I DJ and I'm a harsh critic of DJs.
There is a difference between being a timekeeper and keeping the pulse or being in step with the pulse in the band.
I was never really a DJ... I just kinda figured it all out at once as I started to tour. I was making music and producing and I just had to start to DJ as I got more into touring.
I was very into tribal techno and used to go and really lose myself in great dance music.
Pete Dj Jones was the first person that I saw with 2 turntables. This was 1972.
It's always shocking to people, because sometimes when I go on the road and I DJ, they think I'm just gonna perform, so to see me really DJing and playing their favorite song and really rockin', it's a shock to people, and definitely to DJs.
I've been DJing since before I could read the labels on the records.
I've always been DJing; it's just I'm making more of a push for it, making it more public.
I've always had an ear for rocking a party. Just knowing what people like.
I DJ all the time, as much as I possibly can. I'll never stop. That's my security blanket, that's what I'm good at. I still consider myself a better DJ than a singer. I can DJ in my sleep.
Here's the thing: My hobby is to DJ. I just love music, so I can hear the beginning of a beat, the beginning of a melody, and think of the words, think of the name of the song, think of the hook, and just go there.
When I started DJ'ing, it was no big thing. There was no money in DJ'ing, and you did it purely for the love of playing music.
I had also done a little disc jockeying.
The DJs with a lot of hype are not necessarily the best DJs at creating a vibe.
I started writing rhymes first and then put it to the music. I figured out I could lock it to the beat better if I heard the music first. I like to get a lot of tracks, put the track up and let the music talk to me about what it's about.
I knew there was a way to blend records together, but I didn't know how to. This was haunting me when I was in my teens. In my frustration, I decided to start experimenting with electronics. I tested the torque factor on different turntables. I had to figure needles out. See, there are two kinds, elliptical and conical.
Now, the DJ becomes a star in itself because of the way he programs the songs with lows and then highs and then slowing it down. The big DJs, like Tiesto and Deadmau5 and all those guys, they are very, very creative.
I definitely try to go above and beyond with live mixing and scratching.
Me and my little cousin DJ John John, we used to always be DJing in the house. We never took it seriously.
The spirit of house music, electronic music, in the beginning was to break the rules, to do things in many different ways.
I want to be in the booth any day - Sunday, Monday, Wednesday - it doesn't matter to me. I'm hooked. I love it.
My name got kind of hot as a D.J. around town; on the north side of town, they had 'D.J. Juicy J.' That's what I called myself: 'The Notorious D.J. Juicy J.'
I am the Crystal Palace DJ. I'm the guy who gets us going. I play the songs.
I developed the Clock Theory to help me time records; you know, spin the record back two revolutions or whatever and then play the break, spin the other one back two, play, like that.
I started DJing when I was, like, 11.
