The music genre "dubstep" has been around for more than a decade, but it's only in the last few years that the (usually younger and possibly drug-addled) masses have embraced it. Dubstep is electronic dance music, often including remixes and samples, centering on loud, raunchy basslines and driving drum beats. It's the kind of stuff that vibrates the floor, and your bones, until you either leave the room or head-bang. There is no in-between.
Dubstep will be well-represented at Lolla this year by the seventh name on the line-up, Bassnectar, a.k.a. 34-year-old Californian Lorin Ashton. He's a connecting force between heavy metal -- the inspirational genre of his teenhood -- and electronic rave music, so he knows both raunchy basslines and driving drums. Despite little formal music training, he's gained thousands of fans ("Bass Heads") thanks to a home-grown talent, a few years organizing and later DJing raves all along the California coast, and now three years of constant touring under the alias Bassnectar. He's playing a show at Red Rocks in Colorado in a few weeks that sold out so quickly, they added a second, 10,000-seat show. Get tickets for that or other shows (this summer he's playing Germany, France, and Vegas, among other places) here.
Heartwarmingly, Ashton has made it a point to pay his success forward, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars in ticket sales to charity. He also runs a program he calls "AmBASSadors," featuring teams of volunteers at Bassnectar shows that greet concertgoers and keep everyone hydrated. It's the little things that show you really care, and Ashton has built his career on building community. I'm looking forward to joining the ranks of Bass Heads when he performs at Friday of Lolla at Perry's.
Check out Bassnectar's newest album, Vava Voom, and download the track "Ugly" for free here.
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