Hi, Shawn, what are you up to?
Right now I am sitting in my living room in Singapore having a cup of coffee. Just woke up not too long ago and I’ve been returning emails ever since I got up. These days I’ve been busy sorting out DJ gigs – I’ve just been offered a gig back in my home state of Florida this summer, so I’m really excited about having a bit of a homecoming later on this year.
2008 marks the 10th anniversary of your DJing. Does this mean anything
to you?
Yes! It’s hard to believe sometimes that it’s been 10 years already. The number definitely has meaning for me! I have seen and heard a lot of things come and go during that time. Over the past 10 years I have DJ’d about every form of dance music there is, but drum’n’bass has always been that one constant through the whole time. I think, to me, the biggest change in drum’n’bass is the increase in speed!
Do you remember the first time you DJ’d then?
Oh yes, I definitely remember the first time I played in a club. It was the legendary Club at Firestone in Orlando. This place was a Mecca for dance music in the USA in the mid to late ’90s, and to play there was quite a big deal for me. I remember having the shakes something fierce when I went to play. A fellow DJ said I should have a drink to calm my nerves, but at the time I was not old enough to drink at the club! That night I had a very embarrassing moment when I picked up the needle from the record that was playing – definitely a rookie mistake!
Your bio says you’ve gone from ‘humble beginnings to playing across the US and now across the world’. What were the ‘humble beginnings’?
Well, ...in Orlando, Florida, in the late ’90s, you have to understand that about one in every 50 people was a DJ. The market, so to speak, was completely saturated with DJs, so it was really hard to try to make my mark. I got together with a friend of mine who was starting to MC, and that helped a lot as we would be booked as a team. So that got our name out all over the state, and led to a lot of shows in the late ’90s and early 2000s. It was a struggle, a lot of heartache, but a lot of great times as well. Back then, if you had told me I would be doing an interview for a magazine in Hong Kong one day, I would have told you you were crazy!
Mention Orlando and I think of Mickey Mouse, not drum’n’bass for sure.
People always think of Disney, it’s true! I cannot really comment on the state of drum’n’bass back home in Orlando right now since I haven’t really witnessed it first hand in some years. But I do still get sent pictures from gigs from my friends, and it still looks great! There’s a great crew out there called Jungala, who run a night called Torque which is about to celebrate its 9th anniversary. It is one of the longest running drum’n’bass weeklies in the USA, and it’s on a Monday night! Andy C called it the best Monday night drum’n’bass gig on the planet, so you know those guys are doing it right!
You have played with a lot of big names. Who are the nicest and who
the worst?
I have to say that the vast majority of ‘big name’ DJs I have met have been great people. There are, of course, the odd ones that are not, shall we say, the nicest people in the world. Drum’n’bass-wise, I would have to say the nicest people I have met have been Keaton, Andy C, D Bridge, Logistics, and Fabio. Outside drum’n’bass, I would have to say the Scratch Perverts, DJ Craze, and Carl Cox.
Craziest gig so far?
A fetish party I played at in Sarasota, Florida. While I was DJing, there were two girls tied up in full bondage gear, whipping and dripping hot candle wax on each other. When it first started, the MC and I just looked at each other in utter disbelief. That was a night chock-full of debauchery.
In your MySpace page you state your income is £100,000 to £150,000 – seriously?
Wow, people do actually read that, eh? I’m not going to comment on what my actual income is, but let’s just say I filled that out more as a ‘desired income’ than an actual one!
Shawn LiveWire will spin at RADAR03 presented by Kongkretebass on May 17 at Twyst Mind (The Pemberton, 22-26 Bonham Strand, Central). The line-up also includes live bands Violent Jokes and The Projects. Supporting DJs are DJ Wash and Synertia. Entry is $100 before midnight, $120 after, and includes one drink.
|
