Sober Raves & Purpose-Driven Parties: Alex Skerlich on Redefining EDM Culture

"I’m not here to be the best DJ in the world. But if there’s one person I can reach... then I’ve hit my goal."

In this episode of Pursue Vegas, we get into the loud, unfiltered, soul-shifting world of Alex Skerlich—aka Skrilla—the man behind Rage and Recovery and one of the most mission-driven voices in Vegas’s EDM scene.

Alex didn’t start in nightclubs or behind the decks. He came from the buttoned-up world of corporate events—until he burned it all down and built something that actually felt like him. "Being fucked up has been fucking up my life," he shares.

We talk about what it really takes to start over, why rock bottom is the best place to build from, and how Alex turned his personal recovery into a movement that’s giving people a new way to experience EDM—safe, sober, and still electric. "Rock bottom is the best place to start… there’s nothing stronger to put your pillars into than rock bottom."

From warehouse parties to healing spaces, Skrilla’s redefining what nightlife looks like for people who want to feel everything without numbing out. His approach is raw, real, and rooted in one core belief: community over competition. "I always like to venture into collaboration over competition because it’s all community driven."

We get into sobriety, building a brand from scratch, and why Las Vegas is still one of the most supportive cities in the country—if you show up right. "Without Vegas, I don’t have what I have… it all stems from community and opportunity here."

Whether you're on your own reinvention path or just tired of the same old party scene—this episode is proof that you can turn your past into purpose. And you don’t need to be famous to make an impact. You just need to be honest.

What You’ll Take Away:

• Rock bottom can be a blueprint—not a sentence.
• Sober events aren’t boring—they’re intentional.
• Community wins every time. Competition is noise.
• You don’t need a massive following to build a movement.
• The Vegas EDM scene is deeper than you think—and Skrilla’s leading the shift.

Links + Resources:

• 🎧 Rage and Recovery
• 📲 Search “Skrilla” or “Scarlet” on social
• 🔊 Rare Moments Podcast – co-hosted by Alex
• 📻 99.7 Vibe FM – Catch the sound of local EDM

This episode isn’t about nightlife—it’s about life after the lights go out, and the kind of clarity that only comes when you stop running from yourself. Hit play and get into the rhythm of recovery, community, and real connection.

Thanks for tuning in to The Pursue Vegas Podcast!

Transcript

0:00:00 - (Alex Skerlich): What's up, everybody? This is Alex Skerlich with Rage and Recover, and you're listening to the Pursue Vegas podcast.

0:00:08 - (Dave Burlin): The idea of Pursue Vegas was to really highlight the local people that really make Vegas Vegas.

0:00:14 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that aspect of how these visionaries are actually bringing people together.

0:00:19 - (Dave Burlin): When we hit record, our responsibility is to connect the people of our city so we can show the world who we really are. Welcome back to the Pursue Vegas podcast. I'm your host, Dave Berlin.

0:00:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I'm your co host, Tawni Nguyen.

0:00:31 - (Dave Burlin): And we should we tell him?

0:00:34 - (Tawni Nguyen): Should we? Do you know?

0:00:35 - (Alex Skerlich): Tell him.

0:00:36 - (Tawni Nguyen): Do you know?

0:00:37 - (Dave Burlin): We're absolutely excited. We are absolutely excited for today's guest. Man. I remember I'm trying to figure out where I met you. I want to say it was at the pool. It was at the pool at one of Damon d' Amato's breathwork events.

0:00:57 - (Alex Skerlich): You're talking about Elia Beach Club.

0:00:59 - (Dave Burlin): Elia Beach Club, like the very first time. Maybe.

0:01:01 - (Alex Skerlich): I think that might be for some reason I'm thinking like 18 bin or something. But it could have been.

0:01:06 - (Dave Burlin): It could have been. We're gonna call it that day because only I can nail it down. That was July 3rd, 2021.

0:01:11 - (Alex Skerlich): Oh, very nice. Very specific memory.

0:01:14 - (Dave Burlin): Very specific. It was the first one that they did there and it was what was really powerful about that. It was like we did a breathwork thing there and then afterwards everybody got to go to LA Beach Club and it was deadmau5.

0:01:27 - (Alex Skerlich): Oh, yeah. That was wicked. That was a really cool experience.

0:01:29 - (Dave Burlin): And I was like, bro, you look like Alesso, but you're not Alesso. So tell us.

0:01:34 - (Tawni Nguyen): No. Hey, so I heard from a little mouse that you got into some parties because you look like Alesso.

0:01:41 - (Alex Skerlich): Actually. Yeah.

0:01:43 - (Tawni Nguyen): What's the story?

0:01:44 - (Alex Skerlich): I got into Encore Beach Club one time, like not dressed to fit the vibe at all. I was wearing like my house Birkenstocks, no socks, no shoes, like short shorts and like a button up shirt. And I was meeting a group of friends at the club and I was struggling to find them. They had gotten in line. I was a little bit behind. I'm usually like, you guys are lucky I got here on time because I'm usually like 30 minutes late to mostly everything, including my own event.

0:02:16 - (Tawni Nguyen): So I'm going to put you on my Asian, Asian time list to where I tell people it's an hour ahead of anything that we do.

0:02:23 - (Alex Skerlich): Perfect.

0:02:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): Got you.

0:02:25 - (Alex Skerlich): So I'm late, right? And they're getting let into the club and they have a table they're like, in the cabana. It's all said and done. And I'm like, oh, shit, I missed my opportunity. Now I'm going to have to go wait in this long line. And I'm looking around, I'm like, there's the artist line. And I just meandered up to it. Just casually. I just walked up and there was no questions asked, no hesitation. They opened up the line for me, they walked me in.

0:02:51 - (Alex Skerlich): I got into the club and directed to the cabana that I was supposed to be at before all of my crew that had already been let in through the entrance, and they were being walked through security and everything. And so by the time they got there, I was already at the cabana. I was like, welcome to my cabana. And it was my buddy Wally who was like, dropping bands to pay for it. So I was just like, that's pretty cool.

0:03:14 - (Alex Skerlich): And, you know, they never specified who they thought I was. But enough people have called me a lesso for me to understand.

0:03:20 - (Tawni Nguyen): They're like, if the shoe fits, I was gonna wear it.

0:03:24 - (Dave Burlin): That's great. Well, you're not alesso.

0:03:26 - (Alex Skerlich): Nope.

0:03:27 - (Dave Burlin): But you are in the same world I am. So tell us all things you, man. What are you working on? What are you excited about? Let's go.

0:03:35 - (Alex Skerlich): I'm very excited. I'm very determined. I've been working on this brand, Rage and Recovery, relentlessly for the last five years now. Before I got involved with Rage and Recover, which is a artist agency event company, we do production, promotion, we do all things edm. Before I got involved with that, I was doing corporate events. And so I was in the corporate event space for about seven years. Various positions, mostly on the management side, technical operations, technical solutions, setting up hardware.

0:04:12 - (Alex Skerlich): But I've worked events from, you know, 10,000 to 60 plus thousand in that realm. And when Covid hit, I kind of had a redirection. I wasn't really passionate about the corporate event space, but I definitely learned a lot. I got a lot of valuable lessons and insight and experience. And I got really, really bored in the first month of the pandemic, and I started to go like, stir crazy and get like the cabin fever.

0:04:44 - (Alex Skerlich): And, you know, obviously, you know, it's a little distasteful for some, but I decided to take it upon myself and get my CDJs out and go get a generator, plug in on the middle of the desert and start playing music. And I just needed an escape for myself, you know, And I figured there were other people who needed that as well, because it was so Culture shocking. You know, it was like a massive change of pace for everyone, especially for.

0:05:16 - (Dave Burlin): People in the event space.

0:05:17 - (Alex Skerlich): Oh, yeah. And so, you know, as many people saw it as a door closing, I saw a massive avenue of opportunity. And so I just hit the ground running. And as soon as, like, the first, like, regulations were lifted, I got my first, like, venue gig. Commonwealth sold it out.

0:05:40 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:05:41 - (Alex Skerlich): Line wrapped around the building. I was shook, like, to my core. I looked over the railing at Commonwealth and I was like, oh my God. And like, it was the first feeling of like, oh, we're actually doing this thing, you know. And so, you know, from that day on, it was just collaboration after collaboration, trying to get the reps in, trying to get my 10,000 hours and asking for opportunities, providing value in whatever way I could. Promotioning, promoting, marketing for other people's events, social media posts for up and coming artists, for up and coming event companies. All of it. I just did free labor.

0:06:19 - (Alex Skerlich): I was like, I need to get my reps in. I need to establish myself as someone in this market. Because corporate to edm, big difference.

0:06:28 - (Dave Burlin): Absolutely.

0:06:28 - (Alex Skerlich): Big shift. Same concept overall, but way different approach.

0:06:32 - (Dave Burlin): There's a lot of logistics are the same. Man, you hit so many things and I'm just like, oh, so glad.

0:06:37 - (Alex Skerlich): Me too.

0:06:37 - (Tawni Nguyen): No wonder my soul recognizes his soul. Any, anyone that comes out from the event space, especially corporate, like, kind of speaks to me. Especially weddings and weddings. You know, this is how. This is the triangle right now.

0:06:50 - (Dave Burlin): Well, it's the same thing though too, right? Because I've, I've talked about this before. Like, I came from the wedding world, like 750 weddings over the last 15 years all across the United States. There's a lot of things that are the same. As you go from the wedding world into corporate world, but corporate into edm. There's a lot of logistics that are the same. But like, I've told people, like, I don't go from DJing weddings to like, I don't get to just be Cascade tomorrow. Right? It just. And that's. I'm getting older, right? We're all getting older.

0:07:20 - (Dave Burlin): That may not be the path, but, like, I've been looking at what cruise lines might look like, because cruise lines are like, cool, but they're like still kind of a general audience that I've got to cater to, like I would at a wedding. For sure. It's different because first of all, you've let me. I've been at some of your events before, and I'm just like, I'm a little overwhelmed Because I'm like. Like, this is like the real, real edm.

0:07:41 - (Dave Burlin): I got, like, don't stop believing, like, in the queue. And then it's just like, go sit over there, bro. But no, especially for people. The other part, too, is especially coming out of Pandemic. You may see this, too. And we've. We've talked a little bit about this stuff. This town here in Vegas, through Pandemic, it paralyzed again. I wasn't here in 2008. A lot of people compare, oh, this to 2008. I wasn't here for that. I know it was pretty bad. I get it. But at the same time, it wasn't closed doors on the casino.

0:08:15 - (Dave Burlin): It did not shut down the way it did. And what's interesting is you mentioned Commonwealth, friend of the show, Sean. Sean Seville. Love Sean. Sean's great. I grew the whole wedding DJ business for him. We're gonna have him on the show in, like, whole wedding series, but for Corner Bar. Corner Bar kind of really held together through that. And they were, like, the first people to fire back up. So as soon as things were able to kick off, they did that. But I believe that a lot of people in this town, you were here way before me. I'd only been here, like, a year.

0:08:49 - (Dave Burlin): A lot of people that thought they knew what they were doing just kind of like, either gave up and left or. Or they just couldn't sustain themselves through the Pandemic. So I felt like for you and for a lot of us, it was kind of like we get to level up now, and it's like the next generation of events and culture really got to step forward.

0:09:10 - (Alex Skerlich): Oh, absolutely. And I see it, you know, even today, like, five years down the road, or four and a half years. Four and a half.

0:09:20 - (Tawni Nguyen): I guess technically five years of our lives gone.

0:09:23 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah, it's wild. But even. Even today, I see, you know, new event companies popping up, new talent that are bringing, you know, other things to the table. That five years ago, you know, I was in that position, I was like, oh, I'm the new kid on the block, you know, I'm, like, trying to make a name, trying to make some noise. And, like, realistically, it's. It's hard to sustain a party event company, you know, long term, especially when there's so many different options. We're in Las Vegas, of all places. Right. There's competition everywhere you look.

0:10:00 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:10:01 - (Alex Skerlich): But I always like to venture into collaboration over competition because, you know, it's. It's all community driven. It's all based on the People like, I'm just some guy in Vegas, you know, I like to do.

0:10:15 - (Dave Burlin): Did you do that hat?

0:10:16 - (Alex Skerlich): Did I do this hat?

0:10:17 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:10:17 - (Alex Skerlich): No, but this is perfect. My buddy hatched this hat, and I was like, you don't even wear that. I'll wear that every day. Give it to me. And he gave it to me.

0:10:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): You give it to me right now.

0:10:25 - (Alex Skerlich): He gave it to me.

0:10:26 - (Tawni Nguyen): Well, now I'm gonna do the same thing to you.

0:10:27 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, right.

0:10:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): Give it to me.

0:10:30 - (Alex Skerlich): It's yours.

0:10:32 - (Dave Burlin): No, man, I'm glad you. You really hit on some heavy stuff there, because it was a unique transition. And, yeah, there's always gonna be new competition that pops up and things like that. But what do you. What is it that you think? Because your ethics are uncanny, bro. I love it. I love everything about you, but, like, what is it for you that matters the most when it comes to events and people and community and collaboration?

0:10:59 - (Alex Skerlich): Ooh. I mean, it's kind of like a. Like a deep, you know, deep thing. You know, it's like. It almost stems from childhood, I think. You know, it's like a sense of belonging. Right. And so I always, like, wanted to fit into crowds. You know, I was always looking for an opportunity for me to fit in. And I always struggled, like, honestly, because I just. I just didn't understand what drove other people. You know, my thing was always, like, connecting with people. Like, I get fueled. I get recharged from people, you know, so creating an atmosphere that is safe, that is consistent, reliable, and provides you with, you know, a balance, a healthy balance of fun, but also, you know, being safe while being fun.

0:11:59 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, right.

0:11:59 - (Alex Skerlich): Like, everyone can throw a party. I was throwing parties when I was 16 years old at my friend's houses when their parents were out of town. You know, like, everyone can throw a party.

0:12:09 - (Dave Burlin): Sorry, Ben.

0:12:10 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah, no, sorry, Ben.

0:12:11 - (Tawni Nguyen): Those were the good days.

0:12:14 - (Alex Skerlich): No, for real. Sorry, Chris. Like, his house got ruined. I swear to God. Ruined. And, like, anyone can throw a party. Not anyone can throw a good party. Not everyone can throw a quality, safe experience that you're checking off. You know, you're making sure your attendees are catered to, you know, respected and safe.

0:12:36 - (Dave Burlin): Right.

0:12:36 - (Alex Skerlich): There's no.

0:12:37 - (Dave Burlin): And old enough.

0:12:40 - (Alex Skerlich): And, like, and creating just the platform for artists to come and perform and have a good encounter with the community.

0:12:50 - (Dave Burlin): Exactly.

0:12:50 - (Alex Skerlich): And that's always been my driving force, is to create this space, because I never had that. I never. I always looked for it. I was striving to find it. I couldn't find it. So I was like, you know what? I'm going to do it the way that I think that I can. And I've been doing my best to create that.

0:13:05 - (Dave Burlin): Well, you've been doing great. And so what's the story in the background? One of the things for us here with the show is it's obviously, you know, we have all these incredible people on the show, but Vegas is the star, Right? Everyone has a different relationship with what they believe Vegas to be. Some people grew up here. Some people left here and came back. And then some people are just now moving here.

0:13:29 - (Dave Burlin): Like, there's literally 100 new people, if not more, like, driving into town today. Right? Like, with moving in. Yeah. Hopes and dreams. I drove out here. I drove out here in a rental car one way. There's people, like the way that people used to go to California to be an actor and actress. There's people that are coming out here because this, this city calls to them. So what's your relationship with Las Vegas?

0:13:52 - (Dave Burlin): What's your story?

0:13:53 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. How long have you been out here, by the way?

0:13:55 - (Alex Skerlich): I was born in Las Vegas. I went to college in Reno. And so I was up there for four years and moved back to Vegas just before, like, in the end of 2019, I believe I moved back to Vegas. So I've been here for that much time. Yeah, my, my whole life, barring four years. But I used to hate Vegas, to be honest, when I was growing up here, because, like, as a, as a minor in Las Vegas, there's not a whole lot that you can do.

0:14:32 - (Alex Skerlich): Like, everything fun, you know, entertainment wise, leads to trouble, right. For kids, leads to parent trouble, community trouble, or, you know, police trouble even, right? So, like, you're out past curfew, you're in trouble. You get caught with a beer in your hand, you're in trouble, like, whatever it might be. So, like, growing up, I didn't find a whole lot of hope in Las Vegas. And I had, like, a bad view of nightlife. You know, I grew up, I went to Catholic schools.

0:15:09 - (Alex Skerlich): I played on a club soccer team for my entire life. You know, I had a very structured, like, upbringing that was sheltered from everything else. Right. But you can't. You can't get away. You can't escape the billboards with the strippers on them. You can't escape the escort car billboards that are driving down Las Vegas Boulevard. You know, it's like.

0:15:29 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:15:30 - (Alex Skerlich): So you get exposed to certain things. Like, you know, obviously, like, Sin City sex sells. There's drugs, there's booze. Like, that's Our. That's our. Our economy.

0:15:41 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:15:42 - (Alex Skerlich): Like, if you're not selling booze at your events, you're.

0:15:45 - (Tawni Nguyen): You're selling sex or selling drugs.

0:15:47 - (Alex Skerlich): Well, yeah, I mean, if you're not hitting those points, then you're not successful in the city. This is what, is what it really came down to. And like, I learned that from like an early teenage life, like, view. I was like, oh, I don't really like Vegas. It doesn't really have anything for me. And so it wasn't until after I went to college and had some, like, different life experiences that like, gave me a different appreciation for Vegas. I was like, wait, what do you mean I can't go and get food at midnight anywhere?

0:16:20 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, anywhere.

0:16:21 - (Alex Skerlich): Like, what do you mean I can't go buy a six pack from the gas station? You know, it's like.

0:16:27 - (Tawni Nguyen): And then get a massage in the same plaza.

0:16:29 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah, exactly.

0:16:30 - (Dave Burlin): You know, whatever it is.

0:16:31 - (Alex Skerlich): And like, realistically, like, the appreciation for Vegas came when I wasn't in Vegas. And so when I came back to Vegas, I was seeking the opportunities that Vegas had, you know, and, and so my, my view now is way different because without Vegas, I don't have what I have. Right. I don't have the community, I don't have the company. I don't have the ability to go play an event for a thousand people. I don't like, without Vegas, it's not really feasible.

0:17:00 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:17:01 - (Alex Skerlich): But hopefully, you know, in the coming year, I don't have to rely on solely Vegas for my marketplaces. You know, I can, I can tap into the LA market, Denver, you know, go out of state a little bit.

0:17:14 - (Dave Burlin): I love that. And I think sometimes traveling out of state can actually help. Right. Because it doesn't just like, give you that, it creates that new thing again, which is very exciting whenever you really get into, you know, events and creating those spaces. But also sometimes you're kind of that guy from out of town with the briefcase. You're like, oh, you're the dude from Vegas. They level up and they expect bigger things.

0:17:43 - (Dave Burlin): One of my favorite things too. And I know Tanya will get excited about this because I didn't tell her anything about you. I was just like, alex is coming.

0:17:49 - (Alex Skerlich): Cool.

0:17:50 - (Dave Burlin): But you talk about all this stuff, but you also live the sober lifestyle. So how did that. See, so how did that, when did that start? And then. And where. You know what, how do you look at this community? Now?

0:18:09 - (Alex Skerlich): That's another, you know, it's a heavy topic. I decided to become sober for a variety of reasons. It wasn't any one thing that pushed me over or, you know, it was a. It was a domino effect that I consistently saw negativity being birthed from being involved in settings that I was consuming drugs or alcohol or the people around me were. And that sadly took a few lives of people that I know very well, some of my best friends in the world, actually two in the same year.

0:18:57 - (Alex Skerlich): And it's just, like, it really impacted my life in a. In a really negative way. Like, it made me spiral. And so I hit the bottle, you know, Like, I. Instead of, like, you know, seeing that as an opportunity to escape, I got deeper into it and I started using, like, alcohol as a crutch, right?

0:19:19 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:19:20 - (Alex Skerlich): I wanted to numb myself from feeling the pain that I felt from losing, like, really dear friends. And it led me down. You know, I got in trouble a few times. I got. I got in trouble with my family, with my friends, girlfriends, you know, making stupid decisions, staying out all night, you know, not showing up to appointments or, like, missing work or whatever, whatever it might be. And it was actually my 24th birthday that really had a big shift.

0:20:00 - (Alex Skerlich): It wasn't even the decision making point, but it was a very, very monumental experience. It was my birthday, which fell on Thanksgiving that year, and I got arrested and I went to jail. And normally for what I got arrested for, it was a DUI. Normally you get out, you know, 12, 24 hours. No, no biggie. They slap you on the wrist, tell you get the fuck out, but then.

0:20:24 - (Dave Burlin): You pay a lot of money, and.

0:20:26 - (Alex Skerlich): Then you pay a lot of money. But in this circumstance, it was a holiday weekend and there was no judges on duty, you know, so I sat there in jail for four days. And this is the first time I've ever made this public information, mind you. So thanks for being real, man.

0:20:44 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, I appreciate that.

0:20:45 - (Alex Skerlich): And so ultimately, I didn't let that be my, you know, deterring factor for booze either. I got out and I got my phone back and I had like 300 missed messages, calls. Everyone's like, wish me happy birthday. Wow. Hey, man, Happy Thanksgiving. Hey, man, you okay? Like, where are you at? You know, like, everybody, all my friends, even people that aren't necessarily my friends, like acquaintances, you know those Facebook messages you get? Happy birthday.

0:21:18 - (Alex Skerlich): No response to any crickets. So, you know, I get out, and my initial thought is, I have to respond to these people. I have to, like, I have to engage. So I decided to throw a party on the weekend after for my birthday, and it was really great gathering, you Know, all my friends came together and I got really, really drunk the entire weekend, which then led into like a four week, like drinking escapade because I was like, not only in the holidays, it was the holidays.

0:21:53 - (Alex Skerlich): I was really upset with myself. So like, you know, double down on the numbing guilt, shame, yeah, everything, all of that. And so I went ham. And like come Christmas Eve, almost a full month later, I'm looking at my counter in my house, which the big island counter full of bottles. There's like seven bottles of Jameson that were like me, nobody else. There's tons of other alcohol that other people would touch, but seven bottles of Jameson in like that short period of time, just solely me.

0:22:32 - (Alex Skerlich): And I realized I was like, I have a fucking issue with. I didn't. It wasn't alcohol, but it was myself. I had an issue with myself. And that morning I felt so ill, like physically, mentally, I felt beaten down. I felt discouraged, depressed, was so upset with myself. And I had this, this moment, you know, I went from my bedroom to my bathroom, turned on the shower, as hot as it went, sat down in the tub and just let it rain down.

0:23:09 - (Alex Skerlich): And I don't know how long I was in there. Could have been in there for two hours for all I know.

0:23:13 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:23:14 - (Alex Skerlich): And I cried and cried and cried and, and just released so much pent up shit. And in that shower I was like, today is going to be a day of change. And in my head, the entire time I was teetering on killing myself or making a massive change in my life. And it was the most difficult decision ever because I was leaning into giving up so hard. I was like, I don't want this. This is not the life I want this. I. I'm doing terrible, you know, And I wasn't, I just, I just thought I was, but I made a decision in that moment. I was like, what's one thing that has been consistently fucking up my life? And I was like, being fucked up has been fucking up my life.

0:24:08 - (Alex Skerlich): And so, you know, 24 hours and that old. But it's not. You're not a kid anymore either. You don't get the same, you know, pardonings. Yeah, like, it's time to fucking wake up, you know. And so I told myself, I was like, I'm gonna go six months sober. I'm gonna see if I can do it. Let me see if I can do it just for myself, to make sure I don't have like an alcoholism problem. To make sure it's like something that I can conquer.

0:24:37 - (Alex Skerlich): And you know, I Got out of that shower, and from that day on, I said no. And that was the strongest lesson that I got from that is like turning people down, saying no to things constantly. Like, I lived in a party house, you know, everyone in my house was involved in some nightlife or something or other. Drinking, partying, doing all the things. And it was really hard at first. You know, the first, honestly, first month was like constant reminders to everyone around me. It's like, no, I'm taking a break. You know, I don't, I don't want it, I don't want it.

0:25:18 - (Alex Skerlich): And like, I'm in the nightlife. So I'm going out to clubs, promoting events, throwing my own events. People are offering me shots. I'm still saying, no, no, no, no. I get to six months. I'm like, okay, six months did it. I don't feel a need, I don't feel any wanting for it. I'm gonna go another six months. I'm gonna go a year. And I get to a year and I'm like, man, this is easy, you know, it's like, it's not even a question anymore. This is easy. And so I was like, I'm gonna go for as long as I can.

0:26:00 - (Alex Skerlich): And I decided I'm gonna set a goal in my head just for like, you know, I set a six month goal, I set another goal for a year. I want to set a goal that I can attain. And so I decided at that year mark, I was like, I'm gonna reconsider drinking or, you know, whatever. Celebrating life with friends over a beverage, whether it be a shot of tequila, champagne. I'll reconsider when I have a million dollars revenue from my business.

0:26:30 - (Alex Skerlich): And so that's what I've been working on. I've been working on making my business as profitable as possible, still providing opportunities for others. And in the process, I've influenced tens of people to quit drinking, quit doing drugs. And truthfully, that's way more important than the money factor. Like the influence that I've had over others that I've seen and I've witnessed their lives change. And I didn't even realize the changes that were occurring in my life because I was in it.

0:27:02 - (Alex Skerlich): But then when I started to see how positively the lack of drinking and lack of doing drugs was impacting the others around me, I was like, oh, shit, we're onto something here.

0:27:11 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:27:12 - (Alex Skerlich): And so, you know, that's been like kind of the M.O. for the business. Like, I want to make a space where you don't have to go get fucked up, to party. You can if you want to, so be it. Cool. I'm not. There's no judgment here. I mean, I'm not like a stranger to it. I'm not. It's not like it's, you know, something that I've always been against. It's just now I have other priorities that I focus on that are way bigger than drinking. Like, I don't look at the weekend, I look at five years down the road.

0:27:42 - (Alex Skerlich): Like, I'm not worried about Saturday night. I'm worried about whether or not my business is going to be, you know, pushing the annual music festival that I'm shooting for.

0:27:51 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. You know, by 2030.

0:27:52 - (Alex Skerlich): Right, exactly.

0:27:53 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. No, that's.

0:27:54 - (Alex Skerlich): How.

0:27:55 - (Dave Burlin): How long has that been now?

0:27:56 - (Alex Skerlich): Crazy since I quit drinking and doing drugs. Like over four years. It was. Yeah, it was four years and that was December 24th, 2020, so. Wow.

0:28:07 - (Tawni Nguyen): Damn. That hits home on so many levels. Especially in the beginning since you said we're kind of like the misfits, the. The ones that could never find community or belong and belonging and I guess fitting in is two different things. But people chase it for the same reason because you just want to feel connected to people. So as I'm listening to your story, that's kind of how I got into EDM at 12 years old, you know, in the abandoned warehouses and there's just DJs throwing music and you don't know what the hell you're taking. It was ecstasy and it was. It's start the experimental portion of it with drugs and alcohol and things that helps you escape the reality of, you know, bad childhood, getting beat up at school and all of the things that we face in reality that we don't understand what other kids are going through.

0:28:50 - (Alex Skerlich): Right.

0:28:51 - (Tawni Nguyen): So ever. So thank you for sharing that. It kind of enlightens kind of how me and Dave share it. It's just you had that moment at 24 and I had it at 32, so it's a little bit later. But sometimes you kind of sit there in the shower of. Of your life and just kind of like one moment you wake up, you're just so sick of everything that you're doing and everything just feels like shit. And sometimes, you know, when we talk about rock bottom, like you sometimes have to hit it and it's the best thing that will your life, man. You know, Cuz some people are just lying to themselves and they keep carrying on this thing that they think they have to do or an illusion of who they have to Keep being while they're miserable. And that's how Dave and I actually met, was through sobriety.

0:29:30 - (Alex Skerlich): Wow.

0:29:31 - (Tawni Nguyen): Not at an AA meeting or anything, but it was through podcasts just like this when I was sharing my story. Not. Not in depth, right. But just a little bit of the things that I've been struggling with since I've been to sober for two years. And the first year is the hardest. The first six months and over, explaining yourself and losing the illusion of what friendships are and the things that you used to do while you're drinking and making bad business decisions just because you think everyone's your friend and wants to do business with you.

0:29:57 - (Alex Skerlich): Right?

0:29:58 - (Tawni Nguyen): So I woke up to a reality to where, like, my whole life has been a lie. Doing corporate events, wedding and things that just immerse me in so much alcohol and drugs and being a bartender, too, doesn't help, right? Because that's how I connect with people. So I. I share a lot of that with you. It's just like something within you that you just want to talk to somebody, and sometimes you just want to feel heard, but you don't know who it is that you're talking to.

0:30:22 - (Alex Skerlich): Right.

0:30:22 - (Tawni Nguyen): And it feels that you're kind of just shooting the shot in the dark here when you share certain messages kind of like we are. And you understand that so much more people are going through dark places that they can't share, because social media now, it's, you know, reaching a capacity of a different illusion that most people think people can't connect to because everyone is successful, but everyone's actually struggling, and they're just hiding the way that they're living through fake stuff that they're posting about their lives, you know, and we're all so disconnected and isolated that hopefully whoever that hears this can connect to us individually on why we individually got sober. You and your 20s, me in my 30s, and you and your 40s.

0:30:59 - (Tawni Nguyen): And it's just differences in decades, but it's kind of the same life that we. We face at one point or another, you know? So thank you so much for sharing that. No wonder you kept it off. Because I like. I like, tell me the least amount of things I have to know about each person because I love, like, the surprise and the serendipitous of just being in conversation and just meeting people and understanding why the universe put us at a table together to have conversations like these, you know?

0:31:24 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah.

0:31:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): So.

0:31:25 - (Dave Burlin): Well, this is. First of all, thank you for sharing all that, man. And the first part, too, when you said, like, you'd never shared that publicly. Like, these are the conversations that matter, right? Especially for the show, but especially for this city. There are. And to me, I don't believe that there are people that post a lot of fake stuff, like the JET stuff. A lot of times that's fake. Most people don't post fake to be fake. They do post with the intention for people to see something that they're trying. I feel like people are trying to make the most light out of their situation.

0:32:00 - (Dave Burlin): And sometimes that tiptoes like bullshit, right? Who is it? Young Pablo. He says that social media is a forum where humanity talks to itself. So you can. A lot of times you can really get the pulse of where we're at as a society, which that's a whole thing right now. But in the truth, especially what we want to show is that we've talked about this before. It's like we want to get to the truth. The fact that you're doing the world of business, that you are in that whole demographic, in that whole area, and you're sober, that says a lot.

0:32:37 - (Dave Burlin): But more than that, I think it can show other people and you don't. It's weird. When we. I stopped drinking, right? I hit a year. The year is. The first year is hard. I still did psychedelics. Like, I still, like, that's always my disclosure. But even that, like now, after I hit a year, then I start looking at everything else and I'm like, okay, I don't. I never needed to do that. But there was something where it was just such a thing where I felt like that's where I was going to get all the answers.

0:33:05 - (Dave Burlin): I did do ayahuasca twice last year. That is a totally like. That has helped me learn my relationship with everything differently. So that's been. I think that's the catalyst that helps, but the just being honest, I know for a fact that there's at least one more person that's going to hear that story that you shared, and it's going to be that belief that I can do it too. So thank you for. For sharing that for real.

0:33:34 - (Alex Skerlich): Well, thank you. I did want to say, you know, you. You mentioned rock bottom, right? And a lot of people think that rock bottom is like the end of the world. And in reality, I found out that rock bottom is the best place to start. You know, that's the strongest infrastructure that you're gonna find. Because now the facade of your life that you think, you know, crumbles, you know, and then what is real shows through the veil and so what's left is rock bottom. And quite frankly, there's nothing stronger to put your.

0:34:12 - (Alex Skerlich): Your pillars into than rock bottom, because there's no lower you can go.

0:34:17 - (Dave Burlin): Right?

0:34:18 - (Alex Skerlich): That's it. So I'm grateful, you know, for that experience. Like, even though it was hard to see in the moment, even though it was difficult to face, and, like, the financial strife and everything that came with it, you know, the struggles, the relationships, the. My parents, you know, disappointment, you know, my friend's disappointment, the fear that I invoked in others about my life, my livelihood. Like, people thought I died, you know, like.

0:34:49 - (Alex Skerlich): Like, that's crazy. That's crazy. And, like, I was like, how do I see myself as, like, a community leader and mislead people, you know? And so I took it upon myself to. To really hone into my, you know, what I was preaching, like, to the world. Like, my mission statement. For me personally, I want to positively influence and impact as many people as humanly possible. Right? So that's been my driving force, and that comes in various formats, like, whether it be through music or through publicly speaking or through the podcasts or however.

0:35:32 - (Alex Skerlich): However I can do it, you know, I'm not gonna limit myself to one avenue because that's not my goal. I'm not here to be the best DJ in the world. Right.

0:35:41 - (Dave Burlin): You're a pretty good dj.

0:35:43 - (Alex Skerlich): Oh, thank you.

0:35:45 - (Tawni Nguyen): I'm waiting for my invite.

0:35:47 - (Dave Burlin): Girls can't come.

0:35:48 - (Alex Skerlich): You're invited.

0:35:48 - (Dave Burlin): Just kidding.

0:35:50 - (Tawni Nguyen): Well, surprise.

0:35:51 - (Alex Skerlich): I'm not here to be the best speaker in the world. I'm not. I'm not here to be the best podcaster in the world. But, like, like you said, like, if there's one person that I can reach, if I can, like, look at you and. And impact one person to do the best that you can in your life, then. Then I've hit my goal, right? So if I can grow on top of that and influence a lot of people all at once in a positive light, then bring it to me.

0:36:23 - (Dave Burlin): I want to hit on one thing, and it's. It goes deeper into the mission and vision of the show. I've said this so many times where, you know, our mission is to connect the people of our city so we can show the world who we really are. The vision is that we don't have to change the world. We just have to change the way that the world looks at Las Vegas. And I stole that. I stole it from Tupac. I just changed it.

0:36:50 - (Dave Burlin): Because when you said it right there, it's like, I never said that I was going to change the world. But I will spark the mind that does. And sometimes it's that one little spark or that flame that you pass on to the next person. And the fact that it's all music. Like, to me, music is life. It just is. I don't know how to produce it the way that some people do. I just got in tune with what I saw music do when I grew up at the skating rink, and I wanted to do that for other people. I never would have known that it would be in the world of weddings or at some of your events or some of the other types of events all around town. It's just.

0:37:24 - (Dave Burlin): It's fascinating how music has the power to do that and you figured out how to amplify that in such a way and create all of these incredible, you know, safe, cool experiences. Where. Where do you. Where did you get the inspiration for music and events? Who.

0:37:47 - (Alex Skerlich): Okay. Music has always been major factor in my life. Like, my parents have a lot of influence, especially my. My dad. Like classical music, classic rock, even just early days growing up. And I'm the youngest of three boys, so I graciously have two older brothers that have also given me a lot of insight and influence on music. Like, my oldest brother's six years older than me, and so he's got, you know, a little bit more of, like, the early 90s vibes coming into. Like, that's what I was listening to. I wasn't listening to the stuff that, like, my generation was listening to because that wasn't what was influencing me. It was, like, my older brothers that were giving me, like, you know, Eiffel 65 and, like, Smash Mouth and, you know, like, so some of these other.

0:38:40 - (Dave Burlin): Dang. You drop Eiffel 65. Dang.

0:38:44 - (Alex Skerlich): But, yeah, I mean, like, early. Early days, like, growing up, like, that was like, my jam. And then I got a lot of different insight. I had a grandpa that was really old that had his, you know, input on it. Very close with my family. So a lot of familial influence, right on. On culture and music and food and whatever, everything. But I actually didn't like EDM in, like, the 2008-2011 12 era, because my brothers would go to EDC and they'd come back and I wouldn't see the event. I would just see the before and aftermath of my brothers, and I'd be.

0:39:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): Like, what the fuck is going on?

0:39:31 - (Alex Skerlich): Why would I want to go to that? You guys look like you got in a fight. You know, there would be. They're in Bed for Zoom, you know, So I had this like. Really? Yeah, this like very narrow perspective of it. And so I kind of had like some negative insights. Like my idea was like, all those kids are just getting drugs and getting fucked up and that's all they're doing, blah, blah, blah. And it wasn't until I was in college where my roommate Ben, which is funny that you mentioned Ben totally made.

0:40:05 - (Dave Burlin): That name up, by the way.

0:40:06 - (Alex Skerlich): Exactly. And then my other roommate, Trace in college, they were like, we're going to this music festival in San Francisco, Love Fest. It's called. No, it's a Wobble Land at the Build Brand auditorium. They're like, you should come. And I'm just like, no, I'm good. And then like they told me that this girl that I had a huge crush on at the time was going. And I was like, I'm in.

0:40:33 - (Tawni Nguyen): She's like, you son of a bitch, I'm in.

0:40:35 - (Alex Skerlich): I'm there. So, you know, buy a ticket, send it over to California. And my whole view of everything changed in an instant, you know, like I was just like, oh shit.

0:40:52 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:40:52 - (Alex Skerlich): Like this is nothing like I anticipated. It's like I had such a bad, like I was like, oh, I'm going to walk into a fucking drug and sex fueled fucking fury. And it's just like it's a fucking party with some big sound system, some sick lights and some artists I never heard of. I'm like, holy shit.

0:41:10 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:41:10 - (Alex Skerlich): Right? And so I had the best time.

0:41:13 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:41:13 - (Alex Skerlich): And like people were so friendly and inviting and welcoming and like, like I'd never been to a rave before, but a lot of these people been to hundreds of raves, right? So the veterans, they know how to take care of the newbies.

0:41:25 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:41:25 - (Alex Skerlich): Show them a good time, you know. And so I just, I remember going to that festival and just my jaw just dropping the entire time. Just like every corner. Multi, multi stage festival, huge acts, smaller acts, everything in between. And then I stumbled upon rez. Oh. And I had never like really listened to like mid tempo or like there was a new genre to me, you know, Like I was like, oh, I know dubstep.

0:41:56 - (Alex Skerlich): But when you get into the sub genres of like edm, it's like, oh, I don't even, I still don't even know all of them. And I fucking been in this shit for a long time now.

0:42:04 - (Dave Burlin): There were three more invented today, literally.

0:42:07 - (Alex Skerlich): And I'm seeing, I'm looking at res and I'm like, holy.

0:42:10 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:42:11 - (Tawni Nguyen): It hits you in the soul.

0:42:12 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah. Like in the gut you're like, comes through you. You know, it's like I couldn't even. Couldn't even help but, like, start dancing. And like, I'm just in my head, I'm like, watching everyone have such a good time. And I was like, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do this. And literally, from that day on, I've been involved in edm.

0:42:35 - (Dave Burlin): So cool.

0:42:36 - (Tawni Nguyen): That is so cool. I mean, I grew up in emo, kid, so forever emo. But bass heads is where I headed. And drum and bass is like, it's my jam. Like, I mean, I. Edm, I was led into obviously house and techno, like back in the days before, you know, the whole trance era. And I couldn't. I still can't really get jiggy with it. It's a little too soft for me. But, yeah, like, you're right. Something with like the wobble land type of people that gets the most misjudged, right? Because they're like, oh.

0:43:03 - (Tawni Nguyen): Lately they think like, health heavy delta, you know, it's just like, they think it's just bass. I'm like, no, like, you can actually jam to it. Like, like, let it. Let the music take you, you know? And like, you don't have to be at the Rails getting fucking rammed up there.

0:43:17 - (Alex Skerlich): Like, you don't.

0:43:17 - (Tawni Nguyen): You don't absolutely have to be there. So that hits on, like, so many feelings of my eat, sleep, brave days in my 20s.

0:43:28 - (Dave Burlin): Well, I have some ancient artifacts that I want to share with you. I. So it's. It's fun that when you explain it, like, even though we came from different generations of it, like, I remember the first warehouse rave that I went to. It was in, like, 1996, and it was in a small town in Oklahoma.

0:43:47 - (Alex Skerlich): That's the year I was born.

0:43:49 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, there you go. Yeah, it's a little bit different generation. But then I remember in 1998, I actually went to a Crystal Method show in a really cool venue in Oklahoma.

0:44:01 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:44:02 - (Dave Burlin): But then 1999, and I remember dates like. But September 30, 1999, moonshine over America was on a tour and Moonshine was a big label back. Carl Cox was like, on the original Moonshine label. Cox. Yeah. So that's again, dated. They came through and they were on this tour to drop EDM across the country and they stopped in Oklahoma City. And that was the first one that I really went to. And I was like, wow. And it just happened to be the next year I was in the Marine Corps.

0:44:35 - (Dave Burlin): And I'm A very patriotic Marine Corps veteran. But I also. That was right there at the edge of the rave culture sweeping all of la. And the very first party that I ever went to. And we're gonna do a little shout out. I'm gonna manifest here, too. Very first party I ever went to was EDC 2000, and it was in Tulare. It wasn't even in LA. It wasn't even north of LA. It wasn't in San Bernardino. It was in Tulare, which is smaller than Bakersfield.

0:45:07 - (Alex Skerlich): Is that an Indian reservation?

0:45:08 - (Dave Burlin): Something like that. It was like. It was. It was a little town. But I have the VHS documentary of that, which I'm gonna look right at the camera and say, pasquale, I have two gifts for you. One, I have the actual VHS documentary of EDC 2000. And I have a gigantic white boombox that I would love to give to you when you come to the show.

0:45:31 - (Alex Skerlich): Sick.

0:45:31 - (Dave Burlin): Because who would have ever thought what he was doing would turn into what it has for not just this city, but for the world? And so that's what I got exposed to. So I have that. So it's funny. I have two things. We'll have to find a VCR to watch that video, because I haven't seen it ever.

0:45:51 - (Tawni Nguyen): Oh, my God.

0:45:52 - (Dave Burlin): But I also have the DVD documentary of that Moonshine Over America tour. So that's that, like, what you said. And this isn't to take away from what you said. There's literally people on there that explain the exact same experience. And, like, you see it, you see that history kind of go forward like that. So I have that. And then as, like, a fun thing. Did you ever see the movie Groove?

0:46:18 - (Alex Skerlich): No.

0:46:19 - (Dave Burlin): So I've got that on DVD as well. So we'll have to find DVD players.

0:46:22 - (Tawni Nguyen): And VHS players for grandpa to go down memory lane.

0:46:26 - (Dave Burlin): I know, right?

0:46:26 - (Alex Skerlich): All right, Grandpa, let's get you back inside.

0:46:31 - (Dave Burlin): All right, guys, we'll see you later. No, but that's a. That's. It's. There's literally so much history to everything that you're doing right there in those. In those movies. Because Groove was a. It's a fictional movie, but it's a warehouse rave in San Francisco. And, like, John Dig Weed was like, the dj, and, like, they all were, like, so excited. The party gets shut down. They fire back up. And there's definitely the same spirit in kind of what you're building. So I've got those ancient artifacts for you.

0:46:59 - (Dave Burlin): I love to have a movie night.

0:47:01 - (Tawni Nguyen): Well, it's got to make A comeback in the vintage scene. Remember how, like, records.

0:47:04 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:47:05 - (Tawni Nguyen): Record players, like, within the last decade, every hipsters had to have it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well.

0:47:11 - (Dave Burlin): And that's the. Well, I'll say this too, though, like. And again, manifesting. Pasquale would love to interview you on the show. Like, when I got to meet Cascade. The reason why I got to meet Cascade is because I saw a long time ago that he had a collection of boomboxes. I collected boomboxes. And I had one that I found when my grandpa passed away that was an eight track player. The mini. It's an eight track player. It still had an eight track in it.

0:47:36 - (Dave Burlin): And I was like, I'm gonna give this to Cascade at some point. And I just. I kept telling people, and finally somebody's like, dude, I can make that happen. And I was like, oh, okay. So, Pasquale, Pasquale, I got a boombox for you. You need to come to the Pursue Vegas podcast and talk about the coolest event in the world.

0:47:52 - (Alex Skerlich): For sure. You know, I was actually at an apocalypse festival, and I was standing in the VIP section, and I look over to my right. I'm brushing shoulders with Cascade. He's watching Deadmau5 perform right next to me. And I was like, 15 minutes, I'm just like. And then I'm just like, holy shit.

0:48:14 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:48:15 - (Tawni Nguyen): You're Alesso.

0:48:16 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:48:17 - (Alex Skerlich): I don't know. I mean, I noticed him and I, like, I tapped him on the shoulder and I was like. Just reached out to shake his hand because I was like, Is like a legend, right? And he shook my hand and he just looked at me. He was like, I love that you got it. Like, obviously he doesn't want to get a bunch of people running up to him, but it was just such a cool, like, little experience like that where I was like, whoa. Like, that's one of my idols right there.

0:48:41 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:48:42 - (Alex Skerlich): Just vibing. I was like, this is sick. So I.

0:48:45 - (Dave Burlin): We're all just real people too, right?

0:48:47 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah, it's. It's so cool that, you know the people. People that you look up to.

0:48:51 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:48:51 - (Alex Skerlich): Aspire to be like, they're just people. They're looking for the same things that you're looking for.

0:48:57 - (Dave Burlin): Don't give me the. Oh. They put their pants on one leg at a time. Yeah, they do. And then they go dj, the super bowl, and they get paid a quarter million dollars every time they touch the decks. Yeah. It's a little bit different. What kind of pants?

0:49:09 - (Alex Skerlich): Their pants are a little bit more expensive.

0:49:12 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's Not Wrangler from like Walmart.

0:49:14 - (Dave Burlin): He's like, I just put my, my Air Force one's on one shoe at a time. But I have 4,000 pairs of Air Force Ones that are one of a kind.

0:49:23 - (Alex Skerlich): Don't blame them. Right.

0:49:25 - (Dave Burlin): So with that, what's next? I know you've got stuff that's coming up, but like in the vision of what you're talking about, like what do you see as the next stepping stones? What's the big next step that you're working on?

0:49:43 - (Alex Skerlich): So I mean everything has kind of been a long work in progress. I see like all of my moves are like they used to be like I needed instant gratification, you know, I needed like the results now. But I've learned that you know, to expect urgency in every situation results in disappointment. Frequently your expectations will be let down. So I like to storyboard things with enough lead up time so that it doesn't feel like a overwhelming burden on my soul.

0:50:16 - (Alex Skerlich): But I've been working with various like businesses in Vegas building like some sort of like strategic relationships that can help me build my brand up to be the next thing. Right. Versus like we're a cool collective, we're a great group of DJs, producers, we throw awesome events, we all release music. And so I've been working on a record label, Rager Uncover record label.

0:50:48 - (Dave Burlin): Nice.

0:50:49 - (Alex Skerlich): So that's a huge one that's been in the works for about a year now.

0:50:53 - (Dave Burlin): Me and Tanya will do the Christmas album.

0:50:56 - (Tawni Nguyen): Just kidding, that's news to me.

0:50:57 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah, we're on a record label. I was working with 99.7 radio station here in town, Vibe FM.

0:51:08 - (Dave Burlin): Is that the one that they do like EDM and stuff?

0:51:09 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah, the EDM station in Vegas. I think there's two now. But they do stuff from California to Arizona. So I got affiliated with them, started working alongside them, bringing them sponsorship deals and stuff. And with that I've gained access to their studio and they have a beautiful Dolby Atmos studio. There's. So Simon, the leader head over there has been nothing but helpful and insightful and he's given us opportunities like he's booked all my artists that I manage on the radio for live DJ sets.

0:51:50 - (Alex Skerlich): Multiple of them have done repeat sets, we've thrown events, tandem, we've co promoted different various things that we're putting on. But through Simon and his record label standing that he's had for a long time, since the mid-90s, he is allowing me to tap into his label Works distribution, which is like something that like, you have to be like, it either costs a lot of money or you have to be like grandfathered in.

0:52:20 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:52:21 - (Alex Skerlich): And he's been in it for a long time now. So thank God for Shrine Studios because they're helping me get that record label to distributors that matter. Versus just like being like another artist self releasing on Soundcloud.

0:52:37 - (Dave Burlin): You know, I was gonna say being like one of those guys down. Yeah. Trying to give away CDs on the trip.

0:52:42 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah. So that's something that is huge. That's in the works that I'm really, really excited for. With that comes a lot of new elements of visual arts too. So like storyboarding, album covers, song release covers, media that is moving interactive, you know, so you're going to have different pieces of content. So then within the production and releasing, you have to streamline the content creation, which is where I've been getting involved with these podcasts. Right. And I actually started my own podcast called Rare Moments.

0:53:18 - (Dave Burlin): Mm.

0:53:19 - (Alex Skerlich): And it's a silly little play on, you know, me and my co host. My co host, his name is Moment, he's a DJ producer here in Las Vegas and Rage and Recover Entertainment. I've decided to take that and use it as an acronym. Don't question the end. Yeah, it's just Rare. I love that I use Rare for more family friendly type of experiences. Like we did the Radiance Festival. It's kind of like branding as Rare versus Rage and Recover. Because Rage and Recover has like its big, very niche.

0:53:49 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:53:51 - (Alex Skerlich): You know, perspective. Like people look at that and they're like, oh, rage. Like, oh, yeah, that's going to be a rager, right?

0:53:57 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, yeah.

0:53:57 - (Alex Skerlich): And I'm all for it.

0:53:58 - (Tawni Nguyen): Four day bender, but.

0:54:00 - (Alex Skerlich): But I also like to do, you know, weddings and house events and as we have. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So then, you know, I don't like to use the Rage and Recover branding as much as the forefront. So Rare Moments was a podcast that we decided to develop so that we could put on, similarly to you, the Vegas people, personnel. But we're targeting artists, producers, musicians, venue owners, managers, booking agents. We're trying to get the inside scoop for the guys like me, Right. That want to start something and don't know where to begin.

0:54:42 - (Alex Skerlich): And so, you know, I have some experience now and I have no, like, I have no shame and throwing some information to people that want to get started. And so basically my goal is to educate and get people doing what I do. Right. Because, like, even though it does create a saturated marketplace for events, it also enhances the Overall community experience in Las Vegas. And so that's kind of always been my objective. So I'm down to. To shed light where I can.

0:55:12 - (Dave Burlin): I love it. There's. There's so many things that I want to talk to you about, because I've noticed that while I did spend so much time in the wedding industry, as I cross over the brand, for me to be able to do stuff for, like, Virgin and things like that, like, I need to go a little bit more like, personal brand. So, like, Boombox Dave does come alive on all my branding this year, especially.

0:55:33 - (Tawni Nguyen): In the roller skate.

0:55:34 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, well, I've done it before. Like. Like, when I open. I did one of the shows at Disco Downtown. I opened for Bad Boy Bill, and I did that as Boombox Dave, but I was always just, like, afraid of it. Well, now there's a couple tracks that are, like, beating through my heart that I might need your help and advice on. But also, even when you talk about the branding, I want to be able to have video stuff in the background.

0:55:58 - (Dave Burlin): If I get one of those spots, then I even got some cool music video stuff. But there's also some collaboration that I want to talk to you about as well, because I had talked about the idea of, like, I want to unlock that world, like, through the show. There's gonna be. There's, like, restaurants and stuff like that. Like, but that's what we're bringing on people like you. The people that are very connected through those.

0:56:19 - (Dave Burlin): Those verticals. But I think, like, even just something like, I was talking to somebody and they were talking about doing, like, do you ever watch Flavor Trip?

0:56:29 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah.

0:56:29 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, Flavor Trip. That couple, they just, like, DJ and, like, cook food.

0:56:32 - (Alex Skerlich): It's sick.

0:56:33 - (Dave Burlin): So amazing. But I'm like, all they do that' so great. But I'm like, yeah. I'm like, how do they. How do they get past the licensing for stuff like that? Like, that's the legal part that I don't know.

0:56:43 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah.

0:56:44 - (Dave Burlin): But I thought that would be cool is if we did something like that. But for people just out of Vegas, that kind of shines that light to. To so people can see some of the. The artists that are coming up here, because, again, that's not my world. But I'm starting to see more studios pop up. I'm starting to see more artists come here. And as LA and everyone's talking about Hollywood 2.0 coming here, there's a big music part of that industry that will shift this direction as well. So lots of cool stuff for us to talk about.

0:57:13 - (Alex Skerlich): Lots of cool things coming to Vegas with the Hollywood 2.0 and you know, we went to some of those meetings and they never once mentioned audio.

0:57:26 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, Ever.

0:57:27 - (Alex Skerlich): And I was waiting. I was waiting, waiting, waiting. I was like. And they never said it. And I was like, perfect.

0:57:34 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, perfect. Yeah. Don't let him know.

0:57:36 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah, I mean like, it's better, it's better. Like they're not even, they're not even focused on it.

0:57:40 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:57:40 - (Alex Skerlich): It's a secondary, it's an ancillary thought. Well, but it's a major component to everything, everything.

0:57:46 - (Dave Burlin): Another, another introduction is one of the guys that I was in the Marine Corps with. We took him to his first party and he stayed in that world and he has went through, he went to, I think he went to full sail. He went to all the different audio productions, all that stuff. He's been doing audio production in LA this whole time for 20 years. And now he's like, hey, I think I'm going to move to Vegas. There's, you know, it's kind of wrapping up there. Do you know, is there, is there a need for audio production? And I was like, I don't know, I'll probably talk to some people.

0:58:14 - (Alex Skerlich): So there's always a need.

0:58:15 - (Tawni Nguyen): Also I was, when you said like the whole legal thing, I was like, not a lawyer, so this is not legal advice, is a disclaimer. But someone in events, when I used to do events, they're like, oh, what's the legal thing around it? I'm like, I just do things until somebody asked me to stop. Yeah, step one and then step two is easier to ask for forgiveness and permission sometimes, especially coming into cities like la Vegas probably a little bit different because, you know, depending on the city, if it's, if it's, it's, if it's an envelope driven city, then you have to, it's more handshakes and relationships. Kind of like this town.

0:58:45 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:58:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): You know, but that's kind of how the, the loopholes work in our industry.

0:58:50 - (Alex Skerlich): I agree with the philosophy.

0:58:51 - (Tawni Nguyen): My answer was like, hey, gotta know.

0:58:52 - (Alex Skerlich): A guy, you know, But I'm just fair. But it just depends, like once the dollar amount gets to a certain level.

0:58:59 - (Dave Burlin): Well, because for me I was like, oh, we could do something like that on Pursuit Vegas and then on the YouTube channel, then we're DJing. And then all of a sudden like we get Shadow banned and shut down. My T's gonna be so like, wait a minute, what happened? Did you ever see Flavor Trip? Yeah, we tried to do that.

0:59:15 - (Alex Skerlich): They shut Us down.

0:59:16 - (Tawni Nguyen): I'm down to cook, though. Yeah.

0:59:18 - (Dave Burlin): Well, so, man, thank you so much for coming on the show. Where can people find you? Where can they connect? Give us all the. All the socials, all the handles. It's in the show notes as well. But where can people find you?

0:59:30 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah, so for Rage and recover, it's AgeRecover. Www.rageandrecover.com. you know, we got all the platforms. It's pretty. Pretty streamlined across the board. I think X is like, you know, Rage and Recover. Ent, E, N, T. Some. Some variation, you know, but it's all. If you just type in Rage and Recover on any browser or anything, it should pop up on the top. Top of the list. So. Rage and Recover. My personal.

1:00:07 - (Alex Skerlich): I go by the artist name of Skrilla. My name is Alexander Scarlett. People used to call me Skrillex in high school, but I didn't like that because I was like, that guy's dope as fuck and I don't want to take his steez. So I tried to, like, you get.

1:00:21 - (Dave Burlin): That C section when he was still.

1:00:22 - (Tawni Nguyen): In from first to last. No one knew that, though. I was like, did you know who Skrillex was before he was Skrillex? Like, that's how. That's how old I am.

1:00:31 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah. Yeah, Sonny. Yeah. I really. I love Skrillex. But yeah, I wanted to kind of have. Because my last name people mispronounced. They would call me. My last name is.

1:00:44 - (Dave Burlin): Notice how I didn't even try to say it.

1:00:46 - (Alex Skerlich): Yeah, some people, me, Skrillich and Skrillic and all kinds of things in between. And so, like, people in high school were like, skrillick, Skrillex, Skrillex, Skrillex. And that became so like. I was like, it's gotta be different. So I adopted in high school a Skrilla. That was my name. Alex Skrilla. A Skrilla. And so as I got more like, this is before. This is pre edm.

1:01:11 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

1:01:11 - (Alex Skerlich): As I got into EDM and after that rez show, I went home to Reno, Nevada. I was going to college over there. I started producing music. And I was like, what am I gonna call myself? And I'm like, why am I gonna over complicate this? I'm a Skrilla, you know? And then as I developed the brand a little bit, I was like, I'm gonna drop the A because it's kind of confusing. Yeah, it was like, Skrilla, one. One word, you know, one entity. Yeah, the Facebook.

1:01:39 - (Tawni Nguyen): Meta. Grandpa is meta now.

1:01:42 - (Alex Skerlich): So I took over Skrilla and on social media you can find me at Skrilla. Type in Skrilla or my last name, Scarlet. Those are my socials across the board. Pretty much a public figure in Vegas tried to utilize my name and likeness at that rate because I feel confident in who the fuck I am and where I'm going. And I am excited to continue on this journey.

1:02:08 - (Dave Burlin): So I love it.

1:02:10 - (Alex Skerlich): I appreciate you having me on the podcast. It's very much obliged.

1:02:15 - (Dave Burlin): You got it.

1:02:16 - (Tawni Nguyen): Thank you so much for joining our mission. I love meeting souls like this. So you guys know where to find me and Dave on Pursue Vegas. Slide into our dm, Slide into him, find him online, please. Because there are more of us that exist out there that are on the same mission. If you guys find the need to please reach out to us. If we can connect or provide any kind of resources for you guys, do so.

1:02:39 - (Dave Burlin): We got this.

1:02:40 - (Tawni Nguyen): Peace.

1:02:43 - (Dave Burlin): The idea of Pursue Vegas was to really highlight the local people that really make Vegas Vegas.

1:02:49 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that aspect of how these visionaries are actually bringing people together.

1:02:53 - (Dave Burlin): When we hit record, our responsibility is to connect the people of our city so we can show the world who we really are.