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Smoove
Origin:
San Francisco
Years Playing: Many
Style: Breakz! Drum-n-Bass,
Trip-Hop.
Affiliation: NewsBreakz Magazine | DJ Smoove
Audio
Samples: Samples
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The track/DJ/party that made me want to be a DJ was:
Orbital’s “Brown” album
and “Diversions” really got my attention. Before that I
remember hearing The Art Of Noise and Kraftwork and thinking that was
rather interesting music. Janet Jackson’s “Control” album,
was also an early influence too, in terms of computer based dance music.
When I was in high school I used to listen to the “Masters Mixes” that
Steve Masters used to do on Live 105. Those introduced me to the idea
of blending songs together in a seamless mix. I first heard Grandmaster
DXT scratching on “Rockit” and ran out and bought Herbie
Handcock’s “Future Shock.” As for parties, on Saturday
night it was all about Eklektic-Hektic back in the days (daze?). Felix
The Dog, Ms. E, JuJu, StarEyes, they all rocked it. And Sunday nights
at The Top with Solar, Galen and Iz. And how can any discussion
about the SF night life be complete without mentioning Qool? Its
s seminal SF party, and it’s always been of the highest quality. I
don’t think you can call yourself a DJ in SF if you haven’t
played Qool.
Influences:
Marc Bolin, Diamond David Lee Roth, Parry Farrell, Frank Sinatra,
Jimi Hendrix, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Flea, Bon Jovi, Ryuchi Sakamoto,
Billy Idol, Philip Glass, Kieth Richards, Tangerine Dream, Stan Getz,
Jonny Rotten, Pablo Picasso, Grandmaster Falsh, Billy Holiday, Ravi
Shankar, Hunter S. Thompson, Frida Kahlo, Magnum P.I., Goldie, Roni
Size, Portishead, Aphrodite, Morris Day, Krafty Kutz, Steve McQueen,
Vince Guaraldi, Fab 5 Freddy, Slash, John Taylor and Nick Rhodes, Tricky,
Dave Brubeck, Jim Morrison, Wendy O. Williams, Mick Ronson, Hillal
Slovak, Randy Rhodes, Peter North, Irvine Welsh, Jonny Cash, the Stone
Roses, Massive Attack.
I got my first break:
The owner of Rockin' Java on Haight
St, years ago let me drag my decks and records down to his cafe and
play Jungle every Sunday afternoon. From there, DJ Seven roped
me into a Trip Hop weekly across the street at the Galaxy Club, which
is now Milk.
Some DJs I like playing with are:
Patricio, Samira, Melyss, and
the rest of Sister SF (especially in drag…) Jive, Lee Coombs,
Aaron Pope, The Angels Of Bass (Tamo, J9, ViaJay) Icon, Goldilox, [e]
Drops Beats, Jondi and Spesh, Laird, Jayo, Michele Bass and Donna Matrix
at the same time is *so* divine, Syd Gris, Majitope the sunrise specialist
and Bassnectar of course.
Favorite thing about the SF scene:
We have something very unique going
on here in SF. The Bass, the D.I.Y. fashions, the unabashed love for
the Breakz, it’s truly inspiring and beautiful. We’re a
city of hyper-creative people who work very hard and aren’t content
unless we’re creating something, anything. There’s
definitely an active community to support avant garde music and ideas,
so the good stuff rises to the top and is widely appreciated. At
the same time if you even begin to show the slightest signs of stagnation
or get a bit stale, they’ll let you know. It’s a
remarkable audience to play for. Also, the level of Booty is, well,
it’s stellar. No other city in this country has the quality nor
the quantity of Booty then here in San Francisco. It must be the wine…
Least favorite thing about the SF scene:
I honestly can’t think of anything
to put here.
My favorite SF party is/was:
Opulent Temple this year on the playa!
100K watts of funking! I love the Get Freaky Parties too. The Family Affaire pool parties
this past summer at Bambuddha. Taking over the decks at Groove Revolution. My
set at Pre-Compression and finishing just as dawn was breaking. BOCA
Breakz was fun while it lasted. Closing for Phil Hartnoll when he played
here; he even signed my promo copy of “Halcyon + On + On” How
cool is that?
My favorite Club to play in is:
Any place with a proper sound system and high
quality crowd is my favorite club. I still adore Mighty, but I didn’t get to play there
nearly enough this past year. Shine still fucking rocks. The booth
has to be the best laid out set up in The City with built-in drink
holders and every convenience a DJ would need and/or want. The
main room at 1015 is pretty sweet. I recently played at the 222
Club and really enjoyed that place. There’s also a few underground
spots that I love—but I’m contractually obligated not to
disclose their locations at this time.
If I could put together MY dream music festival, the Entertainment
would be:
I would want to see all
the bands whom I love but have broken up or had a member die or just
aren’t around anymore. Led Zeppelin, The Doors, T. Rex, Joy Division,
Soundgarden, The Beach Boys after “Pet Sounds” but before
Brian Wilson went totally insane. Jimi Hendrix vs. Otis Redding at
Monterey Pop. And then Orbital and Bjork on a Funktion One surround
system. I dunno were he’d fit but Bowie would have to play somewhere
in the line up.
If I couldn't play records I would probably be a professional:
Stunt Man or Gossip Columnist.
I want to thank these people for helping me get this
far:
Most
of all, I wanna give a big sloppy wet kiss to the Breakz headz of San
Francisco! It’s a pleasure and an honor to be able to rock beats
for all y’all each and every weekend. All y’all are a thing
of beauty and a joy forever. First, My beautiful Astilla who I love
very much. Victor at BPM who taught me the sublime art of searching
for tracks. Connie and Eric at Reverb for supplying me with the
black crack. All the Burning Man camps whom have let me abuse their
sound systems. Laird the great white pimp. Jackie, Scott Carrrelli,
Jondi and Spesh and everyone with Qool. Everyone from Sister SF. His
Holiness The Dali Lama. Syd Gris, Gina and the whole gang from
Opel. Sasha and the girls of Flirty Flirty. Push at Future Breakz FM.
And I know I’m leaving someone out, so I’ll just thank
you in person.
What you want people to know and we didn't ask:
I still want to play Bass for Coldplay.
My motto is:
Less Talk! More Rock!
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