Talk The Talk: DJ Deejay
If you hang at Silk City much, you’re bound to recognize DJ Deejay. Musicologist, barman and doorman supreme, Deejay is also the brains behind Silk City’s surprise hit night Beatles & Stones, which would pretty much baffles every piece of DJ wisdom known to man. Deejay only plays Beatles and Stones tracks. And somehow, people freak out, have a great time, and against all odds, it works. We caught up with Deejay to see if he could weigh in on the zen of Beat-stones. And he did.
Interview after the jump.
So how does this work? Can you actually manage to make people get wild on a Saturday night to just the Beatles and the Stones? I mean, in a cabin in the woods, you definitely could. But here in the land of lights, do the dudes and jawns really have, you know, that kind of depth of feeling?
Yes, I can….and yes, they do. The nights moves in a certain rhythm (usually), lots of deeper cuts earlier, before midnight, and more “pop” hits as the floor fills up…..and there’s always that early material, chuck berry covers and so on that help the energy level a great deal.
You’ve done other combinations of this, right? What were they?
The Who & Led Zeppelin, this happened on a sunday night ice storm, so not alot of bodies in the room. But personally, I could listen to Zeppelin no matter what the circumstance. I hired a friend to do a Madonna vs. Michael Jackson night on sundays when I bartend over at Silk City…it wasn’t getting off the ground the way I wanted, so I took it over about 4 months ago, added Prince into the mix, moved it to the weekend, and now it’s very successful. I’m pleased with the results. I’ve heard of other nights that I have no parts of, Depheche Mode & Duran Duran, things like that. I think it’s really cool this has triggered ideas in peoples minds of combinations of various artists.
Are you averse to playing remix medleys or Stars on 45 type treatments?
I don’t think anyone is too interested. Most people come out for the original versions, you can see/feel it.
Has anyone ever come to this and said, “You know, I saw an ad for this in the paper, and I realized that I have never heard the Beatles OR the Rolling Stones.”
No, that’s never happened…but it certainly would be a trip. I’ve had people request Bon Jovi & Wu Tang!!! I’ll explain the nights theme, show them a flyer with pics of the Beatles & Stones……..then they request Bruce Springsteen. HA! (It’s true.)
What Rolling Stones song will you absolutely NOT play?
I guess anything post “Undercover,” so there would be plenty.
Beatles & Stones takes place this Saturday, September 24, at Silk City Lounge, 5th and Spring Garden.
