San Diego Mixtape Society has been described as, “A place for San Diegans to gather, meet, maybe have a craft beer and dork out over music.” Think this sounds pretty perfect? You could be right. Learn more about San Diego Mixtape Society in our interview with creator/organizer Butch Rosser.
San Diego Mixtape Society became a materialized group back in early 2012 thanks to Butch Rosser, the informal-formal executive of the entire group. Along with Rosser to coordinate and organize is Jen Van Tieghem from SoundsInSanDiego.com and Daniel Palacio. Rosser says the group, “…has its genesis points in drunken Facebook messages from 2011.” San Diego Mixtape Society was also born in the wake of the creation of the “mother ship” group, the San Francisco Mixtape Society. Rosser prides his group on being the first, and so far only official outpost from the original group in San Francisco. Stating that “…it just ties into the ‘We’re an awesome town, and we should have one of these too!’ ethos.”
In a time that mixtapes have ceased to exist, SDMTS is fighting to keep the dream alive, all the while living up to modern day technologies. Appropriate submissions can be a burned cd, a Spotify playlist link or even a flash drive. Event, or “Mixup” attendees are asked to compile a playlist, which will fit into the specified category for that month. Example – If the group selects the category “Outer Space” – playlists could consist of songs such as, Rocketman by Elton John or Space Cowboy by Steve Miller Band. Get it? Good! Categories are voted on through their Facebook page before each mixup event. Submissions are then given out to the mixup attendees. How do you become a member? It is quite easy. Just follow them on social media and show up at the next mixup with a playlist and introduce yourself.
The whole purpose behind the San Diego Mixtape Society is for obsessive music nerds to have a place to obsess and nerd out together. Enjoy a couple of craft beers together until awkward small talk becomes second nature, and share some incredible music with like-minded music nerds. It is bringing back the lost art of the mixtape and making it not only relevant again, but recreating the standard of music sharing amongst friends.
The next San Diego Mixtape Society meet up will be held Feb 17th at Local Habit San Diego. All the fun starts at 2pm. Now enjoy our interview with Butch Rosser. TBZ!
What do you think is the importance behind sharing mixtapes? In history, and up until now.
It’s a way for stunted people to connect. There are probably thousands of kids in–no, there have to be–there are thousands of kids in this world because of mixtapes. The easiest way to a friendship or even a romantic relationship is having something in common; if you’re the sort of person who would’ve passed a cassette in 1983 saying/borderline screaming “You have GOT to hear this band!” or a flash drive in 2013, the song remains the same, to quote those Tolkien-loving long-haired hippies what’s-their-face. You think you have a kindred spirit, or someone who could be. But to say that sort of thing out loud is sort of crazy, especially early. You use music as a shortcut, a bridge, to say the thing you feel even if you can’t say it. And from there, who knows?
In your own words, how would you describe San Diego Mixtape Society? What is the group, and what do you aim to achieve from the groups meetings?
Oh, music addicts are everywhere. We dry clean your clothes. We watch your children. We don’t need an app to name that song. And we walk around with a soundtrack with our head. So we’re you. Or, at the very least, someone like you. Jokes aside, the group doesn’t have a set nexus besides Jennifer Van Tieghem from Sounds In San Diego.com, who’s our minister of information. Daniel Palacio is the second-in-command and the Overseer. I am in charge, somehow, as the loose dictator of the whole enterprise. Besides the three of us at the core? Anyone who interacts with us through social media and shows up for the Mixups is in, for lack of a better term. Hopefully what we do is provide people with a fun, unique alternative they can look forward to a few times of year and get to meet fellow music addicts and cool folk in San Diego’s music scene whether they play, sing, or are just fans. A Mixup is just a portmanteau for MIXtape and meetUP, after all.
How can someone who is interested participate in the group?
Pretty simple. Like us on Facebook and/or on Twitter, then come to our bimonthly Mixups with a mind for tunes and a willingness to drink and socialize, if that’s what you’re into.
In a time where mixtapes are falling quickly from every day life, how can someone submit a “Mixtape” in 2013?
There are a few ways. Most popular so far seems to be throwing a link up on Spotify for easy access; others use the 8tracks interface. Also, we get our share of flash drives, and also burned CDs with a playlist of tracks tucked into the cover is popular as well. The important thing about our Give & Go system is that if someone shows up to a Mixup and has taken the time to make a mix, in some way, they’ll receive one in kind with our random draw towards the end of the Mixup.
The mixup on Feb 17th has a theme, 88 Lines About 44 Women. What is the meaning behind this theme? What do you look for in submissions?
The theme name is a direct rip-off of a semi-forgotten Nails song title, which our second-in-command Daniel came up with. This month? It’s simply any song a Societeer would like to put on their mix that has a woman’s name in the title. Barbara Ann, Iesha, etc. We put it up to a vote – as we do almost all our Mixups – and that was the one that won. In submissions? We’d prefer something about a CD or 80 minutes in length; you know, something where someone can go on a run or a jog and come back at the end of the last track. Obviously, if someone wants to go above and beyond and submit multiple CDs or a flash drive full of favorites we aren’t going to stop them.
What are some of the surprises guests can expect when attending a mixup?
This will be our fifth Mixup so far, but an emerging sense of community is starting to emerge, which is always great to see. It’s akin to being the bee girl at the end of the No Rain video; you search high & low for people like you and then this gate is open and HERE THEY ALL ARE! Another positive aspect is we have a very laid-back atmosphere. It’s like a lot of conversations people have in bars after a couple except the focus is on music and all the memories it brings, poring over track lists and the anguish of what got left off at the last second. Just expect a fun time & to meet some decent folks. The rest is still unwritten.
The next event will also be a fundraiser. Can you explain to us what the fundraiser will benefit, and the reason you decided to hold a fundraiser?
Well, the benefit will benefit the Shanty Royce Memorial Dance Fund, which’ll let schoolage kids in Ontario, Canada be able to get scholarships and the like for a dance-based education. Shanty was better known as Rhian in her online circles as her favorite Fleetwood Mac song dictated, and she was friends with our leader for over a decade and got him through the roughest part of his life. Tragically, she had lupus, fibro, and liver problems amongst other auto-immune disorders, and she died at 39 on January 27th. Obviously there’s a long swath of hospital bills and funeral expenses as well, so our efforts will go to her widowed husband, Darren, as well, to help get him through what’s a horrible time for the hundreds of friends she had and the family that’s lost her. I pretty much flexed the rare leader muscle of opting to add the fundraiser, and once they found out what she meant to me, Daniel & Jen quickly acquiesced. I hate being without someone who was like a best friend to me. She hugged palm trees, she kept a drink in hand, she loved rock n’ roll, and her annual visits to San Diego the past few years were some of the highlights of her life. In the grip of feeling powerless and devastated in her wake, I can at least say “I didn’t say all the things I wanted to, or have all the fun with her I wanted. But she loved this when I mentioned the idea last spring, and if she could be here, she would. Her in the center of the room with people buzzing around? That’s how she lived. I can’t do enough. But I can do this.”
What are some future plans we can look forward to from San Diego Mixtape Society?
The highest priority after we’re done with February is to move on to the Mixup in April. It’ll be on the 28th at the Whistle Stop, which we’re looking forward to greatly. This will be a late birthday party for Mr. Palacio after the one this month is sort of a last birthday party for the twins Butch and Jen. After that, shockingly enough, will be our first anniversary Mixup in June. Optimally in the future we’ll expand to places where we can have live artists perform. It would be tremendous for bands to get involved with us and be able to perform at Mixups to the theme, but that’s a ways off for us. Line up the Mixups for the rest of the year and making April just as good as all our other offerings before we blow back people’s eyeballs with the Anniversario is what the aim is for now. If we get “stuck” with a handful of regulars and we just end up drinking and hating ourselves because we couldn’t sneak that one more song on our list, that would be just fine as well. We may also expand our presence locally with some fliers for future events and a website, if we can get the proper support for either or both.
Please finish this sentece… We aim to keep the mixtape alive because…
…it’s fun. Even now, you don’t hear rappers on tracks going GET THAT FRESH NEW DOWNLOAD, SON! I BE BURNING UP THEM TUBES ON THE REGULAR! The nomenclature for it’s gone away, but the spirit remains. Let’s use these songs so someone can get to know me a little bit. It’s a simple thing but a big one. Armies have been built on less.
Special Thank You to Butch Rosser and the San Diego Mixtape Society. SDMTS logo created by John Verrochi. Used with permission. Please follow along on Twitter and Facebook.