#1 - Alex Parra explains how to succeed in the EDM industry
What's
Cameron:going on everybody? Welcome to Groove Nation. I'm your host, Cameron Haddad. In this podcast, we'll be discussing all things electronic dance music. I'll be interviewing some of the most prominent names in the EDM scene.
Cameron:This is Groove Nation.
Alex:House music.
Cameron:And today, I am with none other than the founder of Unity Events, someone who's been killing it in the EDM game here in Las Vegas, been hosting dope shows with likes of disco lines, Leafos, Ae Bo, Shipwreck, Luffy, and many other dope DJs. Good friend of mine, none other than Alex Parra. What's going on, bro?
Alex:How you doing, Cam? How's it been going with you?
Cameron:Good, man. Everything's good, bro. How about you? How's life?
Alex:Awesome. You know, just looking to, you know, keep following in the steps of the music industry and try to get my career path going even better.
Cameron:Let's go, bro. You have a you have a dope story, bro, because, I mean, you're really in a lane of your own, bro, throwing actual popping shows and house music. I mean, Vegas is booming with EDM, but there's not much house going
Alex:on. Yeah. So, originally, here in Vegas, there wasn't a demand for house music, I'd say. I I didn't know the one promoter, which was Holy House, and they were throwing events here in Vegas off of the Revelation brand. And they were they were doing a good job, you know, because they had their niche, and there wasn't much competition in Vegas.
Alex:So how they started is they had shows on Sundays, and everyone would go to their holy house events, and it was cool. So, essentially, now throughout the years, house music has progressed to a new level, and everyone's adapting sound, to the beat. And, yeah, more people wanna dance to the house music beat. What year did you guys start Unity? So here's
Cameron:the thing. We're we're currently on our
Alex:our 4 year anniversary here in August. Nice. But we started 2019, which is 5 years. But, you know, we we all have that pandemic here. You know, we I don't know if we can consider it part of it.
Alex:But so we originally started in 2019. We did a boat party in Lake Las Vegas, which is really, you know, uncommon. So after that, people you know, we wanted to bring uniqueness to Las Vegas, and that's exactly what we did. And then further, we were able to then, you know, stick into the sound of house music, which really worked, well for us.
Cameron:Yeah, man. It works so well. Really cool to see how many people our age, you know, in the early twenties are actually infatuated with house music. It's kinda crazy.
Alex:Yeah. I mean, it it all comes down to trends. You know? And it's like, if if you if people fall people are gonna follow trends, and that's a given. Mhmm.
Alex:So, you know, that's just the way it is. And if the trend is cool, then it's gonna keep going and growing for for the time being.
Cameron:For sure, man. For sure. So let me ask you, bro. So since you got into this EDM game, how's it changed?
Alex:Yeah. So, I mean, it's every city has a different outcome. For Vegas, in particular, I'd say it's beginning, everyone I'd say Las Vegas is more of a base city. Beginning, everyone I'd say Las Vegas is more of a base city. A lot of, you know, webs and all that very strong sounds, dubstep.
Alex:Mhmm. Because that's how I originated here in the EDM industry. So after that, then I decided to, you know, kinda start something new. You know? Give Vegas a new sound and, you know, pull forward with a new trend.
Cameron:And, I mean, that trend has stuck. I mean, you said 4 years, and it's only gotten bigger year after year. Right?
Alex:Yeah. So, originally, I didn't even know that I was pursuing only house music. I thought it was just, you know, music. I I just viewed it as that that's just the type of music that I liked, and I I just had my events based off of that. You know?
Alex:And it was it was never of, you know, trying to start a new, you know, genre party. It was just more so just following what I liked and then putting all the right DJs together.
Cameron:Now talk about Elias a little bit. So you guys founded it together. Are you guys business partners?
Alex:Yeah. So here's how it all turned out. So, originally, so here's the founding story of Unity Events. And so, you know, obviously, called Unity. And with that being said, we wanted to unite, we wanted to unite all the fraternities together and be able to provide you know, we wanted to provide a a unification within those fraternities and throw parties, and that's exactly what happened.
Alex:So we essentially threw parties with all the fraternities together, and then we wanted to then reach out to the locals and be able to provide a new experience.
Cameron:Wow. That's dope. That's really cool, man. And you're you're doing in the best city possible, you know, in Vegas. I mean, how old are you right now?
Alex:27.
Cameron:You're 27. So what made you wanna get into EDM years ago? I mean, what made you especially house music, what made you choose that niche specifically? Yeah.
Alex:So I I I used to only be into hip hop. And, after that, I was then moved over to EDM because I went to EDC. I thought that EDC was a huge contributing factor towards all that because of, all the lights and everything else. I think the music was amazing. I think the vibes were, you know, the most important part.
Alex:People there would be very friendly, and they all just wanted to be there for one purpose, and it was the music.
Cameron:I mean, I'm sure the inspiration was flowing like crazy after your first EDC.
Alex:Yeah. No. Yeah. I mean, EDC is the biggest festival here. So, I mean, it it makes a little sense to, you know, try to imitate that Because if not, then, I mean, you wanna always copy the you know, my biggest phrase is always trying to imitate your, competitors because why?
Alex:Because they're obviously doing a lot. You know, they're doing good for a reason. So I feel that if you try to imitate them and I don't like the word copy. I just like I like to say you you should always get what's good from them and then put your own taste to it.
Cameron:For sure, bro. I mean, the inspiration you get from other people who are doing it before you will just level you up. So when you were first founding Unity, did you have ideas of doing other genres of EDM, or was it like you knew you were gonna do house music right away?
Alex:So, yeah, that just goes back to my original point. I actually had no idea what I was doing with the sound. I just knew what type of parties worked the best. So after I discovered the party, then I went back to the sound. So, essentially, after the parties were now becoming successful, I I started to think, okay.
Alex:Why are they successful? Why why are people coming back? And I had to put 1 and 1 and 1 together and 1 and 2 together and be like, okay. Well, they're coming back because they like the music. And not only do they like the music, they also like the vibe, the people.
Alex:You know, it's just it's not the same people, but it's a it's a it's a kind of people that are showing up. It's a certain niche that's showing up. You know? We we tend to do events with the college demographic, and I feel, you know, when when certain people go to an event, they notice that it's their type of people. You know?
Alex:And I feel it could be same in with different promoters, and that's completely fine. Everyone has their purpose.
Cameron:You guys have a pretty loyal fan base. Like, you have a lot of returning fans coming to see each show. Correct?
Alex:Yeah. And I say it's all very random because, dude, parties, there's always going to be that's my favorite phrase. There's always going to be another party and a new party. You can have a bad one, and then the very next week, you're gonna have an amazing one. And it it really just depends on how hard you promote.
Alex:And yeah. I mean, I mean, it's really it's really on a case by case basis and just throwing a good party.
Cameron:Yeah. I mean, I'm on your Instagram right now. You guys are up to about 67 100 followers on Instagram. I mean, that's that's very impressive, bro. That's a that's a tough task to get, you know, especially in a niche that not many people are doing in in in Vegas.
Cameron:I mean, you guys are, by far, I would say, the most successful house music, group out here for sure. So that's amazing.
Alex:Yeah. Yeah. You know, people come and go. I mean, there's been other promoters that have tried it. There, you know, there were some heavy hitters that, you know, they've recently fall off, so it's like you know?
Alex:The in this industry, I'm gonna go back to my phrase. There's always going to be another party, so you have to always keep going and try to keep growing. Mhmm. And, you know, if, you know, in this business, if you stop if you throw a party yesterday and you don't throw 1 ever again, your business is done. You're simply done.
Alex:You have to, you know, keep throwing better and bigger parties, keep your business alive. And if you don't continue that, then your business, you know, it's done. So that's why, you know, it's important to stay sane. It's important to, you know, involve yourself with good habits. It's important to involve yourself with good people.
Alex:It's important to do good business. If not, then you're gonna fall down the drain.
Cameron:Wow. That's so true. You know? I I feel like in every industry, you know, if I mean, even if it's a as a as a DJ and and you drop a a song that goes global and you don't have something to second that, you can just fall off so quick.
Alex:Yeah. It's all about trends, persistency, and consistency.
Cameron:Yeah. Sure. So you guys have, Ebo, playing on August, 2nd. I've been a fan of his for a while, man. He's been killing it, and it's it's it's amazing that you guys got him locked in.
Cameron:So who was the first, like, actual big name that you guys had playing? And and at what year of of the 4 year span did it take to get that name?
Alex:Yeah. So, I mean, you're a big part of it. Shipwreck was our biggest booking
Cameron:so far. They're
Alex:pretty expensive, but they were worth it. I you know, we decided to have those artists because it would provide a lot of value to the brand.
Cameron:Mhmm.
Alex:And value comes in different forms. You know? Monetary, you know, data, branding, you know, respect, credibility. So that's essentially what we did, and, you know, it worked out really well for us. So that that that's been the biggest booking so far of of the year and of of the of the lifespan of the brand.
Cameron:Man. And that turnout was amazing at Shipwrecked. I loved that show. That was amazing.
Alex:Yeah. Sold that show. We're looking to continue that with Evo. Evo is our 4 year anniversary booking. I think with Evo, you know, it's it's going to, again, you know, provide some credibility for our brand.
Alex:People are gonna, you know, assume that we're going to keep booking bigger and better talent. They're gonna respect their brand. They're gonna, you know, tell their friends about it. Hey. These guys booked these good artists.
Alex:You know? Let's go see this show. They throw at parties. And at the end of the day, I think word-of-mouth is the best selling factor with our with this industry.
Cameron:Yeah. I feel like especially in Vegas, you know, how small of a world it is here.
Alex:Yeah.
Cameron:The word-of-mouth goes far for sure. Wow, man.
Alex:It's a number of
Cameron:fun. Mhmm. Cool, bro. So so what are some things what are some more things you've learned, throughout your time, in in this EDM game? I mean, since it's constantly changing.
Alex:I've learned so much, man. But I I'll I'll give you the rundown on the most important factors here within business and, Unity events as a whole. It's the one of the biggest factors. Mhmm. Just to embrace embrace failure.
Alex:Honestly, that's that's the biggest thing with this. I live off, you know, by by event case basis, and it's it's beautiful at that. You know? It's like, you have to follow, you know, your your your goals, but, you know, it's more important to follow your systems. Mhmm.
Alex:Because if you don't organize yourself properly, you'll never reach your goals. So, I mean, you know, once I started to look at my system and see how I was achieving my goals and and how I was becoming the person that I wanted to become, then I could start achieving my goals a lot easier because, you know, it's it's not easy to achieve goals, especially if you set yourself, you know, very high goals. So, you know, it's very important to stay you know, you're able to work on yourself and become the person that you wanna become so that then you can obtain whatever you wanna
Cameron:obtain. Wow. I mean yeah, man. There's there's some beauty in the failure for sure. I mean, if without it, you you wouldn't be anywhere near where you're where you're at.
Alex:Yeah. It's very important to fail as fast as possible. I I tell my friends, you know, you know, a lot of other promoters ask me for advice, you know, just like, dude, it's it's really not hard at all. It's it's just do it. You know?
Alex:Or the Nike I mean, you just gotta go out there and, attempt and learn. You know? I if someone were to ask me what's the key to my success, I mean, it's like, dude, if you wanted to do it, you would have to go do what I did, and I failed so much. And it's like, there's no there's no key to success. You just have to go out there and learn how to be a a monster.
Alex:Like, you you have to go out there and and fail. And in order for that to happen, like, you need to experience this. If you don't experience what I experienced, you're never gonna reach my level, and you're never gonna surpass ever. So, you know, everyone has experienced those predicaments, you know, for that reason. So yeah.
Alex:I mean, that's the main thing. Just you have to experience it. If you don't experience the process, you can't achieve it. It's just not possible. And I say this all the time.
Alex:Money is not the solution. Most people think with money, you can achieve anything, and that's not the case. Money is never going to be the solution. Not even if you have an investor, if you have you know, if you think you could do it with money, it's it's not. You need the right guy.
Alex:You need the right, you know, promotion. You need the right you just need the right guy. You need the right experience and knowledge. If you don't have that, that's the most valuable thing in this industry, and it could be with any other business as well.
Cameron:Right. Yeah. I mean, money without knowing what you're doing or the experience, it it won't take you too far.
Alex:It's probably worse. It's probably a time bomb. Now you're you're just going to lose it, and now you have, you know, dirt on your plate, and people are over here chasing your money.
Cameron:So let me ask you, bro. So what advice would you give to anyone who's looking to make their mark in the EDM world?
Alex:Being patient is very important. Like I said, I'm just going off of my last point. I mean, it's very important to just, you know, let things happen and learn. Most people try to rush it, and they get frustrated, which is okay. Getting frustrated is part of the game.
Alex:It's not a bad thing, but you should understand. You should really embrace the process. I feel most people don't, and that's why they give up. They think the process is happening, and it's but they don't understand that that is part of the process. You know?
Alex:Frustration is process. They think it's it's failure. And even if it was failure, they they don't understand that failure is part of the process, and it's okay. Part of failure is great. If you're availing, you're attempting.
Alex:And if you're not attempting, then you're not doing it. You know? So that's my main point is just really just attempting, and always staying consistent. If if you stop doing a lot of a lot of growth aspects, I mean, you're you're not gonna grow. Mhmm.
Alex:So you have to go out there and just start, you know, experiencing a lot of new things. Otherwise, you're you're not going to learn, and then you can't adapt. So you have to be able to learn, adapt, apply.
Cameron:I love that, man. I love that. I feel like the consistency part is so big. I can apply that in my own journey, because, you know, days where I'm just working on music all day and neglecting social media versus days where I'm daily posting, I can see the engagement factor just worlds apart when I'm actually consistently making content even if it's not something I wanna do all the time. But when you're consistent at at it, it just changes everything.
Cameron:You
Alex:know? Yeah, dude. Think about what Kobe said. I mean, Kobe Bryant, he said, I mean, if if if I were to train 4 times a day for the next year and then the next year after that and you were training 2 times a day, I would surpass you, and you're never catching up to me. Never.
Alex:Mhmm. So why? Because he's going out there, and he's shooting a 1,000 shots a day, and, you know, you're shooting 500. Mhmm. So by the end of your career, you know, I've made, you know, 500 more than you per season.
Alex:So it's like you know, it's the best way to get ahead is to to get ahead and to do it. Dude, and not you know, that's one of my main points is I'm not a marketer. I wasn't a promoter. I wasn't, I wasn't a a designer. I wasn't, you know, I wasn't a leader when I started all of this.
Alex:I wasn't anything. I became it by learning and by attempting. You think I was gonna go out there and start building my own flyers if I had all this money? No. I started making my own flyers because I didn't have this money so that it was I was forced, you know, back against the wall to create my own flyers, to learn how to market, digital marketing, to learn how to use social media, to learn all these tricks, you know, to learn to promote on my own because there was no other option.
Alex:I mean, granted, it was a lot cheaper to do it myself too than to pay, but, you know, that's it was needed in order to make profits and, you know, cover profit margins.
Cameron:Wow. So speaking of flyers and all this stuff, bro, can you describe the typical process of organizing a house music event? What goes into
Alex:it? So I mean, anyone can create their own flyer. Obviously, it's a lot harder if you don't know the the tools in Photoshop and all that. Mhmm. But, originally, I was creating everything on on Pixar, you know, a little app Wow.
Alex:On Canva. I was doing all that, and my events were selling. Either way, the flyers were pretty shitty, I'll be honest. But then after that, I decided to start going into Photoshop and creating better flyers, and it turned out a little bit better for me. Mhmm.
Alex:But then I so I was like, okay. Cool. Well, I think I have the money now. I need to then delegate this because if I don't, I'm gonna be wasting more time, and I need to then create a better brand for my company. So as I, lately, I've been, outsourcing my flyers, and they've been looking a lot better.
Alex:People trust my brand. And yeah. I mean, that's really how it is. You know? It'll cost me a couple $100 for a couple set of flyers, but, you know, it's coming back to me 10 worth.
Alex:You know? So if if I don't delegate that, I lose time and I lose branding. So I would now it's you have to, like, balance it all out. You know? What's more worth it?
Alex:You know? Do I should I just cover all this with money and then get back all this value or, you know, waste my time and, you know, but not spend this much money. You have to you have to balance it all out and see what's more worth it. Time and money ratio is very important with business. If you learn to discover those ratios of what's worth it and what's not and what you should do and what you should delegate, that's that's the key to business and how you discover how to make more money.
Cameron:Absolutely. What do you personally think separates you guys from any other house promotions out in Vegas?
Alex:I think unique events is the right word. We started from, like I said, the boat parties and stuff. Mhmm. We currently have an event at Strica rooftop this Saturday. Wow.
Alex:Well look. But, yeah, it's gonna be a more fancier event. You know, it's things that people aren't doing.
Cameron:You know?
Alex:So it's like if if we have an event like this, you know, someone's gonna someone's going to attend and be and they're gonna say, wow. Well, this this is different. I haven't been to something like this. The people here, you know, are dressed a little bit fancier, and I get to listen to house music. I get to enjoy some panoramic panoramic views.
Alex:I get to enjoy a good cocktail. I don't get to experience this downtown often. So let's give it a go. Let's experience this. Let's have a unique, you know, moment, and that's why, you know, it makes it a lot better.
Alex:You know? We also have Drae's after hours directly after that event. So if you come in our event, you know, know, you're you're coming to Circa and then you're going straight to Dre's. When do you get to do any of that, you know, as
Cameron:well? Yeah.
Alex:So that's you know, we're providing an experience to the local community. And, yeah, I mean, that's really how it is. And we just recently branched off to doing open format shows as well. So Wow. Branching off with hip hop, you know, you know, EDM, you know, more more of the mainstream sound, but it's, you know, it's thriving.
Alex:So I feel if we do that, it can make more money.
Cameron:For sure. Now you guys are also throwing shows out in, San Diego in some in Reno. Correct?
Alex:Correct.
Cameron:So how has it been transitioning to outside of Vegas?
Alex:It's the same process. Mhmm. It's trial and error, really. I mean, you apply the same system to San Diego, and then just, you know, see I mean, see if it fails or not. Yeah.
Alex:But in, I'd say for our out of town shows, it's been fairly 5050 hit or miss, maybe a little bit higher. Mhmm. But it's a learning experience too because after those shows, we can apply that to Vegas and see what works over here as well.
Cameron:And I'm sure it just makes you appreciate the turnout in Vegas so much more.
Alex:That's that's huge. Yes. I I highly agree with that. And, yeah, it's it's made us realize that, okay, we don't have it as easy over here, but we but the system works. Mhmm.
Alex:Because if you have one good show, you're then able to, you know, grow on that and help it become the show that you want it to become.
Cameron:That's amazing, man. So I wanna ask you, where do you see both yourself as well as UNI events within the next 5 years?
Alex:Yeah. Good question. Let's see. I'm a very short term bull oriented guy. Mhmm.
Alex:I don't really see myself too far in the future. I just try to focus on what's in front of me. And that's also another, you know, advice, that I can recommend someone is that you should really focus on what you have in front of you and make it as best as possible. Because if you're too focused on what you're going to be doing 5, 10 years ahead, you're gonna lose focus of what's in front of you. Mhmm.
Alex:So, you know, that being said, I I do have long term goals. I mean and my long term goals are pretty much the same as my short term goals. It's it's, you know, profit. The profit and to grow my brand. Mhmm.
Alex:As long as my brand is thriving and it creates credibility, then I'm okay with it. You know, I'm just I'm a huge fan of just providing, you know, credibility towards anyone. If people understand sell my service slash product to anyone in this world. And I think that's very important in this world, not even as a business owner, but as a human being. So, you know, it's always being able to provide trust to people and and be a good human being and be a good business because it all comes back to you.
Alex:So if we put it, 5 years from now, it's to, remain, you know, a good business and, you know, just keep the the good morals that made us who we are.
Cameron:Amazing. And then as far as artists go, do you have any, you know, big names, bigger names in mind, with the next few years? Like, I I gotta have I gotta have them play in a show.
Alex:Yeah. So, well, actually here, one one of my really big goals is downtown event center. I think that's, like, the ultimate venue here in Vegas.
Cameron:For sure.
Alex:Area area 15 a lot too. So those two venues are are attached to my big venue goals. Mhmm. I feel once I do an event at downtown events in my pretty much have made it. You know?
Alex:Yeah.
Cameron:That's the spot.
Alex:Once I profit on one of those. Mhmm. Because anybody can throw an event there with money. I could throw an event there right now. I know I wouldn't succeed.
Alex:And I feel most, business owners can't say that because a lot of, business owners have egos. And it's important to put your ego aside and know what you can you can do.
Cameron:The growth is exponential in unity, and I I I see it going really far heights, man. I've played, I wanna say, 6 shows now for you guys. And, man, I mean, I've told you so already, bro. Like, you guys got my career going from the jump, and I'm forever grateful for that, man. And just just playing those shows, seeing the crowd, I mean, it's a fun crowd.
Cameron:You know? It's it's the type of crowd you want. So you guys are you guys have to have the right audience, and the show's only getting bigger, and the the artists are only getting bigger. You guys are killing it, man.
Alex:Appreciate that. Thank you.
Cameron:So, Abo, August 2nd, downtown at Disco Pussy here in Las Vegas. Looking forward to that show. I'll be there for sure. Anything else you wanna say, Alex?
Alex:Yeah. That's gonna be a big show. Really excited for it, 4 year anniversary. We have plenty of more shows coming up here, at disco, and then, hopefully, we can get something locked in at area 15. We're growing our brand.
Alex:I think everything's settling down very well for Unity events here in Vegas, and we're competing properly. We're maintaining good business. I think we're providing a lot of love to the community. So, you know, we'll keep working with all the best DJs with we'll give new DJs opportunities as well. And, yeah, we'll just we'll just stay on the right path here, and I think everything will come back, you know, 10 times better for us.
Alex:And I think that's how it is for everyone as a human being also. You know? You have to provide a lot of love, and you'll receive that back. So yeah.
Cameron:Amazing, bro. Amazing, man. Well, keep doing what you're doing, bro. Alright? And we'll chat here soon, man.
Cameron:Alright, man.
Alex:Work together here again, and, I wanted to wish you the best for your, career as well.
Cameron:Thank you, bro. Hey. Alex Parr, everyone.
Alex:Thank you, everyone, so much. A user.
Cameron:Thanks for tuning in to Groove Nation, the podcast where we discuss all things electronic dance music. Follow me on social media at Hadazi Music. That's hadazi music, or shoot me an email at hadazi mgmtat gmail.com.
Alex:House music.
