ITS Music Playground 1 Yr Anniversary @ Exchange LA | Photo by: Panda
I have never been more proud of my friends...everybody pitched in yesterday, some working 9 hours straight, to help put together I.T.S. Music Playgrounds 1-Year Anniversary show. We held it in the middle of downtown Los Angeles at the famous Exchange LA nightclub and were chosen to head a new club night. The vibe was electric and the people were encapsulated in the amazing artwork Dana Troy had worked tirelessly to complete. All I can say is last night was a huge success and it came to be by the hard work of a small dedicated army. To all the homies, to those who came simply to help, to those who stayed to see the night through and to those who turned out to check this event, I Thank you and the I.T.S. family thanks you. BOH!!!!!!! - Chris Carreiro
Thee Mike B @ I.T.S. Music Playground 1 Year Anniversary @ Exchange LA | Photo by Panda
Nativity: Congrats on the 1 year Anniversary! I can't believe a whole year has past since the initial Beats for a Bench event last year. How did the actual ceremony go? I heard it was quite the news affair. Surely it must of felt really great to have all your work for the community come to fruition.
Kerns: Thank you! Its funny how fast time goes when you're having fun right? The ceremony went great! It was awesome to see that people acknowledge that doing the right thing matters, that Sgt Garcia won't be forgotten for living up to that. As for the ceremony itself, the ROTC presented the colors (flags) the 173rd Airborne Brigade association was there, SGT Garcia's family came down from Washington, I got to give a speech, it was all in all great stuff. There was a lot of media/press people there, I actually disappeared to Lighting In a Bottle shortly after but I kept hearing we were all over NPR, MSNBC, ABC etc etc. It did really feel good to give back to Long Beach and in a lot of ways it gave me a lot to reflect about with ITS given that so much has changed in the last year, most importantly though I really felt great about the sense of closure the bench gave SGT Garcia's family and his widow Lesly.
Nativity: Since that initial event you've also expanded I.T.S. Music Playground into all sorts of events ranging to weekly parties, warehouse art gallery events, even trips to Santa Barbara. I've been extremely fortunate to have been apart of many of the milestones [Thanks for having me!]. Through it all, there must of been some standout moments. Can you name your top 3 moments and explain why they stand out?
Kerns: Since its creation as a promotions crew last year ITS has definitely expanded in some interesting ways, to be honest its all about good music, dope art, and most importantly a good crowd, I'm just glad to see those fundamental values catching on and spreading. Its been a pleasure to have you along for the ride, there's been more than once you've thrown us a hail mary touchdown at a critical moment, so thanks for that! As for the top 3 moments, yikes this is a hard one...The ITS chant at detroit bar is definitely up there, it was really cool to have 200 some people chanting during a lull in the music (technical difficulties). EXLA was pretty damn good too, getting that much art set up was awesome and building it with our team the weeks prior was a really awesome bonding experience for everyone. I think my personal favorite moment was probably watching the giant graff mural go up at 20,000hz under the sea, that was really awesome, it even lead to a battle of sorts as Jamie Johnson jumped on the wall to defend the home turf, really cool stuff! (Shout outs to Fyasko for that).
Jellyfish Art Installation @ I.T.S. Music Playground 1 Year Anniversary @ Exchange LA | Photo by Panda
Nativity: At the core the focus has always been good music, good art, good people, and good times. You've been able to really carve out an identity with ITS and your events. How did you guys bring that essence into the recent 1 year anniversary party at Exchange LA? I really loved how you guys have expanded Dana Troy's art to fill that massive space. You even brought the jellyfish along!
Kerns: The guiding principles of good music, art, and people have been our compass in the music business. I feel like we really brought that attitude to Exchange because we had the art there, we booked a couple of RESET favorites (Thee Mike B and Metric) but most importantly we had our people there. A friend of mine Tasia was telling me how she loved just being able to be comfortable at Exchange because everyone was cool, nobody had their nose in the air, and people were all just having a good time, and that's what its all about. When you have a good crowd everything sounds better, looks better, is better, the Do Lab really understands that as well, it showed with LIB, I think its something Insomniac could take note on as well. As for the art, Dana and Pete really understand how to celebrate space and that's one thing that Exchange's main room really has. It was awesome to show that there was more to the main room than the stage and the light truss, its a magnificent room and I'm glad Dana and Pete's art could really illustrate and celebrate that. As for the Jellyfish I love that thing I should probably come up with a nickname for it...
Nativity: With one year down and many more to go, what are your plans for the near future? Any hints of what's to come? And lastly, any special thank yous to those that have been supportive along the way [family,friends,crew,artists,promoters,etc.]?
Kerns: One year down, that's still a crazy concept to me, it went by so fast!As for the near future, I'm working with Jorrel over at VLN Design Labs to host a hip-hop oriented B-boy battle at location 1980, I also want to throw a crazy little underground in LB...10 bucks for entry with all you can drink beer, super cheap mix drinks, a little bit of art, and a whole lot of fun...get back to our roots in LB, and give back to all our loyal supporters, the details for that are still top-secret though, its going to be awesome I'm really excited! We're going to continue to work with Exchange LA and I want to get back to SB soon (love it there) and eventually down to San-Diego as well. As for thanks, I would like to thank you for the interviews, friendship, and hail-marys. I'd like to thank VLN Design Labs, Fyakso, Arntre LA, 4th street recording studio, a BIG thanks to Dana Troy and Peter Evans as well they really make ITS special. The actual ITS crew for doing amazing work and working every available second, its really humbling to see their dedication in action. I'd like to thank my girlfriend Alex Hunter for being there and sometimes dealing with me being glued to the phone for hours, I know she hates it, but she takes it well and supports me to the fullest. Most importantly though I'd like to thank our fans, its pretty cliche to say we would be nowhere without you guys but its true, you guys make our parties what they are, you're a dope crowd and its an honest to god pleasure working to throw parties that live up to that. I'm grateful for your continued support and we can't wait to throw the next one!
Nativity: How does it feel to have I.T.S. at it's 1 yearr mark? Any thoughts on the journey so far?
Kirk: Half of me thinks it's unreal reflecting on what we've done with just 1 year of planning/partying; the other half knew that it would be just like this right after our first event in May 2011. I remember screaming to Kerns and Anthony Galaz with the craziest grin on my face while watching Static_Cast open for the Alpha Pup heads, "We're doing it?!!". Seeing the ITS collective band together to make that event happen, and week after week every event afterwards made us all feel like anythings possible. I really got smacked in the face with a reality check, "There ain't nothin too it but to do it". If anyone had an idea, with the help of all our talented friends, a little hard work, and a slight chance of luck ANYTHING was possible. I remember EDC 2011, Kendra (2handRED) and I got 15 fully pressed 2handRED demo's w/ CD labels/pamphlets and all to bring to Vegas with the sole intention of getting them in Diplo's hands. By the end of the first night Kendra was on stage w/ Major Lazer, demo in Diplo's hands, and Skerrit Bwoy gave me his phone number. 3 months later i was driving to LAX thanking Skerrit Bwoy for coming through and playing RESET. It's been one magical year!
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