With over 2,000 likes on Facebook and almost 600 followers on Twitter, LiveForTheDrop.com has quickly become the go-to music blog for many EDM lovers. Live For The Drop highlights current electronic releases, remixes, interviews, event reviews and photography. It was founded by Binghamton alum Michael “Mook” Maggi, who we were lucky enough to interview about his up-and-coming blog.
Release: Tell us about yourself.
Michael: Officially, I guess I’d say founder, editor and writer, but the site is more of team sport, and most of the guys are like amoebas: we’re flexible to do whatever’s needed.
R: When did you guys start Live For The Drop?
M: Our first post was in February of 2011, and the write up was LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.” I know what you’re thinking, and I’m not sure if I should be revealing such information for integrity purposes. Please don’t judge too harshly, we’ve come a long way from party rockin’.
R: Is everyone on the Live For The Drop team exclusively from Binghamton?
M: So far we’re all Bing boys, but we’re looking into adding to the Drop Team in the Big Apple and beyond.
R: What do you want people to get out of Live For The Drop?
M: Our main goal is to spread the gospel of good music. Whether people are just getting into house and dance or have been with it for 15 years, we want to be there to show them something new, to be their EDM bedrock. I want to convey the emotion through our words so zealously that they feel like we’re friends hanging out in person. And maybe get a smile or two out of the whole experience. That makes it all worthwhile.
R: What do you you hope to achieve from Live For The Drop?
M: That’s actually a great question. We want to use it as vehicle to get people connected with music, the “scene” and new events. For example, we’ve thrown after-parties at Flashbacks-Paradigm post-Avicii and post-Afrojack to give people another place to keep their nights going. While we have most of the Drop Team stationed in Bing, we want to make it the best time possible.
R: Where would you like to go with Live For The Drop? How would you like it to expand?
M: Some ways I’d like for us to expand would include covering more genres, different perspectives and narratives, and my biggest goal, new cities/venues. To be honest though, any time we get a compliment or Facebook ‘like’, it’s a huge level of excitement and achievement. The site is like our child, and we’re doing our best to raise it successfully. That being said, even what may seem as minor as a random “Hey man, I liked that song you wrote up,” means the absolute world to us.
R: How do you feel about other competing blogs such as That New Jam, ThisSongIsSick, Livingelectro etc.? Do you get inspiration from them? How do you think your site differs from other competing sites?
M: I love it. My favorite part about other blogs is running into them out on the front lines of a show and buddying up with them. The fact that they share the same level of passion and enthusiasm for the music we love is the greatest bond of all in my eyes. I usually have my daily “blog run”, where I scout my top 10 to see what I missed or catch a new perspectives outside my comfort zone, so in reality I rely on others to feed me new information all the time. I think what gives Live For The Drop a different edge is our “personal voice,” where we “write how we speak.” We prefer a different vocabulary over the classic descriptions like “banger” and “fire,” and instead let our personalities permeate through our words. Also, we don’t post every song that’s released, despite the artist’s name and reputation. Instead, we stick to the ones that we relate to and want others to emotionally connect to. More like a quality over quantity view.
R: What kinds of things can fans expect to see coming up for Live For The Drop?
M: We’re actually helping throw a Valentine’s Day foam party called “HeartBeat” with Midnite Society and EFX that features our own Julian Cassady, Notixx and KDrew at the Broome County Arena, which should be nothing short of awesome. I’d say expect more events, more pictures of interesting things at the events, more good tunes and more love. But most of all, expect more everything from a group of Binghamton bros who get more excited about new music than 5-year-olds on Christmas morning.