DIY SOCK POI
Learn to craft your own set of practice poi for a great price
FEEL THE BURN
Local group gathers to spin, teach others about fire spinning
THE LOVE OF HOOP A reader submitted an open love letter to her hula hoop
EDMC: THE STORY A look at Muncie, Ball State’s local EDM collective
ISSUE 13 Dec. 17, 2016
EJION
Exploring deep ocean sounds, release of his new single
BASS WE ARE ALL ABOUT THAT
LOCAL MUSIC. LOCAL BREWS. OTHER WORLDLY EXPERIENCES. NO LONG TERM COMMITMENT OR OBLIGATION
Have a show coming up soon? Rent the equipment you need for the time you need it. Whether it be daily, weekly, weekend, or monthly, you chose the term and are not committed to any long term contracts. If you decide to keep it longer? We have a simple process to renew or extend your rental.
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ELETRIK • 3
THIS ISSUE
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
OUR STAFF ASHLEY DOWNING Executive Editor
MUNCIE’S ELECTRONIC COLLECTIVE 6 SPOTLIGHT
Our featured flow artist of the issue: lights and fire
6 ‘WOW’ SOUNDS
Porter Robinson makes special appearance on soundtrack
EJION
Local artist drops new EP, talks about new career plan 20
10 BY THE NUMBERS Our Industry keeps growing, will it continue or flat line?
11 OPEN LETTER
A reader submission: a love letter to Cassie’s hula hoops
12 HOT PICKS
Updated playlist of tunes to check out, local and beyond 4
DIY SOCK POI
Save a buck, build your own practice poi to spin with 8
Our philosophy: Protect PLUR, our community by standing together to say no to addiction LETRIK truly has one main goal: provide the best, up-todate news about the electronic dance music (EDM) culture around Ball State and Muncie. Arguably the fastest-growing genre of music at the time, EDM as a culture is on the steep incline. EDM cultivates a community of artistry in many forms and ELECTRIK plans on capturing it’s beauty. In and out of the newsroom, our company wants to be in the community we believe in. We want working for us and with us to be the best experience. Our goal is to be immersed in the culture and be a good source of information for people in and out of our community. Diversity and equality are some of our highest held standards, and advertising with us will help you reach audiences you never thought possible. A product of sheer love and dedication to our art form, ELECTRIK looks to stand out above the competition just by being ourselves. We love the community we serve and we are on a mission to provide the best local, EDM news. As a whole, we strive for excellence in all that we do. We push to innovate and create just like the community we are serving does. I strongly believe in and have a love for the EDM community and hope to see it continue on it’s upward growth. From where I stand, the only true battle I see our community facing is a battle against addiction. Because of this, I urge you all to talk to your friends.
Advertising Creative Director
E
A look at Muncie, Ball State’s local EDM collective
DARE TO EAT IT?
Burn Mob provides time to learn fire play 26
CASSIE GABRIEL
Managing Editor
EMILY LYONS
Creative Director
SAMUEL NOBLE
Director of Photography
CHRIS MITCHELL News Director
BETSY MEYER
SUSAN DOWNING Advertising Manager
TAYLOR IRBY
Photo Editor
BRANDON SMITH Editorial Assistant
DANIELLE GRADY Features Editor
LEAH ROLLER Seek help when help is needed. PLUR. Some founding principles of the EDM culture: peace, love, unity and respect. Live these words and protect your loved ones. Stand together in unity to fight against addiction and the destruction it causes. Find peace in enjoying our art form with sobriety. Love and respect your friends and family by staying clean and helping others escape addictions evil grasp. The last thing on Earth that I would want to see is our beloved community be taken away from someone because of addiction. Or worse, someone we love being taken from our community because of addiction. We can’t do this alone. We speak and stand together. PLUR.
Flow Arts Director
ALEXIS HESSER
Community Outreach
KAYLA RUTHERFORD Human Resources
ASHLI SMITH
Head of Marketing
HEATHER BATES
Marketing Assistant
AIDAN FEAY
Website Director
BRADLEY JONES
Online Design Director
SARA CONNOLLY Copy Director
TAMMY YTTRI Design Editor
REGAN ALLEN Photographer
ASHLEY DOWNING
Executive Editor, ELETRIK ashley@eletrik.com
ELETRIK Offices 1212 N Linden St. Muncie, IN 47303 (219) 677-4773 ELETRIK • 5
EDM NEWS
‘WOW’ EXPANSION INCLUDES PORTER ROBINSON REFERENCES
SPINNER SPOTLIGHT
ASHLEY DOWNING ELETRIK
LAURA HAISLEY,
27 year old Muncie native
“I’ve been spinning hula
PHOTOS PROVIDED
6
hoops for about six years now. It has become more than just a hobby for me. It truly is a passion and now a job too. I have been teaching classes at Exhale studio in downtown Muncie. I spin doubles, LEDs and fire. If you would have asked me 5 years ago that it would’ve gone this far, I probably would have said ‘no’. ”
The relationship between dance music and video games is growing stronger all the time. With artists like Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Darude, Skrillex, Zedd and many more having become explicitly involved with companies like Twitch and Blizzard, the blending of the two industries has never felt more natural or exciting. Most recently, a very special series of references to several dance music titans was made in World of Warcraft‘s Legion expansion, released on August 30. The shout outs can be found within the descriptions of some of the new legendary items. (Basically, uniquely strong and specialized pieces of armor that can be obtained via random and very rare drops from enemies, chests, etc..) The first artist named in two pieces of gear is none other than Porter Robinson, one of game production company Blizzard’s favorite EDM contributors. Having already been featured on their other popular title Diablo III alongside Deadmau5, Porter’s newest inclusion comes as the most interesting one so far. -Staff Reports
new class offerings acro yoga — hula hoop
Studio Exhale — center for creative expressions
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THE DO-IT-YOURSELF
SOCK POI Learn how to save a few dollars and create your own set of practice Poi By Ashley Downing ELECTRIK
PROVIDED BY HOME OF POI
Home of Poi price: $25 DIY price: ~$5
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW According to Home of Poi, ”Poi” is the Maori word for “ball” on a cord The Poi was used, many years ago, by the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand to increase their flexibility and strength in their hands and arms as well as improving coordination. Wahine (female) dancers perform the Maori Poi, a dance performed with balls attached to flax strings, swung rhythmically. The Poi dance was originally used by the Maori women for keeping their hands flexible for weaving and by the men for strength and coordination required during battle. Poi are also used as a training aid for other ancient weapons like the Mere or Patu (Short club)” Now days poi is a popular form of entertainment and just plain for fun practice good for coordination. Here’s how to save a few bucks and make your own. THE INGREDIENTS • A pair of long socks that you are ready to repurpose (I prefer tube socks because they are heel-less but any long sock will do. I also prefer striped socks because the colors separate out beautifully when they spin.)
STEP ONE
STEP FOUR
• Pour 3/4 cup of rice (or substitute) into the toe of a stocking, then tie a knot in it so the ball of seed is tight but still squishy. Cut off any extra material. • Craft the second ball. And make sure they’re the same size. If you don’t have stockings, take a piece of cloth, pour the seed in the center and close the corners with a rubber band. You may want to do this twice to ensure the ball doesn’t come open inside your sock. It doesn’t have as much give as stockings but it’s still pretty good.
• Where the cut stops, fold the sock over itself and tie a square knot so that the cut end is in the square knot. It should look like your square knot has given birth to two bunny ears. Do the same to the other sock.
STEP TWO • Drop the ball into the toe of the sock.
STEP THREE • At the top of the sock, use your scissors to cut two straight lines parallel to each other about six inches long from the top of the sock toward the toe. This should leave you with two, equal-size flaps of material at the top of the sock.
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• 2 old pairs of stockings • A pair of scissors • About 2 cups of rice or whatever you have • Your own 2 hands
STEP FIVE •M ake sure the knots on each sock are the same distance from the toe so your poi will be the same length. You may need to adjust one of your knots to get them the same length.
STEP FIVE •T hen take your two rabbit ears and tie them together at the top, creating a small hole you can peek through and put your fingers through. The size of this hole only matters if you want it to be big enough to put your whole hand through. Otherwise, big enough to get a finger or two through is enough. (Plus, it’s going to stretch out as you spin your poi. So it’ll get bigger anyways.)
ELETRIK • 9
EDM NEWS
IMS 2016 Business Report shows global commerce value is $7.1 billion
STILL ROOM FOR INDUSTRY GROWTH
R E T T E L N E P O AN
READER SUBMISSION
BY THE NUMBERS In 2015,
OVER ONE-HALF
PHOTOS PROVIDED BT CASSIE GABRIEL
of dance music sales came from streaming services like Spotify. In 2014, there were 41 million subscribers to music streaming services and jumped to
68 MILLION
in 2015, a 66 percent increase. Dance music listeners are
TWICE AS LIKELY
JARED SULLIVAN // ELETRICK
The electronic dance community continues to see growth on the global and local level. Growing interest in Muncie and Indianapolis’ scene has been documented by local venues and student groups like EDMC in Muncie.
It wasn’t that long ago when it looked like electronic dance music, or EDM, might be the savior of the music business, thanks to an impressive growth rate of 54% over the course of just three years. With overall CD and download sales slowing down, and streaming paid subscribers not increasing as fast as the industry expected, EDM looked like it was record label’s shining star when it came to fertile new sales ground. According to the IMS Business Report 2016, total EDM sales went from $4.5 billion in 2012/13 to $6.9 billion in 2014/15. In the past year, that growth slowed by quite a bit, increasing by just $200 million, which has a many in the music industry thinking doom and gloom again. That outlook may be a bit premature, however, because even though the U.S. market seems to have matured, other high-potential markets are only now in the early stages of development. Cuba, South America, Vietnam, the Philippines, and China have all seen huge electronic dance music festivals and clubs launched this year alone. In fact, nine clubs out of 20 new entries into the DJ Mag Top 100 Clubs are in Asia, with four in China, and three in Jakarta. Even a club from the UAE was listed.
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8
Industry Annual Value (in billions)
7
6.9
7.1
6.2
48 PERCENT
In terms of album equivalent sales, dance music grew
4.5
4
3.2 PERCENT
3
in comparison to the 1.4 percent market average.
2 1 0
P O O H A L U H Y M TO
House and Garage are the most popular sub-genres when it comes to single sales, they account for of the singles sold.
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to subscribe to a music streaming service than any other genre fans.
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
Estimates say that EDC Vegas contributed about
$1.3 BILLION
SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SUMMIT
to the economy of the last five years.
One of the reasons for all the optimism comes from the fact that out of all genres of music (and there are a lot), electronic dance music is one of the most transportable. Since it’s mostly instrumental (even if there’s a vocal, the lyrics often don’t play a big part in song), there’s no language barrier between countries as a result. This means that even when the genre has topped out in the major developed countries, growth can still continue in smaller and upstart markets, sort of like what happened with American jazz music of the 1950s and 60s.
Lean On by Major Lazer was the most streamed song of 2015 and is now the most streamed song on Spotify with approximately
-Brandon Smith, ELECTRIK
540 MILLION STREAMS. Breakout artist of the year, Kygo, was the fastest artist to reach
1 BILLION STREAMS in just one year.
Sugar by Robin Schulz made
55 APPEARANCES on Spotify Global Viral 50 Chart.
From Cassie Gabriel, an elementary education major I know. We’re all sick of seeing the cliche “open letter” articles that are constantly surfacing throughout social media. But this one is different. This is an open letter to...my hula hoops. If you don’t hoop dance, this might sound a bit odd. Why is this girl writing a love letter to a child’s toy? Well, if you’re not a hooper, bear with me. If you are a hooper, you’ll relate to
this in so many ways. The first time I saw a hoop dancer, I was mesmerized. I thought I could never do something so unique and beautiful. But of course, with some hard work, dedication, and encouragement, I was able to catch on and ultimately fall in love. My hula hoops have been there through it all. They’ve been there through the good times, such as vacations, concerts, warm days on the beach, and bored, rainy nights in. But they’ve also been there through the
not so great times. When my relationship failed, I picked up my hoop. When I failed that test or didn’t get that job, I picked up my hoop. When my bank account was at $4 and I didn’t know how I was going to pay my rent, I picked up my hoop. When I thought nothing could make it better, I picked up my hoop and forgot about every shitty thing that happened that day. They’ve been there for me through things that even my closest friends couldn’t help me through. I know this might sound silly. But my hula hoop has shown me that if I work hard at something, I can achieve it. Every time I pick it up to learn something new, it gives me such a feeling of accomplishment when I finally nail that new trick. My hoop has taught me dedication, patience and perseverance. My hula hoop has done wonders for my confidence, both physically and mentally. I’m not sure where I would be without it, and quite frankly, I’m not sure I want to know. My hoops have given me a passion and a way of expressing myself that I don’t know what I would do without.
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EDITOR’S PICKS
Ashley’s 6-track playlist that you know is on repeat TOP TRACK
“House Work” Jax Jones FEAT. Mike Dunn and MNEK ALBUM ARTS COURTESY OF SOUNDCLOUD
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“BYOB” ALOK & SEVENN
“Bored to Death” Steve Aoki remix
“Into You” 3LAU remix
JARED SULLIVAN // ELETRICK
“Don’t Be Late” WOO2TECH
GOT SHAPES? LIGHT LYNK • APP CONTROLLED
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EDM NEWS
SAM NOBLE // ELETRICK
EDM NEWS
Nyzze Nice performs at Illuminate, EDMC’s end of the semester festival.
By Zach Burger ELECTRIK
A local collective of electronic dance music artists put on shows and work on music in order to push one another and make Muncie an exciting experience for all who want to be involved
LOOKING FORWARD, BUILDING CULTURE
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ELECTRIK ELETRIK • 15
EDMC
EDMC
JARED SULLIVAN // ELETRICK
The electronic dance community continues to see growth on the global and local level. Growing interest in Muncie and Indianapolis’ scene has been documented by local venues and student groups like EDMC in Muncie.
“Don’t be bored in Muncie, but instead make it the city you want it to be.” EDMC is also hosting their final event for the semester—one that will showcase student and alumni producers and DJs. The Electronic Dance Music Collective is an organization for anyone with interest in the production of dance music, regardless of genre. We are open to those who wish to learn new production tricks, share their work, create mash-ups, develop interfaces, or simply listen to new music. The goal of the collective is to help artists grow and potentially build a career out of their hobby. Northern Lights, which is almost
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A group of musicians collaborated during a set at Illuminate. It took months of rehearsals to perfect their set. SAM NOBLE // ELETRICK
three months in the making and in its second year, will be made up of five acts that have already made their names well-known within the Muncie EDM scene. They will come together with a mixture of styles and a “thundering, 6000+ watts” soundsystem. Alumnus Andrew Hesik, or local musician Mephysto, will start off the night at 8:30 p.m. Hesik — along with computer science major Colin Ledbetter, or Phlank — have worked together since EDMC’s founding to maintain the collective and put on shows that showcase the group’s members.
Also appearing will be SPACExLION, Ejion, and Re:Born. Between the five artists and DJs, show attendees can expect genres like Drum and Bass, Deep Dubstep, Future and much more. The show’s aim is not just about music. Proceeds from the show will be split between Muncie’s EDMC and Water is Basic, a charity organization responsible for building wells in South Africa. The show will take place at Be Here Now on Dec. 12, beginning at 8:30 p.m. and running until about 3 a.m. The cover charge is $3 for people who are over 21 and $6 for those who are under.
Looking ahead Featuring EDM, hip hop, Comedy Underground and a pop up art gallery, the third annual Illuminate Arts Festival will return to Be Here Now to celebrate local artists April 30. The festival, which began in 2014, was a product of Andrew August’s devotion to the local artistic community, he said. August founded the Electronic Dance Music Collective (EDMC), an association of producers and songwriters, when he found out that many had not played their original works for an audience before.
Admission is $5 for those over 21 and $10 for anyone under. Visit the event page for a full list of acts. The festival is sponsored by Wishbone Gifts, Inc, Heidi J Hale designs, Aw Yeah Comics, Steve Robert, Art Mart and Muncie YART. “I found out that all of these EDMC DJs were also writing their own music, and I was like, “hold the phone,” August said. August decided to create a festival to showcase local EDM talent in collaboration with Whitney Lewis of Be Here Now. The second Illuminate Arts Festival in 2015 was the most attended event ever at the venue. This year, the Illuminate Arts Festival has expanded to include a greater diversity of Muncie talent, including hip hop, a multimedia art show and standup comedy. But the goal remains “to shine the biggest spotlight on local art,” said August, who will be performing as ‘Mephysto’, at 8 p.m. And unlike in years past, not all of this art will be musical. The Pop Up Art Gallery will be open from 12- 6 p.m. and will feature multimedia art from sixteen artists from the Glue and Scissors Society, a local artist collection.
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EDMC Lavonte Pugh, from the Glue and Scissors Society, said the group has used trial and error to put up an art gallery in the midst of a festival, where it will be best for audiences and artists. “We don’t want to dissuade artists from submitting if they are worried about their work being destroyed, so we use our experience from past shows to place things in places where rowdy attendants won’t likely be,” he said. The gallery will feature the group’s popular chess boards, which can be played blindfolded against the artist. Music performances will take place on three stages throughout Be Here Now. Twelve EDM DJs will be performing
on BHN’s back porch stage and main stage. Five hip hop artists will be on the front porch. The Comedy Underground will be on the main stage from 6-8 p.m. and will feature six comedians. There will be “30,000 watts of sonic thunder,” which will feature LED and fire performances. Local artist Amelia Rule will also being doing ink portraits during the event. Music genres of all types come together at Illuminate, and no one knows that better than August, who is performing at the festival as an electronic dance musician and a member of a band who label themselves as acoustic jibber-jabber.
“We don’t want to dissuade artists from submitting if they are worried about their work being destroyed.”
SAM NOBLE // ELETRICK
Nyzze Nice is known for mixing his love of rap and hiphop with electronic music. He says he loves bringing positive influence onto others.
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August, a Ball State alumnus and MusicFest program coordinator, is performing first as Mephysto, his three-year old EDM brainchild. “[Mephysto has] been a huge learning process,” August said. “Of course, I’m focused on producing electronic dance music, but the center piece of the development has been the custom apparatus I’ve been developing to perform it on, which doubled as my senior project.” The “custom apparatus,” called Naraka, is an aggregate of several digital instruments including a Dance Dance Revolution pad and an electronic drumset. Hesik
positions Naraka at shoulder height, allowing him to mix movement and music composition into “a unique performance by choreographing the motions to look like dancing.” Getting the device to function perfectly and “in a way that’s streamlined” has been a three-year process that included doing research in textbooks and engineering the device. August said he looks forward to giving it its first real-world playthrough at Illuminate. Hehopes that the festival encourages people to “not be bored in Muncie but instead make it the city you want it to be.”
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EJION (EHJ-EE-ON) • Local drum and bass producer released new single after months of hardwork and studio time. He debuted his work at Be Here Now. By Ashley Downing ELECTRIK
ELETRIK • 21
REGAN ALLEN // ELETRICK
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“Deep ocean sounds and drum and bass that will melt your face,” is how Ejion describes his new single that released last weekend.
REGAN ALLEN // ELETRICK
Ejion performs at Be Here Now. People often describe his performances as “high energy” and “infectious.”
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Ejion, formally known as Matas Olsauskas, is a producer/DJ hailing from Chicago Illinois. Ejion has been involved with music for most of his life from school band to the Chicago Youth Concert Orchestra. Once Ejion realized that music was going to play a major role in his life, he decided to attend Ball State University to pursue a major in Music Technology. His interest in the recording and music production grew. With the help of his brother Vinny Olsauskas (CEO of Real Metal Reviews), they recorded their first EP with their band Teratological Nightmare and ever since then Ejion has been fascinated with recording and the technology behind all of it. Ejion says he has always been fascinated with electronic music and wanted to know more about the culture and production of it. As he delved into the topic more and more he realized that electronic music might be another interesting hobby and just like that Ejion was born. Ejion’s first alias for this project was SONORITY which later turned into Ejion. From the very first song he produced to the songs that are in progress now, Ejion has shown his love for music and hopes to deliver the same emotions to anyone who listens. In early December, Ejion released his single titled “Beneath” which can be found on his
ELETRIK • 23
REGAN ALLEN // ELETRICK
BELOW Ejion does a lot of work from home. Over the years, he has accumulated a lot of different types of equipment. He is also an avid drum player.
ASHLEY DOWNING // ELETRICK
BOTTOM As a Music Media Production graduate, Ejion is familiar with a wide variety of music producing and mixing equipment. He played a major role in recording his band, The Indigos, in Ball State’s recording studios.
REGAN ALLEN // ELETRICK
TOP Ejion and fellow EDMC member, TROUB, prepare for the shift in set. Be Here Now pumped music throughout the night until 3 a.m. RIGHT Village bar, Be Here Now, is well-known for hosting musical acts throughout the week and weekend. They bring in all types of genres and artists from all over the country.
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ELETRIK • 25
HIS INFLUENCES • Koan Sound
• Feed Me/Spor • Adventure Club • Bassnectar • Noisia • Black Sun Empire • Skrillex
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soundcloud. The sound, Ejion says, is very heavily influenced by what he believes is deep ocean. The intro includes snippets from a documentary about the ocean and is followed by deep bass and wubs. He labels the genre of the song as “Deep House.” Just before the release of this single, Ejion put out a remix of Lillie Lemon’s “California Drifting,” a group he met at Be Here Now. The remix dropped just at the end of summer, showing great promise for his original single that would follow.
Ejion says that he hopes to make music production a full-time job. “Ejion is my outlet,” he said. “It is my escape. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.” During his downtime as Ejion, Olsauskas also performs as a drummer in a local band called The Indigos. “I spend a lot of my free time recording and mixing music for my band,” he said. Within the next year, he and the band plan to relocate to Indianapolis where they will pursue their Indigo dreams.
Be Here Now was filled with people who came to drink and enjoy the electronic dance music. EDMC hosted the show to showcase their members hardwork from the semester. REGAN ALLEN // ELETRICK
ELETRIK • 27
EDM NEWS
28
VINYL IS NOT DEAD
BURNING DISCIPLINE
Students, locals gather to play with fire toys at Village Bar ELECTRIK ELETRIK • 29
I really love fire and I’m not scared of it at all. By Samantha Jones ELECTRIK The back courtyard of Be Here Now is hot on Monday nights, and it’s more than just the weather. Hula hoops and nunchucks come ablaze as people blow fire during what’s known as “Spunday Monday.” The event allows the group, called Burn Mob, to show off their talents and recruit potential members once it’s dark outside. “First degrees are pretty common, but you learn to deal with those,” said Austin Pursifull, a Burn Mob member. “Second-degree burns hurt worse, and heaven forbid you do something that causes a third, [because] those can really hurt.” The only injuries for the group have been minor ones to themselves. Burn Mob’s lead hula hooper Kelly McDonnell left the show early on Monday to treat minor burns to her arms. Pursifull had technical difficulties with his equipment that caused the poi balls to interlock. Pursifull said the key is to be prepared and aware of what you’re doing, but even the best planned routine can have issues that result in some minor burns.
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ASHLEY DOWNING // ELETRICK
Member of the Burn Mob, Jason Riley, spins his firestaff in a move called the anti-flower. Riley has been spinning fire for a few years now. He enjoys performing for a crowd and teaching others fire safety. PREVIOUS PAGE Kelzie Selch performs a move called isolations for the crowd at Burn Mob’s latest “Spunday Monday.”
ELETRIK • 31
He said fire arts performing is any of several tricks involving poi, staff, nunchucks, hula hoops and any of the other toys the group uses to perform tricks. “I really love fire and I’m not scared of it at all,” Kelzie Jo Selch, a Burn Mob member, said. Selch graduated from Ball State with a degree in glassblowing and she currently works at Be Here Now. About four years ago, Selch got into hula hooping. Shortly after, she incorporated fire into the hooping, becoming a flow artist. She also trails fire on her arms and holds it in her hands. “I’ve been playing with fire forever,” Selch said. Selch twirls her lit hoop around her arms, singeing off her arms hairs. She said she loves the adrenaline and the sound created by the rushing fire. Her tricks have left her with no arm hair, but Selch has very few burns. She douses her skin in fuel to prevent this from happening. Along with her other fire tricks, Selch eats fire. She does it by lighting torches with camping fuel and extinguishing the flames in her mouth. It took Selch one night to learn how to eat fire. While hanging out with her fellow flow artists, one asked her if she wanted to try eating fire. “Absolutely,” she said. While the flames have little taste, the heat leaves a small sensation. “When you’re done eating fire, you feel like you ate a hot piece of pizza,” Selch said. Before extinguishing the flames with her mouth, Selch does a few tricks with the fire torches. She starts off by lighting one torch with the fuel, swiping it on her tongue, then lighting the other torch with the fuel in her mouth. She also can throw the flames from a lit torch to an unlit torch. “I love it so much,” Selch said. “I like how hot it is. I think it looks really cool and it’s something a lot of people find dangerous or scary and I don’t think it’s scary at all.”
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Selch has already began teaching another friend the way of the trade, after knowing how to eat fire for only a week. “The hardest part about learning how to eat fire is doing it the first time,” Selch said. “Because you see this torch of fire coming at your face and you just have to go for it and close your mouth around the torch.” Though the idea of a lit torch to the face may frighten some people, Selch loves the adrenaline and is comfortable with fire. She believes injuries are easily avoidable when playing with fire. If something is on fire and the person holding it becomes uncomfortable, Selch would advise them to just drop it and let it go. Selch tries to do fire tricks as often as she can. She loves the community of people who also play with fire getting together to teach each other new tricks. “It becomes a really cool community of people who like to learn new things with dangerous things—that people think are really dangerous,” Selch said. “We’re super open to helping teach people if they’re interested in learning.” Daryn Hurst, a Muncie resident, started experimenting with fire four
ASHLEY DOWNING // ELETRICK
TOP Daryn Hurst, a Burn Mob member and Muncie local, breaths fire through another members hula hoop. Hurst loves teaching others about the difference between breathing and eating fire. LEFT Kelzie Selch, Ball State alumna and Burn Mob member, demonstrates how to eat fire. Selch was taught how to eat fire by Hurst.
ELECTRIK ELETRIK • 33
years ago. After spinning fire almost every day, he now eats fire, spins poi, is handy with the staff and is currently learning how to juggle fire. He’s done shows at places such as Indy Scream Park and local bars. “I’m really just working on being a jack of all trades,” Hurst said. Hurst enjoys being an adult and still being able to play with fire – responsibly of course. Though he’s gotten injuries and burns, Hurst said the key to learning how to successfully play with fire is to “try and try again.” On Monday nights, the fire community gets together at Be Here Now for what they call Spunday Monday. Flow artists come together to show off tricks and play with fire— Spunday Monday is also open to anyone who wants to come watch.
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Kelzie Selch, plays with her fire hula hoop at Be Here Now on a “Spunday Monday”. ASHLEY DOWNING // ELETRICK
“It would be really cool if a lot more people would come out and watch, and talk to us and get to know us because we love talking about it, we love learning about it and we love teaching people how to do new things,” Selch said. Safety for the crowd is a priority for the group said Mark Riley, a Burn Mob member. “We keep a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket on hand, but no one has ever lit themselves on fire,” the senior telecommunications major said. “It is usually just some soot marks or minor burns if you catch it wrong.” People interested in learning more about Burn Mob can see them on Monday nights at Be Here Now in the Village or search for Burn Mob on Facebook.
Art
is art.
artmartmuncie.com ELETRIK • 35
A MUSIC FESTIVAL CREATED BY STUDENTS FOR STUDENTS
In 2015, we saw the opportunity to fill a void at Ball State University. The goal is not to only produce fun filled experiences but to give support to its’ surrounding community, and to help expand the portfolios and resumes of participating college students.
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The only way to predict the future is to create to it. Get involved and help shape ChirpFest! Chirp, Chirp!