By: Corey Blecha
I moved to Maui in 2012, a few months after I graduated from CU Denver. At this point, I had been interning with Sub.mission for about two years, helping out with Electronic Tuesdays and vendors mostly. I just got my degree in Music Business, and it was off into the real world! What was supposed to be a break from music and the hustle of shows in Denver, turned into the catalyst for a journey that four years later I couldn’t be more proud of, despite some interesting challenges along the way.
When I first got to the islands, I was enjoying the peace and quiet at first, however I didn't realize just how much I would miss the noise of it all. Setting up shows, dancing with friends, meeting my favorite artists.. It was a lot to abandon so quickly, and before too long, I knew that I wanted to at least try to get things going and bring out some DJ’s. In a place that is so small and isolated, the line-ups can get stagnant pretty quick, despite the locals best efforts, so I knew there was room for some fresh sounds; if only for my own enjoyment and familiarity. So I set out to look for venues and make it happen, and throughout the process, I met some amazing people, many who are still helping rep the .mission in Hawaii.
Our first show was set for May 10, 2013, after months of trying to find a place that would even let us throw a party. Being the new guy in a place like Maui, with a small, tight-knit community of promoters and venues can be tough, but thankfully Casanova stepped up and took a chance on us, after I had a few (awkward) conversations about what “dubstep” is with the elderly owner. After we finally had the date locked, there was really no debate about who to bring, as we didn't have the budget for a UK guy, and I knew I needed someone who would educate proper every time, without fail, to really set the tone from the get-go... Clearly, the choice was Joe Nice, and after a quick chat on the phone with him, it was ON!! That first show had a pretty low turn out, and the few people who were there had obviously not been exposed to this kind of music before, with most of the attention going towards the expensive bar drinks. The challenges were numerous, just getting turntables for Joe was half road-trip/half turntable repair 101, but the feeling of pulling the first show off was amazing, and at that point I knew I would have something besides work to fill my time with on the islands.
From there, we put together an impromptu warehouse party the next night with Joe, ill-esha (who I had met serendipitously the week prior at a jungle party), and Alex Incyde, the OG Hotflush intern-turned Dub War resident, who I had met the night before at dinner through (of course) Joe. This was the party that things really got going, with about 100 people jammed into a small dance studio in downtown Kahului, and energy through the roof the entire night, at times for music that many had never heard. I’ve got to give credit to the locals, because even at those early shows, there were a few people that were feeling the deep shit, and it was so inspiring to see that there was potential to build something new in this nearly foreign place. If we do the shows for anyone, it's those guys, along with the DJ’s and promoters that helped us get into venues early on. I appreciate the shit out of you all and what you have done for the music scene there! But I digress..
Alex delivered a classic crash-course in bass music, spanning the Hot Flush back catalogs and beyond, to show many first-timers just what the “Maui Mongoose” is all about: Superb track selection and a calmness and Zen rarely shown on the decks, even in such a “chill” place as Hawaii. It is worth noting that he had to play his entire set on one turntable, due to janky connection issues with the other one, and it is still to this day one of the best sets I have ever heard on Maui. The dude is a true professional, and his wisdom is years ahead of the rest. Salute brother!
Next up was ill-esha, and she stunned everyone in typical fashion, with her hybrid style of mixing, singing, and performing, showing just how versatile she can be, and stretching the limits of what a DJ/Producer is “supposed” to do. The girl has a gift, and she ain’t afraid to share it. I still look back at pictures from her set and laugh, that place was going bonkers and the reflection from all the mirrors on the walls was playing into the completely surreal experience! What a moment!!
With only the headliner left to perform, the line was literally out the door, the breakers had blown twice, and cops (we later found out) were on the way, but nothing was stopping Joe from stepping up to the decks and delivering one of the most memorable sets I have ever seen. Maybe it was the setting, maybe it was the music, definitely it was the smiles beaming from people’s faces, either way, I was in heaven, and you can check the pictures to prove it. Front row with a “five in the sky” for nearly every drop of his set... Joe absolutely destroyed Maui, and I was positively certain there was more ahead for the Sub.mission Hawaii team.
Fast forward to NYE 2014.. We’ve hosted Grenier in a tiny comedy club/beach bar (No drinks on the dance floor? Turn it down?), as well as a bunch of locals at smaller parties around the island, and now its time to make the leap to Oahu. Early on, I realized we could benefit the scene by doing shows on all the main islands, and although it was a bit of a struggle to expand outward at this point, we secured a spot for NYE. I was back on the mainland now, so I headed out with two of the strongest contenders I could think of, Valac and Dillard, who were both coming up in the game with some of the cleanest productions coming out of Colorado, as well as long time Sub.mission staple, Roommate. My good friend Shaun (amazing local DJ and promoter) that I run Sub.mission Hawaii with, had an artist out from L.A. named Pretty Low, who was also on the bill, so we all met up on the 31st and headed to the club.
The show went fairly smoothly, and besides a pretty meager turnout, everyone had a great time partying in the city, listening to Roommate mash up the place and spraying champagne onto each other into the wee hours of the morning. Choosing to do a show on NYE in Oahu may not have been the most prime choice, but looking back, I am so glad we did it, and honestly there wasn’t a lot of time to second guess ourselves, as we had another show just a few days later in Maui with the same crew, minus Roommate, who was “headed back to Cali”… Luckily, he would return!
For most of 2014, I was back in CO, figuring out what to do with my life and beginning to question what the plan for Sub.mission Hawaii was. I knew I loved the purpose of it all… From the beginning, all I wanted to do was bring better music to one of the most magical places on earth, but at this point, I had lost money on nearly all the shows due to the higher costs of sending artists out and putting them up, not to mention the fact that our network on the islands was only a fraction of what we had on the mainland, so getting the word out was a completely different challenge. We didn't even have enough people to rep a proper street team! The last run of shows had been particularly draining, on both my mental well-being and my bank account, and I wasn’t sure how I would be able to keep the ship afloat going forward. When I was living there, it was one thing to bring artists out and host them, but living in CO and trying to run the shows from here presented a whole new set of obstacles…
Fortunately, my love for Hawaii and dubstep trumped everything, and whether I was going to do more shows or not, I was most definitely heading back to the islands ASAP for some R&R. Lo and behold, by the following year, I had saved enough money to fly out with Roommate for another crack at it, and joining us would be repeat offender Dillard. There is no denying the impact both of these artist’s music has on me, and Justin’s tunes in particular are almost perfectly suited to the setting of Hawaii shows, so I was feeling refreshed and ready as we headed down for the next phase of our plan, if only for the fact that I was with good friends and making a return to my favorite island of all, Maui!
That show was so good for Sub.mission Hawaii in a few ways, one being that we had a decent turn-out, but more importantly, because people were actually enjoying themselves as Roommate and the openers dropped a mixture of reggae, dubstep, and jungle. A huge lesson I learned at this show was the value of slotting appropriate locals on our line-ups as openers, as well as to vary the styles of music we were pushing, because no matter how much I loved dubstep, the reach of it was only going to go so far at that point, in this different setting. While the scene on the mainland and beyond was thriving and had transformed after an awkward year of post-brostep convolutions (see: Riddim, Future Trap, etc.), into a more mature and stripped-down version of itself, the scene in Hawaii was still acclimating to things, and with the naturally slower pace of life, I knew we would need to tap into some different markets and take things back, before we moved forward too quickly. This meant broadening our scope, and bringing the best from all genres of dance music, not just dubstep. I had learned years before through my work with Sub.mission that a promoter’s job is as much to educate people, as it is to book flights and secure hotels and equipment for artists, and this was a big turning point for me. There was so much more we could do to impact people, not only bringing good music, but also pushing people to explore new sounds and helping to foster a scene that the locals wanted to be a part of, and more importantly, that they cared about. By doing this, I believe we started to resonate with more people, and in all honesty, my tastes have always gone beyond simply “140 stuff”, so it was a bit of a natural progression for Sub.mission Hawaii. There was so much more to bring to the islands, and I knew we could maintain our integrity even if we delved into other genres and tempos.
From this point, we started tapping into an L.A.-based label called Perfect Driver, and with this relationship we were able to start filtering some of their house guys out to the islands, further expanding our network of affiliates and interested labels. From the first days of doing shows, we were getting hit up by artists to come out and play (some for free!), and I can attribute that fully to the reputation Nicole and Sub.mission have worked for over the years, an advantage that I will forever be grateful for. We now could begin taking people up on their offers, with more trust from venues and fans around the islands, and I could finally see some doors opening up for us, albeit nearly three years into it. Although we were still a blip on the radar of the big Hawaii promo companies and venues, I was more confident than ever in our .mission, and the wheels started turning in my head for what could ultimately be possible.
Which brings us up to this year, with a new ongoing series of events called BENTO BASS BOX in Oahu, and plans fully in motion for a Sub.mission Hawaii festival. We have been able to team up with other promoters/crews (Jantsen & Dirt Monkey Halloween Throwdowns!), expanded our network, even done some beach and harbor parties, and we have successfully hosted dubstep, house, dnb, and even a breaks one-off, so we aren’t looking to slow down anytime soon. With BENTO BASS BOX, we are able to highlight locals every other month, and we send out headliners from the agency on the remaining months, so we are stoked to start offering a great “mixed plate” of bass music to the Oahu crew! Our main man Mesck headlined the first one, and for February, my good friend TAI SUN from the Big Island held it down. March is a special collaboration show with the amazing CloZee, and April, we have the homie SLVRSNKRS coming over from Maui to play. Our goal with the Sub.mission Hawaii festival is to bring some of the artists we have booked over the years back to the islands, as well as some surprise headliners that we think everyone will be super stoked on! We also want to create an event where the crew can enjoy themselves in a tropical paradise each year, and the locals can come out for a weekend of music that they may not get a chance at very often. We are definitely going to have a locals stage, and we hope to book at least two reggae bands to rock the daytime vibes for us. Time will tell where things go with Sub.mission Hawaii, but I couldn’t me more happy with how the journey has been so far, and I am more excited than ever to “ride the wave” into 2016!!
Big up to all the supporters from Day 1, Shaun, Brandi, Rigz, Trevor, Niko, Jamie, the whole Maui crew, and obviously thank you so much to the crew here in Colorado for helping to push this and keep me sane in the process. BIGGEST OF UPS goes to Nicole for giving me her blessing on all of this, I am so happy to call you one of my best friends and mentors, and I absolutely couldn't do this without you. Last but not least, all the artists who believe in us and who have played for us, you the real MVP’s and none of this would be possible without your generosity and hard work!!! THANK YOU!!!