Corey Daniel Felsman

Updated 1 week ago

Alice in Wonderland Wallpaper

September 15, 1990 – January 4, 2023

Corey was a popular and beloved event organizer and DJ in NYC throughout the 2010s. This is his story.

Update June 7, 2023: A Tribute from Scotty Dread

Corey Lyrics

Update March 15, 2023: A Tribute from North Carolina

This track, The Hatters by Minions, is in dedication to our dear friend Corey Felsman aka “The Madhatter.”
I was asked to write a few words about Corey to honor his memory. This is a difficult task for me, because if you haven’t met him or spent time with him, you just wouldn’t get it.
Corey was a vibrant walking being of mischief and playfulness. He brought color to any room he entered both internally and externally. See… whenever I saw Corey, I felt like there was a some kind of celebration to life. (It didn’t matter if that was actually happening)
Of course, if not hundreds, but thousands of us got to see this full demonstration come to life when he got on stage. He was a resemblance of child-like energy. To me, he represents the part of me that wants to stay in Neverland (or Wonderland).
He turned dark, stiff industrial rooms into shining neon playhouses, both literally and metaphorically. No matter how awkward a vibe was in any given situation, the second he entered the setting, he always made the tension mist away just from saying or simply being his silly self.
In all my times around Corey, we would never run out of things to talk about and it was difficult to make the conversations uninteresting.
Direct link:
https://beatspace-touchsamadhi.bandcamp.com/album/the-hatters

Background

Corey Daniel Felsman grew up in Jamaica, Queens. A bright kid, he studied accounting in 2012.

Corey 17 Enhanced Color Restored

Futterwacken

At some point in the early 2010s, Corey met Rebecca, another young Jewish artist. They hit it off, and married. She took his last name:

Rebecca Alice D. Felsman

Rebecca Alice D. Felsman

d. September 8, 2015 Beloved organizer of the Futterwacken events. See also Corey Felsman's memorialfor a more full story (when it publishes).Rebecca's Facebook Rebecca's GoFundMe with Charly Psydrak (also RIP) Back to Memorial ...

Inspired by psytrance music events they had attended, they made a few of their own, called Futterwacken, inspired by Alice in Wonderland:

Corey took the persona of The Mad Hatter, and she Alice D. They put their hearts and soul into their events. Old timers said it was a return to the good old days, when New York was a more affordable and magical place:

Corey Rebecca

Rebecca had a gigantic heart, but it was sadly weak from childhood trauma. She pushed herself too far, and passed away in 2015.

Corey in his later years

Corey was devastated by Rebecca’s passing.
Eventually, though, after a few years, he became his old self again, always up to happy mischief. He went to Israel. When he got back to NYC, he started DJing again (at the urging of Luis Campos). Sadly, COVID finished what the dwindling scene caused by macroeconomic real estate factors endemic to late 2010s NYC started. It was hard to make art with all the high rents.

Corey 2

Around this time, I developed an online friendship with him and we messaged frequently. Our personalities, interests, and crazy enthusiasms were very similar in a couple of ways. I always said we would be trouble! if we ever hung out. Probably good that we didn’t. And I never brought up Rebecca to him, or asked him for information when I started writing memorials for those we had lost, because people said that he never really got over her.

In 2022 we both developed an interest in AI art. His channel is linked below.

Mad Hatter

After COVID, there were whisperings of new parties. Daytime, out in the woods, people brought their kids. Corey played in the Pine Barrens in summer, 2022:

Coorey DJ’d his final gig in late December, 2022. He was super excited. He looked good! And positive! Corey is BACK!!

Corey Enhanced Color Restored
Corey Header Fixed New


This was his swan song.
Corey left us right after New Year’s.
Somewhere, up in Heaven, Corey and Rebecca are pleading with God to let their sound system go one more hour.

“He was our spirit animal. All of us, 100%. Hard to imagine going on without him.”

Links

Corey’s Funeral Listing
Corey’s Facebook
Corey’s Art on Deep Dream
Corey’s Youtube Channel
Corey’s Bandcamp
Corey’s Soundcloud
Futterwacken’s Facebook
Futterwacken on Bandcamp
Tribute track to Corey

Charley Corey Rebecca Enhanced Color Restored

https://tranceam.org/rebecca-alice-d-felsman/
https://tranceam.org/charly-psydrack/

Napster 2023 40x40 Indigo Ico Bigger

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Robin WIlliams In Memoriam
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