Almost Familiar

“Red Rocks ‘18, bitch!” We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves. Get familiar with Brett Shredmunds, an admin for the Pretty Lights Family group on Facebook, who was one of the group’s first 10 members and has named his fair share of songs. Brett takes us through listening to reggae as a fetus, learning about Utah’s rave scene in the ‘90’s, attending Emancipator’s first show in Portland, to serendipitously purchasing tickets to his first Pretty Lights show moments before it sold out.

Wes, Ethan, and Elizabeth learn that Derek’s (Pretty Lights) dad was a preacher and how that might influence his ability to connect with a higher power, whatever or whomever that may be. An OG in every sense of the word, Brett “finds faith in the form of sound waves, frequencies, and skiing.” *WARNING* There are painfully corny Pretty Lights puns throughout the course of this episode. We’re not sorry, it’s just How We Do. You’ve been warned. 

Interview begins at 12:39

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Heard in this episode: 

Intro & Outro Music: Almost Familiar by Pretty Lights

The Time Has Come by Pretty Lights

Solamente by Pretty Lights

How We Do by Pretty Lights

Get familiar with Whit Hawkins, who has worn many hats behind the scenes for some of our culture’s most iconic artists, including Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, STS9, and Daily Bread. From sneaking out of his bedroom in his parents’ house to see STS9 perform in backyards in Atlanta to becoming their production manager, Whit experienced firsthand the cross pollination of the music, ideas, and fanbases of underground electronic and jam band culture. Drawing from his favorite elements of Phish’s culture, Whit and his team actively and intentionally contributed to the way that we experience our scene today, such as encouraging Bassnectar to adopt multi-night runs at a time when electronic artists were not using that model. 

Whit shares some of his favorite stories from working with these artists - from how Bass Center got its name, to having a Pretty Lights break named after him, to hearing it performed live by the Colorado Symphony when they performed with Pretty Lights. His motto along the way has been to “do dope shit with your friends,” which he brought to his recently-launched management and production company Hawk’s Nest Music. 

“It’s about finding the moments in everyday life that inspire you and excite you about being alive in the world and exploring your space in the world and being a part of it”

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Heard in this Episode: 

Intro Music: Almost Familiar by Pretty Lights

Whitness Break performed by Pretty Lights and the Analog Future Band  in Telluride 2015

2020 Favorites: 

-Sets: 

Lazy Syrup Orchestra from Bass Coast Pixel Festival

Jade Cicada's Ambient Mix with visuals by Tenorless from The Rust's Featherbed Sessions Vol. 6

Mr. Carmack's Digital LIB set

CloZee: ShambhaRoo Livestream

-Albums: 

Mountain of Memory by Emancipator

Resonate by Lettuce

Get familiar with Andrew Frost, the stage manager who pulled off the Pretty Lights surprise at ReVibe Wellness Festival in Myrtle Beach - the first COVID-compliant festival of its kind. Currently Sunsquabi’s tour manager, Andrew shares stories about how he cut his teeth in this trade - from volunteering at The Aggie Theater in Colorado, to chasing down the thief who stole a guitar from The Floozies' Green Room, to accidentally forgetting GRiZ’s saxophone before the last night of his tour. An all-around good guy who knows his weed and coffee, Andrew is the perfect example of someone who you love to see in the music industry. He cares deeply and works insanely hard. His clients turn into his friends and those friends turn into family. We had such a great time hanging with him and we think you will too!

Conversation starts at 4:27

ReVibe Wellness Retreat

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Get familiar with Thought Process. This prolific producer specializes in what he has coined, (and we fully support) high fidelity sound design. This conversation took us through his journey loyal street teamer to promoter, to performer at Denver's iconic bass mecca, The Blackbox. We talk about his undertaking and inception the first annual Beat-Tober where he created a unique beat for every day in the month of October.

Although his other love is Pretty Lights, the music Thought Process makes is unlike anything you've ever heard during a PL set. It's rich in sound, oozes in swagger and will take a hold of you. Similar to Pretty Lights however, "you get in for the party, and stay for the emotions".  

Interview begins at 7:55

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Follow Thought Process on Social Media:

Instagram: @thought_process_music

Facebook: Thought Process

SoundCloud: Thought Process

Music Heard in this Episode 

Thought Process

Intro &Outro Music: Almost Familiar by Pretty Lights

Total Fascination by Pretty Lights

My Only Hope by Pretty Lights

Get familiar with Kaptain, a producer currently based in Denver whose music pulls from electro-soul, electro hip hop, future funk, and glitch hop to create a sound that is as hybrid as the culture itself. Stephen shares his perspective on why the Denver scene is so magnetic and conspicuous compared to other places, and we use Lightning in a Bottle as a case study to explore what makes West Coast festival culture different. We discuss our favorite Pretty Lights moments, the transformative nature of the music, how various dynamics from the "default world" manifest in our community, and how to maintain a healthy relationship with the scene. It doesn't take long for us to realize that our trajectories and experiences are almost familiar. 

-Check out Kaptain on Spotify

-Check out Kaptain on SoundCloud

-Follow Kaptain on Instagram @iamkaptain

-Check out Kaptain's website

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Heard in this episode: 

Running Out of Time by Kaptain

Intro & Outro Music: Almost Familiar by Pretty Lights

All of the Lights - Kanye West (Pretty Lights Remix)

I Know the Truth - Pretty Lights

Hot Like A Million Tomorrows - Pretty Lights

King of Rock - Pretty Lights

It's Tricky (SSX Pretty Lights Remix)

Drift Away - Pretty Lights

Dark as the Sky - Pretty Lights

Evening Sun - Pretty Lights

The Last Passenger - Pretty Lights

Look Both Ways - Pretty Lights

Future Blind - Pretty Lights

Understand Me Now - Pretty Lights

Get Familiar with JD Vanderwiel, who has likely been the first person in and last person out at some of the shows and festivals you have attended within the electro soul scene. Such is the life of this tour manager/production manager/lighting designer extraordinaire. You have probably seen his stage designs or visuals if you’ve seen Ganja White Night, Adventure Club, Late Night Radio or Flamingosis in the last few years. We talk about the evolution of the electro soul scene, his favorite places to experience it, mental health on the road, and much more.

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Intro & Outro Music: Almost Familiar by Pretty Lights

Get familiar with Mr. Bill, a staple of the bass music scene and an Ableton wizard whose techno side project Electrocado was released on Deadmau5 label mau5trap. We talk to Bill about Australian wooks, why psytrance never took off in America, what makes a DJ set “live,” and the evolution of American bass music culture and what its legacy might be.

Listen to The Mr. Bill Podcast

Learn Ableton with Mr. Bill

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Intro & Outro Music: Almost Familiar by Pretty Lights

Get familiar with one of the music scenes most active and knowledgeable journalists, our friend, B. Getz.  B. started working in the music industry dating back to the 90's. Throughout his career he has been to countless historic concerts/festivals, transcribing them in his incredibly captivating style of writing. Today he is still as active as ever as a journalist as well as the host for his own podcast, "The Upful Life". B. takes us all the way to the back to his first Dead show, leading to his life-changing sun-rise encounter with Abraxis the Golden Dragon at Burning Man.  B. schools us on what it means to live an Upful life. We also talk about the current state of the music industry and what folks can do to make a difference to keep live music alive. B. is a true living historian of our "neo-hippie" scene and it was an honor to catch up with this verbal alchemist. 

Interview starts at 11 minutes 

Support #NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) and the #saveourstages Act. 

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Instagram: @almostfamiliarpod

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Twitter: @theAFpod

B.Get's work: 

Upful Life

Live for Live Music

Get familiar with how the Pretty Lights community was intentionally built from one of the guys who has been there from the beginning. Greg Ellis, known for making the lights pretty, has an approach to lighting that is almost as improvisational as the music it complements. As a huge Phish fan himself, Greg helps us draw parallels between the Phish and Pretty Lights communities. We discuss growing up within fanbases as they grow themselves, how we can draw meaning from songs without lyrics, and the inherent hope within hiatuses. Pardon the static, it’s part of the aesthetic of Greg’s new studio. 

Intro & Outro Song: Almost Familiar by Pretty Lights

Songs Heard in this Episode: 

Easy Way Out by Pretty Lights

B-Rock by Pretty Lights

The Time Has Come by Pretty Lights

I Know the Truth by Pretty Lights

Cold Feeling by Pretty Lights

Podcasts Referenced:

Greg Ellis' Podcast: Bioluminescence

Osiris Media

Eric Krasno Plus One

Under the Scales

Get familiar with why people move to Colorado and what makes them stay. Shelby shares her story about the impulsive decision that brought her to Colorado and the transformative experience that inspired her to stay. Thomas (@saintsnacks) shares stories about live painting and creating visuals for bands like Papadosio and Lettuce. From FARM Fest, to Rootwire, to Sonic Bloom, and even Burning Man, they’ve seen a little bit of everything from multiple angles: as fans, as artists, and as food vendors. Plot twist: they’re also metalheads. How do these all intersect? We all have that one friend that moved to Colorado, and we can’t help but feel that this story will feel Almost Familiar. Shelby hates Pretty Lights, but we still love her! 

Intro & Outro Music: Almost Familiar by Pretty Lights

Thomas Robertson-Forrest's art can be found @saintsnacks

Food Trucks Referenced: 

The Vegetable Express

Ba-Nom-a-Nom