Tag: ultra host

June 10, 2014

What NOT To Do at the DMZ

The Ultra Family is headed back to Seoul, Korea this week for Ultra Korea, and what better way to celebrate than to reminisce about all the craziness that went down last year!

The festival was amazing (as always): Avicii, Kaskade, Tiesto, Krewella, Adventure Club, among many others graced the stage.

After the festival wrapped, we all went to Octagon nightclub to party some more. Sense a theme with these Ultra festivals?

I was one of the first ones to leave the club- at 6:30am!- and immediately went to the hotel to jump on a tour to the DMZ, or De-Militarized Zone of Korea. This is the place where North and South Korean soldiers are in a stand-off, separating the two countries. With just a quick nap on the bus ride, you can probably guess that I was probably not in the best shape… and I made a few mistakes.

What NOT To Do at the DMZ is our most viewed video to date on How 2 Travelers, and not surprisingly, our most controversial. While breaking rules that can harm people is extremely irresponsible (and NONE of that was done in this video), I think people are attracted to this piece because it’s relatable. We’re not perfect! And we don’t travel perfectly! We have all been there, trying to capture a photo at a museum or making a Queen’s Guard laugh when we are told to do the opposite. This is how people travel- sometimes following the pack, sometimes going off the beaten path. And that’s the goal of our travel series, to make the travel experience as real as possible so that even if you have never been to the specific place, you can relate to the experience.

So, take this video as an entertainment piece. And be the wiser for when you head off to the DMZ.

March 31, 2014

Andrea Brings Dance Music Style to Markkit

Fashion and Music go hand in hand, and the awesome people at Markkit agree, which is why we are bringing you a new collection for all fans of dance music: The EDM Collection by Andrea Feczko.

As the host of Ultra Music Festivals around the world, I have sometimes an impossible task of finding clothes that represent the high energy of these Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festivals that also look great on camera. Meaning, they should be form fitting, brightly colored, sexy, and classy all at the same time. Oh, and they should try to represent the exotic locations we are in- whether it’s boho-chic Ibiza, super sexy Miami, or Far East Seoul, Korea.

When people think of EDM festivals, they think of tutus, pacifiers, and panda hats. I wanted to show that dance music culture and its fashion has come along way from the raves of the 90’s.

When Markkit approached me to do this collection, I was immediately on board… with A LOT of ideas. In hindsight- probably too many for an initial meeting.

The Markkit team and I went to downtown Los Angeles to hand pick the items I’d wear for Ultra 16 in Miami, Florida. It was kind of like living in fantasy girl world down there. The Fashion District is this little section behind the storefront shops where only retailers are allowed to purchase items. Translation: It’s not open to the public, making the experience that much cooler. There are at least 50 shops to choose from with every style, cut, and color pattern you could possibly want. I fell in love with these dresses; the color scheme reminded me of the beautiful Miami beaches and the dresses were high-end to represent the special Ultra brand: it’s the premiere dance music festival, and Miami is the biggest festival of them all.

Of course, these are great for a girl’s night out to dance to your favorite DJ – local or Top 100!

Needless to say- I’m so excited about this new venture!!

Check out the styles:

September 15, 2012

How to Become a MTV VJ

Ever since middle school, I dreamed of becoming a MTV VJ. I wanted to have two nails painted black like Carson Daly and talk to my favorite music artists in the middle of Times Square. Well, dreams do come true, and sometimes in better ways than you can dream. Here I am in Buenos Aires, Argentina as the brand new VJ for MTV Essentials!!

How does one become a MTV VJ? The short answer is you send in an incredible audition tape, know your sh*t when it comes to music (yes, they still care), and are able to talk to the black hole that is a camera as if it’s your friend. Sounds easy. If only it were.

My MTV dreams began as a painfully normal teenager in Michigan. Every day after school I would race home to catch TRL at 3:30pm and enjoy the 30 seconds of the music video I had voted for earlier in the day. It was awesome, and I am still nostalgic toward that time and that show.

I went to NYC for the BIG New Year’s celebration of 1999 to 2000. Hey, if Y2K was going to happen I might as well be in a sea of thousands of people partying. Sober. I was 14… and with my parents. Ok, it sounds better on paper. While there, I was a “guest” on MTV, cast perfectly as a fan professing their love of 98 Degrees (and their boxing shorts, if I recall correctly) for “The Hardest Thing” music video. The bragging rights of being on MTV back in Michigan were pretty awesome. Especially for someone as awkward as me.

Then, I went to NYU where I studied journalism. There I kept my “shameful” dream in the dark as I was surrounded by serious journalists who wanted to change the world, go into wars, and have bullets fly by their heads. I’m not joking. A girl literally said her dream was to have bullets whizzing by her brain on the front lines of a war. I knew I was in trouble.

Fast forward after graduation, and I got my dream audition for MTV! I had to write and memorize three openings and do an album review in under a minute. And guess what- they loved me! I nailed it! I was so excited. At 21 I was about to book my dream job! And yes, while the PA that worked the camera loved me, her boss, the casting director who discovered Damien Fahey, did not. Ah, the bitter taste of rejection. Kind of like raw cranberry juice.

I meandered my way onto the MTV airwaves a few more times. Providing fan commentary. Or as an audience member. Or as a lip-synching girl in the MTV2 Promo commercials. Anything to get into that 1515 Broadway address.

But after too many years of the NYC hard knock life and going nowhere as a host-but-really-full-time-cocktail-waitress, I decided to move to LA. Then, this funny thing happened in March 2012. Charly Friedrichs, aka Final Kid, came across my demo reel online… from Amsterdam. Two weeks later, I was flying out to ULTRA in Miami for my first music festival, first live stream and first ULTRA. I fell in love. I had always loved dance music after living in Florence and London. And I love traveling the world. It was/is the perfect job.

So, I had just come back from UMF Korea and put together an audition video for MTV. They wanted someone who was “cool”, knew her music, and would be able to come to Buenos Aires to shoot for a month. While it felt like any other submission tape, I guess all the elements came together: my year in the EDM scene gave me the music credibility I needed and my confidence was on a high from just coming off a hugely successful livestream.

And now, here I am, in Buenos Aires at MTV Argentina. Hard Work. Confidence. And above all, Persistence. Dreams comes true.