A Hundred Drums: Breaking Barriers Through Community and Diversity

Gabrielle (00:00.106)
Now I’m noticing that I’m getting booked for a lot of great opportunities. And I’m just like, my God, this is insane. And of course I was reading things on Reddit. And then someone said something that triggered something in me. They were like, it’s because they’re trying to be more diverse. So they’re booking a hundred drums. And I’m like, whoa, wait a second. I became a box to check. And so not only do I have to…

prove that I’ve earned it, I now have to fucking prove that I deserve it. Which leaves me no room to make a mistake. I can’t complain, which we see on Twitter all the fucking time. Don’t let me do it. I don’t have that same privilege to act the fool. It will come down harder on me. I think it is because I’m a bit more under a microscope than others. I didn’t ask to be chosen one. I didn’t ask to be in this space.

I just got into DJing because I’m passionate about other people’s music.

Jesse Brede (01:02.19)
All right, welcome back to another episode of A Path Unfolding. I’m your host, Jesse Brede. My guest here today is Gabrielle Watson, also known as 100 Drums. Gabrielle, welcome to the podcast.

Gabrielle
Thanks for having me, Jesse. It has been a really long time. miss you.

Jesse Brede
I miss you too, and I’m really proud of you. It’s been so cool to see all your progress and your adventures. I mean,

first, like that’s to me like a huge deal. Like, I’m so proud of you. You’ve been sticking with this journey and really like you’ve made it quite a name for yourself and watching you get to like, you know, play all around the world, all around the United States. I guess you were saying just before the interview, you just dropped your boss off and you’re working this, this gig with Beatport. I wanted to start there. Tell me about that.

Gabrielle
Yeah. Thank you for the kind words. That definitely means

a lot coming from you because unlike many, many, many, many, many others, you have actually been a part of my journey for a very long time. So it is really cool to hear that from you because you’re a big part of honestly a really pivotal, see what I did there, pivotal point of my career. So thank you, Jesse. I appreciate that. Yeah, I just dropped my boss off.

At the tidbit terminal at LAX, I have been working at Beatport now for the last couple of months. And it’s very interesting because being a world touring producer DJ, it’s just something I absolutely love and something I have always wanted to do. And I’m able to do that. But something that a lot of people don’t really know is I also happen to be a really high intellectual individual.

And I am very good and highly skilled at many other things. And so I’m not, I don’t believe I was ever built to just do one thing and just doing music while it is my number one passion that sometimes too can make me feel like I’m stuck in a box because I’m not exercising my other strengths and skills. I really love working. I really love community.

Gabrielle (03:27.398)
And I really love doing things that impact others in a positive way because I am a big time spiritual believer and I believe in karmic points. And I feel like the more I give, the more I get. So with Beatport, am the, I am the community and partnerships coordinator for the Americas. So I basically run the community and partnerships department.

for all of North America. And I get with a bunch of collectives that are around North America that focus on championing women, people of color that lift up the LGBTQ plus community and that are providing safe spaces for people like us to express, get resource, education and connections and networking. So Be Poor in its 20 years of existence.

Wild to me. I have been a beat poor consumer for going on 11 years now and And they have never done events before I Never would have guessed that like hold up. You are the leading site for 20 years for us Electronic producer and DJs to buy music and you’ve never done events. That’s wild Never but they have collaborated with other people that do events

So they put their branding on there, provide some resources and support. But as far as a full on, from the bottom, built from scratch event, this is all brand new within the last year. And I’m blessed to be running that for America. So my next event hasn’t been announced yet, but I’m happy to share it anyway, is gonna be in February. Beatport is gonna be honoring Black History Month, and I’m putting together a workshop.

and an educational panel, is typically what I do, put together educational workshops and mixers or discussion panels as well as mixers followed by that. And then there’s a lot of resources that are provided in that so people can come learn a thing or two, network in the end. And yeah, it’s great. So February, we’ll be doing Black History Month. We’re gonna be honoring the history of that. And yeah, I’m excited.

Jesse Brede
Wow, amazing, amazing. Yeah, wow.

Jesse Brede (05:52.782)
Well, yeah, I’d agree. Like I think when we worked together and did your first EP self-titled in 2019, I think at that time you might’ve been working at Amazon and I’ve known you’ve had a couple of different jobs and like, I love that part of your story because I think it shows like even when you are having success in music as a touring DJ and artist,

You know, you can have another career, you can have another facet. And I love when they come together, right? All of your work in those other businesses and jobs gave you that structure and know how to work in a more corporate environment and know how to do communications and email and structure and like set up these things. And then tie it into your artist career and running B-side and being an event promoter and really, and also being a person of color.

and a woman and just champion this cause like what a beautiful blend of all these things. sounds like you karmic points for sure. you cash it in like jackpot. That’s amazing. So if you if you were looking for somebody, if you had a partner that you would your dream partner or somebody that you wanted to reach out to you, you were looking for collectives like what who are you looking for? What would be an example of a great partner or somebody that you’ve gotten?

you know, coming to you or that you’re working with right now. Who are the people that you would love to connect with?

Gabrielle
Yeah, I can actually give you a couple of examples. So at Bport, we just closed out our diversity and parity fund, which is $150,000 grant that we’re giving to collectives to help push them forward. It’s essentially the same of what Excision did when he had 100 grand and he gave us all 10 grand to help push our careers forward.

So we’ve kind of done the same thing. And one of the collectives that I just absolutely love and admire with my whole heart, they are collective here based in LA called Black House Radio. And it is ran by an incredible crew of black artists, actually quite eclectic and they are diverse. It’s not just only black people, but they are pushing black culture. And I mean, if we really want to get down to it, black people invented EDM.

Gabrielle (08:10.926)
I mean, this started in Chicago and Detroit because the queer community needed a space where they could be and express freely. And then the Germans started developing exquisite technology and then took it on a whole other level. So respect to the Germans. But so Black House Radio, I feel like they are kind of our modern generation of that because they are all about

house music and lifting up people of color and the queer community. And what’s really cool about their events and why they stand out is because when you go to their shows, it feels like you’re literally at a house party. So there is a pun on Black House Radio because it feels like you’re at a house listening to house music on the radio. So when you go, their stage is set up with rugs and couches and lamps.

and they’re sitting down and they’re playing music. And it’s just the coolest thing. So they- that sounds like a vibe right there. It’s a vibe. So they’re actually who I’m going to be collaborating with in February for Black History Month. We’re going to be doing a panel and inviting other members of other collectives that are doing a similar thing to have discussions about it and then a mixer afterwards. So to go back to your question,

I am looking to connect with collectives that are championing the underrepresented, that are providing safe spaces for the underrepresented to come and have access to resources and education. If you think about it, there are so many spaces that are doing this, like Icon Collective, an incredible school, open to anyone and everybody, but for some reason, a big part of their target audience are white cis males. And I think because of that,

A lot of people aren’t familiar with icon collectives. There’s a whole demographic they could tap into, but unfortunately it’s just not something that comes naturally because a lot of people of color and the LGBTQ plus community tend to kind of be in a bubble and it’s hard to explore or find other things that are out there when you just don’t know it. You kind of have to put in a little extra effort to reach that target audience. So that’s what’s really cool about Beatport is we’re going out of our way.

Gabrielle (10:35.302)
And granted, like we don’t generate revenue for the company. We are fully having our paychecks funded on music sales and Beatport’s like, we are going to invest in community because we want to help lift up the underrepresented. We want to provide these safe spaces. What can we do to help champion that and reach greater audiences? And it’s, it’s awesome. So if you’re a collective that are uplifting the underrepresented or.

want to do more to reach that target because you want to give more but don’t know where to start, hit me up and I got you.

Jesse Brede
That I mean, I think that’s a great time to just talk about and about diversity, about representation, about some of your experiences in the music industry and beyond as a woman, as a person of color.

I can say from personal experience and I feel like I’m someone that has been relatively conscious for a long time. I grew up with a mother that was very, you know, feministic and really taught me to treat people with equal respect. And I still can constantly catch myself with white privilege, with male privilege and going, whoa, I don’t even understand what it’s like to walk in that person’s shoes or how systemic

racism or sexism is in our country, in our culture. So that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to have you on because I think you’re someone that speaks truth to power. And especially after last week with the election and sort of where we are as a country, feeling like some of the tide is going back. Some of the rights are going back and it’s like, it’s easy to get discouraged, right? It’s easy to feel down. One, I want to be an ally. I want to be

someone that listens and asks the right questions. Sometimes I even feel like it’s hard to ask the right questions, but yeah, I just wanted to ask you like one, what has your experience been like? Can you be open and honest about some of the challenges you’ve had? So maybe people that don’t understand what that’s like can really listen and have a take a moment to, to walk a little bit in your shoes.

Gabrielle
I’m going to answer this very carefully. but also honestly, and in the beginning, when I first started out raving, I’m going to go ahead and age myself.

Jesse Brede
Yeah, do it.

Gabrielle
So in 2009, my very first rave ever was going to EDC here at the Coliseum. And it didn’t really hit me a little bit until later because at the time I’m just so young, I was green and just exploring this whole new world of

acceptance and freedom. I’ve always known growing up that I was different and wanted so much more in life. And there was just more than what I was doing. And to be honest, at the time I was going to school, I was obtaining prerequisites so could take my MCAT to study become an obstetrician’s gynecologist. I wanted to deliver babies for a living. There you go.

I was like, yeah, vaginas, let’s go. That’s the tagline for the episode, by the way. I’m just kidding. Down. Listen, the female and male, but primarily the female reproductive system is one of the most fascinating things that exists on this planet. We bear and sustain life. Full stop. Say something.

What is greater than that? So, raving changed my life in a sense of feeling freedom and feeling more open to express and everything. And then as the years gone on, because from EDC, I went down a rabbit hole and started exploring more underground events. I discovered Moon Tribe. I discovered Lucidity. And I just kept digging and digging and digging. There’s so much more to this.

And I’ve always been doing music my whole life. know, I grew up playing percussion. There are my djembe’s and drums has always just been my thing because it’s very physical. And I love that I could just express physically and it just felt really good. But I never felt like that was something I wanted to fully take seriously. Like I look at my favorite percussionist in the world. I mean, he is one of the greatest percussionists in the world, Efron Saint. And I’m like, my God, he’s amazing. But I don’t really like want to.

Gabrielle (15:24.942)
like his, he’s a legend, but I feel like I could do more. So raving exposed me to that. And so I started learning how to DJ and doing my own thing locally. And as I started DJing and looking around more, I’m like, wait a second.

I can’t be the only one. What’s missing here? And through this time I have discovered the legends, the gods, Mala and Koki. And Mala and Koki, the original pioneers of UK style dubstep, were the first two I discovered that looked like me. And when I saw them, I was like, okay.

There probably is a space for me here. And then that inspired me to keep going. Granted, what they go through in the UK is completely different. They don’t have a lot of the same racism and discrimination in music as we do here. And it’s very odd that it’s like that. But seeing them encourage me to keep going and keep going, and I keep learning more about the industry.

and started to feel like, now I’m not sure if I do belong because when I’m on a lineup, it’s great, but why am I the only female? And then if there are more women, which at the time, rarely, like 2014, 15, 16, even 17 was slim to none, especially in bass music. And I’m like, I’m feeling outcasted. I’m feeling…

very lonely and I don’t know what to do to change this.

Gabrielle (17:15.31)
So then I made some homies here in LA. And also at the time I was spinning straight UK style dubstep. It wasn’t popular by any means at all then. So I felt like because the music I was playing seemed boring to some, no one was into my music. Like it was just weird. But then like I made some homies here in LA and B-Side was bored.

So we were like, you know, let’s build our own fucking community. Let’s build a community where people are going to relate with us, where none of the other loud noise matters. And we were just kids. We were just kids. We didn’t know what we were doing. We just know that we loved this very unpopular sound of music. And at the time there really wasn’t anyone else that was doing it. Smog.

is one of the legendary crews to do it, Peer Filth crew, big up to them. And, you know, they were really like the ones to bring in here. And then now they come to our events. And it’s really cool that the torch was passed. So we built community around that where we didn’t have to think about the noise and we kept our lineups as diverse as possible. We had Americans, non-Americans, blacks, whites, Jamaicans, Asians.

Like all of it at the time there were no women doing it. So that was harder, but it’s gotten a lot better. Now, if you look at our lineups in the last couple of years, there’s always a woman of color or just a woman in general. so we definitely do our best, but the challenges that I faced personally next to being lonely.

There was a short time, I to say the last two years, now we’re backpedaling again. But the last couple of years I noticed, and not just myself, many other women, so many women were being pushed, were being uplifted, were being supported, were being booked. We started to push the needle a little bit, the vinyl is spinning a little faster. And now I’m noticing that

Gabrielle(19:32.94)
I’m getting booked for like really big things, lot of great opportunities. And I’m just like, my God, this is insane. And of course, which I don’t do anymore and I don’t recommend it. I was reading things on Reddit and there were people saying, why is a hundred drums like on everything? Cause like a couple of years ago you saw me on fucking everything. And I’m just like, hell yeah. I’m fucking crushing it.

I this, I deserve this, I’ve been at this when a lot of these kids were still on their binkies. And I’m just like, hell yeah. And then someone said something that triggered something in me. They were like, it’s because they’re trying to be more diverse. So they’re booking a hundred drums. And I’m like, whoa, wait a second. That does make a lot of sense. So I became a box to check.

And so not only do I have to prove that I’ve earned it, I now have to fucking prove that I deserve it, which leaves me no room to make a mistake. I can’t make a mistake. I have to be perfect. I can’t say anything. I can’t complain. I don’t have that same privilege as the next person does.

which we see on Twitter all the fucking time. I’m not gonna say no names, but we see some artists bitch and moan about things online. whatever, blow is over. Don’t let me do it.

Don’t don’t let me do it. I won’t get away with it. I don’t have that same privilege to act the fool. It will come down harder on me. And I think it is because I’m a bit more under a microscope than others. I didn’t ask to be chosen one. I didn’t ask to be in this space. I just got into DJing because I’m passionate about other people’s music. And

Gabrielle (21:45.198)
passion about music in general, so I started making my own. But essentially, to bring it back around, a big challenge that I face in being in the space that I am is under a microscope. I don’t have the same kind of privilege to express and voice the things that I’m feeling and seeing. I have to prove that I deserve it. I have to prove that I’ve earned it. And I can’t make any mistakes. And with that being said,

I want to shine some light on how incredible my team is. My managers and my agents protect me. They really do. My managers are Tink and Tynan over at Red Light. We started off at Mind Warp. We got absorbed. And they protect me so much. Anytime I’m having a hard time, I can call TNT.

And we’ll be on the phone for hours talking about it. let me cry. They let me vent. They tell me what’s real and they fight for me. They really do. And my agents, Cody Chapman and Zach Brokowitz at Wasserman, the level of which they express their love and appreciation for me and how they are a big part of changing my life is incredible. So it does take.

having a really strong team for me to move through these challenges. I don’t have to do it alone anymore. Yeah. So that’s kind of the overall synopsis. There’s more. there’s more. But those will definitely be kind of the more key, the key things and perhaps some of the most obvious.

Jesse Brede
Well, thank you for sharing and for being open about that.

It’s what I’ve noticed. It’s like you said, it’s a damned if you do damned if you don’t. It’s almost like this situation where there is no way for you to win. And, you know, one of my last guests was Zen Selekta, and she felt this intense pressure for her production.She’s a phenomenal DJ. You’re a phenomenal DJ and the selection that you guys bring to the table and the energy in it’s.

Jesse Brede (24:14.19)
It’s, I don’t know. It’s, it sucks that it’s even questioned.

Gabrielle
It’s just different. And she’s a baddie. She’s staying with me for her apocalypse. So we’re going to have a girl’s weekend.

Jesse Brede
Yeah. And like the, you know, I work with lightning in a bottle on thunder stage and they’re, they’ve been doing a very good job for representation and, Megan Young is the talent buyer and

Gabrielle
Yes, she is. Which by the way, she deserves her flowers and you deserve your flowers.

Jesse Brede
Thank you. Thank you. And it’s like, it has to start somewhere and it has to start in some way. it’s, there is no perfect answer and there is no perfect person or there is no perfect DJ. I want to first say, you don’t have to be perfect. Fuck all that shit. Like you’re good the way you are. And we need different voices and different people on stage because you said it right there was like, you saw someone that looked like you and that gave you.

the strength to do what you’re doing. I saw that with CloZee. saw people, sorry, I saw women on the rail, like I’d never seen before, inspired, that they saw they could be that. And they weren’t, wasn’t, there was no sexualization. It wasn’t about gender or anything. It was just like, they saw themselves in her and were like, I could be that. And that is so important. That’s why we need diversity. And what’s beautiful and what I think some people forget,

is that the diversity makes it better. The diversity makes it like we learn from each other and we get to see what someone else’s point of view is. And that’s a more interesting story than the same person. Whether it could be, it could be, if we just had nothing but black women on stage, that would be boring too. But that’s not what’s happening. It’s a bunch of white guys. And we, especially as this genre where we cling to and we claim

that we’re better and that we’re more just and that we’re more equal and that we were born out of this black culture and this gay culture. Like it’s incumbent on us to lead the way and to change and to create this new world. Like we’re the newest genre in the world and let’s change it. Right. And so I just want to echo that and speak my own truth of how I feel. And like I said, there was a time in my life where I didn’t comprehend that. I don’t think I was actively sexist or actively racist.

Jesse Brede (26:41.496)
but I didn’t understand it. And so it’s like, I really want to, you know, at least with this small podcast, give you a chance to say that and share this topic. And I think you articulated it so well in a way that’s like, I could see the emotion. I could see the realness, right? I encourage people to watch the video because I could see this is not, you’re not just saying this is a lived truth. This is a real thing.

in a real way that you felt and feeling like you didn’t belong in a community where we say anyone is welcome and just really acknowledging that. So yeah, thank you for sharing that and thank you for working and for being a leader in a place where it’s really fucking hard. And thanks to your team for believing and putting a shield around you and like, cause yeah, it is not easy. if, even just being successful no matter what your gender or race is,

really tough because you feel like everyone’s coming for you. And then if you have something like this, where it’s like this damned if you do damned, if you don’t situation and people off the internet, man, it’s just nothing but hateful people or not nothing, but there’s a lot of terrible things being said. So I’m glad you’re not doing it. I’m glad you’re not reading that anymore.

Gabrielle
there’s a lot of underlying politics within all of this too, that the average consumer just wouldn’t know.

I, while I am blessed to be a music producer and a world traveling DJ, I’m also an event promoter, an event owner and a talent buyer. So I work with a bunch of agents and managers and you know, I have gotten this far with not being entirely jaded, but I see things and hear things and I’m just like, why? Why? And it’s even in tonality and some emails. Are you?

big like puffing her chest up at me because I’m a woman and I pop back but I’m the one that with an attitude. I’m speaking your language bro, excuse me. So there’s a lot of that as well. That’s why I tend to do very well with typing the way I speak. Although when I speak you can actually see my emotion but when you’re reading it I tend to be very dry.

Gabrielle (29:05.674)
for a reason. It’s just like, don’t want anyone to suspect any kind of attitude because the moment that they do, baby, you’re projecting. You have the attitude. So it’s very interesting, but the politics in music goes so far deep and it’s not always the best.

Jesse Brede
Yeah. I think even a point to be said, like, if this conversation is making you as the listener uncomfortable, like ask why.

Like ask, what is it? Why? Why would that like, for me, it’s slightly uncomfortable because I know, or I don’t know, but I feel like I haven’t done enough or I haven’t, I haven’t understood enough and that I want to be an ally, but I don’t, it’s, guess sometimes it’s like, it’s hard to know. It’s hard to know what to do. So I want to circle back. are this talent buyer and this promoter. And like, again, it’s like this

triple threat of being in business, having done your own events and put on your own parties and being a DJ. I think that’s so, so cool. And I really encourage artists and producers to learn the other sides of the business because the more you know, and each of those facets, like it really, it really builds upon itself. And I think that that’s been a, that’s like what you’re saying. And to some extent, some of the, one of your assets, one of your skills is, you know, the language.

You know, game, you know, the business, right? If you’re starting out as a DJ or producer, you start to learn that that game exists and you go, whoa, there’s this whole world behind all of this that I didn’t even know is going on. So I’d love to hear about your experience and work as being like one of the founders of B-side and kind of what you guys have been able to do. And I think you’re coming up on 10 years of that’s amazing. So congrats on that, but like, what has that

What has that journey looked like? Like where did you guys start? And now you’re, you know, what kind of events are you doing now? What kind of room sizes?

Gabrielle
Yeah. B-side has definitely been through a journey. So I didn’t become a part of B-side until the second B-side event. It was like a bunch of homies that came together through the first show. I discovered it, loved it, reached out and became a promoter. So there was a

Gabrielle (31:29.59)
rip of us. We were like a large crew. We started out with probably 15 to 17 of us, perhaps, with the crew that we would be out on the streets promoting the shows and helping out anywhere we can. then, so we just kept doing events kind of all over LA, smaller rooms, like 250 cap. And then we landed at this club called The King King.

which isn’t around anymore. Well, it was bought, I don’t know what it’s called now, but it was the perfect space for us because it was just a square and it was 500 cap. And the square size was perfect for what we wanted to do and the walls and everything were conditioned. And you know, at B-side for those that don’t understand why we’re called B-side is because the B-side is typically the unpopular side of the vinyl record. So are you going to find all the best shit? And since we were the really unpopular kids, the one with B-side.

This was our very first banner that we made. It now hangs over my deck. yeah, we just like did our thing. We had so many challenges of people trying to get us to not do events. People didn’t want to give us the space. A lot of agents didn’t want to work with us too much, but I want to pay my respects.

to Nicole at Submission because the majority of the artists that we booked was through Submission. And, you know, they really helped us to develop our name and our history and our credit, you know? So big up to Submission fam all day. And because of that, that helped gain us some accreditation where we could be like, look, like we know we haven’t worked with you before, but we booked X, Y, and Z. Here’s our stats. This is what we like to do.

So it took a lot of trial and error and proving our worth and then things got better, things got better. And then I actually ended up moving to Oakland in 2015 because I, at the time, was also a guerrilla grower and humble. I had 20 acres of land and had to see a green of a greenhouse and had about 80 plants in the ground. I was cooking cannabis.

Gabrielle (33:49.614)
And going we try to make that money while I’m trying to like take off with this music DJ career thing. And so I moved to Oakland because I wanted to be closer to the farm that was in Garberville. But I also still wanted to be kind of remote so I could like do my thing. And then, and I had plans to buy land. So I moved to Oakland into this warehouse.

called Corgit Underground and I was converting a 20 foot standard shipping container into a tiny house while doing all of this. That’s amazing. You can YouTube it. I’ve made it. I’ve started this docu-series called the Container Diaries, but after the ghost ship fire, if you don’t know what that is, everyone looking up, very tragic time in our scene. our warehouse was just a couple blocks away from it. And I was asked to come and DJ.

said no, I’m plasma cutting tonight, I’m not leaving. yeah, go ship fire tragic. so I moved to the Bay Area. And then I hit on my crew and I was like, yo, like, what if we expanded B side? And then that’s when I officially became a founder, because I started B side Bay Area. My boys, Murad and Stefan.

They were the original founders and the money and I was like, yo, like I found this spot. We could do it at this warehouse. Like, like let me put it on. And then they’re like, fuck it. And they just gave me the money. Literally no questions asked. They gave me the money. I made it happen. And then we started B-side Bay area. So whenever we booked an artist to do LA, we also booked them to do Oakland.

So we did B-side Bay Area, which was the Eyes Down series. It was more warehouse, underground vibes, and in LA it was our clubs. So we did that for a little while. It was an amazing time. But then to bring it back to the Ghost Ship Fire, that changed everything for us. know, couldn’t, warehouses were imploding everywhere. No events were happening. Completely changed the course of all events for all of Bay Area at that time.

Gabrielle (36:06.698)
and then my warehouse imploded too and it’ll move in whatever. so then we just kind of continued to do B-side in LA and you know, we’re doing our thing. I’m still promoting remotely, starting to get more involved with talent buying. and then pandemic happened, which, luckily we didn’t have to cancel an event, but, cause we didn’t have one like really planned. were like in talks, pandemic happened in an all-zine.

Damn, like we’re not doing any of this. Like the pandemic was trickling in. Like we started seeing like the numbers, it hadn’t hit the U.S. just yet, but it was trickling in. And at this time I was like, fuck it. I think I want to move to Denver. Cause I was signed with submission at the time. I want to be closer to the agency. So I pack up, I leave the farm, leave everything and I moved to Denver two months later.

Boom, full lockdown, everything’s everything’s canceled. And so B-side goes on rest for two years, maybe three years. I think about three years actually, because I lived in Denver for about three years. And then through that, I’m also transitioning. I go from re-evolution to pivotal and signing with submission and just going through this whole transformative situation.

And then at the same time, I get my first legit serious label offer from Gravitas. Yeah. Pick up. So a lot of good, a lot of heartache, a lot of stress, a lot of transitions. I’m in my Saturn return. I’m like 28, like 29, like my whole life is changing.

Damn, I’m 35 now. About to be 35. That’s crazy. And everything was just happening so fast. And I’m just like, my God. But everything aligned as it should and perfectly. It was good. But through the pandemic, it was really tough, you know, as everyone can say. But then when things started to let up, you know, after my Gravitas release,

Gabrielle (38:28.072)
and started focusing more on music. Someone else comes knocking at my door and you know, after the Gravitas released, that was a really big, like I think a big pivotal moment in my career as well because that helped me to be seen more as a producer. Cause I still hadn’t released a lot of music. So the Gravitas really has helped me to be more identified as a producer, which kind of set a new standard for me. And then, you know,

Working through that next thing you knock, knock. Here comes dead beats. And then we all know a lot of things changed for me from there as well. Dead beats release really caught some really big eyes, some big attention. because of the dead beats release, I got picked up by a loss or men and did massive tours with Zed’s dead.

collaboration with them, which we’ll see the light of day, eventually, those three years old now. guys are busy. boys are busy. But we’re really great friends. I have a show with them in Chicago pretty soon. We’re gonna have some dinner and catch up. Awesome. They’ve been spending a lot of time working on this album. So like, the album is going to be huge, huge. The flip switching channels that they put out last week, they

debuted that at Red Rocks, I was crying. was like this five minute thing of history and the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. That’s about to change the fucking game. again, so through all of that, I’m seeing a lot of highs, I’m doing really well. Through all of this, I’m still communicating with my brother Murad, who’s like I the original founder of B-Side, he’s also my brother.

Everybody else is part of b-side end up going in their different directions and doing their own thing leaving for school and jobs So only Murad and I were the only one standing So we but he’s been feeling antsy. want to do something and like, know, I can help you but I’m in Denver and Then I call him. I’m something about coming home And he is like this come home like I’m begging you come home I need you I miss you. I forget to my brother Murad

Gabrielle (40:52.354)
of my best friends of 11 years and we still work together. so bring it back to B-side. obviously came back home to LA. I will never leave again. And, we picked back up B-side, but when we did, realized, fuck, we gotta do things different now because things are different. We can’t do the same thing we were doing. Cause a lot of those artists we were booking. Yeah.

They’re not really around that much anymore. know, time marches on. It’s, it’s, it’s hard to see that, it’s true. Yeah. Yeah. It was really hard. So we started to, dig deeper and like, all right, let’s expand. We’re not just a sound system culture event anymore. This is our roots, but what can we do that’s in alignment? So we started booking more experimental bass acts and that’s when I was hardcore. Like no matter what Moran, we need to have a woman.

Like we need to have someone of color. Like, I don’t care. We just, there’s no excuses. And every single lineup we’ve done, we’ve been able to execute that. So there’s no excuses, motherfuckers. You can put a woman on every lineup. If you’re not doing it, you’re full of shit and you’re not really trying because it does take effort. We did have to dedicate time to put it out there that we were looking for and to really search.

But we did it and we’re the small guys. We’re literally the small guys. So our events went from 80 people to about a thousand. We’ve been able to move into big rooms like the Regent Theater, which holds about 950. And we’ve been there the last two and a half years, which has been great. We have a new spot, the DQ in downtown that we did a couple of things out of. We had our nine year anniversary there with Mala.

And, you know, now we’re looking to change things up again. so we do have some things in the work for next year. Obviously our 10 year anniversary, 10 years is coming up and, no, we’re just going to see where things go from there. But I just want to also say, and then I’ll, I’ll leave it at that. We are independent promoters. We have never, ever had help. We have never, ever asked anyone for money and we have never.

hired anyone outside our our crew, like we have resident artists that we believe in to put on so they get more exposure to, to which we also pay them. We have only always just done our own thing and it has not been easy. We have lost our asses a few times. We have lost our asses.

Jesse Brede
Being a promoter is fucking so hard. such, it could be such a thankless job, man.

Gabrielle
Yeah. do not recommend it and I do not wish this upon my own enemies, whoever they are.

Jesse Brede
It’s so stressful. It’s so stressful.

Jesse Brede
Yeah. I think the thing to say is like that’s 10 years sticking with it, not giving up. Even when times get tough, even when life throws you massive curve balls or you got to move away. I think the other thing is too, like time, like I said, time marches on like

people will be totally into it and then they get that job or they fall in love or they move away and that’s okay. You know, it can be hard, but if you love it, stick with it and let it be that next iteration of whatever it is. And sometimes you can be high and be like king of the world or queen of the world. And then the next year or next couple of years, maybe it goes down, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. Like I’ve felt that with gravitas. I think there was times where

We were more prominent. were working with bigger artists like CloZee. And now we’re maybe not working with as big of names, but my passion and love and, and, I think what we’re really good at is working with artists at a certain level and helping them take that next step up, showing them some of the ropes, helping them get that credibility. you said, I’m living proof of that. We saw a lot. We’ve seen a lot of artists like get picked up by dead beats. And you know, Esseks was another one where I’m like, yes.

they’re watching us and part of me would be a little salty and be like, dang, but also what’s good for the, you are ahead of the curve. What’s good for the artists that we work with is good for us. Ultimately it circles back and it is this true community, right? And if it’s all about me and I got to win that shit don’t fly. So that’s awesome. That was fucking epic story. Thank you for sharing all that.

Gabrielle
One more thing to say about that is I really
Genuinely deep like I said, I’m a very spiritual person and I genuinely believe that intention is the biggest key ingredient to the everything that we do like everything like I have intention with my every time I take a sip of this water I said intention like I’m about to drink this right now and I’m gonna hydrate my body. That’s my intention and You know everything needs to have intention and when the intentions aren’t morally aligned

things tend to not really work out or go the way one chooses. So when someone is getting in this industry to be a promoter because they want to put themselves on shows because they’re really just thinking about, yeah, I’m just going to throw my own shows and no one else wants to book me and I’m just going to put myself on and I’m to put myself on the highest level, blah, blah, blah. It’s me, me, me, I, I, I. What’s the return? You’re not like with it. You’re not booking these shows because you genuinely are.

that you love all these other artists and you want to give other people opportunities too and mesh yourself in there. feel like intention is key. So no matter what we do, we have to try to go in it with pure intention. And if you want to be a DJ and play on these big stages in front of crowds of hundreds of people, which to me, I don’t give a fuck. I’ll play in front of five people or 5,000. I’m still going to give it 100. And like, you just have to want to do it because you want to give something.

to that, if there’s something that you want to give back with that, not like, look at me, look at me, I’m on stage, yeah, I just did that, why did you do it? Why? I’ll admittedly say I got into it because I just wanted to play shows and travel, I didn’t really have much meaning into it, and it started to mean a lot more. Now I’m impacting people’s lives. Every show I play, every show I play, I could scrunch up some shit in the deals right now.

Every show I play, there’s at least a couple of people, men and women, that are like, it’s nice to see someone like me on stage. And that always takes me back to when I was like, it’s nice to see Mala and Coki and they look like me. So it takes me back and it keeps me going through the challenges, you know? Awesome. So intention, intention, intention.

Jesse Brede
I love that. Man, we hit a lot. That was great. It like wrapped up in a really, really cool way. think we hit on.

Jesse Brede (48:02.976)
everything I wanted to talk about diversity, B-side, you’re working with B-port, that whole process and opportunities that now, right, your intentionality behind that is to bring people more opportunity and support. And as we get older, as we take this path in our career, right, like that’s exactly what you’re saying. Like, had you not had these intentions, like you built this road to this, like you created that opportunity for yourself and like,

if you keep laying brick by brick every day with good intentions, like this road will take you somewhere beautiful. That’s amazing. I wanted to ask about the DJ mix for the Super Bowl. Like that was an Apple thing. We did some mixes with them. Like Apple’s an interesting company. I just wanted to see how that came about and like how that was for you.
Gabrielle
It was very…

It will an amazing opportunity straight up because when you go to the Super Bowl mixes, you see my face next to Usher and Tiesto. And I’m like, whoa, this is really cool. I love Usher. You know, I’m still singing Confessions and I’m not entirely sure how that came about. I want to assume they came to us.

But all I know is like, just, I just woke up and, and my team was like, yo, we got this opportunity to do a mix for the super bowl. And I’ll be the first to tell you, I’m not that big on making mixes and putting them out. Big part of that is because they take a lot of time and a lot of resources. And I really like to stretch my material. So I get concerned with, okay, I’m going to do this mix.

Fuck, like there’s some things in here that I feel like I can’t do again because I don’t want anyone to ever say, 100 Drums play the same shows. No, bitch. There’s just a few things on here that I just really love doing and I want everybody else to be able to experience it. That doesn’t mean I plan to play the same fucking set, but I get so caught up in my head that I’m like, no, no, no, no, no. I don’t want to give anybody the excuse to say that.

Gabrielle (50:21.962)
That’s part of why I get a little hesitant with doing mixes. But obviously doing one for the Super Bowl was massive and it was such a huge opportunity. We were just like, yeah, let’s do it. So they came to us. They’re like, you know, we want to do this mix, blah, blah, blah. I’m like, OK, bet. Like, what could I do that’ll help save me time? Because I’m also like, I was mad busy and like mad shows in between that I’m prepping for so much music that I’m making.

And, just time was tight. So I was like, you know what, what’s another big opportunity that I could kind of pair this with? And one of the big circle moments that I had was playing EDC, Vegas for the first time. Cause you know, that was my first rave. Like it was, it was huge. So I took my EDC set, made a bunch of changes and, you know, something that I’m also pretty known for doing on Twitter. I’m not on Twitter that much anymore.

Fuck that place. So toxic. So toxic. But something that I am known for doing on Twitter is every now and then I’ll tweet out my promo email, like send me what you got. Let me hear it. And I’ve been able to build a reputation that if you send me something, I am going to play it. Like I am nine times out of 10 going to play it. If I like it, I’m going to play it. And so a lot of people know that.

And a lot people weren’t expecting me to do what I did for the Super Bowl. I took that opportunity to put on the underground. Every person in that set are under cards. I played under cards. And because it’s such a mass audience, I didn’t do what I normally do. I played bro step. I played riddim. I played dub step. Bro, I played experimental bass. I just did everything.

because I was like, this is a huge platform I’m going to put on. So I did. And it was awesome. Now the part of doing that that got interesting was the tracking, the track listing. First of all, I didn’t even know at the time Apple was doing mixes. I’m not on Apple. I’m a Spotify man. And so I was like, that’s interesting. Well, here’s my set list. Everything is ID, ID, ID, ID, ID, ID.

Gabrielle (52:46.286)
So, luckily it worked out. I went through and cleaned up my my playlist as much as possible. I did as much, I had to go back and be like, yo, like I did this. Are you down to be ID? And I was like, fuck yeah. So, was able to do that for those that were down. There were some dubstep heads that were like, nah, like they just didn’t really, they just didn’t really care. But also we’re stoked, just stoked, but you whatever.

I got to obey the laws of the dub. yeah, so it was really cool. Probably my most mainstream audience, I would say. Got a lot of plays. Definitely picked up a lot of fans. got like messages from some super… non scenic people that are like, I just discovered you and my God, like it was great. like, so that’s crazy. Like, you know, I definitely acquired some new fans. And it was cool. I did get this one comment. I will say this because it’s a little funny and you this guy, but he sent me a DM. was like, just in the little lines of

I’m going to butcher this, but I’m just going to get to the point. He’s like, yeah, this was a sick mix, but I didn’t know you were going to be a girl. So I responded back with the beam that’s yeah, with the nails and like, yes, it’s me.

Jesse Brede
I love that. That’s pretty much perfect. Yeah. No, just all you get is one emoji.
You get one click, bro.

Gabrielle
That’s it. Like,

And that’s the sexism that I go through as a woman. then do a race. It’s just like, you know, people want to just assume it’s a guy or a guy or a ghost producer.

Jesse Brede
yeah, that’s another one.

Gabrielle
You know, I’d big up to everyone that’s been part of it and also want to share like, Jesse, I appreciate you so much and all that you’re doing and I’m glad we’re doing this podcast.

Jesse Brede
Absolutely. Yeah.

Gabrielle
It’s cool to talk my shit. I love it.

Jesse Brede
I knew, I mean, I knew you were going to be a spicy guest. Like I love it. Cause I think like we’re brought up in a culture to filter ourselves and be nice and people please. And when I meet people that can go against the grain and speak up for themselves and stand up for themselves, like that takes a lot of guts. Like I’ve read, I’ve, I’ve seen that like disagreeing with people in our brain, they’ve done

imaging and it looks like the same thing as when we have pain. So when you’re going against the group and everybody else thinks one thing and you’re the one that’s want to stand up against what everyone’s saying, your body is like, don’t do that. There’s a huge fear response at saying like, don’t do that. That’s how you’re to get outcast. You’re not going to be part of the tribe. You’re going to sleep at the politics outside of the village. But we need people like yourself, like saying it and saying it loud and saying it proud.

Jesse Brede (55:55.47)
for things to change, otherwise it won’t. So thank you.

Gabrielle
It won’t. So it’s a real boys club. It is. It’s tough. It’s tough, I’m coming.

Jesse Brede
Well, I’ve had an absolute fantastic time talking to you. Again, thank you for sharing everything you’ve shared and getting real and getting honest like you do.

I’m so proud of you. What do you got coming up next? What you got any big stuff that you got planned? What do you got for 2024, end of 2024, 2025?

Gabrielle
Yeah, yeah. Thank you for providing this platform, Jesse. It’s spaces like this where I feel like I get to really just like pause everything and just like get real. And I’m very trusting and comfortable with you. So I couldn’t of think of a better place to do this, that. thank you. You’re doing great work.

so I was going to have coming up, have, two releases coming up that I’m very excited for. one of my best friends of literally probably 10, 11 years now, she used to go by the lovely space gate show, but now she’s Veil. she and I have our collab coming out in December that I’m very, very excited for. So we will be releasing that our tunes called shockwave and we’re actually surprised we haven’t collaborated.

before, but I guess everything perfect timing. Yeah. And also, I have another release coming out a remix that I did for the man Apache. This will be announced pretty soon. Yeah. So his album, The Antagonist, which is a beautiful album, by the way, he is doing a remix album of that. And I got blessed with the opportunity to remix. So I chose King with Busta Ryhmes. And best believe it sang Queen.

Yes. So that’s also going to be coming out in December. So those are my last two releases of the year so far. And yeah, definitely have bunch of shows coming up. have something at Tacoma Dome this weekend with Subtronics and Friends. And then have the Chicago Shed with the boys, Zeds dead. I have a couple of headlines coming up in December. So if you’re in Indianapolis or Minneapolis in December.

Gabrielle
me and I’m bringing my bestie and special guest, Vale, are going to be coming out. My last Indianapolis headline sold out, so we’re moving into a bigger venue. So bring that ass because about to throw down. Yeah, all that could be found, link in my bio for sure for all tickets. yes, that’s…

Those are the headlights for the rest of year. 2025.

Jesse Brede
Shout out Becca. Shout out Becca Vale of Street Ritual. Like she is OG too. I should get her on a podcast and tell her story. That’s amazing.

Gabrielle
Yeah, no, a hundred percent you should. Everyone, I think it’d be cool story for people to learn how she acquired Street Ritual. Yeah. Seriously.

Jesse Brede
Yeah. is a crazy story. Well, awesome. Thank you for coming and

Good luck with these releases and the upcoming shows. And I can’t wait to see you again sometime soon.

Gabrielle
Thank you.

Jesse Brede
All right. Cool. Have a good one. soon. Bye.