I’m not a numbers guy. I live for music, I might even choose to die by music, were that possible. But sometimes numbers paint a picture so let’s get smart for one second.

Today an article surfaced in the LA Times, AGAIN, saying the sky is falling because of raves. Its headline screams a salacious “After a summer of deaths, popular Halloween rave won’t be held”.

Really. A summer of deaths. Really.

In a recent previous article, LA Times states, “There have now been at least 21 confirmed drug-related deaths among people who went to raves nationwide by Los Angeles-area companies since 2006.” As a lover of dance music, a friend, a brother, a son, a husband, and a father, even ONE death strikes me down.

But let’s not pretend this is an isolated problem, something unique to dance music culture. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, every day in America 27 (TWENTY-SEVEN!) people die as a result of drunk driving crashes.

That’s more than one person, per hour, every single day.

So, in the past 10 years there have been 21 substance-related deaths at dance events. And EVERY DAY there are 27 substance-related deaths, which are somehow less news and attention worthy. I suppose once you reach a certain point, the news doesn’t notice anymore.

I’m happy to tackle substance abuse. I’m happy to use my influence to encourage people to be responsible, to stay alive. But this is a world-wide problem, something that is not even close to being unique to dance music. Part of the problem is people trying to simple-size it. Raves = drugs. So close them down.

Not going to work, and we all know it. Time to devote your column inches to some real stories. The war on drugs is a farce. There are better answers than regurgitating the same alarmist solutions that have never worked, which will NEVER work. Try this on: education, harm reduction and legalization.

Start there. And back to the music for me.

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Of the total 67,195 attendees, over 400 people were arrested while five individuals were hospitalized. One sheriff’s deputy was hospitalized after an arrest on Friday and released after being treated for minor injuries. According to the LA Times, six incidences were due to underage individuals trying to sneak in, one man was driving under the influence, and 111 others tried sneaking in prohibited items into the festival. While it is important to have fun and enjoy time with friends, it is even more important to remember that you must behave with the safety of others in mind. Driving while intoxicated or smuggling in illegal substances will not do you any good so please refrain from such activities as much as possible.

Aside from the unfortunate arrests and hospitalizations, the festival closed down early Monday morning after a wonderful 21st anniversary. Congratulations to the team at Insomniac Events and Nocturnal Wonderland.

Source: LA Times

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It’s Grammy weekend and many of the music industry’s biggest names have started to gather in Los Angeles for Sunday’s awards ceremony. They call it “music’s biggest night” for a reason and as dance music has made a larger impact on mainstream American society, electronic music’s stars will be well-represented on the red carpet. This time last year, however, the wider world had no knowledge of the mysterious artist Zhu. Now, the LA-based producer is up for a Grammy for Best Dance Recording against Basement Jaxx, Clean Bandit, Disclosure and Duke Dumont. Last spring, his breakout hit “Faded” caught everyone’s attention as did his cloaked anonymity, and the track received stunning remixes from some of the industry’s most talented artists including Odesza, The Magician & Steve James.  His six-track The Nightday EP was released in September and he made his North American live debut at HARD Day of the Dead in early November but he still remained anonymous.  In the digital age, Zhu showed the music community less could be more and focused attention solely on the music and his mystique, rather than his personality, looks or social media presence.

However, this week Zhu finally revealed a little bit about himself in an interview and photo shoot with the LA Times.  As the LA Times notes, he had previously been interviewed by Australia’s triple j but had never formally sat with any American press.  The 25-year-old Zhu (real name: Steven Zhu) and his team sat with the LA Times and allowed semi-veiled photos to be taken.  With signature mystery, Zhu stated he may or may not be at the Staples Center on Sunday for the Grammy Awards.  Read the full piece in the LA Times for more about dance music’s man of mystery.

Photo Credit: The LA Times

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