Whenever our favorite DJs, producers and industry heads announce Reddit AMA’s, we always know there is an opportunity to learn a lot about them. Pasquale Rotella, founder and CEO of Insomniac Events, linked up with Reddit to answer hundreds of questions from fans, and gave us plenty of insight and things to look forward to in the near future from Insomniac. Rotella covered a massive amount of ground, including the camping and shuttle situation at the upcoming EDC Las Vegas, the future of Middlelands, the cancellation of EDC New York, his personal inspiration, stories about his life and upbringing among so much more. As usual, Reddit has created their own recap of the AMA that includes every question and answer which you can find here, but we’ve also pulled some of our favorite questions and answers for you to check out below.
Q: Can we have details about how the shuttle experience will be improved? so wondering if there will be reentry for campers? And how the issue of sunlight will be dealt with in the “turnkey” tents?
– A: We have confirmed the third party company we will be using for shuttles and they provide transportation for the largest live events in the world. I am excited about collaborating with them to make it the best it’s ever been. Also, great camping question! The tents we are setting up will provide protection from sunlight. There are also multiple shade areas for not only activities around the campgrounds but also at the center camp, which is called The Mesa. We’ll have more details about this when we announce camping soon!
Q: Was edc ny ended over low turnout, high cost, or a bit of both?
– A: The reason we no longer organize EDC New York is because we felt like we needed to find a better venue.
Q: What was the first festival you ever attended?
– A: Grateful Dead show in Southern California with Mama Irene.
Q: Will the livestreaming experience be improved for 2018?
– A: I’ve gotten mixed opinions from people for what they’d like to see on this. I do appreciate your input. We’re capable of doing longer sets. Maybe I should get a vote on this from fans.
Q: Do you have any updates on a location for Middlelands?
– A: We are still searching for the right venue and the plan is to definitely bring it back but not before finding the right place. Glad we crossed paths!
Q: Pasquale, I’ve always wondered this, what happens to the main stages after you’re done using them. Where is Kinetic Cathedral for example. Scrapped for parts?
– A: I have some artifacts in my backyard, there are some in the Insomniac warehouse, and we are looking to make an Insomniac Production Museum.
Q: In the campground can we get above ground pools and have pool parties with DJs?
– A: That is being explored and likely to happen. Plus a lot more activities will happen. I’m excited about it.
Q: Where do you lean on the pineapple on the pizza argument?
– A: All toppings are welcome here 🙂
Q: I was wondering who exactly is Camp OG?
– A: I used to throw warehouse parties called Insomniac every Friday in ’93. Camp OG are a lot of the ravers that would support me in the early years, and still attend today. Insomniac would not exist without their support back in the day. They set up their own turn tables and renegade sound camps at our festivals. They DJ behind the decks and they play a lot of the early rave tunes from ’89-’95.
Q: Out of all the festivals you have created, which one was your favorite to attend?
– A: It’s hard to pick because it’s like choosing your favorite child. There are so many favorites. It’s a tie between Nocturnal Wonderland at the Empire Polo Fields (we went until 6 AM!), the 20-year anniversary of EDC, Organic at Snow Summit in ’96, or Middlelands. Oh, and the first year we did EDC at the LA Coliseum.
Pasquale answered an incredibly high volume of questions, so we highly recommend you take a look at the full recap linked above to learn much more about Rotella and the future events Insomniac is hosting.
