Like many people in a pre-Skrillex world, Alex Heiligman had no idea what dubstep was in early 2008. He certainly didn't know he would soon become one of the Twin Cities preeminent promoters of the bass-croaking dance music that has since womped its way into pop culture.
"When it started, anytime I would hear the word dubstep, it would make me so excited that someone knew what they were talking about," Heiligman said. "Now just saying that is funny to even think about, because it's a household word."
The young jam-rock fan discovered dubstep later that year while following livetronica band EOTO across the country. The duo had begun incorporating the woofer-wobbling genre in its sound and his interest in the music quickly snowballed.
But with few opportunities to see similar artists in the Twin Cities, he and his friends were forced to travel to Chicago, Denver and elsewhere to get their fix. "We'd been spending a ton of time traveling around and we realized we could bring these people here instead," Heiligman said.
Aided by a handful of friends, the St. Louis Park native launched his promotion company, Twin Cities Dubstep, in 2009. Attendance at events has grown rapidly in the past four years.
Heiligman's prepping for a fourth-anniversary bash Friday at the Skyway Theater headlined by dubstep heavyweight Flux Pavilion, as well as his second annual Infrasound Music Festival (May 31-June 2) in Black River Falls, Wis.
By now it's no secret that bass music attracts pro-partying college-aged kids to clubs and concert halls. But in the early days Heiligman had trouble finding a home for his ear-quaking events. While he saw a bright future for electronic music, club bookers were slow to catch on.
"There weren't a lot of venues who would allow me to rent the space to do shows there," the 24-year-old recalled. "I'd send them info on the acts and they'd obviously listen to the music and be scared or something. It was so different that they didn't understand it."
