- When
- Thurs., Aug. 11, 2022, 5â9 p.m.
- Where
- Sculpture Court
- Tickets
- Free
Join us on Thursday, August 11 from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Sculpture Court for the final Inside Out of the season with Everything the Light Touches featuring DJ sets by Joshua Orange, Royal Haunts, with special guest Arie Cole.
Soul Biscuit will be on-site at the museum serving comfort food and biscuits from their signature tandem bicycle.
Trace Brewing, the official brewery partner of Inside Out, will have beer for sale. A selection of non-alcoholic beverages will also be available.
Inside Out events are FREE and most events are open to audiences of all ages. Make a day of it and reserve your timed tickets to visit the museum before or after you enjoy Inside Out!
Liner Notes with Lauren Goshinski
Lauren Goshinski: Hi, Everything The Light Touches (ETLT)! Your party/crew name is expansive ~ poetic, spiritual even! Can you tell folks more about how you chose this name and what it means to you in terms of the type of events you throw?
Joshua Orange: Tony and I were talking about rebranding Ou_rs (the original name) because we wanted to have the group name be consistent with our flagship event. Weâre really into this kind of Celestial/future ethereal Space Knight X Cyber Angel Aesthetic, like reconciliation of the past and the present âbring heaven down and build it outâ kind of deal. So when Tony suggested Everything The Light Touches, I said, âOH MY GOD, THATâS HOT.â Whatâs more, we really wanted to have a name that reflects and invites inclusivity and lets people know that weâre trying to have as a gestalt of a function as possible â multi-genre, multi-faceted, evolving, community-curated â any kind of music! Any kind of performance! (All that and a bag of chips!) âThe lightâ, for me, also represents a sort of secularly holy benevolence, non-discerning in its radiance, warmth, acceptanceâŚembrace. We want the spaces we plan and the people in them to feel showered in that vibe, to emit and reflect infinitely expanding light so that the light touches everything. Plus, The name strikes a chord because of the lion king reference!
Tony Resch: Everything The Light Touches comes from the iconic Mufasa quote, but it encompasses more than a passing reference for us. When we were coming up with a name, we wanted something that inspired the awe one feels when one experiences the concept of eternity. Thereâs a certain element to infinity that brings out fear and ennui, but also an overwhelming sense of beauty and possibility. ETLT seems to deliver on that dualist intent. Sure, everything the light of the universe shows us is beautiful, but where there is light, there is darkness. To us, those two things arenât so cut and dry; In a nightclub, for example, the aesthetics surrounding you may be âdark,â but youâre experiencing a celebration and community, which are stereotypical âlightâ concepts. We play with blurring these lines in everything from our music to our visual cues. At one of our shows, you will hear an intense, sometimes demanding set, but you will also feel the joy and warmth of the community that makes our events possible.
Lauren Goshinski: How did you both come to participate in Pittsburgh’s music scene, begin to play music, and then throw your own events?
Joshua Orange: When I was 8, an elderly church organist named Miss Hattie May Jones started teaching me piano for $5 a lesson. She taught me a lot about discipline, and through the years, we developed a close kinship; we’d go to the old country buffet together sometimes after practice and just enjoy each other’s company. Oftentimes when I perform, I think about her (and Iâve recently been really trying to make time to study to make her proud).
As far as the music scene and parties â honestly? I started throwing parties in high school, and when I got to college, they just got bigger. When we linked up, Tony â who already threw his own parties and played eventsâ showed me some of his music, and I was like, “Hey! You’re incredible! We should team up!” then, with our friend Zach, we planned our first party together. But I think the most incredible thing about our collective (as I’m sure is true of a lot of collectives) is that it’s pretty decentralized. Many of our friends contribute and have shifting roles as time goes on; our community keeps it alive. (Big ups to Andrew Smith and Ari Bee for bringing me onto the Brunchouse team and making me into a more competent event planner!)
ETLT is part of a larger organism composed of the people and groups who influence, uphold, and inspire it. Even though we donât always work together, we definitely wouldnât survive without Brunchouse, Jellyfish, Longturn, MostBeautifullest, Hot Mass, Honcho, Lauren Goshinski, Cobra, Spirit, the MuMu gang, or everyone else that keeps the ship afloat.
Tony Resch: Iâve been writing, producing, and performing in the Pittsburgh scene since 2009 when I began performing at coffee shops and whatever club gigs would take a 14-year-old boy. In college, I began to elaborate more on my sound and my event production. Throughout college, I co-founded and co-managed a well-known underground venue known as Bates Hardcore Gym with roommates I had met through performing and working at WPTS (University of Pittsburgh’s student radio station). I had also spent time in London and New York in those years and learned precisely what it was I wanted to bring to the Pittsburgh scene. Josh and I had met at Pitt, but it wasnât until 2019 that we started collaborating on events and music. While I had been focused on live performing and my recording career in the years prior, Josh had been developing an amazing network of friends and collaborators through his work in music, dance, legislature, and many other endeavors. When we finally linked minds, it was a match made in heaven. Our combined skill sets allowed us to get people in a space and get them moving; from there, it was off to the races.
Lauren Goshinski: Sometimes folks think that they need to know a lot about music or be “in a scene” for these types of events to be something that is for them. Why is the dancefloor a place for people of all ages and walks of life, in your opinion? What can organizers, and dancers on the floor, do to help make sure their event is accessible and welcoming to new faces?
Joshua Orange: Dancing is an innately human endeavor! A sublime medium of expression, connection, and communication. Movement and joy are natural and necessary, and in dance, we find both. Dance floors create space for us to have fun together and humanize each other; on the dance floor, we can drop presumption and experience each other through the music and the moment.
On organizers making people feel welcome:
- I think itâs really important for organizers to make sure there are policies in place to ensure that people feel safe and that their boundaries will be respected.
- Explicitly conveying standards of engagement/expectations before and during events (and even during performances) can help ensure that everyone is comfortable and that interactions are consensual.
- Physical accessibility is essential.
- Social scaffolding by way of having different activities/spaces that allow people to interact with the environment in different ways.
- Have open channels of dialogue for feedback.
- Be intentional and kind!
- Hosting events with pedagogical aspects.
Dancers should:
- Try to get to know people that you donât know!
- Encourage people to dance.
- Donât be rude!
- Get involved with the planning.
Tony Resch: Folks often think that because that is the air a lot of performers and show goers put off. There is so often a sense of entitlement and exclusivity amongst DJs, club owners, bands, and anyone in entertainment. A lot of people arenât doing this to entertain; theyâre doing it for the clout, the relative fame, to be the âitâ person in the scene, to prove something to their dad, I donât know. What this does is breed an unwelcoming community gatekept by the few, for the few. Josh and I donât have any interest in all that. We understand that live performance is a symbiotic experience. We started ETLT to create a markedly different space. Our shows are where people can come to celebrate, explore their curiosity about the arts, collaborate, and so much more. Inclusivity is key. My advice to organizers, etc., is to be far more concerned with the people who support you than yourself. Ask them about their lives and genuinely listen. Never be worried someone will outdo you or take your ideas if you let them in because they will. You have to be confident that you are the only person that can do what you do and move beyond that. Then you can get on to the real business of bringing people together. Music is a sacred, beautiful craft that links us all as human beings; to horde that to yourself goes against its very nature.
Lauren Goshinksi: Tell us about your +1 guest!
Joshua Orange: Jack Swing is a popular rock band that we’ve respected for years! Our scenes don’t often get to play together, so we thought this would be a fantastic opportunity for a unique collaboration. They have such an incredible sound, and we’re very excited to host them. An extremely talented group that I’m confident is only going to keep amassing prestige at an exponential rate.
Arie Cole (or as I call him: The King of Pittsburgh Scratch Djing) is a DJ I first saw perform at Cattivo years back. He’s magnificent. He reads a room really well and brings fantastic energy (and he’s a really cool guy). His mixing style is exciting and engaging, and I know Imma be throwing it back through his whole set.
Tony Resch: Iâve known Jack Swing for years now! I met Isaiah through the underground scene in Oakland, and weâve been friends ever since. Over time I met Rowdy and the rest of the band, and weâve also become friends. It’s always such a treat to run into them out and about. Fun Fact: Zay and I are both Taurus which checks out if youâve met us. As for Arie Cole, I’m not sure when he and Josh met, but we met sometime a year or two ago. I had seen him perform at events across the city and his weaving of hip hop, house, and other genres made me think heâd be perfect for our bills. We got to know each other through his residency at Cobra and other events and now play together frequently. Heâs always so down-to-earth and professional. I couldnât ask for more from a collaborator and friend! Fun Fact: Weâre neighbors! I just moved in down his street this Spring.
About Inside Out
Inside Out is Carnegie Museum of Art’s free outdoor summer event series. Inside Out takes place from Saturday, June 4 through Saturday, August 13 in the museumâs Sculpture Court in an immersive pavilion by artist Rafael Domenech, commissioned for the 58th Carnegie International.
Curated by Lauren Goshinski and huny young, this year’s lineup of Thursday evening DJ performances highlights a wide range of crews and collectives who are active across Pittsburghâs nightlife scenes. The 2022 Inside Out series is centered around the concept of â+1.â Each crew has been invited to add a special guest artist to help expand the music and connections for artists and audiences alike.