Ebb & Flow : Ben "Button" Hubbard Glover Profile

Ebb & Flow: Button

with LVSHES

"Never lose faith in yourself. Ever."

Check out my in-person interview with Ben, (there's a lightshow at the end that will blow your mind).

Ben Hubbard aka Button or Ben Dover Button is a Portland native. The 20 year old has been gloving for 4 years and 6 months (but who’s counting), and it's safe to say that gloving has become instinctual than a routine. Twiddling with his fingers he answers my questions with a little humor and a whole lot of heart (and shout outs, see if you got one!--I did not).

How much is gloving apart of your life? Practice daily? What's your gloving "routine"?

"If I'm not practicing intentionally I'm at least wiggling my fingers in some kind of fashion. My usual gloving routine is whenever I hear a song, to try and work on musicality and new moves if I think of them."

How did you start gloving? 

"I originally heard of gloving from one of my friends from school that rode my bus, my Sophomore year of High School, she leaned over to me and showed me "Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" and started to do a finger roll and seeing that made me want to look it up when I got home, so once I got home I searched "lightshow tutorial" and came across Sharky's tutorials, that's where it all started."

What is your gloving style?

"My gloving style would be considered very "techy". I have an unusual style that I like to call "triangle tech". I've been working a lot on tuts though."

How do you feel about dancing?

"I love dancing, whether you dance with your feet, hands, or your entire body, I love it. Dance is a perfect way to express yourself if you don't know how to do it with your words."

Who do you like gloving to or what kind of music?

"I really don't have a preference of what music I glove too, I can glove to anything. If I had to choose though, I would have to go with Melbourne bounce."

Do you like knowing the song before your glove or do you just go with it?  

"If I know the song the chances of me throwing a better show are higher but I also love gloving to songs I don't know because it tests my ability to hit beats that I don't know are coming or beats that I'm not used too. It forces me out of my comfort zone which helps me get better."

What is the best thing a human can do whose face you just melted?

"The best thing someone could ever do after getting their face melted by me is to get their face melted by the rest of my team keep that ball rollin’!"

Tell me more about all the shenanigans with Concept Creators!

"Hmmm, well with the Concept Creators story, it was pretty funny how I came about the opportunity to get on the top 8 bracket. I went to Seattle for Lucky2015 and while up there I was hanging out with the very well-known Megasloth (Shout out to that homie!) and after coming back to Portland we were talking via Facebook messaging and he told me to try out for CC, so I did not thinking I would get anywhere with the video and about a week later I got a message from a member of CC, Adam Dale aka R-Dub (another shout out to that guy!) and he straight up told me that he thought my tryout was fire and that some of the other teammates liked my video, I was absolutely star struck about how someone so well-known noticed me and actually liked my gloving. About another week later I get a message from Michael Bartness aka Papa Panda (I see you boy!) congratulating me on getting the top 8 of the CC competition, so I checked my notifications and he wasn't joking, and yeah, that was about it."

What tips do you have for other glovers or best you glove by.

"Some tips are to never give up, and never feel like you can never glove again or you can never come up with concepts or any negative thought, it takes time and effort. I've poured my blood sweat and tears (LITERALLY) into gloving. Never lose faith in yourself. Ever."

What has the creation of PLAN done for you and you for PLAN?

"The creation of PLAN has done the greatest thing in the world for me. It's given me friends. Before PLAN I didn't know ANYONE. I thought I was the only glover in the Portland based area that wanted to get Portland known, obviously that was not the case. Now I have people like YOU! (meaning all of PLAN) that I can call my friends. What I've hopefully done for PLAN is been a big face for it. I always want to make people happy and want more people to be involved and love the scene as much as I do. A couple months back I also did a Tech workshop and after that I've seen everyone that attended my workshops tech improve massively. You guys are more then my friends, you're my family, and I couldn't thank you enough for entering my life. I am forever grateful to all of you."

Anything else?

"A couple shout outs, Tj Bundy, I freaking love you man, you're my brotha from another motha, and being the captain of our team alongside you is such an amazing feeling. Alex Perrin, dude, I remember when I first met you and we both were not nearly as good as we are now. You've helped me improve so much and I'm going to miss the hell out of you. 

PLAN team bonding

Jared Geber, your improvement astonishes me, you're such an inspiration to me and everyone that see's you and your bendy fingers. 

Christopher Prewett, your style is something else man. You’re freaking nuts and you're such an inspiration to move my body more when gloving. Andrew Henderson, dude, I miss you so much, and your style is something else. Such a great person and such a talented glover. 

Kyle Smith, watching you improve blows my freaking mind. I remember you being just a guy that threw whips on whips on whips, and watching you expand into your style now makes my eyes want to pop out of my head. 

Jesse Chavez, you were my first friend that was into gloving as much as I am, thank you for being there for me when times were rough and also being such a great teacher, I wouldn't be even close to where I am now if it wasn't for you. 

Tito, you and Tj have created my dream for the last 4 years and 6 months. To create a community purely based on PLURR and art, whether that's painting or jewelry or drawing or dancing or DJing or gloving or hooping or poi or staffing, or just being someone that comes for the love of all the art. I seriously couldn't thank you enough. I am forever grateful to you and everyone that has kept it going. 

And to everyone else, you are such a huge inspiration to get better. Thank you for being my friends, thank you for being my family, and most of all, thank you for just being you. I love you all so much." 

I sincerely hope to see you at our next event on May 29th (deets announced soon kids) until then,

LVSHES

See what we're about. And join us.

Ebb & Flow : Alex 'Parrot' Perrin Glover Profile

"Gloving is not something you just do, it’s a way of life."

Perrin at the International Gloving Competition 2014

Alex Perrin, could go by many titles, for example: EmazingLights 1st Place Open Tournament Winner--but that’s a little silly and long. Or PLAN pilot but the insanely talented dancer, glover and human best responds to Parrot.

His name came from a founder of PLAN, TJ Bundy. “He named me Parrot because like a Parrot, I was able to take any move he showed me, immediately copy it, and find a way to make it "funnier".  Thus, Parrot was born,” recalled Perrin. The two have a habit of creating together, as they are both integral parts of PLAN’s founding and flight.

Perrin & Bundy

Back in January 2014 Tito Giovanni Del Valle, a founder of PLAN, held the community’s first event. At first people were resistant to the idea, not sure what to make of this gloving group. At their third event Perrin approached him with an interest in the community. The three of them, along with soon to be founder Jared Geber, sat down together bouncing ideas off each other. As the conversation grew so did the amount of people in it.

Tito Giovanni Del Valle & Perrin

With his future at his fingertips (see what I did there?) Perrin is onto his next adventure, in Louisville. Even though, like most of us, he’s still defining what he wants to do with his life his new nursing position is “about as awesome as it can be for him me right now! I’m beyond excited to start and do what I can to help the community there!”

Community is definitely an overarching theme here. As you’ll see in my questions I ask him what he’s done for PLAN and he responded with “that is for others to say”. As an other I will say that his impact on PLAN and those in it is undeniable. His energy is infectious and dedication inspiring. Perrin is an electric example of how one person really can make a difference.

Tonight is Parrot’s last PLAN for a while, so please take a moment to appreciate one of our own and all he’s done for PLAN, and indirectly for you. Plus glovers he’s got some tips!

Please give me a bit of your background career wise.
“I figured out very late in high school that I wanted to be a nurse.  I got to job shadow my mentor senior year of high school who is a RN in an ICU.  Getting to see how complex the job was, how active you stay during the day and seeing how big of a difference you can make in someone’s life… I was hooked on healthcare instantly.”

-Do you have family there? Friends?
“I don’t know a single soul.  Adventure time!”

-What is the gloving edm world like in Louisville, KY?
“I really have no idea.  I’m sure there will be plenty of EDM shows, but I’m not too worried.  I have the online PLAN community and other gloving communities around that I can be a part of.”

-How much is gloving apart of your life?
“Gloving has been a huge part of my life the last two years.  It has introduced me to new friends, helped me reach places I never thought I would go, allowed me to help run a small business and help me grow as a person.  Every day I’ve had something gloving-related come up and it’s been a fun ride!”

-Practice daily?
“There are times when I “practice” much more than others… however I never really stop gloving.  If I’m walking somewhere, I’m gloving.  If I’m taking a small break at work, I’m gloving.  If I’m just hanging out with friends, I’m still gloving.  Before competitions or when I want something really special, I get down in the practice lab… otherwise I stick true to the saying: “Gloving is not something you just do… it is a way of life.” “

-What's your gloving "routine"?
“Do whatever feels right.”

-How did you start gloving?
“I went to my first show in California (Swedish House Mafia!) with Jared Geber and Johnny Cash.  While we were there we saw someone giving light shows and I thought it was the coolest thing ever!  Jared had already been gloving for a couple months and I had a dancing background, so he taught me the basics of gloving and helped me progress for a long time before we found PLAN.”

Perrin & Geber & Kyle Smith (glover and photo bomber)

-Are you still going to compete?
“To be determined.  I love gloving and it will always be a part of my life to some extent… but I’m also at the point in my life where my career will come first.  I just got an amazing job and an outstanding opportunity to grow personally and professionally, that is my priority right now.”

-Tips for glovers or best practices or like principles you glove by.
“Cleanliness is godliness.  No one cares how many moves you have, they care if the moves you perform are high quality.“

-What will you miss most here ?
“No question, it will be the people.  I’m going to miss all of my friends and the fun we’ve had together.”

-What has the creation of PLAN done for you and you for PLAN?
“The creation of PLAN has done so much for me.  PLAN is where I found a lot of the people I call my friends today.  PLAN is where I grew as an artist to the point where I got to represent it on gloving’s biggest stage.  PLAN is the first “business” that I got to help manage! PLAN was a safe haven for me to express my individuality.  
PLAN helped me grow up a lot… I’m going to miss it a lot :’)

As far as what I've brought to PLAN... that's for others to say.  I've just enjoyed bringing whatever I can.”

-Parrot

I sincerely hope to see you tonight in your raviest of rainbows, until then,

LVSHES

See what we're about. And join us.

Showing Our DJs Lotsa.Love

Studio 20, an industrial setting with 20-foot ceilings and concrete floors, housed the monumental Portland’s PLAN Lotsa Love. February 21, 2015 will forever and always be the day that we said hello to our first venue, our second home. The sold out event held 190 people including staff. The venue had mixed reviews, some believing it gave PLAN events a new energy and a new vibe in its industrial abode. Others missed the intimacy the PLAN house created, the kitchen, the comfort and the familiarity.

While we lost some things, we gained so much more, one part that stood out to me was the completely reinvented stage and sound system for our DJs. Giving them literally a bigger platform to present their talents on in turn gave us a newly inspired space to do the same. “It is incredibly difficult to play for two hours straight,” commented Kai Limuaco a part of Tr33 House Collective. The duo was stoked for their unexpected two hour set, "The music that we found is fucking dope," confidently stated the other half of the DJ group, Pharis Beaton.

Ryan Bonnilla AKASketchyHandz, the first DJ of the night was excited for the venue, “I like to see everyone getting excited and getting involved in the music with their flow art or whatever. The venue has a fuller sound because we've got a bigger sound system going on."

PLAN flight attendants and pilots worked tirelessly through the weeks leading up to the event clearing out the photo studio to make room for upgraded sound equipment, laser lights and more. Social media was never without a PLAN thread to share the excitement of a decked out stage, more room for flow-artists and an interactive stage setup.

Playing together for the first time, frat brothers and friends, DJs Konducterr AKAJosue Perez and VitaminEee AKA Eddy Montes De Oca finished the night out. "It's a great opportunity for us to gain exposure, PLAN gives everyone an outlet,” stated Eddy. Josue, a resident DJ, loves the challenge that comes with DJing for flow-artists while Eddy likes to create stories with his music, "My style is high-energy that drops to bassy music. It's fun to do other genres so I can learn new things."

With a new venue comes new challenges but the flight attendants and pilots delivered on all accounts, decorating up until the last seconds happy to have early birds help clean and organize. The usual suspects were there; the PLAN banner spread its wings in its new home smiling on everyone dancing below it. The photo booth was frequented more than the smoking section (thank you to those who used it). And the DJs filled the studio with their stuff well into the night.

The house was packed by the time the two came on. “Our music is undefined by a genre. We always try to play something different, we stay true to our sound but it's always fresh stuff people haven't heard before," relayed Kai.

Staying true to who PLAN is while steadily growing, the venue is inarguably different than the house. Simply put, there’s more room for activities. Poi artists were able to trade more freely, gloving lined the walls, and us common folk—we danced oh we danced. It was more of an event than a get together, and it was time for everyone to shine.

Also playing a surprise 2 hour set, Loveable Foreplay had their one hour set lined up but after that they were “straight free styling” according to Jordan Payne of LF. “We are just going to play whatever we think is cool. You guys are all cool, if we mess up you're all understanding, but just be ready for the crowd to fucking head bang."

And head bang we did. If you want to mix at future events there are some requirements:

1.     You have to have been to at least one PLAN.E (so you know what were all about).

2.     You have to have something for us to preview, preferably a soundcloud mix.

3.     You must provide your own board and your own computer.

4.     Talk to Ryan SketchyHandz Bonilla.

We hope to hear your stuff soon! Next up for PLAN.E is Rave the Rainbow (named by yours truly), happening on March 26^th (that’s a Thursday folks). Boarding passes and deets are available here.

I sincerely hope to see you there in your raviest of rainbows, until then,

Kris AKA Sunflower