Got a Secret
If you’ve been to a Learning Secrets event, chances are you went home covered in your own (and possibly someone else’s) sweat after a long night of shakin’ what yo’ momma gave you. If you haven’t been to a Learning Secrets event yet, you’re really missing out.
What started in 2003 as a New Jersey-based music festival has grown into a full-fledged event and PR boutique that not only hosts wicked fun DJ nights at some of Austin’s hippest joints, but also promotes local bands nationally on big media outlets like NPR and Pitchfork. Learning Secrets, in its current incarnation, is all about helping expose Austin bands and culture to the rest of the nation, but as cofounder Ian Orth says, “it’s always been about creating a community.”
Orth and his cofounder Jeramy Neugent met as skateboarding pals in Austin’s late 90s punk scene. Orth would often watch Neugent’s band, Fourth Grade Nothing, play, and the two became friends while bonding over music. They stayed in touch during college, with Orth attending Rutgers University and Neugent studying at San Diego State. Learning Secrets began one semester while Orth was the Director of Promotions for his college’s radio station and had the lucky task of spending university money on music programming.
“I was given a big chunk of money, and instead of creating hokey promotional materials, I booked all these bands from the tri-state area,” Orth says. “The last semester I was there I threw a big festival with all these local bands that hadn’t been exposed to too many college students. The goal was really just to expose people to new music without any scrutiny. Because the goal of the festival was to turn people onto new music—like learning secrets—the name was born.”
While Orth was on the East Coast, Neugent was establishing himself in the music industry in California after a stint playing on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. During the winter of 2004, while on a visit to Austin, the friends decided to throw a party, and Bart Butler (then manager of the now-defunct Whiskey Bar) let the duo DJ on a slow night. After that successful party, Butler asked Orth to host one night a week, eventually giving him the popular Thursday night slot.
“That’s how Learning Secrets in Austin was born,” Orth explains. “We had a plan to create an actual environment geared towards music—not just some- thing that played on a night to get cheap drinks. We played music people may have heard but in a different context.”
When Neugent moved back to Austin, the two expanded their events and DJ brand to include PR services, such as graphic design, tour publicity, album promotions, and more for popular local bands Grupo Fantasma and Ume, among others. Once their own DJ nights got big, they decided to fly in performers from around the world.
“We experimented with promoting other DJs,” Orth explains. “The kids in Austin were hungry for something new and different.”
The DJ nights blew up and expanded into full-blown dance parties, and Learning Secrets became well-known for hosting fun events—so much that when bigger bands roll through town for various festivals, they sometimes take part in smaller Learning Secrets parties. Such was the case during 2009’s Austin City Limits festival, when Parisian band Phoenix hosted an afterparty that included a crowd of fans and friends alike.
“We want to create intimate events that allow the guest and fans to interact for a very special night,” Orth says.
As for their favorite aspects of Learning Secrets’ empire, Neugent says: “Bringing in national and international DJs that people might not know about allows us to expose Austin to new music.” Orth concurs, “I love being around music every day, working with my best friend, turning people onto new music and turning myself onto new music— all in the name of turning Austin into a better place.”
You can check out Learning Secret DJ nights Fridays at Red Fez; Orth explains their weekly party as a “mixed night, where everybody can come, drop all their inhibitions, and just enjoy good music and a good night out.” They also host Kool Breeze nights at Lanai and occasionally produce larger events. Additionally, Learning Secrets will be showcasing London DJ Erol Alkman on April 15th.
When asked about upcoming events for South by Southwest, the friends are playing mum. “We have some SXSW events in the works,” Orth shrugs. Neugent chimes in with a laugh: “They’re secrets!”
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