Glover's Spotlight: [MD] Master Handz

We're back with another Glover's Spotlight! This time we're here with one of the Mind Destroyers right here on the east coast, [MD] Master Handz!!!

Glad to have you with us today! How is everything?

I’m doing great, life has been treating me real well recently thanks for asking.


That's great, now let's start with some basic questions, how did you get the name Master Handz?

Well I’ll definitely say it took me a while to figure out a name for myself. I started thinking about something unique; something that I felt would really fit me. I was at the point of giving up when one day I started playing my favorite video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl; I’ve been obsessed with the series since it came out. I was a close friend’s house, his name is also Matt aka [MD] Matty Smiles another Glove on my team. As we were playing the game it hit me suddenly. “Hmm, hold on…there’s a floating glove as a Boss…Master Hand! Perfect!” The Z was added to the end to make it more unique and plural.


I like it man, but do you prefer people call you Matt or do you enjoy getting called by your glover name?

Naturally I’m used to people calling me by my actual name, and most people do, but there are times where I would like to be called by my glover name. I feel that once people start getting used to the idea of Master Handz, I feel that I’m being more recognized and respected as a glover and it makes me feel good about myself. I don’t mind if my closer friends simply call me by my name it doesn’t affect me, but when I’m out there in the rave scene doing my thing, I definitely want to be known as Master Handz.


Good stuff. Let me ask, what influenced your decision to start gloving?

Gloving for me started out with my long time friend Jamie McKay, and another friend Elias. I consider Jamie like family; she has always been a huge influence in my life. She’s been part of the rave scene for about 5 years now, and she took me to my first rave, Glow: Orange on March 23rd of 2011. I got the idea of gloving from YouTube videos and in the beginning of the month because I had already bought and brought a common beginners set, a prewired RGB set with blacked out gloves that you can find online basically at any rave site. When I was there I immediately fell In love with the scene, and watching my two friends glove and other glovers doing work, I quickly picked up tricks and started to learn the basics. It was an amazing feeling. After that I kept wanting to improve, started learning about the gloving scene, the endless imagination that comes with it, I started to fool around with my fingers everywhere I went, in school, on the bus, with friends, etc. it became natural to me. It’s a passion and a work of art and I’m very happy that I started raving and gloving when I did.

I see you joined a team already too. What factors contributed to you joining Mind Destroyers and not some other team?

Well to be honest, New York in my opinion wasn’t really too big on gloving when I very first started, so Mind Destroyers was the first team I had heard about locally. Another close friend Steven aka [MD] Cloud, the captain of Mind Destroyers was the one who introduced and initiated me onto the team. He was originally from Cali and I believe he was in NY visiting family. I met him one day at Finyl Fantasy 2 where a friend was celebrating her birthday. Me and Matty got a lightshow from him and I was amazed. I wanted to be on that level, heck I NEEDED to be on that level. As fate would have it not to long after that we met him again. Matty kept in contact with him and with our luck Cloud had permanently moved to New York and wanted to expand his team here. We were some of the very first people to be initiated, and after that it was an amazing experience and I’ve been able to learn so much since then.


Tell us a bit about your team, Mind Destroyers. Do you guys practice together often and are there any other teams you guys are close with?

Unfortunately the members of MD are somewhat all spaced out, so it’s been hard to establish an MD meet up with all the members present since we’ve all got our own busy lives to consider after all. But thank God we have raves every weekend which makes it easier to meet the others and then we’re able to trade lightshows and catch up. I usually hang out with [MD] Cloud, [MD] Matty Smiles, [MD] Dazey, and [MD] Mirage on a regular basis so it’s nice see and chill with a good amount of the team. As for other teams, Me and other members of MD have had fun trading and hanging out with team OWL (Obsessed With Lights) isn’t that right Supernova? Haha.


Yeah dude, haha our teams have had some pretty stellar gloving sessions in the past! My next question is about your gloving style. Are there certain moves you prefer to use in your shows?

I’ve loved to learn a little bit about everything, from Liquid, Tutting, Digits, Tunnels/Whips, Finger Rolls etc. As I’ve progressed with my gloving, I’ve learned that it’s just more natural for me to do Liquid, Tunnels/Whips and Finger Rolls, just about anything that’s creates a circular or fluid motion. It requires less thinking, and I feel it more when it comes to the music I listen to, which is mostly House and Trance. I’ve been currently working on digit moves and improving on more mechanical tricks to find a balance with everything I know, but yea Liquid, Tunnels and Whips are my personal favorite moves to use.


Awesome, do you think that gloving has changed you at all? Would you say you're more flexible or dexterous than you were before you started?

Well, it’s definitely given me a passionate hobby to focus on when I’ve got nothing else better to do haha. But in all seriousness, I don’t think it’s made me more flexible per se, but it’s given me a whole different perspective on how to use my hands and fingers. My friends and I have come up with ideas on how to curve, bend, and place our fingers in ways we would have never of thought of if we didn’t start gloving. The fact that I can personalize my own glove set with the colors and lights of my choosing to put on my fingertips makes things that much better. It’s an art style like no other.


I've got one last question for you I'm sure we're all dying to know: who do you look up to? Are there any Glovers that you try to mimic?

When I first started, I looked up to the more famous YouTube stars. Pro glovers like [PM] Gummy, [E] Sharky, [PM] Skittles, (AYO?) Anti, and (AYO?) Boo. More and more I watch their videos and they never cease to amaze me. Then when I started to improve and looked up more videos, I discovered amazing glovers such as (AYO?) Stunna, [SS] Physic, (AYO?) Mimik, (AYO?) Bluz and so many others. I do have a local favorite of mine who I always aspire to be like and that is my team captain [MD] Cloud, who takes body gloving and liquid to a level that I admire so much.

Sweet, I'll definitely have to look up some of these glovers now. Master Handz, thank you so much for joining us today! I'll let you get back to whatever it was that you were doing.. probably gloving! XD

Epic Party: Shut Up And Dance

When I originally heard about this event, I knew this was going to be a huge party. I showed the flier to a fellow OWL and close friend Hurricane Irine and she went crazy about how awesome it was going to be. I'm still new to a lot of the DJs on the scene, but after hearing it from her, I figured I needed to be there. And awesome it was! Both [OWL] Supernova and myself went to see the scene and catch what was good at this event.

Time To Have Sme Fun! By: Ronnie C.

CT Represent! By: Paus3

It was another night hosted at the extremely spacious Amazura Lounge. I've been here once before, the night that Showtek rolled into town, but this time it was done up all differently! The lighting and sound system were the same. Laser and moving heads everywhere and constantly putting on a show to the music. Massive speakers blowing out so much bass it was terrifying. What was different was the feeling to the main room. They had placed several large white spike-balls hanging from the beams in the ceiling. When the light was bouncing off of them it was unreal. Morgan Freeman was also in the house, and he did up the stage so nicely! There was an entire layer of screen stretched out from end to end of the DJ as well as two towers on each side as well. He was playing constant visuals on the screen, it was awesome to watch the stage come alive. Behind the towers were the Peek A Boo gogo dancers casting their silhouettes for the crowd to groove to.

Sweet Atmosphere By: Smurf

Sexy Gogo Shadows By: Ronnie C.

It was great being there and recognizing so many people. Our new friends from Electrik Graffiti came in  from Jersey sporting their custom made scoodies. These hoods are so warm and cozy! Not to mention uber unique and well made. It was so great seeing them, we were all rocking our scoodies and giving tons of light shows and sending out good vibes. It's people like that who are constantly putting out the positive message of community. Check out their store online for what they have in store for you!

Some Eletrik Graffiti Scoodies By: Paus3

It was wonderful, there were so many lights going on, thanks to all the glovers, poi-artists, hula hoopers, glow stick maniacs (?) and Utopia providing so many glow toys. It was a good night to be out gloving that's for sure! There were people there from all over... New Jersey, Connecticut, and even Massachusetts were there and representing their styles. There was supposed to be a glovers competition, but unfortunately it did not happen. That didn't stop the glovers from trading shows and entertaining the masses. If the competition did go down, it would have been hard for the judges to choose a winner, there was a lot of talent in the house.

Beautiful Ribbons of Color By: Ronnie C.

Gloving Upstairs By: Ronnie C.

Awesome Duo By: Smurf

Getting Bendy! By: Smurf

Holding The Universe By: Smurf

Cookie Streams By: Paus3

 The music was great, a lot of hardstyle and dub was being spun, and Afrika Bambaataa brought it back to a much funkier time. The crowd was going crazy for Jen Mas as it was her first time back on the scene or a while! She and Lady Faith gave some sick tracks to glove to, made me appreciate hardstyle a little more. It's so crazy to watch an entire dance floor dancing to hardstyle, things get a little crazy.

Afrika Bambaataa Spinning By: Ronnie C.

Bead for Kandi By: Paus3

Set List By: Paus3

Sick Hats from Method By: Paus3

There were other activities to partake in while the party raged on. There was a bouncy castle, right next to it a massage table, there was a kandi making table, a Utopia booth, a Method booth, cotton candy and popcorn as well as fresh fruit (YES, there was actually fresh fruit at this event!) being passed around. Definitely a night to remember, with a job very well done by Epic Entertainment and California Dreaming. Let's walk through the party, shall we?

PHOTOS:

The Pros:
Ronnie C. Photography: Set 1//Set 2
Taylor Flash: Set 1//Set 2
Reptar Photography: SET
Epic Glow Wrm: SET


The Others:
Paus3: SET
Deblette: SET
Delineation Digital Media: SET
ThreeFourteen Media: SET

Want to see more of the party? Then check out Three Fourteen Media's video of the event!



Coming up this weekend, another Hi-5 Gallery, Finyl Fantasy 3, and Jungle Bungle!

Dive Into The Deep End

The parties never really stop here in NY. There is something pretty much every night, but the weekends is really when the parties begin to rage. This past Friday, I had the chance to enjoy two sides of the events going on, beginning at The Pictograph, and ending at Chaos.

Helping Hands Makes Helping Hands By: Paus3

Welcome to the Spot By: Paus3

Nice Settings By: Paus3

Both events were being put together by members of the raving community, but had two very different feels and purposes. My first stop was The Pictograph at the Hi-5 Bar. It's a nice spot, two floors with a full bar upstairs and a lounge area downstairs. The DJ booth is also upstairs overlooking the floor. There were a bunch of really awesome DJs spinning over here, included in which was DJ Epic Cloud Strife, who's featured on this weeks 'Mix I'm Listening to', go ahead and click play! But this event wasn't all about the music and raging out, this was actually more about the artistic side of the scene, more specifically the photographers.

Enjoy Yourselves By: Paus3

Some of the Best Raving Moments By: Paus3

Reptar and Sam By: Paus3

That Guy By: Paus3

On display throughout the entire venue were different shots that some of the scene's most prominent photographers put up, and were also offering for sale. You had Rob Grigonis, Janet Gonzalez, Sam Freund, and Taylor Flash. They had their works up on the walls, but included in the mix was also Ronnie C. and Tiffany Reptar. People were spinning poi, throwing lights, making kandi, and just having a great time enjoying everyone's company. Another cool addition was Pixel doing some really cool things with paint, he basically made a self contained environment with it! It was cameras everywhere, and people loving the art. I did see a bunch of photos sold which is always a great thing. They do so much for the scene, and we need to do whatever we can to support them.

Don't Swallow this Kandi By: Paus3

Dennis and his Sweet Set By: Paus3

Legion By: Paus3

Gan Dalf Creating Life By: Paus3

Pixel's Environment By: Paus3

Speaking of which, at last weeks AMAZING show at Amazura Lounge, someone smacked Taylor's flash out of his hands, and it shattered. So if you have a minute, donate something to help him get a new flash. It could be a dollar, it could be a hundred, just give a little something to say thank you for all he's done in the treacherous environment in order to take pictures of you. The donate button is through the facebook page HERE.

Taylor is Happy You Want to Help By: Ronnie C.

Now it's about midnight, and Chaos had started an hour before, and being a Kingzly party, well we knew it was definitely already popping. It was time to head on over there and see what was going down. Reptar and I made it over there together, and we were both going in to shoot some photos for the party. Security was super uber tight here. Not a bad thing at all, in fact, it keeps the spot safe. But on the photographers side, or maybe a DJ, lighting crew, anyone working background who wants to get their job done as much as security does, needs to get in smoothly.

Peace By: Ronnie C.

Jumpstyle By: Ronnie C.

This is How We Do 'Round Here By: Ronnie C.

 That being said, we got in no problem and stepped into a crazy party. Once again, two floors, but this time three rooms! Downstairs were mostly the raving crowd because all the EDM was being spun here. We're talking hardstyle, trance, dubstep, all your favorites. This is not to say it was only the raver crowd either, all different types of people were chilling to the music. It was also significantly darker down here, awesome for lights shows! Upstairs had the main floor which was pretty big. They were playing club mixes with some dubstep in there as well. There was a little room off the the side where they had reggae spinning all night. The music didn't stop the ravers from coming up and raging with everyone, The main floor was off the hook, everybody was having a good time dancing to the music, and dancing in the cage. Yes I said cage! Hanging from the ceiling with a pole in the center and sometimes having three girls inside, it was a sexy addition for sure.

I Don't Know How To Be Scared By: Ronnie C.

Lightshow Photobomb! By: Ronnie C.

The Cage! By: Ronnie C.

Drinks were well priced, the ambiance of the rooms was awesome (thank you Powertrip Lighting) and there was a great mix of people. Ravers, clubbers, and just regular party goers all came to one spot to party it up. That's one thing about Kingzly's parties you have to respect. He is bringing together different groups of people under a common love of music and partying. I did not see any brawls or even hear of things going negatively (other than security being really tight). Major props to that, I can't wait for his next banger!




PHOTOS:

The Pros:

Ronnie C: The Pictograph COMING SOON // Chaos
Taylor Flash: The Pictograph (portraits!)//Chaos
Reptar: COMING SOON
Sam Freund: The Pictrograph
Paus3: The Pictograph

Check Kingzly's next FREE party! Also this coming Friday, Fairytale Massacre!!

For more art shows at Hi-5, you have one a month!
February 3rd - Comic/Cartoons
March 2nd - UV/Blacklight Sensitive
April 6th - "Touch Me" Exhibit!

See you guys out on the scene!

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!