The DJ vs. Technology: A Perspective from Both Sides (*Sticky*)



Let me first say that it is 10:14 pm on a Tuesday night, I'm currently listening to Smif n Wesson's "Dah Shinin," reading Revolution's blog, and I'm writing this after taking a few rips from the vapor whip.  I wasn't going to originally post this commentary.  Instead, I was going to file it away with all of my other intoxicated rants that you all will never read.  However, Revolution’s blog, along with this Cratekings post, and subsequent commentary about the Ipad deejay app, provoked me to post this blog entry.  Now, before I get into my thoughts on the use of technology, let me provide a little context by explaining my background as a deejay.  My story of being a deejay may or may not like be like yours, but I think all of you will identify with it on some level......

I've always loved music.  Actually, I've always loved rap music, which then fostered a real passion for soulful music in general.  If the music has "soul," then I am a fan.  It just so happens that hip hop music was the first type of soulful music that I gravitated to.  I'll never forget first hearing L.A. Dream Team's "Dream Team is in the House" record and knowing this was the music I've always wanted to hear and didn't know it.  I remember being a die-hard Eazy-E fan and being so happy when he finally came back at Dre with some dis records on his 187-Killa album.  I recall making a pause tape on a dual tapedeck stereo of Eazy-E dissing Dre and giving dubbed copies to all my friends in high school.  With all that love for music, hip hop culture, and the abstract concept of a mixtape, I did not own turntables.  In fact, I remember getting quality Hollywood gigs (that I would kill for now) without ever practicing one minute on a turntable.

How did I get the gigs?  You ask.  Well, I had a friend (who also did not own turntables) that was getting more gigs than he knew what do do with, who had a friend (who was nice on the tt's and well connected in the Hollywood nightlife) who was getting more gigs than he knew what do with.  As I would accompany my friend to gigs, I would try selecting records for him to see if I would get a favorable reaction from the crowd.  My friend was nice enough to allow me to do this so that he would give me an incentive to keep me coming back to gigs with him (he hated doing anything alone).  It was all good with me.  I had just turned 18 and the nightlife scene was very alluring, and being associated with the deejay made it all that more enticing.  With each gig, I began to learn more about music on a "deejay" level.  I was learning which songs always worked to resuscitate a dead crowd, who sampled what?, etc...   All of you deejays understand that learning music on a "deejay" level is much different from the way even the most passionate music fans study music.  Looking back, I think I always had this passion for music in me, but it wasn't until I got into deejay culture that I truly developed this passion.

Eventually, I weaseled my way onto the tables.  First, just to transition from one song to the next (remember, my friend sucked too).  Then, getting 3 records to transition.  Ultimately, pressuring my friend hard enough to get a 30 minute set at 11pm; then, 11:30; then 12am.  PRIME TIME!!  Slowly, I started to buy records and really start researching the "art of music."  Still, no turntables.  In fact, I owned 2 crates of records before I ever owned a turntable.  Down the road, I ended up with a residency (because my friend had too many gigs) on Saturday nights at a then very well known Hollywood "insider" spot that was prominently mentioned in the movie Swingers.  Still,  with know real deejay skills beyond volume fading in and out of records, I was rocking a happening L.A. bar playing a traditional 90's rap and break set.  It wasn't until much later that my dad helped me buy my first crappy Gemini starter pack that I actually started to develop my deejay skills.  My run lasted a good 3 years.  My sets got nicer with each gig, but not nearly as nice as they would be today.  In the end, the residency was put to an end because the crowd was getting too rowdy and not buying enough drinks.  Who knows, maybe it ended because I sucked.  If it did, nobody told me.  Ironically, today I have pretty nice skills on the tables and would never be able to get the kind of gigs that I once had.  In turn, I was once getting dream gigs with no more skill than reading a crowd (which shows you how far reading a crowd will get you in deejaying).

So why am I telling you all this?  I'm explaining all this because I have an appreciation for both sides of this argument.  Today, I consider myself a hardcore, knowledgeable, and skillful deejay who paid his dues.  I've hauled crates around from gig to gig.  I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on records.  I spent countless hours practicing on crappy equipment (and even performing on very suspect equipment in front of live crowds) before I ever owned a pair of Technics.  And God only knows the hours I've spent in my car, bedroom, and standing as a wallflower studying all the techniques of my deejay idols.  On the other hand, I'd be lying if I didn't come clean about being a wack deejay at one point in time.  Worse yet, I was a wack deejay (skills wise) with quality gigs.

With all of that said, I understand DJ Revolution's frustration because he is right.  Computers are now able to do what took my generation of deejays 1000's of hours to perfect.  Rev is also correct when he expresses his concern over "DJ in a box" products that are sold at places like Best Buy.  Going along with that thinking, I also agree with all of the posters who are critical of the Ipad deejay app.  However, as much as I agree with guys like Revolution, I don't think deejays like myself (and especially Revolution) have anything to worry about.  As much as I view the turntable as a type of instrument, I'm not confusing my favorite deejays with Miles Davis or Beethoven.  All are dope, but different levels of dope.  Hell, I think my skills along with some technological assistance allow me to produce mixes that are pretty comparable to the mixes of my favorite deejays.  That being said, I know that my favorite deejays are light years ahead of me because they don't need technological assistance.  That's why people pay them, and not me.

So I say, bring it all on.  Do what works.  In the end, game will always recognize game.  Game will always recognize Miles Davis, Beethoven, the Beatles, etc... And game will never recognize Millie Vanillie, Justin Beiber, and so on.  "Real" deejays have no more to be concerned about over all the new technologies than traditional musicians do.  Guitarists shouldn't lose any sleep over things like Guitar Hero, and deejays shouldn't lose any sleep over whatever "DJ in a Box" product happens to be the flavor of the week.  Do you think Alicia Keys is getting worried about whatever "Piano in a Box" products are being sold these days?  I doubt it.  So, neither should DJ Revolution, J.Rocc, Jazzy Jeff, and all the rest.  Again, game will always recognize game.



7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dude, if ur interested in doing a set at on of my nights, I do a few clubs in Hollywood on the weekends. Email me at Joey@groovesocietyonline.com.

dfabix said...

Awesome write up Pipo....

I too LOOOOOOVE the vapor whip...hahahah.

but on a serious note, my first set of turntables (outside of my mom's single turntable that I was not allowed to do anything other than hit the start and stop button) were Gemini's that my friend (who is a great dj, but doesn't do shows or mixtapes) sold to me so he could upgrade to the 12's....

your story hits home and I embrace the new technology....because after all, it's what you do with your instrument not what the instrument CAN do.

btw, I have dabbled in lots of things and suck at them all...and there is no technology that will make me better..... =)

Eric Nord said...

The debate should ALWAYS be about the quality of the music and how it shapes the audience (or how the audience shapes the music).

I have HUGE respect for Rev. He is one of my heroes from mid-90s Wake Up Show that opened my mind more than any music ever. But his technique and his equipment had little to do with why the music he played hit me so hard. Hip Hop DJs need to remember that they are presenters. The whole "turntablist" movement gassed the fuck out of the DJs heads. Rev is very tasteful, but a lot of hip hop DJs simply overdo it.

No matter how good your skills or equipment are, you still need to understand the music and the audience. There are DJs out there with very limited skills and equipment who can absolutely rock a crowd because they do their music culture homework. Either you know the psychology of the music, or you are just another twiddler.

Anonymous said...

The problem is these damn venue owners don't know the difference from a time tested dj and a flash in the pan out of the box and hire whoever is cheapest (some which are free) which ends up stealing work from people who DJ for a living opposed to the banker who got a dj in a box set that thinks he cool because he can dj on the weekends...that's the problem right there.

pipomixes said...

^^^^
You are right anonynmous, and I think that is where the real frustration and bitterness comes from with guys like Rev and so on. For better or worse, I don't think the future of the deejay is in the nightclub. If deejays view themselves as musicians, than they need to start thinking like musicians. In other words, I think the future of the deejay is doing something along the lines of what Cut Chemist, Shadow, and Z-Trip are doing. I think deejays need to focus their performances to be more like concerts and less like danceclubs

Eric Nord said...

Yup. What Pipo said. If your mixtapes and your productions are hot, people will put you on.

C'mon people... appreciate what you have. The world is not fair. If you got food, water, shelter, and health... you're doing better than billions of other people out in the world. Put some context on it... at the end of the day, it's just fucking DJing.

Anonymous said...

Picasso didn't sweat paint by numbers.