Courtesy of my good friend and fellow dj Tony Burns.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Yeah, that's pretty gay...
This is one of my newist addictions (pardon the punnage). Insightful and witty, and FUCKING HILARIOUS!!!!
Tweety bird
So I've been updating on Twitter a lot. And for those of you who have been following me...sorry for the roller coaster styled "tweets", but as you all know-when they ask what's on your mind...sometimes you just have to tell it like it is. Don't know what I'm talking about...look to the top of the page-there's a tab there for ya.
-Mr. DJ
-Mr. DJ
A Challenge perhaps?
Okay, so this one came across my desk last week, and it seemed interesting enough to talk about...
So I'm in the club last week to show some love to a few friends that were spinning, of which one of the shows was verrry interesting...
One of my good friends DJ Flave (Seattle) was hosting a dj challenge of sorts at one of the clubs. The event was called DJ Flave vs Seattle and comprised of Flave vs 5 other local djs in a game of keep up. Basically this was a chance for Flave to show off that he could handle spinning several different genres just as well as any of the other "mainstays" in that genre locally. In all honesty, it was a basic tag team of Flave w/5 other djs. Not much of a challenge, but still pretty entertaining to watch.
Well, while I was soaking up the show and trying to steal as many showmanship pointers as I could from Flave, a few of my other dj buds that were in the audience approached me and asked me why I wasn't involved in the show. My reply was simple-I had no idea until I got to the club that the show was even going on...but it did make me think-what if I was involved...even more so, what if it was me in the challenge position instead of Flave? What would a Dj Dev-j vs ____ look like? Could I handle it? As I continued to watch the show, I really got to thinking-what if I did issue a challenge to the other djs around town? Who would step up? Would it really be a challenge, or just another "tag" opp? The more I think about it the more I wonder about it on a larger scale...what if I could challenge say...Mark Farina or Derrick Carter?
Now this is a question that only becomes important when thinking about my future as a dj. Do I have what it takes to spin along with and possibly take down the current greats in my field? Shit, it would at least make a good show. What do you all think? Who would you put up against me?
-Mr. DJ
So I'm in the club last week to show some love to a few friends that were spinning, of which one of the shows was verrry interesting...
One of my good friends DJ Flave (Seattle) was hosting a dj challenge of sorts at one of the clubs. The event was called DJ Flave vs Seattle and comprised of Flave vs 5 other local djs in a game of keep up. Basically this was a chance for Flave to show off that he could handle spinning several different genres just as well as any of the other "mainstays" in that genre locally. In all honesty, it was a basic tag team of Flave w/5 other djs. Not much of a challenge, but still pretty entertaining to watch.
Well, while I was soaking up the show and trying to steal as many showmanship pointers as I could from Flave, a few of my other dj buds that were in the audience approached me and asked me why I wasn't involved in the show. My reply was simple-I had no idea until I got to the club that the show was even going on...but it did make me think-what if I was involved...even more so, what if it was me in the challenge position instead of Flave? What would a Dj Dev-j vs ____ look like? Could I handle it? As I continued to watch the show, I really got to thinking-what if I did issue a challenge to the other djs around town? Who would step up? Would it really be a challenge, or just another "tag" opp? The more I think about it the more I wonder about it on a larger scale...what if I could challenge say...Mark Farina or Derrick Carter?
Now this is a question that only becomes important when thinking about my future as a dj. Do I have what it takes to spin along with and possibly take down the current greats in my field? Shit, it would at least make a good show. What do you all think? Who would you put up against me?
-Mr. DJ
Where have you been?!?!?!
Hey kids-now before you lay into me about my absence, let me assure you-you can't beat me up any more than I already have already. I know I promised months ago that I would be making moves to keep you all updated on the regular about my happenings and what not, but funny thing about being a dj-sometimes you have the time, and sometimes you have no time at all. So to become a better blogger I have employed a calendar reminder to help me stay on track so that I can at least keep you all posted once a week on my adventures.
A quick update-I have had a long few months. I had to move into a new place, I was laid off of my second job, I've been having some major ups and downs with Scoops and have been enjoying some really nice activity (gig wise) for the summer. Now, unfortunately I can't go into full detail right now as to what all happened (I can hear the boos from here), but as time goes on, if my reminders stay on time, I will open up more as we get more comfortable with each other.
-Mr. DJ
A quick update-I have had a long few months. I had to move into a new place, I was laid off of my second job, I've been having some major ups and downs with Scoops and have been enjoying some really nice activity (gig wise) for the summer. Now, unfortunately I can't go into full detail right now as to what all happened (I can hear the boos from here), but as time goes on, if my reminders stay on time, I will open up more as we get more comfortable with each other.
-Mr. DJ
Why I'm a DJ
This question has been asked of me a lot over the years, as I know it's asked of a lot of djs. The answers are usually very straight forward and cool-filled with personal anecdotes and such. Normally, I would give a very 2 dimensional answer, like "I just really love music", or "I can't rap" or the like-but in truth there's a lot more to it for me, and I figured that I might as well share it...so here's the full answer (prepare for cornification...):
Do you have a song that, when you hear it, transports you to another place? A song that speaks to you and makes you feel like the writer understands how you feel, or went through what you went through? For me, I have several hundred of those songs. When I was young, I used to make mixed tapes of songs that spoke to me, and play them for my friends. We'd sit at school with the walkman and just listen, singing along and letting the music take me away. For me it was a good time to be alive.
I remember dancing as a child to McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stopping Us Now", and feeling so care free...
I remember the first time I heard "In the Stone" by EWF, and remembering the hold it had on heart.
These memories helped define me as a person, and it also gave me a personal connection to music that is unlike any other.
Music became very personal to me...not that I felt possessive of it, but governed, taught, molded, educated and partially parented by it. Music has been a good friend-I've always loved it and wanted to share it with others. Most times playing a song would say the certain something to someone that I couldn't say...
When I was a teenager, I was known for 2 things...I always had a baseball cap on, and I always had a walkman on me. The walkman was a tape only walkman. This was mostly because back in the day the walkman cost as much as an iPod, and you had the version that was radio only, tape only or the combo. My mother (bless her frugal butt) gave me a choice-tape or radio, since either of these were cheaper than the combo. Seeing as I already had a radio at home, I opted for the tape version and decided that I would make tapes to walk around with. It seemed like fun, plus I could just have the music that I liked with no commercials. Little did I know that this would be the beginning...
Making those tapes taught me to "program" music. I would make tapes to fit my various emo teenager moods...slow drag tapes, breezy summer tapes and so on. These tapes became the story of my youth, as each song was personally selected and had purpose and a memory attached. That connection was a deeply emotional one and I still feel that connection to the music I play as a dj.
Every time I hit the stage, I feel like a chef who's charged with creating the meal of a lifetime. Every song is personal, and I'm doing more than playing music...I'm sharing a part of who I am with the audience. I remember reading something that Bob Marley said about his music...about how he believed that what he created could help change the world-and how he wanted to use music to heal the sick and empower the powerless...I sort of feel the same when it comes to spinning.
In my head...no...in my heart I'm reaching out to the person that's had the hard day/week etc. I want to give that person the relief that they didn't know that they needed. I want them to know that if no one else understands I do, and while I can't write the song that gives you the relief, I can play for you the music that helped keep me alive for 34 years, and maybe it can keep you going for another day. When I play, I do it with my heart on my sleeve. I'm hoping that I can be like Bob, and Stevie and Dr King and do my part to "save the world", or lift my people. It's how I give hugs and say thank you and it's how I tell my story. I play for the 5yr old inside of me that still dances to McFadden & Whitehead, and for the confused teenager that wanted summer to last forever. I play for the friends that I've lost and the ones that I've gained. I play for my son in hopes that he more days of happy dancing than anything else...
So why am I dj? For all of the above and so much more...music is just as universal as math in the chord of life. This is just me playing my part.
-Mr. DJ
Do you have a song that, when you hear it, transports you to another place? A song that speaks to you and makes you feel like the writer understands how you feel, or went through what you went through? For me, I have several hundred of those songs. When I was young, I used to make mixed tapes of songs that spoke to me, and play them for my friends. We'd sit at school with the walkman and just listen, singing along and letting the music take me away. For me it was a good time to be alive.
I remember dancing as a child to McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stopping Us Now", and feeling so care free...
I remember the first time I heard "In the Stone" by EWF, and remembering the hold it had on heart.
These memories helped define me as a person, and it also gave me a personal connection to music that is unlike any other.
Music became very personal to me...not that I felt possessive of it, but governed, taught, molded, educated and partially parented by it. Music has been a good friend-I've always loved it and wanted to share it with others. Most times playing a song would say the certain something to someone that I couldn't say...
When I was a teenager, I was known for 2 things...I always had a baseball cap on, and I always had a walkman on me. The walkman was a tape only walkman. This was mostly because back in the day the walkman cost as much as an iPod, and you had the version that was radio only, tape only or the combo. My mother (bless her frugal butt) gave me a choice-tape or radio, since either of these were cheaper than the combo. Seeing as I already had a radio at home, I opted for the tape version and decided that I would make tapes to walk around with. It seemed like fun, plus I could just have the music that I liked with no commercials. Little did I know that this would be the beginning...
Making those tapes taught me to "program" music. I would make tapes to fit my various emo teenager moods...slow drag tapes, breezy summer tapes and so on. These tapes became the story of my youth, as each song was personally selected and had purpose and a memory attached. That connection was a deeply emotional one and I still feel that connection to the music I play as a dj.
Every time I hit the stage, I feel like a chef who's charged with creating the meal of a lifetime. Every song is personal, and I'm doing more than playing music...I'm sharing a part of who I am with the audience. I remember reading something that Bob Marley said about his music...about how he believed that what he created could help change the world-and how he wanted to use music to heal the sick and empower the powerless...I sort of feel the same when it comes to spinning.
In my head...no...in my heart I'm reaching out to the person that's had the hard day/week etc. I want to give that person the relief that they didn't know that they needed. I want them to know that if no one else understands I do, and while I can't write the song that gives you the relief, I can play for you the music that helped keep me alive for 34 years, and maybe it can keep you going for another day. When I play, I do it with my heart on my sleeve. I'm hoping that I can be like Bob, and Stevie and Dr King and do my part to "save the world", or lift my people. It's how I give hugs and say thank you and it's how I tell my story. I play for the 5yr old inside of me that still dances to McFadden & Whitehead, and for the confused teenager that wanted summer to last forever. I play for the friends that I've lost and the ones that I've gained. I play for my son in hopes that he more days of happy dancing than anything else...
So why am I dj? For all of the above and so much more...music is just as universal as math in the chord of life. This is just me playing my part.
-Mr. DJ
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