PLUR: What it Means to Me.

PLUR. It's an idea sparked and passed on by those immersed in the rave culture. Although it has a simple meaning (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect) it may affect some more than others. I have seen and witnessed those who fully accept and agree with PLUR. Just this whole idea is what drew me to raving, along with the music of course. There is a lot of negative assumptions that raving has been known for. It is the idea that people ignorant of the rave culture have generated because they believe raving is bad and harmful to society. I on the other hand feel completely the opposite about that. To me raving is much more than simply a drug infested party. Rave culture is being who you want and no one is there to judge. It is just feeling complete with yourself and an outlet to express yourself. Raving to me is a form of an expression through dance, dressing up, and meeting new people. There is a reason why I make Kandi, that reason is because with each new person I meet I give them a reason to remember me by. It's either for that reason or new people I interact with just vibe and get along that I want to share with them something that took time and effort to make. Depending on the person and the connection I feel at the time determines the type of Kandi I give them. I make single bracelets, cuffs, epic cuffs, perler bead cuffs, and perler necklaces. Not bad for a guy whose only been raving for 7 months. Back to what I was saying, raving is just an outlet for me to just express myself without any judgement. Im able to do that with good music, good vibes, and with a group of people who all feel the same way. I have met so many amazing people along the way. Friends that I hope to keep close for quite some time.

But being PLUR can open your eyes to a lot of things that you wouldn't normally see. I have found that I am wanting to do something much more on a bigger scale. Spreading PLUR to everyone. Although I'm not in a position yet to do so, just the ideas I have come up with could be a potential business venture beneficial to all. I feel like a certain part of me has been sparked inside that I cannot explain. From the first time I met a group of ravers who showed me all these things and then some, I began giving back and spreading the knowledge just like those before me did. I guess ignorant people who constantly talk bad about rave culture really just don't understand why so many people rave and why it blew up so fast over the past 20 years. I think rave culture has a positive effect on people. I also believe that people who get a little taste of raving will soon want to go to more. Its addicting. I have one person to thank though. One person who has helped me realize a lot about PLUR and who is mostly by my side at every rave I venture too. My festival bestie and best friend Alex. With him he has helped me to understand the overall message raving brings up. THE TRUE MEANING OF PLUR. Which is spreading that ideology to a much greater audience outside of raves.

Escape: Psycho Circus 2015, NOS Events Center San Bernardino

Escape from Wonderland: Psycho Circus was my first ever Halloween rave. Me and my #BigLittleBrother Alex love halloween and began planning our outfits and costumes the month before. We slowly pieced together everything up until the last minute. I personally LOVE Halloween. It is my favorite Holiday. I widely use social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat) to keep in touch with all my raver friends and make new ones. I get the opportunity to meet new people and connect with them through our common interest in raving. One person who I really wanted to meet after talking on Instagram for about a week before the venue was Chris (riding on my shoulders in the pic below). He had attended other events I went to and I had come across his IG. So I initiated the conversation and said basically ill trade you Kandi. Little did I know the dialogue would continue further. I talked to Chris the remainder of the week leading up to Escape. As Halloween was getting closer and closer Alex and I made our plans with our newest friend who we call the baby, Jayden (teen wolf looking werewolf). We had happened to all like the idea of being Werewolves for the first day of the rave. So we did and me and Alex matched while Jayden took more of the Teen Wolf look. Well he was younger of course. Day one was a blast. I got to meet up again with Adam and Cael for a minute and rage together with them, as well as give them the Kandi Cuffs I made for them. I got to enjoy Dash Berlin, Benny Benassi, and Flux Pavilion (to end the night). I got to enjoy it all. Meet new friends and trade a bunch of Kandi with people. Some of those new friends included Dree (top right picture), Charli, Ryan, and Vic. Raver friends of Jayden that he introduced to Alex and I. We all just got along really well from the start and just raged the night away together. I even showed them my bag of tricks. The vibes they gave off all were positive. I could tell right away they were genuine people. That just goes to show the type of person Jayden is, a person that surrounds himself with great hearted people. So we ended our night said our goodbyes and traded information so we could hangout again.


Day two comes around and it was unfortunate that Ryan and vic were not able to come and only Charli and Dree were able to come rage again. But they all stopped by the hotel before the event. During the day since I was unable to find my San Diego Boys and LA Boys i texted the two of them and decided to go to lunch with them to give them their Kandi. Missed those guys Jesse (pictured below the werewolf and native american woman) and Justin. I go back after Lunch and start to get ready for the next days Festivities. I was a Dark Angel for the most part. Everyone was getting all ready to rage and in costume since after all it was HALLOWEEN. As it gets closer to the time we leave we get more and more excited and just can't wait to rage. Jayden, Charli, Alex, and I leave for Escape around 5:30pm to arrive by 6:30. Just in time to meet up with some people to receive Kandi and trade it too. I found most of the people I wanted to meet up with, especially Chris who I got to spend most of the night with. I met up with Chris and gave him the 3D cuff I had made for him. It was different when we met. I was nervous and shy, something that normally doesn't happen often. I met up with him early on and got a text from Alex saying to come find him. So I left Chris for the moment and gave Alex his stuff I was carrying. After that I had to go run off and find Jesse and Justin so they could give me the Kandi they made me. I loved both pieces and it made me super happy. Missed those guys. But yet again I was on the move and headed to go find Chris because I had this urge to go and rage with him. I was with him most of this night. For some reason I just didn't want to leave. But I had to get him to myself so we could just rage on without having to worry about other people. We got a second free and ran into my group of friends. It was perfect timing. We met up with them for 10 minutes before Markus Schulz set came on and I had to go. I told Alex I have to see Markus Schulz so I ran off with Chris and enjoyed that whole set while he went to Laid-back Luke. I had a blast. Markus Schulz is a trance DJ  that I had missed a Beyond Wonderland-Bay Area. So we split up again. Until EPHWURD came on and I left Chris for a minute to go and grab Alex and the group and bring them toward Chris in the middle of the crowd up until the point Martin Garrix closed out the night. As it continued on and Martin Garrix's set came on I happened to Glimpse Jesse and Justin in the corner of my eye and ran over to them without thinking. Said hello and then got fixated on dancing to the music. I realized Chris wasn't next to me so I went to go get him and introduce him to Jesse and his #bae (Jorge). I gave Jorge my first epic cuff I ever made. It was a sentimental moment because Jesse is a really good friend although he lives far away. The same with Justin. I live for moments like those. Being around good vibes and good people. Closed the night out at Martin Garrix dancing and having a blast. Great way to spend my Halloween weekend.

(Biglittlebrother Alex and myself pictured here)

Go On Air w/Giuseppe Ottovani, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Betsie Larkin, and Sied Vanriel

This event was located at a club in SF called Ruby Skye. Its a decent club in SF. It was also my first time attending that venue. I normally only go to massives (bigger events) but I love trance and had to go see this one. So the whole day while I was working I was thinking about how fun I would have at this event and how much of a stress reliever it would be. Getting closer to the hours leading up to the event I began to get more and more anxious. Finally it was time for me to get ready to leave and I was out the door and ready to go. Got to the venue a little early so I waited around for my friend Oliver before going out to get a drink, although I chose to stay sober. After they had there share of drinks we walked back to the club. The first DJ was on playing his set. It was actually pretty good but there was next to no audience. As it got later and later the club got more and more crowded leading up until Giuseppe Ottovani played his set. His set was something amazing. Slow build ups that really get you going once it drops. I enjoyed every minute of his set. Up until I left. It was my first small show that I had been too. And it was pretty good. I love trance and wanted to see Giuseppe perform so I did. I had no idea some of my friends would turn out to be going. I posted on Facebook that I was going to the event and turned out that Oliver was going too so we met up and had a blast.

Kaskade: Automatic Tour, San Francisco Pier 70

October 10, 2015 was the day Kaskade took over Pier 70 with the sound of his music. It was an amazing experience well spent with my #festiebestie and #BigLittleBrother Alex (the shorter one in the pic to the right) and some other good friends. The day of was a matter of waiting. Counting the minutes until we were ready to leave to the venue. Getting all dressed up and getting our Kandi ready. It was just an amazing feeling getting to see one of my favorite DJs do an amazing show close to home. Alex and our group of friends all had matching shirts with different song names on them. Mine of course was of my favorite song from Kaskade- Disarm you. I am really good at making Kandi so I made a few pieces for my friends. We had a big group going to the event and it was just a blast. Aside from the guy problems that came up. So long to that one. But the visuals, music, and lasers just made everything fall into place so well. Kaskade closed out the night after all the other Djs who started out the night. I was so enveloped by the music and sound by the time Kaskade came on that I was entranced by his music. It was just an amazing experience to feel amongst friends. As always I made new friends and traded Kandi. 

(Landry next to me on the left) 
The picture of me up in the air was the first time I had ever experienced this feeling of being on someones shoulders in a crowd of people. It was amazing exhilarating and just indescribable. I could not thank this guy enough. He became a great friend and someone who I will always be thankful for his friendship.

Beyond Wonderland-Bay Area September 26 & 27

The build up for this Rave was almost a month and it felt like forever. There were so many artists I just had to see. The big names I wanted to see were Carnage, Markus Schulz, Calvin Harris, and Tiesto. I had a blast from the very start. Getting into the venue was fairly simple on day 1 not too much of a line at all. Once I got in and met up with some of my #ravefam I was able to finally get to dancing and enjoying everything beyond had to offer. The first day was fun enjoying good company and meeting up with people I had made Kandi (rave beads for). Beyond Wonderland was fun and inviting I got too meet new people and created new friends and extended my #ravefam even more. 

The vibes given off by people at this event were much more welcoming and fun. People are more accepting, friendly, and fun. I noticed this quite a bit as I began going to more and more events. It is a great thing to meet new people and find common ground with them too. Networking and connecting on social media is a big part of this. Creating a bigger friend base where I am able to connect with others who enjoy the same things I do is all part of PLUR. This whole concept has had a positive affect on me that has changed my outlook on things. There are so many people who are quick to judge the whole music festival/rave scene based on the what they see in the news. But it is those people who are not responsible that cause the big news headlines.