They said they’d call. But they didn’t. Same deal with the guy that toured through last week. You were nice about it for weeks but it’s Sunday night and something has to fill the page, or your editor will have a conniption. While most artists understand interviews are a necessary evil (one that may ultimately help their career), dance-music artists and DJs are the toughest musicians for even the most diligent reporter to track down. SEE’s resident beat aficionados, Proper Prodaniuk and Yuri Wuensch, in the absence of an interview, discuss the issue.
Prosper Prodaniuk: If I were an electronic musician, I’m sure the deluge of interview requests would get pretty mind-numbing. But if we’re all trying to get the message out about this music and get people into the clubs, shouldn’t the artists hold up their end of the bargain?
Yuri Wuensch: Well, let me get a plug out of the way first: Ali Shaheed of A Tribe Called Quest will be spinning at Halo on May 15. This is a can’t-miss show, so naturally, I requested an interview. I lost interest when Shaheed’s manager asked that the questions be sent by e-mail. DJs tend to request e-mail Q&As, and they stink because you’re at their mercy to get answers back by deadline. I just got burned by Kavinsky that way, and he never showed up for his Pawn Shop show anyway.
PP: I’m also pretty sure that sometimes it’s not the actual artist responding to the e-mail. And e-mail interviews, like internet porn, just encourage robotic experiences and articles of minimal interest to the writer and reader.
YW: Not that a DJ interview is always all that edifying—and I say that as a dance fan. The irony that people who create repetitive music also happen to give repetitive interviews isn’t lost on me. At least with bands and pop artists you can fall back on their lyrics, however trite. But the intricacies of twiddling knobs and clicking a mouse—unless you’re actually doing it yourself, it’s sort of boring.
PP: I’ll never interview a house artist again. A legend like Blaze could be coming and I’d say, “Whatever. You’re going to talk about vibe and roots and soul and the crowd and the journey—and I’m going to shoot myself in the face.” Felix da Housecat and Kaskade were okay, but I swear Mark Farina wrote a pamphlet on what to say about house in an interview and sent it out to every other house DJ. I also will never interview drum and bass artists again. Many of them are represented, or at least were represented, by a “PR” group in Florida that is completely useless.
YW: There are great electronic-music interviews out there, though. You and I have both interviewed Richie Hawtin on a few occasions and he’s always engaging, even if you’re not a fan of techno. He’s smart enough to recognize the relationships between music, technology, and culture. And while I’m no great lover of trance, it’s always a pleasure speaking with Christopher Lawrence; he’s very political. It’s a shame that news releases for these guys typically highlight their DJ magazine poll rankings, as opposed to what’s actually interesting about them.
PP: Moby is a fantastic interview as well. Again, PR is the problem: most DJs and electronic artists have friends or hangers-on doing it for them. Having met many of these “PR” people, it’s obvious that the majority are more interested in getting flown around the world to get drunk, high, or fed on their DJ friend’s tab. There’s nothing glamourous about doing CD mailouts, but if that’s the job you’ve signed up for, do it.
YW: In fairness, there are publicists working in electronic music who are top notch. I empathize when they get saddled with accounts who are living the clichéd DJ lifestyle. Even in Edmonton, I’ve met plenty of jocks who seem to be channeling Paul Kaye’s performance as a coke- and booze-addled DJ in It’s All Gone Pete Tong. Club culture has long been a victim of style over substance. I can’t help but recall a tongue-in-cheek passage from Frank Broughton and Bill Brewster’s book How to DJ Properly that suggested people “practise DJ poses with the headphones” and “get someone to take pictures.” I also think there’s a perception that Edmonton is too bourgeois to bother doing press for. Yet when the artists arrive here, they’re surprised by how informed and up for it people are. DJ AM, a big deal in Hollywood clubs, blew off Edmonton on several occasions before finally seeing the light last year, and he’s back routinely now. Maybe Kavinsky will clue in eventually. Touring acts who have been here should take back the message that we have the fastest-growing economy in North America and the disposable income to prove it.
PP: Yeah, but what motivation is there in hyping yourself if you get paid regardless of how the event goes? It drives promoters nuts. They beg you to do a story that will hopefully get more people out and the DJ or artist couldn’t care less. It’s not as cut and dried for up-and-coming bands, jazz artists, or classical musicians who usually have to accept door deals. They’re not getting put up in hotels and taking free rides back to the airport with $3,000 in their pockets after running a laptop for a couple of hours. After Erol Alkan’s show at The Starlite tonight, there’ll be no push to sell his singles, albums, and mixes. He just wants his fee and hopes there’s a good vibe. If you don’t have that brass ring to chase—like any artist with hopes of ending up on a major label one day—then, once again, how motivated are you?
YW: So what’s our motivation?
PP: We get free CDs, promo downloads by the truckload, and tickets to the show—even if the interview doesn’t happen. We’re happy and blessed just to have the opportunity to chat with the artists about music, and yet it’s an amazing, completely fucking frustrating experience.
