Looking to shake your rump this New Year’s Eve? Then you may want to stay local to ring in 2009. The up-and-coming events production company, Champagne and Bacon, hosts FreQ Nasty, an internationally celebrated DJ, for two dance extravaganzas. He will first perform the Dust Ball, at The Underground in Reno, starting at 11 p.m. Following that he will play the Second Annual Black and White Superball, at The Cal Neva Resort and Casino, at 1:30 a.m. Both New Year’s shows are sure to impress, with each hosting a full line up of other local and regional artists.
This is Champagne and Bacon’s second production with FreQ Nasty, a.k.a. Darin. ‘We brought FreQ to Reno last winter and our experience with him was so positive that we really wanted to have him back,’ said Steve Emmerich, booking agent and owner of Champagne and Bacon. ‘Darin accepting our offer to play, in Reno and Tahoe, shows people on the West Coast, U.S., and world, that our area is a place that will do well on New Year’s.’
FreQ Nasty is a world-renowned break-beat, and beyond, electronica DJ that has produced groundbreaking sounds for partygoers since his teens. Raised in New Zealand, he went to London in the 1980s to find a larger, progressive audience. His sounds became popular in the United Kingdom rave scene in the early ‘90s.
‘I went to the U.K. to find a label. There is a bigger subculture there. In 1992 the whole scene blew up. I’m talking about 25,000 person outdoor raves, which at the time were neither legal nor illegal. That all changed in ’94 when a criminal justice bill passed, putting a stop to raving,’ FreQ Nasty said.
Just the same his career steadily took off around the world as he developed a distinctive variety of bass-driven music, using everything from funk to reggae as influences, while also allowing the times and his current location to influence his sound.
‘I just listen to a lot of music,’ FreQ Nasty said. ‘I love ‘70s and ‘80s dub, electronica, drum and bass, trip-hop, the music of Funkadelic and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry…I play whatever vibe I’m feeling myself.’
Having traveled around the world with countless experiences, FreQ Nasty’s music, production, and ideas have always been forward thinking. ‘I want to see conscious people having a good time, so I can then vibe off the crowd, and give them something they want to hear, give them something new, and some of the old, to please everybody,’ FreQ said.
As his music is progressive, so are his actions. As a co-founder of giveback.net, FreQ Nasty is reaching out to those less fortunate. Giveback.net is a place where musicians, artists, and your average Joe can come together to share ideas by uploading current articles, information, and media from all viewpoints.
‘My travels throughout Asia, and South Africa opened my mind to so much more, seeing the daily life, people living on less than a dollar a day, yet surviving. In the west, even in our worst times, during a recession, we are so fortunate to live the way we do,’ FreQ said. ‘We want to utilize the Internet, using music as our forum, to energize and create positive change in the world. With Giveback we wanted to create a platform for musicians to spread positive actions and consciousness.’
Other artists involved with giveback.net include Michael Franti, BassNectar, and Heavy Weight Dub Champions.
‘Working with Franti on Power to The Peaceful, in San Francisco, this past summer, was great to be a part of, just so many people on the same level,’ FreQ said. ‘Getting together with BassNectar [in support of ‘March to Tibet’] was amazing as well.
We have similar ideas, and we’re proactive. My latest campaign with Heavy Weight Dub Champions has been great too, they’re a great political band who have the capacity to get the word out to a wide audience.’
A New Year’s show of this nature is big for the Tahoe-Truckee area. Steve Emmerich believes the show will invite more music and business to town.
‘It can show other artists that the Reno/Tahoe area is a profitable place to perform, thus people will contact us about playing here,’ he said. ‘We can bring in new artists that we also love but may not have the notoriety that FreQ Nasty does.’
Everyone involved in the celebrations, from the artists to the audience members, are eager, and sure to be energized for the events, with many attendees already purchasing tickets.
‘We’ve had people from all over the United States already purchase tickets as its his first time at the lake, and it’s FreQ Nasty, one of the most reputable producers and DJs in the world. Add to that ana.SIA, Danny Corn, Friction (aka Bass Cadet) and a few of our best local performers, it will be an amazing show,’ Emmerich said.
~ Champagne and Bacon: champagneandbacon.com; FreQ Nasty: FreQnasty.com.
