Particle – Suwannee Hulaween 2014
After seeing Particle kick off the festivities at this year’s Suwannee Hulaween pre-party, we were enthusiastic to interview the group’s keyboardist, Steve Molitz, about the upcoming New Year’s shows in Miami. Steve has some excellent advice on how to make the most of the holiday on South Beach.
Phish’s NYE parties have been held in NYC for quite some time. What do you think it’s going to be like to move the party to Miami this year?
Miami always goes off, and it’s even crazier on NYE. Particle has played multiple sold out New Year’s shows in Miami in the past, and the energy in the audience is always through the roof. It’s really an ideal location for the fans because they can hit the hotel pools and the beach during the day, then they rock the Phish show, then they can keep the late night dance party rollin’ with us at Grand Central.
Which of the nights are you looking forward to playing more? Can you tell us some secrets we can look forward to? Any special guests, maybe?
With so many great musicians in town, you never know who might drop by. And we’ve definitely got a bunch of tricks up our sleeve for both of these shows. In addition to playing all the Particle classics, we’ll be debuting six new songs (originals and covers) at these shows, and we are also going to play our album Launchpad in it’s entirety at the 1/1 show.
Do you guys have anything fun planned for the band while you are in Miami?
My wife and I are coming into town a day early so we can soak up the local flavor. I love walking down Ocean Drive in Miami Beach in the morning and hearing the hostesses give their sales pitches to try to get you to eat at their restaurants. You walk by the first girl and she offers you free coffee and orange juice…then the next place throws in free pancakes. By the time you get to the end of the strip, they’re offering you thirty-seven plates of food and nineteen different drinks for $7.99! But the deals have nothing to do with it. I always eat at whichever place greets me with the most “Miami flavor,” which pretty much means I eat at the first place that calls me “Papi.”
The Bazaar at the SLS is also a favorite, and we’ll definitely be hitting Juvia. The chefs there are doing some really amazing things combining French, Latin American, and Asian influences.
I’m sure the Particle guys will be hitting the beach everyday, and my wife and I also like to run on the beachfront paths through Lummus Park. It’s about a four mile run from 17th Street (near The Delano) down to South Pointe Park and back, so look for me out there in the afternoons. I’ll be the guy wearing the matching neon green and pink Particle tank top and sweatband.
We hear you’re joining forces with Shaquille O’Neal and Big Deez Productions to create the soundtrack for a new video game, tell us a little about that.
I’ll be the lead composer for “Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn,” and the soundtrack will consist of my original score as well as remixes I’m doing of some of Shaq’s platinum selling hip hip tracks (featuring Notorious B.I.G., etc.). This is going to be a really fun project, and Shaq’s incredible sense of humor and his larger-than-life personality will definitely be felt in the gameplay. The game is currently in production, and you can check out the trailer (I did the music):
Are there any other projects you have coming up?
Particle is gearing up for a huge coast-to-coast Winter Tour that runs from January 9th to February 7th. We are so unbelievably excited to kick the New Year off with this massive tour, and we’ll be debuting new material throughout the run.
Where can your fans find out more information about your music / events?
Check out our newly revamped website www.particlepeople.com, or keep in touch with us at: Facebook.com/particlepeople and @particlepeople on twitter, instagram, etc.
Happy New Year!
Ticket Info:
DEC 31st: http://grandcentralmiami.ticketfly.com/event/719343
JAN 1st: http://grandcentralmiami.ticketfly.com/event/719349
TWO-DAY PASS: http://grandcentralmiami.ticketfly.com/event/719359
For more info: http://www.grandcentralmiami.com/
About Particle:
Back full-time in 2014 after an eight year semi-hiatus, Particle began in 2000 as one of the key pioneers of the emerging ‘livetronica’ music scene. Their signature sound combined elements of Electronica, Funk and Rock with a heavy emphasis on improvisation and sonic exploration, and their influence can be felt and heard in many of today’s top touring Jam and EDM/Funk bands. Their seminal album, Launchpad (2004), received high praise from outlets such as Rolling Stone, New York Times and CNN and is still considered by many as one of the most influential albums of this scene.
Particle is currently hard at work on enough studio tracks to populate up to two new full-length albums, which will both be released in 2015. Until then, Particle will also release select studio singles for free to make their new music as accessible as possible. As band leader and keyboardist Steve Molitz said in a recent interview, “Particle has always been fueled by the energy of our fans, and we’re so excited to get back out on the road full-time, and to share all of this new music with the Particle People…”
Always striving to think outside the box and create unique concert experiences, Particle is known for pairing their high-energy dance music with cutting-edge multimedia production and epic marathon sets that quickly developed a loyal fan base of Particle People spanning genre lines from jam to electronica.
Particle Band Members:
Steve Molitz – Keyboards, Vocals
Ben Combe – Guitar, Vocals
Clay Parnell – Bass, Vocals
Brandon Draper – Drums, Vocals
Interview by Jen McKinnon
Assisted by Liz Turcotte
