Hometown: Chase, B.C
Pique: What's your "Whistler story?"
M.C.: I arrived in the summer of 1998, leaving the mundane existence I had in Chase working at a mill to come join my friends, play in the hills and pursue a life of electronic music. When I first came for a visit in '95, I was sold. DJ Czech was playing records and Ace and Virginia were go-go dancing at Tommy's, but it took me a few years to get here. I had a three-year stint at Panorama before moving to Whistler.
Pique: What do you love about this place?
M.C.: Lots, mainly the fresh air, the mountains, the lifestyle and the people, oh yeah, there are a few cute ladies up here too...
Pique: Anything you'd change?
M.C.: I would love to see Whistler go back to its roots, but that's impossible. It used to be a pilgrimage for skiers and snowboarders, now thanks to the big O and Much Music, it's a trendy place to be seen and own property that you never stay in.
Pique: Where do you perform?
M.C.: I've held residencies at Tommy's, Garf's, Maxx Fish, GLC, Black's, Savage Beagle, Buffalo Bill's and Pemb Ho, but I prefer to play outdoors at music festivals such as Bass Coast, Shambhala, Soundwave, Solar Tribe's full moon parties and various locally produced events. I have also played clubs and after hours in Vancouver and Seattle.
Pique: When you aren't on stage, where can people find you hanging out?
M.C.: Skate park, mountains, lakes, dancing in the clubs or woods to a good band or DJ, and hanging at friends' places.
Pique: So, is music a full-time gig for you, or do you also have a day job?
M.C.: No matter how much or how little you DJ, it is a full time job. You need to research and dig to find the music that you want to call "your own." I used to play 15 to 20 hours a week, but it was too taxing on my creativeness and people get bored if they see your name in the paper too many times per week. Even if you played different songs and styles every time you played, people want something new... I have been in the service industry for over 10 years that I have been playing, everything from doorman to manager at a nightclub, driven cabs and limos, courier and a part-time love affair with carpentry; whatever you can survive.
Pique: I understand that you were introduced to the art of DJing through a local institution, Tommy Africa's. What's the story?
M.C.: I was a doorman back in '98, when all the other doormen would play pool after their shifts, I would mash together whatever records I had quietly on the DJ monitor. Thankfully, I was friends with all the staff and they could put up with all the train wrecks. Eventually an opening came available for warm up DJ on Soul Kitchen Sundays. No one was usually there till late, but it was still "hands on" learning on a big sound system.
Pique: It sounds like you had a lot of help from longtime local DJs like Czech, Vinyl Ritchie and Mat the Alien as you learned the craft. What did they teach you?
M.C.: Czech is the master, I used to watch him play puppet master with the dancers, he could always get the crowd worked up into a frenzy, he had them "eating out of the palms of his hands." Vinyl Ritchie always had a unique style, unlike no other, he could always mix anything together, I used to tell him "you can mix songs together that wouldn't normally go together." Mat used to play all hip hop and he's a DMC champ, he is the most technical DJ I know and has always been an inspiration to me, being a DJ involves more than just pressing play. There are little trick "effects" that you can do to make the song yours; Mat knows them all. Nowadays, you can get the mixer to reproduce an effect you want, but back in the day, you used to have to hone your skills to make the sound that you wanted.
Pique: You've also recently started delving more in the festival scene. What appeals to you about events like Shambhala and Soundwave?
M.C.: I like to be a part of the team that helps build the party or festival. It's only as good as the energy going in and the attitude of the workers and community spirit when doing a group effort. If I'm not DJing, I like to still have something to do; too much free time gets me in trouble. I used to work as a stagehand on the rock pit at Shambhala for a few years and played when I could on the stage. I tried to get in there, but it's hard if you don't produce any music or play the "right kind of music." I fell in love with Soundwave because of their open arms to me playing there, the scenery and the laid back non-rave feel to the party... The main reason I love the festivals is because of the high degree of talent and production. It's good to keep up with what's going on in the world of music if that's your profession. Get good ideas on how to and not to do things in a big scale. It's like going to event production/management school.
Pique: What are your thoughts on Whistler's music scene, today?
M.C.: Jaded, but optimistic. Lost a lot of money I didn't have throwing events over the years, wouldn't trade it for the world. To see all those smiling faces, meeting the nicest people in the world and dancing to the best music ever. I am happy to see Ace, Lindsay, JT, the SolarTribe, Basscoast Project crew and others keeping the music scene alive and well. There are so many talented artists, DJs, musicians, singers, songwriters it is insane. The one thing with Whistler is that it is a huge corporate facilitator and they have headquarters in the other places. For big corporate events like Ski and Snowboard Festival, they hire out-of-town DJs from other provinces and states. It's not fair to the local DJs trying to make it in the industry.
Pique: How have you seen it change over the years?
M.C.: More competitiveness, less communication and community spirit, less and less pay for talent and more commercialized music. But I also see lots of good up and coming talent and strong, dedicated artists surviving these tough economic times. Good to see people helping each other out and pulling through.
Pique: What would you do to improve things?
M.C.: More funding to the arts, an arts council that has artists on it and can manage money and ideas a little more efficiently so the rest of the community can get what little money there is out there for projects involving dance and music (we're arts, too).... There are so many talented people that are just being ignored because of their choice of expressing themselves. I am currently working on finding a more lucrative way of expressing myself to pay for my music habit. I am thinking about writing a few books, painting a few murals and taking some prize-winning photograph or making a snowboard film to help finance my studios.
Pique: You're also working on an Internet radio station. Can you tell me a bit about your vision for this project?
M.C.: I am working with Davin at Base Technology... on a format to play all the area's musicians and DJs on a non-stop 24/7 lineup with live pod cast and regular shows on www.freewhistler.com . They already have it running but it stills needs more programming. I am also currently working with DJ KIT KAT from Vancouver on her Internet radio shows on NSB radio (UK's #1 Breakbeat radio station). I will be using my newfound knowledge to make our station a reality. I want to have an archive of all the musicians and DJs that have played on the station for everyone's future enjoyment.
Pique: What musician (alive or dead) would you like to perform with and why?
M.C.: I would form an electronic jam band with Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin with me doing the beats and Mat The Alien scratching.
Pique: What are your musical goals?
M.C.: I am currently on hiatus from performing until I get a few songs under my belt and a new moniker and booking agent. I am currently working on a co-op talent management/booking agency based out of Vancouver for all artists. And like I said earlier, starting open spaces in Whistler for artists and musicians to perform, practice and learn. Mainly getting focused on producing some of my own music, I have wanted to do it for so long and now I am surrounding myself in the right environment.
