If you don’t know Andy you had better know The Detroit Grand Pubas. Their first track out of the gate was a huge fun stormer by the title of “Sandwiches”. Jive signed them and cut a rediculous video and everyone on the planet from Richie Hawtin to Sasha caned the thing.
Andy helps run People Mover with Colin Zycowski & Joe Salerno in Detroit.

To Michelle Herrmann aka The Punisher, way to fill in for John Selway and blow away my expectations and memories of all your previous DJ and live sets.

If I didn’t appreciate Michelle as a producer/DJ/Promoter/Label head before it has grown exponentially to find out she is a fellow vegetarian of 15 years and an organic gardener trying to find a symbiotic balance of the Urban Techno life we know Detroit provides to the peaceful introspective time that no one would ever think possible in Detroit.

Punisher brought her 5 Korg machines out and ran them through a Pioneer DJM 500.
Her set was an hour and half of building and undulating drum beats and pad fills. I get promo’s from Hej and didn’t hear anything I had ever heard from her before.
She said about 80% of the material was written since December when she built a new studio. One thing she dropped in her p.a. and in her DJ set was an upcoming remix for Mingus Rude coming out soon on Moodgadget. It had that melancholic swirly vibe that I love and want more this year! I look forward to everything coming from her and her label for the next 6 months with a youthful exuberance. A truly unique all analog live p.a. I expected it to be more “minimal” and stark than it was but she used the mixer to mixing between drum beats from one machine into another. Big use of effects and builds to get the crowd at the Baltic Room screaming and sweaty. This was also confirmed as the 1st p.a. from her in nearly a year!

Her DJ set was a beast of an entirely different breed. She went seamlessly between 2 cd players and 2 turntables which to me is a feet in itself. Much more tech house and versatile than her P.A. and yet still banging enough to keep Travis happy
Michelle’s energy carried over through both events, swaying and fist pumping until 6:30 am, that’s right after an hour and half live hard ware p.a. (no lap top) she dj’d the after party for 2.5 hours and didn’t stop until Brian sadly asked her to stop.

It was priceless to me that a wedding party which initially didn’t want to pay to get in, paid and left totally sweat covered thanking me for the night!

Obviously my partner in Techno crime Travis Baron, who allowed me to book a “friend” to fill in for the John Selway last minute change of plans.
I know many of you want us to get more mainstream & big artists Or go totally hard underground but after we bring Robert Armani & the Advent vs Industrializer we are going to do our best to keep breaking the best new avant garde electronic acts that the US has to offer in Seattle.
We want to bring things to Seattle that have never been here before.
Travis set with Kristina was off the hook and one if not THE most seamless I have ever heard.
Watching them go 3 for 3 was a pleasure as they both rose to the occasion. Not all super hard and bang but still some seriously deep techno beats!

Trench aka Steven Smith.
Killed it on the flier design as usual and was a huge help in setting up for the night.
Trench also sent images to Looptid that looked freaking amazing on the big screen and TV’s at the Baltic.
If that wasn’t enough he helped make the idea in my head for my Detroit flier come to life. I was told by Sam and Jeff (owner and manager of Ghostly International) that is was hands down the best designed and created flier of DEMF weekend.

Looptid is one of the areas best visual artistS and is an absolute pleasure to work with. What he put together for us was absolutely jaw dropping.

Kristina Childs is a freaking bomb DJ, obviously, since she has won 2 BOTMM.
She brought a harder edgier style on Sat night but still had some unique electro-esqe beats thrown into the mix to keep the night building and building, thanks so much for working with us again Kristina!

Patrick Haenalt/Electrosect for inviting KnightRiders Inc to carry the party on over to his b-day event at Monkey Loft, thanks a bunch. Patrick’s dedication to the betterment of Seattle’s electronic music community can’t be questioned. Patrick saw the potential that the LoFi party and Baltic Room events would want to keep partying and offered us a collaboration for the night which was 100% fun! If you didn’t know already between the 2 events 6 artists were represented of which four were female. I hope I don’t hear any more whining on this list about where the women in Techno & Seattle are for some time as they were in full effect Saturday night!

Corina Lauria the Knightriders den mother and all around duddette. She is the bomb digitty to work with and is single handedly the reason there was a bar at the after party which allowed the night to come out in the black. We love her and she deserves more love than we can give her so if you see her out on the streets or at Seattle U (where she has been rocking a 4.0 grade point average for over a year) tell her thanks for keeping KR in order and for providing you the tasty beverages that she does!

Bill Smith my Brewer genius at Red Hook, the after party wouldn’t have went off as well as it did with out your contributions. When Red Hook wants to be the official beer sponsor of Knight Rider Llc say the word!!!

Jessie Tear, Albert Loo, Carrie Elliot & Robin Farrell, you allowed me to get to and from the airport fast and efficiently as well as taking Michelle and I to Mt. Rainer for our first time. Truly unrivaled behind the scenes people that help make nights/days like Saturday go off like they do!

My peeps @GrooveSource Media for keeping my ears, computer and Seattle filled with solid tunes and talent. If your an electronic artist that needs digital distribution in America I can’t recommend them enough!

Party people: You are the reason WE/I do this. After all the crappy drama on division in the last week you are the people that keep me living in Seattle instead of taking offers in L.A. & Chicago. There is so much goodness already here but if we can all work together the possibility for every weekend to be like Decibel festival exits.
Your thank yous and appreciation fuel me to raise the bar at every event I participate, collaborate-in or throw myself.
One “group” in particular has shown up in droves to my events in the past year that I have to plug: Z-House! The crew of Kimberly, Jeremy, Jack, Mary & Katie (I KNOW I am leaving people out but I do see you at everything!) come to party and bring it to another level. Nothing fuels an artist like hard sweaty dancers and chanters and this crew never fails to deliver. The artists we bring feel that vibe and are pushed harder to take their music to new levels. The events of the past 12 months have been successful in part due to your enthusiasm and spirit.
Grindle
www.necodo.com/old
www.twitter.com/gconscious
from Monkey Loft afterparty:

Pic by Jessie Tear

The laptop or phone to blog is a must next year, yet I have posted more in the past month than in the year before.
Very inspired and motivated by Moodgadget, GrooveSource/Klientele Crew & Blank Artists.
These cats seem to have their minds clear and their brands firmly realized.
The next step is to get them to more fans worldwide.

My Play list for Launch Pad @ Pulse
New Order “Dreams Never End”
Lipps Inc. “Rock It”
Torch Song “Prepare To Energize (The Fong Test)”
Vicious Pink “8:15 to Nowhere”
Depeche Mode “Blasphemous Rumors”
X-Ray “Let’s Go-remix”
Business & Industry ” Face Value”
Lil’ Louis “Club Lonely I’m On the Guest List Mix”
Jared Wilson “Blank Artists 15 White Label A1″
Marshall Jefferson Presents Dancing Flutes “Do The Do(Got 2 Mix)”
Todd Terry “Feel It (Can You Party Remix)”
Blunted Dummies “House For All Original Mix”
M. Nikolai “Peloton Musique 001A1 test pressing”
Jared Wilson “Blank Artists 15 A2 White Label
Orlando Voorn “The Deep”
Seattle Sessions v2 Mister Leisure “Don’t Clap Your Hands Lawn Chair Generals LCG Remix”
Corrugated Tunnel “Distant Sounds”
Ian Ginsing “Peloton Musique 001D1 Peliokaan test pressing”
Jared Wilson “Blank Artists 15 B2 white label”
The Original Creators (E.Smith & N. Jones) “Flash Back 86″
Phuture (DJ Pierre) “Your Only Friend”

Suzy Docnic & Eric Spleece with the author; Grindle.
The team that made Launch Pad @ pulsedetroit.com a success.

Nearly forgot last nights Music painting @ the DIA more to come but it was the most Decibel festival like thing this year. Lovely sounds in a wonderfully accoustic space with live visuals. SWEET,
Thanks to Colin Z & People Mover!

Jones (forever after known as “Pierre”) with Earl “Spanky” Smith & Herb Jackson took a song they recorded to Ron Hardy (DJ @ Music Box) & Frankie Knuckles (@Powerplant) that pushed the boundaries of modulating the “bass guitar synth” of the Roland TB303 & acid house was born. Together with producer Marshall Jefferson they generated some if not the most bootlegged dance singles ever released. Their first released track being called “Ron Hardy’s Acid Trax”. This soundtracked the wave of club madness which coalesced in the rave movement by the end of the decade.

Pierre continued to release material with Trax Records as Pierre’s Phantasy Club & Phortune. He moved from Chicago to NYC in the early 90′s to do A&R for Strictly Rhythm. He released more music under the names Photon Inc (“Generate Power” & “Everybody Freedom”) Phuture Scope, Audio Clash, Joint Venture & Shock Wave.

On Sat the 23rd of May please join us to celebrate the release of Louie Vega vs. DJ Pierre’s “Da Jungle” at AFRO ACID DETROIT.
An event w/ DJ Pierre & The Klientele’s Angel Alanis & Lady Foursquare.

Louie Vega vs. DJ Pierre’s “Da Jungle” features remixes from by Klientele Gene Farris, Kid Massive, Timo Garcia and & other superstars!
The vinyl is available now @ www.primedirectdist.co.uk & the digital on May 25th.

In ten years this is DJ Pierre’s (Afro Acid/Chicago) www.myspace.com/djpierresafroacidproject first DEMF related event.
Come straight from Hart Plaza with Mike Huckaby, Marco Carola, The Glitch Mob & Carl Cox right into an intimate lounge with the legendary innovator that influenced them all. The event is located @ www.Pulsedetroit.com 126 Monroe St. $10 before midnight $15 after 21+.

Located within 5 blocks of Hart Plaza beside the 1910 historic Albert Kahn designed Detroit National Theater.
The Space is limited to 120
One entrant with valid email address will win Propellerheads software.

The Rough Guide to House says “Pierre’s productions are unashamedly epic, demonstrating that epic dance records are not all sweeping string pads and cod drum rolls, but come from an ability to move a crowd as one mass, to exhort with a sound that feels like heaven’s armies.”

All weekend Blast off with “Launch Pad” at www.pulsedetroit.com within 5 blocks of Hart Plaza!

Friday night with Grindle, Cntl_Alt_Dlt, Zvezdana, E.Spleece, Vacuum & K.Atou. $5

Saturday it’s the only DEMF weekend appearance from the legendary creator of acid house & wild pitch styles DJ Pierre!!
Afro Acid presents Afro Acid Detriot!
Release party for Louie Vega vs. DJPierre’s
“Da Jungle” with remixes by Klientele and other superstars including Gene Farris, Kid Massive, Timo Garcia and more!
Vinyl available now @www.primedirectdist.co.uk
Support from the Klientele; Angel Alanis & Lady Foursquare. $10

Sunday Moodgadget showcase with Guardian, Are Dad/Aarnio, Charles Trees, Calmer, Shigeto, Mux Mool, Jimmy Edgar, Frank Omura vs Mingus Rude, Mogi Grumbles & Machinedrum. $10 advance tickets through www.ghostly.com

The 2008 Pop Conference Shake, Rattle:Music, Conflict, And Change. From Wednesday night April 10th through Sunday April 13th. This was the largest conference in it’s seven year history, featuring more (or less than depending on American Airlines) 160 presenters across 40 panels with an estimated 500 admitants.

Outside the entrance to 08 Pop Conference. The EMP is located at Seattle Center and was designed by Frank Gehry and commissioned by Paul Allan. It lies underneath the “Space Needle designed by Edward E. Carlson for the 1962 World’s Fair.