Anime Conventions

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BASSMODE’S Debut: Post-Show Takeaways!

/ Avidd Minddset / Leave a comment

What a week! If you hadn’t heard by now, I’ve just wrapped up my first BASSMODE event that I ever hosted (curated). What started as a crazy idea stemming from various other nerd party promotions in New York City, has now come into floriation in Baltimore, Maryland. I’ve never did anything like this before, nor do I have any experience in doing anything like this. For me, the concept of BASSMODE didn’t just come from being inspired by NYC nerd parties, it came from a place where I felt indifferent about the future of my former venture. That venture being D&A Anime Blog. (I’ll talk more about that on a later post.)

So, if you’re wondering how the debut event went, it was FIRE! It was everything I thought it was going to turn out to be (in a good way), and I got the opportunity to connect with faces that were both familiar, and brand new. Last weekend’s debut marks the start of something big; something that I believe Baltimore needs since there is still a community of nerds, anime fans, music lovers, and gamers! Although New York has a lot of that in spades, Baltimore’s got BASSMODE, and last weekend was only a taste of what this nerd party promotion can, and will do!

BASSMODE’s debut event (DJs Max Evans and AJETT on the right)

Takeaways From BASSMODE’s Debut Event…

Last Saturday was the busiest day ever, but it was also the most exciting day ever! All of my hard work in promoting, and advertising this BASSMODE event paid off. This event will launch more events like this down the line, but if there’s anything that I’ve learned from taking a risk like this; is that if you don’t go for it while the opportunity is there, you’ll never know what could’ve been.

1. BALTIMORE NEEDS THIS!

When Otakon was in Baltimore, there was a massive community of anime/gaming nerds who flooded the streets and the convention center; blasting the sounds of TM Revolution, Gangnam Style, and anime dance remixes. At one point Baltimore was the ‘hot spot’ for otaku activity, as Otakon was the largest anime convention on the east coast. In 2016 we received the tragic news that Otakon was leaving for Washington, D.C. after the 2016 event was over. Also during that time, another convention was brewing that would launch the start of my other venture with D&A Anime Blog; Animore.

Animore was where I met a couple of the DJs from last weekend’s debut for the first time. For the next five years that convention was home; home to all of the awesome people that Aaron and I encountered, while I was a part of D&A. Then after January 2020, the pandemic happened. There were no cons or after parties anywhere for 2 years, so midway through 2023 (after the pandemic was declared officially over), I started creating the concept for BASSMODE. Long story short, Baltimore is in need of a nerd party promotion like this, and with Otakon and Animore gone, the con and nerd party scene has been rather dry. Khromakon is jumping in to help change that as well, and with BASSMODE and Khromakon together, we’re bringing nerd parties back to B-more!

2. A NEW PLATFORM FOR EMERGING DJs!

Baltimore has a lot of talent if you look hard enough. Baltimore also has some emerging DJs who are looking for opportunities to play at EDM, and electronic music-adjacent shows and festivals. While crafting BASSMODE last year, I was also looking for a way where I can have DJs showcase their skills in front of a crowd, while playing the music and sets they love without judgement. It was then that I decided to have multiple DJs play at my debut event, and not just me spinning music for 4 hours. (Not that I can’t, but that’s way too long to stand in one place!)

Doing it this way also gives new and upcoming DJs a chance to gain live experience playing in front of a crowd. (Which they can use to help build their resume, so they can play at bigger venues and events.) It’s also my way of giving back to not just the nerd community, but the DJ community as well.

AJETT playing his DJ set at BASSMODE’s debut

3. IT’S BALTIMORE-BASED!

There have been a handful of promotions just like BASSMODE, that have hosted events in Baltimore. However many of them are from other states; such as New York, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C. (not that there’s anything wrong with that). The thing that makes BASSMODE unique is the fact that its a Baltimore-based entertainment promotion. It’s a nerd party promotion that is exclusive to Baltimore, Maryland! There is no other promotion like it in Baltimore, which means that there is ZERO competition, and that we’re a small fish in a big pond.

4. IT GIVES NERDS WHO LIKE TO PARTY SOMETHING TO DO!

Otakon and Animore were the place to be for anime and gaming nerds to either indulge in their passion(s), or party when the sun goes down during a con rave, or an off-site afterparty at a nightclub. Now with those two gone, its left the scene high and dry for nerds who are looking for somewhere to go, and something to do for the weekend. With BASSMODE around, nerds now have a place to let their hair down and turn up on the weekends. It’s why we live by our hashtag #NerdzThrowBettaParties!

Cosplayers who came to BASSMODE’s debut event

5. IT’S A FUSION (HA!!) OF ‘THE CLUB LIFE’, AND NERD CULTURE!

Let’s not kid ourselves. Seeing a geek or a nerd at a nightclub is like seeing a bird flying into a grocery store; its funny and surprising to watch at first, but then you kinda feel sorry for him afterwards. With BASSMODE and other promotions like it in other states, the ‘club life’ has fused with nerd culture. Now nerds who have that party animal inside of them, can finally let loose and be themselves without judgement! It’s truly a great time to be a geek or a nerd; as well as a fan of anime, video games, music, and cosplay.

So will there be more BASSMODE parties?

Yeah, there will! This debut has solidified my confidence in doing this on a long-term basis. Do I want BASSMODE to reach a point where I can have concerts? Yes. Do I want BASSMODE to reach a point where it can have a spinoff anime and gaming convention called BASSMODE CON? Why not! There are so many paths that BASSMODE can take to become the #1 nerd party promotion in Baltimore, but it all kicks off from this debut.

Until the next one, keep spinnin’! 😉

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Minddriven Reviews: Convention Edition – KhromaKon!

/ Avidd Minddset / Leave a comment

What’s good, guys! Its hard to believe that its March already, and it felt like February just happened last week – which it did! If I haven’t told you yet; I’m one of the founders of an anime blog known as D&A Anime Blog, and one of the things we used to do is press coverage for anime, and gaming conventions. Last year I made the decision to step away from the blog, as well as the con circuit to focus on other projects (like BASSMODE: Nerdz Nite Out), but upon hearing about this brand new anime convention coming to Baltimore, I made an exception.

Ever since Otakon left in 2016, Baltimore’s con scene has been drier than the Sahara desert. Sure, you had anime community-adjacent events in the area, but nothing really on the level of nerdy excitement and anticipation; like an anime convention. In fact January 2020 was the last time an anime convention happened in Baltimore, and since then there’s really nothing much for the community to do – at least not in a major sense. (Though I’m hoping BASSMODE and this convention can change that!) That all changed last week when Aaron and I decided to do a BASSMODE x D&A collaboration, and make our way to this brand new local anime convention known as KhromaKon! 

Vendors at KhromaKon

So what’s NEW about this convention?

This convention (much like Animore was back in the day) has a greater emphasis on ‘community’ rather than ‘industry’. That’s not to say that you can’t have both, but with larger conventions the emphasis on ‘community’ gets overshadowed by ‘industry’. Its one of the reasons why I find myself going to small and local conventions, because of all of the personable and business connections you’re able to make in a smaller more intimate setting. Its harder to do that at larger conventions because everything is constantly moving, and you don’t get the opportunity to establish those personable connections effectively.

While inside it felt a lot like old school grassroots conventions; where everything was on one floor (so to speak), and you didn’t have to travel far to get to the area(s) you wanted to go to. I found myself spending most of my time in the main lobby/hall area, because that’s where you get the best opportunity to connect with your fellow anime fans, and even make business connections! I guess the only gripe I have would be the venue space, but we’ll get to the reason why that is, and why I love this convention even more because of it.

YEAHLiGHTS killin’ it!

Why I think you would love this convention…?

For me, I’m all about anime/gaming conventions, who put community first when it comes to programming and activities. I will also support an anime/gaming convention even more when they battle against adversity. You see the very week of the event, the KhromaKon organizer(s) were hit with some devastating news; news that would impact the convention itself. I ain’t pointin’ fingers at certain hospitality establishments, but ya’ll know exactly what ya’ll did!

In spite of it all, the convention still happened thanks to the saving grace that was Open Works. This right here is one of the biggest reasons to support this convention, cuz’ if it was anybody else they would’ve folded (or pushed it back by several months). I can forgive the small venue space on this alone, which is why I plan on supporting this anime convention for as long as it remains in Baltimore, and you should too!

Next year will be even bigger for this convention despite this setback, but everyone knows that setbacks are setups for bigger things, and I hope that this convention gets a true debut next year.

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BASSMODE: Baltimore’s Next Nerd Afterparty!

/ Avidd Minddset / 4 Comments

Alright guys. Since 1997 I’ve been a fan of all things nerdy; from anime, to video games, and even Marvel and DC Comics. All throughout middle and high school I was pretty much at the ‘Nerd’s Table’; playing UNO with my friends, and talking about the latest episode of Dragon Ball Z or what we thought about the first Captain America movie. Of course if you’re familiar with my bio, then you already know that I found my love for electronic music back in 2008 at an anime convention. From there I started doing DJ edits of my favorite songs during my senior year of high school, and freshmen year of college. From 2014-2018 I learned the fundamentals of Mixing, Mastering, and Audio Compression in Music Production. 2019 I took on the moniker of Avidd Minddset, and 2020 to present I became a full-fledged DJ.

Now that you got my brief backstory, its time for the real reason behind this post. While the world was under house arrest for two years (from 2020-2022), I was scrolling through Youtube videos trying to take my mind off of all the craziness that was going on. While looking at some anime convention highlight videos from the last con I went to (in January), I stumbled upon some party videos that were a bit different from the ones you usually see associated with nightclubs and EDM festivals. Most of everyone in them was wearing cosplay, as they were all having a good time.

I thought back to all of those cheesy college movies where the nerds never get invited to the jock’s after party, so they sneak into the frat house and try to dance with every pretty girl there; knowing they got two left feet. Imagine that; except everybody’s a nerd, and everybody’s turn’d all the way up! It was during the worst moment in human history, that I discovered that nerds throw better parties!

OWA: Otakus With Attitude

Just like the time I fell in love with anime conventions after going to one for the first time, these types of nerd/cosplay afterparties are perfect for us nerds who happen to be party animals. New York City is the only place I know that throws down with these kind of parties; with event promotions like Otakus With Attitude, Sexy Nerds, SonicBoomBox, and Senpai Project. There’s even one with base operations in Washington D.C. called Plus Ultra Entertainment. With all of this awesome stuff going on in New York and D.C., how come Baltimore doesn’t have anything like this?! We have some nerdy events and some new conventions helping to fill the void Otakon left behind in 2016, but nothing like OWA or Plus Ultra Entertainment!

So what did I do? I created my own event promotion; a promotion that highlights and promotes positivity and social engagement in Baltimore’s anime, cosplay, gaming, and music communities. The name of this brand new Baltimore-based promotion; was BASSMODE: Nerdz Nite Out!

I created this promotion July 1, 2023 via Facebook page. I got to work planning on throwing my first party, as well as going through all of the things that promoters/curators do, in order to make their event successful. My long-term plan for BASSMODE; is to throw at least 3-4 themed local events per year, and collab with anime conventions and other nerd event promotions (like OWA and Plus Ultra Entertainment) on joint afterparties. This of course isn’t the only reason why I created this promotion; I wanted to give up-and-coming ‘bedroom’ and novice DJs, an opportunity to perform their DJ set in front of a live crowd.

Baltimore may not be the otaku party mecca it once was when Otakon was around, but with the few small anime and comic conventions that it has alongside BASSMODE, nerds and party animals alike will get their fix on throwin’ down, and having fun! At the end of the day, nerds throw better parties! 😉

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DJing at Anime Conventions (And Why I Think You Should)!

/ Avidd Minddset / Leave a comment

Music festivals, nightclubs, and after parties. Those are the most common places that you’ll find DJs; regardless of their status on social media, how many mixes they have on Mixcloud, or the number of chart-topping hits that they’ve produced. There are also places where you wouldn’t normally find DJs doing sets; such as the Grand Canyon, or even the Empire State Building. (I know that’s on somebody’s DJ bucket list, but it sure won’t be on mine!) With all of that said, I have a place in mind where I wish some semi-famous (or even famous) DJs would spin music at; anime conventions. Yes, I said it…anime conventions! 

DJ Mandalorian on da’ deckz!

Okay, so I may have talked about this on a certain anime blog that I’m also the owner of, but I truly believe that DJing an anime convention might not be such a bad idea. Sure, it may not be the ideal place for some (depending if you like anime or not), but compared to the ‘club-standard’ rules of making sure that your selection is tailored to the venue’s taste, you have a lot more freedom in playing what you want to play. (They still have certain rules over playing uncut versions of songs.)

With anime conventions, your song selection can be pretty loose and non-restrictive in terms of what genre(s) of music to play. As a 12-year veteran in the convention circuit; I can say without a doubt that anime convention rave crowds like a lot of Hardstyle, Kawaii Bass, Drum and Bass, EDM Trap, and Tech House. (Even some Hip-Hop and Moombahton too!) If you’re a DJ who spins that kind of music, you’ve got it made. Now you’re probably wondering if there have been any famous DJs who have DJed at an anime convention before, right? Well the answer is yes. DJ Heavygrinder, a DJ/Producer out of Seattle, Washington, has DJed for Anime Expo several times. Another is DJ Icey, who was the DJ for Otakon’s 2013 Otakurave. Imagine how turn’d up Anime Expo would be if you got guys like Skrillex, Steve Aoki, or Martin Garrix on the decks. Just a thought…

Wrapping up; DJing at an anime convention gives you so much leeway in song selection, and how the crowd reacts to said song selection. You will have the time of your life should you decide to DJ at one, as you don’t have to worry about anyone trippin’ on LSD (or whatever pills they used to pop at the old-school 90’s raves), wallflowers, or 75% of the crowd recording you and your set with their phones. Everyone is there dancing and having a nerdy good time, and you as the DJ are providing that for them. If you’re lucky, you might even get paid to DJ at some of these conventions (at least at the big ones), but regardless, DJing at an anime convention should be on every DJ’s bucket list!

Until next time, keep spinnin’! 😉