The SoCal Rave Scene

Introduction

Southern California has a thriving rave scene. One has all sorts of events to choose from, from small underground events, ranging in sizes of 100-200 people, to the now commonplace massives with 30,000+ attending. Our scene is constantly growing to the point that it attracts mainstream attention. It is quite evident that the music we showcase is much more popular and well heard of than it was before. The media of course will at times focus on the "rave scene", but never in depth, and only to point out the drugs used at "rave parties". Raves mean different things to different people. For some, its a musical experience like no other. For others, no where else do they feel more at home and loved. Other viewpoints exist of course, and when one enters the scene, they develop view of their own. Our scene is thriving.

Music Spotlight

Music plays a big part in a party. Its developed a LOT since house was fully introduced to the world. Before, house was the dominant music and there were many DJ’s that achieved great popularity for spinning house. Now, the focus has shifted off to Trance. Of course Trance has been rather big for a while now, and new forms of Trance have been introduced and well accepted. NU-NRG has really caught on here, and Trance is being incorporated into Drum 'n' Bass even! Bad Company (or )EIB( as they go by now) have bastardized this. Trance is indeed a flagship genre and is what attracts many newcomers to the scene. It has led to much influence in the rave scene. Lots of pop nowadays is using trance to attract a greater spectrum of fans. Other forms of music invade parties as well. House still remains a big part of it, though of course, it has not achieved the poplularity of trance. House has stayed true to its roots and has not changed much from the older day. Well, yess it has, but it still exists in it's pure form. There are of course offshoots of it, but house is still a somewhat pure presence. Garage has come into view from the UK. While many "junglists" may claim garage is a rip-off, its growing and no one really seems to care. Of course, the Drum 'n' Bass scene is also growing. D'n'B is well accepted. Hardcore is also making itself a known presence, if it hasn't already. Stricly jungle or hardcore events are coming out more often, which is nice.

Be Responsible You Freak!

Though are scene is thriving, there is still crap in it. Irresponsibility is mostly the cause of this. Like is said before, the only time the media really focuses on raving is when deaths occur due to irresponsible drug use. Some people don't really take precautions when they drop that pill or whatever it is you do. Be careful out there. Don't lie on the dancefloor either. That's a bunch of monkey jizz. And be nice!

Ideals in the Scene

There is much positivity in the scene, there always has, always will, hopefully. I've always stood up for the scene (or did) because I saw in this something that other people lacked. Many ravers are familiar with the acronym, “PLUR”, which stands for Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect. This has set the scene apart from any other scene in our society. Although there are some who do not practice what they preach, most people try their best to keep these values and spread them around to those who don't know what's up. There are some people that go party not to party, but to "party" (go get E-tarded or whatnot). These are the people the media presents to the world, because the true ravers that attend for the music and vibe, are much more responsible with themselves and know better (or they should). I personally think that's a bunch of crap and it needs to be stopped. We're goin' big and you know it. If we get into the mainstream, may it be with dignity. Wouldn't be nice to be respected for being a party kid? Hell yes it would, not that we don't get respect now, but well, we could be looked up to as a perfect society (well, no, not really, not without God). Southern California has a thriving scene, and we could take it to some really impressive heights. Recently, a common venue for us has been closed, and later this month, another will close. Good? Some think so. Bad? Some think so. Iono, but this is weird. Why is this? Some say f*cked up people, other say it's us. Well, this could just open new doors. This obviously means new venues must be introduced. Thrive scene thrive!

Drug Use in the Scene

There is a biased opinion in out society concerning raves. The majority of the public who has never been to an event or don’t have an interest in going to one thinks of them as a massive drug fest. This is the way the media presents raves to the public, emphasizing the drug use. Not everyone uses drugs. There is no pressure to take drugs at events; no one tries to persuade you into using them. People will respect your decision to remain sober. But yes, some drug use does take place, as in any other scene, such as the club scene, or at a concert. The most common drug is of course ecstacy, but many others such as Ketamine, GHB, and LSD also exist. Ecstacy use is becoming rather common; many people do in fact use it. But recently, those who make ecstacy have been adulterating it, mixing it with other drugs making it much more harmful. Pure MDMA (ecstacy) is hard to come by these days, because they many find it cheaper to add DXM and other adulterants, thereby conserving the MDMA they do have. DXM magnifies side effects such as overheating when one uses ecstacy. If one was in a hot warehouse all night, and took some adulterated ecstacy with DXM one could die of overheating. Normal MDMA does make you overheat, and most deaths due to ecstacy use result from heatstroke, *not* from the drug itself. If one were to use such a drug, it would be wise to know the risks involved and to use it responsibly, which would mean going outdoors when you feel hot, and taking lots of fluids so you can hydrate. DXM makes you overheat much faster than normal MDMA does, and the risks rise with its use. So a key idea when rollin' would be to HYDRATE, drink water and rest if you're sweating a lot. BE SAFE. Some events have a lot of security, which search people before they enter an event. This can be annoying at times but it is quite thoughtful of promoters to do such. This is the responsibility we need to better our scene.

If you are a Southern California resident and you have a genuine interest in the rave scene, you may want to check out SoCal-Raves.org, which has a calendar of events for Southern California.

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This page was made by me, Alex, and is under heavy construction (Or is it?). If you would like to contribute in any way, please feel free to do so and contact me. If you would like to see a link to your page from this site, please contact me to we can work something out. Oh and please feel free to add a link to this page from YOUR page.

Here are some links to a few sites, most dedicated to the "scene" (A word I am deathly tired of using, so someone give me a few ideas for substituting the word "rave scene"), although some are not local (well, the d'n'b ones aren't), but they have links to local sites.