UPDATE: Steve Aoki has responded to the kerfuffle over his diva demands, defending that many of the items on the rider are for his crew. The rest? “Two bottles of Cristal is definitely a ballin’ move,” he jested. “Do I need it? No, but if I can get it…sweet!” You can read the full thing on his blog.
As all that wasteful cake-throwing and champagne-spraying would suggest, Steve Aoki is a man prone to excess. But if you’ve ever wondered just how extravagant the Dim Mak boss’ whims are, here you go: a ridiculous and rather hilarious rider for the LA personality has surfaced online detailing Aoki’s every on-tour demand, right down to the last pair of socks (crew style, please).
Harderbloggerfaster has posted the rider from an anonymous source, which spans technical, prop and hospitality requirements any promoter wishing to play host to Aoki must fulfil. There’s plenty of reasonable requests – towels, organic fruit and nearby hotel rooms all rating a mention. But then there’s some more eyebrow-raising requests: 3 large black v-neck t-shirts (“American Apparel or H&M is acceptable”), 6 pairs of men’s underwear (briefs, not boxers) and a promoter paid-for meal from a restaurant serving “organic based serving local foods, grass fed meat, non-refined sugars, non-bleached flours, etc”. Oh, and one 1/8 of local weed.
Then there’s everything essential for a standard Steve Aoki show. Required is one inflatable boat or dingie suitable for 2-3 people, confetti sprayers, two medium sized cakes reading “DIM MAK” – which, mercifully for the audience member whose face it’ll be landing in specifies the need a “soft cake, soft icing, nothing dense or bundt” – and three bottles of champagne (“no screw off top, must have a cork”).
Naturally, there’s plenty of other booze included on the rider: two bottles of premium vodka (Grey Goose or Belvedere), two bottles of Cristal or Dom Perignon (hopefully that’s for drinking and not spraying) for backstage and another two for the hotel room, as well as one bottle of high-end red wine all making the list. You can check out the full rider below – keep in mind, all this is for just one night.
