To come out here and play on Woodstock grounds, first year ever headlining on the main stage there's nothing more iconic. [Mysteryland] is one of those festivals that holds down the legacy of dance music it's been around for so many years. It's been part of what we do for so long. It kinda makes sense to bring the tradition over here to America. The festival grounds of Woodstock, that's pretty epic.
Steve AokiHigh school and college were my punk, formative years. I was playing hardcore, learning to be a musician. In bands, you tour, but you're paid nothing; you're playing to 50 people in a basement, sleeping in a van, and you love it.
Steve AokiWhen I perform, I donโt think about the haters, the Internet trolls, or anyone else. I care about giving the person in front of me something they wonโt forget. And thatโs why I bring the cake and raft out.
Steve AokiMy life, I swear, is, like, 75% public. I have a very small percentage of my life that is private. But I do keep that private life private.
Steve AokiNo matter what I do, I can't help but feel that I'm under a microscope. Some of it is completely silly, and some of it is meant to be hurtful. For example, a website accumulated all of my music videos to point out perceived Illuminati images. I loved that one. Of course, it was all ridiculous but funny.
Steve AokiGrateful to The Kerry Gaynor Method for saving my manager's life. He quit smoking thanks to their genius Method.
Steve Aoki'Boneless,' even though we were thinking about servicing it to radio, it made more sense putting a vocal on there. This was actually the first time that I really looked at doing a song for radio and kind of let go of some control and listened to a lot of different radio pluggers and had Ultra come in and help out with ideas.
Steve Aoki