Summer has arrived in Santa Cruz, and for many, that means tents, art cars, and the beginning of the festival season.
While festivals offer music lovers the opportunity to see their favorite acts play their most popular songs, not everyone is up for fighting to use the Port-a-Potty or elbowing past hula-hooping flower children to get a good view of the stage.
If you would rather forego the festival drama and focus on the music, Euphoric Styles has teamed up with award-winning festival, Northern Nights, to bring a preview of their amazingly stacked lineup to Moe’s Alley on Tuesday, June 23.
Featuring some of the most talented artists on the Northern Nights bill, Mikos Da Gawd, Tech Minds & Kenz, E-TY, and Galangsta will play sets throughout the night along with other artists from the Northern Nights organization.
Legendary Bay Area producer and Northern Nights headliner, DJ AmpLive, who spoke to SantaCruz.com recently, will close out the night.
Northern Nights received a lot of love after last year’s event, and with Blackstar headlining this year, the response should only be greater.
AMPLIVE: I’m really looking forward to BlackStar, and as far as last year goes, the whole scene was a blast, really good vibes and performances from everyone.
Last year you released “Headphone Concerto” via Plug Research, your first solo project in a while. The album is rich and complex, features many artists and touches just about every musical genre in the book.
AMPLIVE: I’ve always combined different production styles ever since I started out, and I’ve always tried to push the envelope and do different things with my music. Since the Internet has come into play, it’s been more popular to combine a large amount of influences and styles into one song. It comes natural since I did it growing up and throughout my career.
As someone who works with many different artists, anyone stand out for you?
AMPLIVE: Right now I’m all about what linsdaylowend is doing, and I’m also super into Mr. Carmac.
With Sony pulling all their music from Soundcloud and remix artists everywhere receiving “cease-and-desist” orders, the current climate for “remix” work is very tenuous. You experienced some of this yourself after remixing Radiohead’s album as part of your “RainyDayz” Remixes. It was finally released for free after a settlement. Where do you think this trend is heading?
AMPLIVE: It’s a hard issue. I come from a time where people were actually supporting music financially, which made the conversation different. I believe everybody should be able to do his or her own music. Lately that’s been easier because there has been such an explosion of platforms where people can get music for free combined with these sites that allow any artist to distribute their music. So new artists that wouldn’t normally get any shine get noticed. However this also leads to listeners with short attention spans and lack of artist development. This creates an audience that takes the music that artists spend time creating for granted, which is why I think we are seeing a backlash now.
Growing up and performing around the Bay Area has brought you to Santa Cruz many times.
AMPLIVE: Every time I’m in town, I love going to the boardwalk to ride the Giant Dipper. I always grab something to eat at Saturn Cafe. The Catalyst is one of my favorite venues in the Bay Area, but most of all I love coming to town and playing for the great group of people there.
Info: Northern Nights Festival Pre-Party, Tuesday, June 23. Moe’s Alley. Tickets: $12.
