Photo Courtesy
he Chainsmokers will appear at Insomniac Crush at the NOS Events Center two weeks after performing at the Super Bowl in Phoenix.
By Harvey M. Khan
San Bernardino residents can soon get another glimpse of the subculture it has historically helped nurture. On Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based Insomniac, Inc. will put on another in a series of electronic dance music rave concerts in San Bernardino, featuring DJ’s Tommy Trash and The Chainsmokers. The event will be held on the National Orange Show grounds, the site that helped put San Bernardino on the underground music map 50 years ago with the defunct Swing Auditorium.
Beginning over hundred years ago, Bohemians were said to congregate near the brothels around Rialto Ave. and D Streets. Such counterculture and hip crowds have consistently found their way into San Bernardino. The Bohemians were followed by the Lost Generation, beatniks, the hippies, disco coke heads, punks and now rave party goers. The list could extend forever if you include the surf and then British invasion raves.
Lenny Bruce, the Rolling Stones and the Clash all built a following in San Bernardino. Pioneer soundman and bootleg chemist Owsley Stanley periodically hungout in San Bernardino, test-marketing his latest batch of LSD. Add some voltage to Pink Floyd, put in a dash of Owsley and you basically have the latest electronic dance music scene. Starting with the local Bohemians, whose drug of choice was allegedly heroin, all of the following movements have been jacketed to some kind of substance use.
The Muscoy home of Jim and Sally Thomas was a legendary site to many in the 50’s-60’s folk beat generation: Son House, Clabe Hangan, Jim Ringer, Mary McCaslin, etc. It was supposedly one source of inspiration for John Fahey’s 1966 instrumental album, “The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions.”
Former San Bernardino resident Richard McCann said he recalled some beatnik coffee houses on Highland Ave and another called the Crypt in Crestline. “By the time any real beatnik movement came to San Bernardino it was pretty watered down,” said McCann, who said he learned more about the beat culture by reading the works of those from San Francisco and Greenwich Village like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.
Both McCann and Anthony Garcia pinpointed a music club on Mt. Vernon that was the first to link the beatnik and hippie era’s by adding light shows to music. Garcia’s older family members played music in the area during the 1950’s beatnik scene. “Actually, I’m gathering information right now about those times from my uncles and cousins who played jazz and talked the beatnik lingo,” said Garcia.
He said Mexican and Latin folk music coincided with the early cool jazz of the folk era. “People like Celia Cruz and Tito Puente performed on Mt. Vernon at dances.” Garcia says Billy Larkin is one of the last living San Bernardino musicians who performed in beatnik clubs. Garcia feels that current electronic dj music and light shows are a combination of past undergound scenes, but have taken the promotional aspect a step further.
Companies like Insomniac, Inc. now generate multi-millions from gigantic “counterculture” commercial events. Tens of millions then trickle down into cities like San Bernardino. Area hotels will be booked up by mostly out-of-town rave goers before Feb. 14. Raves seemed to have incorporated the Avant Garde element of the Bohemian movement, the folk from the Beatniks, and sound and lighting from Hippie’s and disco era. These immersive electronic music festivals seem even more exciting since they add some of the rage from the punk and new wave movements.
Although Insomniac, Inc. said would not comment, the firm offers a prepared statement saying it produces the next generation of special effects that captivate the senses and inspire a unique level of fan interaction. “The quality of the experience is the company’s top priority.” In 20 years of existence, Insomnia, Inc. says it has attracted four million fans to its events in the U.S., Mexico, Puerto Rico and the UK.
Its three-day Electric Daisy Carnival concert in Las Vegas is said to draw 400,000. It held the first of its 19 Nocturnal Wonderland themed concerts in 1998 on the National Orange Show grounds. Insomnia, Inc. has faced considerable ridicule from those living near the NOS due to its high levels of sound. At least one city councilman was quoted to say that raves attract an undesirable element to San Bernardino. There have been three deaths allegedly associated to the local raves, however there were considerably more tied to the Swing Auditorium flower power concerts of the 60’s. Attendance at a typical concert at the Swing was about 4,500.
At the Nocturnal Wonderland concert in 2003 there were an estimated 50,000 people on the NOS grounds. At the adjacent Orange Show stock car races, there were about 2,000. The car race got the daily news coverage and not a word was written about the rave. After years of fighting to maintain a San Bernardino presence, those at Insomnia, Inc. have received encouraging words from the NOS board of directors.
Insomnia, Inc. will again be scrutinized on Feb. 14 when it presents its Insomnia Crush SoCal. Its owner, Pasquale Rotella is currently facing criminal and civil charges which further lends to his local appeal. Appearing on one of the many stages with Tommy Trash and The Chainsmokers at the National Orange Show Event Center will be Alvaro, Kennedy Jones, Lost Kings, Mercer, and Seven Lions.