Hello Brandon, it's great to have a chat with you. How anxious are you now that Jungle Bells 2025 is about to unfold?

I am almost in full show mode. The rest of the team and myself are starting the process of coordinating advancement, hospitality and transportation. We are super excited to be working with the DEF design team for our decor this year. Beware is doing all our production so it frees up a lot of time for us to get other things moving. I know we keep saying it but this is the year that we went on 200% to produce a show that the fans of any genre would love to attend. Speaking of, I can hardly wait to see everyone as it's always a big ol' family reunion!

MJ and yourself have been friends for many years and are now reaching the 27th anniversary of Jungle Bells. Can you tell our readers a little about when you both first discovered electronic music? What were some early Jungle/Drum & Bass artists and songs that really drew you and MJ in?

I would say we both have some interesting stories. MJ was moving out of his goth days into the underground rave culture here in Atlanta. He fell in love as soon as he dove deep into the Atlanta scene. Still to this day he is basically a big ol' candy raver. As for myself, in my teens I was a sponsored skateboarder that got injured. I was looking for somewhere to go where the girls were to take my mind off the injury. My friend from high school was an investor in Outta Control “Madhouse” at the famous, old 688 building on Spring Street. What first pulled me in pretty hard was Josh Wink's track “Higher State of Consciousness”, and maybe my old friend Barbara & her friends did not help. I first heard Drum & Bass from another high school friend who had moved to Athens, Brian ‘Organik’ Kee who brought a CD to my apartment at the time to share. I was like 19 or 20 I think.

As far as early Drum & Bass, Of course Roni Size, DJ Wednesday, AK1200, Dieselboy, Dara, Soul Slinger, DJ Marky etc. Not one specific song but several acts, DJs and parties.

Were there many Jungle/Drum & Bass events in your local area back when you first started listening to the music?

Actually there were some events that had some Drum & Bass/Jungle going on however the only all Drum & Bass event I knew about was put on by our now partner & good friend Darcy Reenis aka D:RC who was throwing them in Athens, GA. Also we saw what Konkrete Jungle in NYC were doing as well.

Every year the Jungle Bells event is a massive undertaking with people traveling from all over to attend. Could you elaborate on some of the crew that helps make it all happen and how hectic some of the logistics are to host something like this?

Oh man first off, we have an amazing team we assembled over the years. We have a “Master Marketer” working with us, the booking agencies we work with, our venue The Masquerade, Beware Productions, Magnum PR, Design by Darcy Reenis, my partners MJ, Darcy & myself work hard to bring in the best. The unsung heroes of our team are Ian, Supa, Mike Kelly, Brandi, Steven “Subs” Williams, Mettapattern, Cam. Our extended friends Disco Donnie, DEF, AtlantaEDM, Josh Millard & so many more that we rely on for support, help or simply advice. We simply can not do what we do without them.

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For people that are still thinking about going, what can you tell them about this year's event such as the DJ SS and Roni Size back to back set, etc?

Well for the first time ever anywhere in the world we have the head of World of Drum & Bass, DJ SS going back to back with the man responsible for creating the world market for Drum & Bass, Roni Size. Some sets that are going to be really insane and I’m super excited about are Kings of the Rollers w/ Inja, the Rudimental performance in a relatively intimate space, ÆON:MODE, the ever creative Venjent, Koji Aiken from Vancouver, Sota, Mozey, Goddard, Sustance, Mandidextrous, Born on Road, Armanni Reign on the mic with the legends Dillinja and Danny Byrd.

What are some of the standards you use to define an event's success (beyond ticket sales)? Also, how do you approach risk management regarding things like cancellations, technical failures, or low attendance?

In our mind it's when a show provides the very best experience for the fans. Not all wins are just financial. We don't over sell our shows either as that is a big part of the experience in our minds. I have a ton of faith in what we do for these events that will always leave fans wanting more. This is a tough year for any music event so we truly appreciate our community even more. If you keep providing that place that everyone can have a great time, then your event is a success. Our show in 2019 that we had Dimension at was short about half what we needed but the 300+ that came out are still talking about those amazing sets from that. We try to always deliver an experience no matter what.

Photo Credit: Anthony Carli

Is there any one particular year of Jungle Bells that sticks out in your memory more than any other?

To be fair they are all so special in each and every way. I think the move back to the Masquerade has been the best thing we have done to grow more each year. I know last year we did a pre-party on Friday night, where I got to hang and spend more time with the acts than at any of our other shows. It was great since that just never happens. Normally I’m lucky to see about 5 or 10 minutes at a time of a DJ while running around like crazy.

What's a common piece of advice you hear about event promotion that you honestly think is terrible advice?

Please stop posting your fliers online 10000000 times a day with the same info. It's not doing what you think it does. Share dynamic content that shows the fans what you truly provide for them since that’s what actually matters. True, real content gets way more fans excited than a flier. Oh while I’m at it, if you are posting fliers make it look good and readable.

Have there been some sacrifices you have made along the journey to help keep the ability of hosting Jungle Bells alive?

A healthy amount, but I would never even consider them sacrifices. We have eaten ramen noodles & PB&J sandwiches for months before, to put our energy & funds towards Bells. Everyone on our team works multiple jobs, so taking time away from their families while working on projects that have to be done on certain deadlines. We have had some losses this year amongst our team's personal families which is always terrible. The pressures of this business are significant, it can be difficult to take proper time away for grieving and healing. Our team puts in so many hours of planning and analysis, questioning and figuring out new ways to innovate the experience for fans. We have always been close as a team like brothers and sisters. All I can say is I have never seen anything for me as a sacrifice, more like a learning experience.

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If you were to go back in time and Jungle/Drum & Bass music didn't come into your life or hosting the Jungle Bells event, what do you think you would be spending your time doing? Is there anything that you wish you had more time to do now?

To be fair, it's not just the music that brought me to Drum & Bass as much as the vibe & crowd did. So after I got hurt from skating, the closest social thing to what I knew at the time was the rave scene. Nowadays I wish I had more time to spend traveling with my wife on non-working trips. Also, would love to be doing more fundraising for Jungle Bells’ favorite charity The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Any closing thoughts or shout outs?

I want to just thank you for your time and for shooting over these questions. We truly try our best to offer a top tier event. This year in many ways will surpass the last few, as we have massive production coming in, two full night’s worth of amazing talent, art installations, vendors etc. If anyone is still on the fence about attending, we encourage you to purchase a ticket. You will not regret your experience. Also, one more big shout out to the whole amazing team that makes the Jungle Bells Universe happen each and every year!

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