Many consider the first rave happenings to have taken place during Ken Kesey’s notorious “Kool Aid” Acid Tests held in California during the winter of 1966. Another core influence would be England’s “Second Summer of Love” and the explosion of acid house in the late-eighties. Or maybe it really was Deadmau5 that started it all…
 
Early raves were punk rock. Outcast to the fringes of society, nights tended to be transcendental and unpredictable. There were no meme totem poles, weed leaf pasties, or Kandi. Corporate interests had not yet tapped this corner of the underground.
 

 
The primary way to reach people was through vibrant (yet discreet) rave fliers. You’ve probably heard folklore of xeroxed maps and phone numbers that played back the address of a warehouse or generator in the middle of nowhere. It was viral guerilla marketing prior to the smartphone era. Fuck your Facebook boosts and admat.
 
I am so lucky to have stumbled across the book - Searching for the Perfect Beat: Flyer Designs of the American Rave Scene - at my local library. It depicts a decade’s worth of rave fliers from across the United States, so you can get a sense of just how psychedelic things truly were. Peace Love Unity Respect.
 
Lose yourself (and find yourself) at the virtual flier rave, below:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Cornish Acid: Aphex Twin MTV special from 1996
The Rave Years Pt 1: ‘A Trip Round Acid House’ 1988
Everything must glow: ‘Bad Rave Flyers’