Like a caterpillar preparing for its radical metamorphosis, I devoured 2018 with zeal. Over four hundred twenty singing telegrams were delivered via my singing telegram agency this year, the majority of which I personally performed (though mad love to my whole roster). I entertained in China for the first time (then returned a mere six months later), visited the Indonesian island of Bali and finalized my upcoming single “Butterflies” at Colorado’s Grammy-winning Airshow Mastering. Below is a smattering of highlights (words and images) cherry-picked from a bliss-filled year of playing dress up, enabling joy through music and hopscotching around Earth's curvaceous body.
Bathing elephants at Thailand elephant sanctuary
Booking world-famous belly dancer Sadie for a holiday samba gig
Carving Godzilla-shaped “Orangami” for fellow performers in Tokyo
Celebrating ten years of performing with world-renowned music promoter Insomniac Events
Character performance at Colorado’s legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater for Seven Lions
Climbing Sticky Waterfall near Chiang Mai, Thailand
Clowning on stilts in China (twice) and Japan
Dancing on stilts at Washington state's stunning Gorge Amphitheatre for Paradiso Festival
Delivering singing resume to iHeartMedia office on behalf of creative job applicant
Driving camper van to California's Lightning in a Bottle festival with Suze Q
Experiencing Fungineers' Ice Cream Truck show with Alexandria Baker
Exploring bioluminescence exhibit at Denver Museum of Nature & Science with my nephew Kai
Filming EDC China trailer on seventh floor balcony of Shanghai's W Hotel
Facilitating 420 plus singing telegrams through my singing telegram agency:)
Finalizing my upcoming single “Butterflies” at Colorado’s Grammy-winning Airshow Mastering
Floating above the heads of Mexico City festival goers as a stilt-elevated fish
Greeting Denver Dia de los Muertos revelers - on stilts - at Los Muertos Fantasticos
Hovering six to eight feet above Bali’s Tanjung Benoa Bay on a water-propelled Flyboard
Impersonating Hunter S. Thompson at Cannabition Cannabis Museum in Vegas
Impressing Insomniac CEO Pasquale Rotella on the dance floor with Angelique
Imbibing bug bites in a cave restaurant near Mexican pyramid complex Teotihuacan
Imbibing dragonfruit in both Bali and China
Insomniac Thanksgiving banquet at China’s Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
Landing the cover of The Vail Daily as a stilt-enhanced Uncle Sam
Meeting Portland singing telegram / stilt performer / kindred spirit Jon Dutch in Aspen
Musically ambushing Fox 21 news anchors as singer Barry Manilow
Musically ambushing 9 News anchor Liz Kotalik as Cupid
Nicknaming Mexico's Chichen Itza Mayan ruins “Chicken Pizza”
Organizing nine singing telegrams in a single night for Colorado chapter of Young Presidents
Parasailing above Patong Beach in Thailand
People watching at Lefthand Brewery's voodoo-themed Nitro Fest
Playing EDM Unplugged in VIP speakeasy at Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas
Practicing AcroYoga with my Flight Club family
Pretending to defecate on the dance floor at Bassnectar with Michelle
Rapping Cypress Hill at AEG Live Rocky Mountain offices as a tutu-clad gorilla
Seeing both Janelle Monae and Lauryn Hill live in concert
Singing Janelle Monae's “Yoga” for Buti yoga teacher Ashton August and her class
Shooting “Butterflies” imagery with longtime photographer friend Jonathan Shoup
Snorkeling in both Bali and Mexico
Taking my four-legged stilt unicorn on the road with Unicorn Whisperer Anastasia
Terrifying Escape Halloween haunted house visitors as faceless giant Slender Man
Three person ukulele jam session on The Great Wall of China
Winning Temple Nightclub's $500 Halloween costume contest with Future
Zip-lining through the jungle at Tarzan Adventure Phuket in Thailand
Follow along with future adventures via Instagram
The 2018 edition of Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas will mark my tenth straight year performing for global EDM promoter Insomniac Events. In 2009, Insomniac Entertainment Director MsEasy invited me to join her team of Murder and Rodeo Clowns at the LA Coliseum for EDC’s flagship L.A. incarnation, and I've been involved ever since. I've inhabited a menagerie of characters in the past decade, in far flung locales including Brazil, China, India, Japan, London, Mexico, Puerto Rico and all over the U.S. Below is a laundry list of highlights to date (plus a special announcement about my role in this year’s tentpole event):
Being summoned to Insomniac CEO Pasquale Rotella's Park City VIP table as he was telling wife Holly Madison about my orange peel sculptures
Buzzing over Headliner heads as a giant purple bee
Careening around on jumping stilts as a florescent orange Furbie
Channeling Jimi Hendrix as a ukulele-playing, stilt-enhanced Marching Band Clown
Chauffeuring New Yorkers and Bay Area residents around in pedicabs and lady bug golf carts
Clowning around onstage with skateboard-riding members of LMFAO in Seattle
Dragon Knights stilt performers straddling the saddle of my four-legged stilt unicorn
Entertaining Pasquale’s daughter Rainbow with my Beanie Baby stilt pants at Sundance premiere
Filming EDC China trailer footage on the seventh floor balcony of Shanghai's W Hotel
Flailing the abnormally long slinky-like arms of Wildchild World's Slinky Stilts costume
Frolicking around Electric Forest as an ukulele-playing, jumping stilt-enabled Pan
Galloping over Forest family as a nine-foot tall, four-legged stilt zebra
Getting high fived by Pasquale after dancing EDC Brazil main stage as a Bee Boy
Having my balloon headpiece popped from behind by a confetti canon at Electric Forest
Hosting EDC Town Post Office as a Hunter S. Thompson-inspired Postmaster
Hugging Orlando attendees as a walking stuffed animal-esque pink octopus
Interviewing Pasquale, MsEasy and Insomniac Creative Director Bunny Eachon for Vegas Seven Magazine
Lassoing unsuspecting Headliners from atop stilts as a Rodeo Clown
Nodding off atop stilts in India
Orchestrating a main stage crowd-blanketing spiderweb in London
Partying at Insomniac HQ with my beloved fellow Insomniac Entertainers
Personifying Super Mario on jumping stilts at Electric Forest
Piloting an inflatable dinosaur in Puerto Rico
Pole vaulting over festie besties as a four-legged stilt tree
Providing a mobile backdrop for the Red Queen and her royal entourage as a four-legged rosebush
Puffing on a hookah and reciting nonsense as a giant foam caterpillar
Roller skating with the EDC Roller Girls
Scaring the bejesus out of EDC LA patrons as an axe-wielding Murder Clown
Serenading a VIP stranger with my original song "Butterflies" during main stage set break in Mexico
Squirting Bunny with my enema as forearm crutch-assisted Stilt Grandpa
Stilting in the sand at EDC Japan’s beach stage
Swallowing unsuspecting Headliner heads as a Muppet-inspired stilt fish
Tapping Halloweeners on the shoulder with my bony, animatronic Stilt Witch hands
Terrifying Escape patrons from my antique wheelchair as a Psych Patient
Wearing prosthetic rabbit mask and fur pants on jumping stilts
Though I've been singing and playing ukulele as a stilt clown for years, not to mention leading performer shuttle sing-alongs, I'd never gotten booked to perform amplified music at an Insomniac event – until now. I'm beyond ecstatic to announce that I'll be playing EDM unplugged in a VIP speakeasy called The Blind Owl at EDC Vegas 2018. Brace yourself for acoustic renditions of hits from Avicii, Benny Benassi, Black Eyed Peas, Calvin Harris, Daft Punk, David Guetta, Disclosure, Moby and Zedd. My set times for each night are as follows:
Friday: 9 pm - 12 am - 3 am
Saturday: 8 pm - 11 pm - 2 am
Sunday: 10 pm - 1 am - 4 am
Click on the gallery below to see more images from my Insomniac tenure. And see you under the Electric Sky:)
VISIT SITE
Water is your friend. Especially when you're dancing for hours on end in desert heat. But it's not uncommon for EDC attendees to neglect hydration amidst the deluge of sensory overload that is Electric Daisy Carnival. Fortunately, Laura Newton and her Ground Control minions have your back.
“We like to make it rain free water,” says Newton. “Last year, it was 114 degrees. They're in Vegas. I can't imagine they're eating healthy and staying sober in their hotels. They're partying beforehand. They're going to pool parties, and being in the sun dehydrates you. And then dancing for hours.”
CONTINUE READING
I'm an Electric Daisy carny. That's the opening line of a song I penned on the flight to London last year for the inaugural UK edition of Electric Daisy Carnival. And it's true. I've been entertaining EDC festies since 2009, when the main event still took place at the LA Coliseum. From Chicago to Puerto Rico, I've performed in every market the EDM carnival has transpired in. How could I skip EDC's first trip across the pond?
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