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seancraigmay · 7 years ago

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KREWLIFE

I’ve been dormant on tumblr for a while. Partially because my ability to express myself in words has been confined to a twitter or instagram post, but how much I want to say has been limited to a small word count and I’m ready to open up about my Krew journey so far. So lets begin.

2013

I was living in the dorms at Northern Arizona University. My friend Christhyna and I had transferred from the community college up to the 4 year university in Flagstaff, Az. I hadn’t known Tyna (short for Christhyna) long, but she was that friend that you just always wanted around. Made you laugh, smile and was definitely wild, but all around someone that could brighten the darkest skies. We met maybe like a year prior before deciding to move up to the college together and we even got dorms in the same hall. We lived in an Honor hall so we were able to do co-ed. It was nice because when it came to studying or staying focused, we were the ying and yang to each other. Anyways, I could go on about our friendship and all that, but this is about how I discovered Krewella. Living in the dorms, I had come to terms with that a good majority of the community was into EDM. Tyna for instance was a huge EDM fan and she actually was the one who discovered Krewella one day while youtube surfing. I remember her texting me and saying “hey check them out you’ll like them” and I was hesitant at first because EDM just wasn’t my thing, but I gave them a try. I remember telling myself, they are alright... YES I JUDGED AT FIRST.. DAMN I WAS HARSH LOL.... But it actually grew on me. I eventually downloaded the Play Hard EP for her and put a copy on my iPod. Listened to it everyday on the way to my 7 am class while riding the bus and it just stuck. I fell in love. I was dying to hear more and more of it. I found myself constantly watching youtube videos, searching the internet for unreleased songs and seeing if they were playing nearby. Tyna loved this because if it meant she could get me to go to a rave, by all means lets find where Krewella was playing so we could hop on the rave train. Months passed and finally Krewella was nearing towards Arizona for the Play Hard tour. The first show we found was 21+ and I wasn’t 21. Tyna almost went without me with another friend, but since it was during the week and we had a tough class schedule, it didn’t workout (MUAHAHHA). However, they announced another 18+ show at an event call Midway Music Festival in Touscon, AZ. It was on a Friday and fridays we were out of class early so the first thing we did was hop on buying tickets and it was bon voyage to Touscon we went. That night was a magical night. I remember the crowd, the community, the scene.. they were all so accepting. I think that was the moment I fell in love with the EDM community. I also remember trying really hard to win a M&G with Krewella, but some guy won and he proposed to Yasmine with a ring pop and I was SOOO sad because at the time I had the hugest crush on her. Forever salty to be honest, but hey I got over it because in the long run I got to know Yasmine and Jahan and I wouldn’t trade the rest of the stories I’m about to tell for anything! The rest of 2013 was patchy. I did see them actually a few more times. Once at the Wango Tango music festival here in Los Angeles, but they had such a short set and I almost got kicked out for getting too close to the stage. Also, another time on the get wet tour at the Hollywood Palladium which was amazingggg! Hearing them play Human live was EVERYTHING! Anywayssss, I think I’ll close there for 2013. Cheers to 2013 for kick starting my krew journey <3

2014

This year started off with a surprise pop up show on the Get Wet tour in Pomona. Me and some friends went to the show, but this is where I actually met Connor (@connorsimon6 <- Twitter Handle) who was interestingly enough a krew fan I become really good friends with later on down the road. I really didn’t talk to him much, maybe a few times here and there in line, but I was more focused on the show and I think I was drunk too so I honestly don’t remember much, but.... ANYWAYYSSSS lol, the show was awesome as always. I think I actually got to be closer to the stage this time and everything felt so perfect. I remember after the set, the girls said they would be at the merch table taking pictures, but the line was so long I honestly didn’t want to wait and I said to myself I would meet them eventually. So I left and held on to that dream. Fast forward some time into the year, and Krewella went dry. They were still playing Vegas shows, which I wasn’t 21 yet (December baby problems), but new music hadn’t really came out. I remember telling Tyna something is up and even she could feel a rift after seeing them at a Vegas show. Wasn’t much longer after that when they hit headlines about a law suit. I won’t go into much details because I feel like that’s not my story or business to tell, but all I know is that it put a crack in the krew. I remember seeing OG fans turn away from Krewella and the media start to spin stories. It was hard having to watch that happen to Jahan and Yasmine. Knowing them now, they are beyond the essence of goodness and they didn’t deserve the crafted stories and lies being spread. I remember a few weeks, or maybe months, after that “Say Goodbye” came out and then it kind of came full circle the direction the music was going. I remember talking to Tyna about the song and she was concerned their stepping away from EDM might break them. I was skeptic at first as well, but anything Krewella can be catchy if you let it. Plus, as artists, it was good for them to revamp and take a new initiative on what direction they felt was best for the group. They put their heart and soul into their music and if you know them or have ever met them, they are always proud of their bodies of work whether or not it’s loved by a few or thousands. I found that admirable that they never let the negativity or conformity of the scene get in the way of making music they loved. Kudos to them always. So to close 2014, that was pretty much it in a nutshell. I knew at the end of that year things were going to be different, but I was ready to ride the Krewella train to wherever it was going <3

2015

This year was definitely an exciting year. I was finally 21 and Krewella had announced their residency at a new nightclub called Omnia inside Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. I couldn’t even count how many Vegas trips I made that year. If they weren’t playing at Omnia, then I was watching them at the Wet Republic dayclub. I dragged so many friends to these shows. Tyna, Corbin, and Ashley (who wasn’t even 21 yet) to name a few. However, 2015 was a big step for me because not only was I traveling to Vegas all the time to see Krewella, but I was traveling to see my new family Vegas Krew. Vegas Krew is krew fan base in Las Vegas ran by our very own boss man Jenno (@spiderjenno8). His face had become more and more familiar each show I had gone to and I remember Jahan shouting him out one time at Wet Republic. I was like “who is this guy?!”. Later on down the line, I remember finally getting to meet the girls for the first time ever. I ran into them outside of the club and I still remember to this day Yasmine running up to me and hugging me saying “i love your shirt man”, which was the Krewella gas mask tee. After fan girling and getting to know them and taking pictures, I posted the picture and Jenno had actually commented on it from a hash tag. From there we exchanged info, he introduced me to his group of friends that are what we call “core krew” in Vegas and the rest is history. I was adopted into their family. Jenno was like a liaison for us to help us meet the girls and kept us in the loop for any shows, hook ups for guest list to the club or even cool events. Which speaking of cool events, this was also the year I won the opportunity to pre-game with Jahan for her birthday on the Vegas High Roller. That was nuts! We got to go into that glass ball, ferris wheel thing and do an open bar with her and Yasmine to celebrate. I actually remember someone named Jeremy Kim commenting on Facebook saying “you won, go to your messages and accept my message request for more info”. I really thought I was being trolled and so did everyone else that he was choosing. People were so scared to think they won and so was I but I said fuck it and messaged him back. I’m glad I did because it was legit and J-Remy is actually a pretty cool dude, who turned into Krewella’s manager later on! Woooo!!! Ahhh shoot forgot to add EDC Las Vegas in here. This was the first time I got to see Krewella use the live band and I remember how fucking hot it was front row in circuit grounds. I dragged Tyna with me and I thought I was going to die of heat exhaustion, but hey it was worth it! The girls played a bad ass set. Also, Ooo heres another fun story! So that week they played a night time pool party at wet republic. Of course me and Tyna took our time and lost track of time getting drunk so we were late to the club. We get there and it being EDC week, the line was super long! We weren’t going to get in. However, Tyna had a plan and I could kill her and love her at the same time for this. That night she found a manager and told them my friend that was working was going to let us cut the line. The guy seemed confused and a little upset, but he took us to my friend that was letting people in. We claimed I was her cousin and he was starting to argue with her before he got a security call and then he disappeared which my friend basically said then just go in. I felt soooo bad cuz I didn’t want her to get in trouble, but we did get in so shoutout to you boo boo! You know who you are! Also, she didn’t get in trouble thank god, but she said never do that again. Okay, so I think that is everything that made 2015 super fucking exciting. In the end, this year was such a crucial year to being part of the Krew. I also started expanding and learning about all this different “cliques” I guess you could call it. Vegas Krew was just one core fanbase, but in the twitter world I soon learned about a shit ton of others (Philly Krew, German Krew, Texas Krew, etc). The Krewella community is honestly so huge and it’s such an honor to be a part of it. Oooh, before I close, this was also the year I actually came across Connor again. I had seen him in the “suggested friends to add” on twitter and made the connection that I had met him before in 2014. I added him and I had seen he had a pic with Jahan from Ultra which was super dope! We ended up actually becoming good friends after that and I knew it wasn’t long before I would continue to keep adding to my list of Krew friends :)

2016

This year is lengthy. I don’t even know where to start. Hmmm... Yasmine’s birthday party in February. As always, Jenno was the boss man on this. He got us hook ups into the meet and greet before the birthday DJ set and Yasmine was super excited to see everyone (and a little tipsy 0.0)! The night was great, got to mingle with the girls, hangout with Vegas Krew and yeah. The girls teased beggars that night, surrender the throne and superstar which hadn’t been released yet. Leaving that night was rough. I had to drive home 2 hours and I ended up getting home at like 3 am and worked at 7 (R.I.P me). I honestly can’t piece much after that except maybe a few more Vegas shows before the Beggars music video. Yes, I won a slot to be in the music video. You can’t really see me to be honest, but hey I was there and it was dope. Of course my boy Jenno was there, so it was good knowing at least one person. That night was fun, tiring and overall sweaty. Making the video required a lot of energy, sweat and chalk. We also met Thomas that night (@thomas3184) and Jenno invited him to our Vegas krew page. He fit right in and we love our Thomas to this day. From then on the Ammunition EP was to be released and then the Sweatbox tour was to start, but before then was the MTV music awards show. I remember going to that show with my coworker and riding with Connor and his girlfriend. Connor was in communication with the two girls who got Married at LA Pride, Paola (@pala_sun) and Jojo (@jojoistheshizzz). I didn’t get to go to the LA pride event because I had a graduation to go to but at least I was finally able to meet the girls who got married. As soon as I met them, I remember hugging them and just feeling this instant connection. I remember wanting a drink to in that moment, but our hug was definitely magical lol. After that show, we got to see Jahan and Yasmine for a little bit and I kept in touch with Paola and Jojo. We met up again actually in Vegas for Jahan’s birthday celebration at Hakkasan which was the first time we shared a hotel together and then later down the line at Sweatbox LA and hung out there. They were super cool and I loved their vibes so I remember saying “hey I am going to Sweatbox Phoenix to meet up with my friend Tyna, you guys wanna roll through?”. I had never really brought other friends with me on road trips besides Ashley or let alone to meet my Arizona friends, but I knew they had good vibes so I invited them. They came along and I think this is where the idea of Travel Krew was born. We instantly clicked. All of us. Sweatbox Phoenix was the birth of a long lasting friendship and it was just so much love and sweat! I adored how all of us interacted and seeing us together in a room full of die hard Krewella fans was life. Also, that night we met two girls named Deanna (@lizzymacgyver) and Bree (@breerhoden) who we welcomed into our cluster. The Travel Krew just continued to grow and grow. From there, we just kept waiting for shows to pop up. We did as many Vegas shows as we could together and traveled together whenever possible. After meeting all these people, I also introduced them to my Vegas Krew cuz that will always be home and the family just intertwined and we just became this bigger family all around. It really is amazing how much Krewella has changed our lives. I can’t imagine my life without either any of them. Shoutout to Gordon (@striderboi) btw cuz I love you too and you know I’m a basic bitch with my pumpkin spice and our love for stitch is amazing. Thank you for sharing Jenno with me. I never said that, but thank you!

So as 2016 progressed, we just kept planning and planning. We ended planning a group trip (we meaning me, Paola , Jojo, Corbin, his wife Britannie, Deanna, Bree, Ashley and Tyna) to Cabo San Lucas followed by a spontaneous trip to New Orleans. Fun fact, we drove from California to New Orleans and then drove back home to catch our flight to Cabo. That was a long two weeks, but wouldn’t trade it for the world. Also, yes all these trips were because of Krewella. Travel Krew was fully born and ready to take 2017 since most of these trips were planned for 2017. The end of 2016 was basically one last show we did which landed on my birthday at Jingle Balls in Sacramento. That show was magical and I got a special birthday shoutout from Yasmine during their set and I fell in love. God, what I wouldn’t give to go back to that moment.... ANYWAYSSS, 2016 was overall a great year. I made more krew friends and got to help start a little movement known as Travel Krew. I’ll tell you more about that in my 2017 section though because the full development comes later. Hope you enjoyed reading it thus far! It keeps getting better and I have enjoyed the ride ;)

2017

Ahhh and so it begins. This year.... I think I am going to pause here. This year isn’t quite over and honestly this year has been FUCKING NUTS. I have so many people to name drop that I love (Karen, Cheech, Herbie, Jeremy, Emily, Alex, etc). The list goes on and on and it all stemmed from an idea that my group of friends came up with to step outside of our comfort zone and just travel. Now yes, we do see Krewella, but we love to travel as well to meet our Krew fam. We came together as people solo in the crowd and now were strongly bonded as a family. We mob in numbers, we roll deep as friends, and we rage as diehards. The New World tour isn’t quite over and there is still so much that can happen. I’ll “to be continued” this post for now, but know this journey has been amazing with you all by my side. I love you regardless of whether we met online, in person, or over a social media platform. Each of you hold a place so dear in my heart and I can’t wait to meet those I haven’t met yet. You may not know it, but you have changed my life and we are all one big piece of a global community that continues to grow, carrying the notions of love and acceptance. See you soon Krew! There is so much more to come.

Seancraig (@sciskillinit)

#krewlife #krewella #travelkrew #family #edm #community

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