BeatRoute Magazine Alberta print e-edition - July 2017

ELECTRO RODEO
the new hoedown, a secret party...
Steve Seibel was “playing scrabble and
smoking a joint” with a friend trying to
come up with an idea for a festival. They
jammed on a few different things, something
weird, something different during Stampede
that wasn’t full drunk yahoos and crappy
country music when suddenly Seibel’s scrabble
partner blurted out “an electric rodeo, the
electro rodeo!”
That was a “wow” moment for Seibel.
“I could actually see a barn rise up, a barn
stage, a circus tent, and all these possibilities.”
The vision stuck with him and when he had
the opportunity make it happen, Seibel got
in touch with his high school buddy, Alex
Carlson and put he plan in motion.
“I knew Alex had been spinning and had a
successful career going and approached him
with the idea. I also heard that the Legion had
an opening with this rave party during Stampede
last year that did OK, and thought this
was a golden opportunity to advantage of.
Alex was on board, the Legion party went off
well, but it was a rainy night, so bad that the
trains shut down, and that kept the numbers
down. It was the worst year in ten years for
the Stampede.”
This year, Seibel and Carlson went location
hunting and found the barn rising up out of
the mist that they wanted. Somewhere just
south of the city limits on an acreage whose
location won’t be disclosed until a few hours
before the party begins, the second annual
Electro Rodeo takes place on Saturday, July 15.
“We connected with this art collective
called Artical,” says Carlson, “whose goal is to
have a skateable art park, and built this giant
ramp and half pipe on this old farm. Inside
the barn, there’s a custom paneled wooden
roof, a custom wood salon, a big wooden
stage, stairs leading up to the green room
where everything’s all decked out in art. Lots
of wild graffiti art.”
In the afternoon there will be food trucks
and skaters having fun, in the evening it the
party moves into the barn and the Electro
Rodeo begins. Seibel expects a “golden sunset
with sheer yellow” rays of the vanishing sun to
kick things off. It’s a Stampede party without
country music.
“Yeah, confirms Carlson who wont be
mixing Dolly Parton into disco grooves. “No,
nothing like that. I might sample a couple of
yee-haws into my set, but I primarily focus
on house music and break beats. It’s mostly
electronic party music. We brought Marten
Horger in from Germany as the headliner. It
will be uptempo all night long.”
For more information about the DJ line-up,
location and tickets go to electrodeo.com
Carlson and Seibel usher in the electric age of Stampeding.
by B. Simm
JUCY
BEATROUTE • JULY 2017 | 39