Category Archives: Lead Story
Honey Dijon – Mixing it Up in New York
Chicago-turned-New York DJ Honey Dijon has been infecting the metropolis clubs with a traditional Chicago House upbringing. A producer, DJ, and remixer, she sent off 2011 with her Toolroom Records single release “Until The Day,” that features classic House vocalist Dajae. The single became well-embraced within the electronic community. With multiple residencies in New York City, Honey Dijon is consistently proving herself as a respectable DJ that is gaining recognition worldwide. I caught up with her to talk about her Chicago days and the latest release.
Link: Honey Dijon Official Site
Honey Dijon Radio Show Featuring Dog and Pony Exclusive Mix
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:03 — 82.6MB)
What was it about DJs like Frankie Knuckles, Derrick Carter, and other cats in the Chicago scene that influenced you and what is it about House music that attracts you? Who are some of your favorite Chicago DJs and why? Outside of this circle, what other elements can you cite is a personal influence to your style?
I grew up in Chicago and house music is in my blood. Derrick Carter has always been a close friend and he influenced my heavily with his technical skills. When I moved to NYC and J became friends with Danny Teneglia his sense of drama and ear for new sounds also influenced me heavily. I like to say my sound was born of these two influences.
Why the move from Chicago to New York City? If it is, how are things different with the NYC club culture and how have you bettered yourself as this is really the beginnings of your DJ career.
It was a breakup and always a desire to be in NYC. I started djing in NYC because unlike Chicago where you would hear all kinds of music mixed together I found NYC linear. It’s still like this! People who like techno go here, people who like soulful house go there. In Chicago we mixed it all up as long as it fit. I still play like that!
It was Danny Tenaglia who really set the ball in motion for you. How did he become a factor in your career and how did he help? What was the experience like for you the first time getting behind the decks?
Well I met him through mutual friends and we clicked. His sets at Twilo and Vinyl are legendary. He really exposed me to the sounds coming out of Europe and it opened my ear. He was a major influence as well a Derrick in development as an artist.
On your Toolroom single “Until The Day,” you have Dajae laying down vocals. How did that come about and what was that like working with the classic house vocalist?
A dream! She is amazing and such a lovely person as well. She asked me to sing it to her how I think it should sound! Can you imagine? I can’t sing at all and hear I am trying to in front of one of the best voices in dance music. But she put me at ease and then it became fun!
How do you feel the remixes turned out? Were you surprised by anything?
I loved hearing how other people heard the song. It was a lot of fun and I love all of the mixes! They all did an excellent job!
One thing I love about the mixes you make is the progressiveness of the music while keeping this underlying smoothness with subtle nods to the a soul/disco vibe. Nowhere have I heard so far do you exploit the sound. Is this an intentional focus to what you do?
That’s how DJs in Chicago learn to play. So much talent there that you have technical skills as well as good track selection. I’m a minimalist at heart and I live be the credo less is more. What can you do with the basic elements. It’s easy to be over the top but it takes thought and a point of view to work with just a few sounds for maximum effect.
From the fashionable and sometimes risqué artfulness of your image, to what extent are you conscious of every aspect of the process. How important is it to you?
Hahaha? You think it’s risqué? I think now image is more important than ever because technology has made been a DJ/producer easier than ever before. Besides the music what else can people connect to you as an artist? Image, personality, and lifestyle is just as important now. Especially with social media!
With many of your songs, you start out with something accessible and add depth to it. It’s subtle but the results are powerful. When do you feel it’s best to crank up the levels of intensity in a mix?
At the end of the mix. That’s where people lest expect it and it’s an element of surprise. Quentin Harris is the master of that! I learned that from him.
You are working on some remixes, what all are you working on? How do you look at a song remix versus a song constructed for a mix?
I just take elements I like or feel are the most exciting parts of the track and go from there. Alot of remixing is editing and creating a new environment for the song!
What all do you have coming up for the rest of the year and into next?
I have some original work coming out with my studio partner Sebastian Manuel and some remixes for Jessica 6 and REM. I’m also excited about getting into the studio with the art band Salem. That will be really interesting!
An Analysis of Escort’s Self-Titled Release
MP3: Escort – “Makeover”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:09 — 7.6MB)
Link: Escort on MySpace
I cannot tell you how much I hate the Lipps, Inc. song “Funkytown.” It’s like a splinter in the proverbial finger of the when the ‘80s flipped off the ’70s. A disco favorite, it still burns like a cinder that was set on fire for way too long. You hear it in the supermarket and on those radio stations that now play anything. I would hope that the ghosts of radio DJs past are still grumbling over the thought of having to play that one hit wonder, one…more…time. And then to jab at the ashes further, Pseudo Echo revisits the song in New Wave splendor. Punk is blamed for the demise of the disco scene, but New Wave glimmered from the capitalization of the dance music craze. Say what you will, Ministry’s With Sympathy is a great album, and you can thank your shiny disco balls for any House anthem that came roaring out of the genre.
I was in a Half Price Books the other day and A Taste of Honey’s “Boogie Oogie Oogie” came on like a musak heart attack, I cannot help but be consistently intrigued how disco hangs on to society like this leech. All of you who had a record collection from the ‘80s, or a record collection passed on from someone who had a record collection from the ‘80s, I would wager 90% of those collections have the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack. Out of those 90%, don’t tell me you did not have the curiosity to play the album alone in your room while pawning it off to your friends as a joke. You secretly liked what the Bee Gees did, just admit it.
Disco never died, it morphed. And as bad as that Lipps Inc. song is, it demonstrates the vibrancy of the Casablanca dynasty, even when all that jive talking began to turn into MTV talk.
So what does all of this have to do with Escort? Everything.
Now that the 2010s have brought about a higher awareness of the synth sound — we can argue how Holy Ghost sounds better than anything Yaz has done — you feel the four-on-the-floor foundations move into a modern context. You can be hip and say that your band was founded on the essentials of Italia-disco and more than likely, you will get accepting nods from your peers, but when it comes down to it…it’s still disco and as much as these songs burn blisters in our head, we have to accept it for what it is.
And that is where Escort comes in. This is a band who has studied the genre, dug in deep and implanted their nails deep into the New York City sound. …And Party Every Night is their bible, and the Casablanca scene is their treasure map, digging into album after album of dance floor power. But they go beyond that. Look back to the Fania Records scene and the Fania All Stars where they had exceptional musician after exceptional musician on stage hypnotized into a latin dance orgy that would not quit even after the sun came up.
Not just that, but move ahead to the early ‘80s and the band feeds off of the spark that led to Lionel Ritchie’s “All Night Long” or what the Miami Sound Machine did to the South Beach scene by the mid-’80s, It all comes together into this party cruise that begins with Escort’s song “Chaméleon Chameleon.”
What starts out like a bad ringtone turns into an escapade of synth dance crazy. It’s one dimension to think of this band as something linear, but with 17 members filling the space, you only wished this all happened 20 years ago. If that was the case, this album as we hear it would not be at this level. I can imagine the band initially sitting down and discussing how they could take all of these elements from the past and plan out how they could do it better.
With having this magnitude of a band, they can explore powerful percussive elements on songs like “A Sailboat in the Moonlight.” But when Adeline Michéle puts her vocals into the tribal sound, it sounds like the Love Boat just set sail and Combustible Edison is your night entertainment. Discount it for its ultra cheese and hate it for what it is, but it will infect you like a disease because when this band breaks into a cocktail of horns and hooks, you will change your mind real quick. As Michéle croons, “Sailing, we’re sailing away,” it will turn any situation —even if it’s in your mind—into a dance party. I want to hate this like I want to hate “All Night Long,” but every time Lionel Ritchie tells me we are going to have a party, I’m hooked every time.
Like disco, that is what this band is good for, escapism. “Cocaine Blues” is a power roll call of disco culture all wrapped up in bad cologne, hairspray, and the streets that surrounded Studio 54. It’s the one easy piece of definitive nu-disco. As fun as that all seems, “Why Oh Why” is more expressive, more soulful, and a great song that does not need to rely on schlock to make this song a success. I’m just curious what Donna Summer would think about a song about “Love In Indigo.” Would she think damn, why did I not write this song, or would she think the neon sounds are discounted as a joke. Sometimes, I cannot tell the difference. Either way, you cannot say these songs have consumed this band and have taken on their own form be it the ‘70s, ‘80s or now.
I have listened to this album over and over again, trying to come into some realization that these instantly gratifying songs are just that and nothing more. But what it comes down to is that these are catchy songs that stick to you from the result of amazing musicianship. I cannot find a bad song on this album or a downbeat to pick at. With that in mind, don’t look at Escort like you would Lipps Inc., consider them more a Gary’s Gang for the millennium.
Starbase Indy, the 16th Generation
Much like Pon Farr and Vulcans, Ferengi and money, or the USS Bozeman and the Typhon Expanse, some things are simply inseparable. Also bonded at the Tachyon Particle level – Star Trek and science fiction conventions. This writer was fortunate enough to have experienced the classic RiverCon events down in Louisville several times in the 70s. Even then the show was populated by various Trek fans decked out in costumes (often hand crafted) to give honor to their favorite characters. Self-published Fan fiction, homemade phasers, starship schematics, Mego action figures – the more things change, the more they stay the same and the Federation of Time would be proud. Over the past 40+ years genre fads have come and gone. Star Wars costumes come and go, men dressed as Predators can be found taking a leak in the men’s room, and the stray Babylon 5 t-shirt can be spotted now and again. But one constant remains: Star Trek has won the war of ages. If you need proof, rest assured it doesn’t require a sacrifice of Edith Keeler proportions to experience the past and future all at once. In fact, one has to look no further than the Indianapolis Marriott East (7202 E. 21st St.).
From December 9 – 11, 2011, the greatest “Midwest fan-run sci-fi convention” known as Starbase Indy holds its sixteenth gathering of genre-soaked bliss. Star guests representing the Trek universe include the legendary actor Tony Todd, John Billinglsley, and Deborah Downey. Despite the threads of Star Trek woven into its DNA, this year’s event also offers a variety of guests for all levels of obsession: stars and guest-stars from shows such as Stargate SG-1, X-Files, and Chuck will be on hand to add diversity. A masquerade, another staple of sci-fi cons, is another must-see event and the Klingon karaoke cannot be missed. In the quest for knowledge that underlies the Trek experience, sessions on actual 21st century science will be offered, and the kids will have an opportunity to build their own Tribbles.
New this year is the first ever battle of the bands, but this year the fate of the neutral zone is at stake. Yes, this battle of the bands will be waged between Starfleet and Klingons. If you wear your freak status proudly and you’ve got a flag, this event will be the ideal time to let that freak flag fly. Full disclosure – I am a self-admitted Star Trek freak on many levels (well, except for ST: Voyager…I was always a DS9 guy myself), and this event alone should be worth the price of admission.
Exploration, adventure, friendship, diversity – Star Trek has always been about many things. One constant that represents the Federation is its desire to help and defend those in need. To that end, Starbase Indy will be promoting and accepting donations for its chosen charities: Cat’s Haven, Jason’s Foundation, and LUNGevity.
These days when local and global events seem oh so heavy, we could all stand a little bit of futuristic optimism. Do yourself a favor this holiday season and visit Starbase Indy, the 16th Generation. Tell them the Emissary sent you!
Link: Starbase Indy
3rd Annual Mandatory Mustache Bash
3rd Annual Mustache Bash
The Melody Inn
Pravada | Pocket Vinyl | Household Guns | The Damn Choir | Vacation Club
Mexican, the English Moustache, the Fu Manchu, handlebar, horseshoe, pencil, bushy, walrus—moustaches comes in all shapes and sizes. To help celebrate the illustrious upper lip hair explosion that has rocked manly facial features since the dawn of time, Bearded Flower Productions presented the 3rd Annual Mandatory Mustache Bash.
If you didn’t have one, you got one at the door. The night was filled with hair-lipped sets by Indianapolis’ favorite local bands, as well as Pocket Vinyl from Rochester, New York, and Chicago’s The Damn Choir. And by the end of it all, the bash was another successful venture of great music, great times, all come together by the proud celebration dedicated to the upper lip.
Chris Marshall – Steps Into The Light
Chris Marshall may be one of the most sincere persons in the music business. And August Light (In Music We Trust) may be the best alt country/roots rock album of 2011. His debut release explores love and loss. It’s a typical expression in the style, but for Marshall, all of this comes from pure honesty as part of this album is coming to terms with the loss of a dear friend. But he gets past it with songs about the simplicity of love and the beauty of life itself. The son of a preacher, he’s spent a lot of his life in contemplation. This album brings it all to life.
I had a chance to talk to Marshall about his debut release, how 2011 has treated him, and what is in store for next year.
Link:
What was going through your mind during the making of August Light? What ideas were you really wanting to get out at the time of writing this album?
My mindset while making the record was pretty much just focused on stretching myself and learning the kind of process that works for me. I put a lot of trust in Jeremy Wilson on the production end and tried to allow for other interpretations on the songs and how they might sound. As far as the writing of the record was concerned, my only intention on that end was to just keep it honest. I don’t think there is any unifying thematic strand, excepting just a general commitment to keeping the songs true. I’ll have to decide if we pulled that off later on down the road.
What is it about the traditional elements of Country music that you were attracted to? How did you see that opportunity to explore the style and make it into your own?
I think it’s probably the immediacy in country music that attracts me to it. You have three or four minutes to accomplish something really specific in a country song, and you either do it or you don’t. There is just not a lot of space to hide behind, and I think that measuring stick keeps it honest. Tell a story, rip a lead, nail a vocal; do what you gotta do to establish a connection with an audience. And while I don’t actually consider myself a straight “country” artist, I think that will always be the barometer I use to decide if something works or not.
All of this transfers to the band of Portland musicians you gathered for this album. How did you get that vision out to this group and what was the process like having prominent indie and alternative rock musicians playing the Country/Americana style?
It was really Jeremy that connected me with the core group of guys that tracked the album, and it really wasn’t a stretch for them stylistically. The grooves were really natural, and Paul Brainard was in the pocket the entire time on steel. I actually really enjoyed watching them flesh out the songs and was able to just kind of get out of the way a lot of the time. Now, that isn’t always the best way to go and I don’t think I’ll approach an album that way again, but for this experience it was a lot of fun.
You took time out to communicate with your bandmates. How did this dialogue help transcend the album?
There was a couple different times where I had unique opportunities to connect with the guys playing the songs, and that was important for me. Allen Hunter actually proved to be kind of a sage in a lot of areas, and there were several times when he offered timely insight that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
One thing that most impressed me about August Light is that you don’t go out of your way to show off, it’s just a solid album from front to back. Does that have to do with the album’s honesty? Musicianship? What do you think?
Well thanks a bunch, that means a lot to hear actually. I hope it’s all of the above! The only risk in that is that the album might come off to others as being restrained or underwhelming. So I think with the next batch of songs I’m writing, I’m feeling the impulse to take some more risks, but I’ll definitely continue to put a premium on keeping things purposeful and honest.
How did being the son of a minister have an effect on you?
I think to some degree that’s tough to answer, because it’s just my experience and I don’t necessarily have the ability to separate myself from it. I will say that I’m thankful for having been raised with a developed spiritual impulse, because I think it pays off to live the examined life and to be sensitive to meaning, values, truth, poetry, etc. I’m lucky because my folks did a pretty great job of making it a healthy spiritual experience growing up, rather than an oppressive one, which is what a lot of preacher’s kids have to contend with. I was given a lot of room to find myself and my own faith, so for that I’m lucky, or maybe, in this area, I should say I’m blessed.
It’s common for someone with a religious family background to rebel, but for you and this album, you look at natural law and the metaphysics of life. What is it about this time in your life to feel that way?
I think it’s probably just a process of getting older. Because I’ve gone through the rebellion thing like most have, and it was really a cyclical thing all the way through adolescence for me. But at some point it just evened out. I trip up or goof up a lot, but I feel a little more grace for myself these days and am more interested in the larger narrative of existence, not just my own deal all the time, if that makes sense. I guess I just feel more connected to the whole story and I want my contribution to reflect that.
I should also mention that this album is also an homage to the spirit of your friend who unfortunately passed away. What would you like to say to him regarding this album, and what would he think about the sentiment?
That’s a tough one. I’d probably have to ponder that a long while before answering, I’m sorry. Down the road a ways, maybe I’ll get there.
Are you taking the music out on the road? If so, will it be you or any of the other band members involved?
I’ve been doing regional stuff in the Northwest since the album came out, and of course locally in Portland. Right now I’m actually finally able to say I have a full-time band backing me for the first time, and we’re doing an incredible amount of writing, which is what I’m most excited about. The hope is that we’ll get this unit more road-tested here pretty soon, so that is exciting as well. All of the guys that recorded the record are extremely busy with their own projects and other more long-term ones, so I’ve worked really hard at finding the right folks to have on my team to carry the torch forward, and am actually happier than I’ve ever been with where that’s at.
What now and for the future?
Well, just to kind of piggy-back on the last question, the stuff I’m writing right now with the entire band is completely regenerating my love for music. Christoph Cesarez, who plays lead guitar with me, is also contributing songs to the project, and they happen to be really good songs. Such a great group of folks and it’s taking on its own life as a result, so it’s like a whole new beginning really. Didn’t see that coming a year ago when we started working on “August Light,” but it’s exciting to see the evolution and be a part of it.
