Here's something you might be interested in.
On Saturday, my buddies Michael Mannino and Arian Banki threw a party at a private residence near Vista in celebration of a dear friend who left us in June.
Preston Grover was an absolute inspiration to friends in his electronic music community and to me personally. His invariably optimistic Facebook updates would often set the tone for my day, tipping my outlook towards gratitude and expansiveness even on the most unsavory of mornings.
Preferring outfits of all white, encouraging friends at every opportunity, and generally radiating warmth and vibrancy, Preston was dedicated to bringing out the best in the people around him, and in himself.
In the little over a year which I knew Preston, I watched him grow and actualize his dreams with a passion I'd never seen before or since. He saw where he wanted to be musically, personally, and inter-personally, and he went for it, with gusto!
We shared many a poignant moment and Preston, often goofy, usually rambunctious, and always good-hearted, came to feel like a younger brother to me.
Shortly after Preston passed, he was scheduled to DJ a show with Eskmo, an artist who had greatly influenced his direction as an electronic musician.
Michael Mannino, Preston's roommate and buddy since high school in Poway, played his set in his place - a symbolic gesture that I only began to understand the full weight of at Inner Vibration on Saturday.
Having left Michael with a legacy of transformative friendship and, among other things, 25 gigabytes of music, Preston had passed on to his close friend a brightly burning torch.
Standing in a circle with maybe 30 others at Inner Vibration's opening ceremony, it became very apparent that Michael has found his calling, like Preston had, in guiding friends to actualize their potential.
My heart shuddered with joy and sorrow as Michael spoke softly into a microphone, setting the tone for the event - a run-up to the events that he will be hosting with a self-actualization foundation he is establishing called Realeyes.
The name and logo were, of course, Preston's invention.
Inner Vibration unfolded into a long and powerful day of yoga, playshops, and ecstatic dance parties facilitated by Michael, Alex Ortiz, Osal8, Nikroma Aragon, Tropo, and Kaminanda.
Michael Mannino Feat. Sarah Cranberry @ Inner Vibration 2011 by Mike-Mannino
"I was really inspired by Preston’s influence on me as a person," Michael told me a few days prior to the event, "our relationship as friends and how he really believed in me and what I was doing with music - seeing my direction with school and how I wasn’t really fully submitting myself to music. That inspiration has really led me to love myself and open up, and open up others as well. He helped me realize and recognize my potential. He’s done that for so many people, I feel that I want to put something together that recognizes that. To remind people how wonderful they are. That’s the intention - to bring your vibration up and recognize your true potential and take life by the horns."
I have a lot more to say in an upcoming Crasher about this event and the undying influence of our beautiful friend, but for now, check out these videos to get a feel for what Preston, Michael, and Arian's vision of Realeyes is all about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmYD6lK783w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtKpm7GqDN8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bUqGik1WzU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URElgRQEwE4
On Saturday, my buddies Michael Mannino and Arian Banki threw a party at a private residence near Vista in celebration of a dear friend who left us in June.
Preston Grover was an absolute inspiration to friends in his electronic music community and to me personally. His invariably optimistic Facebook updates would often set the tone for my day, tipping my outlook towards gratitude and expansiveness even on the most unsavory of mornings.
Preferring outfits of all white, encouraging friends at every opportunity, and generally radiating warmth and vibrancy, Preston was dedicated to bringing out the best in the people around him, and in himself.
In the little over a year which I knew Preston, I watched him grow and actualize his dreams with a passion I'd never seen before or since. He saw where he wanted to be musically, personally, and inter-personally, and he went for it, with gusto!
We shared many a poignant moment and Preston, often goofy, usually rambunctious, and always good-hearted, came to feel like a younger brother to me.
Shortly after Preston passed, he was scheduled to DJ a show with Eskmo, an artist who had greatly influenced his direction as an electronic musician.
Michael Mannino, Preston's roommate and buddy since high school in Poway, played his set in his place - a symbolic gesture that I only began to understand the full weight of at Inner Vibration on Saturday.
Having left Michael with a legacy of transformative friendship and, among other things, 25 gigabytes of music, Preston had passed on to his close friend a brightly burning torch.
Standing in a circle with maybe 30 others at Inner Vibration's opening ceremony, it became very apparent that Michael has found his calling, like Preston had, in guiding friends to actualize their potential.
My heart shuddered with joy and sorrow as Michael spoke softly into a microphone, setting the tone for the event - a run-up to the events that he will be hosting with a self-actualization foundation he is establishing called Realeyes.
The name and logo were, of course, Preston's invention.
Inner Vibration unfolded into a long and powerful day of yoga, playshops, and ecstatic dance parties facilitated by Michael, Alex Ortiz, Osal8, Nikroma Aragon, Tropo, and Kaminanda.
Michael Mannino Feat. Sarah Cranberry @ Inner Vibration 2011 by Mike-Mannino
"I was really inspired by Preston’s influence on me as a person," Michael told me a few days prior to the event, "our relationship as friends and how he really believed in me and what I was doing with music - seeing my direction with school and how I wasn’t really fully submitting myself to music. That inspiration has really led me to love myself and open up, and open up others as well. He helped me realize and recognize my potential. He’s done that for so many people, I feel that I want to put something together that recognizes that. To remind people how wonderful they are. That’s the intention - to bring your vibration up and recognize your true potential and take life by the horns."
I have a lot more to say in an upcoming Crasher about this event and the undying influence of our beautiful friend, but for now, check out these videos to get a feel for what Preston, Michael, and Arian's vision of Realeyes is all about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmYD6lK783w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtKpm7GqDN8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bUqGik1WzU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URElgRQEwE4