Qoöl Interviews Smoove.
Why do you DJ?
Cuz I can’t do anything else. I truly believe I’m a bit of an idiot savant. I’m really not very good at anything else other than Dj’ing. Oh yeah, and I’m hopelessly addicted to bass.
On the serious, Dj’ing is my way of countering the forces of darkness and evil. Every civilized culture throughout history has used music and dance as a means of celebration and communion, to shake off the old bad juju and take on fresh new joy and happiness. Basically, to get your ya-ya’s out. So if I can provide an hour or two of unabashed freedom of movement for the audience, than I’ve done my job. How does that saying go? “Peace Thru Superior Bass Response.”
Best DJ gig ever that was not at Burning Man?
A couple summers ago, I played a “Thru The Looking Glass” party in Queens, NYC. The loft used to be a photo studio so it had a huge cyclorama in one of the corners, painted in a warped chessboard pattern. Everyone was decked as Alice or the Cheshire Cat or the Queen Of Hearts, one guy was dressed as Tom Petty. After a two hour set I dropped “One Perfect Sunrise” right at day break; it was a classic dorky DJ moment for me. After I was done I had all these jaded New Yorkers--whom had never heard Breakz before--running up to me incredulous, “I’ve never heard anything like in my life! What the hell was that?!” Thems the Breakz, kids. And then there was the time I closed for Phil Hartnoll from Orbital. I totally dorked out and brought my original pressing promo copy of “Halcyon+On+On” to have him sign. I have it framed on my wall now.
What's your website or myspace URL? What's the most fun thing to do at your website?
http://www.djsmoove.net only it’s being remodeled at the moment so it not too exciting.
www.myspace.com/smoovethedirtypunk This is probably the better link. It’s got this great video of the Teletubbies dancing to “Shake That Ass, Bitch.” That video cracks me up every time I watch it. In fact, I think I’m gonna go watch it right now.
Do you have a mailing list? Have you ever spammed anyone? Have you ever gotten spam response hate mail even when the person added themselves to your list?
I absolutely do not spam. In fact, I guard my announce list rather intensely. My mailing list is really a way for me to personally connect with my audience. I don’t send out generic BSP’s either. I like to give a compelling reason as to why they should spend their hard earned dollars to come to one of my gigs.
Promo CD's or online downloadable sets?
CD’s always make the kids smile when you hand them one. But downloadable sets are easier to distribute to the masses. But you have to compress them down so much and it makes them sound shitty. I’m all about high quality sound.
Most grandiose DJ aspiration?
I wanna drop beats on the roof of the Abbey Road Studios.
Actually I have this strange dream of building a fully self-contained sound, lighting and video rig that you can hitch onto a Mack truck and drive it around the country. Build up a caravan of DJ’s, performers, dancers, and fluffers from San Francisco and pull into town somewhere in the interior states, unfurl the stage show, and have a big party. Like a demented version of the circus.
Which really really famous DJ do you love to hate?
I’m officially calling bullshit on the Stanton Warriors. Seriously, those dudes are a couple of tools! The last time they played Mighty they looked completely bored and had the whole stage area roped off. “Do NOT approach the great and powerful Stanton Warriors!” And they played on lap tops! So it looked like they were checking their e-mail the whole time. It was the laziest DJ set I’ve ever heard. But they are wicked producers…
I know I’m supposed to say Paul Oakenfold in response to this question but I had the opportunity of meeting him and he’s super mellow guy in reality. I found myself sitting next to him at an Underworld show in the balcony at the Warfield and we’re just rocking out to all the classic Underworld jams with our eyes closed. Then he tried to put his arm around me and I don’t ever do that on the first date!
Opinions on turntablism?
Fucking amazing! Kinda reminds me of the way Hendrix would solo behind his back and flip his guitar around. I think dance music is getting eaten up by all this new technology—lap top programs that instantly beat match tracks and shite of that ilk—we’re getting too far away from the art of mixing. Turntablists are keeping that art alive and thriving.
Are San Francisco DJ's different than DJ's in other cities? How and why?
I think we’re more competitive in SF than other cities. Which is a good thing, it keeps us on point and we always step correct when we get behind the decks. But it’s a friendly competition.
Are San Francisco crowds different than crowds in other cities? How and why?
The audience here in SF is extremely well versed in DJ culture. They know the track names and when it was released, they know the producer’s names what label they’re on and what they’ve done previously. So it’s rather challenging playing for a crowd that knows the music as well as the DJ’s. And they’re very enthusiastic about rocking the dance floor. They’ll let you know very directly when you’ve dropped something proper. There’s nothing I love more than when the bass drops and the whole crowd lets out this collective “UUUGH!” Conversely, they’ll let you know when you dropped something that’s getting a bit tired. “Oh he’s playing *that* track…again.”
Obama, Hillary, or other?
Obama by day, Hillary at night.
World view: Ayn Rand, Aldous Huxley, or Noam Chomsky?
None of the above. Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.
The next DJ forgot his headphones and asks to borrow yours. You respond:
A) Of course, DJ brother, I share my gear in solidarity for our cause, and good karma!
B) What? What? Sorry, I can't hear you!!
C) Sorry I have ear herpes.
I’m usually the guy asking to borrow the headphones. And I think they have medicine now for ear herpes. At least that what my ex-girlfriend said…
We all forget shit at home—needles or headphones or that wicked new remix you just downloaded. A while back, there was a yearlong period when every time I played with Felix The Dog, I had to loan him something. But then we played this huge super phat gig together and I spaced my needles at home. H magically pulled 2 pairs out of thin air and saved my ass! So it all comes back around. And I think there is this “Fellowship of the DJ” ethos in SF where we all kinda take care of each other.
What do you do with all the money you save shopping on Beatport instead of buying vinyl?
I have this degenerate addiction to wine. Vineyards from the central coast in particular. But California overall is cranking out some of the most amazing product these days and have been consistently for decades. We’re the global powerhouses for Zin’s and Cab’s and Chardonnays. I think California has really dismantled the whole concept of wine as this snobby pursuit and made it very accessible to wine brats like me. I think I’ve got 3 wine club memberships; I’m looking at a fourth. And suits! I love a well-tailored suit. Everyone should have at least one suit. If I’ve had a shite day at work I like to go peruse the suit department and make sure there isn’t one there that needs to come home with me. And I just got my first Tuxedo. I fucking love it.
Do you use the cross-fader? If so, why?
Hell yeah I use the crossfader. Cuz I actually *mix* my tracks.
Use this space to gripe about the worst DJ booth you have encountered at a club.
Oh that’s easy. Sublounge. Easily *the* worst dj booth ever. The decks jumped, the mixer had so much beer spilled on it that one of the channel sliders had seized up and none of the EQ’s worked. All the knobs were missing and towards the end they had to run it in mono after one of the stereo channels stopped working, maybe from all the spilt beer. The sound system had no bass what so ever. Nor did they have any monitors; you had to listen to the mains which were a pair of blown out Mackie 450’s that would clip or over-heat and stop working every so often. I once doused the heat sink with a bottle of water to keep it from clipping. Amazingly, that worked rather well. And since this contraption was set up on top of their bar, it was way too tall for shorter DJ’s to reach it comfortably. So they built this DJ riser for you to stand on but I would always fall off the back of it. Everyone fell off that damn thing; it was so tiny. But ya know what? Looking back on all the parties I played at Sublounge while it was open, all I remember was how much fucking fun they were.
What's the minimum resolution file you would play in a club? 192? 320? WAV?
If anyone can actually hear a difference between a 320mp3 and a WAV then you haven’t spent enough time in a club damaging your hearing enough. 192’s just sound thin. You can hear a slight difference between 320’s and WAV’s but they take up too much space on my hard drive. Space that can be used for rocking!
How much money would you bet that you could tell the difference between a 128 and 320 mp3 file in high quality studio headphones with a 75% or better success rate?
I’d wager a solid $1K. I’d even go double or nothing. And I’ll narrow the parameters to 80% and I’d still win.
Are you descended from fish and then monkeys, or were you created by a divine entity?
I believe that I was immaculately conceived from ancient robots.
July 28, 2007 09:13 AM, by jeff
