The Festival Voice Presents: Dogma Live At Solshine Reverie
Hey hey, we recently got to sit down with Dogma who played at Solshine Reverie (Summer Camp) 2024! Check out our exclusive interview.
S: Hey it’s Savannah with The Festival Voice and I am here with Dogma. We are live at Solshine Reverie and Dogma you played last night at 8 o’clock. Can you tell us about that?
Dogma: Yes, last night at 8 pm at the Campfire Stage, it was awesome because it was kind of like the Golden Hour, so that was really dope. The transition from daytime to nighttime, especially when you’re at that stage over there, it just grooves with the sun going down. We had a crazy turnout, it was packed out all the way to the back. And like I was just telling you guys off camera, this festival is like home for me. I grew up as an artist here. I started out playing a tiny wooden pyramid stage for like 10 kids to Saturday night, like 9000 kids. It’s always a really special one and last night was no different.
S: So how many years have you played at Summer Camp?
D: Uh, I think this is the 7th year that I’ve played at Summer Camp.
S: So that’s really cool, it’s kind of special for me too because a few years ago, it was the fall edition, I wasn’t vibing at the set I was at and then I discovered you. I was walking around and I was like- “What is that? I like that?” And so now I’ve made it a point to catch you at every Summer Camp since.
D: And I love hearing that, that’s the kind of thing that happens here so much. We’ve built so many fans here over the years because there’s so many fans here who come for the electronic stuff and because this festival is such a broad spectrum lineup, it’s really beneficial for smaller and medium artists like me, who are growing, because when I play like a big EDM festival, there’s a 100 people out there, and they’re all competing at every single stage. But we do stuff like this because it’s awesome because you get the opportunity to pull all kinds of people who aren’t already your fans. We’re an EDM crew and we’re looking for some bass or electronic and there’s not 9 stages like EDC or 8 other people playing dubstep so we’ve had so many people, I can’t even count, that were like, “We hear the bass!” And last year, I was coming up on a cold stage right next to the campgrounds and I was like, “Crank the F****** subs” and I see all the people pulling out the campground. It’s such a great feeling and so rewarding.
S: Yes, the first time I saw you it was such a tiny crowd and I was like- how do people not know about this yet? But last night was huge, it was cool to see how you’ve grown.
D: You know, I think it’s really easy for us to lost sight of the dreams but this is the place where the progress is seen. I go back and look at family photos from the past 6 years and I’m like damn, we’re actually doing cool sh**, it’s great to be reminded of that. And the community is cool.
S: Yes, that’s one of my favorite aspects of this festival. So besides being here, what else are you up to this summer?
D: Let’s see, I just nabbed Gridlife, which is one of my other favorite festivals. It’s super cool and it’s on a racetrack. It’s car racing all day during the day. It’s everything from some guy with a Honda Civic out of his garage up to like the #1 pro drifters in the world. At night, it turns into a music festival, and it’s just so cool. It’s so unique, there’s nothing else like it. I’ve been a part of it for 9 years now. Cause I used to race cars and so that’s July 26th in Soth Haven, Wisconsin. It’s got deadmau5 and Liquid Stranger.
S: That one sounds pretty cool too.
D: Then we have North Coast. We have a couple of other things that aren’t announced yet, but North Coast in Chicago, that’ll be good with the hometown vibes, that’s always a good one too.
S: So musically, what are you working on?
D: So we have a single we’re about to announce, on one of Dim Mak’s Imprints, New Noise. We’ll give everybody full info about that in like a week or so. We’ve kind of had a shift in the project towards everything in the metal-centric kind of hybridized vibe, it’s a thing to me because when I started writing it, so I have a lot of friends who are in that scene and pretty successful metal bands. So during Covid, when we had nothing to do, we just started experimenting, like musically, and smashing our stuff together. And it was like the most rewarding stuff I’ve ever written. It feels right. It’s more fulfilling. And it gets such a good response from fans and so we’re really.. everything coming out is a big push in that direction to really kick the doors down between those two genres. Bring those two fan bases together who are a lot more alike than they think they realize.
S: So that’s really cool to hear. So, do you have any advice that you would give someone just starting out?
D: Don’t listen to anybody. I have kind of a crazy story. I worked in finance for a long time. I traded with the treasuries at the exchange in Chicago, senior marketing strategist portfolio with Merrill Lynch. I was just miserable. I was so unhappy. It was a lucrative job, I just started DJing as a hobby. And this bug, like, grew inside of me and I just got to a point, the scariest thought in the world.. What if one day I have to look back on my life and wonder if I could have done that one thing? And I said, “F*** it,” I walked into my office and I quit. And I didn’t have a background and I had no idea what I was doing. And every single person that wasn’t my family or my very close friends was like, “You’re an idiot, throwing your life away, this is the worst mistake you’ve ever made.” But I knew it was the thing that I needed to do, what made me feel whole and fulfilled. So don’t take no for an answer, chase your dreams, and take some crazy risks. Life is always going to be there. You’re always going to get another gig. And finance- they’re still doing okay. I could go back if I wanted. I hope I never have to. Take the leap of faith. There’s always time, there’s always time. Life is too short to be unhappy.
S: I totally understand. I think it is awesome to think that you went for finance to the pyramid to last night, playing for 7000 or 8000 people. That was huge.
D: It’s crazy.
S: It was a really good set. I really enjoyed it.
D: I appreciate it. It was a lot of fun and for me, I was a fan before I was a producer or performer. So I approach every set like that. How would I receive this if I was in the crowd. It gives me a lot of anxiety because I’m stressing about every little thing but the way I feel, if I walk off that stage and there’s even one person who doesn’t feel like, “That’s the coolest sh** I’ve ever seen,” then I didn’t do my job. It’s just giving 110% whether it’s 5 kids, 5000 kids, or 50.
S: Definitely, I think that’s all the time we have for today. Is there anything else you want to share before we go.
D: No, I just want to give a shout out to Ian and the crew for Summer Camp. This is amazing. It’s totally independent. We’re in a world now where everything is so corporately driven and I think the small, independent promoter events and venues are the things we need to protect. They’re the lifeblood of this scene and our industry and they’re integral to keeping this scene alive. So thank you for 22 or 23 years. It’s a commitment and thank you for giving some of the artists like me the opportunity to grow.
S: Thank you!
D: Thank you! I appreciate it, thanks for having me.