Las Vegas is gearing up for the start of Electric Daisy Carnival—the biggest dance music bachannal America has to offer. But that's not till tomorrow. Tonight, the reigning overlord of EDM, Pasquale Rotella, sat in front of a computer to answer your questions on Reddit.I am loving this @reddit_AMA on /r/electronicmusic I'm still answering questions so go to http://t.co/nZFBz9HEvw— Pasquale Rotella (@PasqualeRotella)
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June 20, 2014As the CEO and founder of Insomniac Events, Rotella is perhaps the most powerful man in the EDM industry. He has been organizing EDC since 1997, when the fledgling festival was held in Los Angeles and consisted of one stage, a couple techno DJs, and a sea of JNCO pants. Today, the three-day festival is expected to draw 400,000 people to twelve tricked-out stages filled with headliners like Kaskade, Tiesto, Avicii, and Martin Garrix—plus dozens of carnival rides, fireworks displays, and immersive art installations.Rotella, a former raver who started throwing weekly parties in Los Angeles' warehouses in the 90s, is now a multi-millionaire married to Playboy model Holly Madison. The couple has a young daughter named Rainbow Aurora (seriously). In 2012, Rotella sold a 50% stake in Insomniac to Live Nation for a cool $50 million, and there are now EDCs in London, Puerto Rico and Orlando.
By stepping onto an open, public floor, Rotella opened himself (and us) to conversations that would normally happen behind closed doors—if at all. This was best exemplified when Rotella was forced to answer a question about one of the biggest thorns in his side—the issue of dance music and drug culture. Hundreds of users demanded to know why he won't allow harm-reduction non-profits like DanceSafe to attend his events.Pasqualle finally responded, citing the perception that DanceSafe—who uses "pill testing" as one of their harm-reduction efforts at festivals—promotes or condones the use of drugs.
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Within minutes, DanceSafe joined in the conversation:
To which Pasquale simply responded:
Sorry its taking so long! Want to make sure all my answers are well thought out :)— Pasquale Rotella (@PasqualeRotella)June 20, 2014Other questions were decidedly more lighthearted:
Allowing Rotella to reveal his inner hedonist:
In perhaps the most amazing moment, an old raver friend came out of the woodwork:
We learned that all-trance stages might be in the works for future EDCs:
Yes, of course someone asked him about Rainbow Aurora:
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By stepping onto an open, public floor, Rotella opened himself (and us) to conversations that would normally happen behind closed doors—if at all. This was best exemplified when Rotella was forced to answer a question about one of the biggest thorns in his side—the issue of dance music and drug culture. Hundreds of users demanded to know why he won't allow harm-reduction non-profits like DanceSafe to attend his events.Pasqualle finally responded, citing the perception that DanceSafe—who uses "pill testing" as one of their harm-reduction efforts at festivals—promotes or condones the use of drugs.
