Next Week dubstep grand daddy Joe Nice will be invading New Haven, Connecticut for the first time, bringing his massive catalog and masterful skills for an experience filled with deep, dark, and bone-rattling bass. The invasion begins at New Haven’s own Stella Blues, a venue that is still just recovering from another bass assault by The Widdler just a couple months before.
The Joe Nice show is the final of the season for local promoter Elemental Minded Promotions, concluding what has been a series of off the wall shows with diverse and well balanced lineups. Tyler Hettel, the man behind the mask at EMP, sat down with us to share about his past, the future of his events, and just how excited he is for next week’s dubstep invasion.
1) So to start can you just tell me a little bit about your history throwing shows? When did you start, who played your first show, why did you get into it etc.
A: Before we start discussing my short history throwing shows, I think it’s important go back to how I got here. I began listening to electronic music at the beginning of 2012. One of the shows that I still vividly remember playing a huge role in my journey was Rusko up at UMASS Amherst. After experiencing Rusko’s wobbles and energy on stage and seeing how the crowd responded I was completely hooked. From there I wanted to see and hear as much as I could and most of all I wanted to be involved. Soon after beginning to regularly attend shows I began promoting for MASS EDMC and Columns Of Knowledge who are both still around today doing amazing work. Some of the MASS EDMC guys actually have a new project in Boston called Rezinate, which seems to be focusing on sound system music and I urge everyone to check those events out, they are doing great work in the community. I then became completely engulfed in the Bassnectar community where I met and connected with a TON of friends. I spent a lot of time touring around the country catching Bassnectar shows in 2013 and 2014 meeting so many new people, and experiencing many different places for the first time. It played a HUGE role in my development, one so big I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to put it into words. Now fast forward a little bit to when I moved to Atlanta, GA. While I was living in Atlanta I was surrounded by some of the most creative and inspiring people I’ve ever met. So much of my time in Atlanta was spent discovering and learning about new music, and talking about ideas and future goals. This is kind of where my dreams really developed a bit and I decided that one day I’d love to see what it takes to curate and host an event. Fast-forwarding some more to when I moved back to Connecticut, I missed the variety and different kinds of shows that were happening all the time in Atlanta. To this day, I don’t know if I’ve ever been to a better city for music (People will debate this with me to the death). I decided I wanted to try and bring what I thought was missing.
The first show I ever put on was in April of 2015, I had no idea what the hell I was doing (and still don’t) . If I didn’t have the help and support from a few of the people in the Whakko Entertainment crew it never would have happened. I am very grateful, and thankful for all the people who have helped me along the way. The first show included a lineup of a bunch of my close homies who I’ve met throughout the years in the scene. (Another huge motivation in all of this for me is also to promote all of my friends and the people I know who are creating and writing music that I love, and trying to get others to discover it too.) We called the show Primitive Womp and the lineup included Brightside, Shanti, Jiggy, and Mateo. It went better than I could have imagined and made me want to continue doing it. To see people enjoying themselves, smiling, laughing and most importantly DANCING at your event is one of the best feelings in the world.
2) What have been the biggest things that you’ve learned about throwing shows? Can you share when one wasn’t as successful as you would have liked, and how you used that to improve future shows?
A: Hosting and curating events has been, and continues to be a huge constant learning experience. Coming into this with just a dream and a little motivation has proven to be difficult. I didn’t have any formal experience, education, or training on it and continue to learn as I go. Some people may say this is the wrong way to do it, but to each their own. Everyone has their own journey.
When talking about the success of an event, I think it’s important to first define what you deem to be successful. If we’re talking money, then more shows than I care to admit haven’t been as successful for me as I would have hoped hahaha, but it’s getting better! I see an event as successful if I get people to come out and enjoy themselves. If I hear someone saying they’ve never heard of or haven’t seen a certain artist before and are now in love with them I feel like I’ve done something right. I want to promote what I love. I want people to also discover what I’m listening to and what else is out there, you know? That right there is really important to me. Every Artist that I book is there because I believe in them, I think they are doing something special, and I want other people to be able to see that as well.
I think one of the biggest lessons I’m still learning in all of this is BALANCE. I need to do a better job at balancing lineups with artists that people already know well and are willing to come out and see with the artists who have never played in the area before or who’s sound I personally love. I like to book the music that I love, but I need to do a better job at listening to what people who attend the events want to see and balance that with what I want them to see. I think this would improve the turnout at each show and make people that much happier. But, I also urge people to TRUST YOUR LOCAL PROMOTERS! Most promoters are doing this because of the love and passion they have for the music. If they are bringing out an artist that you have never heard of before GO ANYWAY because there is probably something there that you don’t want to miss.
3) You have a very unique niche when it comes to the type of acts you’ve brought out, can you talk about your motivation booking the people you do? (are you trying to fill a gap in the scene, is it personal taste, meeting demand, etc.)
A: Well, as I said before I really like to promote what I love. I listen to a huge variety of music and I try to represent that in EMP shows. Elemental Minded Promotions to me means trying to bring all different types of creativeness to the table. This means EMP is not trying to focus on any one genre of music. If you look through our previous events you’ll see some that have heavy music paired with funky music, live acts like Wax Future paired with Djs like Digital Ethos. I want to try and break the mold of having to keep the same theme or sound throughout a show. One of my ultimate goals is to curate an event that has a mix of bands and djs/producers throughout the night. I think this would be a cool concept that should happen more and could draw in a lot of people. Kind of like how a festival atmosphere does. Also, going back into the meaning of EMP, I like to host several different painters, visual artists, and creators at the shows. I would love to include the flow community into my shows as well but Stella Blues unfortunately does not have the space for it. The flow community is a beautiful thing. Eventually I’d love to have flow artists play a big role in EMP events once we get to somewhere we have the space for it.
As far as filling a gap in the scene, yes and no. I want to bring artists that I don’t think other promoters in CT are looking at, but at the same time I’m not trying to downplay what they are doing. CT has some great crews in it like Triple Threat Productions, Scientific Sound, Love Tribe, Whakko Entertainment, and even more who all host great events. I think you’ll see a lot of these crews coming together next year at Eternal Groove Festival 2017 in CT. I’m excited to see how that event turns out when a lot of these different people and promoters come together.
4) Where are you looking to take EMP in the future? What is your 5 year plan?
A: Maaaan, this is a question I ask myself often and to be honest I don’t have a definitive answer for it. I just want to keep going and see what kind of opportunities may present themselves to EMP and I. There are things I think I would really like to do but I also don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket either. I like being a free agent of sorts. I guess you’ll just have to pay attention and see! One thing I’m really trying to focus on right now is promoting the different artists I work with: Tsimba, DeeZ, Nocturnal Status, and Scatz. These guys have all been blowing me away lately with their music and I want them to be heard and be successful. It may seem weird, but I’m almost more focused on their success than I am my own right now. I just really believe in them all and can’t wait to see them excel.
5) Why should people be excited for the Joe Nice show next month? What is the advantage of seeing him in a venue like Stella Blues?
A: Ohhh man, I was waiting for this question! Joe Nice is an absolute legend in the Dubstep community. If you like Dubstep in the United States then you absolutely have to know this man. I have nothing but respect for Joe and everything he has done, and I’m completely ecstatic that I get to bring him to New Haven for his first time. This guy has been doing this since before I even knew what electronic music or djing was. In 2005 Joe co-founded the first dubstep night in North America, DubWarsNYC which has a lot of history. In 2003 Joe also co-founded GourmetBeats radio (now Sub.FM ) which was the first radio show In North America to feature dubstep. Gourmet Beats is now the name of the label Joe started in 2015 which has some awesome releases including selections from Saule who will also be playing at the show on 12/16. When I say the man is an absolute legend, I’m not lying. I think it will be a really cool experience for people who maybe have never seen/heard a dj like Joe spin a set using only turntables, records, and hopefully (definitely) a few dubplates. This event is not only for entertainment, but also for some proper education (myself included). I think Stella Blues in New Haven is the perfect place for a show like this. It’s an intimate venue that’s going to keep everyone close and I’m hoping there will come a point I’ll get to look out and see everyone bouncing in unison before Joe wheels it back for round 2.
Also, people should be excited for the entire bill for this show. Not only do we have Joe Nice but we also have sub.mission agency artists Saule, and Durandal. These guys both bring a really heavy and wobbly sound to the table. The theme for this event is going to be deep and dark which you will understand the second Terraphorm steps up to the decks to open. For me, this is the most exciting event to date that I’ve ever hosted. I’m really looking forward to it.
Purchase tickets to Joe Nice here
Connect with Elemental Minded Promotions:
https://www.facebook.com/Elemental-Minded-Promotions
https://soundcloud.com/elemental_minded
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