The Event Center at San Jose State welcomed Bassnectar back to the stage over the weekend for a return to his old stomping ground.

The bass music producer was raised in San Jose before becoming a fixture at Burning Man and rising to become an internationally known leader in the EDM scene.

Photos by Metro photographer Geoffrey Smith II.

As Bassnectar, Lorin Ashton produces in an amorphous style with signature bass drops, rhythmic tempo ranges and a genre-bending blend of dubstep, hip-hop and metal, inspired in part by his formative years in San Jose‘s heavy metal scene.

Since emerging as a popular DJ at Burning Man, the producer has gone on to perform at most major festivals in the U.S. and overseas. He has built a reputation as a leader in the bass scene with a history of sold-out performances at a variety of worldwide venues. He returns to San Jose on Sept. 21 for a hometown show at the Event Center at San Jose State University.

We talked with him about the explosive growth of dance music, drugs at dance music events and the idea of music as a community experience.

Dance music has witnessed explosive growth over the last few years. Do you think the audience is continuing to grow?

I’m not too sure. I’ve been kind of having my head down working nonstop for so long that I don’t really even like commenting on the current state of affairs—party because I feel like very much an outsider in EDM, and that’s by choice.

My natural interests seem to waiver outside the rules of the current trends. I’m so much more interested in my personal fan base, working with the musical ideas I have and creating the tours to be the best they can be. I’m not too sure about modern music outside of that.

Where do you see your music going next?

I just feel like it’s going to continue for as long as I can. Doing my thing, letting that really unfold in honest and organic ways. Currently that’s meant working nonstop and creating music for my live show.
This fall, we’re unveiling for the first time ever what we call the UNS or the “ultimate nerd server.” It is the most robust and insane video system that I am aware of in existence in terms of allowing me to sync every single sound or song in my set to a corresponding video clip and to combine them together in an immediate and completely live way.
Most DJs spin their whole sets with their hands in the air congratulating themselves while a CD player plays their set for them. I’m doing the opposite of that musically, becoming fully involved and immersed in the flow of the set.

Dance music for years has been about creating a community experience. Do you get a sense that there is more or less of a community as the genre expands?

For me, I’m interested in community as 50 percent of my art form. The idea is really to conjure the feeling that I felt as I kid at my first shows or raves and bring that new experience into new rooms and into peoples’ lives.
I didn’t know what to expect the last time we played in San Jose. I don’t think I had ever played in San Jose before. I never thought that room at San Jose State University would work for a Bassnectar show. It was definitely not only one of the top shows of the year for me, it’s one of my favorite venues in the country now.

While other festivals or shows seem to be having a lot of problems with drug overdoses and bad behavior, we had the head of security and production at San Jose State writing us a letter thanking us for having one of the best fan bases and crews they had ever worked with.

The misunderstanding of any form of music about drug abuse is something that I think is always debated, but certainly for me, [I’ve had] such an immersive music career and musical experiences of my own without being high on any kind of drug. I see that the same thing is true for so many friends and fans. I’m really excited about the idea that people can enjoy music and go just as far and deep into an experience while also really prioritizing their health and their safety.

To me that doesn’t sound tame or boring. It’s not like, “Oh, this is music light because we don’t use drugs.” It actually allows for a deeper experience because you can interact with each moment on a fuller level and remember what happened. That part of the community that does prioritize health reminds me of the ’80s and ’90s straight-edge scene in the punk-rock world and death metal world. It was the most hardcore looking and acting individuals with an “X” on their hands to signify “I’m not fucked up and still enjoying this music.” It really inspires me.

I’m all about creativity and going fucking wild, but as you go buck wild, doing it in a way that honors your nervous system because you’ve only got one.

What influenced you to incorporate charitable causes and philanthropy in your music career?

I’m just so grateful for everything that I have in my life and everything I’ve been given that I just honestly enjoying giving things back. It’s a natural reflex for me and it’s how I convey my awe of life and the world around me. I love to encourage other people to do that in any way they can. Giving $1 for every Bassnectar ticket for every show of mine is something I’ve been doing for as long as I have been doing Bassnectar shows. The other part is allowing people to get interactive and making people aware of community organizations that actually work around the clock to benefit their lives, family and friends and giving them a chance to support those organizations.

We have multiple causes, but the three that I’m kind of focusing on for the fall [are] basically net neutrality and the importance of keeping the Internet a free and easily accessible space for everyone. This is an issue that affects 8-year-olds up to 80-year-olds. It’s about freedom of information, the right to privacy and use of an Internet that is the least corporately controlled and censored as possible.

Another one of the issues is mental health. It’s more about people who may feel lost, confused, depressed or suicidal and or emotionally overwhelmed and don’t know who to turn to and providing them opportunities to seek guidance and counseling to avoid suicide, self-abuse and to help them find their way to plug into life. The third is somehow contributing towards universal health care—free clinics that provide healthcare to the economically disadvantaged.

Early on, you were associated with parties at Burning Man. Did you go this year?

I’ve been to 12, but I haven’t been in three years. I may go back again, but it’s like anything that you’ve done 12 times—there’s only so many times you need to do something. I just felt very thankful for the experiences that I had there, but these days I can barely keep up with my own schedule.

It served its place for me back in the mid ’90s. It was a really important part of my life. At that time, there were few other chances to interact musically and culturally with freaks from all around the country. I think it’s a great thing and I hope people have fun out there.

Your live music trajectory started by playing at Santa Cruz classrooms and forest raves, then San Francisco house parties, now to Coachella, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands and Electric Daisy Carnival. What’s left on your list for venues to conquer?

It’s funny you said that last word because I do feel that in any kind of career and business, whether it’s a business career or artistic, is in some ways about conquering, even in achieving goals. I don’t feel any urge toward that, but I feel the same strength and ambition to thrive that I’ve always felt.

My focus is to strengthen and nurture what I have been creating. I’m more interested in enjoying it and enjoying the special and magical rather than the size of it. Things may grow or increase; it will be a natural progression. I’m just really focused on sustaining the most special and magical things about the Bassnectar shows.

Do you get to spend much time in San Francisco or San Jose? Where are we most likely to find you on a day off?

That would be the last secret I would divulge. I will just say that I’ve got a never-ending love for the Bay Area both as a musical hub to play at and a perfect place to enjoy living.

The concert schedule this fall is full of annual favorites, a few new surprises and Silicon Valley’s first large-scale mult-day technology conference and music festival.

VivaFest!
Aug 31 to Sep 28, Downtown San Jose; prices vary.
The 22nd annual celebration of mariachis and Mexican culture wraps up Sept. 28 with an evening of Latin alternative music from both sides of the border. Headliners Kinky leaped into international fame with their self-titled 2002 debut that jumbled funky electronica with guitar rock and traditional sounds from their native Monterrey, Mexico. Four albums later, they remain true to their name, joyously throwing kinks into the pop music machine. Filling out the bill is Carla Morrison, whose latest release, “DŽjenme Llorar (Let Me Cry),” was nominated for four Latin Grammys. Her dreamy and spare sonic landscapes that recall Mazzy Star and the Cowboy Junkies will seem immediately familiar to any indie fan. The L.A.-based sextet La Santa Cecilia spans traditional forms of Latin music—cumbia, bossa nova, tango—to produce music that is at turns haunting and rousing, and the Mexican-American collaborative Sistema Bomb gives a hip-hop remix to the traditional music of Veracruz. The month-long ÁVivaFest! will also present music and dance workshops, a film series, free outdoor music and other cultural events throughout downtown San Jose. (Richard Faulk)

Uproar Festival
Sep 11, Shoreline Amphitheatre; tickets start at $20.
Grunge veterans Alice in Chains and Lollapalooza founders Jane’s Addiction—can it really be 25 years since Nothing’s Shocking dropped?—headline the main stage at Uproar, which also features two other stages loaded with hard rock bands. Elsewhere, Toronto rocker Darko Jones channels David Lee Roth’s inner clown while serving up an eclectic set that cites everything from ’70s power pop to Scandinavian death metal. On the indie side of the genre, Beware of Darkness blasts Stooges-like freakouts, while traditionalists will enjoy the way Dead Daisies delivers straightforward, feel good rock & roll. But the true rock cognoscenti won’t want to miss second stage headliners Walking Papers. With ties both to grunge grandfathers Screaming Trees and Pearl Jam as well as Guns ‘N’ Roses, this Seattle outfit combines the swagger of Aerosmith with the brooding sounds and stories of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. (RF)

Rock The Bells
Sep 14-15, Shoreline Amphitheatre; tickets start at $65.50.
Hip-hop’s answer to Coachella celebrates its 10th anniversary at Shoreline Amphitheatre this year with two different lineups over two days and the festival’s most controversial move to date—virtual performances from deceased rappers Eazy E (N.W.A.) and Ol’ Dirty Bastard (Wu-Tang Clan) performing with their former crews. Other highlights include Too Short and E-40’s first Shoreline performance since 2004 (they were reportedly banned from the venue after a KMEL Summer Jam went sideways that year), A$AP Mob, Kid Cudi, Girl Talk, Juicy J, Deltron 3030, Trinidad James and many more. Check back for more details and interviews with the team behind the virtual performances in the Sep 11 issue of Metro. (Matt Crawford)

Swingin’ Utters
Sep 20, the Blank Club, $13.
San Francisco punk rockers the Swingin’ Utters are finally back with a new album. The band hits the road with the Dropkick Murphys this fall in support of Poorly Formed, finishing Sep 20 with a headlining gig at the Blank Club without the Murphys. The new album ventures into post-punk and garage rock territory, though the usual Swinging Utters’ punk sound with Irish-folk subtleties remains intact. (Stephen Layton)

Bassnectar
Sep 21, Event Center at San Jose State University, $35
Fans of the DJ and producer dub themselves “Bassheads” and it’ll come as no surprise that they like bass. Lorin Ashton, the San Jose native behind Bassnectar, is more than happy to provide. He’s grown from working local parties and Burning Man to become a leader in America’s still-growing EDM scene. Side one of his most recent Immersive Music mixtape contains a remix of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good,” alongside a remix of obscure Portland prog/folk/metal band Agalloch. His original material blends genres as well, with anything from dubstep and glitch to Ashton’s first love, heavy metal. Side Two of Immersive Music is set to drop in mid-September right before the tour starts, but fans can always expect a trickle of tracks from the prolific producer. (SL)

C2SV Festival
Sep 26-29, downtown San Jose; tickets start at $55
With new venues and restaurants already starting a renaissance for nightlife offerings in downtown San Jose, the C2SV Festival continues forward momentum with four nights of music at 12 venues during one long weekend. Topped by a headlining performance from Iggy and the Stooges at St. James Park, the lineup features San Francisco fuzz rock favorites Thee Oh Sees, modern funk producer and Stones Throw affiliate Dam-Funk, Silicon Valley electro-rockers the Limousines, revolutionary hip-hop from the Coup, LA hardcore vets Off!, alt-rock pioneers the Lemonheads and more than 50 other acts. A tech conference accompanies the festival, with dozens of Silicon Valley CEOs and business leaders at San Jose McEnery Convention Center and a keynote speech from Stooges guitarists James Williamson. (Metro is a sponsor of C2SV)

Conor Oberst
Oct 3, Mountain Winery, $37.50-$47.50
It’s been difficult to keep track of former Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst this summer. In between touring with his newly reunited punk band the Desaparecidos and a couple of shows with his Mystic Valley band, Oberst will be playing some solo shows in California and Nevada, including San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. For his solo appearance at the Mountain Winery in October, the warbly singer will play material from Bright Eyes, Mystic Valley Band and the folk supergroup Monsters of Folk. Oberst’s Saddle Creek label reissued six out-of-print Bright Eyes records last year, and I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning was recently certified gold. Maybe a Bright Eyes reunion should be added to his burgeoning docket as well. (SL)

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
Oct 4-6, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco; Free
The final lineup announcement is still pending, but lineup leaks from Hardly Strictly Bluegrass organizers look promising this year with Santa Cruz trio the Devil Makes Three, Allah-Las, Conor Oberst, Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers among the younger acts on the bill, with HSB vets Boz Scaggs, Chris Isaak, Robert Earl Keen, Bonnie Raitt, Patty Griffin and Natalie Maines rounding out the lineup. With six stages over three days, this free festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park draws more than 500,000 people. (MC)

Paramore
Oct 18, SAP Center, $39.50-$49.50
Paramore will headline the newly renamed SAP Center on Oct 18, supported by Hellogoodbye and Metric. The alt-rock band released its first full-length album in four years in April, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. It is the first album recorded without co-founding members Josh and Zac Farro, guitarist and drummer respectively, who left the band at the end of 2010 with a scathing blog post accusing Paramore of being a “manufactured product of a major label.” Maybe after seven years someone finally decided to break it to them. Paramore has also recently announced a four day cruise/music festival slated to set sail next March, after completion of their international “Self-Titled” tour. The band will be performing on the high seas alongside dozens of other acts including Tegan & Sara. (SL)

Treasure Island Music Festival
Oct 19-20, Treasure Island, $85 and up
An armada of bands, 26 strong, rallies in the middle of San Francisco Bay for this weekend-long festival. Setting the tenor for day one is the twitchy, cerebral, but irresistibly danceable Atoms for Peace. This unlikely super-group pairing of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea is supported by trip-hop pioneer Tricky, whose recent release False Idols is a return to his ’90s peak. Relative youngsters Phantogram fit right in with their menacing and seductive beats, while Little Dragon deliver New Wave neo-soul by way of Sweden. L.A.’s Poolside brings a welcome burst of sunshine with their signature “daytime disco” sounds while Diplo’s Major Lazer plugs in his dancehall sound system. Original loser Beck ushers in day two, featuring the many faces of indie pop, from the trickstery Animal Collective to the smooth rusticity of Lord Huron and the plangent garage rock of Palm Violets. James Blake’s dubstep infused singer-songwriter ballads may be the perfect recipe to soothe a Sunday morning hangover. (RF)

San Jose-raised Bass producer Bassnectar will return for a hometown concert this fall with his “Immersive Music Tour” on September 21 at Events Center at San Jose State University.

“Our goal is to bring you the most immersive Bassnectar experience possible this fall with enhanced production, enhanced ambassador immersion and an alphabet of special effects,” the producer said in an announcement today. “We want to create the ideal atmosphere for people to lose themselves in the depths of music, like a journey to another world.”

Bassnectar last performed at the Events Center on May 5, for a show that quickly sold out.

“I think when people are at a Bassnectar show, there is an atmosphere of abandon that is also supported by an atmosphere of community,” Bassnectar told us in a Metro cover story before that show. “I don’t do drugs, I’m a very health-conscious person. I’ve got a very positive, humanistic type of personality. I’m trying to create an atmosphere where people are safe to go fucking buck wild and crazy for a couple hours. I guess I lead by example.”

Tickets for the concert at the Events Center go on sale July 19 at 10am at the Events Center box office, Ticketmaster or via phone at 800.745.3000. Tickets are $29 for San Jose State University students and $35 general admission. In addition to the San Jose date, Bassnectar performs regionally in Oakland and Reno during the tour.

Tour dates:

9/19 Oakland CA – Fox Theater
9/20 Reno, NV – Reno Events Center
9/21 San Jose, CA – Events Center at San Jose State University
9/26 Fargo, ND – Concert Hall at the Venue
9/27 Lincoln, NE – Pershing Auditorium
9/28 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
9/29 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant *
10/3 Kansas City, MO – The Midland
10/4 Bloomington, IL – US Cellular Coliseum
10/5 Grand Rapids, MI – Deltaplex
10/7 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
10/10 State College, PA – Bryce Jordan Center
10/11 Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
10/12 Montreal, QC – Metropolis
10/24 Charleston, SC – North Charleston Coliseum #
10/25 Asheville, NC – Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit (Bassnectar only)
10/26 Birmingham, AL – Boutwell Auditorium #

* Amp Live instead of Koan Sound
# ill-esha instead of Andreilien

Bessnectar was greeted by a capacity crowd for his homecoming show at the Event Center at San Jose State University. The producer, who was raised in San Jose and attended UC-Santa Cruz before becoming an international figure in electronic music, brought what he calls “omnitempo maximalism” to the venue for one last bash before the campus scales down for the summer term.

Metro photographer Alex Stover caught the action. Bassnectar returns to the stage in Santa Cruz at The Catalyst for another sold out show after city officials there canceled a previously schedule performance at the last-minute due to potential noise issues.

After the last-minute cancelation of the Bassnectar show in Santa Cruz that was scheduled for tomorrow, the EDM producer posted a message on his Facebook page calling city officials “shameful” for they way they treat artists, fans and the music community and announcing two new shows at The Catalyst, May 6 and 7.

From Bassnectar:

“Basically, there is a very vague city ordinance #9.36.010 which
makes it nearly impossible to have a concert at the Civic Center
(unless it is like a gentle jazz show, or a poetry reading). It most
definitely makes it impossible to have a Bassnectar experience, or any
kind of EDM show. Now had they told us this 6 months ago when we
booked the show, that would have been understandable (it still would
have been weird, because we already did one successful show at the
Civic Center, and are not going to play music any louder than last
time) but having this happen so last minute is basically putting us in
a very difficult situation. Now they have told us we will be shut down
if we play at our normal volume (the same volume we played at last
time, and the same volume we play at in cities all across the
country), forcing the show to be cancelled. We offered to start way
earlier than normal, and to have music end by 10pm, and they had zero
interest in finding a solution.”

Santa Cruz Weekly reports that there was an issue with monitoring noise levels at the show, quoting Civic Auditorium manager Andy Botsford: ““He was very firm that he didn’t want to compromise on his artistic integrity,” which could have included a request to turn the music down if it was too loud. It’s unkown why the issue wasn’t resolved between the Civic, the promoter Goldenvoice and Bassnectar’s management when the show was booked several months ago. Civic Auditorium manager Andy Botsford says she got word Monday that the show was cancelled and that talks continued on Tuesday, according to the Santa Cruz Weekly.

In other news, the show in San Jose is now officially sold out, but bleachers were removed to create more floor space. Read the complete message on Bassnectar’s Facebook page.

Apparently, Santa Cruz city officials are unwilling to deal with a little extra bass from San Jose-raised electronic music producer Bassnectar, a former UCSC student scheduled to play a sold-out at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium tomorrow. The show was cancelled today with a two-sentence explanation on the venue website.

“Due to the high volume and intense bass of a Bassnectar show it would be impossible for the show to comply with local sound ordinances. Thank you and please accept our sincerest apologies.” via CityofSantaCruz.com

Fortunately, the Event Center at San Jose State University is better equipped to deal with the extra decibels and the May 5th show there is still scheduled as planned. In fact, a few tickets are left via Ticketmaster for our coastal friends in Santa Cruz who want to make the trip over the hill to catch Bassnectar in his old stomping ground.

For more details on Bassnectar and his San Jose roots, read our feature interview from the latest issue of Metro.

Almost hidden away amid rows of trees, a block from DeAnza Boulevard, the Cupertino Public Library is about as far as one can get from the thousands of screaming, writhing fans at the festivals and stadiums that Bassnectar plays around the country, and the world.

But embossed on the side of the building is the Jorge Luis Borges quote “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” And for Bassnectar, it was. Long before he became one of the most popular and respected DJs in the now-huge Electronic Dance Music (EDM) movement, Bassnectar was a 16-year-old growing up in San Jose, and known only as Lorin Ashton. A burgeoning metal guitarist at the time, he was obsessed with the extreme metal bands in the underground DIY scene centered around the Cupertino Library.

The library was remodeled eight years ago, but in the ’90s, there was a community room in its basement where he and his friends would organize shows, cramming a single setup for all the bands into one corner of a space that could probably hold about 40 people legally. That’s where Ashton got his first taste of the relentless energy that would come to define his performance style.

“I remember my band playing one time, and then after we played, Exhumed played,” Ashton says in an interview from his current home in San Francisco. “They were the San Jose death-metal heroes. They were three or four years older than me, and I looked up to them. They had hair on their arms. They were godly to me. I remember they came on, and at the first strike, the room exploded. Every single one of them, you could just see the muscles tensing in their arms as they played, and in their throats as they sang.”

The body-memory of that moment still echoes today in Ashton’s hair-whipping, sweat-soaked performances. “It really affected me, ’cause it’s how I normally felt. At that age, I needed one of my peers who I looked up to show me that that’s what you do: you let yourself be you.”

Dancing With Myself

For the 34-year-old Ashton, who returns to the South Bay on Saturday, May 5, to perform at the San Jose State University Event Center—as far as he can remember, his first-ever show in his hometown—it’s not just a persona for public consumption.

Somewhere in between Coachella and Burning Man, there’s Lightning in a Bottle. Over Memorial Day weekend from May 24th – 28th, the hills of southern California will host an eclectic gathering of electronic musicians, performance artists, and a whole caravan of the wonderfully weird.

LIB’s relationship with headliners Bassnectar and Glitch Mob goes back to 2007, when the two groups, as well as the festival itself, were finding their footing. This year they’ll celebrate their respective successes – past and present.

While the lineup skews heavily toward dubstep, ‘psybient,’ and electronic fusion, there’s a few unexpected names: Germany’s Apparat, the UK’s Star Slinger and Jesse Rose, and the Bay Area’s own Justin Martin are reason enough to make the trek. And of course, there’s the spectacle alone – where else can you see people emerging from port-a-potties on stilts, performing hula hoop acrobatics, and wielding and wearing all manner of objects, curios, and kaleidoscopic psychedelia?

The action from 2011:

The Do LaB’s Lightning in a Bottle 2011 – Official Video from The Do LaB on Vimeo.

More info and tickets available here.