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BASSMODE’S Debut: Post-Show Takeaways!

April 7, 2024April 16, 2024 / 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!

March 9, 2024March 9, 2024 / 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!

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.

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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2-Track Minimum: Why I Don’t Produce (Make) Albums Anymore

January 6, 2024January 8, 2024 / Avidd Minddset / Leave a comment

Since I became a DJ in 2020 (also known as the ‘Era of the Pandemic DJs’), I’ve noticed a trend among DJ/Producers in the EDM space. Yes, I’m already aware that EDM is the ‘Rock & Roll’ of my generation as well as Gen Z, but the trend that I’m noticing is DJ/Producers (especially the up-and-coming ones) are dropping 2-track singles and EPs. I’m guessing this started happening for the digital music streaming era during 2021 and 2022, but honestly this format isn’t anything new. Artists like The Beatles and Prince & The Revolution released what was called a Double-A Side Single (two singles on one vinyl record) back during the 1960s-1980s. (Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane and Let’s Go Crazy/Take Me With U.) Now with the way music trends are (especially when it comes to Spotify and TikTok), artists have started dropping singles on a consistent basis just to stay relevant with the times.

DJs and EDM producers have also adapted the ‘2-track release’ format, as since the umbrella-termed music genre is now a ‘singles-driven’ market. When I started producing professionally in 2019, I was a noob in trying to figure out if I should release an album or an EP. One year later I dropped my first EP; Minddgames.

I would’ve never figured out how to release my music on all major (and minor) music streaming platforms through DistroKid, had it not been for a fellow artist named King Shabazz (shout-out to the King, I appreciate you)! If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a music producer, its that albums take much longer to release than singles and EPs. Why? Because an album is a much larger body of production, and the creative process is geared towards telling a story, or even creating a feeling depending on the style and mood of the songs that are on it. The average number of songs on an album is between 9-13, and out of those 13, at least one or two of those songs may gain a spot on a Top 20 playlist.

Another thing that may be driving the return of the 2-track single release (or EP), is attention span. Unless you’ve established yourself 20+ years ago with multiple singles, albums, and EPs (and even have a dedicated fanbase like Beyonce’ and Taylor Swift), you’re gonna have to drop releases on a frequent and consistent basis to even get ‘noticed’ on the charts. If you’re an Electronic Music Producer & DJ, all it takes is one banger of a track (and the right amount of marketing), and you’ll be on the road to chart-topping success in no time.

That’s why I’ve decided to switch up the way I produce music these days; I like producing albums and EPs, but later I find myself in ‘creative fatigue’ with arrangements that sound like previous arrangements to tracks that I’ve already released. Also I’ve taken a more ‘quality over quantity’ approach with how I produce my music, so that listeners and enthusiasts who are looking for something EDM-adjacent, may give my discography a shot. Maybe somewhere down the line if my fanbase gets larger I’ll release a new album, but for now, two tracks is good enough for me!

Until next post, keep spinnin’!