DRIVING MISS DAZY

At least in the past it was true that women had to work a lot harder tobreak into DJing. It would be untrue to say that even today's groovers (male and female) when in a club may find themselves, atleast at first, listening a little closer to the skills of a female DJ. DJDazy confers on this point, "I get a lot of young boys out there that sitaround the tables and wait for me to mess up. We're judged a lot harder. But not as much as before because there are a lot more girls coming out. Itry to get to know as many of them as possible because in the scene we're allsisters, and we should all support each other." This is an attitude we all could benefit from, regardless of gender.

It was long before the days of her current home base of Portland that DJDazy was first inspired, first moved to tears by house music. Dazy is, in asense, without being overly cliche, a true fearless maverick. It's one thingbeing the first kid on the block with turntables, but think about being thefirst one in your city with turntables. Thus starts the journey of Dazy inthe world of house music.

Originally hailing from the city with the Great Salt Lake, Dazy now findsherself a solid figure in the world of the Northwest house music scene. Whyhere? Why now? Why Portland? And hey Dazy, now do you get that respect thatyou deserve? I got together with Dazy one morning this summer over the phoneto chat things up a bit and answer a few of those questions about that sweetgirl with the seemingly endless pool of energy.

"The first time that I heard house music was in San Diego at a club calledRomper Room in 1992. I heard Mark E. Quark, and fell in love with his DJingand the music. Once I heard it, I couldn't stop listening to it, I wanted todo it myself so I went and bought decks by mail order. I just decided to doit and did it." From that point on, Dazy has maintained that sort of ethosthroughout her approach to the scene. Dazy picks up on something that shelikes and doesn't stop until things turn out her way. This girl has drive anddetermination -- a solid combination when trying to break into a realmpreviously male dominated.

Back in '92 in Salt Lake City, Dazy was the only person with tables.Initially, it was only her and Mechanized Records' Chris Sick spinningrecords. In those days, they weren't quite beat mixing yet. Originally thefocus was on the programming which isn't a bad place to start. Then thingsbegan to pick up. They began flying in out-of-town DJs. Among those, West Coast names like Thomas, Mark E Quark, and Jeno would go on tohighly influence Miss Dazy.

Soon the technique was there and the local scene was growing , but after acouple of years Dazy felt that something was missing. "I felt like nobody gaveme the respect that I needed, and nobody took me seriously in Salt Lake City."Looking at a faceless future and feeling the rising degrees of negativity,Dazy took the plunge. "I sold everything that I owned; got on a plane with myrecords, my turntables, and my cat; and moved to Portland not knowing asingle soul. It took a lot of guts, but I'm glad that I did it. It was a verystruggling time."

Now that she'd arrived in the "cleanest city in the Northwest," what was next?Dazy decided to jump in head first. To say that she was gung ho about her newplace may be an understatement. If you know anything about Dazy, you knowthat she gives it her all. Remember, she know no one. After all, Portlandisn't all that much larger than S.L.C. "People were like, well who is she? Whyis she so aggressive about it? The way that I felt about it was that eitherthey're going to take me seriously or they're not." With an attitude likethat, one can only guess how Dazy was ultimately received. "People have been really, really positive, and I haven't had any negative feedback since I'velived here. I've also gotten a lot of gigs." Strike one up for determination.

With that in mind, what is Dazy all about today, and where does she seeherself going? She continues to play whenever the opportunity presentsitself which is usually out-of-town as , once again, the ability for smallertowns to sustain their DJs is easier said than done. Dazy is one friendly galand loves people. Traveling as a DJ provides her, like so many others, theopportunity to not only exercise her craft, but to also meet and exchangeideas with as many people as possible. She also has ideas of producing andhas a trip planned later in the year to hook up with Third Floor Productions'and San Francisco native Buck London for a little workout in the studio. Although she has bright plans for her future in house music, Dazy also seesthings very realistically. "I'm not rushing anything because my time willcome when it comes. I'm not going to push it like I use to." Nice Stride.

When asked if she thought that there were any differences between why girlsget into DJing as opposed to boys, the fore running Northwest female DJ Dazyhad these ideas on the subject, "all the girl DJs that I know, and I know quitea few, do it because they love it. I find sometimes, definitely not always,that there are male DJs out there who get into it more for the status thing."So then, are women more likely to be passionate about it? Dazy ponders onthis one a bit. "More often when girls DJ, and I'm not saying that it's notlike this for guys necessarily, a lot more feelings come out into whatthey're playing. This is something that I've noticed. Then again, this isjust an opinion."

In the end we have Dazy, a woman with a desire to move the dance floor withas much feeling as possible. Why? Because she loves it, and it really doesn'textend much further than that. The first time that this journalist met Dazyshe was, surprise, full of energy. She just wanted to meet people and spreada little good cheer. The interesting part was that although she is indeed atop notch self promoter, one gets the idea that she seems rather at peacewith the question of whether one thought that she was cool enough or not. Sowhy all the self promotion? So she can get behind the decks and spread somemore of that motivating positive energy.

One final note while we're on the subject of promotion. When asked to comment on the current state of the scene in the Northwest and how much it might beimproved, Dazy has this very environmental and cutting observation. "These big, big glossy fliers have to got to go! People rely on fliers too much to goto parties. It's taking up a lot of the budget, and it's taking up a lot of thetrees...we all need to be focusing more on the music." 'Nough said. Thank you, Dazy.

These days I get pretty excited if manage to drag my sorry behind out to a club on a weeknight, and weekends rarely find me up till dawn floating on a night of sensual beats and seamless mixes anymore. But there were days when I could regularly be found emerging from alley doorways into the grey morning rain of the Pacific Northwest, or watching the sun rise behind the mountains, in a valley full of dancing and music. At one point, I actually spent a summer working as a "water girl" for a local promoter selling endless bottles of water to my fellow party-goers. Vancouver is a great place to party if you were a house fan like me, as it managed to foster and attract some of the scene's best house DJs.

DJ Dazy was always one of my favourites. I admit to being predisposed to liking her seeing as how female DJs were rare, but after the first time I heard one of her sets my affections were quickly justified. Not only is she talented, she spins exactly the kind of funky west coast house that I cannot resist. In my humble opinion, it is the best kind of music to move to; a journey that varies in intensity as the set progresses with some soulful vocal tracks worked into the mix. Truly a lovely thing to behold And while I was maintaining my rather vapid post as water girl, Dazy was out there forming a fabulous virtual community for other women DJs: the Sister DJs email list. Lovely indeed.

Dazy started DJing in 1992 when she was living in Salt Lake City, and at the time she was the only female DJ in town. She bought her tables by mail-order and a mixer from Radio Shack and taught herself. Two years later she moved to Portland and continued DJing there.

"When I moved to Portland I was still pretty much the only female DJ in the Pacific Northwest, except for Little T in Vancouver, and I didn't really even know her until years later. And when I moved out there I didn't really know anybody and the guys were kinda jerks to me, and whatever. And I was just kinda bummed out about not having anybody to talk to. And there were a lot of girls coming up to me and saying "Oh I really want to get started" and "Can you help me?" And they would email me and trying to reply back to all these emails myself, to give them lots of advice, was just really time consuming. So I thought, I should start a list so that everybody can talk about stuff in a safe place and all that fun stuff."

There wasn't anything else in existence online that filled the gap that Dazy was addressing. There were lists for women in rock music but they didn't deal with issues of concern to DJs. Other DJ/rave lists, like Northwest Raves, were often filled with mindless chatter and lacked the kind of quality discussion about the task itself that Dazy was looking to foster. She wanted to create a safe community for other women to start up valuable dialogue.

"I wanted to start a list that was devoted to just talking about music, records, experiences and gear, and that kind of stuff just wasn't being talked about."

So she started the Sister DJs email list. When she started the list there were a handful of members, now there are around 300 girls on the list. And the quality of information that they are sharing with each other is of extremely high quality.

With the Sisters list having been so successful, Dazy has recently put a Sister DJs site online with help from Mylai, another DJ. The site is online now, but Dazy is still adding content. It will expand on the community that the Sisters list has already established and help to raise the profile of female DJs. Recently, Dazy says that she has been getting an influx of subscriptions to the list from overseas: Europe, Japan and Australia, which is surely an excellent trend.

While Dazy is obviously devoted to helping to support other gals in the DJ biz she is not cool with her status as female DJ being leveraged solely as a marketing tool. She has no patience for male promoters who put on shows advertising all female line-ups as a gimmick. She's been around long enough to know that she and other women deserve the respect of being judged on their talents and not their gender. That said, she is all for women promoting and producing their own shows and using them as vehicles to support fellow women DJs. About a year ago she and Little T put on just such a series, and the parties were brilliant.

Almost a decade after Dazy started DJing, the scene has changed quite a bit. In one sense it has of course become much more commercial, which has its ups and downs. In one sense it means more money in the industry, which ends up trickling down to the DJ. And while Dazy isn't a big-money-Ministry-of-Sound kind of headliner, she says that she is now able to support her art paying for her records and gear out of what she makes performing. Another upside is that with the industry expanding in popularity and having established itself there are more and more girls taking up DJing. Vancouver, for example, now has at least half a dozen fairly well known women DJs, a couple of them with their own regular nights.

There are also more women getting into promoting and the behind the scenes aspect. Promoting parties comes naturally to women who deal well with organizing all of the details required in getting a party off the ground. Dazy suspects that many of them got into promoting through their boyfriends, and then once they start, they stick with it. After watching the guys put a party together, and inevitably being the one that takes care of all the details, they decide to take it on themselves. I've experienced that both first and second hand, so would have to agree.

After years of spinning, Dazy has decided that it is time to get into producing records herself. She is currently in the process of setting up a digital studio and has recently bought her first sampler. She has been learning all she can about what she needs and getting valuable guidance from friends along the way. Like her talents in beat matching, producing music is something that Dazy is ultimately teaching herself. She told me that she feels that she has always been pretty comfortable with technology, and with the level of excitement she brings to the subject she is clearly enjoying the new challenge. Her hope is to get a record out in the next year.

I asked Dazy if there were any other women producing electronic music that she admired right now and she came up pretty blank. While she had lots of female DJs to list off, there isn't too large a pool of women producing this kind of music to draw from. Money is of course a big factor in contributing to that reality. She pointed out just how expensive it is going to be for her to set up a studio to provide herself with access to experiment and learn on her own. She also mentioned that it has taken her eight years of DJing to decide to start producing, so with women now becoming more confident and established as DJs, in a few years that will probably translate to the same in production.

My conversation with Dazy has inspired me. She is an amazing and positive person to talk to, who draws her knowledge from many years of experience. I have been rather disillusioned with the party scene here in Vancouver for a while now, due in part to the mainstream adoption of the scene and also as a result of contributing personal reasons. Dazy reminded me of some of the reasons why I used to love it so much, namely the music and the potential for community. I've been listening to some of her sets off her personal site and they never fail to bring a smile to my face and brighten my day as I sit in front of this glowing box for hours. While not exactly the first female DJ on the scene, Dazy's contribution to women DJs (and partiers) is worthy of great respect. If you get the opportunity don't miss a chance to check out one of her sets live, and in the meantime head to your local record shop and pick up a tape and enjoy some of the finest in west coast house music.

Ask DJ Dazy why it is that men rule the dance floors as spin kings and she gives the common-sense answer: "Guys buy a lot of electronic equipment, they like to brag about it." Dazy, who's known for spinning her sassy happy house samples at places such as La Luna, Saucebox and the out-of-town raves she's regularly flown to, doesn't have to brag about her stuff. After moving to Portland from Salt Lake City, Dazy quickly made a name for herself as a first-class spinner. The 23-year-old has become so successful that she's quit her day job. How did she get so far so fast? She attributes her success to something besides her technical wizardry and fat stack of LP's: "I'm very persistent."

1. How long have you been involved in the rave scene?

Since 1992, I was living in SLC and started going to a club called"The Vortex". It was a the first time I heard "techno" music so tospeak. I met some really cool people at this club who ended up beingthe first people to put "raves" on in SLC. A few months after, I tooka road trip down to San Diego and heard "house" music for the firsttime. After that, I was hooked!

2. How and when did you get into DeeJaying?

Well, there were only 2 other people in SLC who were djing at thetime. I used to just make tapes for myself and would hate the pauses between songs so I would always try to overlap them together. I started watching these dj's and saw they used special equipment (cd player and a mixer). I picked up a dj magazine and saw an ad for a sound a light company in LA. So, I mail ordered 2 turntables and bought my mixer from Radio Shack.

3. What was the toughest thing to learn about being a DJ?

Beat matching. It took me so long to figure it out!No one in SLC really knew what they were doing back then, so I didn'thave anyone to show me. I was playing out far before I could "technically" beat match, so the programming was already there and after I learned to "match" it all just stuck together.

4. What kind of stuff do you like to spin most?

Deep house is my favorite music to play. It has a lot of "soul". Itsa very moving type of music.

5. Who are your favorite techno artists/engineers?

Well I don't particularly like or listen to techno, but as far as houseis concerned names like Deep Dish, Chez Damier, Little Louie Vega,Kenny Dope, Idjit Boys, and Gusto pop into my head.

6. The rave scene, like any of the more prevalent music and youth culture scenes whether it be punk rock, hip hop, or the avante garde seems to be dominated or at least controlled, for the most part, by guys. Do you think that some men in the scene have a vision for the role of rave girls that doesn't include DeeJaying?

I really don't have anything to say about that.

7. I've heard from other female DJs that the guys often just stare and wait for them to mess up...What have your experiences been like?

Unfortunately because of how are society is organized, all woman are judged a little harder then men, no matter what role they take. Idon't think that we (female dj's) are judged as hard anymore. Thereare more of us out there now and people have adjusted to seeing women behind the tables

8. What are your thoughts on the corporate music industry?

Its unfortunate, but if I make money playing, then the people makingthe records should make money as well, we all have to eat.

9. In your view, what are the biggest challenges facing the rave scene in America?

I think that "rave" has gotten to commercial! Its who's got thebiggest flyer's or the "biggest" line up that usually draws the mostpeople. Its really too bad. I miss the underground parties where itwasn't so cliquey and people didn't care who you were, you where just there to "dance".

10. Do you think drugs like ecstacy and herbal ecstacy are a vital part of the rave experience? If so, why?

Well firstly, I think herbal E is a load of crap. However I think thatonce you have taken real ecstacy, you hear music differently. If youdon't like electronic based music, I suggest taking it once andlistening to the music. My guess is you'll probably like it afterthat.

11. Do you think there's potential for independent ravers to get withDIYers and indies from other scenes like the punk, hip-hop, andexperimental music scenes to work on joint projects, events, etc? or do you think these groups are just fundamentally too opposed to each other?

I mean as far as events are concerned, several in the past, haddifferent stages with different varieties of music on each and gonevery well. Cross culture musical cooperation applied to the making of music has existed for ever. R&B singers working with houseproducers. Jazz players with rappers. Disco producers working withlawyers so they don't sued for sampling anything of that cooperativenature will work as long as its organized properly.

12. What R your thoughts about genres?

I can listen to and appreciate most all music, but that doesn'tnecessarily mean I enjoy all genres of electronic based music. Jungle for instance is pretty unejoyable for me to listen to. I reallycan't groove to it and I find it even in all a ambient was wonder tobe really abrasive. Techno is something that I used to like back inthe day when the producers new what they were doing. Now it just give me a headache. I guess my bottom line is that I'm a house head.

13. In your leisure, what do u listen to besides techno/house?

I like down beat music, acid jazz, artist like Sade, Sarah McLachlan.

14. What R your plans for the future?

I hope to travel more than I already am and get in the studio andstart putting out a record. I have all these ideas for tracks and it would be nice to finally put them down on wax.

15. What do you think about old school disco?

Sure, we've all heard GirlPower and all the other cliche phrases forgirls to slogan their lives around... and although, it's nice that 'GirlPower' has finally won recognition in the eyes of the pop culturemedia- blitzed, there are still battles to be waged. At the forefront ofthe New Girl Order are the Warrior Women! Women making theirvoice and talents heard, by their own will and strength; givinghonesty and a freedom to a movement drowned out in academia andmarketing ploys celebrating the wisdom and power of estrogen!Warrior Women are beyond defining roles in society and truly havesomething to say about creating equalism! Meet these WomenWarriors and learn about their rise to empowerment, past the statusquo and how they brought about an original, more authenticoutlook to the meaning of Girl Power -- and learn some of theirbeauty tips!

Spinning on the onezand twoz, this chickis not only makingquite a name forherself in the biz,she's alsosupporting otherfellow female DJ'sin the process --Meet DJ Dazy...

MG: So how did you snag this gig?

DJ: I've been dancing since I was 5 years old. I wasgoing to clubs since I was 12. I've always watched whatthe DJ was doing and wanted to do it myself. I lovemusic and I love being able to make people dance. WhenI was 19 I mail ordered technic 1200s in the mail andtaught myself to DJ. I was lucky to get into the scenebefore anyone else knew what it was about, so I was ableto play almost every party.

MG: If you could meet anyone, who would it be?

DJ: Geez... that's a hard question! I think I would haveliked to meet Princess Diana. I really respected all shehad done and thought she was an amazing woman. I'mreally sad that her life ended so tragically.

MG: What's your style?

DJ: Since I moved to LA, I've been lucky to be aroundall these great fashion people. My best friend is therepresentative for Dollhouse, Fine, and Suburbanclothes. I'm also sponsored by ESDJCO out of Santhem. I prefer long skirts and comfortable sneakers.Music, I'm open to it all. You can usually find melistening to house during the evening or in my car, but Ireally love hip hop, R&B, and of course, Lauryn Hill.

MG: Who inspires you to start spinning on the onez and twoz?

DJ: Let's see, the first time I heard house music was inSan Diego in 1992. My good friend Mark E. Quark wason the decks and he completely made me lose my head inhis music! He inspired me a lot. I think I even cried oncelistening to him because he was so inspiring. Recentlythough, I'd have to say, Derrick Carter is my favorite DJ.He really knows how to play records!

MG: Taco Bell or McDonalds?

DJ: McDonalds

MG: What is the most appealing/appallingquality of being a DJ?

DJ: The most appealing is being able to travel and meetgreat people all over the country and make them dance!The most appalling is having to be competitive; I don'tlike that.

MG: Advice for aspiring femme DJ's?

DJ: Just go out and get yourself some turn tables andteach yourself. My mailing list is great for women whoare just starting out, to those who have done it for a longtime. It's great to have a support group. Someday therewill be twice as many DJ's as men.

Guest Reviewer

DJ Dazy has nearly eight years of experience behind the decks, from her self-taught days back in Salt Lake City, Utah and subsequent years in Portland, Oregon (and later in San Jose, California) to her present home in Los Angeles, where she is a resident at Motion. Last year saw Dazy playing a busy schedule of gigs that took her through out California, the Pacific Northwest and Canada. She also ventured to cities like Las Vegas and Denver, where she's a favorite. Dazy is also the founder of an internet mailing list/community called "SISTERDJS". Which boast more than 175 members and is a wonderful source of advice and resource-sharing for new and experienced selectors alike. Information on the mailing listand much more in the world of Dazy (including live recordings) may be found at http://www.djdazy.com

REVIEWS

Seasons Recordings (aka Earthtones Recordings) / 2nd shift featuring DJ Heather

JT Donaldson and Tim Shumaker deliver another amazing deep house track.Something Else on Side one is Definatly my favorite, with a hypnotic bass line and smooth melody that make your eyes close and ask for more...Did you say you want some more? Well that’s exactly what DJ Heather says through outthis track. This is defiantly one to keep in your record box for those early morning sets.Highly Recommended.

Dufflebag Records / Natural Rhythms

Natural Rhythms are ranked in my top 5 producers. This dynamic duo based outof Los Angeles not only know how to put tracks down but also play out live. Both tracks on thisRecord are great. My favorite “Fall” has a funky deep disco groove that will keep your head shacking and booty moving. Don’t be fooled when your listening to this on those crappy headphones at your local record store. When you play this on a loud system, you will feel the sub base rock your body. Don’t forget to pick up anything that these guys put out, I play all of their records.

Seasons Recordings (aka Earthtones Recordings)/ Chris PennyPirates Life EP

Do you like warm sounding bass that makes you feel like your floatingthrough the air? Well, Chris Penny does it again on this brilliant 4 track EP. Pirates Life on side A delivers a nice tracky beat and solid bassline that will keep the dance floor hypnotized. Liquid Steps on side 2 is exactly what you will feel like when your dancing to this. Nice use of thepiano samples make this a gem you shouldn’t pass up.

Large Records / Miguel Migs & DJ RasoulTrue Formula

This record has been out a while, but I couldn’t resist to review thissecret weapon. Miguel Migs and Rasoul have a special way of making tracks together. Both brilliant apart but absolutely amazing together. Side one “Takin’ U Over” has a funky baseline and a nice filtered wa wa guitar sample. “Driftin” makes good use of a very lovely horn sample and a super funky sub base, of course I am a big sucker for a good horn sample. This has been in my box since I received it, I suggest if you love deep house to go find this record, you won’t be disappointed.

Transport Recordings / The Night Affair EPSan Francisco based Miguel Migs has never let me down. His use of funky baselines and deep heavy disco riffs make me want to dance all night. He has been one of my favorite producers this year. Side One’s “Luv Sounds” has stompy beat and funky baseline. “Those Nights” delivers a a littler darker side of Migs, this track will make your floor hypnotized with its super funky baseline and guitar sample. I play both sides, and from what I hear out everywhere, so does everyone else. This is the 5th release on this label. I have picked up everyone one and any record that Miguel makes. Brilliant.

Live and Direct / Worship Recordings