Today we’d like to introduce you to John Pabulum.
John, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a DJ, I’ve been going at it since 1995; as a promoter, since 1996. Mindfruit started with a group of friends that had (and continue to have) an undying love for each other. Our passion for the underground and all its musical spheres naturally lead us to collectively throw our first parties. First, it was Conscious Groove on April 21, 1995, in Los Angeles. With backing from the SC family, San Diego’s Mindfruit was born on May 10, 1996.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The toughest thing was starting all over again. Twice. You see, I moved to Rome, Italy during the summer of 2000 as my djing and events in Southern California were on the upswing. I knew not a single soul in Rome and had to start over as a DJ and as a promoter. I ended up DJing (and organizing events) at some of the Eternal City’s hottest nightclubs. Then, moving back to San Diego November of 2016, I had to start over again! Sure, some of my old connections were still around and doing things… they have helped tremendously… but I’ve had to put in a lot of hard work to get noticed again.
Please tell us about Mindfruit SD.
As stated before, Mindfruit started in ’96. There wasn’t much of divide in genres back then, maybe just with the extreme cases of the genres (hardcore, ambient, etc). My idea was to bring together house and techno and create a musical journey throughout the night with the DJs selected, just like a DJ takes us on a journey during their set.
Upon my return in late 2016, I noticed this great divide between all genres when, in fact, most party goers love them all! I also noticed that most events are focusing on one out of town headliner (with the exception of big festivals) and hiring the same DJs. I mean, even the local DJs are being segregated by genres! Now, I am all about supporting local DJs but having only one out of towner with four local DJs that are similar in style doesn’t give the partygoer much variety.
This got me to thinking that I should go back to the original Mindfruit formula: at least two headliners with a mixture of locals that other promoters don’t usually put on the same lineup. Another angle you may see in our lineups will be the combining of old school artists with new school artists! Today, I can say that Mindfruit events are mostly underground house with layers of techno. Mind you, not every event will be like this, but a carefully thought out musical journey will be the prevalent element to the events.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Although moving to Italy put a damper on my musical upswing, I do not regret the move. Even now, working hard again to be noticed motivates me in such a positive way! Maybe, I would have taken the time to produce music. This is something I plan on starting this year though…
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.mindfruitsd.com/
- Email: mailto:mindfruitsd@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jpabulum/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindfruitsd
Image Credit:
Julia Charity, Greg Eversoul, Air Conditioned Lounge
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