Photo by Jess Reiche

Brother Brooks opened for Topher Jones on Tuesday night. His set set the stage for Topher Jones to rock the house. We sat down with him a few days later and talked to him about his set, Aesias Finale and TekTak Music.

TF: You were brought on pretty late in the game. Was it difficult to have so little time to prepare?

I didn’t really have time to learn the in ands outs really. I just sort of had to put together a set that I knew was going to make the house to crazy before Topher Jones got on. They had told me there would a lot of indie music fans and Birmingham had sort of these indie nights and electro just sort of goes well with that. I practiced for like 2-3 hours each day. I just had it in my mind that it would be flawless; I didn’t want to let anyone down. I am a firm believer that you set yourself up for success so that’s what I did.

Photo by Dave Richards

Alex Bedwell headlined on Wednesday night playing progressive house. It was an amazing set. We were able to sit down with him a few days later to chat about his set, his music and his label, Pastdeux Music.

TF: So how was headlining this year?

Time one. 45 minutes compared to 2 hours. Also when you are animated as I am, that tends to wear you down. I love to dance, jump up and down and yell. My music selection was very different. I thought I brought enough music but 2 hours ate up more than I thought. I will greatly diversify my music when I play out from now on. It was a lesson to have to play what I was going to play after the last DJ.

Photo by Brother Brooks

Dave Richards had the pleasure of opening up for Stryke on Thursday. We had some technical issue that night, but it didn’t stop Dave from dropping a great combination of tech house, tribal and electro. We sat down with Dave shortly after to discuss his set and his music.

TF: What were your expectations for your performance this year?

Honestly, I had a lot of expectations prior to the festival. I wanted to do a set that progressed from tribal and electro into more tech house where I could just hand things off smoothly to Stryke and let him do his thing. Once I got to the fest and got into “stage manager” mode, I didn’t have time to think about what I was going to do or anything. Fortunately, I had a few days to watch the crowd to see if they had changed from last year and to focus on my set. In the end, I played what I felt like playing which turned out to be more electro than anything. Once again, I was shocked to see how fast and hour and a half passes.

Photo by Cindy Tucker

Matthew Hyatt came down from Michigan to play on Tuesday night. His mix of techno and tech house kept the house going his entire set. We managed to sit down with him the next week to talk with him about his first Cornerstone experience, his music and Giantslayers.

TF: This was your first time playing at Cornerstone. How was it?

I thought it went really well. It was cool, different not being around a bunch of scenester kids. People were there who really enjoyed the music and didn’t have any preconceived ideas about the music. I just had a great time.

Photo by Dave Richards

Greg ‘Stryke’ Chin came out on Thursday to headline the night and threw down an incredible minimal/techno set. He had to run right after his set, but I was able to sit down with him the next week and chat about his set, his gear and his music.

TF: Your set on Thursday was awesome. What were your expectations coming back to Cornerstone this year?

Thanks much, Alex.  It was a pleasure to be back, for my 3rd year in a row.  As far as expectations, I only expected a young, friendly crowd.  They, of course, delivered in spades.  The kids were just so happy to be there and dancing and having a good time with their friends.

Photo by Jess Reiche

TF: What were some of you expectations for Cornerstone?

It would be sort of unfair to have expectations. I was just hoping that we would have some kids that would come and enjoy themselves and it turns out that we had a fun crowd.

Photo by Dave Richards.

TF: What were your expectations for Cornerstone this year?

I was kind of hoping we could at least keep up the progress from the year before. I was really hoping for about 500 per night which would have made me very happy.

Photo by Cindy Tucker

TF: So how was it to be the first dj to play at Afterhours 2008?

I was a little nervous but excited too. It was great that I could play whatever I wanted in opening the night. It was great to set the pace and tone of the night.

Photo by Jess Reiche

TF: You weren't booked to play at Afterhours. How did you manage to get to play this year?

It is actually a pretty long story. But basically I was planning on coming and just playing for the Gospel for Asia stage. So I had my gear and everything and was sort of prepared to play. I was planning on playing a hard hitting electro set. When Dave Richards and the Birmingham crew picked me up from the airport in Peoria, I asked them how Justin was doing and if they had figured out who was going to play. That’s when they told me that they wanted me to open for Alex Bedwell. I was pretty amazed. It was bittersweet though, since the only reason I was able to play was because Justin had emergency surgery. I was excited to play, but saddened because of how it happened.

Cornerstone in Bushnell Ill. Afterhours. Tastyfresh.com Generator Statge. It is almost that time again boys and girls. Cornerstone is getting closer and closer and I am getting more and more excited. I was unable to attend last year since I had just returned from the UK, but I heard so many good stories I resolved to go in the next few years. Hopefully I will be able to sort things out and make it out there. I am so excited. This month we have an update on Afterhours, both good and bad. You will have to read to find out…