Matt Oliver / OC Weekly

Steve Aoki with Travis Barker at Beyond Wonderland 2012

This weekend, Insomniac takes its fourth journey down the Alice & Wonderland-themed rabbit hole to Beyond Wonderland Music Festival, held at the San Manuel Amphitheater after the city of San Bernardino complained from previous wonderland events at the NOS Events Center. Don't be fooled by the new location however. If anything, it means a new venue for Insomniac's CEO Pasquale Rotella to curate into a magical world filled with art installations, performers, rides and some of electronic dance music's biggest stars including David Guetta, Steve Angello and Afrojack. For fans excited to roam the hills of the San Manuel Amphitheater and discover its new found home, we have put together a list of five must-see acts amidst all of the heavy dose of spine-rattling basslines.

After falling in love with electro in his native Miami, Eric Estornel began deejaying in the early 90s. Like most EDM enthusiasts he later got into techno and began making house beats in 1996. He moved his family to Dallas where he made a name for himself as a local DJ, but it wasn't until he fled to the European dance music scene that things started to take off for him four years ago. He released an LP on the infamous Crosstown Rebels label and his appeal has since skyrocketed. Tonight, going by his DJ moniker Maceo Plex, the soulful, underground producer is headlining the official Insomniac Beyond Wonderland pre-party alongside Maya Jane Coles at Exchange LA and playing the Crosstown Rebels Rave stage at Beyond Wonderland Saturday only to make his way back to Miami for his Ultra Music Festival debut on Sunday!

Myndset

There are some local artists who are destined for the lime-light, even if Orange County doesn't always have much to offer in that regard. This is something Myndset learned early on in his career as a hip-hop DJ. At the time he went by a different moniker and played every major club in OC feeding the masses their weekly dose of top 40 and hip hop beats. He felt hip hop was getting stale and was drawn by the sounds of electronic music - something that hadn't reached the popularity it has now and which he says "feed his soul." He enrolled in OC Weekly's DJ competition to play at Ultra Music Festival in 2008 and won, landing himself a coveted spot at one of EDM's biggest festivals in the world.

"That was one of the best days of my life and such a cool experience, Myndset says. "I was like it's there for the taking if anyone wants but I can do this. So I practiced the shit out of my routine and brought out all my tricks as a true turntablist." Yet the biggest thing he gained from that experience is that you can make it as a traveling DJ (something he had always dreamed of) and the world was his oyster with hard work and perseverance.

Courtesy of Erica Nusgart Images

Rebecca Scheja & Fiona Fitzpatrick at Escape From Wonderland

See Also:
*Rebecca & Fiona - Dim Mak Studios - 7/12/12
*Richie Hawtin Uses His CNTRL: Beyond EDM Tour to Educate Your Ass, Then Make it Shake
*Top Five Best and Worst Parts of Escape From Wonderland - NOS Events Center - October 27,2012

Rebecca Scheja and Fiona Fitzpatrick are best known for their seductive long eyelashes, sky-high platform shoes and being one of the few electronic dance music female DJ duos out there. What most people don't know is that besides their chic thrift store apparel they are also skilled producers, songwriters and vocalists. With a debut album I Love You Man under their belt and collaborations with artists such as Tiësto and Kaskade the Swedish pair is ready to affirm that they are more than just two "drunk girls" with famous DJ boyfriends.

Rebecca & Fiona have been playing world-class nightclubs and the largest festivals worldwide since forming in 2010. Tomorrow they roll through Exchange LA for Insomniac Event's Inception Saturdays were they will show Angelinos what they are truly made of. We got the pleasure of chatting with the Swedish pair backstage at Escape from Wonderland where we talked about repetitive DJs in EDM today as well as how their current boyfriends are influencing them.

Best known for his roles in the Jay and Silent Bob movies and the endless epic quotes spat out of this fowl little mouth like "Snootchie Bootchies, I am the C.L.I.T. Commander!, and Boo boo kitty fuck," Jason Mewes can be kicked down but he can't be stopped. With a long history of drug use, Jason has overcome and stays on the path of showcasing his skills and his vicious sense of humor. Long gone are his days of Mallrats, Clerks, Dogma, and a bunch more movies that could keep us here all day, but the memories (and the re-watching over and over) of these cult classic we've all grown to know and love will ride or die with us forever.

These days Jason continues to keep it moving with tons of new projects and by co-hosting a wildly popular show with his bestie Kevin Smith aptly called, "Jay and Silent Bob Get Old" on Kevin's Smodcast Internet Radio. Taking the show on the road solidifies the love for Jason's work worldwide and this Friday you'll get to be part of the fun when "Jay and Silent Bob Go Down Under" premieres on EPIX at 10pm (EST). Before all of the shenanigans, laughs, and sex stories that special will be bringing (trust us, we pre-screened it), we got the chance to talk with him to get the scoop on his past, his future, and his ever exciting present.

See Also:
* Hollywood Babble-On with Kevin Smith and Ralph Garmin
*Jay and Silent Bob Get Old
*Kevin Smith Blows His Wad With 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno'

OC Weekly (Ali Lerman): You and Kevin have done so many projects together and are such good friends but be honest, do you ever get sick of each other?

Jason Mewes: No we actually don't. I think because we don't have a normal friendship. We met when I was thirteen and he was like seventeen. Even before the drugs and everything, I always thought he was cool because Kevin has always been a different kind of dude. He was like an older mentor brother. As time went on and I started using drugs, he tried to help me and he's always been trying to help me out. It's just a different relationship with him. It's hard to explain. People have these weird ego confrontation things and we don't have anything like that. We never fight or argue, there is never anything like that going on.

Alejandra Loera / OC Weekly

Danny Johnson, 12th Planet, SPL, Flinch and Drew Best of SMOG Records

The SMOG crew has single handedly helped pioneer the dubstep music movement in Los Angeles and Orange County. Starting as a promotion company to throw dubstep shows at a time when there weren't many places to hear this new sound, Drew Best and Danny Johnson teamed up to create an event called "An Experiment in Dubstep" in downtown LA on August of 2006. Soon this underground dance movement grew exponentially and so did SMOG which became a record label a year later with12th Planet (born John Dadzie) as the main artist and partner.

This weekend SMOG Records celebrates their six year anniversary with artists like Antiserum, Truth, SPL, Noah D, Pawn, Kelly Dean, Steady and more at the The Roxy Friday November 23rd. We met up with Best, Johnson, 12th Planet and Adam Glassco better know as Flinch as well as Sam Pool or SPL as he is known in the bass world, to talk about their incredible success as a record label, artist development hub and lifestyle brand.

See Also:
*Best Record of the Past 12 Months - Flinch's 'Light It Up'
*Rusko Talks About Bringing UK Dubstep to Cali and Shares His New EP for Free
*Turbulence: OC's Latest EDM Experience Moves Into the Observatory, Stages a Takeover

Halloween debauchery gets one more horrifying gasp tomorrow in downtown Los Angeles when the city is swarmed by electronic dance music fans attending HARD Day of the Dead. In an attempt not to compete with the many dance music festivals going on Halloween weekend, the HARD Haunted Halloween Festival has now been transformed into HARD Day of the Dead, or Dia De Los Muertos for you non-gringos. This Latin celebration is usually held on November 1st and 2nd to coincide with the Catholic All Saints Day and All Souls Day in remembrance of those friends and family who have passed. Starting tomorrow afternoon you can expect lots of kids dressed in Day of the Dead get-ups with a lot of face paint and very little clothing. Boasting four different stages, a Ferris Wheel and even a Holy Ship, the HARD brand has really stepped up it's game after being bought by Live Nation. With a stacked line-up featuring Major Lazer, Knife Party, Tommy Trash and more we put together a list of five must see acts you can't forget about under the Los Angeles city skyline and booming beats.

See Also:
*Top Five Best and Worst Parts of Escape From Wonderland - NOS Events Center - October 27,2012
*Major Lazer - The Observatory - October 18, 2012 [with VIDEO]
*Boys Noize Talks New Album, Working With Snoop Dogg and Skrillex

Courtesy of Identity Management Group

Beefam at the Sutra Masquerade

Halloween is less than a week away, but as you know the EDM scene can stretch out a holiday like nobody's business. And with the potential for slutty costumes and thematic whimsey being at an all time high in October, it's obvious that this is one of the biggest party weekends of the year.  No doubt you and your friends have already staked out the parties happening in the most exclusive (i.e. expensive) clubs and events in Los Angeles to San Diego, but why waste your money on gas? You're smarter than that. We broke down a list of the best Halloween parties for our avid electronic music fans right here in Orange County.

See Also:
*Sutra Throws a Seven Day Halloween Party
*Top Five Worst Places to Get Your EDM News
*Slander: Two Former OC Frat Boys Help Take TrapStyle Worldwide

R3HAB---See him at Sutra tonight

See Also:
Top Five Worst Places to Get Your EDM News
Nocturnal Wonderland: Our Recap From A to Z
Identity Management Group and Insomniac Events Create an EDM Power Merger in OC

Halloween is another excuse to dress up as your favorite characters while sneaking in an extra concert, festival or club night of partying to your favorite music. It seems like venues and promoters are using holidays these days to turn it into a week-long of festivities rather than the typical long weekend a la Memorial and Labor Day. Las Vegas has been doing it in the EDM scene and now it looks like OC is following suit. Identity Management has teamed up with Insomniac Events (founders of EDC) and other local promoters to bring you seven days of spooky celebrations at Sutra in Costa Mesa.

Halloween isn't until next Wednesday, but the celebrations begin tonight with a line-up for every night of the week until All Hallows Eve that is sure to satisfy your EDM needs without even having to ponder attending Monster Massive. The posh lounge will be transformed by various haunted themes and fantasies as some of the world's best DJs provide the soundtrack. Even DJ R3hab's Facebook profile picture announces his "USA Halloween Tour" which includes stops in Vegas, Hallofreaknween Festival in Denver and Sutra tonight. R3hab is sure to kick-start the chainsaw madness of hard-hitting electro and progressive house which out-shined Afrojack on many of their tour dates this year. For house addicts tonight will be the perfect rehab as the DJ fittingly born Fadil El Ghoul kicks off the festivities with opening sounds by Adam Auburn & Darwin Paul, Darreen Correa and Audiostache.

Kristina Sky

Kristina Sky sensed that the EDM movement would continue to gain popularity in the states since her early rave days in the 90s. The LA-bred trance artist started off promoting dessert parties before picking up vinyl records and a set of turntables 10 years ago. Today, she DJ's all over the world sharing stages and singles on record labels with idols like Armin Van Buuren and Paul Van Dyk. After playing on New Years Eve for power-house promoters Giant in 2006 alongside Ferry Corsten and Sasha & Digweed, she gained a much sought after residency at Avalon Nightclub in Hollywood and became one of the most in demand female DJ's of the decade. This Friday she comes back to her second home in OC for a headlining show at the Yost Theater in downtown Santa Ana. We spoke to Kristina about getting dragged to her first "rave," being a female in this mostly boys club and playing the ASOT stage at this years Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas.

OC Weekly (Alejandra Loera): Describe to us that moment when you realized dance music and trance in particular spoke to you individually and changed your perspective on EDM.

Kristina Sky: Being a punk and ska girl, I was really resistant to attend my first rave in the early '90s. I got dragged into it by a friend, but soon saw how untrue some of the stigmas were. It was really different from the aggressive punk shows I was used to, filled with mosh pits and such. It was the exact opposite - very friendly, calm and accepting. At the time the music connected with my classical background. I was in choir and played the violin in an orchestra for over five years. The sounds in trance and a lot of electronic music was a more new age kind of take on my classical thing. Back then there were no DJ idols or icons. Rather than freaking out about a song or DJ, going to these types of events was about the people in the scene and the community behind it.

See Also:
Despite Being Underrepresented, Female DJs Say There's No Crying in EDM
Norin & Rad: A Pair of Local DJs Putting OC Trance on the Map
John O'Callaghan and Kristina Sky at the Yost Theater Last Night