DJ D

I attended my first rave at the end of July 1997, the summer after my freshman year in college. It was "Juggernaut" at 85th and Baldwin, Oakland (although I did not know that at the time)! I had had the opportunity to go to a rave in the past, but never had any interest. I didn't have any idea what a "rave" was or what it was all about, nor did I care. It was simply something that I never gave a second thought to. The only reason why I decided to go to Juggernaut was because I needed something to do that night: two of my best friends from high school were visiting, and I needed to entertain them. Some of my college friends, who "raved" every weekend, had invited my roomate and me. Little did I know that this would be the first steps in a life-long journey. . .
I was instantly drawn to the rave scene after experiencing my first party - never in any other place had I met people with such open and friendly hearts. I began attending raves about once a month. Two especially memorable parties, in particular, were Tickle (May 30, 1998) and the Frequency 8 3-year anniversary campout (June 20-21, 1998).
A short while after Tickle, I met Thomas Trouble through a mutual friend at his store in Berkeley, the Trance and Jungle Factory. The encounter was brief. A couple weeks later, I stopped by the T&J Factory on my way home from work. That was the first time Thomas and I had a somewhat lengthy conversation. At this point, I reckoned, we could be considered acquaintances.
That summer, from the beginning of July to mid-August, I decided to study abroad in London. A week prior to my departure, on a warm and sunny afternoon, I decided to swing by the T&J Factory. I needed to pick up a few mix tapes that I could listen to during my trip. As I walked through the T&J doors, I could see Thomas spinning on the turntables he had set up on the front counter. It looked as though he had just received a new shipment of records. I approached him and said, "Hi Thomas, I'd like to buy some mix tapes!"
Thomas did not respond to me, although I could tell he was aware of my presence. Instead, he continued to play with his new records (Meanwhile, I was thinking to myself, I guess it's not good to bug him while he's spinning!). I stood beside Thomas for a few more minutes, waiting for him to finish what ever it was that he was doing. A few minutes later, he reached over to the side where a second pair of headphones were resting. These headphones were already connected to the mixer via a jack splitter. Without even saying hello, Thomas handed me the second pair of headphones. I put them on, and listened.
At that moment in time, for no apparant reason whatsoever, Thomas began to show me the ropes. He found the first beat of the record that was playing in the headphones, and began counting: "1-2-3-4-5-6-7..." With each count, he would slide the first beat of the record across the needle, creating his own rhythm. "...28-29-30-31-32---1!" At the first beat of his next 32-beat measure, he dropped in the record, and the two records began playing in sync.
The whole time that Thomas was doing this, some sort of great realization came over me. This-- everything he was saying and doing-- it all made perfect sense. Although he did not realize it at the time, it was then that Thomas introduced me to my fate.
"There, now you try it." Thomas said with authority. He found the first beat of the record for me, and then I reached over. "... 28-29-30-31-32---1!" Perfect. Thomas' eyes widened a bit, looking at me with a bit of surprise. He made me do it again (I suppose to make sure it wasn't a fluke!) Perfect again. "Killer!" He said with enthusiasm and a bit of disbelief. He let the records run this time, and began to teach me more. Next, he showed me how to change the speed of the record with the pitch control. "Toward you: faster, away from you: slower." He first demonstrated, and then had me adjust the pitch. This was a bit harder than simply dropping in the record, and from time to time Thomas needed to guide me with his own hand.
After we had been standing at the turntables for no more than a half hour, Thomas left me alone to play with my newfound toys. For the next five hours or so, I played with the same two records: 2 Telica 9s. I'd play the logo side with the flip side, then flip one of them over, play the same song with itself, flip the other record over, then be playing opposite sides again, an so on and so forth. Every now and then, Thomas would check up on me and see how I was doing. At one point in the day, Thomas came up to me and said, "Killer! You're playing at my next party!" I just laughed, and kept on spinning.
For the remainder of that week, up until my departure to London, I went to the T&J Factory every day after I got off work. I'd say hello to Thomas, find a couple of records off the shelves, hop on the turntables, and practice practice practice. I didn't practice because I thought I'd be playing at a party any time soon, I practiced because I loved it. It was the most fun thing I had ever stumbled across. It became an addiction. (Some of you may know what I'm talking about: after all, it has been referred to as "Black Crack!") Each day, I would put in at least five hours of practice, blaring my music long after the store closed for the day. When I left the store, I'd still be thinking about spinning. Before I fell asleep each night, I'd think about spinning. When I awoke each morning, I'd think about spinning. At work, I'd get excited toward the end of my shift because I knew that meant I could go to the store (and spin). I'm telling you, I had it baaaad!
That week, Thomas and I went from being mere acquaintances to best friends (How could we not, with me spending as much time there as I did?!) I appreciated him dearly for being so generous to me: allowing me to use his turntables and records, letting me stay late, putting up with my loud music, teaching me the difference between genres of music, etc etc. He's always looked out for me and always taken care of me. To this day, he's never been anything but the best to me, and for that, I am eternally grateful to him.
At some point during that infamous week, Thomas and I were lounging in a couple of chairs. He said to me, "Well, you're going to need a DJ name." Later, when I went home, I pondered over what I should call myself. I grabbed some scrap paper, and brainstormed. The next day, I said to Thomas, "I think I've got myself a name!" I handed him the piece of scrap paper, and he read aloud: "DJ D. DJ D it is!"
Finally, after a long and exciting week, I left for London. I must admit, I had an absolute blast! It was, by far, my favorite summer experience to this day. But that's another story. Needless to say, however, spinning was always in the back of my mind. I bought my very first ten records in London.
In mid-August I finally returned, hair cut short and spunky as ever. The first night I was back in Berkeley, one of my roomates and another friend were going to a Harmony party at the Phoenix Theatre in Petaluma. They invited me, and, although I hadn't unpacked a single thing, I decided "What the Hell?" and went along. During the car ride there, my roomate asked if I was playing at Tickle 2, a T&J Factory event. "Yeah! Your name's on the flyer!" She said. "What?!?" I replied in incomplete disbelief. Although Thomas did say I'd be playing at his next party, I never really believed it!
I saw Thomas that night at the party, and sure enough, he said I'd be playing at Tickle 2. I was excited as ever, but also a bit worried-- Tickle 2 was just over one week away! I'd better start practicing!
At the store the following day, Thomas broke it down to me like this: "We'll have you play just a 40-minute set, because you'll be happy to get off the turntables by that point in time. Write down the order of the records you're going to play, right down to the beat that you're going to drop in the next record, and practice it over and over." He had me worried at times, telling me about the horrors of playing out your first time. Everything is really loud and confusing, he said, and some times you can't even recognize your own record that's playing. Not to mention, you'll be nervous as hell and your hand will be shaking uncontrollably. Uhh... okay!
For the next few days, I tried to work out a set with the records I had got from London. I was frustrated to realize that they weren't working out at all. I went home that night in a state of disarray. The following day, just three days until the party, I entered the store and saw Thomas playing with a bunch of Eve records. He told me that some times, when you mix records of the same label, it's a bit easier because they are similar in sound and style. He was going to have me play all Eve records, and he had already put the first three records in order. For the remainder of that day, I put the rest of my set together, and then practiced it over and over. I continued to practice my set, up until about 4 hours before the party was to begin!
Well, that's pretty much it, folks. Everything Thomas said about playing out your first time was true. I was nervous the entire time, and every now and then I'd have to take off my headphones, stand back, listen to the music, and regroup. Every time I got a record mixed in I was extremely relieved, but then I'd be rushing to get the next record on to maximize the time I had to get the beats matched. When all was said and done, I was a very happy girl!
That year, I only played two parties: Tickle 2 and Platipus (Nov. 21). When 1999 rolled around, the infamous Man in the Moon series began, and that's when my career took off. It was during those intimate parties at Big Heart City that people started to recognize me and appreciate the music I threw down. For those of you that remember those days, you're some of the few who saw me at the beginning of my career. Thanks for being there!
It's been a long and extremely rewarding journey. My taste in music has slowly evolved from the early days of acid trance to hard trance and now on to hard house and nrg. As I've said before, however, as long as you're still listening, I'll keep on spinning!!!
A million thanks to each and every one of you who has supported me in the past, present, and future!