to have different experiences. However, there are shared elements in the scene that touch these different people: acceptance, tolerance, liberation, happiness, wonder, and yes, even transcendence. These are the rave scene’s great unifiers.
I think that it is very telling that the fans of this music have often sought out the rave scene as a sanctuary from the troubles and traumas of their lives. It is the warm, embracing and healing properties of the scene that make this possible, as you will see in the testimonies here. Many uninformed people have all too regularly regarded the electronic music world solely as a haven for drug abuse. The stories in this volume show that this beat-driven haven offers much more than that blinkered, narrow viewpoint. The scene has helped save some of those featured in this book from the ravages of gang life, domestic abuse and suicidal thoughts. It has launched professional careers and opened previously closed minds to new ideas and philosophies. It has allowed those in it the freedom to find their own identities, away from the frequently judgmental and adversarial atmosphere of the everyday world. For these alone, the rave scene deserves a more even-minded and sober reevaluation by those not in it.
It has been a privilege to go through these stories. They truly show the strength and character of the people within this scene, and they have also reminded me why I’ve been a part of this community for so long. I hope
that you enjoy them as much as I have."
–Michael Tullberg, Los Angeles, California
"The rave scene is filled with all sorts of people, and all have different stories. It is a diversity that mirrors the best aspects of this country, and that is not an accident.
When I began covering the American rave scene in the mid-1990s, I was immediately struck by the unique sense of participation in the scene by the fans themselves. This was unlike any other social scene I had witnessed before, and I had seen plenty. The rave scene was different, in that the fans were just as an important part of this pop culture equation as the artists were. It allowed the near-total freedom of self-expression, in terms of fashion, musical taste, and of course, dance. You could literally do anything on the dance floor. You could be anything on the dance floor, and you wouldn’t be judged or belittled. The rave scene eliminated the barriers of class, social status, race and sexuality, and since it also had the best beats on the planet, there were glorious opportunities to celebrate life through dance.
However, traditionally the voices of the fans of electronic music have been overlooked by the mainstream media, who have instead chosen to focus mostly on the various controversies surrounding the scene, usually
in a very negatively slanted fashion. You know the old saying: “if it bleeds, it leads.” I consider this to be deeply unfair, because it is the fans who are the backbone of any scene or movement. You can have the best DJs in the world at a party, but if no one is there dancing to their music, all those DJs are doing is playing for each other. In the final analysis, it is the fans who ultimately make a music or social scene possible, be it rave, rock, hip-hop, jazz, whatever.
Back in the day, magazines like URB and Lotus performed the function of letting the fans air their views and experiences. Very often stories would appear in these publications that bore a distinct resemblance to some found in this book. Sadly, those magazines are no more, which is one of the reasons why this collection has been assembled. A group that has grown and evolved as successfully as the rave scene has over the last twenty-five years does not deserve to be simply singled out and dismissed by those who do not understand why these people do what they do.
Some of the stories within are of one night. Others cover years of their author’s life. Both are legitimate, for they show how peoples’ lives are affected by the rave scene, both in the short-term and lifelong. Some events are epic, and some are more pedestrian in nature.
Both the old-school rave and EDM generations are represented, because both are part of the greater history of this scene, and therefore both must be represented. From Josh Wink and Paul Oakenfold to the Chainsmokers and Skrillex, from vinyl to CDs to laptops, from warehouses to stadiums…it’s all part of the same overall story, and the individual tales are the bricks that make up this big, beautiful house.
We have parties in all sorts of locations included here. We start with the original acid house explosion in England in the late ‘80s, and wrap up in the modern EDM world of today. There are massive stadium gigs
like Electric Daisy Carnival, and the ultimate counter-culture celebration, Burning Man. There are parties in the desert, in huge mansions, and in secret warehouses. We have young EDM writers barely out of their teens, and old-school rave veterans pushing middle age. These are more than just partyers—they’re representatives from a unique era in pop culture history, telling how the rave scene grew, thrived and survived against no small amount of adversity.
The opinions of the writers who have contributed to this project are their own, and some may seem to contradict others. That’s fine, because the rave scene is not a unified bloc. People from different places and times are naturally going to have different experiences. However, there are shared elements in the scene that touch these different people: acceptance, tolerance, liberation, happiness, wonder, and yes, even transcendence. These are the rave scene’s great unifiers.
I think that it is very telling that the fans of this music have often sought out the rave scene as a sanctuary from the troubles and traumas of their lives. It is the warm, embracing and healing properties of the scene that make this possible, as you will see in the testimonies here. Many uninformed people have all too regularly regarded the electronic music world solely as a haven for drug abuse. The stories in this volume show that this beat-driven haven offers much more than that blinkered, narrow viewpoint. The scene has helped save some of those featured in this book from the ravages of gang life, domestic abuse and suicidal thoughts. It has launched professional careers and opened previously closed minds to new ideas and philosophies. It has allowed those in it the freedom to find their own identities, away from the frequently judgmental and adversarial atmosphere of the everyday world. For these alone, the rave scene deserves a more even-minded and sober reevaluation by those not in it.
It has been a privilege to go through these stories. They truly show the strength and character of the people within this scene, and they have also reminded me why I’ve been a part of this community for so long. I hope
that you enjoy them as much as I have."
–Michael Tullberg, Los Angeles, California
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