Rave Promoter Insomniac States it Had Nothing to do With DJ Kaskade's Flash Mob Performance on Hollywood Boulevard

By Dennis Romero Fri., Jul. 29 2011 at 2:55 PM

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Kaskade DJs on the street.

See our Electric Daisy Carnival Experience slideshows on the street action and party action.

The promoter behind Wednesday's screening of Electric Daisy Carnival Experience, its documentary about the controversial rave that moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas following crowd and drug problems last year, says it had nothing to do with a DJ's flash-mob-like performance on Hollywood Boulevard that ended with riot cops sweeping up the street.

Erika Raney, spokeswoman for EDC promoter Insomniac events said, " ... In no way was Insomniac at all aware of - or involved in - the planning of Kaskade's 'block party.'

Raney says the promoter did plan to have performances on the red carpet Wednesday, but a DJ session was not part of the festivities. " ... We did plan for a red-carpet experience that included Cirque du Soleil-type performers signature of our EDC event (to interact with VIPs on the carpet, etc)," she said.

Superstar DJ Kaskade's afternoon tweet about a free block party near Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue before the 7:30 p.m. screening drew about 800 ravers who flooded the intersection after he showed up DJing atop a moving truck equipped with a sound system. Dancers of the kind often employed by Insomniac for its massive raves accompanied the truck.

As ravers flooded the street, police had to shut down Hollywood Boulevard. A group of stubborn DJ fans stood off with officers in riot gear into the night before dispersing after 9 p.m. Cops said a patrol car was damaged by vandals and that rocks and bottles were thrown at them. Video depicts at least one fight breaking out during the ruckus. Three people were arrested.

Invitees were originally told Insomniac was hosting the Grauman's premier of the film, which features Kaskade prominently.

But the venue Supperclub, which we were told is owned by the same folks who own the Chinese Theater, took out the permit for a red-carpet curbside lane-closure. And a permit service source told us that having Kaskade make a grand entrance with music and a truck was planned as early as Wednesday morning.

Michael Duddie, general manager of Supperclub, told the Los Angeles Times that he had booked Kaskade for the premier's after-party at the club that night but did not, in the Times words, "organize his film entrance."

(So who did?).

That claim conflicts with what a Bureau of Street Services spokesman Richard Lee told us, namely that a permit for the red-carpet screening was taken out in the names of Supperclub and Kaskade (actually we were told it was spelled "Cascade").

Our permit services source says the DJ was to be a prominent feature of the event all along.

Supper Club and Insomniac seem to be pointing the finger at Kaskade for what went wrong, specifically at his tweet advertising a free "block party." One commenter at a previous post suggested the stunt was aimed at drumming up support for this year's DJ Magazine Top 100 DJs online poll, which recently launched.

Perhaps. This much is clear to us: A-list DJs don't often rent their own trucks, set up their own sound systems or hire their own dancers.

Insomniac came under fire after last year's 160,000 strong rave at the Coliseum after a 15-year-old attendee who had taken ecstasy died of an overdose. While the public Coliseum Commission had indicated it won't support EDC's return, Insomniac honcho Pasquale Rotella has said he wants to come back.

LAPD detectives are investigating what led up to Wednesday's events.

[Added]: Kaskade tweeted these sentiments Friday afternoon:

I am in this really weird spot between sad and pissed off. #fortherecord - I had the permits.

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]

Tags:

ecstasy, EDC, Electric Daisy Carnival, Hollywood & Highland, Insomniac, Kaskade, LAPD, raves

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Jamestiger

would anyone be on the red carpet for the premiere unless kaskade had the block party idea?

kittypaws

do you seriuosly need to mention that one single person died at EDC 2010 every single times you post about EDC? we get it, you hate EDC , dont throw her death in our faces everytime you talk about a rave, its so rude

Peter Lord

To vote for your Top 100 DJ go to http://www.djmag.com/vote

roman cortez

i'm not surprised but still lost a little faith in Los Angeles's electronic scene knowing Insomniac and Supperclub are totally willing to throw even their main attraction under the bus, I wonder how Kasade will pay for the damages, and i wonder how much Insomniac made at EDC 2011.

that's shifty shifty shit right there...

EGOMANIAC

EDC LOST THIS YEAR THEY NEEDED 240,000 PEOPLE TO BRAKE THEY'RE BUDGET WAS 14 MILLION

PJ Ward-Brown

these are not Real music lovers.

killertv

Unbelievable. This article continues to take circumstantial evidence in an accusatory tone.

"Dancers accompanied the truck" "...hire their own dancers" PLEASE have some integrity. The dancers were obviously hired for the film premiere - why do you keep insisting that they were hired for the block party? Insomniac has said EDC characters would be there and they are EDC characters. Shocking that dancers would be drawn to music! I guess it's so rare to see people in costume in front of Grauman's!

So whomever did organize the event didn't do it in person otherwise Kaskade would be properly spelled and not phonetically as if registered over the phone. How about a little government office phone records checking? Anyone? Maybe?

Oh, and since Kaskade is the sole person who promoted the block party... does that not make him a promoter? Just because DJs don't usually rent their own equipment doesn't mean that this one who could afford it didn't

Dennis Romero

Killer:

Your thinking is magical.

I was told that performances were planned outside the theater but didn't happen. So if these were EDC dancers, which they certainly appear to be (as noted, and an idea you don't seem to dispute), they just decided on their own to take off a block away from where their workplace was supposed to be, an hour before the screening, and just freelance it in front of a moving DJ truck? Huh. Either they should be commended for their initiative, or fired for leaving work.

killertv

So whomever told you performances didn't happen also told you no one hired for the performances showed? Did you interview a dancer about who hired them? Is it really unheard of that they would be there just one hour before the official red carpet started? I would imagine many red carpet events have mascots there before the VIPs.

The dancers frequently travel around EDC so I don't think them being one block away is really that egregious. I wasn't there but if I called myself a reporter I would at least investigate the facts before reporting conjecture.

EGOMANIAC

this sounds like Insomniacs Pr girl...lmao.... stop lying, insomniac has been involved from the get go, they may have not gone and pulled the permits but being affilatied by arms distance is the same thing, Insomniac Knew damm well about this planned fiasco, but made sure they were distanced if anything went wrong and did.... those dancers were all part of the same gig, they were to follow the dj rig in tho theatre kaskade performs then gets off on the red carpet and goes inside with the dancers ect behind..... killer tv stop hiding behind the keyboard and be real stop defending an obvious short man complex.. the keebler elf syndrome and shit

Killertv

Please read me. I am asserting insomniac hired the dancers for the premiere where you assume kaskade did for the party. There's no strangeness to agreeing they look like edc dancers if my point is they were hired for the edc event not the event that caused problems. How is you asking who hired dancers for the truck NOT conjecture when you continue to refer to only one promoting entity win there were clearly two otherwise pasquelle would've made his premiere

Dennis Romero

Killer:

There's no conjecture here. As I think I told you previously, you really need to learn how to read. What I've said is the dancers are of the type often employed by the promoter, again a fact that you don't seem to dispute, strangely.