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King J
Duda
HflHE: Jeramy PoiueU/STTIi:
Breakbeat/PME: Hard Candy in i
Houember/THE DOPE: Pomell moued to
fltnens four months ago. after spending
fine years in the Miami club scene. There
he uiorked at a fern clubs, did some pro
motion. and. most of all. enjoyed the
debauchery of South Florida's party
atmosphere. "There's a big scene in
Miami." Poiuell said. "It's really crazy
and out of hand" Poiuell has not been
disappointed by his relocation, though,
explaining that he "needed a change of
pace from the shombiz aspect" of Miami
it has only been in the past six months '
that Poiuell has experimented as a OJ.
inspired by his long-term artistic output as
a pen and ink/airbrush illustrator He mixes a nariety of music
into his sonic collage, including hip-hop. jazz, and drum Y
bass, including Robbie Hardkiss' Phases of an Out of Body
(KpermewA the mork of Rabbit on the Moon collaborators
Monk and Dauid Christopher Poiuell hopes euentually to mork
as a producer, and offered his opinion as to mhy so many DJs
seem tc haue production aspirations: "Rs a DJ. you're already
mixing music and creating neiu sounds Rs a producer, you then
get the chance to mork uiith the actual performers before it
gets finalized in uinyl. I'd loue the chance to go off on peo
ple's ideas. and add some of my own"
HflHE: Rurelie Gaudry/STTlf: lech-step drum Y bass/PUITIHG: Hard Candy in
Houember /THE DOPE: formerly a big Brit-pop fan flurelie's club tenure led to an
appreciation of DJ culture, especially the work of British drum Y bass DJ Doc
Scott. The obscurity of d'n'b mork motiuated
Gaudry to hunt domn records and DJs. mhich
led to a friendship mith locals D firc and GK
Enjul. Of her omn mork. Duda explained that
she prefers not to rely on tricks, but tries
"to ride out long mixes" during her sets
"There's so many sounds to ride on." Gaudry
explained "Bass lines, beats - so many
things you can focus
your attention
on." The DJ. mho
responded mith a
bewildered nega-
tiue mhen asked if
she euer tosses in any old Smiths nr Cure
fauorites into her sets, mould also like
euentually to mork as a producer "A good
DJ can use records as instruments."
explained Duda of the OJ/producer connec
tion "you can ouerlay tmo records and
make it sound like a mhole nem song But
it's a lot more limited than if you could
make your omn tracks as a producer"
Michael Scott
HflHE. Michael Scott You mere expecting perhaps DJ Bloody fist or
something? /STYLE: Deep House to Tech House/PUfflHG: Candy Corn. Oct 23/THE DOPE: Scott claims to haue "a sound that not many
people are playing nom It's not trendy, and I feel good about that *' Time mas mhen Scott's record collection had its share of
Smashing Pumpkins alternatiue rock and modern hip-hop. but once he came across dance music, there mas no turning back "It mas-
n't gradual." the DJ told flagpole "lllhen I got into it. I mas may into if." Horn his motiuations reuolue around sculpting his sets so
that the songs flom seamlessly from harder sounds to lighter house music "Most DJs do the opposite." Scott explained "I'm trying
to do something different and open some minds" Expect works from German producers Terry Lee Bromn. Jr., and Timemriter to pop
into his electronic gestalt /ALSO PLRYIHG: Occasional Tuesdays at Boneshakers
Cameron
HflHE: Cameron Brooks/STTU:
Hard-trance/PUlTIHG: Both
Cotton Candy. September 11
lUJith Robin] and Hard Candy in
Houember ./THE DOPE: Cameron
became interested in performing
as a OJ after mit-
nessing
Kimball
Collins spin at
an Orlando.
Fla. raue in
1992 “I try
to put together
a long journey
in my set."
Cameron says
By the snd of
his set. the
audience finds
themselues at
a somcally dif
ferent destination than expected
mhen Cameron began Brooks
prefers the energetic, fast trance
released by such labels as
Germany's Eue Records /ALSO
PLAYS: Occasional Tuesdays at
Boneshakers
...and you search the stores/Attack the racks with
youR claws...
—Public Enemy. "B-Side Wins Again”
Michael Lachowski, Candy proprietor, on the past and future
of Athens' DJ culture:
The 40 Watt got to where it was a really good gig for a
while... because it was popular and there was money to be made. It
was a no-brainer [for other DJs] to just want to sign in and come in
and benefit from what we had created. But I also never enjoyed that
feeling that I had to keep people away from our turf. Because I
always thought that it was probable that those people had great
ideas. I know that they were bound to be better than half of our
four DJs and way better than what I was doing.
But, then, the last year I was DJing at the 40 Watt we were
making so little money that we weren't even making enough to jus
tify going over to Atlanta and spending even $20 [on records] every
now and then. It was just getting really locked down. In the mean
time, I would still read — I was still av,are that there was this huge
world of music going on thot never ir.trudea on my life.
Of course, you never even bumped into it in Athens. You
couldn't bump into it in a record store, you couldn't bump into it in
o club. I didn't even have any friends that were into it anymore. My
entire moti
vation for
wanting to
start a store
was to
bring music,
the vibrant
aspect of
music, back
into some
where that I
can be a
part of it
and hear it.
I ' m
really happi
er to be in a
situation now with the record store where I don't have to worry
about any of that. Now I would be ready to try and help them and
find them a voice, or an opportunity, or a ploce to stand. That's part
of what I want to do this go-round. Try and see what other people
can do.
But they may not know what they'ie asking for. Doing the
weekly night out thing at some club. Being up until 4 o.m. And
iater... Sometimes you come home with your ears ringing and the
whole world's completely asleep and you're lugging records out of
your car. If it's been a bad night, it's really hard to understand why
it's worth doing.
Early this spring, DJ 43 and Phungus crew member D'Arcy
Reemis shared their views about the biz side of DJ culture, the
*Athens Scene' vs. an established scene like Florida's, and how they
got started in the Classic City.
DJ 43: You've got a little sub-culture here.
D'Arcy: But that's exactly what it is, a sub-culture.
DJ 43: It's not gonna hit mainstream here because it's R.E.M.-
town. It's a punk-rock capital of the world. It's a live venue cap : tal
of the world.
Flagpole: So why do you think there's a scene in, say, a place
like Florida while there's so little here?
DJ 43: Florida is... Kids here, growing up, what they look for
ward to is turning 18 and seeing Widespread Panic, go see whatev
er, whoever. Down in Florida they turn 18 to where they can go
clubbing. It's the vacation, it's the whole... The DJs down there, the
club scene kinda blossomed there before it did everywhere else.
The progressiveness of it... They were the ones that weren't in a
major city area like NYC. or LA. that would bring in the UK. DJs
and expose the kids to it. They were already coming out dancing,
but...
hip-hop scene
—DJ A3. Athens that was already j
down there?
DJ 43: You're talking about Miami Booty Shake? That's why it
look off so good. They grew up listening to Booty Shake; they love
Luke Skvywalker, they love Magic Mike. So all of a sudden they
have this European music with a k : ck-ass Miami breakbeat. And
that's where it came across, and they were like "This is something
we can love "
D'Arcy: I think it goes Land in hand with the whole vacation
thing and they're really big on entertainment. Tourists flock down
there. You gotta have the clubs to entertain everybody.
DJ 43: They're not live venues. They're mega-clubs. It's easier
to pay a DJ $500 to $1,000 a night than to pay a band $10,000 io 1
come in and play. And the DJs pull just as good down there.
> continued on next page
Everybody down there our age works for tourists, and they
get off from their jobs really late. And they want to do something
when they get
oft of work. All
there is to do is
go dancing. And
the people down
there they get all
into it. People
have more open
minds about the
music down
there.
Flagpole:
Do you think it
came out of the
You go there, they 're dressed up. they 're ready to
dance They've got their water bottles
and their backpacks.
They're there... a lot of them are strung out... but
they're there for the music. They're there for their
friends and the music... It's a different world.
Tibetan Freedom
Benefit
September 25th & 26th at
the 40 Watt Club
Featuring Trinket,
Urban Grind, Posh Toner
Creekwater Sound,
Pine Top 7, Drepang Monks,
and many more including special
surprise performances...
. ♦
Advance tickets on sale now.
$12.50 per night, $20 both
nights, $15 at the door.
For more information on
sponsorship, call 546-9593
All proceeds benefiting the Tibetan plight.
NEW
MENU
by Chef
Lamar
Thomas
nTvUS).
EAST MEETS WEST
Over 30 Gourmet
Menu Items for
Under$10
Black Bean Burger • Salmon Bmschetta
Steamed Artichoke • Veggie Tempura Sandwich
Intimate Formal Italian Dining Upstairs
Contemparaiy Fusion Mom Doinistairs
351 E.i>r Bto;kI Stiver 546-4-40
Reserv. i non s Acccprc J
SEPTEMBER 9,
1998 FLAGPOLE □