What We Learned From Our Favorite Bands at Life Is Beautiful 2015

Much like you, I live and breathe dance music—so much so, I often dream of glowsticks, lasers and kandi, and I almost exclusively speak in colloquially coded vernacular: BPM, EDC, EDM, PLUR.

But every now and then, I like to venture off into artists and genres outside of my beloved electronic bubble. Trust me, it’s good for the soul, and it’ll help expand your musical palate tenfold. Plus, the human ear can only handle so much untz before one’s brain explodes.

That’s why Life Is Beautiful 2015 was exactly what my body needed. In addition to world-class art and a smorgasbord of culinary delights, the festival’s musical lineup provided an eclectic roster of acts diverse enough to please the tastes of fans across any genre—from Snoop Dogg’s OG West Coast raps, timeless tunes from living legend Stevie Wonder, packed homecoming shows from Las Vegas rock giants Imagine Dragons and the Killers (via a surprise set during frontman Brandon Flowers’ solo show), and just enough dance music to keep the party going into the late night.

The extensive music of Life Is Beautiful kept us bouncing from stage to stage all weekend and introduced (and reintroduced) us to some of our favorite bands. We sat backstage with a few of the acts to chat about food, art, learning and, of course, dance music.

Parade of Lights

Name: Ryan Daly
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: Electronic rock/indie pop

What’s your earliest memory of electronic music?
I remember hearing the Prodigy for the first time. I was like, “Fuck! This is great!” When I was in high school, I remember when the Fight Club soundtrack came out; that was fantastic, too.

Who/what are some of the electronic artists or albums that speak to you?
I love Disclosure. I love Settle. I really like George Fitzgerald, HNNY. I’ve been listening to Tiger Skin. I’ve been listening to Dauwd and all the Ghostly International stuff.

Are there any artists in electronic music who have influenced your sound?
Absolutely. All those I just listed. We love Porter Robinson; he’s doing really awesome stuff. Moderat. I could go on…

In addition to music, Life Is Beautiful is about food, learning and art. Is there a piece of art or a certain artist that speaks to you?
I’m very fortunate to be friends with a super talented artist, Charles Burnquist. He did our music video [and] a lot of our photos. I love his vibe; it’s very beach blowout, lots of colors. Also, Tycho—he does a lot of graphic art and graphic design stuff; we’re big fans of that aesthetic.

Who on the Life Is Beautiful 2015 lineup is a big influence on your career?
It’s weird, but someone that is very inspiring to me is Kendrick Lamar. I like how he’s doing something different. While we don’t directly take inspiration from that and incorporate it into our music, he’s an inspiring artist, and he’s exciting to watch.

When you’re in the studio or writing music and you hit a creative block, what food is your go-to cure?
I just eat ice cream and sob uncontrollably [laughs]. I’m a sucker for ice cream. My favorite is chocolate and vanilla together.

What lesson do you want people to learn from your music?
Our motto is: Be yourself; don’t be ashamed to be who you are. Have faith in yourself, and follow what you want to do, and don’t give up. It’s not crazy to have an idea and a vision for your life. Then go hard to try to achieve that.

Follow Parade of Lights on Facebook | Twitter

SOJA

Name: Trevor Young
Hometown: Arlington, VA
Genre: Reggae/reggae rock

What’s your earliest memory of electronic music?
The Prodigy was really early on for me. We had a bus driver in Europe who looked just like the one dude with the triple-Mohawk-thing. Scary-looking guy.

Do you incorporate electronic music in your sound?
We do, actually. One of the guys who worked on our last record works with Major Lazer as well. We sent them a bunch of tracks, and he put a bunch of synths and keyboards and crazy arpeggiators in the background. Then we sample them live.

Who/what are some of the electronic artists or albums that speak to you?
Atoms for Peace—that speaks to me a lot because I’m an old Radiohead fan. They were a full band, of course, but they still had some records later on that were more electronic, and with Atoms for Peace, [Yorke] just kind of went for it.

For something new, I dig Twenty One Pilots a lot. They have a really cool blend with the drummer, and they’re certainly killing it right now. Eureka the Butcher, he actually used to be one of the members of the Mars Volta, which is one of my favorite bands of all time. He now has a solo electronic project. Bassnectar. Skrillex has done a bunch of stuff with people like Damien Marley. He’s got a track with Big Grams [Big Boi and Phantogram].

Are there any artists in electronic music who have influenced your sound?
Not necessarily. I think SOJA’s sound goes back to roots reggae. We tend to tie in little influences from different members of the group—culturally, especially. We have guys from Venezuela and Puerto Rico, and they put some different flavors in there.

In addition to music, Life Is Beautiful is about food, learning and art. Is there a piece of art or a certain artist that speaks to you?
I like some of the classics, like Salvador Dalí and M. C. Escher. There are some guys from the D.C. area. Ink 15 does his art on postage stickers—the free ones you can get from the post office. He just does awesome graffiti-style stuff and then puts it up everywhere.

Who on the Life Is Beautiful 2015 lineup is a big influence on your career?
Stevie Wonder is a big influence on everybody. The fact he played some Bob Marley was pretty cool. As far as influence goes, Weezer is a huge one because I grew up listening to that in the ‘90s.

When you’re in the studio or writing music and you hit a creative block, what food is your go-to cure?
If I say Taco Bell, that’s going to be bad. I think on the last record, we ate a lot of Taco Bell. Actually, the last record we did, we were in the studio at Circle Village Studios—Bad Boys of Reggae and Inner Circle, their whole compound. They had a chef there, and he cooked authentic Jamaican cuisine every day. I think that sparked [a feeling] like we were in the right place recording.

What lesson do you want people to learn from your music?
To care about each other, and to take care of our planet, because it’s the only one we have.

Follow SOJA on Facebook | Twitter

Jared & the Mill

Name: Jared Kolesar, Michael Carter, Larry Gast III
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Genre: Americana/Western indie rock

What’s your earliest memory of electronic music?
Larry Gast: Some of the first stuff I ever heard were those big house/trance artists, like [Darude] “Sandstorm,” the early ‘90s songs. When dubstep started coming around, it was music that had other elements, where complex rhythms were coming in—interesting sounds and all sorts of instruments. It really turned me on because it reminded me of jazz music in a way, where you can shift and modulate all these really cool, musical-like elements happening.

Who/what are some of the electronic artists or albums that speak to you?
Larry Gast: Skrillex’s first record, for sure.

In addition to music, Life Is Beautiful is about food, learning and art. Is there a piece of art or a certain artist that speaks to you?
Larry Gast: One of my favorite artists is George Seurat, who’s a pointillist artist from the late 19th century. I love that his stuff is all about the detail, but it really doesn’t matter until you take a step back and look at it. I think that same thing happens in our music, where we all focus so much on all the little attributes and elements happening, but then it’s not really until you take a step back and listen to the whole spectrum that you hear everything.

Who on the Life Is Beautiful 2015 lineup is a big influence on your career?
Larry Gast: We’re huge fans of Weezer, Death Cab for Cutie, Stevie Wonder, [and] even progressive, newer acts like Hozier. Those guys are amazing songwriters and great guitar players. I look up to people like that.

When you’re in the studio or writing music and you hit a creative block, what food is your go-to cure?
Larry Gast: The only thing we’ve ever really fought about is where to eat… We will almost always settle on Thai or Indian food.

What lesson do you want people to learn from your music?
Michael Carter: We live in a generation now that has been under the impression that we should follow our dreams. But now there’s this backlash in [their] minds: “We’re the generation that’s told to follow our dreams, but that’s not realistic.” I think that’s kind of bullshit. “Following your dreams,” that kind of language makes it sound like a dream, when it’s really just a shitload of hard work. You’re going to have to work hard no matter what you want to do. You might as well make it something that you love. If it’s not hard, then you’re not following your dreams. It is a realistic thing. It takes time, and it takes pain and pleasure and all sorts of shit. I want people to hear our music and know that these guys are touring and they’re having good times, but they’re also having hard times—and to transfer that into their lives somehow.

Jared Kolesar: I want people to collect from our music a spirit of the old-school American attitude, but with the progress of the 21st century… There’s so much progress in the music industry, but I think it’s important that people maintain tradition in some sense.

Follow Jared & the Mill on Facebook | Twitter

Jill & Julia

Name: Jill & Julia
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Genre: Alternative/folk

What’s your earliest memory of electronic music?
Julia: This goes way back. I used to listen to From First to Last, and Sonny Moore [Skrillex] was in that band; I was a big fan. A few years later, I forgot about them, and Skrillex popped out of nowhere. He revolutionized electronic music. He started producing his own music, and I think he really tapped into a genre that was pretty much untouched at that point. He brought attention to it from the mainstream audiences.

Who/what are some of the electronic artists or albums that speak to you?
Julia: Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites had to be the first album I heard from an electronic artist. That album really spoke to me and opened my eyes toward electronic music. I’ve always had friends that have enjoyed it and listened to it, and the community behind electronic music is so close-knit. Sometimes we do covers of Avicii. I think Avicii is the only electronic artist we can actually cover, just because of what we do and what our style is.

Are there any artists in electronic music who have influenced your sound?
Jill: The thing about our music is, we are not just under one genre. We are just pioneers of creating this new kind of sound that doesn’t fall under a category, necessarily.
Julia: All of these different genres contribute to having your own sound. We were exposed to so much, and we grew up loving music; I think that comes across in our music.

In addition to music, Life Is Beautiful is about food, learning and art. Is there a piece of art or a certain artist that speaks to you?
Julia: We are a little biased because as musicians, we tend to lean more toward the music aspect of the festival. But the downtown community here really embraces all those things you mentioned; it’s all a part of the community, and it contributes in itself toward one central idea.

Who on the Life Is Beautiful 2015 lineup is a big influence on your career?
Jill: I love Imagine Dragons. I love what they say in their songs, and I think when I was younger, it meant something different to me. As I’ve matured, it’s grown to mean something even more.
Julia: I grew up listening to the Killers a lot, so the fact that Brandon Flowers is here today and I get to see him play as a solo artist, I’m really excited about that.

When you’re in the studio or writing music and you hit a creative block, what food is your go-to cure?
Jill: I love broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Everyone gives me crap for it.
Julia: Chicken wings and ranch.

What lesson do you want people to learn from your music?
Jill: Just be willing to be open, not seeing things as black and white. Just looking at us, we were pigeonholed in a way… We’re trying to get across that you’re so much more than how you look.
Julia: I hope that when people see us and listen to our music, they connect with it on an emotional level, as well as a creative level, too, so they know where we’re coming from. That’s why we always wear black: because for us, it’s always been about the music. We don’t want people to be distracted by our outfits or our hair or makeup.

Follow Jill & Julia on Facebook | Twitter

The Green

Name: JP Kennedy
Hometown: Hawaii
Genre: Reggae

What’s your earliest memory of electronic music?
When we were in high school, we used to put on some raves—the whole underground scene—people show up, the masses come out. Alice Deejay was one of the first jams I used to rock back in the day.

Who/what are some of the electronic artists or albums that speak to you?
We’re big fans of Skrillex because he’s a musician that’s doing the whole DJ/producing. We’re big fans of Major Lazer and Diplo. We put out our roots reggae music, which coincides with dubstep, so we’re big fans of hard-ass music.

Are there any artists in electronic music who have influenced your sound?
Not too much the band’s sound, because we’re very much reggae heads that are following the formula of traditional reggae. But we do a lot of stuff outside of the Green that we write or produce for other people, so we’re doing EDM-type shit just to expand the network.

In addition to music, Life Is Beautiful is about food, learning and art. Is there a piece of art or a certain artist that speaks to you?
[I’m a part of] POW! WOW! out of Hawaii. Kamea Hadar and Jasper Wong are the two founders. Kamea is my classmate from when we were five years old. He does all of the Green’s cover art, so he’s pretty much become the Green’s favorite artist. He keeps a lot of things consistent, and he really has a story to everything.

Who on the Life Is Beautiful 2015 lineup is a big influence on your career?
Major Lazer. Recently, we’ve been getting down with Hozier. We’re fans of Kendrick. We’re fans of a lot of those artists. I don’t know if you could say they’re an influence yet, because we’re new fans to them, but they’ll probably influence [artists] coming up.

When you’re in the studio or writing music and you hit a creative block, what food is your go-to cure?
Probably a good beef stew. I don’t know if it’s traditional Hawaiian.

What lesson do you want people to learn from your music?
Follow your heart, and do what you feel inside, and try to be kind.

Follow the Green on Facebook | Twitter
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