“”Generally if people go out to listen to music, if they’re going to leave the cocoon of their homes, you want an experience where you can release tension, you can dance, you can have a good day,”” said Corbin Dooley, music artist and CEO of BikiniWax, Inc. Tucson’s second Dub Crawl, which will take the major venues of downtown Tucson by storm on Friday, promises to be that experience. The electronic music festival has an impressive lineup, featuring artists from across the country on indoor and outdoor stages at Hotel Congress and Maynard’s.
The genres of electronic music are versatile and varied and are sometimes difficult for an untrained ear to discern. Electronic artists speak in code: dub-step, drum’n’bass, house, dance. But the riffs and catches that range throughout the styles are unmistakable. “”It has an aesthetic that’s going to be uniform throughout a lot of house music, it’s going to go boom, boom, boom and be mixable on that level by the DJ or anybody else,”” said Chuck Love, a performer and DJ from Minneapolis who will be performing Friday on Hotel Congress’ main stage. “”In a way that’s kind of freeing because you know that’s going to be the chassis that the whole night rides upon, and beyond that, really, there are no other rules,”” he said.
The Dub Crawl artists come from wide-ranging backgrounds with unique sounds and setups. Love came to DJ on a winding path through the music industry. He has been in numerous rock bands and done some producing and incorporates guitar, flute, and some hand percussion into his performances. “”I support my own productions in sort of an extreme karaoke style,”” he said.
Artist KJ Sawka also runs his own show. If the phrase “”one-man band”” were ever applicable, this would be a case. A drummer since he was 11 years old, Sawka discovered electronic music in the midst of Seattle’s grunge-rock craze and never looked back. “”I completely stopped listening to rock and funk and metal and the other stuff I was into at the time, I was just totally engulfed in electronic music,”” he said. He uses his history as a drummer as the foundation of his performances. Sawka triggers everything, including his drum’n’bass beats, vocals, stage lights and video clips from his drum set.
While this is only the second Dub Crawl to take place, PHAT entertainment and Blend Events have drawn some impressive and unique talent and look toward drawing a crowd to match this year. Dooley said that the Tucson’s music scene has been blessed because “”at the front of Hotel Congress, the Rialto and Plush, there are people who are musicians or who relate very well to musicians … and they get it, which is very unique and wonderful for a town.””
Those who aren’t familiar with or aren’t sure they like electronic music should “”show up with an open mind and be ready for an uplifting feel-good experience,”” said Love.
