Name: Jessica Tessene
Age: 29
Hometown/Current Location: Whitewater, Wisconsin. Currently residing in Orlando, FL
Occupation: Ride Attendant at Walt Disney World
Instagram: @tardi5mau5
Twitter: @laceybabydoll86
Rave Name: Jessica Rabbit/Sanity
What was your first electronic music event?
My very first electronic music event was back in October 2012 for the Florida International University (FIU) Homecoming Panthermonium Concert where Kaskade was the headliner. I had always been into techno/house while growing up, but never really acted on it. After Kaskade, I attended my very first music festival, Ultra 2013 Weekend 1. Be sure to check out my article about my experience at Ultra 2013.
What/who influenced you to attend your first event?
No one really influenced me to attend Kaskade, I did it on my own accord. I really didn’t know who he was and decided to check him out. From that point on I fell in love with the music.
What is one moment from an event that was special and why?
The ability to become lost in the music, to be transported to another time and place. When I attended Kaskade, I was completely sober, no alcohol or anything. I was able to truly enjoy the music with friends. With Kaskade, there is no way for me to describe what I feel when I listen to his music. His music actually helped me come up from a dark place in my life. I suffered from Anxiety and Depression from serving for 8 years in the military. I was on medications and was really suffering from low self-esteem. Kaskade helped me fight that and introduced me into our rave scene where acceptance and creativity run freely without judgement. This is what I needed, and because of that one concert I’m so thankful for being introduced into this community.
What is your favorite festival or event?
I have been to numerous festivals over the last three years. These festivals include: Ultra, TomorrowWorld, EDC Las Vegas, EDC Orlando, Life in Color Miami, Life in Color Orlando, Sunset Music Festival, and Independence Music Festival. Out of these my absolute favorites are TomorrowWorld and EDC Orlando. TomorrowWorld was such a different experience, being lost in the moment and following Mother Universe and going where she leads me. The first year I went was in 2014 and I was completely by myself. With this solo trip, I was able to meet awesome people who would stay with me as friends for life. My second year was this year, 2015. I went with a group of friends from work and we became closer and tighter than ever and became a rave family. EDC Orlando has always been one of my favorites because of the size. It is a much smaller festival, roughly 60,000, compared to EDCLV. I get to see so much of my ever growing rave family at EDC Orlando. Also it allows you to appreciate the music more, plus I was able to notice things about some of the stages that I didn’t catch at EDCLV.
What is your favorite electronic song and why?
This is an extremely tough one to decide. For me personally, it is “Runaway (U & I)” by Galantis. I choose Runaway because of my experiences with watching the last sunrise on day 3 at EDCLV. I was with a group of people that would soon become my rave family from TomorrowWorld 2015. Sharing this memory with them is one I will never forget. Each time I hear this song, I’m transported back to this moment in time at EDCLV. What kind of music can do that? I’ve never came across music that has that power to do that, and it is absolutely amazing. Also if we are at an event together and this song comes on, we come together and start singing together. Its beautiful.
Who are your favorite artists?
I have so many favorite artists its crazy. Some of my favorites are: Deadmau5, Kaskade, Firebeatz, Seven Lions, Bassnectar, DallasK, Knife Party, Headhunterz, Showtek, Bingo Players, Dadalife, Arty, Galantis, Alesso, Slander, and so many more that I can’t think of.
What are your favorite genres?
I love listening to everything. I’m not the biggest fan of trap, however, I do listen to one or two trap artists. I’m always up for experiencing new things.
What do you feel your “identity” is in the electronic music community?
My identity is creativity. The one thing that drew me even further into the community is creativity. I have always been a creative person throughout my entire life. I’m an Aquarius. Aquarians are very creative people. For me, my creativity shines through in my costumes, and in my kandi. Everything started with the kandi bracelets, singles and simple cuffs. Then it started to progress to 3-d cuffs and masks. The joy I bring someone when I trade kandi with them is what makes me happy. Each piece I make, love, time and effort go into each piece. Which it makes me upset when I see people buying and trading kandi they get from places like Spencer’s. My costumes are also another thing I love creating. For this year, Tardi5mau5 is of course making her return, however not as elaborate at camping festivals. You will also see me and some of my crew dressing up as characters from Peter Pan (I’ll be Tinkerbell), as well as my Slytherin outfit (yes, very proud Slytherin). So if you see me at festivals, be sure to stop and talk to me and trade kandi!!!
Is there anything else you would like to add about yourself for the readers?
With the community being so accepting, just one thing I would like to mention. If you meet someone who is currently serving in the military or has served in the military, we don’t mind talking about our time while we served, but please don’t ask if we ever killed anyone. It has never been acceptable and is not an okay thing to ask. That is the one question that always irritates that crap out of me. So please be mindful of your fellow veterans and service men and women. Other than that, I love this community and the things I have experienced. And one other thing, if you ever have someone giving you a hard time about spending a lot of money on festival tickets and what not, just ask them “How is it any different from you spending money on your clothes, designer handbags, designer jewelry, or designer shoes?” I choose to spend my hard earn money on experiences rather than materialistic things. As the materialistic things loose their flavor or be come depreciated as time passes, these experiences stay with me in my memories and the people I meet and the friends I make, and these will last a lifetime.
