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SHEDJS: WHAT INITIALLY SPARKED YOUR PASSION FOR DJING, AND HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE MUSIC SCENE?
Actually, my first music ventures weren’t DJ related at all, when I was 14, some friends and I formed a punk band. We were actually really good; we even recorded two albums back when there wasn’t a studio in every musician’s spare bedroom. Though, eventually the members' paths diverged and the band broke up.
I went to my first rave in 1999, but It wasn’t until my 20s that I started DJing. I started playing in clubs back when no one really cared who the DJ was. Also, back then house music wasn’t near as popular in the clubs here as it is nowadays; I would actually take a hiatus from all things music before I really started to play the genre exclusively. Back then I had a music store and a sound and light company. The hiatus would be brought on by the failing economy in the 2000s and business partnership dissolving. You may notice I’m being purposefully vague about how old I was in any given year; this is on purpose.
About 5 years ago, just before the plague hit, a friend who was aware of my affinity for music (forcefully) lent me his old Denon SC3000 DJ controller and told me I have to learn to mix. I didn’t tell him I already knew how to mix, just not on a laptop; the last gear I owned still played CDs exclusively. It was a grand gesture from him so I decided to indulge his wishes. That set off a chain reaction of sorts and here I am now, a house music producer.
SHEDJS: CAN YOU SHARE A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE FROM ONE OF YOUR PERFORMANCES OR EVENTS THAT STANDS OUT IN YOUR MIND?
That’s a hard one. I tend to not remember much from my performances. I’m under the impression it has something to do with state dependent memory and being sort of one foot deep in a flow state the whole time. I really only tend to remember taking a sip of my drink and stuff like that.
One memorable performance though, was Electric Love 2022. Not the set I was scheduled for, mind you. I had already played my spot on Friday. The one that was special was the impromptu end-of-the-rave set I played at the Wormhole stage on Sunday morning. A perfect storm of events resulted in me closing out the rave with probably one of my favourite performances to date. The most memorable part was my friend, and wonderful human, Cameron St. Denis, hearing my set from his nearby camp, recognized the tracks I was dropping and coming over to see if it was me. “Of course you did.” He said, referring to my whole commandeering the decks stunt. Also, someone brought me a Dole whip, which I’m forever grateful for. It was a glorious morning.
SHEDJS: HOW DO YOU APPROACH CREATING A SETLIST OR CHOOSING TRACKS FOR A PARTICULAR EVENT OR VENUE?
I don’t do much in the way of planning. Typically I’ll have a quick listen to a bunch of tracks in my library, as well as hunt for a few new ones, and I’ll toss them into a few crates labeled in accordance with different directions I might take.
I’ll kind of know what I want to start with, and a few ways to end things. I’ll also have a few groups of tracks I know mix nicely for a bit of flair, but most of what I play would be considered freestyle.
The most important thing I do, though, is recording practice sessions and listening back to them. I make note of what works and return to those transitions to tighten them up. Sometimes I find new ways to do things. I call it tool-building.
SHEDJS: ARE THERE SPECIFIC GENRES OR ARTISTS THAT HAVE HAD A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON YOUR STYLE?
Absolutely. The bulk of my production experience is based in the Rock and Metal world, so there’s influence there. It’s not what you would think though. Although I was a guitarist first, I’ve always had a fascination with percussion and rhythm theory, and my guitar playing would always reflect that. If you will excuse my nerdiness for a moment, an example would be my recently released edit of The Pot by Tool. One of the key ingredients to a proper house track is dotted eighth rhythms, which the lyric line from The Pot is full of. It was no mistake that track works so well over a house beat. I was sure it would because of the rhythm structure.
Beyond that, I’ve always loved Latin and Afro influenced percussion, which also has a strong presence in my music. Also, I love the old ravey synths from the 2000s; they’ll always make their way into my sets.
SHEDJS: IN A CONSTANTLY EVOLVING INDUSTRY, HOW DO YOU STAY UPDATED ON NEW MUSIC TRENDS AND TECHNOLOGIES?
Mainly, I follow labels I like. Over time, they tend to put of stuff that follows certain trends. From there, I’ll pick a trend direction that resonates with what I enjoy. I do wholeheartedly believe that it’s important to avoid stagnation. It’s imperative that artists evolve as fast as the trends do.
I’ll always have things I wish stayed popular forever, but that’s not reality. I try to be as dynamic as I can while still serving love to the old genres I hold in my heart as favourites.
SHEDJS: DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRING DJS LOOKING TO BREAK INTO THE SCENE OR ENHANCE THEIR SKILLS?
Volunteer. Networking is the most important skill you can possess. Make yourself useful beyond your music. When you’re new, you won’t be the one getting hundreds of people to come out to an event, and those people are the most important aspect of the success of the event. The best way to build a tangible audience is to play in front of crowds, so you’ll need to make yourself valuable in another way.
Everyone jokes about the whole situation where a DJ can’t play for some reason and there’s always 40 DJs in the crowd frothing at the mouth, ready with their USB. The reality is, though, it does happen. It’s happened to me numerous times. The trick is to make yourself the undeniable choice to fill the spot. For instance, that morning set at Electric Love would never have happened if I wasn’t one of the stage’s managers for the festival, and it also helped that they were renting a bunch of gear from me as well.
The only other thing I can suggest to new DJs is to remember that the main reason you’re in the booth is for the crowd. Yes, it’s important to play what you enjoy, but the best DJs will feed off the energy of the dancefloor. This allows the music they enjoy playing to be organically influenced by what their crowd is into.
SHEDJS: WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOU IN TERMS OF PROJECTS, COLLABORATIONS, OR UPCOMING GIGS?
Well, our collective, Bad House Guests, just wrapped up our successful indoor season last month, so we’ll be plotting our return to throwing parties in the fall. Everyone can rest easy that we’re just taking a break for the Summer. Next summer there’s talk of a BHG outdoor event, but that’s still in the works.
For me, personally, I’ve got another really fun edit scheduled for release in June, so give my socials a follow for that one. For festivals this summer, I’ve got a few announcements coming up; they’ll also be plastered all over my socials.
Electric Love is back this year, so I’ll be there at the Wormhole to play a set, as well as on the crew helping make sure everything runs as smooth-ish as it can.
I’ll also be at Burn in the Forest this year at the Booti Fruitti camp, so if you’re coming to the burn, stop by and say hi and watch the schedule for set times.
We’re also looking to launch the Bad House Guests record label here soon. That’s pretty exciting. There's so many talented house music producers based in British Columbia and we hope to help them get their music out to the masses. So look for that soon.
I’m sure I’m missing some, but that’s the most of it so far. The empty weekends tend to fill up quickly come June though, so I’m sure there will be more.