What Happened to FUCK YESSS?

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By Liz ChoiThree things might come to mind when you think of FUCK YESSS:(1) Electronic music so loud that you’ll hear that ringing sound in your ear as you fall asleep;(2) Bright flashing lights that flow melodically with the beat of the music;(3) A dance floor with people crammed like sardines that you are drenched in sweat 30 seconds after walking it.FUCK YESSS welcomed Atlantans to a night filled with electronic music and dancing once a month for five years. It was the first event of its kind in Atlanta and brought the electronic music scene to what it is today. From local high school students to grown adults, people flocked to enter this monthly event. But even with so much popularity, FUCK YESSS came to an end in April 2012. But to those who love and miss this event, there is hope that the event will return one day.FUCK YESSS was started by born and raised Atlantan Dylan Eiland, also known as Le Castle Vania, the resident DJ of FUCK YESSS. He started FUCK YESSS as a place where he could play his music and remixes when he stopped by from touring. It all started at the Drunken Unicorn, a hole-in-the-wall concert venue in Atlanta that doesn’t even have a phone. FUCK YESSS had its loyal followers that would attend every month, but great promotional techniques (ahem, Facebook), caused the lines to wrap around the building.One person who contributed to the success of FUCK YESSS is Ryan Purcell, who first joined FUCK YESSS as a staff photographer. At first, he would shoot photos of people dancing and mingling. And then he added the “Oh Snap Kid” photo booth which would become the must-have souvenir at FUCK YESSS with a new unique and colorful background each month. As he got more involved with FUCK YESSS, Purcell started to DJ under the pseudonym, Street Lurkin, and took more responsibility with the promotional aspects of the night.With so much success, not enough room, and safety reasons, Eiland decided it would be best to move FUCK YESSS to a bigger venue. And in April of 2010, the event had moved to the Masquerade.Purcell says, “The move to the Masquerade, we could not even have imagined. We were extremely nervous to move to a larger spot. It was against what we had originally planned which was to keep it small ... We had no idea what kind of beast was to come that night.”The number of people waiting to get into FUCK YESSS the first night at the Masquerade was so huge that the police had to shut down the door and hundreds of people were turned away.“That was the biggest heartache of the night,” said Purcell. But after the small hiccups of the first month in their new location, the months to come were smooth sailing.While still insanely popular, FUCK YESSS came to an end in April 2012 when their contract with the Masquerade ended.“It was better to end [FUCK YESSS] while it was at a peak rather than it fizzle out,” says Eiland.He is currently focusing on his music career in Los Angeles, where he has been busy touring and recording his new album. When asked whether or not FUCK YESSS will return to Atlanta, Eiland seems doubtful.Although the possibility of its return is slim, Purcell reminisces on the great memories he made there. “FUCK YESSS was one huge family. There are people that were at the first one till the last one. We had a couple meet at FUCK YESSS, become our new door people, and got engaged there as well. It was never about money with FUCK YESSS, it was about giving everyone a place to come and experience a fun electric dance music experience that Atlanta didn’t have.”Although FUCK YESSS may be over, Eiland sounds proud, yet humble of the huge strides electronic music has made in Atlanta because of FUCK YESSS.“FUCK YESSS really lead to a lot of growth in the electronic industry,” Eiland says. In his upcoming tour, Eiland will be performing May 18 at QUAD. He's looking forward to playing in Atlanta where many of his loyal fans are waiting. Those fans that he believes will “keep that sprite of FUCK YESSS alive.”

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