New York has a lot to thank ‘Mean Red’ for… firstly, because they know how to throw great parties featuring amazing artists and secondly, because they’re inadvertently helping people find love in this big ol’ city (i.e. on the dance floor).
I mean, how perfect is it to all of a sudden realise you are doing a synchronised running dance with a cute stranger, to the sounds of Theo Parrish, Mr Scruff, Kid Cudi, King Britt, ?uestlove of the Roots, Waajeed from Platinum Pied Pipers, Phenomenal Handclap Band, DJ Harvey, Prefuse 73, 9th Wonder and a long-ass line of etc? (Yeah, we thought so too.) It also helps that Mean Red seeks out the most unique spaces to jam, making it seem like it ain’t-no-thang to be raving your face off inside a dim sum palace, but I’ll let them explain…
For those who don’t know, what is Mean Red exactly? And what do you guys do?
We throw parties. We climb into weird spaces and we make magic happen. From raves in dim sum restaurants to outdoor festivals on the Brooklyn waterfront. Sometimes we are underground, sometimes we are mainstream, sometimes we are super fancy, sometimes we are super not.
How did the company come together in the first place?
Jen Lyon founded the company three years ago, and joined forces with Katie Longmyer (who also runs Good Peoples). Jenny Gottstein joined the team as the communications warrior / creative strategist.
What is your ethos when it comes to putting on a party?
Keep it bootsy, keep it authentic, make it unforgettable.
In your experience, what are the elements that guarantee a great party?
Incredible music is a good place to start. But you have to be in the right company too. Just like “if a tree falls in the forest, did it make a sound?”, except it is more like “if you are surrounded by douchebags, does it even count?”
Name some of your most successful events.
Our Dark Disco party at Central Park Summerstage was pretty ill. Boys Noize, Drop The Lime, Canyons, limited edition shirts by Mishka, and these fierce dancers with bowie knifes and waterguns. We also have a soft spot for our Lose Your Shit loft party series. The venue and the talent always changes, and the music genres are all over the map. But that’s the point — when you come to a Lose Your Shit party, you have no idea what you can expect. But you do know it is going to push you out of your comfort zone, and you are going to like it.
And of course, summers at BKLYN Yard — our outdoor waterfront music venue — are always poppin’. Nothing like eating homemade tacos, drinking beer, seeing great music and chilling in a grove of trees, surrounded by warehouses and concrete. Industrial meets bucolic.
What’s in the works for this year?
Big things. We have a Comfort Food Festival coming up, more Dark Disco, our regular breakneck party schedule and some surprises we can’t leak yet.
Name your dream line-up and venue for the ultimate Mean Red showdown.
Well, we like to mash-up diverse scenes and put them on in bizarre locations. So maybe Flying Lotus with exotic dancers, trapeze artists and contortionists performing under a highway overpass? Or a Brooklyn block party where Nicky Minaj does Dolly Parton covers, hosted by Michael Cera? Who knows. It could totally happen.
Where can we visit Mean Red on the internet?
www.meanredproductions.com
www.twitter.com/builtbymeanred
flavorpill.com/newyork/venues/meanred
www.bklynyard.com
