As someone who has been in the electronic music culture for more time than most of us have even been aware of it, Kaskade is not afraid to stand up for his profession and those who appreciate the music. When a Los Angeles Times article regarding the cancellation of Hard Day of the Dead surfaced, the headline included the phrase “summer of deaths”; Ryan Raddon quickly took to his website and published his opinion on the matter in an article titled “I Can’t Keep Quiet“. Read Kaskade’s full statement below.
I’m not a numbers guy. I live for music, I might even choose to die by music, were that possible. But sometimes numbers paint a picture so let’s get smart for one second.
Today an article surfaced in the LA Times, AGAIN, saying the sky is falling because of raves. Its headline screams a salacious “After a summer of deaths, popular Halloween rave won’t be held”.
Really. A summer of deaths. Really.
In a recent previous article, LA Times states, “There have now been at least 21 confirmed drug-related deaths among people who went to raves nationwide by Los Angeles-area companies since 2006.” As a lover of dance music, a friend, a brother, a son, a husband, and a father, even ONE death strikes me down.
But let’s not pretend this is an isolated problem, something unique to dance music culture. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, every day in America 27 (TWENTY-SEVEN!) people die as a result of drunk driving crashes.
That’s more than one person, per hour, every single day.
So, in the past 10 years there have been 21 substance-related deaths at dance events. And EVERY DAY there are 27 substance-related deaths, which are somehow less news and attention worthy. I suppose once you reach a certain point, the news doesn’t notice anymore.
I’m happy to tackle substance abuse. I’m happy to use my influence to encourage people to be responsible, to stay alive. But this is a world-wide problem, something that is not even close to being unique to dance music. Part of the problem is people trying to simple-size it. Raves = drugs. So close them down.
Not going to work, and we all know it. Time to devote your column inches to some real stories. The war on drugs is a farce. There are better answers than regurgitating the same alarmist solutions that have never worked, which will NEVER work. Try this on: education, harm reduction and legalization.
Start there. And back to the music for me.
