Marshall Jefferson!

[Chris Wood]

Tiesto I've never sat down and actually listened to. It was quite amusing we he and those Dutch DJs 1st burst onto the scene as unknowns, joking about stuffing DJ mags' ballet box and becoming top 10 DJs, but now those guys are getting 100k a gig because they're top 10 DJs, and I don't think anyones laughing anymore.

don't listen to his new stuff - its just pop music...

a LONG while ago i actually bought this:

http://www.discogs.com/DJ-Ti%C3%ABst.../release/87611

and i have to admit its actually pretty good

['Magic' Juan]

Can't remember who said it on here but......

"There is no $$$ in keeping it deep; because keeping it underground is keeping it broke"!!!!

That was me ... lol.

[Marshall Jefferson]

Marshall, we've all read a lot about the excesses of the 80's, I think I even remember reading when Ten City hit the big time you were going to McDonald's drive-through in limousines etc.

Without getting too personal/detailed, I would like to know if you made any sensible investments in the 80's or if you partied your cash away, living for today?

A few people could learn from how you've presented yourself to the DHP in a personable and professional manner (but if you ever feel the need to lambaste the house community, feel free, it's always good for the jokes.)

Fantastic thread! Looking forward to your new music.

I didn't make any sensible investments but I didn't party my money away either. I don't really go to clubs on my own time because I'm in them almost every weekend performing. I don't get stoned, don't drink, don't smoke, don't pay for hookers, but I do spend a lot.

[Marshall Jefferson]

Question: Marshall do you DJ or otherwise perform your songs out?

In the past 18 years I've had probably less than 50 weekends off. I DJ in different country every weekend. The past 10 days I've had 6 gigs but I usually try to keep it at one gig per weekend since the year 2000. I've don't play in Chicago much because it's just not worth the hassle. I do see Chicago DJs like Terry Hunter, K'Alexi, Jesse Saunders, Frankie Knuckles and Farley in other countries though.

I was playing a lot early 80's before I got records out, but nothing approaching the fame of some of the bigger Chicago DJs

[wiz247]

Hey Marshall,
Many thanks for sharing such indepth knowledge and experience in making this such an awesome thread.
Could you please tell us the story behind how you and Kym Mazelle go to collaborate to make the stompers of "I'm Your Lover", "Taste My Love" and "Useless"?

[Marshall Jefferson]

Hey Marshall,
Many thanks for sharing such indepth knowledge and experience in making this such an awesome thread.
Could you please tell us the story behind how you and Kym Mazelle go to collaborate to make the stompers of "I'm Your Lover", "Taste My Love" and "Useless"?

I was at a Byron Stingilt performance at Riviera I think. Kym was there with another girl named Cynthia Tolliver. Cynthia was a bit drunk and kept bragging about how good she could sing. Kym added that she could sing a bit too, very quietly. Anyway, Cynthia looked great so I booked a session for "Taste My Love" the next day. Kym sang all the background parts all the way through perfectly, which was a pleasant surprise.

Cynthia then got on the lead and fucked up every way imaginable, from diction to pitch to even timing, she just didn't get it. I suggested she take song home and learn it, but as soon as she left I put Kym in the vocal booth and she knocked it out with no trouble.

[JR JAM]

I was at a Byron Stingilt performance at Riviera I think. Kym was there with another girl named Cynthia Tolliver. Cynthia was a bit drunk and kept bragging about how good she could sing. Kym added that she could sing a bit too, very quietly. Anyway, Cynthia looked great so I booked a session for "Taste My Love" the next day. Kym sang all the background parts all the way through perfectly, which was a pleasant surprise.

Cynthia then got on the lead and fucked up every way imaginable, from diction to pitch to even timing, she just didn't get it. I suggested she take song home and learn it, but as soon as she left I put Kym in the vocal booth and she knocked it out with no trouble.

Man I'm so glad you let Kym sing it because she made that song!

[RAS]

Man I'm so glad you let Kym sing it because she made that song!

Taste My Love is my joint too!

[Bongo Rock]

Bongo, I'm on my iPhone and that image isn't showing, can you name the record?

Geena Bess - I Don't Wanna Be Alone

[Marshall Jefferson]

Geena Bess - I Don't Wanna Be Alone

Wow, I think that was the only release that came out on me and Ce Ce's label Heavy Left. We got into a big fight producing that record. it was pretty stupid actually. I was from Chicago and the Bulls were playing the Knicks in the playoffs-who am I going to cheer for?? Jordan and Pippen of course! Anyway, I was lucky I got out of Ny and Jersey alive that year! Mark Mendoza was even talking a ton of shit about how the Knicks were gonna beat us that year-him and Ce Ce ganged up on me BIG time, especially when the Knicks went up 2-0. Let ne stop now because. we all know how that turned out......

[Bongo Rock]

Wow, I think that was the only release that came out on me and Ce Ce's label Heavy Left. We got into a big fight producing that record. it was pretty stupid actually. I was from Chicago and the Bulls were playing the Knicks in the playoffs-who am I going to cheer for?? Jordan and Pippen of course! Anyway, I was lucky I got out of Ny and Jersey alive that year! Mark Mendoza was even talking a ton of shit about how the Knicks were gonna beat us that year-him and Ce Ce ganged up on me BIG time, especially when the Knicks went up 2-0. Let ne stop now because. we all know how that turned out......

[Suspended]

Hey Marshall,
Many thanks for sharing such indepth knowledge and experience in making this such an awesome thread.
Could you please tell us the story behind how you and Kym Mazelle go to collaborate to make the stompers of "I'm Your Lover", "Taste My Love" and "Useless"?

Don't forget "Got to get you back." I loved that track.

[wiz247]

Man I'm so glad you let Kym sing it because she made that song!

Co-sign.
And many thanks for the story Marshall...

[wiz247]

Don't forget "Got to get you back." I loved that track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gddhem3_1kg

This one slipped my mind, another big one back in the day. Thanks

[Mark Mendoza]

... him and Ce Ce ganged up on me BIG time, especially when the Knicks went up 2-0. Let ne stop now because. we all know how that turned out......

To this day, I still hate Charles "Softy" Smith.
I remember screaming "Jus dunk the damn ball!" in Ce Ce's living room, lol.

[Marshall Jefferson]

Mark, I couldn't believe how everybody lost their sense of humor when the Bulls came back. It was so much fun when the Knicks were up-everybody was laughing and happy then damn, the whole town seemed possessed. Everybody had that mean look on their faces, and Ce Ce's neighbors kept telling him to shut me the hell up..........it was nasty, lol.

[Marshall Jefferson]

Don't forget "Got to get you back." I loved that track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gddhem3_1kg

Ce Ce wrote that one

[So easy a protic can do it (QUAD)]

I had nothing to do with "Virgo Trax Again", and yeah, I was pissed off. Not only was "Go Wild" my 1st record, but Virgo was my 1st nickname.....and Vince wasn't even a Virgo dammit, lol. I also didn't get paid for it, even though I paid to press it up

Hey marshall, thank you for not giving up on the music, and not letting them discourage you!! Much respect to ya!!! I's a fellow virgo, too, with our "don't give up till we analyzed every crevice of the situation" asses!!

[jimmymack-2000]

The Drumapella mix of "Bird in a Gilded Cage" is still my shit!!

Nerd confession: I rode the El in Chicago a while back with "Free Yourself" playing in the headphones...literally sent chills up and down my spine and I broke out in goosebumps. People were looking at me like I had SARS or something...

[reese 60615]

make a steppers record

[JJ11]

The Drumapella mix of "Bird in a Gilded Cage" is still my shit!!

Nerd confession: I rode the El in Chicago a while back with "Free Yourself" playing in the headphones...literally sent chills up and down my spine and I broke out in goosebumps. People were looking at me like I had SARS or something...

that must have been great, riding the el in chicago, with that on !

[djmarbll]

hey marshall, if you were virgo, why is vince lawrences name all over the records as if he did it? And tell chauncy, I will get him those other tunes asap.

I always wondered that too.

[Marshall Jefferson]

make a steppers record

Also "One Kiss Will Make It Better" by Ten City, more on the way on the Curtis McClain album.

[Marshall Jefferson]

I always wondered that too.

part 2 of this:

When "Move Your Body" got released, it wasn't released on my label, it was released on Trax records. Larry did a last minute hack job because he was so excited , and didn't even bother to recut or remaster it, he just scratched out my label number (OS2 for Other Side Records 2) on the mothers and added his own (Tx 117) to this day you know you have an original pressing if you see where he scratched out my label number.

Another thing that gave me grief was he put down "Marshall Jefferson" as the artist. I had been using the nickname "Virgo" for more than a year and it was my 1st nickname. All my life i wanted a nickname but never had one, the song being so popular totally blew Virgo to the side and I haven't used it since. The artist on "Move Your Body was supposed to be "On The House"-my friends from the Post Office, Curtis McClain, Rudy Forbes, and Thomas Carr, and putting it mildly, when the record came out as "Marshall Jefferson", they weren't too pleased.

They stormed over my house and asked me wtf was going on. I told them Larry Sherman put it out on his label instead of mine without my consent. They didn't believe me and I gave them the address to Trax Records so they could go and talk to Larry and straighten it out.

Well, when they got there Larry basically told them that Marshall Jefferson was the name on the label and they could kiss his ass, before telling them to get lost not very politely. They came back over my house and told me how Larry was a crook and all that. Norman Davis, who was Curt's friend came up with the idea of me signing an affidavit that they sang on the record and that's what I did.

They then took the signed affidavit to Larry and Larry told them that they were really great singers, and he'd given me $150,000 and put my name on the song because I'd signed a contract. They stormed back over my house and asked me for some of the $150,000. I told them I he hadn't given me $150,000 and in fact i'd paid him $1500 to press up 1000 copies on my own label, but they didn't believe me, even after i showed them the receipt. They said they were going to sign a contract with Trax Records because Larry was going to put their names on records and pay them a lot of money. I tried to talk them out of signing a contract, but I guess when your record's playing on the radio and you have no money and your friends and family are all telling you how great you are things get irrational.

This is what I put it down to and I tried my best to talk them out of signing a contract, but they did it anyway. To make a long story short Larry gave them no money, but he did put their "On The House" as the artist on 2 records.

The problem was, after I started meeting with major labels, everybody wanted to sign the guys that made Move Your Body, but they'd already signed with Trax records.

*edit* I explained why Vince Lawrence's name was on the "Virgo" records earlier

[DJ Timmy Richardson]

part 2 of this:

When "Move Your Body" got released, it wasn't released on my label, it was released on Trax records. Larry did a last minute hack job because he was so excited , and didn't even bother to recut or remaster it, he just scratched out my label number (OS2 for Other Side Records 2) on the mothers and added his own (Tx 117) to this day you know you have an original pressing if you see where he scratched out my label number.

Another thing that gave me grief was he put down "Marshall Jefferson" as the artist. I had been using the nickname "Virgo" for more than a year and it was my 1st nickname. All my life i wanted a nickname but never had one, the song being so popular totally blew Virgo to the side and I haven't used it since. The artist on "Move Your Body was supposed to be "On The House"-my friends from the Post Office, Curtis McClain, Rudy Forbes, and Thomas Carr, and putting it mildly, when the record came out as "Marshall Jefferson", they weren't too pleased.

They stormed over my house and asked me wtf was going on. I told them Larry Sherman put it out on his label instead of mine without my consent. They didn't believe me and I gave them the address to Trax Records so they could go and talk to Larry and straighten it out.

Well, when they got there Larry basically told them that Marshall Jefferson was the name on the label and they could kiss his ass, before telling them to get lost not very politely. They came back over my house and told me how Larry was a crook and all that. Norman Davis, who was Curt's friend came up with the idea of me signing an affidavit that they sang on the record and that's what I did.

They then took the signed affidavit to Larry and Larry told them that they were really great singers, and he'd given me $150,000 and put my name on the song because I'd signed a contract. They stormed back over my house and asked me for some of the $150,000. I told them I he hadn't given me $150,000 and in fact i'd paid him $1500 to press up 1000 copies on my own label, but they didn't believe me, even after i showed them the receipt. They said they were going to sign a contract with Trax Records because Larry was going to put their names on records and pay them a lot of money. I tried to talk them out of signing a contract, but I guess when your record's playing on the radio and you have no money and your friends and family are all telling you how great you are things get irrational.

This is what I put it down to and I tried my best to talk them out of signing a contract, but they did it anyway. To make a long story short Larry gave them no money, but he did put their "On The House" as the artist on 2 records.

The problem was, after I started meeting with major labels, everybody wanted to sign the guys that made Move Your Body, but they'd already signed with Trax records.

*edit* I explained why Vince Lawrence's name was on the "Virgo" records earlier

Wow.