May 13, 2024 • 50 mins
This conversation with DJ Indica Jones buzzes with stories about passion, dedication, and a rhythmic journey from Phoenix heat to the cool vibes of the Nectar Lounge in Fremont. We spun through Indica's origin story, touching on the influence of his contemporary DJ Z-Trip and the unwavering support from his wife who believed in his dream to the tune of a new set of turntables. Indica's tale isn't just about beats; it's about the beats of the heart, the connections made, and the community of musical aficionados inspired by his 3,000 performance-strong career.
Change is the only constant in the world of music and DJ Indica Jones knows it better than most. Indica dissects the evolution of DJing from the tactile thrill of spinning vinyl to the digital wizardry of today's music scene. Sharing his love for the hunt of rare cassettes and the first pressings of classic albums, Indica's words became a vinyl groove of memories highlighting the blend of nostalgia and innovation that keeps his sets pulsing with life. This episode wasn't just an exploration of musical trends; it was an ode to the collectors, the crate diggers, and the auditory archaeologists keeping the soul of music alive.
We wrapped things up with the sweet, swirling debate of the ages: Which ice cream flavor reigns supreme? Indica and Jon scooped up the topic with gusto, laughing over the merits of mint chocolate chip versus peppermint—and his peculiar preference for eating cones from the bottom up. It was a playful finale to an episode rich with the spirit of live performances and the power of music to move and unite us. So grab your favorite cone, press play, and join us for a journey that promises as much variety and delight as the ice cream aisle itself.
Indica's Links:
DJ Indica Jones
DJ Z-Trip
DJ Wicked
Nectar Lounge
Jazz Bones
Follow OHTD on Facebook!
Follow OHTD on IG!
Jon Stone's consulting practice
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is DJ Indica Jones and you're listening to
One Hour to Doors.
Yeah, this is One Hour to Doors, a podcast about the business
and soul of the festivals andevents industry.
I am your host, Jon Stone.
(00:20):
Every episode of One Hour toDoors explores the people,
issues, insights and trendsimpacting the enterprise of
bringing people and communitiestogether in common cause.
Our guest today is DJ IndicaJones.
Indica is a top DJ in thePacific Northwest and beyond.
His career stretches acrossvirtually all genres and well
(00:45):
over 3,000 performances to date.
He is known as a performance DJwith an uncanny ability to
create infectious energy andpositivity in any environment.
He's a resident DJ at multipletop clubs throughout the region
and I have had the good fortuneof working with them on many
occasions.
Welcome to the show, Indica.
(01:12):
Hey, john, so for the layperson, how exactly would you describe
the job of DJ?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I know there's a little more to it than just
spinning discs.
Oh geez, it's a tough one,because I think, for being a DJ
well, at least for myself it'sabout having fun.
You know, we go back to the old.
I do it for the music, I do itfor the money.
Well, I do it for the fun, youknow.
I do it for the reactions, I doit for the smiles, the thumbs
up.
You're in the middle of a malland people are walking by with a
(01:36):
camera and waving at you andit's being a DJ is just for me,
it's being myself, you know,it's being who I really want to
be, not just the normal guywalking into the grocery store.
I want to.
I want to be, you know, I wantto be that fun person, you know,
and you can't always be thatjust generally walking into the
grocery store.
Otherwise, you know, people areconcerned with you, they're
(01:58):
like what's wrong with this guy?
So when I have the turntableand the mixer in front of me,
then there I am.
You know, I'm not just normalme, I'm that guy.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
And that's exactly what I've witnessed time and
time again.
It's like you flip the switchand it's showtime and you're
having a blast.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
That's it, you know, no matter what's happening in
your life, I think that I thinkall of us can turn to music in
some way, form or fashion, andif that's something that makes
you happy, then that's amazing.
That's what makes me happy.
That is probably the biggestpart of my life is music so, and
it's what I love and adore andalways will.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
I've never asked you this before, but where'd you
grow up?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I grew up in Phoenix, of all places, Went to high
school with a DJ.
He's quite famous.
His name is DJ Z-Trip.
He's the DJ for LL Cool J andhe does all the really cool
stuff that we see.
I mean, he's played MadisonSquare Garden and he's just
playing all these huge eventsand I'm like, oh my God, and the
coolest part is I can stilltext him and he texts me back,
(03:02):
you know.
And so this was back in highschool.
I used to.
I would haul his crates aroundand we do.
We do all the house parties.
He DJed at the steakhouse atBlack Angus and he was the guy
mixing VHS tapes and you knowthe music and the video from VHS
tapes and stuff like that.
So it was yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah and stuff like that.
So it was yeah, wow, that justthe DJing at a Black Angus.
That just painted this vividportrait in my head.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, it was really cool, you know, especially back
then too, because he would playThursday nights at a place
called the Roxy and I would goout there.
It was pretty far from my house, you know, back then we never
there were no good bus lines oranything like that.
So to get out there was a20-minute drive anyways, and I
wasn't driving at the time andso I'd have to take the bus.
But I'd be the only guy inthere just to watch him DJ,
(03:52):
because I was just so fascinatedwith the art of DJing and it
was a lot different.
The whole aspect of it was muchdifferent than it is now, and
the technicality and the skillit took to be able to even just
blend a song was incredible.
You had to watch him and hewould.
Just there's no one there andhe's just crushing it and I'm
like you know so I have a senseof what you mean by the old
(04:16):
school technicality.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
My first exposure to working at the big EDM shows was
in the I guess it would havebeen late 90s, mid-late 90s, and
I can remember some big kind offestival kind of shows that
also included.
They were like human, likebeatbox, oh sure.
And then there were some oldschool DJs that were actually
(04:39):
spinning vinyl.
I can't remember the namesanymore, but I remember that the
vibe was that they werelegendary at that time.
So I presume these cats werefrom you know, the seventies or.
But I remember this thephysicality of their movements
while they were working was itreally captured my attention.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
They were working hard.
It's a definite skill.
I didn't understand exactlywhat they were doing, but I
could see that they, whatever itwas, or they're talking or the
whole idea is to take you awayfrom that, to put yourself into
(05:31):
my bubble or their bubble, toget them away from.
You know, put your phone down.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, good point, good point.
So what brought you up to theNorthwest?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I think it's like anything.
It's like you do something forso long and you're just kind of
burned out, you know.
And then growing up in a veryhot environment and we felt like
we had rented every apartment,we had seen everything.
You know people now are like, oh, I'm moving to Phoenix and then
I'm sitting there going, why,like, really, you really want to
(06:01):
go live in, you know, butthat's to each their own, you
know.
I mean, that's the change thatthey need in their life and this
was the change I needed in mylife.
So we basically opened up a map.
We said, well, we don't reallywant to do the Midwest, the East
Coast is kind of too cold forus and we kind of felt the
optimum decision was theNorthwest.
And I'm glad I did theNorthwest and I'm glad I did.
(06:23):
And every day I'm not kiddingJon every single day I thank
myself for making this movebecause of the friends and the
relationships I've made.
I'm very conscious of who's inmy life, I'm very conscious of
everything that's happening inmy life and as much as I want to
(06:43):
go sit on a beach for the restof my life and let's say Cancun,
which I just got back from, andsit in this beautiful
environment, because I loveMexico, I love the Pacific
Northwest, Seattle especially,and the people here I just adore
, same yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
So you were exposed to DJing pretty early, early on.
But at what point did you startthinking that maybe this could
be a career?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
for you.
I just actually never thoughtof that.
You know what I thought of?
Uh, I just I wanted to playmusic and dj.
You know, they were the.
They were the.
The biggest influences were likejohnny juice from public enemy
and Public Enemy and Rob Swiftand people like that in my life,
and Z Trip, and that's what Isaw and I was like God, I want
(07:30):
to be like that.
It never was like an actual.
The thought process wasn't oh,I'm going to do this or do that.
It just all happened.
My wife at the time someone hadpassed in her family and she
had received a small inheritanceand somehow, some way, I
convinced her to buy me brandnew turntables and this ugly
19-inch Newmark mixer and theonly stereo system I had was on
(07:54):
those little bookshelf stereosand we lived in a third-story
apartment and I put it in thereand I would just crank it up and
practice scratching.
And the cops came a couple oftimes, which was hilarious
because they would come, I'd letthem in and they would see this
little eight-inch speaker andthey're like this is what's
making all this noise.
But yeah, you know, and then itjust all trickled.
It was I didn't really do awhole lot in Phoenix, you know,
(08:17):
it was just more like just ahobby, you know, and just
practicing and having fun.
And then we came up here, youknow, I started getting into the
scene, you know, and just moremore attentive to what was going
on up here.
You know, because there weresome great musicians at the time
that I was here and I wasexcited and especially, you know
, mcs or rappers per se.
I spread myself very thin, alllike I love all genres, but I
(08:40):
had attached to that and kind ofgot into these, what they call
clicks, yeah, and just I DJedfor a couple MCs at the time,
you know, fresh up here, I thinkthat was like the late 90s,
yeah, and it just it kind of gotme or put me into the position
to where I was getting intoplaces where you're meeting the
promoters, you're meeting theowners, you know, and I think
(09:02):
the biggest thing for anymusician or any DJ is that, you
know, is networking.
We talk about networking.
It's cool to like someone'sphoto on Instagram, but when you
know the owner and the promoterand you build a relationship
with them, you just don't go inthere and be like, hey, yo, I'm
super dope DJ, let me.
You know that's not what you do.
You know you build arelationship with these people
(09:22):
in hopes that any musician Overtime yeah, and you.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Just that ties directly to what you said at the
beginning of this conversation.
You called up someone and theypicked up the phone.
Yeah, they answered your call,yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
That's the best that you can do.
It is, it is.
And then, once you get yourfoot in the door and you can
show what you're capable of, itdoesn't mean you're going to get
this every single time, butit's the old thing where they
tell you, if you don't do it,nothing's going to happen.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Every veteran musician that I've had on this
show so far has said the samething.
The most important thing isactually it's physical
networking.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Yep, yep, and if anything, you're just going to
go.
Even if you don't get into thatclub or whatnot, or into that
venue, you know, at least youwent and you saw and you know
life is knowledge.
What you don't know and whatyou don't go and see, you're
never going to figure out.
So my biggest venue thatsupports me the most is Nectar
(10:35):
Lounge out in Fremont.
Oh, yeah, yeah, amazing, and Iwould do anything for that venue
, because that is the venue thatbuilt Indica Jones, that was.
I think I've already hit overthe 400 mark at just that venue.
Wow, yeah, since it's open, wow.
But that was the thing.
I went and I networked, I metthe owners and both the owners
(10:56):
are really good friends of minenow.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Well, they're great folks.
I did a little bit ofconsulting for them a long time
ago, nice.
They were having trouble, uh,they were having trouble getting
along with the neighbors interms of noise.
Yeah, I remember that.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Yeah so good old neighbors cheers, and those
neighbors are probably still notthey're, they're probably not
around anymore, which is no wegotta we gotta, we gotta figure
it out, we gotta figure it outyeah, they've encapsulated the
whole thing.
They they put up the walls.
You know, boozer, he was thearchitect at the time or I think
still is and had done so muchfor that venue.
But I think it's kind of theongoing thing.
(11:35):
I was kind of managing anotherspot last year kind of running
it last year kind of running itand I would sincerely it was
kind of jokingly sincere that Iwish I had the staff that Nectar
Lounge had, because that isprobably the best run, that's
the well-oiled machine, it's atight ship and I'm going to
(11:57):
shout out Ken Stubblefield,because Ken, that's the general
manager for Nectar and that iswho I aspire to be on a business
level, because when you're thattype of person you make things
happen and I feel safe when I'mthere because he's there and I
feel taken care of because he'sthere and like Mario and Andy
(12:17):
and the promoters and thebookers and the whole staff.
And Max and Emilio, you everwork with Gina there oh, I love
Gina.
I just DJed Gina's weddingstaff.
And Max and Emilio, you everwork with Gina there oh, I love
Gina, I did.
I just DJed Gina's wedding.
Oh, sweet, and I got to go.
Well, it was the same day shewas married at Nectar Lounge.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So yeah, I was out of town, Otherwise I would have
been there.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Oh yeah, so I worked with Gina at.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
I worked with USC Events oh wow, okay.
I worked with USC Events oh wow, okay.
For two or three years.
It was another.
It was one of these classic.
I went in for a quick consultand wound up staying there for
two and a half three years.
But Gina was.
She was running concessions.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
For them at the time and I saw I could tell pretty
quickly that Gina was going tobe able to accomplish whatever
she set her mind to throughouther career.
Sure, you know what I'm talkingabout Sure.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Just one of those.
She's a very special person,yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yeah, that's, that's crazy, you know, and it's.
I always wanted to get it ortry to get my foot in with USC
too.
You know, I'd always see theevents pop up.
I'm very aware of what'shappening.
You know, in my town and mycity I look at every single
venue.
It doesn't matter if it goesfrom Art Marble to Tim's Tavern
to you know, it doesn't matterwhat it is.
I'm very aware of what'shappening and you know, and I'm
(13:38):
glad to see the people that aredoing things, you know, doing
positive things and moves intheir lives.
But yeah, she's just yeah,phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
So you describe your career path as I'll just
paraphrase it as the classicsaying do what you love and
hopefully the money might follow.
But how long did it take youbefore you felt like you're
actually a quote unquoteprofessional?
Or have you ever felt?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
that way.
I still don't feel that wayEvery set.
I don't feel that way every set.
I don't have anything that'slike planned.
I know I know some like higherend djs that literally put all
the songs one after the otherand they're they know exactly
what they're going to play.
I have no idea.
But once I hit into that venue,my professional attitude and my
everything hits right there.
That's what I'm there for andI'm representing that venue.
(14:25):
It doesn't matter what venue itis.
But yeah, as a DJ man, again, Isay I'm having fun because what
else is there, you know, and Iwant to project that to the
listener or the crowd, theaudiences there, and I want to
bring them a different feeling,because my biggest thing is that
I think we're losing that.
People are turned around.
(14:46):
These DJs are a dime, a dozen.
Respect to anybody that wantsto take on that craft and
attempt it.
I don't hate because someoneuses a controller.
I don't hate because someoneuses a different piece of
equipment than I do.
I get that.
You know.
We're getting to the point ofthis where in two weeks you can
literally learn how to DJ, youknow, and it is discouraging for
(15:07):
DJs that had spent all thistime creating a skill set.
But I think I totally lost thequestion that you asked me when
did you?
first feel you were aprofessional, yeah, no.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
I perceive you as a professional, no doubt, and the
reason that is is because one,when I call you, you pick up the
phone, sure.
Two, when you commit to a gig,that's it.
I know that it's done.
Yeah, I don't need to eventhink about it anymore.
Indica will be there and theshow will be fantastic.
(15:44):
You ask for any instructions ordirections.
If I have anything, and itmight even just be an abstract
thought, but that's it.
You nod and you go and it'sjust going to.
I don't need to worry about it.
That's what a professionalmeans to me.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Good, I'm glad you feel that way, because sometimes
I'm on edge, but that's thething.
I think that's what keeps thisgoing.
On my end I put it in the phone.
I know it's there.
I know I got to take care of itand I want to do it, because
who am I going to reach thistime?
Who am I going to?
What relationship is going tobe built from the set that I did
(16:21):
that day?
Who's going to have fun?
And I want you to feel at ease,or the any promoter or booking
agent or whatever.
I want them to feel at easethat I'm going to take care of
that, because I do notice that alot.
It's like I'll book somethingwith someone that's newer and
they're rarely texting me oremailing me a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
And I can tell they feel uneasy.
Oh, that anxiety is very real.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
I can understand, because people won't show up or
they cancel, and I've had tocancel once or twice and not
many times.
That's really really rare.
Or I have double bookedaccidentally.
You definitely want to in thisindustry.
You want to stay professionalbecause that will get you the
next gig.
Also, even though I might kindof jokingly say I don't think
I'm a professional in the end,that's what I have to be in
(17:04):
order to move forward.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Another way of saying it is that when I book you for
work, that's it.
I don't have to think about itanymore, and I feel like I can
put my professional reputationin your hands.
Sure, you're going to representme, yes, in the way that I want
to be represented, just purelyby association.
That's the hallmark of aprofessional, or a hallmark of a
(17:27):
professional Gotcha.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Gotcha, and I appreciate that too.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
So you you're not a specialist.
You work across all kinds ofenvironments, all kinds of
genres.
What's the rough breakout ofthe types of gigs you're working
these days, in terms of clubsversus private, versus corporate
versus concert, so on and soforth?
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Well, so far this year, I'm DJing for a lot of rap
artists, some of the bigger rapartists.
I've booked quite a few ofthose and some festivals we had
talked prior.
I think I want to gear myselfmore towards weddings this year
because I really like and enjoydoing weddings and seeing people
genuinely happy, you know, andenjoying each other's company
(18:09):
and being a part of that moment.
It's just different, it's adifferent feeling.
I mean, as a grown man, I'malmost in tears sometimes when
people are getting married, youknow, and I'm just like because
it's a special day and it's aspecial moment and I love being
part of that.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Well, I'd never thought about that before, but I
see what you're saying.
In the room in a wedding that'salmost pure love going around.
It's different.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Think about that.
All the money not the moneynecessarily, but it is true All
the money that's spent, all thefamily that's flown in the
couple, it's just, it's special.
You get that at shows and stufflike that, but that only lasts
for so long.
But if I'm there all day andI've created something, again
we're taking nothing andcreating something very special,
(18:52):
because that is a really hugepart of their day.
And again you go back to theprofessionalism, like you said,
that's you can guarantee I'mgoing to show up and we're going
to do the best we can to makethe most fun and memorable
experience you've ever had.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
So A pure business question here what do you think
your customers are buying?
What exactly are they payingfor?
I know that it's not as simpleas oh.
They're paying for music, Sure,but what are they actually
writing a check for?
Speaker 2 (19:21):
The people that come to my shows.
A lot of them we've again it's.
We go back to talking aboutrelationships.
I'm creating a relationship.
It's me and the listener.
It's me and the concert goer.
It's me and the person thatpaid to get through the door.
I'll always say it and I'll sayit again.
I do it for two or 20,000 andI've done it for those people
(19:41):
and you get the same show out ofme.
So what I'm trying to create isa special moment for the person
that's there to enjoy, walk off, say they had a great time,
because that's crazy enough.
The way I think of it is that Ifeel very blessed to be able to
have just a little bit ofanybody's time and to have them
(20:04):
in front of me and have fun, youknow, and enjoy themselves and
enjoy their life, because Ithink with music we get to
forget about all the negativethings in our life.
And if I can help to contributeto any type of joy to someone,
then I believe that's part ofthe reason I'm here and what I'm
doing.
That's a beautiful thing, ohyeah.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
You know, I know that you have over 3,000
performances to date.
Music is very cyclic.
How do you stay fresh andrelevant over the long haul?
Speaker 2 (20:38):
That's a good question.
I think it's that, again, Idon't create sets, so whatever
I'm doing, it's fairly organic.
Even though you might belistening to a song that I
played eight shows ago, maybeI'm doing something different to
it or trying.
I played eight shows ago.
Maybe I'm doing somethingdifferent to it or trying to do
it like that, but I amconsistently and constantly
listening to music and maybe Imissed something that Credence
(20:59):
did, you know.
Maybe I missed something thatBruno Mars did, maybe I missed
something that ACDC did.
Where I'm like, oh you know,what would be really cool is to
play this song and then thissong, because I tend to do that
a lot, because it just like Iknow all the words and the stuff
and it pops in my head Like ifa song's talking about a story,
then I mix another song thattalks about a story.
(21:21):
Or perfect example is I'll do IWant to Dance with Somebody,
and then I'll mix another songand it has to do, or the title's
dance, and people figure thisout, this thing that I'm doing,
I know what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Good songs are stories.
They're just telling a story.
But music programmers which iswhat I think of you as have an
art form of their own where theycan take multiple stories and
thread those together to createan even bigger narrative.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah, and I think it can.
For me, it's always somethingdifferent.
I want to again create momentsin time.
I'm fortunate enough to evenget your time to pay attention
to me is amazing, but yeah, yeah, you know, I'm always let's
create something different.
Even though it's the same songs, we formulate it in a different
way.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Got the same songs, but the context changes every
day, absolutely In everylocation.
Let's go sidebar for a second.
I know that, and this may be astatement of the obvious, but I
know that you collect vinyl, ohyeah, and that you find great
joy in that.
Say a few words about yourvinyl collection and trading
habits.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
I do a lot, you know, a lot of hunting, digging.
I've been doing this fordecades, you know, and it's the
I don't know if it just it's thehoarder in me, it's the only
thing I really hoard is musicWith vinyl cassettes.
Eight tracks, I have it.
You collect eight tracks.
I have it, you collect eighttracks.
Oh, I love eight tracks.
No fooling, I didn't know that.
(22:53):
Oh, I have just bazillions.
Like if I showed and, john, ifI showed you my track, like
you'd be like, wait what?
Speaker 1 (23:00):
um, now, is there a market for that?
Are there people that arebuying and selling?
Speaker 2 (23:04):
not so much eight tracks but definitely cassettes.
You know the good stuff, thejoy division, the black flag
minute men.
Yeah, you know the good stuff,the Joy Division, the Black Flag
Minutemen.
You know stuff like that andI've been putting those up.
But I've got 50 copies of JoyDivision substance and they're
selling for $35 each.
But what this enables me to doalso is that I sell portions of
(23:25):
this collection but then I'mable to go buy stuff that I
really, really want.
If it's the first Doors albumin mono you know UK pressing
then I can go out there andactually afford to go pay $300
for like a pristine copy.
But that's the kind of stuffthat I'm after.
And then my vinyl collection isginormous.
It's ridiculous, like what Like, what's?
(23:45):
ginormous.
See, the thing is like I'llpersonally tell you a number
maybe, but uh, saying it foreveryone to hear, because
everyone, there's people in thenorthwest that say I have the
biggest record collection soI'll let them.
I'll let them keep that and theycan.
They can be that person, youknow, but it is, it is.
It's ridiculous, you know, for,for vinyl wise, and I'm
(24:07):
obsessed with cassettes rightnow, I'm just obsessed.
And 45s, I love 45s.
Just went to the Seattle CenterArmory and bought a ton of 45s,
a bunch of old punk stuff, likelate 70s punk stuff that I've
been wanting.
What's drawing you to cassettesright now?
Ooh, cassettes, I don't knowit's, they're a little bit
(24:29):
cheaper.
There are some that are, youknow, still quite expensive, I
think it's maybe.
Just, I start going through mystuff and I see what I've got
and I'm like, oh cool, you knowall my ska stuff.
And I'm like no one has this,you know, and it's because I got
it in California one year andwent to all these ska shows and
bought these knuckleheads that'sa group called Knuckleheads,
(24:50):
and I buy these cassettes andI'm supporting the artists.
But then I look and I look themup online and I'm like, god,
three, four hundred dollars forone of these cassettes, like
holy smokes.
But what's drawing me to thecassettes is that it's just
again, it's just the feeling.
It's just magnificent.
It's like, oh, my God, I foundthis, or I found that Of all
things in the world.
(25:10):
I made Goodwill yesterday andthere are a bunch of records and
I get this like chill up myback.
I see that they've put out,because normally I go there and
there's 20 records, just oldbeat classical albums.
But now there's 200 recordssitting on this rack and I go up
there and what is it all?
It's all George Jones and TammyWynette.
But I get excited because it'sold George Jones stuff and Tammy
(25:33):
, and when they included theirdaughter too.
So trust me, when, again, Ispread myself very thin when it
comes to like genre, you think,oh, a DJ, just a hip hopper club
.
No, you know, dad was playingeight tracks of Johnny Cash and
Willie when I was growing up andthis is the stuff I know.
And again, I listened to everygenre constantly.
(25:53):
Just those cassettes, man,they're easier to store, they're
a lot smaller, they're not asvaluable, so they're getting
easier to find.
So I'd rather spend $5 or $10on a really nice Bowie.
$5 or $10 on that, where itwould be four times that it'd be
$35, $40 for the album which Ialready have.
Like, if it was Bowie SpaceOddity, I've already got 10
(26:16):
copies of that.
But what I got maybe one, oh,it's the light blue Nyko
cassette case and it's pristinecondition and I'm like, yeah,
I'll pay $10 for that.
So, yeah, and I'm just stokedman, I, you know, it's like when
you were showing me yourguitars, you know, I get it.
I just, I love music and Ithink it's fun, and that's the
hoarder in me, man, that's the,but it's only the music quarter.
(26:37):
I don't have stacks ofnewspapers, you know so don't
worry.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Industry wise.
What kind of trends are youseeing out there in the in the
DJ field these days?
Speaker 2 (26:48):
You know, I think the biggest trend right now is and
I think it's kind of gettingoverkill.
It does well for the clubs, butthe theme parties, you know,
the Taylor Swift party.
I'm like, dude, I'm like howmany of these Taylor Swift
parties and how many places areyou going to play this until
it's just bludgeoned to death?
You know, oh, all of them, youknow, and I love Taylor Swift,
(27:08):
but it's like that's alwaystough.
But then you have all thesethese guys that are I don't know
how they come out of thewoodwork, but they're like
California based promoters andthey're booking clubs up here.
They don't put the DJ's name,even on the event, which I'm
noticing, and then they just, Iguess it's whatever the club,
they just book a DJ is what I'mseeing, and but they don't
(27:29):
promote the DJ.
So we're losing the essence ofwho's actually putting in the
time and the work and the effort, you know, in order to put a
set together or, like me, do itorganic.
But it's just, it's kind of itbums me out, you know, because
it's like we have all these,these phenomenal DJs, skilled
DJs, you know, that just aren'tgetting the shine.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
How have changes in technology impacted your work
over the years?
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Well for me.
I've always been a vinyl purist.
I got to shout out my homie, djWicked out of Portland.
He's another vinyl purist andhe refuses to come to the dark
side, which is the digital side.
Props to him to come to thedark side, which is the digital
side.
Props to him.
He's a magnificent technical DJ.
That just.
He's just quality all the wayaround and his attitude and
(28:17):
everything is just.
He's someone to look up to as aDJ.
But as technology, when we getinto the digital aspect, we're
looking at what's called acontroller.
So a controller is a little bitdifferent than what I do.
Technically I use a controller,but it's what's called a Rain
12.
So it's still a large 12-inchspinning platter that I can
(28:37):
manipulate and scratch and doeverything I could, but not
destroy all my vinyl.
But then we come across thesecontrollers now and the
controllers they're making it soeasy for someone just to dj.
Even you could just pick one upand within a month, 20 minutes
a day, within a month you couldbe blending and mixing.
Then your next step is to try toget into these clubs, but again
(29:01):
you have to bring something tothe table for this club to want
to book you.
But as technology goes, it'sjust it's making it so easy,
because even blending two songstogether let's say it's like a
programmed beat is easier andalmost easiest one of these
controllers per se.
But for someone like me it'sdifferent, because everything's
(29:21):
by ear.
So I'm having to blend thisstuff and especially if it's
like a Go-Go song these werelive recorded drums and stuff
like that.
You're really looking at thedrums because that's what holds
the rhythm, but putting thosetwo together and mixing it, well
, now these, now technology justdoes it for you.
Like you literally queue up theother song, hit the button, do
(29:42):
the loop and the thing justmixes it for you.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
And I'm just so.
How do you feel about that um?
Speaker 2 (29:49):
yeah, you know, I mean the real deep inside of me
says that's BS.
You know that's unfair, but Imean that's technology.
I mean you don't like it, thenfigure out something else.
That's just the honest truth.
But I do love technology too.
You know, I got my new swankyiPhone and it does all this.
I was an Android guy forforever because I didn't want to
(30:11):
upgrade my phone.
And when I get the swanky thingand the technology is just I
love it.
I didn't know I could have awallet and store my plane flight
crap to my wallet and just whipit out and get right on the
plane, kind of thing.
But yeah, I mean it's, it's goodand it's bad for me, but it
still doesn't.
It's never going to take awayfrom me.
You just cool, you got acontroller.
(30:31):
You're not me, it's not an egothing, and it's just I'm going
to do my bit, different thanyou're going to do your bit, and
that's all it is.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I've talked on this subject a couple of times on
this show before, so I won't gooff on a tangent today.
But in short, I've kind of gonefull circle on the subject
because I grew up as a musician.
Of course, I became a musicianin a completely analog world and
that analog world over the last30 years has morphed into
pretty much an all-digital worldand I've had so many
(31:03):
conversations with colleaguesand just with myself in my head
over it's like is the digitalway?
Like you say, it's so easy foranybody can do it now, is that
I'm using air quotes?
Is that really music?
Is that really musicianship?
I used to have a sarcasticattitude about that, but over
(31:23):
time and really through myinvolvement in the EDM community
, I eventually came around to mycurrent position where I think
it's all great.
I think that what's importantisn't how you do it, it's that
you can make music.
It's never been easier foranybody to try to express
themselves through music.
And just because you can doamazing technological things,
(31:49):
that's not going to make you asuperstar.
No, it's not.
You know, you're always goingto be judged on your content
ultimately.
So I don't particularly feelthreatened by technology or
anything like that.
It simply is, and I think thatthe most important thing is just
the ability for just makesmusic more accessible to people.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
It does and I think for the artists it's creating
the energy.
I was talking with a friend ofmine yesterday and it was the
new I think it was the new GretaVan Fleet album that came out
and I said what did you think?
And they're like, oh, itsounded like Queen.
And I was like, okay, yeah, soLike well, you know, that's
great because we can do thatwith every, I can do that with
(32:29):
every single group.
I know so much music.
I could compare anything toanything you know and it all
sounds.
You know, there's only so manychords you can play that you're
going to be like oh, that soundslike an old Frank Sinatra song
and that sounds like an old whoknows it could be anybody Back
to.
You know, with the technologything, it's just like it's just
(32:51):
going to go forward.
There's nothing we can do tostop it.
I agree, I grew up in an analogworld, you know, and I still
think that way, and that'sthat's the vinyl and the
cassette addiction that I have.
I'll say this that I am gladthat the digital version came
out, like the Serato and stufflike that that the DJ uses and
the Rane 12, because I'm notdestroying my vinyl.
(33:12):
I can go through songs really,really fast and I'm creating a
different show for the audienceor the listener.
So, and like I say, I'm havingfun.
Man, I'm getting older and alot of people have taught me to
stop saying that you're an oldman or this or that.
You know, I'm just I'm gettingolder and I realize this.
But I want to continue havingfun and hopefully that bleeds
(33:36):
over to the listener or theaudience.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
What's your favorite gig of all time that you ever
played?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Ooh, you can't bring that.
You can't say that, Jon,there's no favorite, I don't
know.
We just did one together, thatone that was actually really,
really cool, that's like it waslike.
Which one was that?
Oh, the Silent Disco.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
So we did the disco.
Oh yeah, so we did the park inBellevue.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Yeah, for the for the city of Bellevue, that was just
different.
I've done I don't know five,six, seven silent discos, but
that was just cool, you know,and it was.
It was cool because it was likeand then I could get on the
microphone and it'd be likeBellevue make some noise and
everyone's screaming and anyonethat didn't have headphones on
they're like looking around andlike the, the head lady too, she
(34:19):
was like what's going on here?
And it was just cool and youknew it, I knew it, you know
yeah, I had no idea what toexpect on that one.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Honestly, it's like I easily envisioned like nobody
really caring or participating.
Sure, that wouldn't havesurprised me.
Yeah, because that was such akind of oddball unique thing
that was going on there.
But no, no, people jumped onthat.
Oh man.
I was really surprised.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Shout out to you guys in the city of Bellevue and you
guys for putting such anelectric event together and just
, man, because I know if youweren't there this thing
wouldn't have happened that wayand it was just, it was
magnificent.
But gigs like that I really.
But gigs like that I reallylove gigs like that.
I don't really have a favoriteone there's.
There's ones where I've DJedfor certain people and it's just
(35:06):
been incredible and and there'slike did the Maroon 5 thing or
the Lady Gaga thing or the youknow, and those are all fun, you
know, and they're cool.
And I think, favorite events,you know, not really a favorite
event but it's like walking awayfrom something I've done, and
especially I'm going to say itbecause it was such a large part
in the early 90s, like all thehip hop stuff, and that was the
(35:31):
guy I was listening to when Ilived in Phoenix and here I am
DJing for him.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
There you go, and I'm like holy smokes.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
Look at me now.
You know, and there's so manytimes I'm standing there and
I'll be honest, I'm justcrushing it Right.
And so I look up and then therehe is, I'm scratching, he's
rapping and I'm pulling out.
We're doing the whole thing.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
And then I look up and I'm like, oh my God, like
last week I recorded a sessionwith a musician, John McEwen,
founder of the Nitty Gritty DirtBand, multi-grammy winner,
Bluegrass Hall of Fame, grammyHall of Fame the guy is probably
collaborated with he's probablythe most prolific collaborator
(36:17):
of any musician who's ever livedWow, with he's probably the
most prolific collaborator ofany musician who's ever lived.
And he actually he called measking if he could be on the
podcast.
You know, oh, that's great, andso it was great.
So we had a delightfulconversation.
But one of my questions thatI've always asked musicians is
what is your earliestrecollection of music?
(36:38):
Not when did you first likeplay a piano or something like
that, but like what's yourearliest memory of music?
And for me, I was three, maybefour years old and my dad would
shave before work every morningin the bathroom with the door
open, and he had a cassetteplayer on the shelf in there and
he would, over the years hepretty much wore out uh, two
(36:59):
cassettes, uh, a Credencecassette and uh, and a Dirt Band
cassette, and so that's myearliest memory.
And so all of a sudden, like 50years later, I'm sitting with
having a conversation with thatsame and it's it's a weird it's
a weird sensation it is.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
it is because you is, because you could have never in
your lifetime ever thoughtsomething like that.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Why would I even thought about something like?
Speaker 2 (37:26):
that Same Same, Because I never even knew I was
going to be DJ.
I didn't know that that's whatI was going to try to do is try
to be a professional DJ.
I just I don't know.
I'm just doing this.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
Life is weird, but time is even weirder, Super
trippy dude.
Matter of fact, the more I goon, the less I even understand
time, Like I don't evenunderstand what it is anymore.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
No, I don't even.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
I wanted to ask you.
You're a modest guy.
I know you've done some verylarge gigs in front of very
large audiences, very large gigsin front of very large
audiences.
Something that I have observedand figured out over my years in
the concert business is thatthe power of the crowd, like as
an artist, if people really loveyou in a live environment, that
(38:13):
love manifests as a verytangible form of energy that's
projected at you the star orwhatever that is and there's a
high that's associated with thatthat most people will never
experience.
It's a drug of sorts.
Oh yeah, it's the energy ofthis high concentration of pure
(38:34):
love aimed at you, and I havethis theory that that's why a
lot of quote-unquote famousmusicians, as their careers
start to fade, they kind of spinout and sometimes drop into
drug addiction and things likethat.
My theory is that they'rechasing that old high that
you're otherwise never going tofind in nature.
(38:56):
You know, I'm sure you'veexperienced that kind of focused
energy before, and then theshow's over and you go home,
yeah, and that drop off can bepretty severe.
How do you manage that?
I?
Speaker 2 (39:12):
can agree with that statement 100%.
You do the set, you walk off,people are giving you accolades
or telling you stuff, and, yeah,the night ends, and then you're
just you again, you know, andyou're driving home and you're
thinking about what I'm going toget to eat, or I think it's a
little bit different for me.
My whole idea with any gig is Isaid it earlier two or twenty
(39:34):
thousand, I've done it for, forboth, and you're going to get
pretty much get the same show.
The energy does get a littlecrazier when you got 20,000 in
front of you.
I don't necessarily burn outper se, but my whole intention
with the gig that I'm going tois to get another gig for
something.
It doesn't have to be throughthat promoter, it could just be
(39:55):
someone that was there that sawme, because that happens quite
often, where they're like oh, wesaw you at so-and-so and we
would like to book you, you know, for a private event or for a
wedding.
And that's my thing, and that'swhat keeps the energy going for
me.
That kind of stuff I do love.
It's hard for me to tell,though, because I'm jumping
around, man, a lot of peoplehaven't seen me, but I'm trying
(40:25):
to project that I'm trying totake you away from whatever's
bad in your life or whatever'son your phone.
I'm trying to like up here, uphere, you know, like that, like
a teacher, like up here, look atme, I think that's what I'm
trying to do.
And then when I'm done, yeah,there is still that like kind of
that decompression, and I getexactly what you're saying.
(40:45):
I think, just, with me gettingolder, I'm more just worried
about the gigs.
You know, am I going tocontinue getting gigs?
And a lot of people think I'mtoo expensive, you know, which
is kind of funny to me becausethey see me do like a lot of big
stuff, and then they're like,oh, I can't afford him.
And I'm like you can afford me.
You know it's like let's keepit going, we'll figure it out.
If I got the date open, let'sgo.
I don't burn out, I don't, youknow, hit that rock bottom
(41:08):
because, again, my whole intentis next gig, more energy.
What can we do?
How can we pack this place out?
And how can we just, you know,keep moving forward.
It's always moving forward withme.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
All right, yeah, I hear what you're saying.
Yeah, when I formed my theorythat we're talking about here, I
remember that moment that itall made sense to me.
It was at a Stone Temple Pilotsshow Nice, and it was the first
one they'd done.
It was in Seattle.
It was the first one they'ddone in quite a while.
They'd done in quite a whileand stadium show probably 25, 26
(41:43):
, 27,000 people just stoked andthey were late, and they were.
The band was really like I mean,I was sweating it.
It wasn't clear if they weregoing to show and by they I'm
talking about Scott, sure, sure.
Yeah, probably the most I'veever sweated whether or not an
artist was actually going toshow.
(42:03):
But he showed, and so by thattime I say the crowd was just in
a froth.
Yeah, partly love and partlykind of anxiety about is this
show going to happen?
Yeah, but he showed and went on.
I didn't notice.
I heard over the radio that hewas here and, okay, we're going
to go up in five minutes.
And then there was an incidentdown in the barricade pit and so
(42:27):
I had to go down there and talkwith some folks and the show
went up right then, and so I wasliterally center stage down the
pit.
So Scott, so Singer was behindme six feet and above me six
feet, so I was right in thatline of focus.
Sure, and when the light cameup, and that roar, that initial
(42:48):
crush, that surge there was I'mgoing to sound a little, you
know there was a surge of energy, wow, that I've never
experienced before, but it was atangible, physical thing coming
through the air.
Sure, and it was pure love.
Yeah, it was pure love.
(43:09):
And I'd say, all of a sudden, Iunderstood the whole story
about why people spin out.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
Yeah, and I love the feeling.
Obviously I'm I'm nowhere evennear stp, but yeah, that feeling
, man, that's it's killer.
You know, when you do a set orthe people are reacting to you
and because I go through thesesongs quite quick but I know
what to play.
I always call it a cheapwedding because you play the
stuff that people are going toreact to, the, that they're
going to sing along with whenyou cut it out.
(43:41):
And but that energy, yeah, whenit's a packed room and like
people are going crazy, andagain I'm jumping around but I'm
still like kind of looking upand they're going nuts and the
girls are smiling and they'llsmile back and we're pointing at
each other and then, yeah, it'sjust, it's a high, it is super
high, yeah, and that's the thing.
That's why that's why I go backto uh, I'm looking for that
(44:02):
next gig, Cause I think maybethat's what that is I'm looking
for.
I'm always looking for good job, buddy, you know, or you killed
it, dude, it's kind of funny,Like I was asking my buddy Ayron
, uh, Ayron Jones, and this wasfairly recent.
He and this was fairly recent,he did some party or something
for him.
But I asked him I know you'redoing all these shows, you know
he's opening for Rolling Stonesand stuff like that, and this is
(44:24):
kind of that energy thing, kindof that I've always wanted to
know when artists do big, bigshows in front of just tens of
thousands of people, does itjust start looking like a sea of
heads, Literally?
Because I've always wonderedthat the group, the, the group
that's doing it's like thestones or like any of those guys
(44:47):
, does it just?
Is it always just the same face?
Is it the same sea?
Is it the what you were talkingabout for STP, even though you
felt that energy?
Was he feeling that energy oris that just the same old, same
old that you know he's used to?
But that was like what I askedAyron and he kind of just was
like no, Ayron's a different,he's just different, he's one of
the most.
When they say the goat, I thinkhe is the goat, that's, he's
just a really good friend ofmine.
(45:08):
But he just was kind of like Ithink he's just still taking it
all in, you know, I think forhim.
So it wasn't maybe.
I asked him the same questionin five years, you know, and
he's just, you know, beyondblown up.
I mean he's just blowing up.
That's what I've always wantedto know from someone that.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
I suppose it might have some.
I don't know Ayron personallyI've worked with him a couple of
times, he strikes me as someonewho is well-grounded oh yes, if
I can use that overused term,maybe that has something to do
(45:44):
with it.
I mean, there's people that arewell-grounded and there's
people that have no groundingwhatsoever, and so when we're
talking about this energy of thecrowd, this energy being
transferred from audience toartist, maybe your grounding, or
lack of grounding, hassomething to do with how you're
going to handle that.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
Yeah, he's the type of artist it's.
The one little smidgen that Icould compare myself to to him
is that we go into a room wheremaybe people don't know exactly
who we are and then we leave theroom with you saying I know who
that is now.
But yeah, that's that questiontoo.
It's a great question becausethat's what I want to know too.
(46:15):
I feel energy, but I want toknow does it get old?
Is it just a bunch of that sameface?
Speaker 1 (46:21):
I imagine it's probably a very individualized.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
Yeah, I've heard of that.
I think it's, yeah, I thinkit's each person, you know, to
each his own.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
But yeah, yeah, it's, that's, that's a good question
Jon, I'm gonna hit you with somerandom questions here we go
what's your favorite sound?
Speaker 2 (46:36):
uh, the sound of, uh, remember the movie Blues
Brothers?
Oh, yeah, of course.
Okay, so when Carrie Fisherlaunches the rocket launcher
into the building where theBlues Brothers are at and then
they're under all the bricks,yeah, that sound that when it's
all ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, oh yeah, oh, my God, that
sound.
(46:57):
I don't know what it is withthat, but it's.
You go back and you go watch it, but yeah, that brick sound
Incredible.
I can hear that in my head rightnow when they're trying to like
get up out of the bricks youknow, Dust themselves off.
Speaker 1 (47:13):
I was just talking with somebody about the Blues
Brothers.
There are people alive now thathave never seen the Blues
Brothers and I have a hugeproblem with that.
You know what else I have ahuge problem.
This isn't new but this wasmaybe 10 or 15 years ago.
All of a sudden, in the contextof a big staff meeting, all of a
(47:34):
sudden it became apparent to methat there was an entire
generation that had never seenPurple Rain, oh Lord, and I
didn't know what to do with that.
I still don't know what to dowith that.
Yeah, i— it's like how do younavigate life not having—.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
Some people are just watching reruns of Sopranos.
Speaker 1 (47:58):
What's your Desert Island album Desert?
Speaker 2 (48:02):
Island album.
Oh Lord, I'm trying to think ofwhat.
Speaker 1 (48:06):
I'll make it a little easier.
What is one of your desert?
Speaker 2 (48:10):
island albums.
I know that's when I say whatare your top three, and I'm like
bro, I can't tell you my topthree.
Probably the First Doors album.
Still, that works for me.
Um, uh, man, you know, purplerain, that would actually that
would do that, that would.
I was, uh, I can't even thinkof what I was just.
(48:30):
But yeah, that purple rain,that uh, it's the one song where
I can't even think of what it'sin my head and, uh, I don't
care where we go, I don't carewhat we go, I don't care what we
do.
That one, yeah, that song islike that's the.
Take me with you.
Yeah, that's the.
I'm in a convertible car,there's a wind in the little bit
(48:51):
of hair I still have.
There's the.
You know, that's kind of thecut, all right.
Speaker 1 (48:56):
Most important question Shoot.
You walk into an ice cream shop.
You're going to get a cone withtwo scoops.
What are the flavors?
Speaker 2 (49:05):
oh man, I gotta go from the old old days when mom
and dad, when I was in band andafter uh, we would finish band
the concert or performance andwe go to 31 flavors and I'd
always get a scoop of mintchocolate chip and then remember
the uh because they had it backthen.
Especially remember swenson'syeah, yeah, it's old swenson's.
(49:28):
Yeah, they used to serve thatbubble gum.
It's like vanilla bubble gumwhere the bubble gum was in it
yeah but you were the disgustingkid that took the.
You took the bite of the icecream, got the bubble gum in
your mouth and pulled the bubblegum out of your mouth and stuck
it on the plate until you weredone eating the ice cream, and
then you threw all the bubblegum in your mouth.
So it would be mint chocolatechip, ooh, even peppermint.
(49:49):
I like peppermint too.
You remember the pinkpeppermint ice cream?
Yep, oh, let's go.
Let's go, john.
Speaker 1 (49:55):
So what is mint?
Chocolate chip and?
Speaker 2 (49:56):
peppermint.
Let's do mint, chocolate chipand peppermint.
Which one goes on top, goodLord, because I eat from the
cone the bottom up.
What, yeah, yeah, I just.
It drips everywhere.
Is that legal?
I don't care, I'm that guy.
No, I don't.
I would probably say pepperminton top, let's go, okay, let's
(50:18):
go, let's do this.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
Indica.
It's been fun talking with youtoday, as always.
Thanks for being on the show.
Thank you, Jon, I appreciateyour time.
Speaker 2 (50:33):
All call One hour to doors.
This is DJ Indica Jones and you're listening to
One Hour to Doors.
Yeah, this is One Hour to Doors, a podcast about the business
and soul of the festivals andevents industry.
I am your host, Jon Stone.
(00:20):
Every episode of One Hour toDoors explores the people,
issues, insights and trendsimpacting the enterprise of
bringing people and communitiestogether in common cause.
Our guest today is DJ IndicaJones.
Indica is a top DJ in thePacific Northwest and beyond.
His career stretches acrossvirtually all genres and well
(00:45):
over 3,000 performances to date.
He is known as a performance DJwith an uncanny ability to
create infectious energy andpositivity in any environment.
He's a resident DJ at multipletop clubs throughout the region
and I have had the good fortuneof working with them on many
occasions.
Welcome to the show, Indica.
(01:12):
Hey, john, so for the layperson, how exactly would you describe
the job of DJ?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I know there's a little more to it than just
spinning discs.
Oh geez, it's a tough one,because I think, for being a DJ
well, at least for myself it'sabout having fun.
You know, we go back to the old.
I do it for the music, I do itfor the money.
Well, I do it for the fun, youknow.
I do it for the reactions, I doit for the smiles, the thumbs
up.
You're in the middle of a malland people are walking by with a
(01:36):
camera and waving at you andit's being a DJ is just for me,
it's being myself, you know,it's being who I really want to
be, not just the normal guywalking into the grocery store.
I want to.
I want to be, you know, I wantto be that fun person, you know,
and you can't always be thatjust generally walking into the
grocery store.
Otherwise, you know, people areconcerned with you, they're
(01:58):
like what's wrong with this guy?
So when I have the turntableand the mixer in front of me,
then there I am.
You know, I'm not just normalme, I'm that guy.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
And that's exactly what I've witnessed time and
time again.
It's like you flip the switchand it's showtime and you're
having a blast.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
That's it, you know, no matter what's happening in
your life, I think that I thinkall of us can turn to music in
some way, form or fashion, andif that's something that makes
you happy, then that's amazing.
That's what makes me happy.
That is probably the biggestpart of my life is music so, and
it's what I love and adore andalways will.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
I've never asked you this before, but where'd you
grow up?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I grew up in Phoenix, of all places, Went to high
school with a DJ.
He's quite famous.
His name is DJ Z-Trip.
He's the DJ for LL Cool J andhe does all the really cool
stuff that we see.
I mean, he's played MadisonSquare Garden and he's just
playing all these huge eventsand I'm like, oh my God, and the
coolest part is I can stilltext him and he texts me back,
(03:02):
you know.
And so this was back in highschool.
I used to.
I would haul his crates aroundand we do.
We do all the house parties.
He DJed at the steakhouse atBlack Angus and he was the guy
mixing VHS tapes and you knowthe music and the video from VHS
tapes and stuff like that.
So it was yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah and stuff like that.
So it was yeah, wow, that justthe DJing at a Black Angus.
That just painted this vividportrait in my head.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, it was really cool, you know, especially back
then too, because he would playThursday nights at a place
called the Roxy and I would goout there.
It was pretty far from my house, you know, back then we never
there were no good bus lines oranything like that.
So to get out there was a20-minute drive anyways, and I
wasn't driving at the time andso I'd have to take the bus.
But I'd be the only guy inthere just to watch him DJ,
(03:52):
because I was just so fascinatedwith the art of DJing and it
was a lot different.
The whole aspect of it was muchdifferent than it is now, and
the technicality and the skillit took to be able to even just
blend a song was incredible.
You had to watch him and hewould.
Just there's no one there andhe's just crushing it and I'm
like you know so I have a senseof what you mean by the old
(04:16):
school technicality.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
My first exposure to working at the big EDM shows was
in the I guess it would havebeen late 90s, mid-late 90s, and
I can remember some big kind offestival kind of shows that
also included.
They were like human, likebeatbox, oh sure.
And then there were some oldschool DJs that were actually
(04:39):
spinning vinyl.
I can't remember the namesanymore, but I remember that the
vibe was that they werelegendary at that time.
So I presume these cats werefrom you know, the seventies or.
But I remember this thephysicality of their movements
while they were working was itreally captured my attention.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
They were working hard.
It's a definite skill.
I didn't understand exactlywhat they were doing, but I
could see that they, whatever itwas, or they're talking or the
whole idea is to take you awayfrom that, to put yourself into
(05:31):
my bubble or their bubble, toget them away from.
You know, put your phone down.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, good point, good point.
So what brought you up to theNorthwest?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I think it's like anything.
It's like you do something forso long and you're just kind of
burned out, you know.
And then growing up in a veryhot environment and we felt like
we had rented every apartment,we had seen everything.
You know people now are like, oh, I'm moving to Phoenix and then
I'm sitting there going, why,like, really, you really want to
(06:01):
go live in, you know, butthat's to each their own, you
know.
I mean, that's the change thatthey need in their life and this
was the change I needed in mylife.
So we basically opened up a map.
We said, well, we don't reallywant to do the Midwest, the East
Coast is kind of too cold forus and we kind of felt the
optimum decision was theNorthwest.
And I'm glad I did theNorthwest and I'm glad I did.
(06:23):
And every day I'm not kiddingJon every single day I thank
myself for making this movebecause of the friends and the
relationships I've made.
I'm very conscious of who's inmy life, I'm very conscious of
everything that's happening inmy life and as much as I want to
(06:43):
go sit on a beach for the restof my life and let's say Cancun,
which I just got back from, andsit in this beautiful
environment, because I loveMexico, I love the Pacific
Northwest, Seattle especially,and the people here I just adore
, same yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
So you were exposed to DJing pretty early, early on.
But at what point did you startthinking that maybe this could
be a career?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
for you.
I just actually never thoughtof that.
You know what I thought of?
Uh, I just I wanted to playmusic and dj.
You know, they were the.
They were the.
The biggest influences were likejohnny juice from public enemy
and Public Enemy and Rob Swiftand people like that in my life,
and Z Trip, and that's what Isaw and I was like God, I want
(07:30):
to be like that.
It never was like an actual.
The thought process wasn't oh,I'm going to do this or do that.
It just all happened.
My wife at the time someone hadpassed in her family and she
had received a small inheritanceand somehow, some way, I
convinced her to buy me brandnew turntables and this ugly
19-inch Newmark mixer and theonly stereo system I had was on
(07:54):
those little bookshelf stereosand we lived in a third-story
apartment and I put it in thereand I would just crank it up and
practice scratching.
And the cops came a couple oftimes, which was hilarious
because they would come, I'd letthem in and they would see this
little eight-inch speaker andthey're like this is what's
making all this noise.
But yeah, you know, and then itjust all trickled.
It was I didn't really do awhole lot in Phoenix, you know,
(08:17):
it was just more like just ahobby, you know, and just
practicing and having fun.
And then we came up here, youknow, I started getting into the
scene, you know, and just moremore attentive to what was going
on up here.
You know, because there weresome great musicians at the time
that I was here and I wasexcited and especially, you know
, mcs or rappers per se.
I spread myself very thin, alllike I love all genres, but I
(08:40):
had attached to that and kind ofgot into these, what they call
clicks, yeah, and just I DJedfor a couple MCs at the time,
you know, fresh up here, I thinkthat was like the late 90s,
yeah, and it just it kind of gotme or put me into the position
to where I was getting intoplaces where you're meeting the
promoters, you're meeting theowners, you know, and I think
(09:02):
the biggest thing for anymusician or any DJ is that, you
know, is networking.
We talk about networking.
It's cool to like someone'sphoto on Instagram, but when you
know the owner and the promoterand you build a relationship
with them, you just don't go inthere and be like, hey, yo, I'm
super dope DJ, let me.
You know that's not what you do.
You know you build arelationship with these people
(09:22):
in hopes that any musician Overtime yeah, and you.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Just that ties directly to what you said at the
beginning of this conversation.
You called up someone and theypicked up the phone.
Yeah, they answered your call,yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
That's the best that you can do.
It is, it is.
And then, once you get yourfoot in the door and you can
show what you're capable of, itdoesn't mean you're going to get
this every single time, butit's the old thing where they
tell you, if you don't do it,nothing's going to happen.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Every veteran musician that I've had on this
show so far has said the samething.
The most important thing isactually it's physical
networking.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Yep, yep, and if anything, you're just going to
go.
Even if you don't get into thatclub or whatnot, or into that
venue, you know, at least youwent and you saw and you know
life is knowledge.
What you don't know and whatyou don't go and see, you're
never going to figure out.
So my biggest venue thatsupports me the most is Nectar
(10:35):
Lounge out in Fremont.
Oh, yeah, yeah, amazing, and Iwould do anything for that venue
, because that is the venue thatbuilt Indica Jones, that was.
I think I've already hit overthe 400 mark at just that venue.
Wow, yeah, since it's open, wow.
But that was the thing.
I went and I networked, I metthe owners and both the owners
(10:56):
are really good friends of minenow.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Well, they're great folks.
I did a little bit ofconsulting for them a long time
ago, nice.
They were having trouble, uh,they were having trouble getting
along with the neighbors interms of noise.
Yeah, I remember that.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Yeah so good old neighbors cheers, and those
neighbors are probably still notthey're, they're probably not
around anymore, which is no wegotta we gotta, we gotta figure
it out, we gotta figure it outyeah, they've encapsulated the
whole thing.
They they put up the walls.
You know, boozer, he was thearchitect at the time or I think
still is and had done so muchfor that venue.
But I think it's kind of theongoing thing.
(11:35):
I was kind of managing anotherspot last year kind of running
it last year kind of running itand I would sincerely it was
kind of jokingly sincere that Iwish I had the staff that Nectar
Lounge had, because that isprobably the best run, that's
the well-oiled machine, it's atight ship and I'm going to
(11:57):
shout out Ken Stubblefield,because Ken, that's the general
manager for Nectar and that iswho I aspire to be on a business
level, because when you're thattype of person you make things
happen and I feel safe when I'mthere because he's there and I
feel taken care of because he'sthere and like Mario and Andy
(12:17):
and the promoters and thebookers and the whole staff.
And Max and Emilio, you everwork with Gina there oh, I love
Gina.
I just DJed Gina's weddingstaff.
And Max and Emilio, you everwork with Gina there oh, I love
Gina, I did.
I just DJed Gina's wedding.
Oh, sweet, and I got to go.
Well, it was the same day shewas married at Nectar Lounge.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So yeah, I was out of town, Otherwise I would have
been there.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Oh yeah, so I worked with Gina at.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
I worked with USC Events oh wow, okay.
I worked with USC Events oh wow, okay.
For two or three years.
It was another.
It was one of these classic.
I went in for a quick consultand wound up staying there for
two and a half three years.
But Gina was.
She was running concessions.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
For them at the time and I saw I could tell pretty
quickly that Gina was going tobe able to accomplish whatever
she set her mind to throughouther career.
Sure, you know what I'm talkingabout Sure.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Just one of those.
She's a very special person,yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yeah, that's, that's crazy, you know, and it's.
I always wanted to get it ortry to get my foot in with USC
too.
You know, I'd always see theevents pop up.
I'm very aware of what'shappening.
You know, in my town and mycity I look at every single
venue.
It doesn't matter if it goesfrom Art Marble to Tim's Tavern
to you know, it doesn't matterwhat it is.
I'm very aware of what'shappening and you know, and I'm
(13:38):
glad to see the people that aredoing things, you know, doing
positive things and moves intheir lives.
But yeah, she's just yeah,phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
So you describe your career path as I'll just
paraphrase it as the classicsaying do what you love and
hopefully the money might follow.
But how long did it take youbefore you felt like you're
actually a quote unquoteprofessional?
Or have you ever felt?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
that way.
I still don't feel that wayEvery set.
I don't feel that way every set.
I don't have anything that'slike planned.
I know I know some like higherend djs that literally put all
the songs one after the otherand they're they know exactly
what they're going to play.
I have no idea.
But once I hit into that venue,my professional attitude and my
everything hits right there.
That's what I'm there for andI'm representing that venue.
(14:25):
It doesn't matter what venue itis.
But yeah, as a DJ man, again, Isay I'm having fun because what
else is there, you know, and Iwant to project that to the
listener or the crowd, theaudiences there, and I want to
bring them a different feeling,because my biggest thing is that
I think we're losing that.
People are turned around.
(14:46):
These DJs are a dime, a dozen.
Respect to anybody that wantsto take on that craft and
attempt it.
I don't hate because someoneuses a controller.
I don't hate because someoneuses a different piece of
equipment than I do.
I get that.
You know.
We're getting to the point ofthis where in two weeks you can
literally learn how to DJ, youknow, and it is discouraging for
(15:07):
DJs that had spent all thistime creating a skill set.
But I think I totally lost thequestion that you asked me when
did you?
first feel you were aprofessional, yeah, no.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
I perceive you as a professional, no doubt, and the
reason that is is because one,when I call you, you pick up the
phone, sure.
Two, when you commit to a gig,that's it.
I know that it's done.
Yeah, I don't need to eventhink about it anymore.
Indica will be there and theshow will be fantastic.
(15:44):
You ask for any instructions ordirections.
If I have anything, and itmight even just be an abstract
thought, but that's it.
You nod and you go and it'sjust going to.
I don't need to worry about it.
That's what a professionalmeans to me.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Good, I'm glad you feel that way, because sometimes
I'm on edge, but that's thething.
I think that's what keeps thisgoing.
On my end I put it in the phone.
I know it's there.
I know I got to take care of itand I want to do it, because
who am I going to reach thistime?
Who am I going to?
What relationship is going tobe built from the set that I did
(16:21):
that day?
Who's going to have fun?
And I want you to feel at ease,or the any promoter or booking
agent or whatever.
I want them to feel at easethat I'm going to take care of
that, because I do notice that alot.
It's like I'll book somethingwith someone that's newer and
they're rarely texting me oremailing me a lot.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
And I can tell they feel uneasy.
Oh, that anxiety is very real.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
I can understand, because people won't show up or
they cancel, and I've had tocancel once or twice and not
many times.
That's really really rare.
Or I have double bookedaccidentally.
You definitely want to in thisindustry.
You want to stay professionalbecause that will get you the
next gig.
Also, even though I might kindof jokingly say I don't think
I'm a professional in the end,that's what I have to be in
(17:04):
order to move forward.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Another way of saying it is that when I book you for
work, that's it.
I don't have to think about itanymore, and I feel like I can
put my professional reputationin your hands.
Sure, you're going to representme, yes, in the way that I want
to be represented, just purelyby association.
That's the hallmark of aprofessional, or a hallmark of a
(17:27):
professional Gotcha.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Gotcha, and I appreciate that too.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
So you you're not a specialist.
You work across all kinds ofenvironments, all kinds of
genres.
What's the rough breakout ofthe types of gigs you're working
these days, in terms of clubsversus private, versus corporate
versus concert, so on and soforth?
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Well, so far this year, I'm DJing for a lot of rap
artists, some of the bigger rapartists.
I've booked quite a few ofthose and some festivals we had
talked prior.
I think I want to gear myselfmore towards weddings this year
because I really like and enjoydoing weddings and seeing people
genuinely happy, you know, andenjoying each other's company
(18:09):
and being a part of that moment.
It's just different, it's adifferent feeling.
I mean, as a grown man, I'malmost in tears sometimes when
people are getting married, youknow, and I'm just like because
it's a special day and it's aspecial moment and I love being
part of that.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Well, I'd never thought about that before, but I
see what you're saying.
In the room in a wedding that'salmost pure love going around.
It's different.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Think about that.
All the money not the moneynecessarily, but it is true All
the money that's spent, all thefamily that's flown in the
couple, it's just, it's special.
You get that at shows and stufflike that, but that only lasts
for so long.
But if I'm there all day andI've created something, again
we're taking nothing andcreating something very special,
(18:52):
because that is a really hugepart of their day.
And again you go back to theprofessionalism, like you said,
that's you can guarantee I'mgoing to show up and we're going
to do the best we can to makethe most fun and memorable
experience you've ever had.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
So A pure business question here what do you think
your customers are buying?
What exactly are they payingfor?
I know that it's not as simpleas oh.
They're paying for music, Sure,but what are they actually
writing a check for?
Speaker 2 (19:21):
The people that come to my shows.
A lot of them we've again it's.
We go back to talking aboutrelationships.
I'm creating a relationship.
It's me and the listener.
It's me and the concert goer.
It's me and the person thatpaid to get through the door.
I'll always say it and I'll sayit again.
I do it for two or 20,000 andI've done it for those people
(19:41):
and you get the same show out ofme.
So what I'm trying to create isa special moment for the person
that's there to enjoy, walk off, say they had a great time,
because that's crazy enough.
The way I think of it is that Ifeel very blessed to be able to
have just a little bit ofanybody's time and to have them
(20:04):
in front of me and have fun, youknow, and enjoy themselves and
enjoy their life, because Ithink with music we get to
forget about all the negativethings in our life.
And if I can help to contributeto any type of joy to someone,
then I believe that's part ofthe reason I'm here and what I'm
doing.
That's a beautiful thing, ohyeah.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
You know, I know that you have over 3,000
performances to date.
Music is very cyclic.
How do you stay fresh andrelevant over the long haul?
Speaker 2 (20:38):
That's a good question.
I think it's that, again, Idon't create sets, so whatever
I'm doing, it's fairly organic.
Even though you might belistening to a song that I
played eight shows ago, maybeI'm doing something different to
it or trying.
I played eight shows ago.
Maybe I'm doing somethingdifferent to it or trying to do
it like that, but I amconsistently and constantly
listening to music and maybe Imissed something that Credence
(20:59):
did, you know.
Maybe I missed something thatBruno Mars did, maybe I missed
something that ACDC did.
Where I'm like, oh you know,what would be really cool is to
play this song and then thissong, because I tend to do that
a lot, because it just like Iknow all the words and the stuff
and it pops in my head Like ifa song's talking about a story,
then I mix another song thattalks about a story.
(21:21):
Or perfect example is I'll do IWant to Dance with Somebody,
and then I'll mix another songand it has to do, or the title's
dance, and people figure thisout, this thing that I'm doing,
I know what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Good songs are stories.
They're just telling a story.
But music programmers which iswhat I think of you as have an
art form of their own where theycan take multiple stories and
thread those together to createan even bigger narrative.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah, and I think it can.
For me, it's always somethingdifferent.
I want to again create momentsin time.
I'm fortunate enough to evenget your time to pay attention
to me is amazing, but yeah, yeah, you know, I'm always let's
create something different.
Even though it's the same songs, we formulate it in a different
way.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Got the same songs, but the context changes every
day, absolutely In everylocation.
Let's go sidebar for a second.
I know that, and this may be astatement of the obvious, but I
know that you collect vinyl, ohyeah, and that you find great
joy in that.
Say a few words about yourvinyl collection and trading
habits.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
I do a lot, you know, a lot of hunting, digging.
I've been doing this fordecades, you know, and it's the
I don't know if it just it's thehoarder in me, it's the only
thing I really hoard is musicWith vinyl cassettes.
Eight tracks, I have it.
You collect eight tracks.
I have it, you collect eighttracks.
Oh, I love eight tracks.
No fooling, I didn't know that.
(22:53):
Oh, I have just bazillions.
Like if I showed and, john, ifI showed you my track, like
you'd be like, wait what?
Speaker 1 (23:00):
um, now, is there a market for that?
Are there people that arebuying and selling?
Speaker 2 (23:04):
not so much eight tracks but definitely cassettes.
You know the good stuff, thejoy division, the black flag
minute men.
Yeah, you know the good stuff,the Joy Division, the Black Flag
Minutemen.
You know stuff like that andI've been putting those up.
But I've got 50 copies of JoyDivision substance and they're
selling for $35 each.
But what this enables me to doalso is that I sell portions of
(23:25):
this collection but then I'mable to go buy stuff that I
really, really want.
If it's the first Doors albumin mono you know UK pressing
then I can go out there andactually afford to go pay $300
for like a pristine copy.
But that's the kind of stuffthat I'm after.
And then my vinyl collection isginormous.
It's ridiculous, like what Like, what's?
(23:45):
ginormous.
See, the thing is like I'llpersonally tell you a number
maybe, but uh, saying it foreveryone to hear, because
everyone, there's people in thenorthwest that say I have the
biggest record collection soI'll let them.
I'll let them keep that and theycan.
They can be that person, youknow, but it is, it is.
It's ridiculous, you know, for,for vinyl wise, and I'm
(24:07):
obsessed with cassettes rightnow, I'm just obsessed.
And 45s, I love 45s.
Just went to the Seattle CenterArmory and bought a ton of 45s,
a bunch of old punk stuff, likelate 70s punk stuff that I've
been wanting.
What's drawing you to cassettesright now?
Ooh, cassettes, I don't knowit's, they're a little bit
(24:29):
cheaper.
There are some that are, youknow, still quite expensive, I
think it's maybe.
Just, I start going through mystuff and I see what I've got
and I'm like, oh cool, you knowall my ska stuff.
And I'm like no one has this,you know, and it's because I got
it in California one year andwent to all these ska shows and
bought these knuckleheads that'sa group called Knuckleheads,
(24:50):
and I buy these cassettes andI'm supporting the artists.
But then I look and I look themup online and I'm like, god,
three, four hundred dollars forone of these cassettes, like
holy smokes.
But what's drawing me to thecassettes is that it's just
again, it's just the feeling.
It's just magnificent.
It's like, oh, my God, I foundthis, or I found that Of all
things in the world.
(25:10):
I made Goodwill yesterday andthere are a bunch of records and
I get this like chill up myback.
I see that they've put out,because normally I go there and
there's 20 records, just oldbeat classical albums.
But now there's 200 recordssitting on this rack and I go up
there and what is it all?
It's all George Jones and TammyWynette.
But I get excited because it'sold George Jones stuff and Tammy
(25:33):
, and when they included theirdaughter too.
So trust me, when, again, Ispread myself very thin when it
comes to like genre, you think,oh, a DJ, just a hip hopper club
.
No, you know, dad was playingeight tracks of Johnny Cash and
Willie when I was growing up andthis is the stuff I know.
And again, I listened to everygenre constantly.
(25:53):
Just those cassettes, man,they're easier to store, they're
a lot smaller, they're not asvaluable, so they're getting
easier to find.
So I'd rather spend $5 or $10on a really nice Bowie.
$5 or $10 on that, where itwould be four times that it'd be
$35, $40 for the album which Ialready have.
Like, if it was Bowie SpaceOddity, I've already got 10
(26:16):
copies of that.
But what I got maybe one, oh,it's the light blue Nyko
cassette case and it's pristinecondition and I'm like, yeah,
I'll pay $10 for that.
So, yeah, and I'm just stokedman, I, you know, it's like when
you were showing me yourguitars, you know, I get it.
I just, I love music and Ithink it's fun, and that's the
hoarder in me, man, that's the,but it's only the music quarter.
(26:37):
I don't have stacks ofnewspapers, you know so don't
worry.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Industry wise.
What kind of trends are youseeing out there in the in the
DJ field these days?
Speaker 2 (26:48):
You know, I think the biggest trend right now is and
I think it's kind of gettingoverkill.
It does well for the clubs, butthe theme parties, you know,
the Taylor Swift party.
I'm like, dude, I'm like howmany of these Taylor Swift
parties and how many places areyou going to play this until
it's just bludgeoned to death?
You know, oh, all of them, youknow, and I love Taylor Swift,
(27:08):
but it's like that's alwaystough.
But then you have all thesethese guys that are I don't know
how they come out of thewoodwork, but they're like
California based promoters andthey're booking clubs up here.
They don't put the DJ's name,even on the event, which I'm
noticing, and then they just, Iguess it's whatever the club,
they just book a DJ is what I'mseeing, and but they don't
(27:29):
promote the DJ.
So we're losing the essence ofwho's actually putting in the
time and the work and the effort, you know, in order to put a
set together or, like me, do itorganic.
But it's just, it's kind of itbums me out, you know, because
it's like we have all these,these phenomenal DJs, skilled
DJs, you know, that just aren'tgetting the shine.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
How have changes in technology impacted your work
over the years?
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Well for me.
I've always been a vinyl purist.
I got to shout out my homie, djWicked out of Portland.
He's another vinyl purist andhe refuses to come to the dark
side, which is the digital side.
Props to him to come to thedark side, which is the digital
side.
Props to him.
He's a magnificent technical DJ.
That just.
He's just quality all the wayaround and his attitude and
(28:17):
everything is just.
He's someone to look up to as aDJ.
But as technology, when we getinto the digital aspect, we're
looking at what's called acontroller.
So a controller is a little bitdifferent than what I do.
Technically I use a controller,but it's what's called a Rain
12.
So it's still a large 12-inchspinning platter that I can
(28:37):
manipulate and scratch and doeverything I could, but not
destroy all my vinyl.
But then we come across thesecontrollers now and the
controllers they're making it soeasy for someone just to dj.
Even you could just pick one upand within a month, 20 minutes
a day, within a month you couldbe blending and mixing.
Then your next step is to try toget into these clubs, but again
(29:01):
you have to bring something tothe table for this club to want
to book you.
But as technology goes, it'sjust it's making it so easy,
because even blending two songstogether let's say it's like a
programmed beat is easier andalmost easiest one of these
controllers per se.
But for someone like me it'sdifferent, because everything's
(29:21):
by ear.
So I'm having to blend thisstuff and especially if it's
like a Go-Go song these werelive recorded drums and stuff
like that.
You're really looking at thedrums because that's what holds
the rhythm, but putting thosetwo together and mixing it, well
, now these, now technology justdoes it for you.
Like you literally queue up theother song, hit the button, do
(29:42):
the loop and the thing justmixes it for you.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
And I'm just so.
How do you feel about that um?
Speaker 2 (29:49):
yeah, you know, I mean the real deep inside of me
says that's BS.
You know that's unfair, but Imean that's technology.
I mean you don't like it, thenfigure out something else.
That's just the honest truth.
But I do love technology too.
You know, I got my new swankyiPhone and it does all this.
I was an Android guy forforever because I didn't want to
(30:11):
upgrade my phone.
And when I get the swanky thingand the technology is just I
love it.
I didn't know I could have awallet and store my plane flight
crap to my wallet and just whipit out and get right on the
plane, kind of thing.
But yeah, I mean it's, it's goodand it's bad for me, but it
still doesn't.
It's never going to take awayfrom me.
You just cool, you got acontroller.
(30:31):
You're not me, it's not an egothing, and it's just I'm going
to do my bit, different thanyou're going to do your bit, and
that's all it is.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I've talked on this subject a couple of times on
this show before, so I won't gooff on a tangent today.
But in short, I've kind of gonefull circle on the subject
because I grew up as a musician.
Of course, I became a musicianin a completely analog world and
that analog world over the last30 years has morphed into
pretty much an all-digital worldand I've had so many
(31:03):
conversations with colleaguesand just with myself in my head
over it's like is the digitalway?
Like you say, it's so easy foranybody can do it now, is that
I'm using air quotes?
Is that really music?
Is that really musicianship?
I used to have a sarcasticattitude about that, but over
(31:23):
time and really through myinvolvement in the EDM community
, I eventually came around to mycurrent position where I think
it's all great.
I think that what's importantisn't how you do it, it's that
you can make music.
It's never been easier foranybody to try to express
themselves through music.
And just because you can doamazing technological things,
(31:49):
that's not going to make you asuperstar.
No, it's not.
You know, you're always goingto be judged on your content
ultimately.
So I don't particularly feelthreatened by technology or
anything like that.
It simply is, and I think thatthe most important thing is just
the ability for just makesmusic more accessible to people.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
It does and I think for the artists it's creating
the energy.
I was talking with a friend ofmine yesterday and it was the
new I think it was the new GretaVan Fleet album that came out
and I said what did you think?
And they're like, oh, itsounded like Queen.
And I was like, okay, yeah, soLike well, you know, that's
great because we can do thatwith every, I can do that with
(32:29):
every single group.
I know so much music.
I could compare anything toanything you know and it all
sounds.
You know, there's only so manychords you can play that you're
going to be like oh, that soundslike an old Frank Sinatra song
and that sounds like an old whoknows it could be anybody Back
to.
You know, with the technologything, it's just like it's just
(32:51):
going to go forward.
There's nothing we can do tostop it.
I agree, I grew up in an analogworld, you know, and I still
think that way, and that'sthat's the vinyl and the
cassette addiction that I have.
I'll say this that I am gladthat the digital version came
out, like the Serato and stufflike that that the DJ uses and
the Rane 12, because I'm notdestroying my vinyl.
(33:12):
I can go through songs really,really fast and I'm creating a
different show for the audienceor the listener.
So, and like I say, I'm havingfun.
Man, I'm getting older and alot of people have taught me to
stop saying that you're an oldman or this or that.
You know, I'm just I'm gettingolder and I realize this.
But I want to continue havingfun and hopefully that bleeds
(33:36):
over to the listener or theaudience.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
What's your favorite gig of all time that you ever
played?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Ooh, you can't bring that.
You can't say that, Jon,there's no favorite, I don't
know.
We just did one together, thatone that was actually really,
really cool, that's like it waslike.
Which one was that?
Oh, the Silent Disco.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
So we did the disco.
Oh yeah, so we did the park inBellevue.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Yeah, for the for the city of Bellevue, that was just
different.
I've done I don't know five,six, seven silent discos, but
that was just cool, you know,and it was.
It was cool because it was likeand then I could get on the
microphone and it'd be likeBellevue make some noise and
everyone's screaming and anyonethat didn't have headphones on
they're like looking around andlike the, the head lady too, she
(34:19):
was like what's going on here?
And it was just cool and youknew it, I knew it, you know
yeah, I had no idea what toexpect on that one.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Honestly, it's like I easily envisioned like nobody
really caring or participating.
Sure, that wouldn't havesurprised me.
Yeah, because that was such akind of oddball unique thing
that was going on there.
But no, no, people jumped onthat.
Oh man.
I was really surprised.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Shout out to you guys in the city of Bellevue and you
guys for putting such anelectric event together and just
, man, because I know if youweren't there this thing
wouldn't have happened that wayand it was just, it was
magnificent.
But gigs like that I really.
But gigs like that I reallylove gigs like that.
I don't really have a favoriteone there's.
There's ones where I've DJedfor certain people and it's just
(35:06):
been incredible and and there'slike did the Maroon 5 thing or
the Lady Gaga thing or the youknow, and those are all fun, you
know, and they're cool.
And I think, favorite events,you know, not really a favorite
event but it's like walking awayfrom something I've done, and
especially I'm going to say itbecause it was such a large part
in the early 90s, like all thehip hop stuff, and that was the
(35:31):
guy I was listening to when Ilived in Phoenix and here I am
DJing for him.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
There you go, and I'm like holy smokes.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
Look at me now.
You know, and there's so manytimes I'm standing there and
I'll be honest, I'm justcrushing it Right.
And so I look up and then therehe is, I'm scratching, he's
rapping and I'm pulling out.
We're doing the whole thing.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
And then I look up and I'm like, oh my God, like
last week I recorded a sessionwith a musician, John McEwen,
founder of the Nitty Gritty DirtBand, multi-grammy winner,
Bluegrass Hall of Fame, grammyHall of Fame the guy is probably
collaborated with he's probablythe most prolific collaborator
(36:17):
of any musician who's ever livedWow, with he's probably the
most prolific collaborator ofany musician who's ever lived.
And he actually he called measking if he could be on the
podcast.
You know, oh, that's great, andso it was great.
So we had a delightfulconversation.
But one of my questions thatI've always asked musicians is
what is your earliestrecollection of music?
(36:38):
Not when did you first likeplay a piano or something like
that, but like what's yourearliest memory of music?
And for me, I was three, maybefour years old and my dad would
shave before work every morningin the bathroom with the door
open, and he had a cassetteplayer on the shelf in there and
he would, over the years hepretty much wore out uh, two
(36:59):
cassettes, uh, a Credencecassette and uh, and a Dirt Band
cassette, and so that's myearliest memory.
And so all of a sudden, like 50years later, I'm sitting with
having a conversation with thatsame and it's it's a weird it's
a weird sensation it is.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
it is because you is, because you could have never in
your lifetime ever thoughtsomething like that.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Why would I even thought about something like?
Speaker 2 (37:26):
that Same Same, Because I never even knew I was
going to be DJ.
I didn't know that that's whatI was going to try to do is try
to be a professional DJ.
I just I don't know.
I'm just doing this.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
Life is weird, but time is even weirder, Super
trippy dude.
Matter of fact, the more I goon, the less I even understand
time, Like I don't evenunderstand what it is anymore.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
No, I don't even.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
I wanted to ask you.
You're a modest guy.
I know you've done some verylarge gigs in front of very
large audiences, very large gigsin front of very large
audiences.
Something that I have observedand figured out over my years in
the concert business is thatthe power of the crowd, like as
an artist, if people really loveyou in a live environment, that
(38:13):
love manifests as a verytangible form of energy that's
projected at you the star orwhatever that is and there's a
high that's associated with thatthat most people will never
experience.
It's a drug of sorts.
Oh yeah, it's the energy ofthis high concentration of pure
(38:34):
love aimed at you, and I havethis theory that that's why a
lot of quote-unquote famousmusicians, as their careers
start to fade, they kind of spinout and sometimes drop into
drug addiction and things likethat.
My theory is that they'rechasing that old high that
you're otherwise never going tofind in nature.
(38:56):
You know, I'm sure you'veexperienced that kind of focused
energy before, and then theshow's over and you go home,
yeah, and that drop off can bepretty severe.
How do you manage that?
I?
Speaker 2 (39:12):
can agree with that statement 100%.
You do the set, you walk off,people are giving you accolades
or telling you stuff, and, yeah,the night ends, and then you're
just you again, you know, andyou're driving home and you're
thinking about what I'm going toget to eat, or I think it's a
little bit different for me.
My whole idea with any gig is Isaid it earlier two or twenty
(39:34):
thousand, I've done it for, forboth, and you're going to get
pretty much get the same show.
The energy does get a littlecrazier when you got 20,000 in
front of you.
I don't necessarily burn outper se, but my whole intention
with the gig that I'm going tois to get another gig for
something.
It doesn't have to be throughthat promoter, it could just be
(39:55):
someone that was there that sawme, because that happens quite
often, where they're like oh, wesaw you at so-and-so and we
would like to book you, you know, for a private event or for a
wedding.
And that's my thing, and that'swhat keeps the energy going for
me.
That kind of stuff I do love.
It's hard for me to tell,though, because I'm jumping
around, man, a lot of peoplehaven't seen me, but I'm trying
(40:25):
to project that I'm trying totake you away from whatever's
bad in your life or whatever'son your phone.
I'm trying to like up here, uphere, you know, like that, like
a teacher, like up here, look atme, I think that's what I'm
trying to do.
And then when I'm done, yeah,there is still that like kind of
that decompression, and I getexactly what you're saying.
(40:45):
I think, just, with me gettingolder, I'm more just worried
about the gigs.
You know, am I going tocontinue getting gigs?
And a lot of people think I'mtoo expensive, you know, which
is kind of funny to me becausethey see me do like a lot of big
stuff, and then they're like,oh, I can't afford him.
And I'm like you can afford me.
You know it's like let's keepit going, we'll figure it out.
If I got the date open, let'sgo.
I don't burn out, I don't, youknow, hit that rock bottom
(41:08):
because, again, my whole intentis next gig, more energy.
What can we do?
How can we pack this place out?
And how can we just, you know,keep moving forward.
It's always moving forward withme.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
All right, yeah, I hear what you're saying.
Yeah, when I formed my theorythat we're talking about here, I
remember that moment that itall made sense to me.
It was at a Stone Temple Pilotsshow Nice, and it was the first
one they'd done.
It was in Seattle.
It was the first one they'ddone in quite a while.
They'd done in quite a whileand stadium show probably 25, 26
(41:43):
, 27,000 people just stoked andthey were late, and they were.
The band was really like I mean,I was sweating it.
It wasn't clear if they weregoing to show and by they I'm
talking about Scott, sure, sure.
Yeah, probably the most I'veever sweated whether or not an
artist was actually going toshow.
(42:03):
But he showed, and so by thattime I say the crowd was just in
a froth.
Yeah, partly love and partlykind of anxiety about is this
show going to happen?
Yeah, but he showed and went on.
I didn't notice.
I heard over the radio that hewas here and, okay, we're going
to go up in five minutes.
And then there was an incidentdown in the barricade pit and so
(42:27):
I had to go down there and talkwith some folks and the show
went up right then, and so I wasliterally center stage down the
pit.
So Scott, so Singer was behindme six feet and above me six
feet, so I was right in thatline of focus.
Sure, and when the light cameup, and that roar, that initial
(42:48):
crush, that surge there was I'mgoing to sound a little, you
know there was a surge of energy, wow, that I've never
experienced before, but it was atangible, physical thing coming
through the air.
Sure, and it was pure love.
Yeah, it was pure love.
(43:09):
And I'd say, all of a sudden, Iunderstood the whole story
about why people spin out.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
Yeah, and I love the feeling.
Obviously I'm I'm nowhere evennear stp, but yeah, that feeling
, man, that's it's killer.
You know, when you do a set orthe people are reacting to you
and because I go through thesesongs quite quick but I know
what to play.
I always call it a cheapwedding because you play the
stuff that people are going toreact to, the, that they're
going to sing along with whenyou cut it out.
(43:41):
And but that energy, yeah, whenit's a packed room and like
people are going crazy, andagain I'm jumping around but I'm
still like kind of looking upand they're going nuts and the
girls are smiling and they'llsmile back and we're pointing at
each other and then, yeah, it'sjust, it's a high, it is super
high, yeah, and that's the thing.
That's why that's why I go backto uh, I'm looking for that
(44:02):
next gig, Cause I think maybethat's what that is I'm looking
for.
I'm always looking for good job, buddy, you know, or you killed
it, dude, it's kind of funny,Like I was asking my buddy Ayron
, uh, Ayron Jones, and this wasfairly recent.
He and this was fairly recent,he did some party or something
for him.
But I asked him I know you'redoing all these shows, you know
he's opening for Rolling Stonesand stuff like that, and this is
(44:24):
kind of that energy thing, kindof that I've always wanted to
know when artists do big, bigshows in front of just tens of
thousands of people, does itjust start looking like a sea of
heads, Literally?
Because I've always wonderedthat the group, the, the group
that's doing it's like thestones or like any of those guys
(44:47):
, does it just?
Is it always just the same face?
Is it the same sea?
Is it the what you were talkingabout for STP, even though you
felt that energy?
Was he feeling that energy oris that just the same old, same
old that you know he's used to?
But that was like what I askedAyron and he kind of just was
like no, Ayron's a different,he's just different, he's one of
the most.
When they say the goat, I thinkhe is the goat, that's, he's
just a really good friend ofmine.
(45:08):
But he just was kind of like Ithink he's just still taking it
all in, you know, I think forhim.
So it wasn't maybe.
I asked him the same questionin five years, you know, and
he's just, you know, beyondblown up.
I mean he's just blowing up.
That's what I've always wantedto know from someone that.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
I suppose it might have some.
I don't know Ayron personallyI've worked with him a couple of
times, he strikes me as someonewho is well-grounded oh yes, if
I can use that overused term,maybe that has something to do
(45:44):
with it.
I mean, there's people that arewell-grounded and there's
people that have no groundingwhatsoever, and so when we're
talking about this energy of thecrowd, this energy being
transferred from audience toartist, maybe your grounding, or
lack of grounding, hassomething to do with how you're
going to handle that.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
Yeah, he's the type of artist it's.
The one little smidgen that Icould compare myself to to him
is that we go into a room wheremaybe people don't know exactly
who we are and then we leave theroom with you saying I know who
that is now.
But yeah, that's that questiontoo.
It's a great question becausethat's what I want to know too.
(46:15):
I feel energy, but I want toknow does it get old?
Is it just a bunch of that sameface?
Speaker 1 (46:21):
I imagine it's probably a very individualized.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
Yeah, I've heard of that.
I think it's, yeah, I thinkit's each person, you know, to
each his own.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
But yeah, yeah, it's, that's, that's a good question
Jon, I'm gonna hit you with somerandom questions here we go
what's your favorite sound?
Speaker 2 (46:36):
uh, the sound of, uh, remember the movie Blues
Brothers?
Oh, yeah, of course.
Okay, so when Carrie Fisherlaunches the rocket launcher
into the building where theBlues Brothers are at and then
they're under all the bricks,yeah, that sound that when it's
all ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, oh yeah, oh, my God, that
sound.
(46:57):
I don't know what it is withthat, but it's.
You go back and you go watch it, but yeah, that brick sound
Incredible.
I can hear that in my head rightnow when they're trying to like
get up out of the bricks youknow, Dust themselves off.
Speaker 1 (47:13):
I was just talking with somebody about the Blues
Brothers.
There are people alive now thathave never seen the Blues
Brothers and I have a hugeproblem with that.
You know what else I have ahuge problem.
This isn't new but this wasmaybe 10 or 15 years ago.
All of a sudden, in the contextof a big staff meeting, all of a
(47:34):
sudden it became apparent to methat there was an entire
generation that had never seenPurple Rain, oh Lord, and I
didn't know what to do with that.
I still don't know what to dowith that.
Yeah, i— it's like how do younavigate life not having—.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
Some people are just watching reruns of Sopranos.
Speaker 1 (47:58):
What's your Desert Island album Desert?
Speaker 2 (48:02):
Island album.
Oh Lord, I'm trying to think ofwhat.
Speaker 1 (48:06):
I'll make it a little easier.
What is one of your desert?
Speaker 2 (48:10):
island albums.
I know that's when I say whatare your top three, and I'm like
bro, I can't tell you my topthree.
Probably the First Doors album.
Still, that works for me.
Um, uh, man, you know, purplerain, that would actually that
would do that, that would.
I was, uh, I can't even thinkof what I was just.
(48:30):
But yeah, that purple rain,that uh, it's the one song where
I can't even think of what it'sin my head and, uh, I don't
care where we go, I don't carewhat we go, I don't care what we
do.
That one, yeah, that song islike that's the.
Take me with you.
Yeah, that's the.
I'm in a convertible car,there's a wind in the little bit
(48:51):
of hair I still have.
There's the.
You know, that's kind of thecut, all right.
Speaker 1 (48:56):
Most important question Shoot.
You walk into an ice cream shop.
You're going to get a cone withtwo scoops.
What are the flavors?
Speaker 2 (49:05):
oh man, I gotta go from the old old days when mom
and dad, when I was in band andafter uh, we would finish band
the concert or performance andwe go to 31 flavors and I'd
always get a scoop of mintchocolate chip and then remember
the uh because they had it backthen.
Especially remember swenson'syeah, yeah, it's old swenson's.
(49:28):
Yeah, they used to serve thatbubble gum.
It's like vanilla bubble gumwhere the bubble gum was in it
yeah but you were the disgustingkid that took the.
You took the bite of the icecream, got the bubble gum in
your mouth and pulled the bubblegum out of your mouth and stuck
it on the plate until you weredone eating the ice cream, and
then you threw all the bubblegum in your mouth.
So it would be mint chocolatechip, ooh, even peppermint.
(49:49):
I like peppermint too.
You remember the pinkpeppermint ice cream?
Yep, oh, let's go.
Let's go, john.
Speaker 1 (49:55):
So what is mint?
Chocolate chip and?
Speaker 2 (49:56):
peppermint.
Let's do mint, chocolate chipand peppermint.
Which one goes on top, goodLord, because I eat from the
cone the bottom up.
What, yeah, yeah, I just.
It drips everywhere.
Is that legal?
I don't care, I'm that guy.
No, I don't.
I would probably say pepperminton top, let's go, okay, let's
(50:18):
go, let's do this.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
Indica.
It's been fun talking with youtoday, as always.
Thanks for being on the show.
Thank you, Jon, I appreciateyour time.
Speaker 2 (50:33):
All call One hour to doors.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.