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True Stories Can Be Stranger Than Fiction [Extra Extra ]
The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest is this Friday, December 1st, at Waterloo Park. Over two dozen great acts are on the bill, including Spoon, Peaches, The Black Angels, Prefuse 73, and DJ Mel. Tickets are now $25, and can be purchased at the gate.
Learning Secrets perform in the Dance Party Tent at 4:30pm. -- The Editors
Bonus: Download Ian's new winter mix, featuring Sebastian, The Rapture, Jurgen Paape, James Figurine and more.
[mp3] Wintertime Mellow Mix
How'd you start DJing?
It basically all started back in 2000, when I was at Rutgers in New Jersey. I led the glamorous life of a college radio DJ, acting as the dungeonmaster to a horde of unknowing and unsuspecting NJ kids. It was a blast, and what I was doing on air transformed itself into DJing at house parties and whatnot every once and while.
At the time, I was way more focused on actually writing and playing my own music, rather than playing the music of others, so "DJing" took a back seat for a few years while I worked on my own stuff. It wasn't until I moved back to Austin, from San Diego actually, that I began to seriously pursue being a "DJ." That was two years ago now, but it feels like five.
What DJs, past or present, do you idolize or otherwise consider to be among the best?
Oh, there's a ton.
Larry Levan, David Mancuso and his infamous Loft parties, Francis Grasso, and basically that entire late 70's early 80's disco scene back then, those seem like amazingly fun times. Carl Craig, Juan Atkins, Frankie Knuckles so on and so on. If any DJs were superheroes, I think it'd have to be the OPTIMO guys in Glasgow; they are the O.G.s of this indie-post punk-house-disco DJ thing. If it wasnt for them, I'd still be into altcountry. When we had JD Twitch (1/2 of OPTIMO) here last year at the Whisky, it was totally nuts. The man is a living legend.
I also really really like Erol Alkan's stuff. Just hearing how he came up as a DJ and where he's at now is totally inspiring.
In Austin, though, nobody blows me away more than [DJ] Mel and Prince Klassen...watching those guys behind the decks just makes me get all anxious inside. They are so underrated; people in Austin really need to wake up when it comes to DJs here, [because] there is some amazing stuff going on right now that is being ignored or frowned upon. I just got back from NYC, and things really aren't any different up there; they just have the hype machine working for them. If kids could unite here, Austin could blow up huge.
What kind of prized DJ gear might we find hidden away in the Learning Secrets underground lair?
I have a lot of hard gear I use for my own stuff, but for DJ gear I keep her simple. Two Technics, a cDJ, just the key parts.
Photo by Ryan Tomorrrow on flickr
What are some of the records in your collection that you value the most?
Most of my prized finds aren't even dance records. A lot of first pressings and whatnot.
How about some of your "guilty pleasures" records?
Guilty what? Dude, I am way too serious a person to have a guilty pleasure.
Is there that one holy grail of a record that you've been looking out for but just can't ever seem to find?
I can't even answer this. It's making me sad. The hunt is unrelenting.
Tell our readers about your weekly residencies around town.
The big, big, big news is CUT CLUB. It's the newest party, and it has potential to be the biggest thing around. But again, people gotta come with open minds. I am super, super excited about CUT CLUB. The LEARNING SECRETS crew (myself and Gates [Bradley]) are teaming up with the Young Professionals (Prince Klassen and KidIndie) every Wednesday at The Mohawk. We're so lucky to be working with such a new and amazing group of people up there. Everybody involved is super ambtious about making the night huge. We're working with close to 1,000 capacity, two rooms, two stages, a nice bar, good drinks, amazing sound system, live video all that. And the best thing is that it's 18 and up. That right there is huge.
Then, of course, we have the original LEARNING SECRETS night, every Thursday at the Whisky Bar; tasty dollar drinks, two rooms, fun DJs, free live music and tons of dirty dancing. If it wasnt for Bart and the Whisky Bar taking a chance on me, I would not be playing records anywhere. I have tons of love for that place.
Every Friday Prince Klassen and I team up at the Beauty Bar and that shit is totally off the hook. This Friday is gonna be the jam. We're hosting the funfunfun after party with two amazing guest DJs: Ceeplus & The House Of Bad Knives, and Rory Philips for Trash U.K. and Whitey. Rory is the jam, he actually runs the Trash night with Erol Alkan in London.
Last but not least is the total freak out party, balls to wall crazyness [called] WE EXPLODE! [It's] the first Saturday of every month at the Beauty Bar...words cannot even explain how crazy this party gets.
How do you keep busy in Austin when you're not DJing?
I slang dem thangs on the block, and by slang I mean sell, and by thangs I mean records, and by on the block I mean at Waterloo Records. I also spend a huge deal of time drawing, working on my own tunes, watching movies, getting fat, and hanging with my ladyfriend...wow, my life sounds totally boring!
Recently, you brought DFA heavyweight Tim Sweeney over to Whisky Bar...twice. What else can we look forward to in the coming months?
Oh, tons of fun stuff. The '07 is gonna be fun, I'm in process of working out bringing down the Rub N' Tug guys, and James F*@#ing Friedman in the early months. SXSW is going to be totally nuts. But I can't talk too much about that now. Just keep your eyes glued to learningsecrets and awesome inc for info. CUT CLUB is gonna change the way people view "dance" nights in this town and we have all kinds of secrets crammed up our sleeves.
Any idea what you'll be spinning during your set at FunFunFun Fest this weekend?
Ha ha. I never call it before I see it.
So what's next for Learning Secrets?
Dates in Toronto, Montreal, and NYC in February. SXSW in March. L.A. in Late March. My 28th birthday in April. And finishing up my new wintertime mellow mix, made specifically for snuggling up to your lady:
Tracklisting
fcsnorth: arcjames figurine: apologies
finzy kontini: bass and drum (chill colins we explode re-edit)
jurgen paape: cream
sebastian: ross ross ross
alex gopher: motorcycle
justus kohnke: overhead
dondolo: tetanus crisis (hot chip remix)
flying squad: trip two
the rapture: the devil
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"In Austin, though, nobody blows me away more than [DJ] Mel and Prince Klassen...watching those guys behind the decks just makes me get all anxious inside. They are so underrated; people in Austin really need to wake up when it comes to DJs here, [because] there is some amazing stuff going on right now that is being ignored or frowned upon. I just got back from NYC, and things really aren't any different up there; they just have the hype machine working for them. If kids could unite here, Austin could blow up huge."
hahaha. yeah, ok. there are definitely talented, knowledgeable djs in austin, but they must not be playing out, cause i hear trainwrecks, terrible programming, and a lack of creativity (ie. playing the same set over + over + over + ...).
for reasons unknown, austin's always had trouble with djs. the rest of texas has produced and actually showcased plenty of talented producers/djs related to electronic, yet austin consistently puts on schoozers who call themselves djs.
am i bitter? in a sense, but mostly cause it drives djs crazy to go out and hear someone playing crap. i guess my main beef in no particular order is 1) learn how to mix, 2) learn how to program your records, 3) don't be mr. complacency in the back of the whiskey bar for the past 3 years.
on a final note, you either agree with me or your one of them.
that is all...
Whoa there, cowboy. You’ll land your nightly eventually. No need to go bitterly shanking about the local DJ population.
There are really talented DJs here in Austin. Not all of them are, but there is some definite talent here, trying to help you enjoy yourself. I could go into the specifics, but it isn’t necessary. I’ll just list the points and let you fill in the details.
- Live bands will play for free anytime, anywhere in Austin, just for “exposure”*
- College students don’t have cash for small-bar door covers (they have credit cards).
- “Live Music Capital Of The Word” doesn’t include anything pre-recorded.
- DJs, especially the good ones, don’t like “selling” themselves because it “cheapens” things.
- Promoters, unless their last name rhymes with Battal, can’t make a living in Austin.
- Transient, fickle Austin population.
- The vast majority of show-goers are just well-meaning scenesters who only require some kind of palatable soundtrack for their alcoholic exploits, and are just as disinterested or inept at judging “true talent” as that old Lebanese dude who (I think, still) owns half of the godawful** shot bars on sixth. They’re just looking to enjoy their twenties, not help find/support the next Rolling Arctic Whoop! Wolf Unclelab. They'll be accountants or prison farmers someday, and don't really care about all that "art" in the meantime. No harm, no foul.
*which actually amounts to little more than “scene” inclusion and maybe free beer or blowjobs (dependent upon a willingness to accept substandard varieties for both)
**Read: AWESOME
you repeat my theme, though express it in different words. austin has good djs -- unfortunatelly, they rarely play. i agree on how this comes to be, but it's no excuse for accepting mediocrity and a continued misrepresentation of being a dj. no worries about a nightly, i'm kind of past that, though i will continue to slam lame-o djs when i hear their spread of misinformation...
Yeah By Dj's do you mean people that can beat match cause its rare when i go to Whisky that the guys up there actually have that ability. Austin has some amazing DJ's with some very unorthodox sounds. It's funny that the people that go to hear tim sweeney could hear several other jocks in town that play a similar sound. But because of the politix or hype they dont get the exposure. Dig deep people and youl find some amazing talent.
Cowboy, I've been listening to DJs for a long, long time. Not sure about the "accepting mediocrity" thing. I'll just mark it up to frustration, and not an actual slight against the collective ability of the rest of us to judge decent DJ skill.
Greg, people will come out to see Sweeney because he's not a gamble like some 22 year-old Joe Needlekid from Abilene who doesn't promote or explain himself but expects everyone in the entire world to shut the fuck up while he plays the best music in the whole wide universe.
Sweeney's done his time, so there's a reasonable expectation of quality. Needlekid needs to do his time too. Whether it pains him or not, he has to prove that he knows what he's doing. Just like any other venture in life. Preferably without crying incessantly about it.
To any other rising DJ stars, as far as regular gigs at normal ol' Austin bars go, it's like this: if bar owners could get MORE kids drinking that kamikazee mix-shit by having drugged pumas sleep-wrestle on stage, they'd do that instead of dealing with sound issues and snarky DJ egos. It's NEVER about who is "better". It's about who gets more money through the door. Period.
Don't be too quick to make the mistake of blaming whoever is on the decks for the fact that others (you) aren't in their place. If there are better DJs out there, then they need to get out of their mom's basement and prove it. Talk to the DJs you loathe. Perhaps find a way to get in with them. Join forces. Maybe start a competing night right next door to them. If they suck so bad, how hard could it be to totally destroy them, right?
Be wary of slighting those who do, just because you're too afraid to try. That self-defeating tune is tired and old.
Whether you like Ian's work or not, he's DOing something. If others can do better, then they should do so.
That is why I rather spin at PLUSH instead of whisky bar/beauty bar because people are there to dance, know the music and are not hipsters. I rather play to a smaller crowd of people that care than 100 that don't.