Dance nights re-emergent, more diverse
New tools, greater freedom for DJs
By Kevin W. Smith
KSMITH@AZSTARNET.COM
Technology changes things
It's not just the music that is changing; it's also how it gets to your eardrums.
Traditionally, vinyl records were the method of choice.
Now, even hardcore vinylists are switching over to laptops and MP3s, like local hip-hop DJs Chris "DJ Bonus" Arevalo and Hermilo "Herm" Guzman, who have co-hosted a weekly hip-hop night called the "Tortilla Factory" at Heart Five for more than three years.
"It's the next step," Guzman said, wearing a black Linda Ronstadt shirt. Certain music programs for computers let you do virtually the same thing as turntables except using digital music, he said.
Billy "Captain Crunk" Laing relies solely on his laptop to mix music for the masses. Whereas in the past DJs had to load milk crates' worth of vinyl records into their cars, Laing rides his bicycle to gigs.
"It's as if you could put a record in a record bag and never take it out," Laing said of his laptop, which is stuffed with MP3s.
Still some like Zondra Gutierrez, 30, aren't completely sold on the new technology. Gutierrez manages and books DJs at Heart Five, which is undergoing a change of ownership, but its name will remain the same for now.
Gutierrez leans toward hiring DJs who use only vinyl, citing the skill it takes to mix records.
"I personally just think the sound quality is better," she said. "I think it's just more exciting."
When in doubt
Three artists you can never fail throwing on:
• Michael Jackson.
• Prince.
• Missy Elliott.
How do you like
your DJs?
Super-skilled
'80s Night — Mondays.
House DJs: Dennis Spyder Rhodes and Sean T ('80s dance)
Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St.
www.hotelcongress.com
$4 for guys; free for ladies until 11 p.m., then it's $4.
Ghetto Blaster (commercial hip-hop) — Mondays.
House DJ: DJ Bonus.
Heart Five, 61 E. Congress St.
heart-five.com
$3 before 10 p.m.; $5 after.
Tortilla Factory (Old school hip-hip, soul, R&B and more) — Tuesdays.
House DJs: DJ Bonus and Herm.
myspace.com/tortillafactory
Heart Five.
heart-five.com
Free.
Downtown Discoteque (disco, soul, indie hip-hop) — Tuesdays.
House DJ: DJ Illete.
werdemup.com
Vaudeville Cabaret, 110 E. Congress St.
vaudevillecabaret.com.
Free.
*Mix* Thursdays (cover varies, ongoing guest DJ series).
Level Bar and Lounge, 4280 N. Campbell Ave.
leveltucson.com
Tonight: Meat Katie (England).
$10.
Pop Life (electroclash, punk-funk) — Saturdays
House DJ: Datwop.
myspace.com/nausea
Heart Five.
heart-five.com
$5.
One top DJ with variable guests
Black Mondays (rock, hip-hop, electroclash)
House DJ: Matt McCoy.
myspace.com/blackmondays
Surly Wench Pub, 424 N. Fourth Ave.
Free.
Note: McCoy will launch a Saturday dance night at Club Congress, "Bang! Bang!" in the new year.
No experience needed:
Optimist Club (varies) — Thursdays.
myspace.com/optimistclub
Club Congress. $2.
|
Ten years ago, the label "Club DJ" might have conjured up thoughts of an overly-energetic guy wearing goggles and a neon-yellow beanie spinning techno music for ravers to drop Ecstasy to.
Luckily, the music being spun by DJs around Tucson today incorporates styles as diverse as the venues that welcome them.
"There's no rules anymore," said local DJ Matt McCoy, 31.
McCoy is helping to lead a type of resurgence Downtown that sees more bars and clubs adding weekly dance nights to their schedules.
"We're definitely in a dance up-kick right now," said Club Congress' entertainment booker, David Slutes.
Popular music trends are notoriously cyclical, but for local venues that haven't regularly hosted a dance night, there's the long-term success of the popular '80s Night at Club Congress every Monday as a model.
Started in 1993, '80s Night has become one of Congress' biggest events of the week, attracting an average of 400 attendees.
Congress is primarily a live music venue, but for a while it had a policy of not booking any acts on Mondays to avoid infringing on '80s Night, which Slutes refers to as a "golden goose." Today, the club will book bands early enough so the live sets end in time for the sounds of Depeche Mode to resonate with clubgoers.
DJ Dennis Spyder Rhodes, 39, said that when he first tried to pitch Congress '80s Night, it was greeted with skepticism.
Rhodes saw potential. "It seemed like a no-brainer," he said.
Changes in the scene
Almost 14 years on, the laid-back and affable McCoy saw some weaknesses in Congress' popular night, such as a repetitious playlist. He started his own weekly night, "Black Mondays," more than a year ago at the Surly Wench on North Fourth Avenue as an alternative.
"Black Mondays" is a good example of a modern dance night and the rules it refuses. For one, McCoy doesn't stick to what might be traditionally defined as "dance music." You can hear anything from current indie rock, to pop, to hip-hop, to '80s classics all blending into McCoy's definition of "whatever sounds good."
"He plays stuff that I would actually buy and listen to," said Frank Anzaldua, 25, who added that he regularly attends "Black Mondays," as it has a "rock edge missing from most dance scenes."
Ian "DJ Illete" Sugarman, 21, spins strictly vinyl at Vaudeville Cabaret every Thursday night for the venue's "Downtown Discoteque" and said he's seen the parameters for what a hip-hop DJ can play expand.
"It's definitely branched out," said Sugarman, who plays "whatever I feel people will dance to." At Discoteque, the mix, which he describes as "dance music with soul," can include disco, funk, hip-hop and dance hall.
Longtime local DJ Giovanni "Datwop" Dominice, 34, has been playing local clubs since the early '90s and currently spins genres like dance-rock and electro-house at his weekly "Poplife" night at Heart Five. In his experience, the dance scene in Tucson builds up and then peters out.
"It seems like things are starting to happen again," he said. "People are more accepting of more eclectic-type sets."
The tunes and the DJ are a big part of the draw, but those out and about also cite everything from the atmosphere, the crowd, and the chance to blow off some steam. Then there's the timing, as plenty dance nights occur Mondays through Thursdays.
Allison Dumka, 21, said she stays in during the weekend to shake it during the week. "It's not as big of a meat market on the weekdays," she said.
To keep things fresh, McCoy welcomes weekly guest DJs, which on Nov. 20 included Adam Bravin, bassist for the popular rock act She Wants Revenge, who had played a headlining show at the Rialto Theatre with his band earlier in the night.
"I'm a DJ first and foremost," Bravin said, before getting up on the Surly Wench's stage to play artists such as Rod Stewart, the Cure, the Rolling Stones and Method Man.
Bravin's set kept revelers gyrating under dim red lights to the point where seemingly everyone in the bar had emptied to the dance floor.
"Everyone's a DJ"
The advancement of technology has also allowed more people to share their musical tastes.
"Everyone's a DJ, and no one's a DJ," McCoy said.
Before, being a DJ took a commitment to amass a record collection either on vinyl or CD, practice mixing the music together and establish a reputation to get gigs.
Now, nights like Congress' "Optimist Club" on Thursdays allow participants to just play music straight from their iPod.
The term "iPod DJ" has a negative connotation among DJs, Billy "Captain Crunk" Laing, 27, said, but a night like Optimist Club can also lower expectations and pressure for those playing music.
Jessica James, 26, started Optimist Club about three years ago, aiming to bring a house-party type of vibe into Congress. The night's really taken off this past year, now neck-in-neck in popularity with '80s Night, Slutes said.
The theory behind Optimist Club is to keep it consistent by being inconsistent, so James lets basically anyone DJ the night with either records, CDs, laptop, iPod, whatever.
"Whoever wants to play music, can," she said.
Just because you have a quality music collection and can create an iPod playlist doesn't make you a DJ, though.
"You kind of have to be able to rock the party," Laing said, adding that solid DJs bring solid sets.
Beat-matching, consistency and a feel for the room come from practice, said local hip-hop DJ Hermilo "Herm" Guzman, 32, who, along with Chris "DJ Bonus" Arevalo, 30, co-hosts the "Tortilla Factory" at Heart Five.
Also not entirely sold is Sugarman, who cites the accessibility of electronic DJ equipment, as opposed to investing $1,000 on vinyl equipment and forcing yourself to practice and get a foundation to make the money worthwhile.
"You can take your laptop you use for school, download a program, and you're a DJ," he said.
This argument sounds familiar to Dominice, who uses a mix of laptop and vinyl for his sets. Ten years ago, he noted, people said anyone who bought turntables and a mixer could be a DJ.
"There's a little bit more to it than that," he said. "The standout is going to be the talent behind it."
The Internet is also making it easier for DJs to discover music and share each other's latest obsessions via blogs, MySpace.com and message boards, Cholla High School graduate McCoy said. Ten years ago, you might have had to take a record-shopping trip to Los Angeles.
Guzman and Arevalo also say downloading MP3s allows them to stay ahead and break new music at gigs even before radio, which would have been difficult in the past as you had to wait for the record company's pressing.
Celebrity DJs
McCoy's criteria for a guest DJ at "Black Mondays" is that the person has attended the night before, has an overall understanding of the night's focus, has a knowledge and set list that includes more than one genre, and has enough experience to know what is and what is not going to work once given the reins.
In the vein that everyone is a DJ, there's also the relatively new trend of "celebrity DJs," in which someone like, say, Lindsay Lohan, is allowed to spin records at a New York nightclub basically because she is who she is, which happened at a wrap party for a movie this year, according to contactmusic.com.
"That's a whole other phenomenon," McCoy said.
In this past year, members from the indie rock band the Arcade Fire and seminal punk band the Ramones have spun in Scottsdale.
The phenomenon is likewise larger in celebrity-rich cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York — where Madonna caused a stir last year by popping in to spin at the popular "whatever sounds good" weekly MisShapes party, helping the night's 20-something house DJ trio become famous in turn.
One could even make the case that Bravin from She Wants Revenge is a celebrity DJ.
Teresith Martinez, 23, wearing a Cure shirt, went to the She Wants Revenge show and was hanging out afterward at the Surly Wench before Bravin went on stage. She said seeing Bravin DJ helps strip away the celebrity from his celebrity.
"You get to interact with them like regular people," she said. "They're more approachable that way."
Bravin said he doesn't DJ after parties to be more accessible to his fans, but rather for a love of the art form.
Dressed in a gray fedora, black shirt and vest, Bravin turned his head and took a swift survey of Surly Wench's crowd.
"I'm about to teach Tucson a lesson," he said.
Technology changes things
It's not just the music that is changing; it's also how it gets to your eardrums.
Traditionally, vinyl records were the method of choice.
Now, even hardcore vinylists are switching over to laptops and MP3s, like local hip-hop DJs Chris "DJ Bonus" Arevalo and Hermilo "Herm" Guzman, who have co-hosted a weekly hip-hop night called the "Tortilla Factory" at Heart Five for more than three years.
"It's the next step," Guzman said, wearing a black Linda Ronstadt shirt. Certain music programs for computers let you do virtually the same thing as turntables except using digital music, he said.
Billy "Captain Crunk" Laing relies solely on his laptop to mix music for the masses. Whereas in the past DJs had to load milk crates' worth of vinyl records into their cars, Laing rides his bicycle to gigs.
"It's as if you could put a record in a record bag and never take it out," Laing said of his laptop, which is stuffed with MP3s.
Still some like Zondra Gutierrez, 30, aren't completely sold on the new technology. Gutierrez manages and books DJs at Heart Five, which is undergoing a change of ownership, but its name will remain the same for now.
Gutierrez leans toward hiring DJs who use only vinyl, citing the skill it takes to mix records.
"I personally just think the sound quality is better," she said. "I think it's just more exciting."
When in doubt
Three artists you can never fail throwing on:
• Michael Jackson.
• Prince.
• Missy Elliott.
How do you like
your DJs?
Super-skilled
'80s Night — Mondays.
House DJs: Dennis Spyder Rhodes and Sean T ('80s dance)
Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St.
www.hotelcongress.com
$4 for guys; free for ladies until 11 p.m., then it's $4.
Ghetto Blaster (commercial hip-hop) — Mondays.
House DJ: DJ Bonus.
Heart Five, 61 E. Congress St.
heart-five.com
$3 before 10 p.m.; $5 after.
Tortilla Factory (Old school hip-hip, soul, R&B and more) — Tuesdays.
House DJs: DJ Bonus and Herm.
myspace.com/tortillafactory
Heart Five.
heart-five.com
Free.
Downtown Discoteque (disco, soul, indie hip-hop) — Tuesdays.
House DJ: DJ Illete.
werdemup.com
Vaudeville Cabaret, 110 E. Congress St.
vaudevillecabaret.com.
Free.
*Mix* Thursdays (cover varies, ongoing guest DJ series).
Level Bar and Lounge, 4280 N. Campbell Ave.
leveltucson.com
Tonight: Meat Katie (England).
$10.
Pop Life (electroclash, punk-funk) — Saturdays
House DJ: Datwop.
myspace.com/nausea
Heart Five.
heart-five.com
$5.
One top DJ with variable guests
Black Mondays (rock, hip-hop, electroclash)
House DJ: Matt McCoy.
myspace.com/blackmondays
Surly Wench Pub, 424 N. Fourth Ave.
Free.
Note: McCoy will launch a Saturday dance night at Club Congress, "Bang! Bang!" in the new year.
No experience needed:
Optimist Club (varies) — Thursdays.
myspace.com/optimistclub
Club Congress. $2.
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