The Show Must Go On!: Tight Crew announce new date, location for prehistoric-themed event

In the wake of increased efforts to contain the coronavirus in our capital city, Tight Crew’s upcoming Jurassic Ruckus party has been moved. The prehistoric-themed celebration of music and subculture was originally scheduled for April 18 at Fete in PVD.

Fortunately, the show will go on — in a major way! In a post to its social media and website, the EDM event production company announced that the party is moving to Platforms Dance Club on July 11. In part, it reads:

“Given the uncertainty of our event and all other events at Fete, the venue has asked us to cancel this event. We’re doing everything we can to make sure everyone gets refunded …

“We will do our best to keep as many of the same DJs on as we can, and we will restructure to bring you something even more amazing. This gives us time to start new and bigger art projects to transform the event to new levels.

“This containment is hitting everybody but especially those in the entertainment and service industries. Please support all of the small businesses you love as we come out of these trying times.

“We hope that all of you and your families stay safe and have enough toilet paper to ride this one out.

“PEACE LOVE UNITY RESPECT Tight Crew”

One thing is for-sure: Jurassic Ruckus will be well worth the wait. If you’ve attended any of Tight Crew’s past block parties before, or even if you haven’t, I’ll bet you have a sense of just how epic this one will be. This indoor/outdoor party is something amazing that we can look forward to right now!

For more information and to purchase tickets for the party, head to TightCrew.net.

Billy F. Gibbons, Matt Sorum, and Mike Flanigin to Headline

Three words: Ernie Boch Junior.

Did you just sing them in your mind?

If so, you’re definitely not alone. Although the Providence-born businessman sold most of his family’s third-generational car dealerships a few years ago, we can still quickly recall their radio commercials — and for good reasons. They proliferated local airwaves for quite a while, and they were catchy AF.

Nowadays, Boch Jr. serves as the president, CEO, and spokesman for Boch Enterprises, a $1 billion operation. He’s also the CEO of Subaru New England, and in 2006, he started Music Drives Us (MDU), a registered 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization. Music Drives Us supports music and arts education throughout New England. He seeded MDU in 2004 with $2 million.

Boch Jr., who’s a graduate and former board member of the Berklee College of Music (in Boston), says, “I have always liked music since when I was a kid. When Woodstock hit, I was 10 years old, it changed my life.” In the ’80s, he met Brad Whitford and the rest of the members of Aerosmith. Since then, Boch Jr.’s forged strong bonds with many more musical artists. His best friend, Paul Geary, is an artist manager and a drummer.

“Then I started seeing music as education and I saw the giant hole. At the time, I discovered VH1’s Save the Music.” Boch Jr. tells me that it was a one-on-one lunch with one of Save the Music’s founders that got the ball rolling for him in terms of creating MDU.

After its launch, he says, “It took a bit to get familiar with the environment. Then we realized there was so much need.” To date, he says, “We’ve put in over 1,000 instruments, completed 300 projects and funded millions of dollars.” Recently, for instance, the charity donated instruments to schools in Block Island, Providence, Woonsocket and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School.

To raise money for their cause, Music Drives Us (MDU) hosts two big events each year. Next Friday, December 13, MDU is hosting The BFG Three, an evening when Billy F. Gibbons, Matt Sorum, and Mike Flanigin rock the stage at the Norwood Space Center in Norwood, Mass. Gibbons was the lead guitarist and singer for ZZ Top and Sorum used to drum for Guns N’ Roses. Flanigin is a respected blues rocker who plays the hammond organ.

For Boch Jr., the process of booking acts for his events is personal. “Billy Gibbons stood at my house last year and I got to know him. And I know Matt Sorum. I went to his wedding,” he explains. It’s good that Boch Jr. knows such talented musicians, because that’s what attracts people to attend MDU’s event drives, thus forwarding its mission. In the next year, he hopes to raise between $100,000 and $150,000 for his philanthropic venture

According to Boch Jr., the BFG is MDU’s biggest event of the year. It takes a village to produce the event. At the helm is Jackie Bell, MDU’s Director of Development & Special Events. Bell’s a seasoned PR pro who’s be worked for the organization for four years.

BFG Three drinks will be provided by Castle Island Brewery (of Norwood) and URE Vodka. The food will be prepared by Mansfield, Mass. chef who’s worked with MDU for a decade.

General admission tickets for the BFG Three are $50. VIP tickets go for $300. With VIP tickets, concertgoers get food and drinks, a meet and greet with the band, and a reserved spots in a special viewing area. This is a 21+ show. To purchase tickets, visit eventbrite.com/e/the-bfg-three-ft-billy-f- gibbons-matt-sorum-and-mike-flanigin-tickets-79535377455

Coffin-Bangers: Tight Crew + RI Indoor Karting = “Monster” Halloween

Do you like scary movies? What about costume parties?

If you answered yes to one or both of those questions, pay attention! On Saturday, October 26, EDM event super-producers Tight Crew is throwing their annual Halloween blowout. The’ll transform RI Indoor Karting (RIIK) in Lincoln into a real-life Monster Mash.

Mash-goers can rage from 8pm to 3am among immersive decorations and state-of-the-art audiovisuals that will provide an unforgettable Halloween experience. As far the tunes are concerned, there will be two stages of music. Our local prince of darkness, the legendary DJ Venom, is scheduled to perform.

If that’s not enough, consider this: Guests can also try their luck at an axe throwing bar, race the high speed go-karts, bowl in one of the event’s performance spaces or enjoy a game of billiards. It’ll be the perfect night to make amazing memories.

Tight Crew explained their venue choice. “We have been patrons of RIIK since they opened. We always had the idea to throw a party here, and we figured Halloween was the perfect time to start! The venue is expanding with an arcade and a massive virtual reality experience, which should increase the amount of awesome times we can have here.”

One of the coolest things about Tight Crew is how big they are huge on positive vibes and family traditions. Even though the activities alone at Monster Mash are bananas, they’re not holding back. True to form, they’ll be showing out with for their guests. This once-in-a-lifetime night will feature free fresh fruit, Halloween candy, and a kandi-making area. Lastly, creatures of the night can rock their ghoulish garb and enter the Halloween-themed costume contest.

Entry for the Monster Mash is 18+ (21+ to drink), and all of the dope activities available can be paid for a la carte. “We are offering a discount on races on our ticketing page. Anyone who wants to guarantee a race or axe-throwing lane (space is limited, and the axe bar will close at midnight) should reserve in advance.”

Heed their warning, people! Grab your tickets (while they last) at TightCrew.net.

Equitable Extracurriculars: Budget cuts cut experiences

Anyone who has children or works in school settings knows that overall, today’s school children have considerably less options when it comes to extracurriculars than older people did when were were growing up. This begs the question: Do the after-school programs that are offered state-wide make up for scaled back arts and physical/health education, and other extras no longer offered in public schools?

To put things in perspective, I am 29 years old. When I attended Western Hills Middle School and Cranston High School West (both Cranston public schools), it seemed like there were so many choices for itinerant courses and after-school programs — including sports and foreign languages, plural — that it was tough to choose which to participate in. We had Mock Trial, Model United Nations, school newspapers, yearbooks, Science Olympiad, debate, golf, cheer, dance, Spanish, French, Italian, home Ec, volleyball, lacrosse, etc. It was a wonderful problem to have!

Having worked in elementary and middle schools throughout RI for the past year and a half, I’ve seen first-hand how relatively fewer opportunities like these that there are for children now. When addressing the “big question” that I mentioned above, I started by speaking with Shannon Fogel, a New York transplant and Master of Fine Arts (RISD) who has been teaching art in Pawtucket public schools and after-school programs in RI for more than five years. Fogel has a relationship with Providence ¡CityArts! for Youth, the nonprofit Americorps program that provides free, high-quality arts education to children at its Broad Street studio. She also teaches art after school and in the summer at the Providence Boys and Girls Club.

She explained that, even in the past few years, things have been changing. ¡CityArts!, for example, has removed itself from several PVD locations that it used to partner with. Still, she and other art professionals forge on, working where they can make a positive impact on children who may otherwise not have access to arts education. Sure, students still typically take art class in elementary, middle and /or high school, but these courses tend to be offered limitedly — that is, children don’t get to fully immerse themselves in projects, performances and productions, and sometimes go whole semesters or years without exposure to the arts.

Fortunately, several independent businesses and groups have stepped up to fill the void. In Cranston, for instance, the registered nonprofit Artists’ Exchange (Rolfe Square) offers summer camp as well as seven-week arts, theater, music and ceramic classes for kids that commence at 4pm on weekdays. According to operations manager Jenny Sivo, the Artists’ Exchange also offers after-school arts programs to schools (on-site at the school) that are interested. Discounted pricing is available for people who attend their Fall Out of Summer Arts Festival, which is happening on September 22.

In PVD, the East Side Arts Center (ESAC) has been a destination for children to enhance their art education for 27 years. The vice president, Don Simon, who has taught classes at the ESAC for children ages 5 through 15, stated that the business was established in direct response to budget cuts for visual arts in public schools. He believes that, “the pressures [for teachers] to ‘get it all in’ — and achieve test scores that are so important to the school’s standing” harms kids. “They suffer because there is little creative outlet and, just as important, not enough physical exercise during their school day. They need to express both. You can hear it in the volume in the lunchroom.”

According to Simon and the ESAC website, all of the teachers at the ESAC are extremely experienced in the professional art and teaching worlds. Therefore, they seamlessly fuse the two. “We see what we present as opportunities to problem-solve and encourage the kids to consider the possibilities by first understanding what’s presented and then figuring out how to present a solution. The beauty of ‘art’ is there are many answers. A school like ours allows for and encourages a variety of responses.”

As an English language arts teacher myself (I teach seventh grade at Jenks in Pawtucket — Go jaguars!), I understand the importance of teaching students to think creatively to solve problems. I agree with Simon that it’s also critical to show students that there is more than one way to answer many things, so long as you adequately support your reasoning.

Unfortunately, many RI families simply can’t afford these high-quality, tried-and-true after-school programs. What’s worse is that many of our public elementary schools don’t offer any free or inexpensive after-school programs. One parent, Annmarie, has three children, including two elementary school-aged children attending different Warwick public schools. She says that although her daughter’s school has many free after-school activities that she can register for, her son’s school, “is all about the money.” She recently attended the school’s open house and was disheartened to see that it featured several vendors hawking overpriced toys — but no sign-ups for extracurriculars or after-school programs.

On the bright side, there are plenty of well-qualified and impassioned professionals in our state who provide afternoon and weekend classes for kids (those whose families can afford it). Besides visual arts, there are other outlets the families with enough funding can enroll their children in, such as Made By Me Cooking School in Warren, which offers classes where kids learn how to prepare meals.

There are also ample ways for the youth to work up a sweat when they’re not in school. What sets programs like Young Ninjas at Laid-Back Fitness (Warwick) apart is that they can even appeal to children who aren’t into team sports. The individual-centered classes have competitions, and birthday parties are modeled after the “American Ninja Warrior” competition TV show. Ninja warriors can also enjoy open gym twice a week, which, according to Nicole Jardin, the Young Ninja coordinator, is perfect “for kids who don’t like structure” to run around and play.

Still, on a local level, there is clearly a glaring disconnect between the art and athletic endeavors that some families can afford and what others are monetarily privy to. Sadly, it’s a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away soon. It’s fantastic that we have a plethora of phenomenal for-profit programs at our disposal, but what if families can’t pay for it? Will some children grow up without reaching their highest potential? And what can we do about it?

Autumnal EDM-nox: Dance like there’s no tomorrow

For -loving Rhode Islanders, these upcoming months mean more than foliage and farm frolics. From early September through mid-November, we’ll get to enjoy a plethora of unique EDM events at all types of venues.

Providence’s Fête Lounge is keeping the heat up by hosting a month’s worth of fiery EDM shows. First up, on Friday, September 6, electronic band EOTO will take the stage. EOTO recently performed at this year’s sold out in Michigan, one of the best run and most celebrated electronic in the country, so their energetic stage production will be on-point. Then on Saturday, September 14, Fête Lounge will host techno powerhouse Nigel Richards. This guy has been throwing down and releasing original techno since 1993! On Friday, October 4, come back to Fête Lounge to experience DJs Ott, Living Light, and Cosmal. To purchase tickets for these performances, visit fetemusic.com/loungeevents.

In between those events, Platforms Dance Club (Providence) is the place to be on Saturday, September 28, when Boston-based event production crew Robot Haus presents Mutant Movement. Some of this party’s headlining DJs are from the UK, including Kanzi Kinetic. Local legends Phibonnaci and Michael Savant will spin, too, as will several others. Besides the sick tunes, this 7pm-til-3am banger promises food by Cook Strong as well as a multi-genre selection of video games for attendees to play. For more information, go to: eventbrite.com/e/robot-haus-presents-mutant-movement- tickets-66824599175?affebdssbdestsearch.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a local EDM event roundup without Tight Crew! On Saturday, October 5, RI’s best EDM event production company (Period!) is hosting Underground Sound Vol. 5 at a secret location that will be disclosed to ticket-holders only via email. Underground Sound will feature classic video games, complimentary fresh fruit and bottled water, and a kandi-making area. For more details and to buy tickets, visit tightcrew.net. That’s all we know from Tight Crew for their fall events so far, but stay tuned to find out if they announce any spooky season happenings in the coming weeks. Their past Halloween-themed parties have been to-die-for, but for now, we’ll have to wait with bated breath!

Dance music fans who can’t get enough live music action can check out Hyperglow when it takes over The Strand (Providence) on Friday, November 15. This event boasts a half-dozen EDM DJs, plus body painting and circus-like performances. More information and tickets can be found at electrostub.com/events/210587

Hot Happenings: Electronic music events worth perspiring over

Dip, drip, drop! Why ease your way into summer this year when you can make a splash by riding out the best events Lil Rhody has in store? These three shows provide the rare and much-needed opportunity to get down and dirty (musically speaking!) on the beach, in the pool and in the club — all season long. So grab a friend and pack a towel and a change of clothes, since it’s time to soak up the sun while dancing to some sweet tunes.

First up, on Sunday, June 16, welcome warmer weather by donning some cute swimwear and heading down to Westerly for Sunday Funday, a day-party at Tikki Beach in Westerly. This edition showcases Boston-based producer/DJ duo DUDEnGUY. These guys are known for delivering high-energy sets complete with killer mixes, so get ready to dance. This event is 21+ and runs from noon until 5pm, with free admission before 3pm.

Then on Saturday, June 29, SPF Saturdays Presents Sound/Waves, an all day into-night (11am until 9pm!) party at the Last Resort Pub & Grill in Smithfield. The lineup is TBA, but these events are always unforgettable. The venue has a junior Olympic-sized swimming pool as well as a sand beach volleyball court and tiki bar. Admission to Sound/Waves is 21+. To snag your tickets, head over to eventbrite.com.

Make sure to stay hydrated and reapply sunscreen throughout June and July, because once August 17 hits, you’ll want to spend all day and night at Tight Crew’s Toy Story 4 Block Party. This rave will transform Platforms Dance Club (PVD) into an indoor/outdoor party that features DJs from around the U.S. and world spinning in three rooms. The event also boasts fire performances,a ball pit, confetti cannons, a free fresh fruit and kandi-making area, and even a bounce house! For more info and tickets, visit tightcrew.net

Ball Drop Beat Drop: More fun than should be allowed Much like the extra dry champagne served on the holiday, New Year’s Eve traditions can be a bit stale. Interested in switching it up? Then head to Platforms Dance Club in Providence on December 31 to ring in the new year at Tight Crew (TC)’s Neon Masquerade Ball! You may want to buy your tickets now, because this limited-ticket event will feature 16 DJs from all over the US, fire performances, a heated outdoor tent and a game room! So pick out a cute outfit and get plenty of rest, because the event runs from 6pm to 3am.

Headliners include Ducky (LA, dubstep), Lady Faith (LA, hardstyle) and DJ Venom (RI), who will be spinning a special freestyle set. Since this is a TC party, event-goers can plan on stopping by the free kandi-making and fresh fruit areas. As for the midnight countdown, attendees will be treated to a larger-than-life neon orgy of colorful lights, sounds and confetti cannons.

“We have never done a masquerade ball before. This will take a classic, timeless New Year’s theme and put our blacklight immersive neon twist on it. It is a fun layout for a party; the main room will be amazing and the second room is going to be a 30-by-60 heated tent outside,” says Keith Woods, co- founder of TC. “There is also a game room and entire room for vendors,” he added.

This will be TC’s second event at Platforms (the first was Yoshi’s Island earlier this year), and it’s a great location for the celebration. “The outdoor area will have a full concert sound system and lighting rig as well as lots of neon artwork and fire performers outside the tent,” Woods explains.

According to Woods, TC’s New Year’s resolution is, “to provide an all-inclusive, non-judgmental community space for anyone with an open mind and continue to give a stage for all forms of dance music popular and underground. We are excited to ring in the new year with the tight Crew family. Join us, we want to be your friend.”

Admission to Tight Crew’s Neon Masquerade Ball is 18+ (21+ to drink). Tickets are tiered, meaning the sooner you get them, the lower the price! Tickets are available at tightcrew.net

Good Deeds on the Dance Floor: Local EDM DJs break it down for a good cause

Do you love electronic music? Do you also care about people in need in your community? What about 48-hour dance parties with myriad talented DJs? If you answered yes to two or more of those questions (or even one!), then you need to get your life by dancing all day and/or night at Good Deed DJs’ (GDDJ) upcoming Christmas Marathon!

From December 14 through 16 (for the third consecutive year), the RI-based professional organization will raise money for Cumberland Happy Basket, a charity that distributes hundreds of baskets of food to families in need during the holiday seasons. This year, the event is supporting Toys for Tots as well, by hosting 48 hours of continuous music, a promoter discussion and more.

This year’s event will be held in two Massachusetts locations. The first 24 hours will he hosted (as in, they are lending their business space for free!) by Hennessey Sound Design (Taunton) and the second 24 will be hosted by Supreme Sound & Lighting (Charlton).

Nearly 60 DJs from New England and beyond are booked to spin some funky beats throughout the weekend. Local EDM event producers, promoters and partygoers — including members of Tight Crew, the Mutiny, Rabbit Revolution and Nexthype Providence — will gather to stir up some money for the charities.

This year, GDDJ co-founders Jack McDevitt and Michael Savant are extraordinarily ambitious, and for good reason. “With a staff of nearly 90 people, this is the first year we will have a full staff with tech, hospitality and general assistants in place,” says McDevitt. “We expect it to be our best event yet… To date we have raised more than $10,000 in our last two events, I think making us the largest donor to their amazing program.” They are hoping to raise $17,500 from this year’s Christmas Marathon. For the next year? $30,000.

Also on the docket for GDDJ in the near future (2019): becoming a registered 501(c)(3) organization. This could spread awareness and boost donations by helping to certify GDDJs’ legitimacy as a nonprofit.

As for what sparked their nonprofit organization, McDevitt and Savant were initially inspired by seeing folk music icon Jenny Lewis raise money for MS research and treatment with telethons.

“We also saw the amount of people we could bring together through music, and really wanted to push for a change in how that influence was yielded,” explained McDevitt’s partner, GDDJ co-director Michael Savant. “New England has an incredible amount of talent in its electronic music scene, and its backbone is rock solid; what better place to start making a change than from within?”

For more information on Good Deed DJs and their 3rd Annual Christmas Marathon, visit Facebook.com/gooddeeddjs

Shakin’ Up the Cocktail Scene: Little Bitte’s garden-to-glass cocktails pretty up any party

Little Bitte (pronounced Little Bit-uh) Artisinal Catering is a garden- to-glass cocktail company that specializes in creating signature cocktail bars for parties and events. I recently spoke with Willa Van Nostrand, who founded the company in 2010, and we talked about travel, future plans and of course, flowers! Melanie Bertoldi: How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Willa Van Nostrand: I’ve always been obsessed with food, drink and flowers. I began bartending as a teenager and saw that there was so much more potential in making drinks than serving the old standbys. My mom’s an herbalist and I used to bring edible blossom bouquets from my garden to work and make experimental cocktails for some guests. I noticed a niche in the bar market that went hand-in- hand with the blossoming farm-to-table movement, and our “garden to glass” vision was underway.

MB: What are your signature cocktails?

WVN: I love cocktails with fresh fruit and bitters. I make a mean spicy mezcal margarita. Our best sellers are the Brosé, a lavender spritz with blueberry and honey, and The New Fashioned, a spin on a Manhattan that incorporates our infused vermouth and bitters.

MB: What were the largest and smallest events that you’ve worked recently?

WVN: The largest event we’ve worked recently is WaterFire. We have two bars along the river. The smallest event was an anniversary tasting for this sweet couple who wanted to discover their favorite signature cocktails together. It was a boisterous, workshop-style evening. We tasted each spirit and mixed it with their favorite cordials. In the fall and spring, I love to do small workshops at my space, World’s Fair Gallery at 268 Broadway.

MB: Where do you source your ingredients?

WVN: We source from over New England. I work mostly with Weatherlow Florals in Westport, Mass and Sidewalk Ends Farm (Seekonk and Providence). Until last year, I picked the garnish and edible blossoms for each event. We now have a system where the farmers and I connect the week of an event to discuss what’s growing and what will work in each cocktail. We want the most delicious and in- season ingredients in our cocktails. Most of the folks on my team have either picked garnish for us or have worked on the farms from which we source. Most of our mixologists are artists, musicians and farmers.

MB: What is one short-term goal you have, and one long?

WVN: My short-term goal is to travel more. I love to travel to new places to explore bar culture and fresh ingredients. I’m planning a Mexico trip that I’m pretty excited for. My long-term goal is to host a cocktail show allá Julia Child-meets-Martha Stewart-meets-travel series. I’ve resisted opening a permanent location the entire time I’ve been in business, but I can begin to see it on the horizon. Bitte Bar … doesn’t that sound inviting?

PVDLoop Circles Back to Town

PVDLoop, the third annual Y2K18 International Live Looping Festival, is returning to PVD! This two- night, one-day, all-ages music festival will feature more than 25 local, national and international live looping musicians who will demonstrate, celebrate, educate and share their musical talents.

“You’ve probably heard looping; you’ve just never heard it and all its diversity in one place,” says Laurie Amat, artist, artistic director and producer of PVDLoop. “Last year, PVDLoop attracted a new and larger audience to AS220 – people interested in live looping, looping technology and experimental music as listeners, as amateur / hobbyist musicians and other musicians in the local scene.”

Headliners include Osaka, Japan-based mandolin player/luthier MANDOMAN-Hideki Nakanishi and New York native Ian C. Bouras. Returning acts include Sweet Pea Pumpkin (Providence-based writer, performer and vocalist who loops her voice to creates dreamy, violent, R&B-tinged soundscapes), Manami Braxton and Ky Why. New groups from the RI scene include Snowbeasts, Glenna Van Nostrand and Jon Buser. “We’re thrilled that our local festival presence is almost half of our festival,” says Amat. International loopers Lucid Brain Integrative Project and ecnegrU (from France), Pakistan’s Faisal Mahmood Kahn and Swedish multi-instrumentalist Per Boysen round off the live looping artists who help make PVDLoop an unparalleled international festival.

On October 13, three artists and music engineers will host “Loop Talk” and “Touch the Gear” at AS220’s Media Lab. Each will demonstrate and explain their take on looping, and some of the weekend’s loopers will set up their gear for informal demos and for attendees to try. Another highlight is guitarist/producer Ian C. Bouras, who has ataxia, a neurological condition that inspired him to get into looping. His lunchtime talk and performance demo for students and faculty at the Carney Institute for Brain Science at Brown University takes place October 12.

PVDLoop takes place Oct 12 – 13 at AS220. For more: pvdloop.org