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LISTEN TO MIX: hi-quality mp3 listen
CITIZEN KANE INTERVIEW
Hey Dennis! How are you doing? I couldn’t believe it when I heard couple several months
ago that you’ve been hit by a truck! What happened?
I was riding my bike from my home in Manhattan to my studio in Queens, making a right turn,
(in a designated bike lane) in Greenpoint Brooklyn, I was clipped from behind by an 18 wheel
15 ton fuel oil truck.... It ran over my bike, and then it ran over my pelvis. I have a dozen pelvic
cracks, a degloved right thigh (flesh torn from bone), and a compressed lower calf (muscle
impacted to bone - think of a pressed cubano sandwhich), and various cuts and bruises. I
spent 8 days at Bellevue intensive care, loving Morphine and ice. One day at a phony out-
paitent spot - from which I escaped (healthcare is a total scam), and have been rehabbing at
home and at a sports rehab facility. All things considered, it is good to be alive, not to
overstate, but it was a life or death moment.
What’s the recovery been like?
Arduous and seemingly unending, intense pain over four hours is bad, intense pain over 9
weeks is, as my pal Alex Pewin would say: "Fucking Mental". I'm lucky, I've had amazing
support. The whole time I was in Bellevue I was never once alone. I would fall asleep holding
one friends hand and wake up holding anothers. The amount of care I've received was
overwhelming and extended ...so many sublime moments. My wife never, ever, cracking - even
as she was fighting with the hospital. My pals being there in shifts, discussing Bunuel’s “Belle
de Jour” with my pals Corneilius and Karen C - inducing a hot nurse to join in....Friends of my
wife cleaning our house, her dad and his wife flying in to watch our son. My pal Vito leaving a
new pair of kicks outside my front door, Danny Krivit taking me to hospital, Darshan with the
herbal remedies, Heidi Lawden starting a facebook group and being an iChat superfriend, Sal
P making lunch and cleaning the kitchen, Bruce Tantum helping me re-enter the dj realm ...
and on and on, dozens of kind acts, just brilliant...I'll never forget that, whenever I think about
the absolute grace of any of those gestures I get the crazy smile.
You seem to be back in the saddle again though, playing APT on Saturday night. Is it your
first gig after the accident?
I did a short set on Bruce Tantum's Body Control show, but it was a bit premature, not sure
how I got through it.
Who was holding fort for you on Saturday nights in your absence?
On short notice Bruce Tantum & Stewart Upchurch (two of NYC’s finest and most slept on
DJ's), did the first night, and then Darshan Jesran (Metro Area), Danny Krivit, and Thomas
Bullock (Map of Africa,) each did a night, I was happy to have such first rate stunt doubles.
Danny, Darshan and Bruce have been huge supports through the whole mess....
Will the Adult Section and Strobe Lodge parties that you throw with Darshan Jesrani (of
Metro Area) be back soon as well?
Indeed, we are going back to Cielo for Adult Section, and have just found a space in Brooklyn
for the next Strobe Lodge. It’s been a hard cold winter and we are amped for the spring.
How were the parties going before?
Really lovely, our last Adult Section was the night that Obama got elected, the sense of release
was pretty amazing, Cielo is a great room and we have carved out a nice crowd for the night.
The last spot we were using for Strobe Lodge has unfortunately been converted to office
space, it was an amazing ballroom dance studio in Chinatown, we could get 350 people in
there. A friend is setting us up at this gallery space in Brooklyn, I think it’s going to be more
intimate but a really strong vibe. Part of the joy of Strobe Lodge is to be outside of the
traditional club environ, and to have a measure of control over a specific space – it lets an
ethos really develop on all levels, lights – refreshments – staff – decor – we are not just the
guys playing records. It also creates a closer bond with the crowd, people get high off of the
love.
You have nights at APT and Cielo respectively, clubs with great sound systems – it must be
fun to have that.
Both Cielo and APT are Funktion 1 sound, and Maria, who I deal with from Funktion, is just
great. Cielo also took a very thoughtful approach with regard to the room acoustics, so it aids
and compliments the system. I have also been lucky to play at Love and Water Taxi Beach,
both of which have systems designed by my pal Gary Stewart, for warmth and fidelity I love
GSA’s approach, but both systems have their strengths. I am spoiled – having great sound
isn't everything – but it allows the delicacy and complexity of the songs to thrive – if there is
something we need now it’s delicacy and complexity….
I believe your party at APT “The Deep End” must be one of the longest running nights in
NYC. How did you start it, how long have been doing it and what have been some highlights
in terms of guests?
I have been playing at APT since the fall of 2000. I originally was there weekly with Jeff
“Chairman” Mao, after a bit we just started doing every other Saturday solo. Jeff was more into
funk, soul, hip-hop etc…I was more into the leftside of dance, disco sleeze, cosmic, but
I enjoyed the whole spectrum, the nights the two of us did together set a very high level for a
broad range of music, and we did two very successful mixes, Selects 001 and The Greatest
Part. Once I went solo I called it The Deep End and made it fully about the adult vibe. As far as
guests I have had some cool people – usually one a year for the anniversary party – Harvey,
Nicky Siano, Danny Krivit, Gerry Rooney, Phil Mison, Force of Nature, Norman Jay have all
rolled through. Also people like Joel Martin (quiet village), Tony Watson, Darshan, Nick
Chacona.…just pals and good vibes hanging out, what a residency should be. The staff at APT
has always been so great, no one once ever asked me what I was doing or who I was having
play….really a high level of autonomy ….
Are you originally from New York and how did you get into the club scene / djing?
I was born in Ireland and raised in Philadelphia, Philadelphia in the 70’s was a scary place,
but the music was amazing – even the music on the radio!!!! WDAS! WRTI! Great Jazz, great
disco, soul, boogie….As kids we all had those mini turntables and collected 7”s, LP’s – later
we would ride our bikes down to Sigma Sound just to hang around and see if anyone was
there. We would see Teddy Prendergast and Kenny Gambel fairly often. When I hit art school I
was a New Romantic / Bauhaus wanna be. (cracking up at the thought of hair gel) I started
playing shortly thereafter. When I moved to NYC I was so broke I had to sell off most of my
records (many of which I bought back later for significantly more $!), just to get by. Around 1990
I started building my collection back up and playing here and there in the LES. One thing that I
do miss is the sense that you could be poor and still be on the scene, so many of the people I
knew then worked day jobs and went out at night. So much of what I encounter now seems
moneyed and entitled, and that sense of entitlement translates into a kind of arrogance that
doesn’t help things flower socially or artistically. The urge to “have it all”, leads to a kind of
conservative passive/aggressive social model. Bohemia needs time to develop and a real
wide range of people, a few broken noses, a sense of mutual need as well. I don’t see any Biz
Markie’s or Lux Interior’s coming out of what’s going down now….I see a lot of people
graduating into the brand marketing and advertising industry.
What was your first gig like?
Not my first, but certainly memorable was a gig right across the street from where I live now, it
was an old gas station and people danced outside! The booth and bar were in the service
island….the building next to it was a place to score H, there was a whore house around the
corner…The Loft was nearby, Save The Robots across the street…things done changed. It’s
all condos now, and some pseudo ale house sports pub – as Nicky Santoro would say;
“fuckin’ depressing”. The police in NYC have taken the crackdown on nightlife to extremes, that
and real estate boon has really hurt the fabric, it’s not just NYC either, London, Tokyo, any
major city… I’m curious what this economic downturn will yield culturally…..
You also run your own label “Disques Sinthomme” – can you tell us about any new
releases coming up?
Our most recent and third release is a four track ep with original tracks by The Beat Broker and
Lars Behrenroth respectively, with remixes from yours truly and Smith & Mudd. I’m happy with
the releases so far and excited about the next few we have in the pipeline. The last few months
have basically been about getting better, learning to move again (like the scene in Kill Bill
where Kiddo says to herself “okay now wiggle your big toe”…and then 15 hours later she does
it!), but now I am itching to get at it again, and daily get more energy to do so.
Have you released music under any other labels / aliases or projects?
I have some edits out on the Ghost Town label, a remix for a friends band (Roughstars) on
Homestyle, it’s a nice 12” that also features a Nick Chacona remix, and an arrangement for
Moton ( Kane’s Spanish home)There is more stuff set to come out, it’s funny the drift between
making something and it seeing the light of day. I like to think of Lee Scratch Perry burying his
reels in the dirt by his fav tree…. (Does anyone know if all the tracks he produced with Robert
Palmer ever came out? )
What 5 records are you definitely playing on your next gig?
Well there are no definites really, right? everything in the moment….
I have just done an edit of Herbie Hancocks “magic number” that I want to drop. The Laughing
Light of Plenty track “The Rose” has been getting lots of play from me, there is a Georges
Delarue thing I can’t wait to play on a big system – real string sections are so fucking massive
and elegant….I found this Haitian boogie/disco record…. I have been listening to an old mix
tape I made of early LA electro/hip –hop, a few crazy Zakia records there….and there is always
room for a Bobby Womack tune!!!
You used to write a column for the BPM magazine. Are you still doing it or writing for
anything else?
Well they stopped paying me – which really impacted the amount of material I decided to turn
in! In fact they still owe me $ which I am trying to collect. Rob Simas, who is the editor, is a
good guy, if he had total control I think the magazine would be really interesting. It is a hard
time for print media in general these days. I did a column where I interviewed various people I
liked – David Mancuso, Arthur Baker, The Idjut Boys etc…. I’d ask them questions and try to
remember what they told me and present it in a way that reflected their sensibilities, I did 12 or
so….I should probably get them up on a website – I still have the tapes…..
Are you also involved with the Loft parties in New York at all?
Yes I have a very important role, I go drink beer and dance for 4-5 hours!!!! David lives nearby
and on occasion I’ll visit and bring some vinyl etc… we’ll go over it. I’m always interested in his
view on records, his concern over the actual recording is pretty intense.
If he is into any of the jams I try to find them for him, or if I have a double I’ll pass one to him. I
gave him a great copy of ‘My Favorite Things” which segues into “Funky Broadway”
What do you think will make the world a better place?
Huh? More large paintings of kittens?….. Seriously people taking care of their own BS and
making an effort to become gracious hosts to all. Having a sense of one’s own absurdity
helps tremendously, do your thing, look out for some people, work hard and check the ego….
NYC has a lot of unchecked new jack ego, it exhausts the spirit, but then it also has some
amazingly self aware, selfless people of great talent. The ideas are where it’s at...and knowing
one thing doesn’t really cut it, a little learning can be really dangerous….Dig we must!
Do you want to give a shout out to anyone?
Normally I wouldn’t, but as this mix is dedicated to a great group of people here it goes –
goddamn these people made my day!
Karen Ramspacher, Roan Mingus, Darshan Jesrani, Vito Palmore, Karen Cheung, Lucille
Toniolo, Corneilius Byrd, Steve Quester, Jonathan Berger, Dick & Eileen Ramspacher,
Salvatore Principato, Anthony Cochrane, Bruce Tantum, Danny Krivit, Meg Lee, Eric Holeness,
Mudd & Jess, Heidi Lawden, Joseph Setton, Andrew Brown, Balearic Mike, Phil Mison,
Amanda Graves, Georgeana Crespo, Elizabeth Meixell, Stewart Upchurch, Timothy Saccenti,
Nicolas Matar, Alex Young, Tony Watson & fam, Richard Sen, Joel Martin, Sean B., The Cute
Nurse, Dr. Lowe the Trauma King, Nurse Sue, Dr. Davidovitch, and the great Dr. Steve Dillon
for the check ins, and telling me it was OK to throw the first physical therapist out on her ass…
a special shout to Mary Roberts –keep at it Mary - you will be dancing soon enough!
Bookings: strobelodgenyc@yahoo.com
Links: www.strobelodge.com
www.myspace.com/urcitizenkane
www.myspace.com/disquessinthomme
