Glover's Spotlight: [OWL] Supernova

Along with raves you have the greater community within them. Something that happens within any large community are the smaller communities within. One such group within the rave scene here in New York are the glovers. They all go to raves, some together, some separate, but always gravitate toward one another with a common love of throwing lights. Every glover is unique and has a unique story to tell. They also help keep the scene alive with a newer artistic side of the culture.

For the first ever Glover's Spotlight, I sat down with G-reg, aka [OWL] Supernova, to hear his side of gloving:

Supernova By: Reptar

[PAUS3] What’s good everybody, I’m here with G-reg! what’s good man.

[SUPERNOVA] Not too much man.

[P] Glad to have you here. So tell me, everyone seems to have a glover name, what’s yours?

[S] I go by Supernova when I glove.

[P] Where did the name come from?

[S] I made it up! I was tossing names around with a couple of raver friends, and it’s just something that stuck, something I really liked.

[P] When did you start gloving?

[S] I started back in the spring of last year after I saw a couple of kids at a Deadmau5 concert with them. I had been throwing around the idea of picking up a pair of gloves for a while actually but it wasn't until the end of April 2011 when I finally decided to make the purchase.

[P] So was it the kids at the concert that really inspired you to go do it?

[S] Absolutely, yeah.

Tunnels By: Taylor Flash

[P] Where do you find the inspiration to actually glove? What is it that moves you to express yourself with your hands like that?

[S] Well, I guess it’s a combination of the lights themselves and the music. Just… creating different shapes with my hands, and different trails of light to a beat, to EDM. It’s my passion; it’s something that I love.

[P] Which glovers specifically do you look up to?

[S] Mimik was one of the first glovers that I looked up to, Mimik is on Team (AYO?). As I started getting into the community a little bit more there was this glover over in California who I spoke with on Throwlights(.com), his name is Fry, and he was on Team (Who?) and now he’s on Team [Fuck]. So he’s actually one of my favorite glovers at the moment.

[P] So, I’m kinda curious, were you part of rave culture before you started gloving?

[S] Yea, I started raving a couple years ago. Then I went to college and I didn’t have too much time for it. And then this year I started picking it up a little bit and, you know, gloving and raving kinda go hand-in-hand.

[P] In your own words, what is gloving?

[S] Gloving is… well, I see gloving as two separate things. One, it’s an art form. It’s self expression in its purest form. The other is just to fuck someone up! If they're sitting there and they're zoning out looking at your lights and you’re straight putting them into a trance… like that’s the two different avenues of gloving right there.

[P] Onto the music, what do you like to listen to when you glove.

[S] I like trance, because it’s slow and it gives me time to think about what I want to do with my hands. I can really get into a nice slow beat.

[P] Let’s talk about the gloving community as a whole. Describe what that community is like.

[S] The gloving community…I’d say it came out of the rave scene, but the two are very different from each other. Ravers are all about PLUR and all that but I'd say that a lot of glovers are more about their own swag.. They like showing off their stuff and trying to look cooler than one another. I’m not saying all glovers are like this but the community as a whole does kind of strike me as that kind of an organization.. at least on the west coast. The east coast isn't really like that at all! We're ravers at heart man.

[P] But what about what happened with Deblette not too long ago and having her gloves borrowed but not returned and the reaction on the NYC Glovers page? **

[S] Right, well these glovers were ravers first. So I'd say they have PLUR in the forefront of their mind. Whereas a lot of glovers that are just starting to get into it, like over in California, twelve year olds, fourteen year olds who have never been to a rave before, but now look on youtube and see videos of glovers… they get inspired by this and they’re not necessarily all about the PLUR like the old school ravers are. Over here on the east coast most of the glovers are old school ravers, whereas over on the west coast, not so much.

Entertainment for a Whole Row! By: Angie Radar

Even Clowns Love his Lights By: Sam Freund

[P] So do you think that the east coast has the old school ravers and the west coast doesn’t? Did they not have raves over there?

[S] Well over here it's a lot less commercialized. So in order for someone to find out about gloves they'd have to go to a rave or know someone who throws. In other parts of the world like in California for instance, it’s just so commercialized with Emazinglights(.com), and the BOSS videos that you don’t necessarily have to go to a rave to know about it. It’s a little different.

[P] Do you think that’s the only difference, commercial versus PLUR?

[S] Well I’ve never actually visited the west coast, so all my knowledge comes from whatever I see on the internet. I’m not a hundred percent sure I can really answer that question..

[P] The internet has bridged this gap of these two communities, how do you see that interaction.

[S] It seems like the majority of glovers on the internet are from the west coast. Gloving on the west coast started way before we knew what a microlight was or how to use one haha. But seriously, our communities are slowly integrating and we’re starting to become one big happy family.

[P] I hope that’s true! What about your style, it’s very fluid. How would you categorize it?

[S] I would say my style comes out of the basics of finger rolls and tunnels. I’m only recently getting into digiting and starting to work on my liquid. But for the most part when I started gloving, I would just sit in front of a mirror practicing my finger rolls every day. I was all about trying to clean them up. Now I’ve gotten my rolls to a point where it’s respectable; same thing with my tunnels. They're always the core of my shows now. Whenever I give a light show it’s all about fluidity... finger rolling, tunnels, and just different variations on them… I'm just trying to keep it fresh.

[P] So let’s talk about crews, why start one?

[S] Crews are sort of like rave families here on the east coast, whereas I think over on the west coast they are more for competing. They have those BOSS competitions and if you're competing you want to represent your crew… I guess in a way it is very similar to the east coast with rave families and glovers and their glove crews.. but there are subtle differences, it’s hard to explain.

[P] We actually just formed a crew out here, let’s talk a bit about that.

[S] That’s right! You and I are part of Team [OWL]. We just started a crew because you can really help each other to grow and learn faster that way. It’s nice because we have different bulbs and you we can trade and like check out each others lights. Most importantly it gives us the opportunity to trade moves, trade lights and trade shows.

Part of OWL: Yoyo, Paus3 and Supernova By: Sam Freund

[P] What’s the difference between you gloving for your own enjoyment and actually giving shows?

[S] When I’m giving shows at a rave I’m not really trying to keep my moves clean. I’m not worrying about practicing this new move I learned last week. I’m just going out there and having fun. I'll go up to someone who has gloves and be like “Hey! Do you want to trade? See what you got, see what I got?”, or I’m just going up to people that look like they're bored and sitting on the side and going “Hey! Want to be entertained for a minute?” It’s fun for me; a fun little interaction.

[P] Tell me about the deepest, greatest, most melty-faced show you have ever given.

[S] I think my better shows are at the after-party. A lot of the time when I’m gloving, my mind is over active and I’m thinking too much about my show and what I’m doing. But at like 6 or 7 in the morning after a rave, after an event, you’re just kicking back at someone’s place… you’re too tired to think about anything, your hands are doing all the thinking for you. That’s when my best work comes out. I’m just not caring about the show, because everyone’s tired and we're all on the same page. It’s a much more intimate experience.

That does it for this installment of Glover's Spotlight!! More to come next week!!

**Deblette's gloves were borrowed and never returned one night. She was very upset and thought she'd never see them again. So the NYC Glovers group put their heads together and made her a set until she could get her own new lights or got her old ones back.**

Bringing You Back to Life: The Revival!

This past weekend I had the chance to check out The Morgan Room for an event that would make anyone get up and dance. It was The Revival, brought to you by Star Party Promotion.

Red Balloon Girls BY: Teddy Bayer

The Morgan was a medium sized spot, with two rooms open and an outside. As I understand it there's also a basement, but for this party there were only two rooms. The first room was a little smaller than the main stage, but a decent amount of room to jump around. The main room was really big, with a ton of lights, lasers and fog... Not to mention a ton of people!

There were a lot of different people at this one. I met people from Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and even Vermont! It's cool to see people coming from all over to party with us in NY, it comes to show show far word gets spread for these events, and the lineup was sick.

Noomi Ra Killing It BY: Ronnie C. Photography

There was a nice mix of sounds and a cool mix of people as well. It was an entirely different feel from other raves I've attended. "There's really good music and a good clash of scenes," one party goer and gogo dancer Jaciee was telling me, "You have two vibes combining into one. There's the club and underground mixing together to make a new underground vibe. A New York party with New York vibes, but a different scene... It's more upbeat with no negativity or hate."

Light Show Battle! BY: Reptar Photography

Getting Into It BY: Ronnie C. Photography

Poi Anyone? BY: Reptar Photography

Yours Truly BY: Teddy Bayer

And she was right. There were so many different tracks being spun, between dub, trance, hardstyle, hardcore and mixes with top 40 and rap, it was awesome. The glovers were out again, but not as many as I've seen in previous parties. I was super lucky for this one, because the infamous Story Time and his cousin Vex were on the scene and giving the most killer doubles ever. Story Time was telling me they never practice and choreograph their moves, it's all a freestyle flow. And along with them were some awesome light shows. I gave one show that earned me the coolest kandy I have received to date!

Skulls and Bones!!

I also had the chance to chill and talk to DJ Georgie Vodkaa, a hardstyle fanatic who went toe to toe with DJ Jake Dukes. Their set was bomb, it made me into a lover of hardstyle, which I genuinely disliked beforehand due to the repetitive beats. While talking to Georgie, he insisted on making a mix exclusively for the site, and as of last night it went live. Check it out, and follow him on Soundcloud, he has mad skills and clearly has a feel for the music. It is also featured up top for the mix I'm listening to!

Georgi Vadkaa and Jake Dukes Lighting Up the Party BY: Ronnie C. Photography

Cant Wear Me Out (ElectricGhostPunk Exclusive) by DJGVODKA
The one thing about this party that got in the way for some people was the fog machine. When it was blasting you couldn't see anything, which may not be a bad thing for this type of event, but on the flip side, it bothered some people with breathing. After all, you're in a room full of moving bodies and it's hot already. The last thing you want is to be "gassed" with fog. Of course there was the outside to go and get some fresh air, but this is the middle of December in NYC, it's frigid out there. Other than that I heard and experienced nothing negative for the event.

Big ups to Star Party Promotion on throwing a sick party, make sure you are at their next one, The Funeral! You've been Reborn, and then Revived, now get ready for your Funeral!!

PICTURES:
Pros:
Reptar Photography: PHOTOS
Ronnie C. Photography: PHOTOS
Red Balloon gogo: PHOTOS
Epic Image Wrm: coming soon
Others:
PICS1

Pokeball December! Gotta Catch 'Em All!!

Another weekend another awesome rave! This one a little different from the last with a lot of familiar faces! This event took place in a spot that I don't think has a name, you wouldn't even recognize it as a party going on if you were just walking by the place. It was a bit smaller compared to a warehouse, you actually had to walk up two flights of stairs to get into the spot. Once upstairs the party was raging! There were probably around 500 people at the height of the party, but it felt like a lot more due to the size.

Set List By: Reptar Photography

EpicCloud Strife By: Live Photography: Griffin Dolan

Exclusive Mixtape for Theft by Kid Royale
DJ Candy Kid - Rave Master (live) by DJCandyKid
 
You had two rooms, the main room and one behind it. This was actually a twelve hour party! So in that time you had 24 DJs spinning some dubstep, trance, and a whole lot of hardstyle. I'm not too much a fan of hardstyle, but it got pretty crazy at some points. To add to the atmosphere you had a kandi making table (that pretty much became a couch by the middle of the party), face painting by Pixel and his crew, Kevin Carpet, and a whole lot of lasers/projectors/lights illuminating both rooms. Aside from the two rooms there was also a rooftop you could go out onto to get some fresh air or a smoke. It was freezing outside, but that didn't stop many people from going out there to hang out.

Girl Dancing on Kevin Carpet By: Sam Freund

Good Vibes! By:

Taylor Seven-Divine Flash

Pixel Painting By:

Live Photography: Griffin Dolan

Making Some Kandi By: Reptar Photography

For me, this was an awesome party to glove at. I met some sick glovers from 666 Lights, Liquid Emotions, and of course Emazinglights. This was a Pokemon themed party (duh), so I got into my blue suit and dressed up like Poliwhirl! At one point of the night, I was in the second room where the DJ was dropped some sick dubstep mixed with rap. I was giving one kid a show and three more gathered around to enjoy the lights. When the beat dropped it was almost as if my hands were moving the party and everyone started jumping, the vibes in the room were so tight everything was flowing!

Light shows!! By: Reptar Photography

Yours Truly (PAUS3) By: Reptar Photography

Mystic Girl Gloving By: Sam Freund

All the People Enjoying the Lights By: Sam Freund

Also at the party was a good friend and extremely talented glover SupaNova. I had the opportunity to watch him give a personal show to this one girl like I've never seen before. He incorporated her whole body into it, using her hands as tools to expand his show. Without sounding too corny, it was like watching his hands make love to hers. I've never seen anything like this, I was blown away by how in sync he was with the music and the connection he was having with the show. If you ever catch SupaNova at an event, you need to say hi and watch him do his thing, it's something else.

SupaNova By:

Taylor Seven-Divine Flash

I gloved for hours on end, gave a kid his first show ever, did a couple doubles with SupaNova, and learned some new moves from the other glovers there. Practice really pays off, and being able to do it live is a totally different experience from practicing in front of a mirror.


PICTURES:

The Pros:

Taylor Seven-Divine Flash: Set ONE//TWO

Live Photography: Griffin Dolan: Pictures

Reptar Photography: Pictures 
Sam Freund: Set ONE//TWO

Others:

Photos 1
Photos 2

Hello Again, To All My Friends By: Sam Freund

Coming soon to Electric Ghost Punk will be a few interviews!! A DJ, a fellow glover, and party animal veteran Kevin Carpet! Stay tuned, there's so much more to come!

Putting Together Your Glove Set

For many who want to get into gloving, the first question generally is, where do I get my lights? People who are sponsored by different sites will guide you to those sites claiming they are the best, and may even give you a code that will give you a 5% discount (or other stuff, like 2 free lights when you enter wishpaus3 on EMazinglights.com) on your order. Now, those sites could be very good, but my suggestion is to do some research. I bought my set from Emazinglights.com. They have very affordable "economy" glove sets. So after shipping and taxes, I bought the Bubblegum set for just over $30. That's a pretty good price, however, it is a very simple set.

Simple isn't bad though. After all, you need to start somewhere and it's good to get to know your gloves and the style you want to grow into. The simplicity runs in the type of light and case. Starting with the case: Edots are similar to a light switch on the wall. They are the smallest of the cases, and are a good starter set. Simple to open and change the battery, you only need a butter knife, or a nail clipper. Many people would complain that the on and off is a switch and not a button. It's true that a button makes for cools effects, but for the sake of saving a few dollars and in the interest of experience, Edots do the trick quite nicely.

Now onto lights. To power one led take 2 CR1616 batteries. The simplest LEDs (Light-emitting Diode) are solid ons. They stay one color while they are on, and there are a ton of color to choose from. There are several different types of LED bulbs too, between strobes, ribbons, fades, dashes...there are an endless amount of combinations to be made. The Bubblegum set came with three different solid colors for each hand, 1 green, 2 blues, 2 purple/lavenders.

After my first day of getting the gloves, I was forced into changing the set, because one of the purple/lavender lights came not working. I have a lot of friends into gloving, so I was lucky enough to hook myself up with two slow faders, and they were Dots, a slightly bigger version of the Edots. The set was beautiful with a lot of life in them, but I wanted to have the broken light replaces.

Emazing has a fantastic return policy, and not only did they replace the light for me, they also offered to compensate me for shipping with something of equal value. I said forget the solid colors, I want ribbons!! I got the ribbons in and my gloves completely changed. The only thing was they only sent one of the LEDs in the casing. I had to pull apart the extra purple I had (luckily) and learn how to put together the light myself. It's not difficult at all, and Emazing has tutorials on their website. I even put my own together!

My set has evolved once again. Now that you have a little tiny morsel of getting into lighting, the next step is practicing. Always, with or without gloves. Hell, learn the finger motions before you even get the gloves, the lights only make it look cooler. Learn slowly, and then speed up, and if you can make it look cool with solids, they will look so baller with the specialty lights, just save the money and do your research.



That's all for today kids. Enjoy the videos!!