We were lucky to catch up with Eric Trevisanut recently and have shared our conversation below.

Eric, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

In 2021, we were just a couple of buddies who bonded over a passion for house music. With nowhere to play but a cramped 1 bedroom apartment in downtown Vancouver, we craved a way to share this passion with the people around us.

We had the idea to rent a space and throw a party. Who would be there? We didn’t know, and it may not have really mattered at the time. We just needed to play our music; so play we did, In the side room of a little boutique shop. And we LOVED IT! That was the night that WHYNOT was born.

So we took it outside. We combed parks, beaches, random google maps pins that we placed in search for a place to express our love for this music. And that is when we found the Vancouver waterfront pier.

We set up on the pier, and we played for the local community. We experienced the joy of seeing a straight-faced person with their arms crossed begin to tap their foot. Before long they were nodding their head, then swaying back and forth, and then dancing and smiling as they forgot for just a little while that the minutia of their day-to-day meant so little compared to the joy of that moment.

We watched as elderly couples grasped hands and danced together to the four to the floor beat. We watched as young children jumped and spun with glee to the sound. And we watched as people who may never have exchanged more than a quick glance made real connections with each other.

As time went on and life started to come back to world after Covid, we embraced the beautiful community that surrounds this music that we love. We have made lasting friendships through it, we have had life-changing experiences through it, and we continue to share in this love that we have for it

Our Mission at WHYNOT is:

– To provide a space for friends, families and peers to share their love for music, dancing, and community

– To foster a culture of acceptance, non judgement and inclusivity at every event

– To prioritize good times with great people over profitability or clout

Why do we still find the same joy when we’ve heard this beat a million times? Why do our spirits stay young as we get older? Why do we dance until our legs burn? Why do we continue to do this?

Well, to all of this we say, Why Not? 😉

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

WHYNOT is a partnership between PDX-based DJs James Gonzalez, Chris Lilley, and Eric Trevisanut. Each of us has our own story of how we were introduced to electronic dance music, but what brought us together is the community that surrounds it. We recognized that Portland is more than willing to rally around local talent, but local events need to be made convenient and approachable.
WHYNOT prioritizes putting on accessible events without sacrificing production value. We believe in promoting local artists, giving them a platform to share their passion with their community. We host various events throughout the year, from ticketed shows at local venues to free pop-ups throughout the Portland-metro area. We are particularly excited for our upcoming annual Campout, which is taking place at the end of August.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

The story that immediately jumped out at me when I read this prompt took place only months ago, actually! In May of 2024, WHYNOT put on our first ticketed event of the year. We had been slowly growing the brand with various free events, such as waterfront pop-ups and house parties, but this event was much higher stakes. This event would require a sizable down payment in order to pull off, and combined with numerous other expenses (photography, decorations, etc.) the pressure had really mounted. A lot of work was put into the marketing of this event, but despite our excitement, our ticket sales did not seem to reflect the hard work that we had put in…that is, until two days before the event. We learned a valuable lesson with our Carnaval event – that patience is absolutely key when it comes to event planning. Our sales doubled three days before the event, doubled again the next day, and on the day of the event, they had almost quadrupled! It was an incredible feeling to have so many friends from the community come together to volunteer with setup and tear-down, which was done in record time! The event went off without a hitch, and the venue Opaline trusted our brand enough to invite us back again. Equipped with the lessons learned, our Garden Grooves event at Opaline was a hit as well!

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Before WHYNOT ever started and we were just a group of friends, we knew what we were starving for in the local dance scene. I believe that I echo many others when I say this: Portland needs brands that it can trust. Let’s be frank – it is not incredibly difficult to put together a group of people to play music. What can be difficult, however, is nurturing the relationships that are built during the process. This is something that I believe makes WHYNOT special. We truly care about this community, as we are part of it.
Cultivating these relationships involves being responsive on social media, utilizing the goods, services, and skills of individuals in the community, putting on free and family-friendly events, and supporting other talented DJs and Collectives in Portland.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/whynotpdx
• Instagram: @whynotpdx_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WHYNOT.MusicAndEvents?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: @WHYNOTPDX
• Soundcloud: WHYNOT-PDX

Image Credits

Lordscreation, Everardo.GF