Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
LET'S GO BUY SOME RECORDS!!
I know its been a long time since my last post...and well, sorry about that.
So...records...music....the lifeblood of DJ's (well...alot of us anyways.)...the soundtrack to our lives...
Imagine being 14 years old fresh into DJ'ing and living in a SUPER small town in rural BF Illinois, and not yet being able to drive....where do you get your music from?
ANYWHERE YOU POSSIBLY CAN.
So in my town back then there were "dime" stores..which are like convenience stores, but bigger...but not as big as a department store...one of the few we had was called Perry Drug, which, conveniently, was right next door to where my mom went grocery shopping...and they had a music section...not huge, but they sold records (no singles...except on 45)...just full LP's....I remember getting some Run DMC 45's from there...99 cents or...maybe 1.25 each...cant remember....I do remember seeing a Twisted Sister album in there and on the back cover there was a huge TS piece with each of the band members names in graffiti by legendary NYC writer Vulcan, and just thinking that was the coolest cover ever.
Also on the opposite end of town from the dime store, we had Zayre and K Mart...again...both of which had music sections, and theirs were a bit bigger than Perry's was....I never got much from K Mart except a few of the "Breakdance" compilation things (on casette for my boombox natrually)...but from Zayre, I got the "Back In Black" album by Whodini....that I remember vividly.
In the part we (my family) called "Uptown" there was (still is) an Ace Hardware that my dad would go to almost every weekend....I always went with him since before I started dj'ing....first it was to cruise the toy section and scoring some Hot Wheels....later it was checking out all of the bike stuff...then I learned, they too, sold records....also...when my needles broke, they sold replacements...but not the same brand as I originally had, so I had to get new cartridges...the ones they sold here were some off...cheapo brand, but those things would take a BEATING and would last a LONG time (well...for P-mount cartridges anyways)
One day while riding my bike around town I was over by Zayre and happened to look across the street at the new shopping strip that was just built and i noticed something..."Flipside Records"...woah...whats this? I rode over...."opening in 2 weeks"...I look thru the window and notice theres already some product on the shelves...and something grabbed my eye and made my heart start beating...I saw a section for "12 Inch Singles"....OHMAHGAWD!!! THIS IS IT!!! So I go over on opening day after school...I go to the singles section...im seeing alot of pop....rock....I didnt realize it at the time, but this is a chain store, and they dont know about House Music...there was some Hip Hop...but I was getting more into dance stuff...I think the only thing I got from there, that I can remember is "Boy I've Been Told" by Sa-Fire...
Now, I cant remember HOW I heard of this store that was apparently "Heaven" out in Waukegan, but I remember someone going there one day and coming back with REAL house records....im talking DJ International, Trax, Jes Say...THE SHIT, so I HAD to get there....which took ALOT of me begging my mom or dad to take me....so one Saturday we took a drive out there...down Washington Street, to a place called Strawberry Fields...let me tell you about this spot...it wasn't a HUGE store...but what they lacked in size, they made up for in quality...when you walked through the door, to the left there was the rock and punk stuff...to the right was the cash register and counters / showcases...and down the middle of the store there was record racks...walking down the side with the register, the racks to your left were where they had the goods if you were a DJ....now when my parents took me there, I didnt have a WHOLE lot of time to look / shop, but I tried to get through it all as fast as I could before I was told we had to go...everything that I ever wanted was probably in those racks, but I didnt know the titles of alot of stuff then, so I grabbed a few of what I did know...over the next few years I shopped at that store as much as I possibly could...then they moved the store to the more accessible Grand Ave, and closed shortly thereafter....
Around the same time I was going to Strawberry Fields, a couple of my friends were venturing down into Chicago for the stuff they couldnt get at S.F.....they would go to Loop Records, Imports Etc., (both of which I never got the chance to visit) and a store called Gramophone.
The original location at 2663 N. Clark is a LEGENDARY spot...you walk in on any given saturday afternoon across that black and white tile floor, and its like a who's who of DJ's...OH...theres Derrick Carter playing in the booth....oh whats that DJ Sneak? I should check this tune out? ok cool!!
As far as records...I dont even have to mention....they had that shit on LOCKDOWN....anything and fucking everything...if Gramophone didnt have it, you didnt need it, plain and simple.and the man to see when you went and knew where EVERYTHING was at if you couldnt find it was Andy "Mixin" Moy.
That guy was the guru...his recommendations were ALWAYS spot on based on what I was picking up any particular day...he was one of those guys where you could hum a part of a tune...or say part of a hook, and know exactly what you were talking about.
The store has now moved a couple blocks north of where it was originally at, now located at 2843 N. Clark but theyre still going!!
I would later do alot of shopping at Frequency in Schaumburg that was owned by Rick "Get Down" Garcia that started out as a mixtape kiosk, then grew to include vinyl...then eventually have a storefront in One Schaumburg Place mall (now where Streets Of Woodfield stand) and then finally move to a full blown store on Golf Road before closing and selling to Another Level (another chicagoland based record store that had a couple of locations)
Super Dance, in Rolling Meadows, which started out as part of the Just Dance chain of stores was another spot I shopped at almost religiously when I couldnt get down to Gramophone...this is where I really got into Strictly Rhythm Records, that were sold to me by the man known as Peace MC (later to become the legendary Alex Peace)
so those were the spots that I went to ALOT before I actually worked in a store myself...more on that in a future post...
other stores that I went to, from memory...but didnt frequent alot..
Blockbuster Music in Schaumburg (closed)
Hot Jams on Archer & Pulaski in Chicago (closed)
Just Dance on Western Ave in Chicago (closed)
Beat Parlor (i forgot the street this was on...in Chicago....cool store...good prices..just never got there alot...closed i think)
DJ Records in Berwyn (still operates out of Cicero, by appointment only...GREAT spot for classics)...hit up Benji Espinoza
Kstarke on Western Ave in Chicago (in business...another cool spot that I dont get to very often)
next time...starting to play out!!
So...records...music....the lifeblood of DJ's (well...alot of us anyways.)...the soundtrack to our lives...
Imagine being 14 years old fresh into DJ'ing and living in a SUPER small town in rural BF Illinois, and not yet being able to drive....where do you get your music from?
ANYWHERE YOU POSSIBLY CAN.
So in my town back then there were "dime" stores..which are like convenience stores, but bigger...but not as big as a department store...one of the few we had was called Perry Drug, which, conveniently, was right next door to where my mom went grocery shopping...and they had a music section...not huge, but they sold records (no singles...except on 45)...just full LP's....I remember getting some Run DMC 45's from there...99 cents or...maybe 1.25 each...cant remember....I do remember seeing a Twisted Sister album in there and on the back cover there was a huge TS piece with each of the band members names in graffiti by legendary NYC writer Vulcan, and just thinking that was the coolest cover ever.
Also on the opposite end of town from the dime store, we had Zayre and K Mart...again...both of which had music sections, and theirs were a bit bigger than Perry's was....I never got much from K Mart except a few of the "Breakdance" compilation things (on casette for my boombox natrually)...but from Zayre, I got the "Back In Black" album by Whodini....that I remember vividly.
In the part we (my family) called "Uptown" there was (still is) an Ace Hardware that my dad would go to almost every weekend....I always went with him since before I started dj'ing....first it was to cruise the toy section and scoring some Hot Wheels....later it was checking out all of the bike stuff...then I learned, they too, sold records....also...when my needles broke, they sold replacements...but not the same brand as I originally had, so I had to get new cartridges...the ones they sold here were some off...cheapo brand, but those things would take a BEATING and would last a LONG time (well...for P-mount cartridges anyways)
One day while riding my bike around town I was over by Zayre and happened to look across the street at the new shopping strip that was just built and i noticed something..."Flipside Records"...woah...whats this? I rode over...."opening in 2 weeks"...I look thru the window and notice theres already some product on the shelves...and something grabbed my eye and made my heart start beating...I saw a section for "12 Inch Singles"....OHMAHGAWD!!! THIS IS IT!!! So I go over on opening day after school...I go to the singles section...im seeing alot of pop....rock....I didnt realize it at the time, but this is a chain store, and they dont know about House Music...there was some Hip Hop...but I was getting more into dance stuff...I think the only thing I got from there, that I can remember is "Boy I've Been Told" by Sa-Fire...
Now, I cant remember HOW I heard of this store that was apparently "Heaven" out in Waukegan, but I remember someone going there one day and coming back with REAL house records....im talking DJ International, Trax, Jes Say...THE SHIT, so I HAD to get there....which took ALOT of me begging my mom or dad to take me....so one Saturday we took a drive out there...down Washington Street, to a place called Strawberry Fields...let me tell you about this spot...it wasn't a HUGE store...but what they lacked in size, they made up for in quality...when you walked through the door, to the left there was the rock and punk stuff...to the right was the cash register and counters / showcases...and down the middle of the store there was record racks...walking down the side with the register, the racks to your left were where they had the goods if you were a DJ....now when my parents took me there, I didnt have a WHOLE lot of time to look / shop, but I tried to get through it all as fast as I could before I was told we had to go...everything that I ever wanted was probably in those racks, but I didnt know the titles of alot of stuff then, so I grabbed a few of what I did know...over the next few years I shopped at that store as much as I possibly could...then they moved the store to the more accessible Grand Ave, and closed shortly thereafter....
Around the same time I was going to Strawberry Fields, a couple of my friends were venturing down into Chicago for the stuff they couldnt get at S.F.....they would go to Loop Records, Imports Etc., (both of which I never got the chance to visit) and a store called Gramophone.
The original location at 2663 N. Clark is a LEGENDARY spot...you walk in on any given saturday afternoon across that black and white tile floor, and its like a who's who of DJ's...OH...theres Derrick Carter playing in the booth....oh whats that DJ Sneak? I should check this tune out? ok cool!!
As far as records...I dont even have to mention....they had that shit on LOCKDOWN....anything and fucking everything...if Gramophone didnt have it, you didnt need it, plain and simple.and the man to see when you went and knew where EVERYTHING was at if you couldnt find it was Andy "Mixin" Moy.
That guy was the guru...his recommendations were ALWAYS spot on based on what I was picking up any particular day...he was one of those guys where you could hum a part of a tune...or say part of a hook, and know exactly what you were talking about.
The store has now moved a couple blocks north of where it was originally at, now located at 2843 N. Clark but theyre still going!!
I would later do alot of shopping at Frequency in Schaumburg that was owned by Rick "Get Down" Garcia that started out as a mixtape kiosk, then grew to include vinyl...then eventually have a storefront in One Schaumburg Place mall (now where Streets Of Woodfield stand) and then finally move to a full blown store on Golf Road before closing and selling to Another Level (another chicagoland based record store that had a couple of locations)
Super Dance, in Rolling Meadows, which started out as part of the Just Dance chain of stores was another spot I shopped at almost religiously when I couldnt get down to Gramophone...this is where I really got into Strictly Rhythm Records, that were sold to me by the man known as Peace MC (later to become the legendary Alex Peace)
so those were the spots that I went to ALOT before I actually worked in a store myself...more on that in a future post...
other stores that I went to, from memory...but didnt frequent alot..
Blockbuster Music in Schaumburg (closed)
Hot Jams on Archer & Pulaski in Chicago (closed)
Just Dance on Western Ave in Chicago (closed)
Beat Parlor (i forgot the street this was on...in Chicago....cool store...good prices..just never got there alot...closed i think)
DJ Records in Berwyn (still operates out of Cicero, by appointment only...GREAT spot for classics)...hit up Benji Espinoza
Kstarke on Western Ave in Chicago (in business...another cool spot that I dont get to very often)
next time...starting to play out!!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Scratch Breakthrough!!
So this is the mixer I had...the Realistic joint made by Radio Shack, as mentioned in the earlier post
as I also mentioned, or maybe I didnt, the crossfaders back in this day were STIFF, and this one in particular had a little notch in the middle of it so you knew that you had the fader exactly in the center.
Above the 2 phono channels, there are SUPER little switches for Phono / Line inputs that I could only grab with my fingertips...more on this in a sec.
Tom Bustos, my OG DJ partner came up DJ'ing with me and had gotten his own set of gear...if memory serves me correct, he had Realistic turntables, but he had a GLI PMX 5000 mixer, which wasnt TOP level, but it was up there...the only picture I could find is a PMX 9000 mixer which i think was GLI's top of the line.
Now, with the GLI mixers, their Line / Phono switches were more like todays...an actual "pole" type switch thats easy to handle.
So one day Tom and I were having our usual DJ session at his house...I would play a tune, then he would mix, like, 4 or 5, then I would get to mix 1...then he would mix 4 or 5...he was a bit of a hog.
I dont remember why, but I started cutting the sound out...like...a "pause" kind of....with the Line switch while a song would play (just cutting out, say, a snare here and there), but then a lightbulb went off about trying to scratch using that switch.
(little did I know, that alot of DJ's were already on to this...i had no idea)
So before I could try this on his GLI, it was time for me to go home..
I must have worked at scratching with my tiny switches for HOURS, because, when I finally figured out the hand / fader (well...switch) coordination, it was 10:30 at night, and I think I got home that day at 4 or 5.
I HAD to call Tom and report my breakthrough...he was sleeping when I called, but I told his mom to wake him up.
"ugherhghem....whats up?"
"DUDE...I LEARNED HOW TO HICCUP!!!"
("hiccup" is what we called Transforming...we thought it sounded like hiccupping)
"cool..show me tomorrow"
So the next day, I grabbed some records and rode my bike to his house and showed him the switches on his mixer.
"youre not supposed to use those for scratching...youre only supposed to use the fader" (this from a guy I had to almost FORCE to use the pitch control...he thought that shouldnt have been messed with either...true story)
"oh yeah? watch this"
diggadiggadigga
"WOAH!! LET ME TRY!!"
and the rest, as they say, is history...I wore my little Realistic switches OUT over the years I had that mixer...I need to find one on ebay with another set of Belt Drive turntables to put in my collection.
Next time, I go into the spots for records.
Above the 2 phono channels, there are SUPER little switches for Phono / Line inputs that I could only grab with my fingertips...more on this in a sec.
Tom Bustos, my OG DJ partner came up DJ'ing with me and had gotten his own set of gear...if memory serves me correct, he had Realistic turntables, but he had a GLI PMX 5000 mixer, which wasnt TOP level, but it was up there...the only picture I could find is a PMX 9000 mixer which i think was GLI's top of the line.
So one day Tom and I were having our usual DJ session at his house...I would play a tune, then he would mix, like, 4 or 5, then I would get to mix 1...then he would mix 4 or 5...he was a bit of a hog.
I dont remember why, but I started cutting the sound out...like...a "pause" kind of....with the Line switch while a song would play (just cutting out, say, a snare here and there), but then a lightbulb went off about trying to scratch using that switch.
(little did I know, that alot of DJ's were already on to this...i had no idea)
So before I could try this on his GLI, it was time for me to go home..
I must have worked at scratching with my tiny switches for HOURS, because, when I finally figured out the hand / fader (well...switch) coordination, it was 10:30 at night, and I think I got home that day at 4 or 5.
I HAD to call Tom and report my breakthrough...he was sleeping when I called, but I told his mom to wake him up.
"ugherhghem....whats up?"
"DUDE...I LEARNED HOW TO HICCUP!!!"
("hiccup" is what we called Transforming...we thought it sounded like hiccupping)
"cool..show me tomorrow"
So the next day, I grabbed some records and rode my bike to his house and showed him the switches on his mixer.
"youre not supposed to use those for scratching...youre only supposed to use the fader" (this from a guy I had to almost FORCE to use the pitch control...he thought that shouldnt have been messed with either...true story)
"oh yeah? watch this"
diggadiggadigga
"WOAH!! LET ME TRY!!"
and the rest, as they say, is history...I wore my little Realistic switches OUT over the years I had that mixer...I need to find one on ebay with another set of Belt Drive turntables to put in my collection.
Next time, I go into the spots for records.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
What did I get myself into?
so...DJ gear (i guess...) obtained...we get the stuff home, I unbox it all and clear off the dresser in my bedroom to set it all up...one problem...the stereo system i have isnt going to work....shit.
in the living room, my parents have a stereo system that WILL work....so I convince my parents into doing a swap. done.
now, in my record collection, i only have probably 10 records AT BEST...and theyre either hip hop (UTFO and Whodini) or house (Steve Silk Hurley and Chip E)...and they cant all be mixed together...so I start trying to mix the house records together.
so while I was at the Kristof's teen nights watching the DJ that was there, I would eventually start to ask question about how he did things...one of them was about the Pitch Control, which, as he explained to me, was a way to adjust the speed of the music to match what was being played....+ meant that the music would be playing faster than normal, and - would mean slower, so as soon as I started trying this at home, I already had a very basic understanding on HOW to mix...now, it just comes down to making it happen.
the first few months into it were really a bit frustrating, because, essentially, I was sort of teaching myself how to do everything, so I stopped...for probably a month.
I remember waking up one morning after my "hiatus", sitting up in my bed and looking at my equipment thinking "what did I get myself into? what am I going to do with this stuff?"
then something just came over me after sitting there for a few minutes...like a feeling of rejuvenation and enthusiasm...like a feeling of someone telling me that THIS is what im meant to do with my life....SOMETHING musically....and from that moment on, without any embellishment of the truth, I decided to dedicate the majority of my life to music....its not a hobby for me...its a SEVERE passion.
I started practicing dam near ALL day....EVERY day on mixing only stopping to eat or go to the bathroom.
phone call? take a message, ill call them back...friends come over? cool...hang out in my bedroom and watch me practice.
to this day I STILL practice (more like keeping sharp and brushing the rust off...)
moral of this post?
if you truly love something, dedicate yourself, and dont let anyone or anything stand in the way.
next post, I realize a trick to scratching thanks to my friends GLI mixer.
in the living room, my parents have a stereo system that WILL work....so I convince my parents into doing a swap. done.
now, in my record collection, i only have probably 10 records AT BEST...and theyre either hip hop (UTFO and Whodini) or house (Steve Silk Hurley and Chip E)...and they cant all be mixed together...so I start trying to mix the house records together.
so while I was at the Kristof's teen nights watching the DJ that was there, I would eventually start to ask question about how he did things...one of them was about the Pitch Control, which, as he explained to me, was a way to adjust the speed of the music to match what was being played....+ meant that the music would be playing faster than normal, and - would mean slower, so as soon as I started trying this at home, I already had a very basic understanding on HOW to mix...now, it just comes down to making it happen.
the first few months into it were really a bit frustrating, because, essentially, I was sort of teaching myself how to do everything, so I stopped...for probably a month.
I remember waking up one morning after my "hiatus", sitting up in my bed and looking at my equipment thinking "what did I get myself into? what am I going to do with this stuff?"
then something just came over me after sitting there for a few minutes...like a feeling of rejuvenation and enthusiasm...like a feeling of someone telling me that THIS is what im meant to do with my life....SOMETHING musically....and from that moment on, without any embellishment of the truth, I decided to dedicate the majority of my life to music....its not a hobby for me...its a SEVERE passion.
I started practicing dam near ALL day....EVERY day on mixing only stopping to eat or go to the bathroom.
phone call? take a message, ill call them back...friends come over? cool...hang out in my bedroom and watch me practice.
to this day I STILL practice (more like keeping sharp and brushing the rust off...)
moral of this post?
if you truly love something, dedicate yourself, and dont let anyone or anything stand in the way.
next post, I realize a trick to scratching thanks to my friends GLI mixer.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The Graduate - 1986
So, just to backtrack a tad...
Those teen night parties I was attending at Kristof's in my previous post...every once in a while, they would have an "all nighter"...which meant, you got to the club, they locked everyone in, and you couldnt leave (except for an emergency of course) until the next morning...now the club also had a bowling alley, so during these all nighters, there would be free food...drinks...free bowling etc etc etc....and at one particular all nighter, they were having a DJ battle.
This had to be late 85...early 86, so I wasnt even technically a DJ yet, and I only had a small armful of records....but hey....fuck it...im in!!
I remember bits and pieces of my.....uh....set. which was......lets say....god awful...i had no idea how to beatmatch...no idea on how to scratch, but i tried both!!!
"Disaster" is being polite.
So that brings us to 1986...8th grade...the end of my crews B Boy era, but supposedly the beginning of our Hip Hop group era!
I was so hellbent on this actually happening, that I would look thru catalogs from department stores...in their "stereo" sections, looking for turntables....then I learned of the Technics SL-1200.
Nearing the big day..Graduation....my parents asked me what I would like for a graduation gift.
Natrually, "DJ equipment" was the ONLY option.
Since my parents were down with music, they were down with me getting gear....so they asked me what kind of equipment I wanted.
"SL-1200 turntables with Shure SC-35 cartridges, and a Numark mixer" (standard gear for the pro DJ back then)
"Ok...on sunday after graduation we'll go get what you want"
oh holy shit....its SO on right now.
Sunday rolls around, and we head out for Soundz Music that was in Wheeling, IL....thats where they had the good stuff.....we pull up to the building...my heart is beating out of my chest....I look in the window...there it is (cue the angels singing)...2 1200's with Shure carts...19" Numark mixer, all neatly tucked away in a coffin ready to go....my dad says "come on...lets do it"...I go to open the door...nothing....I pull harder...nothing....I look at the hours posted...."CLOSED SUNDAYS"
YES.
De. va. sta. ted.
So, whats the logical thing I thought of? Waited a day?
Fuck no....Sunday was equipment day, and by God....IM GETTING EQUIPMENT ON SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!
So we roll to the mall....yes...THE MALL.
Back in the 80's when people would actually venture out of their houses to go shopping (before Amazon, Zappos, Peapod and all of that) we went to shopping malls.....alot......and in most shopping malls, there were Audio / Video stores that sold home audio gear, TV's, and so on and so forth.
So we trot in to Alan's Stereo.
"im looking for a pair of turntables that have a pitch control on them"
"two?'
"yeah...im starting to DJ, and I need two with needles...and a mixer"
"well, we have the turntables and needles, but we dont sell mixers...youll have to go to Radio Shack for that"
"fine...let me see what you have for turntables"
then we go to the turntable section of the store....and theyre all kind of cheap...just for home use...not intended for DJing..
"do you guys sell 1200's?"
"oh...you mean the Technics ones? no...we dont carry those"
perfect.
so my stubborn impatient ass picked the only turntables they had with a pitch control on them.
the belt driven Vector-Research VT240, with Audio Technica P-Mount cartridges.
(in case you dont know, belt drive turntables are basically a small little motor with a rubberband around it, and the platter....SUPER hi tech...pfft.)
fine. done....lets get the mixer.
I was already checking Radio Shack for stuff, and I knew the mixer I needed...
Headphone Level, check.
Crossfader, check.
Headphone Cue, check.
done....now, I need to learn how to use this crap.
Those teen night parties I was attending at Kristof's in my previous post...every once in a while, they would have an "all nighter"...which meant, you got to the club, they locked everyone in, and you couldnt leave (except for an emergency of course) until the next morning...now the club also had a bowling alley, so during these all nighters, there would be free food...drinks...free bowling etc etc etc....and at one particular all nighter, they were having a DJ battle.
This had to be late 85...early 86, so I wasnt even technically a DJ yet, and I only had a small armful of records....but hey....fuck it...im in!!
I remember bits and pieces of my.....uh....set. which was......lets say....god awful...i had no idea how to beatmatch...no idea on how to scratch, but i tried both!!!
"Disaster" is being polite.
So that brings us to 1986...8th grade...the end of my crews B Boy era, but supposedly the beginning of our Hip Hop group era!
I was so hellbent on this actually happening, that I would look thru catalogs from department stores...in their "stereo" sections, looking for turntables....then I learned of the Technics SL-1200.
Nearing the big day..Graduation....my parents asked me what I would like for a graduation gift.
Natrually, "DJ equipment" was the ONLY option.
Since my parents were down with music, they were down with me getting gear....so they asked me what kind of equipment I wanted.
"SL-1200 turntables with Shure SC-35 cartridges, and a Numark mixer" (standard gear for the pro DJ back then)
"Ok...on sunday after graduation we'll go get what you want"
oh holy shit....its SO on right now.
Sunday rolls around, and we head out for Soundz Music that was in Wheeling, IL....thats where they had the good stuff.....we pull up to the building...my heart is beating out of my chest....I look in the window...there it is (cue the angels singing)...2 1200's with Shure carts...19" Numark mixer, all neatly tucked away in a coffin ready to go....my dad says "come on...lets do it"...I go to open the door...nothing....I pull harder...nothing....I look at the hours posted...."CLOSED SUNDAYS"
De. va. sta. ted.
So, whats the logical thing I thought of? Waited a day?
Fuck no....Sunday was equipment day, and by God....IM GETTING EQUIPMENT ON SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!
So we roll to the mall....yes...THE MALL.
Back in the 80's when people would actually venture out of their houses to go shopping (before Amazon, Zappos, Peapod and all of that) we went to shopping malls.....alot......and in most shopping malls, there were Audio / Video stores that sold home audio gear, TV's, and so on and so forth.
So we trot in to Alan's Stereo.
"im looking for a pair of turntables that have a pitch control on them"
"two?'
"yeah...im starting to DJ, and I need two with needles...and a mixer"
"well, we have the turntables and needles, but we dont sell mixers...youll have to go to Radio Shack for that"
"fine...let me see what you have for turntables"
then we go to the turntable section of the store....and theyre all kind of cheap...just for home use...not intended for DJing..
"do you guys sell 1200's?"
"oh...you mean the Technics ones? no...we dont carry those"
perfect.
so my stubborn impatient ass picked the only turntables they had with a pitch control on them.
the belt driven Vector-Research VT240, with Audio Technica P-Mount cartridges.
(in case you dont know, belt drive turntables are basically a small little motor with a rubberband around it, and the platter....SUPER hi tech...pfft.)
fine. done....lets get the mixer.
I was already checking Radio Shack for stuff, and I knew the mixer I needed...
Crossfader, check.
Headphone Cue, check.
done....now, I need to learn how to use this crap.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Just Imagine
Friday, June 29, 2012
B-Boy Breakdown 1983-1986
So as you can probably imagine if you watched the video clip in the previous post, B-Boying and everything that went with it completely took over my life for a solid 3 years...most of it has stayed with me to this day.
Now...I dont exactly know HOW I found these radio stations that played these (then VERY foreign) DJ mixes, (WBMX, WGCI and a VERY fuzzy WNUR) but I knew that that's all I wanted all day, every day, and couldnt wait until the 12 o'clock lunch mix, or, better yet, Friday and Saturday night!
If memory serves me correctly...there was quite a bit of uptempo hip hop being played (early standouts include Its Like That by Run DMC among others)...and then the DJ's would play these REALLY stripped down instrumental tracks...well...not really instrumental...because they were just tracks of drum patterns....which were some of the earliest House tracks....i HATED those tracks because they essentially didnt do anything except repeat the same beat for 3 or 4 minutes...BOOOORIIIING (back then of course, because i was pretty much a straight Hip Hop head at the time)
Around 1984 / 85, I, along with my partner in crime Tom Bustos, began to venture out going to parties at the local community center in our area here, and a place called Kristof's that held a "teen night" at their nightclub.
I had been listening to the DJ's on the radio for about a year or so, but could never exactly understand how they mixed songs together, until I started attending these parties and teen nights...yeah, we would go to hang out...check out the girlies and whatnot....but I increasingly found myself sitting near the DJ booth and watching the DJ...like...at a certain point, when we would walk in, I went straight to the booth, and didnt really move for the rest of the night.
One of the DJ's that played at the teen night, also DJ'ed our school dances...I remember sitting in Mr. Gibson's 7th grade classroom one Friday afternoon...the day of a dance...and saw a couple guys bringing in the DJ equipment to get set up...i asked a friend of mine who sat near the door if they were "scratch dj's"...meaning....did they have turntables....with an affirmative nod, my heart started beating a little faster.
Again...I was still a B Boy, so when it came time for the dance to start, it was straight to the middle of the circle to do our thing. (now that i REALLY think about it....me and my crew were really the only ones doing any type of dancing...weird)
So that whole scene, the community center parties, the teen club and the school dances was my life until 1986.
Now, as you may, or may not remember...back then, to most of rural America, Breaking was just a fad...and when a fad dies, or isnt deemed "cool" anymore, you dont really have a choice but to find something else to do...being that you just dont want to be made fun of....if I only knew then what I know now...
So my crew and I were left with a dilemma in 1986...the last year of grade school...."what now"? Someone had the idea of starting a rap group....cool....whos going to do what? Everyone wanted to rap....but not me.
I said.."ill be the DJ"...and to this day, im the only one who stuck with the original plan.
Next post, 8th grade graduation, and my first DJ Battle (before I actually had my own equipment)
Now...I dont exactly know HOW I found these radio stations that played these (then VERY foreign) DJ mixes, (WBMX, WGCI and a VERY fuzzy WNUR) but I knew that that's all I wanted all day, every day, and couldnt wait until the 12 o'clock lunch mix, or, better yet, Friday and Saturday night!
If memory serves me correctly...there was quite a bit of uptempo hip hop being played (early standouts include Its Like That by Run DMC among others)...and then the DJ's would play these REALLY stripped down instrumental tracks...well...not really instrumental...because they were just tracks of drum patterns....which were some of the earliest House tracks....i HATED those tracks because they essentially didnt do anything except repeat the same beat for 3 or 4 minutes...BOOOORIIIING (back then of course, because i was pretty much a straight Hip Hop head at the time)
Around 1984 / 85, I, along with my partner in crime Tom Bustos, began to venture out going to parties at the local community center in our area here, and a place called Kristof's that held a "teen night" at their nightclub.
I had been listening to the DJ's on the radio for about a year or so, but could never exactly understand how they mixed songs together, until I started attending these parties and teen nights...yeah, we would go to hang out...check out the girlies and whatnot....but I increasingly found myself sitting near the DJ booth and watching the DJ...like...at a certain point, when we would walk in, I went straight to the booth, and didnt really move for the rest of the night.
One of the DJ's that played at the teen night, also DJ'ed our school dances...I remember sitting in Mr. Gibson's 7th grade classroom one Friday afternoon...the day of a dance...and saw a couple guys bringing in the DJ equipment to get set up...i asked a friend of mine who sat near the door if they were "scratch dj's"...meaning....did they have turntables....with an affirmative nod, my heart started beating a little faster.
Again...I was still a B Boy, so when it came time for the dance to start, it was straight to the middle of the circle to do our thing. (now that i REALLY think about it....me and my crew were really the only ones doing any type of dancing...weird)
So that whole scene, the community center parties, the teen club and the school dances was my life until 1986.
Now, as you may, or may not remember...back then, to most of rural America, Breaking was just a fad...and when a fad dies, or isnt deemed "cool" anymore, you dont really have a choice but to find something else to do...being that you just dont want to be made fun of....if I only knew then what I know now...
So my crew and I were left with a dilemma in 1986...the last year of grade school...."what now"? Someone had the idea of starting a rap group....cool....whos going to do what? Everyone wanted to rap....but not me.
I said.."ill be the DJ"...and to this day, im the only one who stuck with the original plan.
Next post, 8th grade graduation, and my first DJ Battle (before I actually had my own equipment)
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
Roots Continued
Roots (70's to the early 80's Part 2)
Other than my parents always having some sort of music playing in our house, and ive been thinking about this...
my brother had a HUGE impact on me musically as a kid.
My brother is a rocker (although he listens to country too...i wont hold it against him)...he introduced me to now CLASSIC albums such as "Diver Down" by Van Halen, "Dirty Deeds" by AC/DC, and most notably, "Destroyer" by KISS....and I vividly remember him listening to "Beth" over and over to learn the words....dont know if he was dating someone named Beth, of if he just really liked the song.
**side note**
Last year my wife and I saw KISS in concert (my first REAL rock concert...) and when they played Beth, everyone was on their feet singing along...including me...but I had to stop and sit down to compose myself, because hearing it brought me back to those early days of me and my brother sitting in his bedroom together listening to it, and i actually started getting emotional thinking about it.....even now while i type this and recall that memory, im getting a little choked up...what can I say...im sensitive. :)
so back to the story...1981....we had just gotten cable TV (WOW...30 channels!!!)...and i was MANUALLY turning the dial to see what I could find (no remote controls mind you)....MTV...ooh...whats this? (yes kiddies, MTV originally played nothing but music videos...can you believe it?)
The way I perceived music would be forever changed now that I can actually WATCH bands play rather than just listen.
I dont know how or why, but a couple weeks ago I was talking to my mom about my days as a drummer (more on that in a bit)
she told me, that as far back as she can remember, I would take 2 pencils and tap on the arm of our couch along with whatever song was playing, or what video was on at the time...
My mom loved her garage / yard sales..one saturday afternoon, I was with my mom on one of her excursions (seriously....she would have a map of our town and plan a route for as many sales as she could manage to get to) and at this particular house, there was this toy drum set...SUPER cheap made...the "heads" of the drums were paper for christ's sake...and I just sat there and just NEEDED to have it....well, she didnt have enough money to get it...and I was SUPER bummed...my dad was at his usual saturday watering hole, so we stopped in for a coke.
I told my dad what I had found, and that my mom didnt have enough money to get it...at first, he said no, but after some coaxing (ok...more begging / whining about it) he gave my mom the money and a drummer was born!!
I played the living hell out of those things and eventually got a hold of a REAL set...metallic brown Ludwig drums with some BEAT UP hi hats..no cymbals...no stand for the snare...I eventually enrolled in the marching band at my grade school, and my parents got me a decent cymbal, hi hats and a snare stand...YES!...and I played those drums dam near EVERY DAY for 3 years. (5th grade - 8th grade)
I had this little record player set up behind my drums so I could play along with stuff...ill have to find a picture (pre snare stand and all that)...i know there is one.
the stuff I was playing along with was stuff like "Run To The Hills" by Iron Maiden, the surf rock song "Wipeout" and a bunch more that I cant recall right now
I never expected what would come next..
Other than my parents always having some sort of music playing in our house, and ive been thinking about this...
my brother had a HUGE impact on me musically as a kid.
My brother is a rocker (although he listens to country too...i wont hold it against him)...he introduced me to now CLASSIC albums such as "Diver Down" by Van Halen, "Dirty Deeds" by AC/DC, and most notably, "Destroyer" by KISS....and I vividly remember him listening to "Beth" over and over to learn the words....dont know if he was dating someone named Beth, of if he just really liked the song.
**side note**
Last year my wife and I saw KISS in concert (my first REAL rock concert...) and when they played Beth, everyone was on their feet singing along...including me...but I had to stop and sit down to compose myself, because hearing it brought me back to those early days of me and my brother sitting in his bedroom together listening to it, and i actually started getting emotional thinking about it.....even now while i type this and recall that memory, im getting a little choked up...what can I say...im sensitive. :)
so back to the story...1981....we had just gotten cable TV (WOW...30 channels!!!)...and i was MANUALLY turning the dial to see what I could find (no remote controls mind you)....MTV...ooh...whats this? (yes kiddies, MTV originally played nothing but music videos...can you believe it?)
The way I perceived music would be forever changed now that I can actually WATCH bands play rather than just listen.
I dont know how or why, but a couple weeks ago I was talking to my mom about my days as a drummer (more on that in a bit)
she told me, that as far back as she can remember, I would take 2 pencils and tap on the arm of our couch along with whatever song was playing, or what video was on at the time...
My mom loved her garage / yard sales..one saturday afternoon, I was with my mom on one of her excursions (seriously....she would have a map of our town and plan a route for as many sales as she could manage to get to) and at this particular house, there was this toy drum set...SUPER cheap made...the "heads" of the drums were paper for christ's sake...and I just sat there and just NEEDED to have it....well, she didnt have enough money to get it...and I was SUPER bummed...my dad was at his usual saturday watering hole, so we stopped in for a coke.
I told my dad what I had found, and that my mom didnt have enough money to get it...at first, he said no, but after some coaxing (ok...more begging / whining about it) he gave my mom the money and a drummer was born!!
I played the living hell out of those things and eventually got a hold of a REAL set...metallic brown Ludwig drums with some BEAT UP hi hats..no cymbals...no stand for the snare...I eventually enrolled in the marching band at my grade school, and my parents got me a decent cymbal, hi hats and a snare stand...YES!...and I played those drums dam near EVERY DAY for 3 years. (5th grade - 8th grade)
I had this little record player set up behind my drums so I could play along with stuff...ill have to find a picture (pre snare stand and all that)...i know there is one.
the stuff I was playing along with was stuff like "Run To The Hills" by Iron Maiden, the surf rock song "Wipeout" and a bunch more that I cant recall right now
I never expected what would come next..
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Roots
Ok, i'm early with the post...ive been thinking about things, and rather than go to work and forget, ill just knock it out now.
Roots (70's to the early 80's) PART 1
As far back as I can remember, there has always been music playing in my parents house.
Earliest memories include...
laying on my parents bed in the middle of summer and hearing "The Tide Is High" by Blondie
riding in their light blue Ford station wagon and listening to "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge
going to see stock car races in Wisconsin with my dad and singing along with "Louisiana Saturday Night" by Mel McDaniel (had to Google that one)
whenever my dad would have to go to the hardware store on a saturday, I would always tag along...mind you..at this point in time, I was probably 8...maybe 9 years old TOPS, so my interest in records wont be for another 4 or 5 years yet....but back to the story.
on the usual saturday outing, after we ran the errands of the day, we would always stop off at a tavern so my dad could knock back a few cold ones, and shoot the shit with his buddies....I wasnt allowed to sit at the bar so my dad would give me a bunch of quarters to play games....and I did....until i discovered the jukebox.
This was Northern Illinois, so the selections were country, top 40, and some randoms like Elvis and whatnot.
I remember...6 plays for 1.00...and i STUDIED the selections to choose from, so I could play the BEST stuff that not only I liked, but what i saw some of the other people in the tavern liked too....(holy shit...i was playing dj...setting the mood in the room...and I knew NOTHING of "DJ'ing"...mind = blown)
This is about the time, where I think my interest in music really started....probably late 78...early 79...80
Tune back in tomorrow for part 2, where I get into drumming.
Roots (70's to the early 80's) PART 1
As far back as I can remember, there has always been music playing in my parents house.
Earliest memories include...
laying on my parents bed in the middle of summer and hearing "The Tide Is High" by Blondie
riding in their light blue Ford station wagon and listening to "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge
going to see stock car races in Wisconsin with my dad and singing along with "Louisiana Saturday Night" by Mel McDaniel (had to Google that one)
whenever my dad would have to go to the hardware store on a saturday, I would always tag along...mind you..at this point in time, I was probably 8...maybe 9 years old TOPS, so my interest in records wont be for another 4 or 5 years yet....but back to the story.
on the usual saturday outing, after we ran the errands of the day, we would always stop off at a tavern so my dad could knock back a few cold ones, and shoot the shit with his buddies....I wasnt allowed to sit at the bar so my dad would give me a bunch of quarters to play games....and I did....until i discovered the jukebox.
This was Northern Illinois, so the selections were country, top 40, and some randoms like Elvis and whatnot.
I remember...6 plays for 1.00...and i STUDIED the selections to choose from, so I could play the BEST stuff that not only I liked, but what i saw some of the other people in the tavern liked too....(holy shit...i was playing dj...setting the mood in the room...and I knew NOTHING of "DJ'ing"...mind = blown)
This is about the time, where I think my interest in music really started....probably late 78...early 79...80
Tune back in tomorrow for part 2, where I get into drumming.
Introduction
Lately i've been feeling the need to document my musical background and history...I have no idea why...maybe it will interest some of you that know of me, but dont "know" me...you know?
Forgive me if things get a tad long winded, im going to try to keep them relatively short and hopefully somewhat interesting. (probably not the latter though)
1st real post tomorrow, titled Roots.
Forgive me if things get a tad long winded, im going to try to keep them relatively short and hopefully somewhat interesting. (probably not the latter though)
1st real post tomorrow, titled Roots.
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