[Speaker 1] Raves are so weird to me everyone’s wearing clothes like strange clothes and jumping around all this crazy music and everyone seems like they’re on drugs and um it just seems crazy.

[Speaker 2] Rave music has no beat at all or a thousand different beats at one time, you can’t even tell the difference between one song and the next they all sound exactly the same.

[Speaker 3] Yeah what I know of raves sounds like a lot of music’s uh drug orientated and you know a lot of drugs are flowing, so sounds pretty negative to me.

[Speaker 4] Today we’re going to be talking to a man who has been heavily influenced by the rave culture. This is a culture that has predominantly viewed as harmful to society due to its heavy involvement with drugs. So we hope to shine a more positive light on this culture by listening to an insider’s point of view. So sit back and enjoy the ride as a true raver shares his experiences.

[Tony Gudachi] My name is Tony Gudachi and I pushing 30 years old and I’ve been listening to house music since I was 15 years old. I became a DJ in 1999 fully influenced by techno music.

[Speaker 4] What goes on at raves?

[Tony Gudachi] You know the best part about what goes on at these parties is the actual union of people. The conglomeration of different people there for the same reason. A lot of dancing goes on at parties, a lot of partying goes on at parties and the main thing is that no matter who you are at this event you’re accepted for one reason and one reason only, the love for the music and the unity of people.

[Speaker 4] I’ve heard that techno music is a uniting experience, can you explain its culture?

[Tony Gudachi] You know I’ll never forget this party that I went to and Saint Luis kind of started everything off for me… where I looked around and Black people are hugging White people are hugging Asian people are hugging Mexican people and you know everybody can say as much as they want to that there’s drugs involved and they just feel good and that’s one reason they’re hugging each other but the actual reason that brings all these people together is the music and the feeling that the music gives you no matter whether its at 10 watts or 100,000 watts. The feeling that you actually get from the music is what brings people together in this culture.

[Speaker 4] In your own words, what is techno music?

[Tony Gudachi] Techno music, rave music, house music, jungle music is all underground music and it is a feeling for these people why it’s kept underground and things are kept underground. You feel you know like a group like your part of a group like your part of uh association that only you and other people who are affected by it can, you know, you’re all on the same page and for a lot of the laws to come out and for people to discriminate against it and for people to look down on it, just fuels us, just fuels ravers, just fuels every party goers because you stand so strong on what you know and how you feel and the friendships that you’ve made and what it actually means to be a part of an underground culture. You want to, you want to bring laws on us? You want to bring everything on us? We’ll go back to the underground where we came from. We’ll go back to the underground where we belong because that’s where we want to be and that’s what we want to do and that’s who we want to be with and we don’t need everybody else’s influences and we don’t need all these other people trying to bring down something that is so positive and so powerful for us.

[Speaker 4] I know that drugs play a key role in techno culture, how would you explain their relationship?

[Tony Gudachi] This type of music, um, really no matter what frequency its at it gives a certain type of a feeling and it is best felt, obviously, when serotonins flying through your brain. So… with trippin’ in acid and mushrooms and rolling on ecstasy, you are basically creating a different state of spiritual being for yourself.

[Speaker 4] Going through the life of a true raver has basically open my eyes to an underground culture that I never knew existed. I’ve realized that many negative opinions towards techno music, you know, are based on false stereo types. The techno music culture isn’t just about sex and drugs, but it seems to bring people together both emotionally and spiritually. For those who have these misconceptions toward techno music, what would you like them to gather from this culture?

[Tony Gudachi] Through all of my life experiences I’ve been taught many valuable lessons. Things that you learn are what theoretically, to me, build and layer your meaning and personality in your life. The people, the music, and the overall unity of this type of culture is partly added some change to my life and especially when I was younger. After all these years, I… the feeling I have in my heart only… basically expands and multiplies and like everyone has been touched and became a game master forever, I will stay a part of something really positive and uplifting for my life and whoever wants to get to know it. So do it.

[Speaker 4] So thanks for listening to our podcast today I hope we were able to enlighten you on an underground culture that’s been kept in the dark. So the next time you hear house music just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.