Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais - Kaskade, Multi GRAMMY Award-Nominated Musician

Episode Date: May 23, 2018

This week’s podcast is with Kaskade, a Multi GRAMMY Award-nominated musician who has been a groundbreaking innovator in the dance music world, and a titan in the music industry as a whole.While bridging the gap between old school music purists and a new generation of music lovers, he marries genres and twists labels to stay true to his roots while pushing the boundaries of what’s next.Relentlessly touring the world and playing to millions of people around the globe, Kaskade has been in the trenches for over a decade.His handwriting can be read all over the history of electronic music while his influence maintains an all-time high.Over the past few years I’ve had the fortune of getting to have so many incredible conversations on this podcast.What stands out in this conversation is the challenges of being an artist.The challenge of creating work that comes from a place of authenticity, that is true to who you are, while at the same time wanting to reach as many people as possible and make a living.We talk about innovation and how he balances fans wanting to hear him plays his hits vs. keeping it fresh and playing new music.We also discuss how he manages anxiety when it comes to performing and the demands of touring.For those who are unfamiliar with his music – definitely go check it out!_________________Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for more powerful conversations at the intersection of high performance, leadership, and meaning: https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingMasteryGet exclusive discounts and support our amazing sponsors! Go to: https://findingmastery.com/sponsors/Subscribe to the Finding Mastery newsletter for weekly high performance insights: https://www.findingmastery.com/newsletter Download Dr. Mike's Morning Mindset Routine! https://www.findingmastery.com/morningmindsetFollow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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All right, welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I'm Michael Gervais. And usually I just pause here and move on to like what this conversation is about. But lately I've noticed a trend in my personal life where people have been asking me, they listen to the podcast, they have enjoyed the insights from the conversation and the guests that we have on, and they ask about my training. And I haven't done a good job. Some people obviously know what I do. You know, the inner circles, I guess, know what I do and what my training is.

But for those where I haven't made it clear, I just want to take a quick moment to talk about it. So by trade and training, I'm a sport and performance psychologist. So what does that mean? That means undergraduate degree in psychology. That means a master's degree in kinesiology a la sports science, the science of it. And then back to a PhD in psychology, licensed as a psychologist with a specialty in sport and performance. And if there were such a thing as a subspecialty, which there really isn't, it would be in rugged and hostile and high consequence environments would be where I spend most of my time. So that takes about, I don't know, 13, 14 years of training. And then at that point,

still not knowing anything, really, really how the application of things works. So it took another 10, 15 years for me to sort out, making lots of mistakes along the way, unfortunately, we all do, to sort out how the mind works in hostile and rugged environments. So that's just a quick little snip of where my training comes from, which has allowed me to ask questions based on research, to based on framework, to based on, you know, standing on the shoulders of literal giants in the field of psychology. So that's why when you hear these questions, they are coming from a place, not just, you know, like a random thought, like, oh, let me

ask you about something. There's a hopefully purpose behind what we're doing. And the whole idea behind these conversations is to learn from people who are on the path of mastery, to better understand what they're searching for, to work, to understand their framework. How do they make sense of the world? How do they make sense of people around that? What is their perspective and point of view and their worldview? And then we also want to dig and make sure we understand the mental skills that have helped them refine their craft. Finding Mastery is brought to you by LinkedIn Sales Solutions. In any high performing environment that I've been part of, from elite teams to executive boardrooms,

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linkedin.com slash deal for two full months for free. Terms and conditions apply. Finding Mastery is brought to you by David Protein. I'm pretty intentional about what I eat, and the majority of my nutrition comes from whole foods. And when I'm traveling or in between meals on a demanding day, certainly I need something quick that will support the way that I feel and think and perform. And that's why I've been leaning on David protein bars. And so has the team here at Finding Mastery. In fact, our GM, Stuart, he loves them so much. I just want to kind of quickly put them on the spot. Stuart, I know you're listening.

I think you might be the reason that we're running out of these bars so quickly. They're incredible, Mike. I love them. One a day. One a day. What do you mean one a day? There's way more than that happening here. Don't tell.

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And a few of our teammates here at Finding Mastery have been loving the fudge brownie and peanut butter. I know, Stuart, you're still listening here. So getting enough protein matters. And that can't be understated, not just for strength, but for energy and focus, recovery, for longevity. And I love that David is making that easier. So if you're trying to hit your daily protein goals with something seamless,

I'd love for you to go check them out. Get a free variety pack, a $25 value, and 10% off for life when you head to davidprotein.com slash findingmastery. That's David, D-A-V-I-D, protein, P-R-O-T-E-I-N.com finding mastery. Now, this week's conversation is with Cascade, a multi-Grammy award-nominated musician who's been a groundbreaking innovator in the dance music world and a titan in the music industry as a whole. While bridging the gap between old school music pursuits and new generation of music, he marries genres and twists and labels to stay

true to his roots while pursuing the boundaries of what's next. And there's lots of young people in the DJ dance music world. And he's one of the statesmen. He's one of the elders. And he's right on the pulse of what's happening. And it's incredible to see how he stayed true to himself. And he's created beautiful music. And that's what this conversation is about. And relentlessly touring the world and playing in front of millions of people around the globe, Cascade has been in the trenches for over a decade, refining his craft.

And when you refine your craft and you're on the global stage and you're doing your thing, there is a footprint that you leave behind. There is a signature that you impact in your industry and maybe even a global footprint. And when you think about people like Michael Jackson, you'll watch the videos now, hear music, you can see the influence of the way that he moved and the way that his music was organized. Michael Jackson, no doubt, has left a footprint in the music world. And so we start to see some of that with Cascade, the way that his footprint and his imprint is on music at this point. And just an asterisk, I love music, period. I love music. I love when it comes from an authentic place. And so as many musicians who have a point of view and have real understanding of their

craft, I can't get enough of them to be part of this podcast. So I'm stoked for Cascade, you know, and I'm stoked to introduce him to you if you're not familiar with his music. And over the past few years, I've had the fortune of getting to have so many incredible conversations on this podcast. And what stands out in this conversation is the challenges of being an artist. And I don't know, artists might be one of the highest forms of being human, like really, to come from a place that is authentic and expressive. You know, there's part of mastery

that I'm fascinated there. So the challenge of creating work that comes from that place that is so true to who you are, it's just really hard. And that is part of a living masterpiece. And we talk about innovation. We talk about how he balances fans wanting to hear him play his hits versus him keeping it fresh and playing new music and innovating. And we also discuss how he manages pre-performance anxiety when it comes to performing and the demands of touring. And for those who are unfamiliar with his music, definitely go check it out. And with that,

let's jump right into this week's conversation with Cascade. I'm stoked to be here with you. Like seriously, I've been looking forward to meeting you. I got, you know, not a brief, but like about what you do and who you are and stuff.

And it has made me think over this last week. So I'm kind of, I'm, I'm excited to have this conversation. I'm not totally sure what I'm going to say, but I wanted to sound educated when I spoke to you. So I was thinking about some of the things that I thought you would ask me about. That's awesome. And I don't, so, okay, let's start there with your current experience right now. Yeah. Which is, do you like and enjoy and look forward to the unfolding, unpredictable, unknown? So you and I, neither of us know what's going to happen in this conversation. Right. And I probably have a little bit better idea because I've been thinking a lot about what I want to speak to you about. You don't know what I'm going to say.

So there's that element of surprise or left, right, turn, right, whatever. Right. Do you like that unpredictable unknown space or does that create an anxiousness that is hard to deal with? Yes. Both of those things. All of the above. I get a little anxious. Sure. Yep.

But I enjoy that. I think that's part of being alive. Right. I think when I feel uncomfortable, I think that's a fun thing. I time to make the donuts you know that old like dunkin donuts commercial from the 70s or 80s or whatever it was uh you know it's a little kind of like okay i'll get up here and do my thing but the shows that i really look forward to and the stuff that keeps me motivated and inspired and going in this business is, and which happens most of the time. And I said, and that's by design. I set it up that way. We take shows and I accept offers for stuff that I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know.

I'm playing like, I don't know, this summer I've got a show in somewhere in Norway that I've never played in another city in Germany that I've never played and another city in Germany that I've never played. And I'm like, cool, take these offers, you know, and you know, my agent's like, oh, the money's not that good. And I'm like, dude, I've never played these places. And I have no idea what I'm walking into and that interests me. So let's go and do it. What I've learned about world leaders in a variety of professions and domains and whether they're world leading or world class is that they are better for the most part. There's always generalizations get us in trouble often, right? But for the most part, they are better at managing anxiety. So it doesn't mean they don't have it,

but just exactly what you described. And I want to kind of be a little bit harder about this. Yeah. You know, like exactly what you just described is no, I look forward to it. I feel it and I want to kind of be a little bit harder about this, you know, like exactly what you just described is, no, I look forward to it. I feel it and I look forward to it. So that psychological framework allows you to embrace it and to potentially keep your wits about you when it's stressful. About 30% of the population struggles with a mental disorder called anxiety. So 15% report it. We think that there's at least another 15% that's unreported. One out of three people have a mental disorder about worrying about

the future, which is anxiety. Okay. So I want to learn that from you. And I also want to learn, I want to learn how you do it. Like, how do you manage it? And then I also want to learn how you do it. How do you manage it? And then I also want to learn how do you not get caught up in playing the same song again and again and again, the same set, the same whatever that is routine for you, and still keep it fresh? Because people want your stuff, the stuff that they know and they've felt good about you. Yes, they do. Right? It took me a long time to realize that. But yes, they want to hear me play that one song that they love, that they heard on whatever album it was.

And they have a connection to that song. And I've got to, you know, I'm paying to go see this guy. He better play that song. That's right. And it took me, it honestly took me half my career to realize that. Because you wanted to keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing. Well, because I came from the mentality of being a DJ meant something very different to me as a kid growing up in Chicago and experiencing this culture and the birth of what house music was. And it was, I went to clubs

to see DJs that I love to be exposed to new music, not to hear. I mean, sure. There'd be those moments in the night that it's like, oh man, that one tune and everybody puts their hands up and they're like, yes. But the times that I really liked is when he was playing something that was off center, that was totally different, that I was like, this is amazing. What's this, you know, experience having this guy show me something new. And that's part of what being a DJ was back then in the eighties. Um, that's not necessarily what it is now. It's become something different. Uh, it's more of a performance art and it's more, I'm much more closer to what I thought of as an indie band back when I was growing up. It's like, I write and produce tons of music and I moved from

that lane of being a DJ into, okay, this guy's an artist. I'm showcasing my songs. I'm giving them a show. So then when you know that they want to hear your three or four or five most wildly successful, meaningful songs, but you want to play your three, four, five new stuff. You want to try out, invent, create. Yes. Where is that balance for you? And you know where this is coming from is my aunt is a, what's up, Pam? She, she is like great at art. She's a strong canvas based artist.

Okay. And she says, you know, when times are tough or when times were tough, they figured it out. I just knew I needed to paint a life, um, lighthouse because people buy lighthouses. I'm not, I'm not inspired by a lighthouse. That's not what I want to draw. That's not what I want to paint. So, so you've got light lighthouses, you've got beacons where people, you know, so how do you, how do you manage that?

Because it sounds like what you have appreciation for is the new. I do. Well, that's exciting. That's the anxious part. That's the, I'm doing something that I don't totally know what's going to happen. So I've got some anxiety. Let's manage that. And those feelings work really well in a show scenario because harnessing that, energy right internal or the internally and externally

internally for sure for me i'm excited i'm anxious i'm about to go on stage i don't totally know what's going to happen uh this is all good what's the difference between excited and anxious for you i think from a performance standpoint for me me, they go hand in hand. So you have both. I'm anxious because I'm scared because I don't know what's in front of me. But yet that's exciting because I could go out and experience something that's going to change my life and have a show that I walk away from that I'm like, I'll never be the same. This was unbelievable what happened out there. And I've like, I'll never be the same. This was unbelievable. What happened out there? And I've had many of those moments over my career and I'm always trying to

recreate those moments, right? It's like I had one really early in my career and I was like, that was crazy. How can I do that time and time again? Right. And some of those times are more natural and they, and they happen and you know, we get to bottle that up. And, but I mean, really, I'm trying to do that every time I step out on stage. Sometimes those moments are more manufactured than others. You know, this is, can't happen every single time. Yeah. So, okay. Physiologically, there's a slight difference between, that's why I was really curious how you're going to, physiologically there's like, give us the science behind that. Well, I think it's pretty complicated, but

there's more cortisol in anxiousness than there is excitement. And so cortisol is like the stress response hormone. And so, so there, and there's, there's some agitation that comes with that. And I'm making it probably too simple, but there is a slight physiological difference. And I'm making it probably too simple, but there is a slight physiological difference. And I'm fascinated by how people are able to manage the unknown. How many people come to your shows? Thousands, tens of thousands. Yeah. And so now you don't know what's going to happen.

Do you know your set that you're going to play? Is that structured or is there some intuitive vibe feel that you are unfolding as it goes um it varies on very big large-scale produced shows let's use coachella's example because everybody knows this festival it's very well thought out. It's I put time and energy into this. 80% of it's planned. 20% of it is still like I can call the audible. Sorry for the sports analogy goes to the heart of why I started becoming a performer in this lane. Because you can change things up. I am on the fly. I'm up there. It's me. It's not like it's an entire band and I have to turn to everyone and be like, nope, scrap it. This set list is whack. I want to change it and play this. I don't. I answer to one person myself. So if I want to say like, cool, this isn't working, I need to flip it out. Or I feel like this is a different direction to go. I can do that. So in club scenarios, I don't, I know the first song I'm going to play. And then I kind of just wing it. I've got 120 minutes in front of me, 180 minutes, whatever, however long the set is,

two to three hours is typical. In festival sets, I would say about 50% of it is done, um, where it's like, cool. The front is figured out and the end is figured out in between is not figured out. That's me doing my own thing. I love this. You're, you're, I, I thought for a long time that I was a little sloppy in my approach. So when I'm asked to give an address, a keynote or a talk or something, I only think about my two or three sentences in and my two or three sentences out. And then I want that unpredictability in between to feel and flow. Okay. I've always thought I'm a little sloppy,

but it is right for me. Right. If that's your style and it works, then, you know? Yeah. So you're're are you saying something similar like yes like this is what exactly what i'm saying that's i like to have it be a little bit open-ended because i think the the djing whatever you want to call this the performance start the part that it still excites me and keeps it fun is the fact that i can i can change things up i can move around i can you know okay So let's map this onto a psychological state. Okay. Flow state.

You know, so flow is the most optimal state a human can be in. It's when there's a complete connection between what we're doing and we have a great awareness and we're on time and on point and it's the highest state of functioning a human can be in. Okay. Okay. You've had it. I've had those moments. Yes. Yes. And then, and then, so I want to, I want to map because you're in a unique experience to have individual flow because you embrace the unknown risk is one of the entryways into flow state.

Okay. Clear goals is another entryway in deep focus is a third entryway in, and then, um, having this belief that you have the skills to manage the unknown so those are like four entryways into this is awesome yeah right isn't that good yeah so it's super crisp you can amplify or not amplify you can manipulate all those to increase the frequency of flow okay now but you're in a unique position where individual flow potentially can lead to group flow and group flow is not well understood. And when I watch your audiences bounce to the same rhythm, like thousands of people moving in a similar fashion, my hair stands up like,

holy shit, like that's pretty cool. So individual flow to group flow. And I'm wondering, like one of the deep questions I have for you, are you, okay, I'm getting too excited. Hold on. Okay. So are you looking for, I'm laughing because I'm so stoked to meet you, but are you looking for individual flow or are you looking for group flow or are you a junkie? Are you literally a junkie for adrenaline? And if there's another experience that you're really hungry for, you know, I don't want to box you into any three of those. I, there's a lot of aspects to that question. I think the first thing is yes. I think this job made me become a junkie. I don't think I started out that way. That wasn't my initial intent i was doing something that i loved and then as

i got hooked on this response the performance and the response of this relationship that i had with the crowd and to see to see listen your hair is standing on and my hair is standing on and even i've done this i've played something close to 5,000 shows. I've tried to figure it out. I mean, dude, 5,000 shows is crazy. Yeah. Congratulations. Thank you. That's a significant body of work. Thank you very much. I'm extremely fortunate, but I, I didn't start there, but now I long for those moments and I want those moments and we sit around in this room and when I'm doing work and strategizing and planning out my schedule, we're opening ourselves up. Me and my team,

we're looking for opportunities to make sure we're kind of maximizing moments like that. Like, cool. How can we get the biggest response? What can we do? Like, look, perfect example. I mean, I could play pretty much anywhere in los angeles i want to this is my i live here california is kind of my home base this is my largest audience in the world i mean i play all over the world but the biggest grouping of my fans are here in california northern california southern california i don't know there's more people in southern california so yeah it's a little bit bigger here, but Northern California, massive audience as well. So I can play anywhere I want. Two years ago, what I decided to do is start

producing my own shows here. So I don't, I don't connect with a promoter or producer or anyone. We're doing this in-house. I'm doing all of it. Like people are like, what? They don't totally understand that. And I'm sure my audience is like, huh? He produced that last show? When I say produced, it's like, okay, we find a location. We find a sit-in. I mean, and if people knew this, and I've been trying to document more of it this year because I think people would be interested in this fact. Like Sun Soaked is the name of this thing that I'm doing this year. It's in Long Beach, on the beach.

Daytime show starts at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, goes till 10 PM at night. I mean, for me, this is the ultimate feet in the sand. We're in the sand beaches in the sand sun's going down lights, confetti, whatever,

you know, all this. It's amazing. I'm like, this is to me, that's the ultimate. So I tried to produce a show that would do this. And the reason I didn't Long Beach is because the city was very welcoming and they wanted me to do this.

All this is to say that it's probably the stupidest thing that I could do and the most unsafe, but for me the most exciting and has the most potential and possibilities if I did it myself. Is it financial risk or is it emotional risk? Is that the big one there? That's a big one, but probably ahead of that is because everybody's so careful of their brand. Like, oh, but if it doesn't sell out, what's it going to look like? And oh my gosh, last year it was 12,500 people. Oh, so he's on his way out. Oh my gosh.

You're only 30 days in advance. Dude, why don't you just wait for Coachella next year? You'll be one of the headliners. You'll be in front of 80,000 people. There's always this easy, okay, take this road. Oh, there's another promoter who's doing something in San Diego. He'll take the risk. And it's like, no, I want to do this myself. And I mean, it's taken me a long time to get to this point. I've done a lot of those other looks along the way, but I got to the point where I was confident, like, no, I can do this. I can do it on my own. Anyway, we just were on the brink of selling out and it's 30,000 tickets. I mean, dude, in my world and my genre of music is absolutely unheard of. When the ticket on sale happened,

that day was like this dose of adrenaline. Like I had had it was insane to see the reaction from the fans and the tickets moving i mean really the ticketing agency ticket masters calling us up and they're just like this is absolutely insane we don't experience anything like this only in the highest level of pop music we're talking like beyonce you know they don't know who to equate it to and like here i am some you know kid in, some kid in Southern California who enjoys surfing here in Santa Monica. It's like whatever. It's very exhilarating and very rewarding to be on the other end of that and to see kind of these things unfolding in front of me. Finding Mastery is brought to you by Momentus. When it comes to high performance,

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code FindingMastery20 at FelixGray.com for 20% off. Okay. So that leads me to want to better understand like, what are you really hungry for? And it's a question I ask people and it's not meant to be a trite question. It's a real rich burn inside of me to better understand what the most successful are yearning for. Okay. And this is not a gotcha. figure out the best way to answer that. You know, it's like, and for me, I'm going to back it up a little bit enough. I don't mean to skate around. I want to answer this question as best as I can. And when I read up on you, it was like, what entails mastering your craft? You know, what, what is that? And in art, this is an extremely difficult thing to answer because, okay, cool. Now I'm in my beautiful

studio in Santa Monica. Okay. I've had some level of success. You're a master at your craft, but look, 25 years ago, if you would have met me in my really crummy apartment, one bedroom with mice running around and a, you know, one one hundredth of the gear that I have now, I still would have been like, I am trying was something inside of me as an, as a person, as an artist that I wanted to make and share. And it, it's not that I wanted to share it with the world. I didn't care if my mom and my girlfriend or my friends around the, the, the block or whatever guys I was going to school with, it was something that I needed to satisfy within myself to make this music. I needed to write a song. I needed to write another song. And I got to a point from shortly after I started, a year, two years or whatever, to the point where I was like, cool, I am satisfied with what I'm doing.

I'm doing this and I wanted to do it more, but I had satisfied something in me. I was happy and I considered myself like, cool, I understand and know my craft, right? I know how to write a song and I'm getting my idea out. Because for me, it was more about learning the tech side of things. Like I have an idea of a song and I want to get it from here to here where people can listen to it. Put it in their iPod, put it in and listen to it. But look, we live in a world where you have to pay rent and you have to buy food. So there's this other line of access, right? There's this line of like, cool, you got to satisfy yourself and satisfy that art that you want to make and create for me.

And then there's this line where you kind of got to like pay the bills and pay rent. And I think probably mastering your craft is where you're satisfying that thing inside yourself where it meets that axis of cool, you can pay rent, which I hit that point very, very early on in my career. I mean, I was only a few years into my career. Mind you, I'm making $50,000 a year. And I was at that point, but I satisfied like, cool. I, you know, I didn't, I was eating top ramen and peanut butter and like, you know, I bought a t-shirt at the gap and I was cool with that. Like I didn't need anything more, but I was at that point. And at that point, whatever that was, whatever year that was, I considered myself cool, I've mastered my craft and I'm happy and I've satisfied something within myself.

Cool. As time goes on, I think the variables change a lot. Right? Cool. I don't want peanut butter and ramen anymore. I don't want to live in a crummy one bedroom on the bad side of town. You know, things change. Okay. I get married. I don't want to live in a crummy one bedroom on the bad side of town. You know, things change. Okay. I get married. I have children, you know, that changes that,

that access line. Right. And then, um, but where you can still perform and satisfy that thing in yourself, but you're speaking to more people, your art becomes more of a commodity. And then you have to have more people around you to help synthesize what you're already doing. You have to speak into a larger megaphone, right? You can't, me speaking to a few kids on the block and asking them to come out to my show. Cool. That satisfied that back then. Now it's like, cool. I have Twitter and Facebook and SoundCloud and I can speak to millions of people when I put a message out. How do you know when you are – I think I'm confused by one part, which is at early – I probably am too, but I'll see if I can expand on it. No, no. Well, this is your journey. Like you're the expert in you, right? Right. Sure. That's one speak a lot speak well on yeah so the thought that you were master of your craft

early making 50 grand i don't think the 50 grand has to do with an indicator of mastery but it was the ability that you were able to articulate what was inside and then share it yes right and then you're better at it now than you were 15 years ago, or is it close to the same? Yes. No, I'm better. I mean, I have 20 years more experience. I'm better at what I do. What are you better at? Uh, I'm better as a performer. So there's that part of my job. My, my, I hate calling it my job cause I'm doing what I love every day. So there's that part of it. Cool. I'm a better performer now than I was back then before I just kind of stand there and would be frozen. And, you know, I was very nervous.

But I'm better at the technical side of things. Not that I'm a better songwriter. Sure, I am. Arguably. I don't know. I'm sure there's some of my fans that are online like, no, the stuff that he produced 15 years ago was better. I don't know i'm sure there's some of my fans that are online like no the stuff that he produced 15 years ago was better i don't know i was just writing from a different place like where i was in my yeah life journey so that message spoke to them like i said art subjective so you

know and i listen i have artists that i love too oh their second album so much better than their fourth album or whatever yeah Yeah, I understand that. But I think more that works because I connected with that message at the time. Not necessarily that they were a better artist. It's just whatever they were saying to me at that point spoke to me in my life. Yeah, it matched. There was a better syncopation. But I mean, I've been really, really lucky in the fact that I've had a lot of people support me through thick and thin and through different parts of my life, from songs that I was writing about being broke and single and unhappy to, cool, I'm married and in love and I'm a dad.

I mean, my message is a bit different now. Okay. I want to stay on this thread with you and I want to ask it maybe in a slightly different way. What, what is it that you're craving and almost aching for in your life? I'm stalling. No, take your time. I don't want you to do the marketing mind thing and say the thing that you're supposed to say.

No, I don't really have any. I don't have any. I'm not inclined to say something or think how this would be the right thing for Cascade to say. What am I craving for? What am I craving? Aching is a different. I mean, we're kind of talking to a professional my personal and family life i i am very satisfied i feel and i think that cuts through to my art a lot um i mean i'm married and i have three children i'm in the like the deep mix of that of what that of raising my children. I spend a lot of time goes into that. That's the phase of life that I'm in. Whereas consumed with being able to provide, being a provider.

And once I satisfied that, okay, cool, I've seen success. I can have a mortgage and pay that every month and not be worried about that. It's very important for me to be the best father and the best husband I am. Um, I think that's something I really crave trying to be the best that I can be in that for that, for those people that I love. And then I think professionally, which was what I was going to say more, maybe people are more interested in this part whatever I don't know certainly my fans that would be listening might be more interested in that I've experienced success on a level within the dance music community that I never imagined or thought was possible because I dance dance music was a very small niche thing it was like it was so small And then when EDM went through this massive explosion,

I was very fortunate because I was already at the head of this crest of dance music. So when dance music just blew up, I was already kind of one of the guys. I was one of the main characters in that story. So when a thing just went crazy and there was this influx of millions of fans that were just discovering the genre of music, I was lucky to be on that and ride the wave, man. I was just like, oh my gosh, everyone buckle up, hold on, because this next four or five years are going to be nuts. And that's what it's been. It's been just like this crazy ride. I want for that next kind of wall to be broken down. And I'm the kind of person that doesn't like to say my goals out loud. And I don't like to write stuff down because it's this fear of failure. I'm not the guy at the end of 2018 who'll write it down. Now in 2019,

I'll make a list in my head i'll have some things like cool i want to improve in this i want to do this and i kind of quietly make that lesson check in with myself every once in a while but i'm not the guy who puts it down and sticks it up on the thing because because i don't want to be the guy that has to look at the list every day and say i didn't do this and i didn't do that i'd rather be like, no, it's a success. But anyway, this last wall, I feel like, and I'll use an analogy that means something to me. When I was a kid and Nirvana went crazy, the world came to them. They didn't change who they were. I discovered Kurt Cobain and it's something inside of me. It was like,

this is amazing. I will have to listen to this record again and again and again and again. It spoke to me. Right. And it's not like he changed who he was. And I'm sure there's some Nirvana purists out there who would argue differently. But from that first album to Nevermind to the second album, to me, the heart of who he was and what they were doing, the sound that they made just went, it went crazy. And the appeal was insane. And I feel like, and I have always felt like, or else I would have never done this. It's like, cool. I feel like there's still a lot more

people out there that would enjoy my music and enjoy my sound. I just know how to speak to them. I don't know how to get that person's attention, right? Like, I don't like, cool for dance music, guys. I'm like, Hey, look me, I'm over here. I'm going to play Coachella. I'll play EDC. And these people will see me and they'll either like my music or they don't. And they move on and they go to the next artist. But I feel like for me, kind of that final barrier is reaching these people that are unreachable. They're outside of my screaming voice and I can get to them. And I feel like there's a lot of them that would, would find my music enjoyable and like it and like the

message or whatever. And I'm just kind of like, that's what keeps me motivated. Yeah. So it's, it's part, success is marked partly by that wall coming down and being able to reach many. That's part of success for you. And there's another part more internal, more private, which is the way it feels to be you, the way it feels to be able to have clarity of ideas and express those ideas artistically. So you've got both sides of it that you're playing with. It feels like there's a little bit of a danger in your approach and no judgment about it, but a little danger that what if your interest, this is me kind of creating a hypothetical condition that wouldn't be great. Your interest in having that wall come down and reaching people is greater than the interest to come from the most

authentic raw place. There it is. Nailed it. This is it. This is the dialogue and the discussion that my team's had around me for a year and a half. Right, because you've become a brand. Right. Well, I mean, listen, all these, the team of people that I have around me, they all make a living off the success of my decisions

and what I would do and how I carry the brand forward, what Cascade is doing, right? So there's a little bit of a buffer. Yes, there is a danger. And I never want to break that trust that I have with all these legions of fans out there that have carried me and hoisted me up and brought me to this point. I never want to betray that trust. It's very important to me because I wouldn't be here without them, right? I'd still be in a crummy one apartment doing, I don't know,

who knows what. But I feel like with art, and it's easy, and believe me, I've had these conversations in my head thousands of times because it's like, okay, my music fits in this box. But every time over my 20-year career that I try and move the walls of this box out and I push and I go to a point where it's uncomfortable, most of the time I've seen success and gained new fans. And it's come from, listen, because I wrote this blog piece about selling out because these people were having this conversation constantly on my timeline. And I was like, I have to weigh in on this. It's like, if it's coming from here and it's authentic, it can't be selling out.

This is a piece of me. That person, if you think that person sold out, guess what? When you liked them before they'd probably already sold out, dude, that was in there. You liked that piece of it. You just don't like where it went. You don't, you don't, you don't like that part of the story. That's, that's not, that's not his fault. This is like, you just got to let that go. other people think of them. And it's primal. It's amplified in modern times. We've got an ancient brain in modern times. And we are afraid of what other people think so much so that we compromise a large part of our autonomy to choose our thoughts and our actions that are authentically ours. And so autonomy is tricky because it might look like you and I have autonomy right now,

but there's a subtlety that's at play as well, which is we're working out trying to be together in this conversation. And at the same time, we're trying to work out like, okay, how do I say what I say without being offensive? How do I say and also be liked? And there's this weird primal thing that happens for all of us. I'm with you. Yes. So you've heard of YOLO, you only live once.

Yes. FOMO. FOMO. I'm all about that. My wife suffers from FOMO. Fear of missing out. Say yes to everything. Yes. And then so I've been saying this a lot lately and I want to say it to you because I love it. FOPO. FOPO.

Fear of other people's opinion. And I think it's at the center. I think that that is at the center of illness. I think it's at the center of low performance. I think it's at the center of people not revealing the wisdom and authentic way about themselves. And then here's – now I'm getting on my soapbox. Is that what we need as a world right now is people like you to stand up and say, no, no, no. This is me now. We need people to be themselves fully.

And we're, we're mired and struggling with all of the highlight reels that we're supposed to be. But it seems to me we're at the height of the opposite of that right now. We're struggling right now. FOPO is alive and it's a big thing. And 30% of people are struggling with a disorganized mind. This is causing anxiety and this is causing the sickness. It's at the center of it. It's activating the same systems from fight, flight, freeze, and submission. I think this is extremely smart and I agree with you. But you're in a unique position.

You're in like this amazing position. And I'll tell you, as a person who loves art, I crave the place in my own life that people demonstrate through art of authenticity and rawness and realness and refinement. And when somebody hits a note that is like, whoa, it's a game changer for all people that listen, that are attuned to authenticity. And so I don't know, I don't even know the artist right now, but I just got turned into the song, turned onto the song. I'm late to the game on the song. It's Love Lies. Love Lies. Yes. Are you familiar with it? And there's a couple notes early on. I'm like, Ooh, like, where does that come from yep and same with nirvana where does that come from what is that yeah what is that so that that is the that present moment authentic expression is at the highest human and humanity that we have to offer to express what is authentic and real and holy

shit that causes a change in people's lives and relationships. And I'll be damned if it doesn't require a deep commitment to training your mind because our brains win. Our brains are designed to keep us alive. And this is how I think, this is certainly how I've dealt with it. And maybe other artists do the same thing or maybe whatever. Maybe one person out there has done the same thing. I don't know. Or maybe I'm just the only guy doing this. So I protect myself from that. What is that? Okay.

From FOPO. Okay. that what is that what is okay from from FOPO okay I protect myself from other people's opinions pushing me around and navigating and steering my life because at the core of what I'm doing and I thought this early on was like I just need to sit down and make this song it's for me this only needs to satisfy one guy that's it sitting right here cool i'll share this with my wife cool i'll share this with friends and then it's and every time you share it it's scary right vulnerability is part of master right you pull back you're like no no nope i don't care that you you know f you i got it right you don't like it doesn't matter because i like it so the artist can always be like no no you're wrong i'm right like because

it made me happy and it satisfied what i need to satisfy and i think a lot of people hide behind that like no yeah you know this is authentic this. Cool. You don't connect with that? Whatever. This is me. This satisfies me and I created it for me and that's enough. And it has to be on some level, it has to be enough. Listen, when I write a blog piece or I put out a new song and as my camp grew and as my workforce grew and the people, my crew around me grew, there are people within that that would be very hesitant. Don't put this out, man. Don't, dude, you can't put this out. Or don't post the

last blog piece I wrote about anxiety. And I had people very, very close to me that have my ear that are like, look, dude, this isn't appropriate. Well, this is why we met. This isn't appropriate. Don't put this out. It's too soon. You shouldn't be speaking like this. All right. Cool. Publish. That's right. Yeah.

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I'd love for you to check them out. Head to calderalab.com slash findingmastery and use the code findingmaster at checkout for 20 off your first order that's caldera lab c-a-l-d-e-r-l-a-b dot com slash finding mastery are you off access do you see the world off access just a little skew i'm thinking what does that mean but just like i think it's awesome i think it's all off so yes so you like i like the off access because it's like i get concerned about for me mainstream i get concerned about the messaging the systems the fit in this box and i never fit yeah i don't have any of that i don't yeah so yes i'm off access yes i don't believe i think all that stuff is crap but i don't think they're i think they i think that's being created to to pacify the masses it's i think everything's off access the messages and i think because you

you actually are you are very off access when it comes to the majority people in your world so the majority of people and tell me if I'm wrong, because this is just my perception of artists. And I've been fortunate enough to work with a handful of artists that when they announce their tour, they're getting paid ridiculous amounts of dollars per night and they sell out in 15 minutes. So those guys, like your peers probably in hip hop and R&B. Pop music, R& uh, music R and B. So, um, one of the things that

we're, we try to sort out is the authentic voice and how to play that forward. And when you're saying like an artist can always default back to like my thing, you know, it's, well, it's right for me, but if it doesn't snap in place to others, it's probably not quite pure because there's only a handful of emotions that we get to experience as humans. And if you're just speaking from your head and not connecting your heart, something's amiss. Something's not pure and true. I love this. I love where you're headed. Yeah. So if you can

snap your work, your thoughts, your words, and your actions and get alignment there that have a great alignment to the principles that guide your life. And it's, and those two things are on point. Shit, things happen. And when you get someone to feel the thing that you felt when you said it, because you, your mastery of your craft is lined up in just a way holy shit you get a whole room to change let alone a nation or a world and so i agree 100 yeah yeah and so but you are off access and tell me if i'm wrong here no drugs no alcohol like you've got some principles that are guiding your life about wellness and how you want to live your life. Yes. Majority of DJs, I don't know, I'm out of my league here. Majority of DJs are not living that way? Yes, that's a safe statement.

Sure. Okay, so they're using some lubrication to decrease certain brain structures, right? And those certain brain structures allow them to be something that they can't be without the drug without alcohol yes okay a disinhibition right okay so i'm curious now let's go back to the very top individual flow and then group flow right group flow special when you when you when we are together and syncopated it's i don't know i don't think if we could, I don't think if we could bottle that neurochemistry, we change the world. Like when that thing happens, man. Yes. Yes. I agree. Okay. Because there's, there is a harmony that we are syncopated and that's very

primal. You know, you look way back. We used to jump around each other, you know, and have this very tribal thing that would take place and you're,'re creating it at scale so i want to know if you're better at group flow because your purity of the way that you're like the clarity of your thoughts words and actions or if group flow is enhanced by being on alcohol and drugs because they're not encumbered by the sloppiness of the critical voice wow the internal critical voice? Wow. The internal critical voice. I mean, this is a really good question.

I mean, I have to side with myself. I feel like it's working better for me, right? Because of this clarity. But I'm in the minority, so that doesn't make sense sense but you can only answer it if you find right because i don't know the other side of things but do you find group flow do you find that syncopation with with yes other people uh with yes when i'm thinking i'm speaking from a performance aspect me too yeah not studio but yes yeah no but when i'm in i feel like i lack flow sometimes when I'm in like more of a group setting and I have anxiety

working with, uh, groups of people when they're not in like sober situations, like writing sessions or studio sessions can be difficult for me because everyone's getting high and I'm the guy not getting high. Are you in the room when they're getting high? Yes, sure. I've been in the room, of course. I mean, I've seen and experienced pretty much everything you can imagine from being at shows to being in studio situations. I've got a wild imagination, though.

You're sure? I've seen some stuff. You have now? Yes. But I think, look, I think in my experience, a lot of fame and fortune or stuff that enables behavior that you might not have done without those tools can destroy you. I think when you give in to that, it's unfortunate because really that's probably not truly who you are, but you're just, when you have,

when you have it, no matter what level of fame, right. There's from whatever a basketball player that maybe nobody knows that sits on the bench to whatever the top most notable person in the world, people are so fascinated with fame that they'll do anything to enable and be around these people. Like, let me, you want that? Okay, I'll get you that. Whatever that is, if it's disturbing or kinky or gross or off center, whatever, whatever this thing is, because the desire can go way out there. And I've been in some of those situations where people around me, I'm like, what? What are you doing, man? You know, I'm here to play a show. But they take advantage of those situations. And I think they get a little delusional with this perceived power that's fake.

I mean, it's like, whatever. If this person wasn't known, they wouldn't be able to act that way. You know, but where does suffering come from for you? suffering i don't have a lot in my life i've that trials suffering i say trials where does trials come i don't know right right now it's the hardest thing is just uh you know trying to speak to my children that's the hardest thing i think that's like so that's my biggest challenge in front of me, but that's not suffering, right? That's like a challenge. It's hard. It's suffering. I mean, listen, I live in sunny Southern California.

I write music and play shows for a living. I mean, my life is so posh. I feel what's suffering for me getting a parking ticket out front. I'm getting pissed i mean my life is so ridiculously good and i'm aware of that i'd feel guilty saying anything honestly so you come from a more grateful place part of your framework your psychological framework is comes from gratitude yes okay for sure i'm the son of a banker who grew up in Chicago. I'm very practical. My dad, when he took us skiing, my mom and dad, we didn't go into the ski hut and lodge and get hamburgers because they were too expensive. Even though my dad could have afforded it probably, I assume he did all right, but my mom would make sandwiches there and we'd eat cheese and crackers on the side of the hill. That's just the family. That's the kind of, that's how I grew up. How do you get in your own way? Doubt.

Doubting yourself goes back to that. When I sit back and I question and I think, when it's just like, let it go with that flow. Go with those initial instincts and stop having the conversation. And so when you recognize that you're critiquing or doubting or questioning your choices, what do you do? Stop it. And I'm like, what was my initial instinct here? We should just go with that. So what do you do to become more aware of that inner voice?

I don't know. I think it's just spending time with yourself, having quiet moments. That's why I built this place. I mean, sitting here in my studio, it's easy to come here and be away from people and sit in this room and be like, all right, what's really going on? It's important to have that time. How much time do you get by yourself? Uh, quite a bit. I get time every day, for sure. Daily. Um, you know, and, and even on a greater, I listen, meditation, prayer, these are things that I, these are daily rituals for me and always have been since I was a very little kid. And I think that's even important because it keeps me centered and that's time to have those

conversations as well, you know, to keeping yourself centered. I think, you know, remembering who you are. That was a big thing that my dad said, and I've told that story a dozen times and it seems applicable here. You know, when I would leave the house as a kid, my dad would be like, remember who you are. And at the time it seemed kind of a funny thing to say, like, I remember who I am. Of course I know who I am, whatever. Um, and I knew what he meant, right? You know, I'm not an idiot, but he was saying, be good. You know, I've taught you how to be a good guy, be a good guy, be a good person. Um, don't make stupid decisions. You know? Uh, I think that was his easy way of saying that don't be a freaking knucklehead, you know,

but I think that stuck with me. Um, I forgot where I even started on that, but that stuck with me. So yeah, no, it sounds like that's been a guiding thought for you. Be you. Yeah. Yeah. And then what has been the cost of fame or the dark side of fame for you? Because early on, dad was about be authentic, be you, make good choices. And then there's a lot of people watching now. Back then, there was probably 30 people that were watching in your community. Two really, mom and dad. Yeah, sure. Right?

And then there's some teachers and some other peers. Brothers, sisters, whatever. Yeah. Things like this. Small group. So now you've got 30 million that are watching what you're doing. So what is the cost of that for you? Is there a dark side?

And you might say no. I mean, it's kind of the of things is not very dark. And it's because DJs and producers, they're still kind of cloaked and they're not super famous people. So I don't have to deal a lot with, I get a tiny taste of what, you know, my fame is this compared to most actors and, you know, what these people deal with on a daily basis. I can't imagine. I think the, the easiest go-to answer for me is like when you're going out to dinner and you're eating like a plate of rice and beans and you're like enjoying that moment

with your family or wife or whatever, whatever that moment is. And there's somebody there to interrupt you and you want to give them time too because I'm extremely grateful and I'm like oh my gosh you know my wife I feel bad I haven't been out with her in a week and this is our date night and now I gotta have this conversation with this person that wow they're kind of being crazy and they're really overreacting to this and they're so excited oh my gosh this person really is a fan I need to spend just a moment with them and take a picture and sign something. I think that's a little tricky. I think the darkest, but the more kind of subtext that is that it's easy to lose yourself and lose your priorities in that. And like, oh, I have all these, you get access. You show up somewhere to a club. Is there anything I can get you? What do you mean? You know, anything, anything. Yeah. I mean, I experienced that maybe 10 years ago or something. I was in Mexico city. I love Mexico city. And I mean,

when that dude said anything, he really meant anything. You know, I turned down his invitation to, you know, Hey, after the show, we've got a bunch of prostitutes and this and that. And these women are beautiful. They're clean and whatever. I'm like, no, no, no. I'm going to go back. I'm going to sleep. And, you know, I wasn't going to have a philosophical discussion with this guy at that moment.

Wasn't the right place or time or whatever. Yeah, I don't do that. I'm married. You know, I wasn't doing that. I was just like, oh, no, I'm going to go back. I'm tired, which I was. But, I mean, it's that times a thousand. And even on my tiny little level, I mean, I can't imagine what these people who control the pop minds, the best doers and thinkers in the world is that they front load, they get ahead of the stressful moment in clarity of what their philosophy is or their

guiding principles. And they get ahead of training their mind to manage those tricky situations because social pressure is real and wanting to be accepted by other people is real. And so if you haven't done the work, principle-based work, the mindset-based work, the alone work beforehand. You're going to fold. You'll get to that moment and you won't make the right decision. That's most likely what will happen. Exactly right. And I'm not suggesting that going up to the room is wrong. It's only wrong if it's not in alignment with your principles in life. If your principles in life support that, then okay, there's some other costs that'll come with it.

You know? Sure. Right, so. That's another discussion. That is another discussion, yeah. Okay, good. All right, so I was so excited to spend some time with you and this has been great.

And I've just got really a handful of more questions. Are you okay? Yeah, I'm good. Let's knock them out, man. It all comes down to, how do you finish that thought? Happiness. To me, it all comes down to happiness. And what do you do to increase the frequency of joy and happiness for yourself? How do you organize your environment and your, your external and internal environment?

I'm trying to create opportunities that keep you in situations where you can be happy or for me, when I'm speaking about myself. So there are parts of my job that I really enjoy and I try and keep me in those situations and do the stuff that I really like. And with success came the ability to do that. I could hire people to do the things that I don't want to, I don't want to sift through 500 songs that I might not like and might probably won't play. So somebody else does that for me now. I mean, whatever, that's just a very simple example, but I try and stay in those spots that, okay, cool. This is what I really enjoy doing. This is what's bringing me happiness. Cool. I want to eat cake all the time. Cool. So let's set it up so I can eat cake a lot, you know? So this is kind of what I've been doing for the last,

you know, as I've made more money, I've been able to have a bigger staff and to hire people that like to do, you know, they want to sit in and schedule my stuff and make sure I get from point A to point B. For me, I hated that when I was touring a lot, like, okay, but this person's really great at logistics. Okay. You do that then, you know, so I've been able to insulate myself and, and, and grow my team and be able to give out responsibility and put myself in a position to where I'm really doing the things that I love doing. Awesome. Success is doing what you love. Yeah. What if you can't, you know, so kind of the you're fortunate, unfortunate. What if you can't, what if you're in a factory and you don't love being in a factory? What would you

challenge or say to those folks? I don't know. Find joy in the things, in the small things, in the small victories, the things. I've been in a lot of places and positions along the way and along my journey here in life, whatever, and in positions that I didn't like that I was like, this freaking sucks. I can't stand what I'm doing right now. And I don't like this, but it's finding something in that moment or in that situation that you can find a victory in that is yours, that you can, there's gotta be a ray of light in there somewhere and you need to find that and focus on that and make that your reality. You're, you're anchoring. I'm sure you haven't read the research on this, but you're anchoring some significant,

robust pieces of research around joy and happiness, which is it's not that the environment has much to do with it. It's being able to find purpose and meeting and being connected to that purpose and meeting in the activities that you're doing right now. This is awesome. Yeah. So yeah, you're on it. You're totally on it. Okay. Last one. Mastery is doing what you love and being able to take care of those people around you so they can help you facilitate, can help facilitate you to continue to do that.

I mean, that's my life. That's what my life's been. You are heavily relationship-based. I am. I have a lot of great people around me. I mean, one of the things that people always want to talk about when they talk with me, because Naomi, my wife's name comes up a few times and I'm like, look, none of this would have been possible. I would still be the kid in the one bedroom crappy apartment, like slugging away. If I didn't have somebody there to compliment me and help me in those times when things weren't going the way they needed to,

to help me live my dream. She was there and listen, she sacrificed a lot of things. She put her stuff on hold to make things possible. Um, you know, we didn't have children for seven years in our relationship. And part of that was, well, one, we were having a good time being broke and young and dumb and all that comes along with it and joining the city of San Francisco. And, you know, kind of running from responsibility. But anyway, we were doing that. And, you know, she had a great profession. And as my things started to kind of bubble up, it was like, okay, cool.

I need to pause and help you. And that's a big part of my story. And I think people really look past that. And I think that's why, uh, some women are pissed and rightfully so it's like, cool. Yeah. This, you know, heaven forbid that something happened between Naomi and I, and okay, we have to dissolve that. It's like, yeah, dude, this is, this is as much her victory as it is mine. That's why it's like anytime I have a really big show or something that's significant in my career, I try and have her be there. And she tries to be there as much as she can. And that even extends down to my

children. I mean, I think this is another thing that I say that people just kind of like, wow, I didn't even think about that. Listen, my kids, I've missed birthdays, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, reunions. I've missed all of this stuff for the last 20 years for the majority of that. Why? Because I had to go do what I love. No complaining, never complained, never thought about it. There was never any hesitation. I had to go do this to get ahead and to continue to do this work. I knew like, cool, while these other guys are sleeping, I need to continue grinding. So there was never any of that question. So anyway, there's been a lot of people that I love dearly around me that have helped me

facilitate my dream, you know, that have been there and that have given a lot and sacrificed some things. And, um, you know, and now when I now when I back to those big professional moments, like, you know, the last Coachella I went to, my kids were there and it was, you know, this huge moment in my career standing in front of 80,000 people kind of, you know, in front of the hometown crowd and playing a set and people flipping out. And, you know, my kids were there to experience that and my wife, and that was kind of like one of the joys of the moment, not only just the satisfaction of seeing it work, but to be able to share that with the people that have sacrificed so much and love me and get to experience that with them. That's rad. Yeah, that's rad. Do you, when, last question, and then I'm going to ask you kind of where we can follow along with

what's next for you. If you were an athlete and the Olympics were coming and you had a spot in the Olympics and you've been training for 16 years and you've made the team, would you want to see that Olympics as the most significant, important event in your life? Or would you want to see that as another game? Let's, let's pick a sport. Let's say it's volleyball. Okay. Do you want to see that game of volleyball beat a sport let's say it's volleyball okay do you want to see that game of volleyball beat like okay it's the olympics it's on like this is a crazy this is the biggest event i'm ever going to have my life or would you want to see that as no it's another game and i'm going to show up and do my thing i'll tell you how i'd set it up in my head.

I would be telling myself and my teammates and whoever's around me, this is the biggest game of our lives. We have to perform. And everything leading up to that, everything leading up to that, I'd be like, this is huge. This is huge. But then quietly I would walk away and think, this is another game. I need to do what I do best. I've trained my whole life for this. So I would rally everyone around me and tell them that it's big and we need to perform.

And we're saying this, I'm kind of laughing because I actually just bought a countdown clock. It arrived today, right before you came in here. I unwrapped it. And I'm going to put up on there. It's days, minutes, seconds till Sun Soaked. Sun Soaked is this large show that I'm having. What's the date of Sun Soaked? It's July 21st. So we're like 80-something days away, around 80 days away. I'm going to go out. After you leave, I'm going to set the clock and I'm going to hang it up on the wall.

And then when everybody comes in here, they can see it. Now for me, I'm going to try and not stare at it too much because I'm that guy and I'll be like, it's another show. I'll be ready. Right. Cause I don't want to like freak myself out so much that I just kind of freeze up. It's luckily for where I am in my career, I've had, you know, my career has been so long that I've had a handful of those moments. I think in the beginning I was so my career, I've had, you know, my career has been so long that I've had a handful of those moments. I think in the beginning I was so worked up that I actually had a hard time enjoying and living it and like taking it in. It was just like, it would end, it would be the next day, like not even the next afternoon or morning. It would be like the next night or two days later.

And I'd be like, that happened. And I'd be bouncing around my house looking at photos of the event. Like, I can't believe that happened. It took me that long to digest it. Right. But now I'm at a spot where while it's happening, I've been able to kind of, you know, perform. This goes again to mastery. I feel very confident in my zone in the dj

but doing what i'm doing i mean whatever freaking 10 000 hours later whatever that number is i know the guy did the 10 000 hours but whatever that number is i'm there and i feel very confident and i can finally i can kind of enjoy this moment and look out at the crowd and really but i knew the flow was happening before but it was always happening in pieces I'm down, I'm the technical part of it I'm looking out, okay cool, it's working it's working, I'm working, it's working now I'm like drinking it all in

taking it, enjoying it Thank you for the time peeling back who you are and how you do what you do It's been fun It's been a wonderful time I've spent so thank you. Where can people find fun. It's been a wonderful time I've spent, so thank you. Where can people find you?

What's the best places? Cascademusic.com, or if you're on Facebook, Cascade, Twitter, Instagram. I mean, I'm on all the regular platforms, and I should say Cascades, but with two Ks, K-A-S-K-A-D-E. Where'd it come from? Where'd your name come from? Just me. I had a deadline to come up with a name.

I'd sold some music to a label and i was like ryan radden's so boring boo i gotta think of something cool and anyway and i said cascade my wife said that's a dish detergent i was looking through a nature book in a waterfall talking about how it's cascading and i was like oh cascade that's so cool i love nature stuff and she's like that's a dish detergent i'm like well just change the spelling i'm sure no one's used cascade with two Ks. Anyway. Awesome.

Yeah. Yeah. Good. So congratulations on everything. Thank you. It's been a great time that we spent. I'm looking forward to watching you and what you're doing and feeling the vibe that you're creating.

And so thank you. And our producer, Trevor Baru, is how this happened. And he loves your music. He loves dance music. And I bet you flat out he's going to beat your show. And he loves your music. He loves dance music. And I bet you flat out he's going to beat your show. You guys should all come July 21st. We got tickets for you. Beautiful.

Long Beach. No surf at that beach. But some good volleyball, though. We have some volleyball nets. Anyway, come on out. Thanks, brother. Appreciate you. Thanks.

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