Reported by News Editor
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Submitted 22-06-12 18:07
“My advice is to play what you feel. If the promoter or crowd expect something different then play the opposite to what they want. There is probably a guy sat at the bar listening who owns the bigger club down the road that will book you next time.”
With EDM-pop star Calvin Harris kicked off the decks in Vegas for being not commercial enough recently and house legend Mark Farina similarly stopped before he even started, Skrufff asked a bunch of top DJs if anything similar had ever happened to them.
UK underground house uber-producer Jamie Anderson (of Made to Play, Artform Records and Outland Records shared a couple of horrific incidents with Skrufff, though added ‘I have plenty more stories unfortunately . . .’
Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): When was the last time you were kicked off the decks (when, where, why? what happened?)
Jamie Anderson: “I was ripped off the decks by the bouncers at a club in Amsterdam a few years ago. A fight had broken out next to the decks while I was playing and a bouncer radioed for back-up from nearby clubs. The fire exit doors burst open and I was man-handled by six steroid freaks and held in a headlock until the promoter climbed over the decks and screamed at them to let me go as they had the wrong guy.”
Skrufff: How did you react to being kicked off and how did it make you feel?
Jamie Anderson: “I left the club in pain. I wrote a letter to the club owner explaining what had happened and they replied saying their bouncers acted responsibly and I was in the wrong.”
Skrufff: Have you ever had customers or club managers trying to persuade you to play something different?
Jamie Anderson: “I once had a skinhead stand next to the decks and order me to play Acid Trance, I refused and he stood there with a screwed up face like he wanted to kill me throughout my set. Another time back in the mid-90's at the Lakota in Bristol a short Asian girl kept coming up and asking for Gina G (from the Eurovision song contest) - obviously I refused. She then came into the DJ booth and leapt at me and sunk her teeth into my chest. Jesse Rose was also in the booth and he pulled her off kicking and screaming, she then kicked and punched him as he tried to keep her out the booth.”
Skrufff: How much do you believe DJs should respond to the crowd?
Jamie Anderson: “As a DJ you should really know music better than the crowd - it's your job and you should have researched and be dedicated to the music you play all your life. So the 'crowd' can f**k off if they don't understand or appreciated you sharing your knowledge and love.”
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