MANSFIELD — Beethoven. Mozart. Tchaikovsky.
Electronic Dance Music.
All the quarter- and half-notes are linked in the musical mind of Alessio Picciano, aka GET WEIRD, who headlines the free Newsroom After Hours Halloween Rave on Oct. 21 in the basement of Idea Works/Richland Source.
If you are attending, prepare to move. Or plan to get moved. And wear a costume if you are so inclined.
For those asleep at the turntable for the last decade, what is Electronic Dance Music?
EDM is great variety of electronic music sub-genres intended specifically for dancing crowds. Think Marshmellow, Swedish House Mafia and GRiZ.
It encompasses many different styles such as house music, disco music, synthpop, techno, trance music, drum and bass, dubstep, trap, and more.
But it’s more than just consecutive tunes. It’s musical performance.
“I don’t look at DJ tracks as just doing one song or another,” the 40-year-old Picciano said. “You build to a crescendo. It’s a journey, a story arc .. a theme I try to take people on. See how the plot develops.
“That’s how I build my mixes today. A beginning. A middle. An end.
“It’s all part and parcel what I learned from Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky,” the former New York City man-turned-Mansfield resident said.
Picciano, aka Laz, will perform on a wild, three-DJ showbill that includes Spooky Boy and Tesreflect. The show will feature lighting and effects from Potent Studios.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. with music starting at 8.
The party will be going for awhile, according to Zac Hiser, head of newsroom product at Richland Source and the season-long producer for the entire Newsroom After Hours free concert series.
If you can’t be there at the beginning, stop by later at a party which offers free food from Doc’s Deli and free beer (while it lasts) from the Phoenix Brewing Co. You’re also welcome to bring your own refreshments.
Most Newsroom After Hours events are upstairs at Idea Works. But the Halloween show has a different vibe and has need for a different, larger space. In past years, the season-ending party has featured punk, metal/hardcore and hip-hop.
“This year, we’re transforming the basement into a club and we’re bringing in DJ’s to play longer sets and go later into the night,” Hiser said.
“When you step into the venue, we want you to feel like you’re not in Mansfield anymore. There will definitely be a lot to look at and it will be a unique experience,” he said.
Enter the venue in the West Temple Court alley between Mulberry and Walnut streets. The alley will closed to vehicle traffic, which allows the party to be an indoor/outdoor event.
“My hope is that with DJ’s, it will invite in a new crowd that isn’t necessarily into genres we’ve had in the past, but wants to attend a fun party where they can socialize with their friends,” Hiser said.
Here is a quick look at the DJs making music that night:
GET WEIRD
Picciano, a Mentor native, has been a musician all of his life.
“Like all kids, I started on a recorder in school, much to my parents’ dismay,” he said. “Then I moved to violin, which was worse. In the fifth grade, I landed on the sax, which I played throughout high school.”
Using the sax in jazz improv helped build the skills he uses as a DJ today.
“It definitely helps. When you hear something (musically), you think ‘Where do I want to go next?’ I love to learn new instruments,” Picciano said.
Picciano worked behind the scenes for symphonies and orchestras around the country, including Carnegie Hall. That classical experience around musical movements helped teach him the organization needed to tell musical stories.
It was performing at a New Year’s Eve house party in 2012 that was the genesis of his EDM development with his GET WEIRD partner, Tony, who will not be with him at the Mansfield event.
“I have always been a fan of electronic music. That house party was the beginning of that awesome path. We have gotten to do amazing things and play amazing places,” Picciano said.
GET WEIRD has become a staple at the mammoth Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee.
“We have done about 10 different things down there since we started going down in 2016,” he said.
Picciano admits EDM has many roots. But the deepest ties go back into hip-hop.
“A DJ is basically a guy with two record players and a mixer. That didn’t stem from disco. It stemmed from hip-hop. Without hip-hop, you don’t even have the hardware to do what we do,” he said.
A light show, like the one Lee McIntosh and Potent Studios will provide on Oct. 21, is a key part to a great show, according to Picciano.
“Lighting and the visual experience have become part-and-parcel of the DJ experience,” he said. “Music can play without lights. But there is a crowd expectation that there will be a production involved.
“The experience of a drop and the lights just going crazy just adds a whole nother element to it,” he said.
Spooky Boy
Andy Crislip admits he was not much of a traditional musician while growing up in Mansfield and graduating from Mansfield Senior High School.
“I dabbled in band in school. I played some trumpet and a little guitar. But I never really got into anything,” the 32-year-old said.
That changed for the Snow Trails Ski Resort employee five or six years ago.
“I got some DJ equipment and showed up at a party right before Halloween. I made some music and a friend called me ‘Spooky Boy.’ It just stuck from there,” he said with a laugh.
Intrigued, Crislip continued to perform for friends and at house parties, as well as Snow Trails.
“I have always been the guy who plays music for his friends for as long as I can remember. I thought I would give (EDM) a shot. I am not sure what attracted me to the music,” Crislip said.
“I guess it was just the fun sound of it.”
“It’s great when everyone is kind of bouncing together, getting into the music, and not really thinking they like this or like that, everyone bonding together,” Crislip said.
“I love going to any local music shows,” he said, “supporting local guys.”
What can attendees expect from his set on Oct. 21?
“Just expect to bounce and have fun and bring that Halloween spirit.”
Tesreflect
Levi Kaiser knows the atmosphere of the Newsroom After Hours Halloween party. The Loudonville native helped run the sound system in 2022 during the Hardcore Halloween event.
This year, Kaiser will be on the other side of the stage, performing as Tesreflect.
“I love the energy of that downstairs space for a Halloween show,” the 24-year-old Kaiser said. “There is a lot more space to move around and it’s a lot more of a party atmosphere.
“It gives people more room to dance. And the concept of an underground show is a really interesting esthetic to be in a dingy old building listening to music,” he said.
Room to dance is crucial to Kaiser, who studied music production and recording at a couple of colleges known for understanding party atmospheres — Ohio University in Athens and West Virginia University in Morgantown.
“Danceability,” he said when asked what music he enjoys most making. “I want people to be able to dance regardless of how weird or psychedelic the music is.”
Kaiser loved making music “on real instruments” as he grew up and attended Loudonville High School. But though he loved the work of Skrillex, when he was younger, EDM wasn’t something he planned even as it became more mainstream.
“When I was preparing for college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I played around a little on the side with guitar and drums. I wanted to make my own music, recording on a little laptop I had,” he said.
A college roommate at OU turned him onto the EDM scene in Athens through a live show.
“I thought it was the coolest thing ever. When you just have a computer with plug-ins and synthesizers, it’s easy to go down the rabbit hole. You can do some crazy stuff with just yourself,” Kaiser said.
After transferring to WVU, Kaiser continued to play guitar and perform with bands. But the arrival of COVID-19 shut down chances for group musical efforts. The budding musician moved back home.
“Everything was shut down. I was back at home. There was no real space to record instruments very loud. I switched gears at that point and started focusing on electronic music,” he said.
What’s his best sounds?
“I think it comes down to personal preference. When I am trying to select tracks or making something, my biggest focus is, ‘Am I having fun making it or listening to it?’
“When I hear a song, I know from the time I heard the drop that I want to play it out,” Kaiser said.
He knows he will be amped for the Halloween show.
“This show will be a great thing for many people. Maybe it’s their first EDM show, the first time listening to music like that on big speakers with a great light show.
“It’s low investment. The show is free. You don’t have to be out all night. Just come and have a good time.”