Chrystal Kaminski

Ahhh DEMF, my home away from home. Best techno I have ever experienced. Thank you, thank you. I had such a blast at Movement this year…I got two T-shirts to prove it :). Took so many pictures and saw so many talented artists that I don’t even know where to start giving kudos.

I just loved getting up each day and knowing that I was going to see a full day of more artists, would get to dance until I couldn’t anymore and would get to fuck around and talk to some of my closest friends whilst it all happening. Great food, nice staff and a lot of room to move around in the Hart Plaza. There’s even a giant waterfall right in the center. People who brought their kids to the event would bring them there to play when the heat got to be too much. Smart cookies they are.

I know I would love to go back again, but since I’m having a child soon, that will not be possible for at least another year or two. But don’t worry, DEMF…I will grace you with my presence again one day, and together we can make great memories once more.

I went here to attend DEMF, the Detroit Electronic Music Festival. It was absolutely AMAZING, best techno I have ever heard along with many other artists I have seen before and some I never have. Hardfloor was one of my favorites…me and my whole group of friends were going nuts for them, dancing and jumping up and down, it was simply fantastic. It was quite an experience to say the least.

The city of Detroit is a hole though, seriously. It is the dirtiest city I have ever seen. My friend Sue and I were walking around downtown at night and there were all these bums everywhere and shady looking people on the streets and in the back corners of alleys and such. It was kind of scary, if I wasn’t with someone I would have never walked around at night. That city not only is dirty, but NO ONE gives a SHIT what you do. If you want to walk around with bottles of beer and a blunt in your hand, you can. My friends were walking around town with beers and other drinks and cops would just look at us and move on. You can yell and scream and party in the streets and not a damn soul will care. Cars are allowed to park ANYWHERE, and no one ever got a ticket. I remember seeing all these cars parked all along the streets up to the stop sign, on the curbs…even on the sidewalks. That city is seriously a free-for-all. No wonder why they have such high crime. I kept walking around thinking “we would NEVER be able to get away with this in Milwaukee”. We would end up with tickets UP the wazoo and a night in jail for doing the shit we did in Detroit.

The hotels are disgusting, even the nicer ones. I had friends that stayed at the Leiland and then some that stayed at the Holiday Inn Express (I don’t know what makes it ‘express’). The Holiday Inn was much nicer, but it was still a hole. Forget about the Leiland….that place should be a home for bums. We had a good time trashing what wasn’t already trashed though…so it was worth it :P. Us ravers just don’t stop.

The only nice area in Detroit was the Hart plaza where DEMF is held, it’s beautiful and relaxing, even with loud hard music pounding in the distance. Right across from gorgeous Canada…it sits chill along the Belle Isle, the breeze you get off of it was great in the heat. They have wonderful food at DEMF, the vendors had variety for every kind of person…so from greasy pizza to veggie-wraps, you were set to go no matter what your style. I had a great time on the grounds, rarely did I leave them unless it was to get something or someone from a hotel.

Overall the trip was great, I had fun with all my friends and I got to see people I don’t see very often. So though the city is mostly shitty in the looks/class department, it’s still fun to throw down there without a care.

My friends and I went hiking in this canyon..it was my very first time hiking ever really. I have a mild allergy to the sun so I really was at a loss here because there is minimal shade to seek refuge in. I stayed behind at time when my friend wanted to climb very high up.

I did have a great time though, hiking tests your balance, distance calculation and your instincts. I found myself climbing on all fours much faster than I could on two feet, that way I could also be more nimble and balanced. I could also hold on and navigate better. I felt like a mountain lion or something, it was quite funny.

The heat was at times so unbearable though…so I sought out a spot to sit with a tiny piece of shade. It was nice to sit there by myself and just take everything in, the sky and rock formations all around me, the sun and the smells. It was wonderful.

My stay in this city was more pleasant than I thought it would have been. It was 90 – 100 degrees and sunny most of the time I was there and I couldn’t have asked for better. I stayed in one of the many gated communities they have there and the place was just to die for, mirrored walls and tile floors, marble bethrooms.

They really know how to pamper people there, everything we needed was in walking distance, shops, food, banks. It was extremely convienient. All the palm trees everywhere made me so happy, I looked at them in awe because they are such a rare sight for me living in a colder state where they cannot grow. To me they mean warmth, fun and vacation.

The area is mostly geared toward the senior community, we saw lots of very elderly people golfing while we were there. It’s very quiet and very tame for the most part. Basically a very wealthy, quiet and suburban paradise.

I went to NV for two days, three friends and I stayed with our friend Bastian at his parents home in Henderson. Their house is on the top of a hill overlooking the valley below…you can see the WHOLE city from the second floor balcony. The first time I walked up there in the morning, I actually gasped to catch my breath because of the sheer beauty. It was like nothing I had ever seen..

The weather is fantastical there, always sunny, always hot. Just the way I like it. Not many people have grass because the city pays them to take it out because of water costs, so it’s very tan and orange colored, very sandy looking. The area is so very beautiful, the mountains in the distance were always a welcome sight for me, as were the many palm trees that spotted the larger cities.

It was fun just hanging out having a drink with friends at the bars, and some of them don’t close at all which was interesting. Lot’s of fun was had in this state and I would consider moving there because of how much I love the weather and the houses. I saw lots of new communities going up everywhere, though the costs are extremely high compared to my state.

All in all NV is a nice place to visit for a warm and toasty, bright vacation.

I went to Vegas with my friends Bastian and Robert. It was an interesting time indeed, we hung out for a while to see the water show at the Bellagio which was pretty cool, I got some pictures and video of it.

I liked the bright lights and people everywhere, sooo many casinos. I am not a gambler so I was just there for the show I guess, just to say that I went there. It really wasn’t all that and a bag of chips like a lot of people say. I mean, it was beautiful and there are a lot of things to do but I wasn’t able to do many of them so my experieince was not the same.

I was mainly interested in taking pictures, which I did take many of. I loved all the palm trees and the greek architecture at Cesar’s Palace, got some good shots of that. I also loved the seahorse/sea themed diner in one of the hotels…it was really amazing. Because of that I have decided to get a seahorse tatoo somewhere on me.

So I went to an area in L.A. called Huntington Beach. It was just like Milwaukee’s Water St. Just much, much larger. I was surprised how cold it was down there at night, since I was staying in the desert the ocean seemed quite the different thing. I didn’t like it too much because we went at night and I really couldn’t see anything, which was the whole point of going.

We just bounced around to different bars as we walked the streets. We ended up at Crabby’s in the end and I rather liked that place compared to the major chotch bars that occupy the area. I wanted to shop but I didn’t get the chance.

I met some real nice people at Crabby’s, they had a lot of questions about Milwaukee and were eager to share things about the L.A. area. It was an ok experience I suppose.

This is THE one and only industrial/gothy club that exists in Milwaukee at the moment. I stumbled upon it when my other weekly club (Mad Planet) stopped their teen night on Saturdays, which I loved dearly.

I was about 21 by the time I was going here regularly, in the winter of 2001 was when I started. That’s when I met a whole new slew of friends and aquaintences. Planet was pretty gothy, ravey and punky, so the super goth thing didn’t phase me. But man there were some super goths there I tell you what. The only thing I really did not like is that the club was really geared only towards gothy, metal, industrial people in general.

Now things are different there, I have been going for four years and the rave scene has picked up since I first started attending. Now there are little (young) “gravers” as they so lovingly call themselves, basically “gothy ravers” that come and dance with thier lights and glowsticks, which I am quite used to. The overall scene at the bar has changed, now they are open to more kinds of music and allow DJ’s to spin there often. A company I work with (Aeon Alliance) actually has a resident night there on Saturdays.

They have remodeled a bunch and decided to keep the bar in the back, which I think is a good idea because it allows more room to get drinks and also allows more places to sit and talk. I think the place is real nice now and Todd (the owner) has done a really good job with designing the place.

Come here with an open mind and things will be good. Cheap beer on Wednesdays, their star night. Yes my friends, 25 cent tappers. However, there is a $3 cover. Hardly a wallet robber..

So, if you wish…come to the dark side, we have cookies.

The Maharishi University of Management is a wonderful place to visit. I met Donovan and David Lynch here, they participated in a seminar that promoted knowledge about meditation, creativity and the mind. I learned about trancendental meditation and some about the theories of quantam physics.

It is a very fulfilling place, a school devoted 24/7 to a world of love, contentment, self-understanding and well-roundedness. I was greatly inspired and the campus and people there are lovely, very gentle and interesting creatures.

I have included a picture of one of the buildings at the college, their campus looks pretty much like this all over the place, the dorms also follow the same flow of architecture with the soft yellow paint and square building.

Iowa was very flat, I think it is THE flatest place I have ever visited. I went there to see David Lynch and Donovan at the Maharishi University of Management in March of 2006. It was a great time with my friends, though there was nothing to do at night, at all. There was this small bar next to our hotel where we went for a bit, but that was IT. No dance clubs, no nothing. We stayed in Mt. Pleasant but hung out mostly in Fairfield during the day. Fairfield was better, but still boring.

The weather is nicer than WI. in general, but I still would never want to live in Iowa. I don’t think I will ever visit this place again, I live for nightlife. They are also not an artist saavy state….maybe in the quad cities, but for sure not where I was. I did not see an art museum while I was there, not one. I did see many antique places though, which does strike my fancy. If I was old without a family, I would consider moving here if I did not like being social or having things to do. I would have to be a shut-in.