It's been awhile folks. This update is about some Q&A's I'm sure many of you have about me--considering that the majority of the time I am either busy spinning behind the tables at jams or I am stuck hiding in my room/cave/lab where nobody can seem to find me. One day I will be man enough to say all the things I want to say when I do get interviews in the future, for now this'll work.. kinda:
Q: So what got you into DJing?
A: Hmm.. well music is the only thing out there that really makes me happy. If it didn't involve music I struggled with it, plain and simple. I don't like numbers or facts, I just like the way music is interpreted to a person because there really isn't a right or wrong way of taking it in. DJing has a way of being the messenger of the past, you can dig up shit thats from the 1950's or from whatever period it came from and still be appreciated till this day. You can't forget a melody the way you forget the facts.
Q: Describe your style. What/who has influenced your style to what it is today?
A: Organic Funk. If you don't like anything funky or you got seatbelts on, you won't like me. If you're like me and loves listening to everything and anything out there, you'll definitely dig what I got to offer.
Q: One piece of advice for any up and coming DJ's?
A: I was watching this interview with J-Rocc from the Beat Junkies whose words still ring true to me till this day, which is to "stick with it." All it takes is a little luck with being in the right place at the right time... everything else will fall into place. Everyone's got the opportunity to make shit happen, you just gotta increase your chances of that happening.
Funny thing is, even after writing all of this I figure I will MOST LIKELY not even answer the same if this was all being done elsewhere. Maybe this pseudo-interview will come up again sometime in the future (highly unlikely but it would kick ass) or it can be mentioned again. This could be the start to something great!
Mixtapes: I KNOW a lot of you guys have been waiting on me to get off my ass and finish this damn thing! I know I've been busy, I think I've just been enjoying life too much to be working at the moment... It's just a phase folks, I'll be back soon.
EDIT: I edited some of the answers because I had actually thought about the questions some more after doing some "reinventing of myself.." I'd still most likely use a different answer each time I get interviewed though. lol..
-FB
5/18/2011
Shortcuts and Traveling
Shortcuts are like winning $20 off your scratch ticket or going out to eat instead of cooking dinner at home. It's hella easy, you profit from it, and you can see life in a dimension that is quite overlooked and should be examined every once in awhile when life "gets hard." Obviously some of these shortcuts aren't so good to take (e.g. speeding life up on a cocaine binge or anything along those lines... err.. no pun..) but without em, it would take years to figure out some answers just because you never got around to experiencing them in the first place. Shortcuts.. they're the shit!
Take dancer X for example. Dancer X was fortunate to have been practicing with bboys who all specialize in incredibly difficult power moves that took them years to learn. To be able to gain those personal tips from them is in a way a shortcut compared to dancer Y who had been dancing in his bedroom for 10 years alone in his basement with no one to tell him how to fix his awful windmill he can't seem to be doing correctly. It's nice to get that extra boost once in awhile, it makes things in life go by a little faster (like all the extra practice time you get from learning from good bboys instead of trying to unlock moves on your own).
But that's not what I'm talking about here. Traveling is THE NUMBER ONE shortcut to getting good REAL fast. Mark my words, find anyone out there that is well-known for their art and hasn't done any traveling.. you won't find any!
With each trip I make to different states and cities, one thing I always walk away with is knowing where your place is in a room full of strangers who may/may not like what you're about and what you've got to offer. Even if you did the best in your hometown, you could be a total wreck in a different city--and folks will let you know it. After traveling, sometimes you realize that maybe "its not so bad back at home," sometimes it could turn out to be "a place where you need to move," or a "horrible pile of dolphin shit where 'home sweet home' rings so true." Regardless, you learn things instinctively and very quickly.
Sure, you lose that $1000 dollars going out to IBE to rep for maybe 30 seconds, but the experience of traveling, culture shock, meeting new people and languages, the food... that in itself is something that takes huge balls and becomes something that is a part of you for the rest of your life whether you know it or not! As humans our instincts are to adapt to our surroundings and have complete mastery over it. To submerge yourself in a spot where everything is unfamiliar makes you feel shaky, weak, insignificant... that is why in this sense, traveling becomes a shortcut because you want to adapt and improve. Photos, videos, books can only get us so close to actually just flying out to let's say... Brazil?
Take a moment to enjoy your short life with going somewhere far away from home. Get lost once in awhile, it's quite refreshing..!
-FB
Take dancer X for example. Dancer X was fortunate to have been practicing with bboys who all specialize in incredibly difficult power moves that took them years to learn. To be able to gain those personal tips from them is in a way a shortcut compared to dancer Y who had been dancing in his bedroom for 10 years alone in his basement with no one to tell him how to fix his awful windmill he can't seem to be doing correctly. It's nice to get that extra boost once in awhile, it makes things in life go by a little faster (like all the extra practice time you get from learning from good bboys instead of trying to unlock moves on your own).
But that's not what I'm talking about here. Traveling is THE NUMBER ONE shortcut to getting good REAL fast. Mark my words, find anyone out there that is well-known for their art and hasn't done any traveling.. you won't find any!
With each trip I make to different states and cities, one thing I always walk away with is knowing where your place is in a room full of strangers who may/may not like what you're about and what you've got to offer. Even if you did the best in your hometown, you could be a total wreck in a different city--and folks will let you know it. After traveling, sometimes you realize that maybe "its not so bad back at home," sometimes it could turn out to be "a place where you need to move," or a "horrible pile of dolphin shit where 'home sweet home' rings so true." Regardless, you learn things instinctively and very quickly.
Sure, you lose that $1000 dollars going out to IBE to rep for maybe 30 seconds, but the experience of traveling, culture shock, meeting new people and languages, the food... that in itself is something that takes huge balls and becomes something that is a part of you for the rest of your life whether you know it or not! As humans our instincts are to adapt to our surroundings and have complete mastery over it. To submerge yourself in a spot where everything is unfamiliar makes you feel shaky, weak, insignificant... that is why in this sense, traveling becomes a shortcut because you want to adapt and improve. Photos, videos, books can only get us so close to actually just flying out to let's say... Brazil?
Take a moment to enjoy your short life with going somewhere far away from home. Get lost once in awhile, it's quite refreshing..!
-FB
5/04/2011
Pardon me but FUCK!!
...
Woke up today with sunshine, rainbows and some tender Louis Armstrong music playing in the background. Life was awesome momentarily for approximately one hour before officially becoming fucked-like-no-other.
Alas, there was an exam in the only class I've been going to consistently since the beginning of this quarter...great!! I blindly took the exam while the sunshine, rainbows and tender Louis Armstrong music continued to swag out and point fingers as if they were reminding me, "you got another blind exam too. You're screwed, homie." I then spent the rest of the hour listening to the most depressing music in the world and choking on half-sobs and boogers that needed to be wiped very badly.
The two exams were over and now was the time to pick up the pieces and recuperate. That's when I remembered about this group that was stuck on my headphones for.. about a month or two now?
Whitest Boy Alive
Personal synopsis: Imagine if Daft Punk's "Discovery" album meeting Kings of Convenience (the singer in this band is also the singer in the other band.. cool!). There aren't any electronic sounds, nothing fancy actually, just really catchy. This can be found being played at weird hipster parties, urban outfitters, or anything that is borderline between gay and very manly. The song that got me interested in this band was "1517" although many of the other songs are just as unique and enjoyable. If you are listening to "Rollercoaster Ride," if you happen to have a way to listen to your music slowed down, try listening it to it at -6% speed, it sounds almost haunting..!
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Be the cheapskate
or
Be a supporter
Wreck Room and Claws Out is coming up this weekend starting tomorrow. If you've got nothing to lose, I would hope to see you at these events! :)
-FB
Woke up today with sunshine, rainbows and some tender Louis Armstrong music playing in the background. Life was awesome momentarily for approximately one hour before officially becoming fucked-like-no-other.
Alas, there was an exam in the only class I've been going to consistently since the beginning of this quarter...great!! I blindly took the exam while the sunshine, rainbows and tender Louis Armstrong music continued to swag out and point fingers as if they were reminding me, "you got another blind exam too. You're screwed, homie." I then spent the rest of the hour listening to the most depressing music in the world and choking on half-sobs and boogers that needed to be wiped very badly.
The two exams were over and now was the time to pick up the pieces and recuperate. That's when I remembered about this group that was stuck on my headphones for.. about a month or two now?
Personal synopsis: Imagine if Daft Punk's "Discovery" album meeting Kings of Convenience (the singer in this band is also the singer in the other band.. cool!). There aren't any electronic sounds, nothing fancy actually, just really catchy. This can be found being played at weird hipster parties, urban outfitters, or anything that is borderline between gay and very manly. The song that got me interested in this band was "1517" although many of the other songs are just as unique and enjoyable. If you are listening to "Rollercoaster Ride," if you happen to have a way to listen to your music slowed down, try listening it to it at -6% speed, it sounds almost haunting..!
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Be the cheapskate
or
Be a supporter
Wreck Room and Claws Out is coming up this weekend starting tomorrow. If you've got nothing to lose, I would hope to see you at these events! :)
-FB
5/03/2011
Time to stop dehumanizing myself and being more personable
I've finally come to terms with myself, and one thing I missed most about my life is writing and documenting the things I do on a day to day basis. There is a certain feeling and understanding one gets from reading the words from someone else on a blog entry (journal, diary.. etc.) versus putting the pieces together from comments and "likes."
To become someone that matters in this world now is.. very difficult. People have their own belief systems, networks, bubbles that don't reach as far out as they used to. It is a very strange thing to think that because of this technology, it should be easier to connect A and B together because the internet made the world flat... right?
Inversely, it has caused us to only pay attention to details that matter to us. Nothing new or foreign ever seems to matter anymore, just whatever goes on in/out your circle, anything big, annoying, awesome.. it just doesn't occur to us that in the bigger spectrum of things, we have all put ourselves in a box and we didn't even know it.
Honestly it's been awhile since I've had the chance to sit down and just.. write. I don't want to be the "all amazing upcoming craze" that gets the spotlight only momentarily. I think it's worth much more if people follow me understanding my human capabilities instead of this inhuman figure that seems to do everything right (all the time)..
I think by writing to the world, honestly and with no doubts, people will get me. I laugh and cry at the same shit everyone else does, I just happen to DJ, and I just happened to try to do what I love doing for a living, that's it.
My updates on this blog used to be only about posting new music, mixtapes, free shit that anyone can come through and say "thanks dude.. Adios, I'll never see/hear you again!" I think it's time I rekindled this fire for writing and put those thoughts onto paper (err.. blog entry)!
If you've liked what I've done in the past, if you think there are somethings I can do better.. hit me up! I'd be more than willing to hear you out, chop it up, trade music.. whatever is clever.. Stay up!
-FB
To become someone that matters in this world now is.. very difficult. People have their own belief systems, networks, bubbles that don't reach as far out as they used to. It is a very strange thing to think that because of this technology, it should be easier to connect A and B together because the internet made the world flat... right?
Inversely, it has caused us to only pay attention to details that matter to us. Nothing new or foreign ever seems to matter anymore, just whatever goes on in/out your circle, anything big, annoying, awesome.. it just doesn't occur to us that in the bigger spectrum of things, we have all put ourselves in a box and we didn't even know it.
Honestly it's been awhile since I've had the chance to sit down and just.. write. I don't want to be the "all amazing upcoming craze" that gets the spotlight only momentarily. I think it's worth much more if people follow me understanding my human capabilities instead of this inhuman figure that seems to do everything right (all the time)..
I think by writing to the world, honestly and with no doubts, people will get me. I laugh and cry at the same shit everyone else does, I just happen to DJ, and I just happened to try to do what I love doing for a living, that's it.
My updates on this blog used to be only about posting new music, mixtapes, free shit that anyone can come through and say "thanks dude.. Adios, I'll never see/hear you again!" I think it's time I rekindled this fire for writing and put those thoughts onto paper (err.. blog entry)!
If you've liked what I've done in the past, if you think there are somethings I can do better.. hit me up! I'd be more than willing to hear you out, chop it up, trade music.. whatever is clever.. Stay up!
-FB
5/02/2011
Songs are worthless, so share them
Title says it all. We need to set aside our attachments to one or two songs in order to discover tens or thousands of others. I thought about it awhile back and figured it may be very vital for those who really involve themselves in the digging culture and understand what it takes to find new music:
Reasons Why Not to Put Worth Into Songs:
DJs who have been DJs their whole life are still looking for old music
--> This means there are billions of songs stil out there and undiscovered
--> This means there are also thousands of "newer" songs untouched that other DJs don't play
--> That means everyone's personal playlists are unique and independent
--> That means everyone has at least a handful of songs that no one has heard of
--> That means trading music should be: "Your best for my best," "Your worst for my worst," "My favorite for your favorite..!!"
Trading 10000 songs wil get you 1000 songs you don't have, 100 really fucking dope songs, and 10 of them become of actual use (in setting up your playlist).
Imagine if every musician decided to keep their own songs to themselves because they didn't want others to be in possession of it. Not only will they never have fans listening to their music, but nobody will know of them because their music was never in circulation to the general public. Music wasn't created to be kept in your ipod all to your lonely self. Hand it off to 2-15 people, I'm sure for a few of them their lives will never be the same after listening to "that one song."
The only reason why I am able to dig the way I do is because the ones who had passed the torch to me made it clear that music is to be shared and appreciated.
-FB
Reasons Why Not to Put Worth Into Songs:
DJs who have been DJs their whole life are still looking for old music
--> This means there are billions of songs stil out there and undiscovered
--> This means there are also thousands of "newer" songs untouched that other DJs don't play
--> That means everyone's personal playlists are unique and independent
--> That means everyone has at least a handful of songs that no one has heard of
--> That means trading music should be: "Your best for my best," "Your worst for my worst," "My favorite for your favorite..!!"
Trading 10000 songs wil get you 1000 songs you don't have, 100 really fucking dope songs, and 10 of them become of actual use (in setting up your playlist).
Imagine if every musician decided to keep their own songs to themselves because they didn't want others to be in possession of it. Not only will they never have fans listening to their music, but nobody will know of them because their music was never in circulation to the general public. Music wasn't created to be kept in your ipod all to your lonely self. Hand it off to 2-15 people, I'm sure for a few of them their lives will never be the same after listening to "that one song."
The only reason why I am able to dig the way I do is because the ones who had passed the torch to me made it clear that music is to be shared and appreciated.
-FB
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