SUB.MISSION
Nicole Cacciavillano – the ambassador of dubstep in Denver, Colorado is on a mission – Sub.mission – pushing the new sound and growing a healthy scene with a true family vibe.
Interview by Katya Guseva
“Dubstep is such a family vibe, and I want to put that vibe out.”
Are you originally form Colorado? No, I’m from Philadelphia. I moved to Colorado 4 years ago. Why? I needed change. When I was in college I was with a guy, who got murdered. This girl injected a needle into his arm, and he died of a drug overdose. She went to jail for murder for a year. I don’t know what really happened. I wasn’t there. That happened, I went to New York, finished up college, got back to Philly to take care of my grandma and then I got my Masters in one year, and I just felt like this is not what I want my life to be, and just decided to move.
Why Colorado?You know… do you ever have this feeling, like you’re supposed to be somewhere, you just have to be
there. That’s how it was for Colorado. I went out to snowboard in December and met some heads, partied like I lived there so I could get a real vibe. I went back there in April and interviewed for a job teaching, left and in the parking lot got a call that I got the job. I ended up moving in May. Then my apartment was right down the street from my job. Everything just came together.
So how did Sub.mission idea come about? Well, in March of 2007 I started to think about it. We got together with a few friends and shared our visions and we kinda decided on how we were going to do it. So we joined the forces and our first show was in April of that year. There were no dubstep nights in Denver at all. But the good thing is that we all have evolving tastes in music.
We are always trying to keep things as interesting as possible. We already had a record label Nobot Media with a good reputation in Denver, and we had a show before. We brought out edIt even before he started going off. So it was a little bit ahead of the Denver population. But Denver is always looking for something cutting edge, and it was easy to start something new.
You make it sound so easy. Were there any challenges for Sub.mission at all? Well that’s how our past year has been. We just never know how many people would show up for our show, we had some venue issues, sound issues- you know, I’m sure the same issues as most crews. Now it’s changed with a different environment, different club, different location and a really good Funktion 1 sound, which is super important. For Hatcha we had 250 people, but the first time we had him and Benga in October – we had only 70. So we’ve grown pretty fast, but it’s nerve-wrecking to me, because you never know… But on the flip side, none of my crew agreed to participate in this, because we were trying to force anything, or make money. We did this to push a new sound that we were all feeling. We didn’t know if it was going to take off, but on the first night we had a huge line out the door! The one thing I noticed in these past years is that people have a three-time tolerance. At the third time they come to Sub.mission, they either love dubstep or they hate it and never come back.
How the hell did you find that out? I’m a dork haha, but no, honestly how I find out: every time, the whole entire show I talk to people that I don’t know. My friends know that even when I’m there I’m still working. I just meet new people all the time. Because I think that dubstep is such a family vibe, and I want to put that vibe out.
Has the Denver dubstep scene grown with Sub.mission? Oh yeah, for sure! With us pushing the sound so much, dubstep threads, dubstep mixes, our radio show DANK DEALZ on dubstep.fm – it really helped people figure out, who some names are and expose the music. But when we first started, nobody knew, who Nick Argon was. They came to the show, because they thought it might be cool, and hopefully they continue to come because of the name Sub.mission. But I still have to be very selective about who to book. Some nights did not go off as well as others, because Denver is not ready for some sounds yet. They like to rock out on the dance floor.
So is the response positive overall? There’s been some drama of course, but I’m not about negative energy. I want to create an environment and a place, where people can go and express themselves. I take that very seriously. I will be the first one who goes up
to an asshole who’s throwing beer at someone, and will be like “Look, this is my show. Don’t fuck it up! You will leave”. I’ve done that many times. I don’t need that shit! Absolutely not! It’s not what it’s about. It’s about creating an experience for people. Because dubstep is so new in Denver and because it’s so hit or miss, it’s really is going to be about the vibe there.
How many people are in your Sub.mission crew? Slowly, more and more people are supporting. We have Budros Gali, ServOne, Ron Raygunn, RumbleJunkie, Subliminal, Dayquill, Dismal Futures and Mike Honcho. Right now everyone who’s playing dubstep in Denver is a part of Sub.mission. We kept that family environment. It’s pretty cool. For me, I don’t care, how much effort you put in, as long as you want to be a part of what we’re doing, you’re part of the crew.
What’s your day job? It’s super intense but it’s super cool. I’m running a significant support needs program for 13 high-school kids, it’s a lot of work. I get bored very easily, but at work every day is different. Mostly what I teach is non-traditional. I basically teach these kids how to live, in every way, shape and form. From hygiene to how to use ipod to how to get a job. I teach them communication and social skills, how to react to body language they are not familiar with and that type of stuff. I also teach them how to keep a household, clean and cook, how to tell time and money. I’m giving them skills to make them independent members of society. It’s hard, cause for years these were the kind of kids that everybody does everything for. They think if they have a disability, they need to do things for them. But what is that teaching them? It teaches them that they can act as if they can’t do it. That they can get away with anything. I know that about kids and I push them, I have expectations. It’s frustrating and causes behavior problems, cause kids are not used to not getting their way. They think they can throw a tantrum and get their way. But I’m trying to give them the tools to express themselves. I can teach them to meditate or give them a punching bag to express their anger.
Why do you like it? What do you get out of it? These kids are kids too. They’ve never been a part of anything. They’ve always been secluded and pushed away, and I think it sucks. I think it’s important to help them find their path. You see it many times, people fall off the path, they just get sucked into something really bad and they can’t get past it. When that happens, it’s the most important time of your life, it’s how you get through it that makes you who you are. Most people have a tendency getting themselves
in trouble, getting themselves hurt, making decisions that ultimately are going to affect the rest of their lives. I get that, I lived it, I was there and was able to fi gure it out, change that and have a new direction for my life. So I was lucky, but these kids have severe disabilities and they can’t understand that. Because of autism they don’t have the social skills and don’t understand what’s going on. Imagine not understanding body language and thinking that if someone is looking at you they want to kill you. Some kids think that.
So my purpose is to help these kids create their life and not live the life that was created for them. These kids don’t have as many inhibitions as most humans do. Everybody is so tight-ass about life. All this drama happening, oh my god this and oh my god that. So many people don’t ever just step back and have fun. Just let lose, enjoy something, be passionate about something! These kids, they don’t care! We rock dubstep! Who I am here is who I am with them. I don’t try to hide anything, I talk to them about drugs and music. I’m teaching them to appreciate music early and possibly change the decisions they make later on.
- My wildest dream is… damn. I have so many! Ultimately, I’d love to have places all over the world. Realistically, I would and definitely see myself traveling often and experiencing life to the fullest. There is so much to learn out there, so much to appreciate – I just do not ever want to limit myself. I’m all about constant progression.
- Big up to… my homies here in Denver -Submish crew and affiliates, making things possible here in the mile high. The SF family, Antiserum, Roommate, No Thing, Jsuave for the constant good times, love and sick ass beats. Surefire for making me feel welcome in the dubstep community. And a huge BIG UP to everyone doing their thing and staying true to their roots.
