Leading up to Insomniac's biggest annual event – EDC Las Vegas – CEO Pasquale Rotella challenged fans to ask him anything. Pasquale covers a variety of questions, including who he's most looking forward to seeing at EDC Las Vegas 2014:
Q: Above all else, what is the one thing you hope people take away from your festivals?
A: I hope people get inspired to enjoy life a little bit more, connect with their inner self, and make the world a better place. Happiness is the most important thing in the world!
Q: What do you do when the festival finally kicks off? Are you running around like a madman or do you get to just sit back and watch everything unfold? Party backstage? I'm sure you have a great and large team that do the trivial things but what are you up to?
A: I'm slammed leading up to the show date making sure everything is perfect, but during the festival, I do my best to enjoy the experience, all while looking for things that could be improved along the way. I also host friends, family, and industry people, and of course meet the Headliners when I can. There are times, however, that I'm unable to do this because something unexpected or major pops up – like the wind storm happened in 2012 at EDC Las Vegas. I drop everything I'm doing to evaluate and work on the situation with my team. I did not have this luxury until very recently. I've done everything at my shows, from passing out flyers to selling water to picking up trash. Anything that's needed. But I'm grateful to have this time now. Being at these events and enjoying it like a fan helps me understand what I need to improve.
Q: Will we ever see a trance stage at an Insomniac event ever again?
A: We have some all-trance events on the horizon. As for dedicated trance stages at our festivals, it's an idea I've explored and will continue to.
Q: How has getting married and having a child changed your life and perspective on what you do at Insomniac?
A: Until having Rainbow and getting married, Insomniac was the most important thing to me in life and I didn't have much of a personal life. Now I have two families – my personal family and y extended family! Rainbow has inspired me with her sense of amazement at the world around her. This is the same feeling I want Headliners to have when they walk into one of our festivals. She makes me want to work even harder to create the best experience possible.
Q: Which set are you most looking forward to, and which discovery set?
A: If I had to choose just one set, I'd say Carl Cox. As for the Discovery Project, that's a tough one but I'm going to pick two: Zima and sirensCeol.
