Insomniac Consciousness Group Is Still Going Strong
Don’t let anyone tell you there’s only one way to turn up and rage-face at raves. Sobriety should never be a shameful thing in any setting, because being irresponsible or unsafe is a huge no-no, even in the name of having a good time. The Insomniac Consciousness Group creates a space at our festivals to promote and celebrate sobriety. It’s a noble cause, and it’s pretty damn clutch for straight-edge heads, people in recovery, and anyone who chooses to abstain and seeks like-minded Headliners to connect with.
Headed up by Patt Ochoa, the ICG is sustained purely through the hard work and diligence of volunteers who want to lend a helping hand to those striving to stand their ground. Conceived at last year’s EDC Las Vegas, the group will be in full force again at EDC this weekend, with nightly meetings at 9pm, midnight and 3am. Headliners can also feel free to stop by any time during festival hours to find support or just chill. The Consciousness Group Oasis is located at Carnival Square.
As the ICG preps for the weekend, I caught up with Patt to talk about how the group is still going strong one year in.
Can you shed some light on the main objective of the Consciousness Group and how it first got off the ground?
Consciousness Group came together when two young men who I mentor were going to raves in their first year of sobriety about three times a week. They were really struggling with being sober and continuing to do what they loved, which was electronic music. It was a struggle for them to stay sober in a constant environment where there was a lot of drug and alcohol use. One of these young men, by the name of Brad Waldo, had an intuitive thought that it would be so cool if they could have support meetings in raves. He came to me asking if I could help them to make this happen, knowing my history with going to raves since 1992 and to Insomniac’s first party in 1993.
The other young man, Q Brickell, contacted his dad, Sean Brickell, to help them get something started. Through Sean’s contacts, we went to Bonnaroo to be part of Soberoo in order for us to get an idea of how to do something like this. After our experience with Soberoo, I made contact with Pasquale via email with the idea. His response came in less then 10 minutes of how we could create this. Consciousness Group was formed.
What’s your day-to-day like over the course of the weekend during EDC?
The day-to-day for the volunteers at the Consciousness Group tent is an amazing experience. We hang out at the tent taking shifts to sit at the table, which provides information to Insomniac attendees. Most people are shocked that people stay clean and sober. Some people get super excited, ‘cause they have a friend and/or themselves are looking for help and/or the support needed. Many people come to the tent, but we also get people who seem to be afraid that we are clean and sober. We have three meetings a day in the middle of the festival. People that come by the tent are really happy to have free candy that we pass out.
Considering it’s an entirely volunteer-based organization, how do you ensure you have the right manpower to effectively take in sober ravers at festivals?
We have a list of questions that we ask volunteers to fill out. Once receiving the questions, there is a board of us members who go through each question, really narrowing it down. One of the questions is what “service” means to the volunteer. We ask the volunteer to tell us their story in 500 words.
What do these on-site meetings usually consist of?
Our tent is usually in the middle of all the stages, and all we can hear is the bass thumping as we are having one of our three support meetings… People share their experience, strength and hope with how they are staying clean and sober.
It’s been a year since the group made its debut EDC Vegas. Do you mind walking us through some of the major events the ICG has seen since then?
Consciousness Group has done all the California Insomniac festivals. A few of the core members have created a nonprofit that takes clean-and-sober tents into festivals across the country, such as Bonaroo, Outside Lands, Lollapallooza, Governors Ball, Lockn’, etc.
There are a few sober day dance parties popping up in the community, such as Daybreaker. Have you attended any of these yet, and what are your thoughts on this buzzing phenomenon?
I have not attended them but want to. I have started to get involved in a nonprofit out of North Carolina called Rave Clean. They are about to throw their second clean-and-sober rave. We are excited to bring this concept to Southern California in the near future. I feel that these types of events are awesome. So much of society is built around entertainment with alcohol. As a sober man, I am free to go wherever I want to go, as long as I place the spiritual principle of service in my life. To be able to have support for those that may need support is an awesome experience to be part of.
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