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Kaskade and Steve Aoki Join Forces and the Heavens Unleash on IDentity Tour

Kaskade, Steve AokiEyewax

Kaskade has DJ'ed at electronic music hotspots all over the globe, hosted exclusive poolside parties in Vegas, and now he's the de facto ambassador of Identity Festival.

The L.A. DJ/producer is on the road this summer spreading the EDM gospel with the roving U.S. fest which features dance music stars like Skrillex, Disco Biscuits, Rusko, Pete Tong, Modeselektor and more.

"When Identity Festival approached me," Kaskade recently told Spinner, "I felt the time was now and people were ready. With Lady Gaga as big as she is, it seems like part of the sound has crossed over to the mainstream. I knew someone was going to do something like this eventually, and that it was time for someone to get it together."

We asked Kaskade to send us a report from the road to give us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the mega-party that is Identity. Here's his second blog:

Identity hit the East Coast this week, and we received a true East Coast summer welcome, wet and cold, but packed and ready to party! This was the week where everything started to click for Identity. We, as a festival and performers, are really hitting our groove, and the fans and audiences have been amazing.

We started the East Coast swing in DC, the nation's capitol. It was the biggest venue to date, and it was rammed. Looking out while onstage it was a real buzz moment to see a major amphitheater chocked full of people. The excitement was tangible among all the artists, it was why we were all pumped to do this festival from the outset. It was a special show for us all. But as with all these gigs, it was straight off the stage and into the bus...



I'm finally starting to get my daily routine on the bus sorted out. The tour really does seem like a bit of a time warp: everyday I find myself backstage before the show, frantically working to get a couple of new edits finished for that night's gig, I'm not sure where all the hours go. Typically I'm waking up in a new city, in an anonymous hotel parking lot around noon. I check my phone to figure out where I am. I have a couple of hours to shower and freshen up, then over to the venue around 3PM. I have a look at some other acts for an hour, then it's meet and greets and signing with fans. Finally backstage for an hour in the green room before my show. Get done and finished up around midnight, debrief with crew, eat dinner, then back on the bus and off to the next venue around 2AM. Life on the road!

From DC it was onto Philly then Boston before ending up at Jones' Beach NYC on Sunday. Philly was a blast. Steve Aoki and I decided on an impromptu DJ tag-team over Twitter that afternoon. We just turned up on one of the stages and started playing records that we wanted to check out. It was great to see the other artists come by and see what we were up to. I haven't just played other people's records in ages, it was fun to have the chance to mix it up for a change.

Boston was great, packed enormous indoor venue. Show was madness. Signing beforehand was awesome. One of the great things about Identity has been getting to meet so many of the fans in-person. It's a really important element for a show of this size. When I play a 1,500/2,000-person club, I get to know the audience as I can see and touch them I am so close. With Identity, I am playing to 10,000 or more, perched 100 yards away, so I lose some of that connection. The meet and greets help bring that back, so big thanks to the fans for coming -- though I'm sure my autograph gets worse and worse by the minute.

Last night we played Jones Beach. Wow! A huge audience came out, and boy did they brave the elements. Heavens opened at 6PM, rain was lashing down!! I spoke with some of the acts as they finished their afternoon set, they all seemed pumped to be playing early, because they didn't think anyone would last to the night. I did my meet and greet, and everyone looked liked they'd just jumped in a pool, I had to change after soaking myself giving out hugs. Steve Aoki had to cancel his set the rain was so bad, he was super bummed, and I started to fear the worst. I was only allowed to go on with a third of my stage due to the wind. But when I did get on, the crowd, after enduring hours of pouring rain, was so pumped, and it was an amazing vibe. I have to extend a huge thank you to all you guys who stuck around at Jones Beach, and apologize to the City of NY, for all the sick days that must have been taken that following day!

Next up we roll to the South this week -- Atlanta, Tampa, Miami and a double-header in Texas. Hope to see you there!

Watch Steve Aoki Perform at Identity Fest During Heavy Rains


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