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Interview with co-founder Brett Ballou
Anyone who follows the electronic music scene or frequents the biggest parties in Southern California will know who B3Cande is. I have been fortunate to know the founders, Brett Ballou, Brian Alper and Brock Anderson for the past 7 years and feel privileged to be able to introduce them to our PubDistrict readers. And for those who have never heard of B3Cande, they are the production team behind the party “How Sweet It Is (HSII)” at the Shrine Auditorium back in March 2008. The party featured performances by headliners ATB, Donald Glaude, Charles Feelgood, Jason Blakemore and others to a sell out audience of 5000 people.
Co-founder Brett Ballou was born and raised in Huntington Beach, California. He started going to parties back in 1988-89 to events like “Sketch Pad”, “Under the Paw Paw Patch” and clubs like “Happy Wednesdays” at the Redondo Beach Pier which eventually turned into the legendary club night “Magic Wednesdays” by Eli Star. Brett then moved to Hawaii for a few years to pursue his other passion, surfing. Brett remained active in the scene coming back to the mainland to party during the summer season. When Brett finally came back for good, he started going out to all the good parties like “F.A.M.I.L.Y”, “Love”, and “Unlock the House” by Doc Martin. That is where Brett met Brian Alper (who he sometimes surfed with but didn't really know) and they both began to go out at least 2-4 times a week to dance. They were later joined by their third partner, Brock Anderson, who was already a friend and part of the crew.
So how did it all start? Well, at that time the trio was a little frustrated that a lot of parties weren't as good as some of the others. So, they decided to throw their own party and launch their new company called “B3Cande”. Their first party was called, "Good N Fruite" featuring the legendary DJ from the Brooklyn underground, Frankie Bones. The party was a huge success, attracting an audience of 2,500 people to the National Orange Show in San Bernardino. The rest is history.
PD: B3 Cande has been there since the beginning of the electronic music scene can you give us a feel for what it was like back then compared to now? BB: Well, back in the 90's it was more about the party (and the vibe associated with it) and not so much about the specific artists involved with the party. It also didn't have so much to do with the genre of the music (techno, trance, house, drum n bass etc). All the DJs played on the same stage with different types of music throughout the night. You could hear hardcore with Ron D Core on the same stage as DJ Dan or Doc Martin playing house. That would never happen these days.
A few other differences are that the party audiences where all ages. You would see forty year olds and sixteen year olds dancing on the same dance floor all night and interacting as well. You still see that now but not as much, and it’s a little more segregated with older crowds in certain rooms and the younger crowd in a different area.
Almost all parties back then went off until 6am but more like 8 or 9am. The sun was up and the DJ was still playing. Now most cities won’t let you go past 4am, so most parties now end at 4am with a possible after-hours going on after the party ends.
There were quite a few parties that were illegal too, where the promoters were breaking into warehouses and holding there event until the cops showed up. This made for some excitement because you knew you were getting away with something that you weren't supposed to. It really started to suck when most of the parties wouldn't make it past 3am. So, promoters like us started to do it the right way. We started to communicate with the authorities and getting their support so the show would go all night.
Like I said earlier, the party was the pull. Now the DJs are the stars and they are making 30-40 times more in DJ fees than from back then and they demand all kinds of things that superstars are getting. A DJ like Mark Farina might have cost $400 for us back then and now he is at least $8000 including first class flights and hotel. Things have changed but it’s still great because people are enjoying dancing all night and still coming out in big numbers.
BB: I think the scene went into hiatus for awhile because a few larger events like “How Sweet It Is2002” and “Jujubeats 2001” were both cancelled due to the authorities coming in illegally, pulling our permits and shutting our party down. It happened to a few other promoters as well and the kids started getting bummed not knowing if they just bought a $50 ticket to a party that may not happen.
Another thing is that everything goes in a cycle and with music it’s the same way. People had these attitudes in 2002-2005 that they "been there, done that"; it just didn't seem exciting to certain people anymore. So, things slowed down a bit. But, with all that being said, the scene is growing again and tons of new people are going out every weekend. It's now cool again to go out to parties and dance to your favorite music all night long. This year’s “Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC)” should get around 30,000 people and for next year’s HSII at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, we are shooting for 35,000 people which would be close to our largest attended event since 2001.
BB: You know, that is a really good question. Those DJs like Sneak, Doc, Feelgood, etc., are real DJs who were booked because they could work records over really well and get the crowd going (without their own produced music). These days if you want to break through, you can’t just be a good DJ. You must produce music and have other DJs play the shit out of the songs so that the promoters and their guests will want to see you play. I'll say that in the deep house genre, Wally Callerio is starting to get HOT all around the U.S. and playing with the likes of Derrick Carter, DJ Sneak and Mark Farina all over the nation.
Also, now the music is segregated into electro, house, trance, progressive, d n b, etc. So, certain DJs are hot within their crowd but other kids might not even know who “Digitalism” is if they are not into electro. So, it depends on where you are to decide who is going to be hot. But obviously right now electro is hot so DJs and acts such as “Boys Noise”, “Digitalism” and “Justice” are definitely hot for the time being.
A few things make it compatible, the track usually has some sort of broken beat and all hip hop heads have always liked that vibe (that’s why they like drum n bass too). Electro is a pretty raw and sexy sounding music, which could be why too. But, basically it’s just a cool sound that is different from what they are use to listening too. So, it's new.
BB: I do see it continuing. Most people go out because they have a favorite DJ or promoter that they like and want to be at that party to dance all night long where ever that DJ or promoter is throwing a party.
Yes, this music is getting more commercialized and every year you have a new "What’s hot" and that is electro right now. But that will not affect the hardcore people that like to go out to what they think is the underground. Electro may last and it may not. But, parties with DJs playing dance music will probably never die and House will never die. Some music is just part of a fad.
Right now the parties are getting bigger again. I'm predicting some seriously big parties coming up in the 30,000 people range. Just like in the late 90's, early 2000's. The Big 3 promoters in So-Cal are starting to step it up again and we are all trying to out do ourselves this time. B3, Go Ventures and Insomniac are all shooting for 30,000+ people parties this year and that always makes for a ton of new people going out and the scene thriving. I'm hoping that is what happens and I think it will.
BB: We are actively looking for an outdoor venue for Jujubeats. Once we secure it, we will be planning a Jujubeats for August of 2008 for about 15,000 people. The party might actually be in O.C, instead of L.A., this year. B3 might also re-start Swank on Wednesday nights in L.A. with headlining DJs weekly. Swank was and still is the original club that brought real house music DJs to Orange County on a weekly basis. Other clubs boast of there greatness for bringing DJs like Doc Martin to OC, but we were doing it for years, long before any of these other promoters were.
BB: Right now, the hottest club in L.A is Vanguard. You can go to Giant on Saturdays and see DJs like Paul Van Dyke and Deep Dish. You can also stop in on Sundays to Deep and see Mark Farina, Miguel Migs, and Marques Wyatt.
In O.C. you can obviously go to Focus Tuesdays and listen to house music and see the occasional superstar DJ as well. Detroit Bar, with Danny Love, on Fridays are always fun and you can catch some great DJs, including myself, DJing there every once in awhile.
Our website is www.how-sweet.com and there will be more to come very soon.
VIDEO 1 – How Sweet It Is back in the 90’s
VIDEO 2 - VIDEO 2 – ATB at How Sweet It Is 2008
VIDEO 2 - VIDEO 2 – ATB at How Sweet It Is 2008
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