7:44 PM Ravers: hi sam
me: Mark!!!
Ravers: what are you doing?
me: I'm chillen
decompressing
almost
Ravers: right, i know that... you are at my house.
:)
me: Ha ha ha
Ravers: ok, so ...
me: then why are you asking!
Ravers: coachella
me: so Coachella!!!!
that was your first time!
7:45 PM well what did you think?
Ravers: it was. i never really intended to go, and then two bracelets and a free hotel came my way.
me: me too
Ravers: it was really too good of an offer to refuse ... or so i thought !!!!
me: well no bracelets and almost no hotel
but then hotel came in too
7:46 PM ha ha h
Ravers: i am still subconsciously flicking my wrist to get the bracelets to detach from my skin.
me: and I'm impressed with your phones speakers
Ravers: even though the bracelets are off.
yes, you know i must have lound speakers, even in my phone.
me: yes by day three you want them off, not sure how some keep it on all year long
7:47 PM Ravers: damn, the old nextel phones were great for that.
me: so tell me your good and bad stories
expectations
lets start with that
what did you expect
?
7:48 PM Ravers: ok, so i guess i am going to start at the start. last week i was told that i would get to stay at a hotel for free near where coachella is held.
pretty cool, i could use a little time off.
me: biiiig plus
Ravers: yes, the free hotel was a good thing. really nice place, also.
7:49 PM then ... next thing you know i am also getting free bracelets so both christy and i can go for free.
i guess some people spend a lot of money for that.
me: yeah, I know I almost did
700 bills for two weeks, although second week went for much cheaper for some reason
Ravers: so we are kind of in shock and pretty excited to experience coachella. i have never been, and really never wanted to go, but so many people tell me about how great it is and how much fun they have there.
7:50 PM me: having no desire is generally a good thing
Ravers: i think with free hotel and bracelets i still spent about $200 - $250 so figure it is about $1000 a person.
a lot of case for a party, i think
me: sounds cheap
7:51 PM its a very expensive event. Vice even wrote an article titled "Coachella and other things that you can't afford
Ravers: anyways, we are singing about how excited we are and "its gonna be a party ... were go - in to coachella !!!!"
they should have writing and article called coachella and afghanistan. two places you should not visit.
7:52 PM me: ouch!
Harsh?
Ravers: ok, so we better edit out the last line, i do not want people to know at this point that coachella was lame.
me: what happened?
7:53 PM Ravers: ok, so we get to indio around thursday night and we are ready to kick back and have a few drinks at the hotel.
me: right
Ravers: that was pretty cool, we were staying with my friend paul and also alex and her friends ginny and codi
7:54 PM so far so good.
and also jenna ramsey and jesse the hottie from ventura are going to be there, so far so great.
7:55 PM me: I'm counting five girls and one guy
sounds good
Ravers: so it is friday and christy and i decide to take the day off and chill. go to the pool, have a nice meal, nap and releax.
me: miss friday!?
thats craszy!
so many good bands
crazy*
Ravers: well... christy, jenna, jesse, alex, ginny, and codi. so six girls.
7:56 PM me: well I was county before you and Christy, but yes with Christy there are six
Ravers: yeah, i was not worried about friday at all. i had some work to do and also we had to get in ready to party. i needed to acclimate and get out of the work sked.
7:57 PM but yeah, six girls.
me: people usually prepare for weeks with drinking and no sleaping
Ravers: all really good looking to, but it was just good fortune.
me: its a marathon not a sprint
Ravers: yes, a three day party requires special planning.
me: coachella without good looking people is like an ocean without water
Ravers: i needed to party as hard as possible but still be fresh and clean and healthy on monday morning.
7:58 PM me: my how the times have changed
Ravers: yeah, good looking girls make the world what it is for better and for worse.
7:59 PM yeah, i used to be able to work with little to know sleep, but now a days the stakes are a lot higher and i enjoy being a professional.
me: nothing worth having comes easy and good looking girls come with expecations
Ravers: gone is "a worry free day"
me: ha ha ha nice
Ravers: i need good looking girls to keep me in the zone and operating at my maximum of 37 / 37
if i have nobody to impress everything goes to hell
8:01 PM me: true at least you're honest with your motivations
Ravers: no guys farts in front of a hot girl
yeah, i try very hard to understand myself. that way there are no surprises.
8:02 PM last thing you want is to be strolling along and next thing you know, you hate who you are. it is accepting your worst desires that keeps you on the right path.
8:03 PM you just need to be able to know the difference between an desire and an idea worth executing.
me: yes that comes with experience
so dude, you skip friday
friday was awesome!
8:04 PM Ravers: ok, so you can let me know about friday.
me: I had a lot of fun just hanging out with Cody and Ginny and Alex and especially Paul,
I was shocked that hanging with a 57 year old dad and 22 year old daughter would be fun but it was
8:05 PM Especially when we got to the trainwreck of a campsite where we all had dirty girl scouts
shot of hersheys and a shot of schnaps
Ravers: how old were these girl scounts?
me: ha ha ha
yeah id say in their mid twenties
Ravers: i say they were all 22
8:06 PM they were friends from school i think.
me: but yeah it was a good day, I just bounced around between different groups of friends that I ran into
Ravers: 22 year old girls love to dress super cute !
me: the surfer bros that the girls were interested in just wanted to party, they had no idea about any of the music
Ravers: it is like their "thing"
define party, please.
me: yes they do, to impress pretty semi retarded guys.. winning friends here
8:07 PM get plastered do lots of drugs
Ravers: cause to me "party" mean music and dancing and maybe some beer.
me: the usual but not like the old days to appreciate the music.. just to gammered
Ravers: gammered? define that
me: yeah mostly just chillen at the campsite.. it becomes worlds most expensive and dirtiest camping
Ravers: like hammered?
me: sorry, hammered
yes
8:08 PM but the music was good, checked out modest mouse and yea yea yeahs
Ravers: we can edit that
!
me: great!
who else, oh Foals were amazing as always
8:09 PM I managaged to get into VIP since we are not important enough for media passes
and took some shots of Yannis Phillipakis crowd surfing
8:10 PM Ravers: yeah, thank god we did not get media passes, i would feel like a jerk telling everybody that coachella is just OK but filthy.
me: Stayed in Yuma for a while it was a hit and miss but overall a great addition
hardwood floors, AC and megabass
Fourtet was super good
I agree
Ravers: yup on that, yuma is the fillet mignon of cowchella
8:11 PM me: and it allowed me to enjoy coachella instead of chasing bands for the promotion and happiness of Goldenvoice and hopes for a pass next year
Well its usually not so filthy, last week a sandstorm went through on Sunday
Ravers: dude, don't get me started.
not yet !
8:12 PM me: ha ha
ok
Ravers: hurry up on friday, what was the "moment" friday
name a few
me: \so basically that was it oh and girls got fucked up on random drugs that were floating around, dad left early and we went to silent disco
which was awesome!
Ravers: silent disco is very cool.
me: you get headphones and dance inside this dome with wood floors
8:13 PM you can take off the headphones to talk
but most people are pretty insular, you can't hear others and so you don't interact as much
Ravers: right, lot of mucis - but only in all the headphones.
me: plus i think some headphones fell into portapotties
Ravers: er not mucus, music.
me: lots of mucus too
8:14 PM Ravers: yeah, we kind know that at least on pair did, since they changed the rule on the headphones by saturday.
me: ha ha yup
Ravers: ok, so are you done with friday?
me: yeah we took a cab for 30 to the hotel and finished off strong
by the way, at end of the night there are lots of crazy people offering rides for cheap
8:15 PM Ravers: cause for me, i was a sleep the whole time you did all this, then woke up at 420 on 420 and smoked pot with all the people in our hotel and then went back to sleep until about 10 am on saturday.
me: and just rip people off and rob them
oh I remember that
Ravers: at which point i was READY TO PARTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what?
me: We stayed up till five or so because poor Alex was fucked up on some random crap from the camp
yeah those gypsy cabs rob people
so don't do that
Ravers: who got ripped off ?
8:16 PM me: even the cabs were wierd
lots of people
Ravers: oh, yeah, well gypsy cab does not sound all that great.
me: they would drive for a mile and faint no gas, let everyone out and then drive off with the money
Ravers: ok, so really, on friday it was like playing DDR with a million quarters.
me: yeah just wait an hour or two extra instead of waiting in a crazy cab and shuttle line
pretty much
8:17 PM 50 million ways to die
Ravers: i did drink and smoke a bit too much before the party, but then we got to the party and it was pretty nice.
crazy how long the trip to coachella is from the hotel.
like a 20 minute ride, then a 30 minute walk.
8:18 PM me: at least
but its a big campground and wouldn't be so bad if not for the sun
Ravers: figure about an hour to get from your hotel to coachella, kids.
if you read ravers digest, probably an hour and a half !!
me: ha ha yeah, you gotta leave some time to drink at the campsites
8:19 PM if you don't want to spend 100 bucks on beer inside
Ravers: yeah, the beer inside is $9 - but that was not an issue for me.
you reminded me of this with the ddr btw
8:40 PM Ravers: figure coachella is about $350 for tickets, $300 for hotel, and another $250 for this an that
me: ok so that was a nice travis ramsey break
at minimum
Ravers: yeah, happy birthday travis.
me: ha ha
8:41 PM yeah transportation is pricey and its at least a hundred inside and then for all the incidentals
its a very pricey four days
Ravers: ok, so .... about 420 pm on 420 at coachella and were are on the way in, i figure.
the sun is still up, but going down.
coachella is fun when you are clean and fresh and rested.
but you still have to keep an eye on the sun.
8:42 PM me: i don't know, at coachella im never fun clean or rested and i have a blast.. except saturday, I was dying saturday
yeah amateur time is sun time
drugs+alcohol+sun equals medical tent
8:43 PM Ravers: major lazer, one of the few acts i really wanted to see at coachella is on one of the big stages and it is pretty cool. they keep building and building up the set and you figure that once it drops it will be totally epic.
me: i went in with the girls on friday at 11 and stayed till three so that did me in on saturday
right and what happened?
8:44 PM Ravers: at this time i am smoking a joint with jenna and jesse and having a great time and this really hot girl keeps looking at me - probably just because she thinks any guy smoking a joint with jenna and jesse must be cool.
8:45 PM she really kept looking at me and then a purple hoodie falls on the ground, and of course i pick it up and look for the girl who's hoddie it is.
five second rule applies to clothes at coachella
me: ha ha
Ravers: so i pick it up and some random steps in front of the hot girl and says "thanks FRIEND"
8:46 PM me: after five seconds you have to toss it or eat it?
FRIEND?
Ravers: and walks off in a huff and the hot girl was embarrassed and move about 20 feet away.
8:47 PM but i am with jenna and jesse, who are referred to collectively as "j-girl" or team j girl
so that is really all i want.
me: wait, why was the hot girl embarassed?
Ravers: i think the hot girl was friends with the girls who dropped the purple hoddie.
* hoodie
8:48 PM me: ok
Ravers: so she expected the hot girl to pick it up and hand it to her, but instead i did.
by the way, the hot girl had drops of orange face paint around here right eye with little crystals in them.
8:49 PM she was pretty no trashy, tall and slender and straight dark hair.
me: oh kinda like Lena at last weeks coachella
Ravers: not sure, i do not subscribe to elena's facebook
8:50 PM me: missing out
i get the newsletter
Ravers: elena is really gorgeous, but this girl was just pure pretty. wholesome and pretty.
8:51 PM yeah, i can't be one millionth of a persons friends list.
my ego is too big.
i need to be like, 80% of your life no matter what.
like, even if you only see me once in a while, that should be an epic moment for you that last for years
me: so after that what happened?
8:52 PM clearly
Ravers: so that is just the point, this was about to be a coachella highlight, but it was just a major let down.
8:53 PM me: major laser was a major let down?
how clever
8:54 PM Ravers: the major lazer crew decided to take it mash up mainstream by playing 30 seconds of Jah No Partial (feat. Flux Pavilion)
so all is well
and then they pull it back for a rewing, i guess, and then play 30 seconds of music from various genres including smells like teen spirit by nirvana.
wow, big deal
8:55 PM like i am supposed to be impressed.
me: its our generation
Ravers: are they dj ing by the polls ?
me: we only have ability to focus for 30 seconds max
Ravers: like, we should play music that a lot of people like, so they will like us.
fucking the opposite of art.
8:56 PM and that was coachella !
me: Ouch!
Well that's what they call button pushers
its interesting how if a band plays music people call it a cover band
but a dj playing others' music is "remixing"
8:57 PM it is better this year, last two years all you heard was three songs by duck sauce, avicii, harris and shm
Ravers: so, that being said, major laser was pretty good, just a total sell out move to gain popularity and play a set that everybody could relate to.
8:58 PM i would have paid good money to hear "barbara streisand !!!!
ok, so later we went to check out benni benassi, but it was too crowded to mess with.
me: ah yeah, that was three years ago, they had a giant duck on stage
8:59 PM Ravers: then later that day i think, we heard moby and he was doing great for a while and i thought, ok, this guy is playing as DJ MOBY and he is going to make coachella awesome and all was well.
then there was a mionor little
9:00 PM minor little glitch in the mixing, and we figured, ok that was just a fluke.
then a few minutes later,
i am still subconsciously flicking my wrist to get the bracelets to detach from my skin.
by the way
9:01 PM then a few minutes later, DJ MOBY conduct the biggest trainwreck I have ever heard.
didn't think that was possible in this age of technology
all cars have active stability management.
his tables did not
9:02 PM it was a bad train wreck.
bloddy aweful
me: ouch
Ravers: we did no survive.
me: I'm glad I was at XX and Two Door Cinema Club at this time
Ravers: had to leave.
the fly was in the soup, and the soup was not to be eaten.
9:03 PM how was xx ???
me: I liked your other analogy about dentures in potatoes
Ravers: it was like if you go to a buffet and somebody's dentures fall in the mash potatoes.
the mash potatoes are just over. just totally over.
9:04 PM they can throw them away and serve more, but to me the dentures are still in the mash potatoes.
9:05 PM again, if you go to coachella, make sure to check out the heineken dome and yuma.
me: I agree, loved YUMA. as far as XX were pretty tame, they actually were like two Xs who play together, not quiet together but not quiet apart
Ravers: they are even better when the sun is up.
me: but a nice set
Ravers: is this a loud phone or what?
fuck ur iphone, bitches
i am talking to you, readers !
9:06 PM me: I know it is fucking good
Ravers: samsung rugby 2
rugged and loud and black.
they ray lewis of phones.
so sam, type !
me: Two door cinema club two years later sounds about the same
9:07 PM they are irish, red haired, young looking with a good polular song but a pretty tame set
9:08 PM Ravers: by the way, the faint was pretty good.
me: they were much better than knife party
9:09 PM i was expecting so much but they just had same boom boom boom as all other djs
im starting to think that most current edm is just a big march
i can just imagine nazzi youth marching
there's no real way to dance to it
9:10 PM plus its all about visuals and when you're not on drugs the huge sahara visuals just give you a seizure
We went to check out sigur ros which was way too tame for eleven pm and then phoenix who played well but again, too tame
Ravers: you can dance to anything, but it is more of a show that the kids watch while listening to, instead of dancing to while listening.
9:11 PM me: I think we left early to avoid the rediculous cow herd that happens at the end and went to silent disco for the second time
pretty much
heard of cows in some ways Mooooo
9:12 PM Ravers: yeah, BTW for all the shit i have hear about going to rave, let me tell you coachella takes the cake for drug and alcohol abuse.
it is ridiculous
me: its kind of necessary there
and they barely search you
9:13 PM Ravers: parents, your kids are not going camping, they are going to hang out in a tiny crack house tent inside of a giant crack house.
me: ha ha
Ravers: it was amazing how many people seemed like they just hung out at the camp grounds and did lot of drugs for a few days.
me: uh... yeah I've never seen more drug use than at coachella
9:14 PM in fact, ive seen less drug use in colombia than coachella
Ravers: maybe the is the ultimate e puddle expreince.
me: maybe
I'm so glad Jgirl Jesse was on top of her game at the end though
9:15 PM remember how she got us that shuttle at the end with the stampede for transportation?
The line for cabs was rediculous
and it was death match to get a shuttle
Ravers: right, maybe if you take enough drugs, you will not notice that your nose, eyes, ears, and lungs are caked in dust.
me: I don't know how people do so many lines through a nose where ever pore is caked with mud
Ravers: oh yeah, do not go to coachella without j-girl
9:16 PM me: def not
Ravers: so at the end of saturday i was really unhappy about the dust in my eyes and nose so i decided to create a dust warrior set up.
9:18 PM i cut a sleeve off of a long sleeve poly t shirt and made a dust mask for my nose an mouth. i also amber tinted yellow glasses from home depot.
me: it was some serious ninja getup
Ravers: i also had my adidas headband so that sealed off the top part of my glasses.
9:19 PM i was really much happier.
me: I'm not sure if I'm sick or if I'm caughing from all the dust
Ravers: i think that coachella MUST take care to keep the air quality acceptable.
me: its pretty bad
not sure how theyd do that
80000 dancers
two weekends in a row
9:20 PM Ravers: between the dust and the stupid security guards driving those gay atv with not catalytic converter, the air quality was way way way below safe.
they would fist do that by making sure the grass is alive and well before the event.
9:21 PM me: plus all the generators making all the power for the event
Ravers: they would also need to either provide free dust masks, and use only electric vehicles or vehicles with catalytic converters.
9:22 PM yeah, and all the generators were making the air quality even worse.
9:23 PM i feel really bad for the kids that save up all year to spend $1000 on coachella and then come home with some kind of respiratory problem.
me: yes, but at least they had veggie organic food there
and they split up the trash into three bins
9:24 PM that I think they later combined into one ha ha
Ravers: yeah, i guess that makes it ok.
but really, if you plan to go next year, expect the air quality to be even worse.
it is soooo dry and sooooo dusty and there is so much dust and pollution in the air it is ridiculous !!!
9:25 PM me: Ok ok so we know dust sucks
I think my ass is still bleeding dust
but what about Sunday
Aside from hanging out at the pool with Jgirl
9:26 PM Ravers: sunday we missed all of the set by mimosa, which sucks, but we had pancake breakfast with j-girl, which was super awesome.
we drank mimosa and listened to mimosa as well.
me: that is true
Ravers: but then we could not rally, i blame sam and christy
me: and we probably heard more mimosa than mimosa played mimosa
Ravers: so we go to coachella after mimosa was over.
me: aside from pretty lights, most djs dont even play their own music
9:27 PM except C2C, that was a great set
Ravers: that is ok with me.
a lot of the best dj's never produced a single track.
me: Well we arrived on time but I think the logistics of getting in with wine and me without a wristband got in the way
Ravers: a lot of the best producers should not attempt to DJ.
9:28 PM me: Really?
You think so?
Ravers: yeah, i really do.
your wine and wristband and all that were a non issue.
9:29 PM we basically just got to the venue and went inside.
were were still at the hotel when mimosa started his set.
9:30 PM we just missed it cause pancake breakfast was such an epic event
me: well, pregaming is usually the best part
we had to get Christy nice and drunk
indeed it was
9:31 PM Ravers: the thing about coachella is that it is super fun, but it would be super fun if christy, you and j-girl went to any hotel for three days.
me: That was pretty much my second weekend of Coachella last year
with KCgirl
9:32 PM Ravers: yeah, i guess we still have that srticle topublish too !!!
do not send me rar files, please.
me no wanna ras wit R A R file
me: ha ha ok
9:34 PM so Sunday was I think almost the least coachella experience ever
9:35 PM Ravers: really ?
why?
i had my anti dust gear in effect and it was awesome.
9:36 PM me: we left so early
Honestly, I thought I'd need two weekends to see all bands
Ravers: we left early cause j-girl was tired. both jenna and jesse
9:37 PM and then we went to the hot tub with them
me: and if not for pancake bfast and jgirl I would not have gone for the second sunday
so I told them after the Faint, which were amazing!!!
Ravers: what the heck make for a most coachella experience ???
me: I have no interest in staying
Ravers: doing drugs in a mud puddle ???
me: and so I was more than happy leaving
ha ha ha
doing drugs in a mud puddle, I think that should be the title
Ravers: pretty lights was awesome !!!
9:38 PM the light show extended about 200 feet in front of the stage.
the music was also very good.
me: yes and actually, Rodriguez was pretty memorable as well
Ravers: you and fucking rodriguez
me: just too bad I was kicked out from the media area before I got a chance to take a picture
they are sticklers for it
9:39 PM hey man, Rodriguez is more than a man
its a fucking movement
he also told cute jokes like the one about mickey and minnie at a marriage counsilor because she's fucking goofie
9:40 PM and at the end of his song I wonder he said "I wonder, but I don't really want to know"
fucking coolest cat I saw all weekend
Ravers: hey - quick shout out to my girl olga !!!!!!!!!!! we saw a girl in a cute dress and all the girls we were with said that she was wearing a cute dress.
9:41 PM me: h ah a ha .. so I'd say top acts of the weekend were infected mushroom, foals, rodriguez, the faint, major lazer, pretty lights and fourtet
that's a little sad
9:42 PM never saw Richie Hawtin because he kept missing his set time
and he was so good a few years ago as plastikman
Ravers: so i imagined olga saying (in russian accent) : " Yeah, it is a cute dress, but itz too bad dat she is not as much cute as the dress she is wearing"
me: ha ha ha ha
i like
bluntly russian
9:43 PM Ravers: olga, i love you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
me: so I think that should be the benchmark of to go or not to go to coachella
Ravers: xoxoxoxxooxoxoxo !!!!
me: :)
Had you gone a week earlier mark...
Ravers: an elena, i love you too, maybe i will join your fan club after all.
9:44 PM can i just pay $5 to join the fan club, or do i need to grovel.
me: groveling is necessary (in russian accent)
Ravers: groveling is fun.
9:45 PM me: so was there anything else mark? besides the shit our timeshare put us through?
Ravers: by the way, if you go to the snow cone area and put the syrup in an empty water bottle and fill it with free water you can have a really decent drink or mixer or chaser for free.
me: and the rediculous hurricane that we cleaned up in the timeshare?
good party tip Mark
9:46 PM Ravers: well, i guess i should document the highlight of my coachella
me: Oh and Tame Impala and Alt-J were good too
yes please do
now that I chimed in with mine, I think yours will be more creative and less related to actual coachella
Ravers: me and j-girl (both jenna and jesse together went to buy ice cream.
9:47 PM i used my party calculus
me: like this
9:48 PM heres my party calculus
check out his light saber
9:49 PM Ravers: yeah, so i found the derivative of how much ice cream two skinny girls can eat ..
it was a lot less than how much they bought.
jesse shared her dark chocolate ice cream with me, and it was good.
9:51 PM as in, god created earth and it was good.
9:52 PM And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and Jesse fed Mark ice cream and God saw that it was good.
me: 0 paid for 350 wristband + 0 paid for $1000 room + 300 in transportation, food and weed costs=300
being fed ice cream by jgirl priceless
Ravers: and free ice cream from very hot girls
me: thank you Coachella!!!!
ha ha ha
Ravers: i am still subconsciously flicking my wrist to get the bracelets to detach from my skin. i did it again
9:53 PM so then, wait for it ...
me: oh man.. this is why god had to rest on the seventh day.. because he parties at coachella and it wore him OUT!
Ravers: then jenna figures that she can not eat all her ice cream either, so then jenna starts to feed me here java chip ice cream
9:54 PM And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: Jenna fed Mark her Jave Chip ice cream, and God saw that it was good.
BTW, my phone rules
me: I'm rocking out!
9:55 PM Ravers: i could have fucking make coachella work with this phone on gobi stage
shout out to dj sunseeker
me: oh and your wife bringing us beers while we chat silently on computers in your office, awsome!
ha ha yeah your phone kicks ass of most music at this years coachella, thats six years of coachella experience speaking
9:56 PM Ravers: one of the million djs who will never play at c. but is way a better dj than the guys who do play cause the have the biggest light show budget or most jamaican flesh on stage.
who do play cause they have the biggest light show budget or most jamaican flesh on stage.
9:57 PM hey, we need more beer !!!
fuck, what does it take to get a refill around here ?
me: its your wifey
9:58 PM you ought to know
10:03 PM me: so that was awesome timoing for christy to come in with beers
