|
Q: Where were you born and raised and how long have you lived in Chicago?
A: I was born and raised right here on the West Side of Chicago. I have lived in Chicago most of my life, but I’ve also lived in Iowa and North Carolina.
Q: How long have you been Djing and how did you get started?
A: I’ve been Djing since 1976.I used to make tapes before that with my cousin, but I didn’t play to a crowd until 1981, when I got to high school. There was a crew of us called the Body
Snatchers made up of 5 Djs: Rob Burns, Eric Blackwell, Gary Heflan, Kenny Baker, and myself. We would hook up at Rob’s house after school and on weekends, play records and make tapes. Our crew would spin at school dances, sock-hops, backyard parties, basically wherever we could. When I went away to college in ‘82, I became the campus DJ, had a weekly radio mix show and rented equipment to the dorms and fraternities for their parties. Because of the radio mix show, I got to travel around the state doing college parties, playing house music for people who had probably never heard it before.
Q: How would you characterize your style of mixing?
A: I would say that I play new music, with some classics woven into my sets. I’ve been hooked on new music for a while now, but I still drop classics into my set too. I’ll hear
something in a new song that sounds like or reminds me of a classic, so I pull out the classic and drop it in the mix. A lot of times, I’ll play an edit from the Power Plant days, because the crowd recognizes it and responds instantly. As far as a general style of mixing, I like the term "fluid house." Glyn Hopkins from Elastic Productions in Florence, Italy called my mixes that one time and it kinda stuck. It’s not another term or genre for house, just a
style.
Q: Who are some of your favorite jocks?
A: I would have to say Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy (RIP), Larry Levan, Tony Humphries, Oscar McMillan, Freddie Bain, Andre’ Hatchett, Alan King and Mike Ezebuku, to name a few. And of
course the Djs in the NU BANG CLAN!
Q: You were at the Power Plant in its heyday. What was that like?
A: The Power Plant was like nothing I’d ever experienced in life. You had a family of people dedicated to giving Chicago the best party in the city every week. People have likened a
night at the Power Plant to having an out-of-body experience, and that’s pretty accurate. Friday night in Chicago had one place to be the "Plant." People would be lined up down the block waiting to get in. I would come home from college some weekends myself, just to be there. Frankie, Mike Winston, Craig Loftis, Bruce Foster and the rest of the crew really showed me how to make a party an EVENT! I even had them come up to my school for a party. Imagine the look on the faces of those kids when they came strolling through the door in the middle of Iowa draped in Power Plant gear. They lost it!
Q: What about the Muzik Box? Did you party there?
A: Hell Yeah! The Muzik Box was the place to be on Saturday nights. Ronnie would beat that shit ‘til the sun came up. We had a party schedule: Tuesday night was industry night at the
"Box," Wednesday night was members only night at the Plant, Thursday was members night at the Box, Friday night was Frankie’s night and Saturday night belonged to Ronnie. We were like vampires, partying all week long, rarely seen during the day.
Q: Was there a rivalry between the Power Plant and the Muzik Box?
A: No, we were both about having a good time. Robert, Ronnie and the Muzik Box staff supported us and we supported them. What were we going to be at odds about? Who beat the box the
hardest? It didn’t matter. We had two of the all-time greatest Djs right here every week playing for our enjoyment. It was all about living life and having a good time.
Q: How do you see the current house scene in Chicago (clubs and radio)?
A: House music in Chicago is mostly underground now. Commercial radio does not program house music in its regular format. You hear it as background music in their commercials or in the
mixes. College radio plays house music regularly with quite a few weekly programs, but that’s about it. On the club scene, you have to go out and find a place that suits you. I hear a lot of hard house, techno, R&B and rap at the clubs now. There is not one spot that plays house as a regular format. By that, I mean as a format, not some promoters party.
Q: You make a lot of mix cds. How did you get into that and what made you do it?
A: I started making mix cds in 1997. I would take them with me when I went to other cities to do parties. It was a great marketing tool and kept me fresh in the people’s minds and they
would ask me to come back or make a cd for them. It really jumped off when I played at the Sidecar Café’. I would walk in and people would be like "you got some cds?" I think it helped people accept the new music because people could listen to the music outside of the party and see that there was some soulful music with real instruments and vocal arrangements. There were times when I would sell out of cds before I even started my set.
Q: Aside from Djing, do you have any projects out?
A: I’m working with Craig Loftis on some projects, both remixes and original material. I’ve also done some work with Tim Mcallister on some stuff as well. Being an engineer, I can’t
play worth a damn, but I can convey what I want to the musicians and I have an ear for what sounds good.
Q: Top 10 Favorites right now, old or new?
A: In No Particular Order...
- Forever Came Today - Jackson 5
- The Love I Lost - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
- Ruff Disco (album) - Nature Boy
- Two Tribes - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
- My Piece Of Heaven - Ten City
- Waiting On My Angel - Jamie Principle
- Washing Machine - Mr. Fingers
- Night Of The Jaguar - Aztec Mystic Love
- Having You Around - First Choice
- The Nervous Track - Nu Yorican Soul
Q: Last question. What is the Nu Bang Clan?
A: The Nu Bang Clan is a collection of Djs who got together to play an enjoy the new music. The idea actually started on your site. DJ Slick submitted an underground cd to the DHP,
and I responded to it in the form of a karate movie parody. It just grew from there. Other jocks jumped on the thread and started posting, so we got together one night at Sidecar and formed the NU BANG CLAN, a CLAN of jocks who BANG the NU music.
-October, 2001.
|
