Seattle went hard in the paint this weekend. The Pacific Northwest got blasted by the good people from Life In Color, who also celebrated their 10 year anniversary with the X Tour.
From 8 to 8:45, we were graced with the presence of local artist, Colton Johnson, who started the party while everyone entered the Tacoma Dome. Shortly after, Yookie took the stage to blow our minds with their heavy subs and grimy hooks. They did an excellent job of mixing and their song selections exceeded my already high expectations.
Drip – Yookie
After Yookie ended their set, Emir Duru, the MC of the evening event, came out on stage, and kicked off the second act of the night by spraying the crowd with a paint-filled fire hose. At that point What So Not gets on stage and sets the crowd on fire. I’ve seen What So Not three times, and each time i’m more and more impressed.
Emir unloads a fire hose of paint into the crowd
After What So Not’s set, I didn’t think it could get any better. How wrong I was. 3LAU came on stage and makes an absolute mess, and I’m not just talking about the paint cannons. The highlight of his set is when he brings out Ray Dalton from the hit song “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis to sing for the crowd.
My personal favorite from 3LAU, Vikings – Botnek & 3LAU
Then comes RL Grime. Life In Color pulled out all the stops when he came on stage and performed. Words can’t describe how great he played. Just absolutely amazing.
RMR Interviews Life In Color’s Paul Reed
One of my favorite parts of the night was when Rikki Jenkins and I got the special opportunity to interview Paul Reed, the marketing manager for the Life In Color X tour. He’s at every stop, acting as the director of each respective show. Thanks to the teams from Life in Color and USC Events, we got to sit down and ask him a few questions.
RMR: So what has been your favorite show, in your time setting up these shows for LIC?
Paul Reed: I get asked this question a lot, and it’s always really tough to answer. I think Miami’s my favorite. Miami is our flagship show that we do every year, and for Miami we pull out all the stops. We bring in the biggest production, the biggest artists, the most intricate setup, it feels like a full-on festival. We have chill zones, multiple stages, so I think that’s been the coolest, watching that grow over the years. When I came to Miami, that was in 2013, so that was the first year they did the festival. I was working with them in the midwest for a long time before that. Watching that festival progress and grow over the past four years has been really cool. So that show is my favorite show. The Miami fans go hard as hell.
RMR: I know you guys began in Florida. Was Miami the city that gave birth to the paint parties?
Paul Reed: Yeah, the four guys that started it all are from Florida, originally, and our office has been based in Miami for a really long time. That’s where our home bass is still to this day, so that’s like the hometown show. We’ve been doing shows there for ten years. That’s where we started out. We played shows in Club Mekka, which doesn’t even exist anymore, (it got bulldozed down and got built into a mall). We threw shows at Club Space, then it moved to the convention center. Now we’re in the Arts District. Miami is home for us, for Life in Color. Florida is where it all started, that’s why that connection is there.
RMR: I was just curious because I lived in Florida for a little while. I lived in Tampa.
PR: Oh nice, I’ll be flying down there for SMF. It’s a dope festival. We work closely with the owners, DDP (Disco Donnie Presents). They do a great job every year, we always go over.
RMR: Did you add any extra stops on the “X Tour” that you haven’t done before?
Paul Reed: Domestically, no. We’ve been doing the domestic touring thing for about 8 years now, so we’ve hit pretty much every major city there is to hit, so for that aspect, no. But Internationally, yeah, we’re doing Morocco this year, we’re going to China for the first time, we’re announcing Shanghai. We’re working on more shows in Asia. They’re all first time markets, so that’s really exciting, that’s where we’ve seen the most growth over the last couple years. We have a lot of really great markets in the US, and they’re awesome every year, but we’re exploring all these new cities across the globe. New fans are discovering our brand, and that’s super exciting. We did our first international festival last year in Istanbul, Turkey, and this year we did Asuncion, Paraguay. So we’ve done two international festivals so far. That’s been really cool to see those grow, and to see how the brand translates to people that aren’t from the United States.
RMR: Out of all the tour stops you’ve done so far, what has been your favorite out of the X Tour?
Paul Reed: Definitely Philly. I love Philadelphia. That show is so much fun every year, the people are so energetic. Jauz, Seven Lions, Herobust. It was a stacked lineup. Those are all the homies so it’s always a good time. We all love them.
RMR: What would your 10 year old self say if you told him what you were doing now.
PR: He’d probably think I’m F***ing nuts. *group laugh* I never really envisioned doing this, it’s just something that happened that happened when I was a senior in college. I was going to school to be in Government, and be boring. I just got pulled into the scene at my first electronic show in 2010. My friend dragged me to a show in Europe, while we were studying abroad. He told me to come to this show with me. I was like whatever… and it ended up being Pendulum. I had no idea who it was at the time. I only listened to rock music and hip hop. It was their last tour, and they were at Wembley. We went, and after, I thought “That was amazing! What the heck was that?” After that I started getting into electronic music. I’m from a small town in Ohio, a super rural community, and now I live in Miami and travel the world throwing parties for a living, it’s pretty awesome, so yeah he’d think I’m crazy! It’s been a crazy journey and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’ve been exceptionally blessed, being in the position I’m in.
*Emir Walks into the room*
Paul Reed: Oh Emir, they might have some questions for you too!
RMR: Question for both of you, what is your favorite food on the road?
Emir: Fast food, McDonalds, Taco Bell, basically the worst sh*t possible. When you’re on the road you just start craving it. Everyone is at the gym during the week, and we’re here traveling, eating junk food. It’s right there in front of us.
Paul Reed: I had Taco Time today, that is SO not in my diet
Emir: There’s a Burger King across the hotel from us, and I’ve just been looking at it for the last 4 hours.
Paul Reed: When we have time though, I like to find whatever the city we’re at is known for, when it comes to their food. When we were in Philly, I ate so many cheesesteaks, I felt like I turned into a cheesesteak. Whenever I travel to the city I try to get something that’s from that city.
RMR: So you bought Starbucks here?
Paul Reed: Nah *laughs* Everyone keeps telling me to eat fish and chips or shrimp or whatever.
RMR: What has been your favorite non-music activity during the tour.
Paul Reed & Emir: Eating. *group laugh*
RMR: What has been your favorite artist to come on tour with you?
Paul Reed: I’ve seen so many great sets from so many great artists so this is a tough one. I’d have to say Kaskade. I love Kaskade, definitely have a soft spot for him. We had him play in 2014.
Emir: Mine’d have to be Solano.
RMR: What’s your process of picking artists?
Paul Reed: When it comes to picking artists there’s a lot of factors that go into it. First off we’re gonna look at the market of each of the stops. We see who’s been there recently, so we don’t put them on the roster. We won’t pick anyone who’s been there recently. Then we look at what’s popular in that market. If there’s a particular sound that’s popular, or subgenre, then you start looking at who’s available. From that you start looking at what the prices are, so there’s a whole process. Once you figure out what the subgenre is, you create your wishlist, then you send that in. After that you see who’s ACTUALLY available for that show, so it can be tough, you don’t always get your dream wishlist/lineup.
RMR: What are some words of advice that you might have for those that are trying to start their own festival(s)?
Paul Reed: Dang, that’s a loaded question. If that’s your real passion, then just get out there and do it. Don’t let anything slow you down. Just go after it. I think the best advice that anyone has ever given me is that it’s all about networking. A friend of mine from back home always used to say “It’s not about the grades you make, its about the hands you shake.” and there’s nothing more true than that about the music industry. Building relationships is the most important thing, for me, for being successful in the music business. Get involved locally, throw your own shows, try and work with companies, get to know them, build those relationships. It opens so many doors.
RMR: Okay last question. Who’d be your top 5 artists if you could build your own little mini-festival?
Paul Reed: Oh man, you’re killin me. I can’t choose just 5. It definitely depends on the venue and the market, but I’d definitely pick Skrillex. He’s so versatile, he slays it every time. Porter Robinson. Love Porter, but it’s gotta be a live set. DJ sets are dope but Porter live is so much different. Gessafelstein for sure, throwing in some dark techno. I love the Slander guys. Great friends with them. And would be great to put Tyler in there so it’s NGHTMRE & Slander back to back. That’d definitely be one, and RL Grime. I’m a huge RL Grime fan, so I’m actually really really excited for his set tonight. Ever since I heard the Chief Keef remix he made I’ve been in love. I still love that song to this day. That’s my 5. They don’t make a whole lot of sense but those are my top 5, but there’s so much good music out there. It’s really hard to choose.
