Interview with the DJ: Meta-Morphosis...Honestly, I never thought I would take DJing to this level...I got into like 'technotronic' and all of that early 90's dance music...and, don't laugh, video game music...so I started sneaking my mom's technotronic tapes and I always played her key board with the drum accompanyment trying to make new shit...then when I got into middle school at the end, I had failed because I was a bully with minimal sense of direction on...I was devastated. I had to start all over again as a person and I had to look at this as my second chance...my 'rebirth', if you will. I have alway been an entertainer of some sort - from acting, waiting, being a class clown, etc...after I found this music I was hooked like a damned snagged fish!I got into electronic music initially from...Well, besides 'technotronic' influencing me as well as video game music and not to mention NEW WAVE (I am an 80s nut), I had found AMP (and MTV show that had showcased dance and electronic music) when I stumbled on a video from a German DJ/Producer by the name of Paul van Dyk, the song was titled 'For an Angel' and in the video there was a giant parade with people dancing and smiling and dressed to have fun...it was truly the epitome of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to be. So from then out, I started downloading anything that said techno online (since I heard it stereotyped as 'techno' so much)
At the beginning of high school I started making a good amount of friends and we had parties...and I would take the CDs that I would burn with the mixes I wanted and play them on a 3 disc CD player stereo at these basement parties we would have...it sounds silly I know, but it gave me that feel...and then I discovered the rave scene. And the more I went, the more I realized that turntables and a mixer were the true key instruments to showcasing this music and the tracks that move you, etc.I soon discovered that the word "techno" was only a slang generalization for many styles of electronic music...and the ones that I kept enjoying were trance and Funky House, because they had the most energy and progression. With Trance, it had so much energy...the progression, the catchy melodies & synths...and it's so versatile as music...I mean you can haul ass on the dance floor to it, relax to it, it gets you thinking on so many levels and it is understood by two different people that don't even speak the same language as one another...this is a universal language. And of course there is my House music alter-ego (Nick Fizzle) ...House was the other style that I picked up a little later...it's so much fun...it allows you to learn skills on the mixer and really work your audience! It's funky, bangin' and gives you an excuse to celebrate life and let loose.I kept thinking, 'how will I ever learn to do this?!' - I mean, it was so different than playing on a stereo!!! (laughs) So I was reading an article on a local drum and bass DJ, and they asked him where he learned how to spin...and he said something like "Well, I broke my leg playing sports one summer and my roommate was a DJ...and since I could go nowhere, when he left the house...I stayed in all summer and taught myself" I knew if he could, I could as well, so a couple months afterwards, I just bought some turntables and started finding places to buy vinyl.In the beginning I had no idea where to start buying tracks or anything and then I found out that there was a local DJ shop called Hotwax, and I went in...with my mom...for the first time (laughs), and I was talking to the owner about records and if he needed help, etc. And he said "you know what, I could use some people to organize and put these OLD records in the system..." I know it was nothing glamorous, but it helped me learn the music more and not only that, but I was getting paid in records!!! So Somebody didn't show one day and then I had become a regular at the shop...and this allowed me to learn labels and who's who and learn new techniques, make connections, etc.One of the coolest experiences I have had so far as a Dj I would have to say would be my senior year in High School we had a German exchange student named Florian and he asked what I was listening to on my CD player...and I said 'trance' and he freaked out talking about how he thought no Americans listened to that stuff here! We had hit it off ever since....And one day he started talking about this big parade with DJs and lots of people wearing crazy outfits, etc - and dancing to trance music at that! So I came to find out, that the parade...the Loveparade, was the parade in the Paul van Dyk video...and in the Summer of 2003, I flew to Germany to stay with my friend Flo and his awesome family, and finally, see Mr. Paul van Dyk in his element at the Loveparade in Berlin! But as a DJ, I kept throwing parties and barn parties and field parties and at the same time I was getting asked to spin at parties, field parties and barn parties...when finally I did a couple of rave parties and even spun at one with Drum and Bass sensation, John B!!! - but I guess out of everything I have done so far, I would have to say I had an amazing time at mine and my boy Shane's Halloween Bash...from my DJ Booth I had and could see everybody in that place hauling ass, in the basement of this house...and everyone was jumpin and dancing their asses off! The lighting was awesome and the crowd was so much fun, being that the majority were friends, etc. It was almost shoulder to shoulder packed and we had over 200 people there...it may not sound like much, but when everyone is that close together it seems like 1000! Plus we had 3 strippers dancing and people in crazy costumes everywhere and enough booze and Jello shots made to kill a small village of alcohol poisoning!!...It just made for an all around amazingly memorable night...and it's happening this year I am pretty sure too!!!
I think something that distinguishes me as a DJ from others is the energy I put into my set, I'm usually always moving with the music or amping up the crowd I am playing for. My main focus, since I was five, was acting...so my goal is to incorporate theatrics and keep my crowd on their toes at all times...I am very proud of my track selection too, I don't just buy anything...when I first started record shopping, I would go in at 1:30 when Hotwax opened, and leave almost at 8:30 (when they close) and I would leave with maybe 2-3 records after listening for hours straight...and even now I shop for hours online to find the right tracks...My goal with my track selection is to have my crowd leaving the club or the venue humming the melody to one my tracks because they can't get it out of their head and of course the other goal with my tracks is to always keep them moving and keep the energy exploding until I am done. I have imported tracks and payed almost 40.00 for a record just because I wanted it so bad! When I start landing bigger gigs in the future, I am looking towards having crazy outfits and flare to bring people into it even more..I am even thinking about designing a signature outfit, which will be more like a body armor kind of thing with lights, etc. But I am getting way ahead of myself there...Recently, I decided to take a vacation to Florida to visit my friends here and go to the Ultra Music Festival...and since I had a mini van that I had just got, I figured I would throw my tables and all of my favorite records and clothes etc in the van. So after Ultra I spun at a small house gathering to find out that I spun around lots of people connected to clubs and promoters, etc and I started getting good feedback...which made me feel great...so I decided, "Ah, I'll just stay and see what I can do with myself here..." And so here I am...and here we go...Thanks for reading this!!! - Meta
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