It Begins

            An experiment is about to take place. A simple yet intriguing one that will follow the course of a bracelet through ravers and their experiences together. These bracelets are known as “kandi” and generally take up a raver’s entire arm space.

            They embody the raver spirit and message: spread love and peace, make friends and simply enjoy oneself with no stress or need to impress others. In the spirit of this aura, a rainbow bracelet with the words “Raver Love” has now begun its circulation through the Northeast raver community.

            The first recipient is an individual that prides himself on staying drug-free but still raving and gloving to the music he loves and spending time with the people who keep him sane. Carson French, a sophomore at Northeastern University, has been raving for over four years. He began listening to electronic music in 2008 and slowly got into raves after that. His first rave he recalls “was the weekend around Halloween in 2008. My friend Davey’s mom drove us it was the greatest thing ever because it was before we were all 16 so parents drove us around everywhere and they didn’t really care because they knew we weren’t doing drugs.” A year later, he found himself at another rave where merchandise booths had “a bunch of EL wire and really crappy gloves and I didn’t have enough money for two so I got one. I had a light up stick also so I ended up messing around with one glove and one glow stick. And then about a month later I decided I should look online and order an actual glove set.”

            French is a “glover” in his community, which means he is usually equipped with white gloves that have varied color LED lights in each finger.  Gloving is an art form to many people, a dance of sorts, and individuals can spend a large portion of their time practicing and bettering themselves. Most glovers usually pick a name for themselves such as Gummy, Blitzen or Skittles which becomes their trade mark. French's glover name is Slipcell and he not only has flow but also years of practice and experience.

            On Saturday January 21, 2012, DRK (Dirty Raver Kids) hosted a rave in New Haven, Connecticut called Superheroes Vs. Superzeroes. Dressing theme-appropriate is always encouraged but not required. DRK is a group of college-age individuals that make it their responsibility to find venues and djs for raves. Members of this group help set up and take down anything at the venue (usually dj equipment) and are basically in charge of everyone’s well being. They do this because they want good events just as much as the next raver: the only difference is they take it upon themselves to make these events happen while other ravers simply wait for events to pop up on their own. At Superheroes Vs. Superzeroes, French spent most of his night gloving for whoever asked for a light show. The rest of his time was spent working the booth of Spirit Lightshow, a company created by him, Kenny March and Nikola Vidnovic in 2011. This company purchases rave materials in bulk online and then assembles everything to sell to fellow ravers at shows or concerts. These materials include gloves, orbits, glow sticks and poi balls.  

            Most rave materials or toys cannot be bought in stores or anywhere other than online. Spirit Lightshow’s goal is to give ravers easier and cheaper access to anything rave-themed so that everyone can enjoy raving without becoming broke because of it or waiting too long for their purchases to come in the mail. Waiting weeks for a glove set to come in the mail can become extremely frustrating, especially when raves and events are passing by.

            As is the case with any business, profit is a concern but not a major one for March, French and Vidnovic. They make enough money to keep the business running and even make a small profit but the focus is on others and their enjoyment. French is encouraged and almost feeds off of others happiness: if everyone is having fun, then he can too.  And of course, more ravers enjoy themselves when they have a new glove set that they are dying to try out and show off to their friends.

            French is considered the best glover of Spirit Lightshow by most. Countless individuals are left speechless when he finishes blowing them up (rave slang for a light show). He is always extremely humble and rarely talks of his passion for gloving or overall skills. His friends usually inform others of his incredible talent. At every event, there are at least a few people who are curious about this amazing glover they have heard so much about. They come up to him and usually ask for a light show. The best compliment a glover receives is usually silence because the observer is so blown away that words cannot express the truly outstanding art and dance they have just seen. They are left speechless and can only manage to give French a bone-crushing hug.

            French looks at raving as more than just partying. “It’s a place where everyone is accepted. Doesn’t matter if you had a tough childhood, if you had a good childhood as long as you bring happiness and you’re willing to accept other people you’re welcome. It’s more about the music, lights and the vibes and less about college kids humping each other,” said French.