Tommy’s brings house home Saturdays with Off the Hook
By Kara-Leah Grant
It is fitting that one of the finest house DJs that Whistler has produced is returning to the bar where he began his DJ career to launch his new night, Off the Hook.
Milton Currie, who worked his way up from doorman at Tommy Africa’s, to opening DJ for Sunday night’s Soul Kitchen to headlining his own nights, has spent the last 12 months working at the Savage Beagle. Eventually the inherent incompatibility between the music he loves to play and the music the Beagle needed for its particular crowd led to a parting of the ways.
"I had to play mellower music which isn’t my style – I play more up tempo house. I think I was hired for my reputation as a local DJ rather than the specific music I played," says Currie over a leisurely lunch at the Brasserie.
"The Beagle crowd is wrong for my type of music, it’s not a young crowd and younger people are more into dance music. Plus you don’t experience the closeness and the energy of the crowd with the way the Beagle is set up."
That won’t be a problem at Tommy Africa’s, where the DJ’s prominence to the dance floor encourages communication between the two – something Currie likes to capitalize on.
"At Tommy’s, you’re right with the dance floor, which helps because as a good DJ, when you can tell people aren’t into the track, you have to be versatile and you have to be quick. I can drop a record and two minutes later have another record on, instead of waiting for the song to play out," says Currie. "That’s what makes a good DJ, you can spot the crowd reaction and think, ‘oh gee, I think I’m kind of killing it here’ and then put on a different song to change it and correct the situation."
It’s that ability to transcend his own ego and respond to the crowd’s reaction that sets Currie apart from other DJs. Listen to one of Currie’s sets and it’s clear the solid grounding he’s received working at the Beagle four nights a week has paid off. His mixing is innovative and tight, but most important of all, the sound he creates demands you dance. It’s the type of sound that will work perfectly on a Saturday night in Tommy’s – the younger crowd will love it and the local following Currie has developed over the years will make it the place to hang out for good house music.
"I put a lot of energy and emotion into my DJing and people dancing can feel that," says Currie. "I’m giving them my outlook on things, my flare, my style and when people react to it, it is so rewarding."
Currie is excited about the opportunity to have a regular night on a Saturday, the only weekend night in Whistler that will feature house music. But as to the specific style of music, Currie says he’ll figure that out night to night, hour to hour.
"I like to start things off slower in the bar. I don’t like to play hard music before midnight, you need to get people in there, relaxing, enjoying the drinks, listening to the music, tapping their toes, and then you coax them onto the floor," he says.
"You can’t expect them to just come in and start dancing."
Currie points out that many locals don’t finish work until around midnight and when they come into Tommy’s, they want to sit and relax, have a drink or two.
"They want to unwind and socialise, not go off rave style. I’m going to play electronic dance music, but I am going to play different styles, mainly house, but also breaks, tribal, and vocals. I’ll see how it goes, see what the crowd likes."
But while he aims to respond to the crowd’s needs, don’t expect any Top 40 dance hits. It’s still an underground electronic music night.
"I’m not going to start playing Kylie Minogue or MuchMusic dance music, but I can understand if the crowd wants more vocals, or tribal beats or a harder sound and I can just work with the crowd," says Currie.
"If people want requests, I don’t turn down requests, but because it’s all underground music people don’t always know what to ask for."
Currie is often booked to play clubs and after hours gigs in the city, and makes a point of catching the international DJs that perform in Vancouver.
"I attend a lot of functions, after parties and clubs because you have to get out there and do that, it’s networking really. I enjoy checking out the world’s best DJs, researching what they do and what type of music they use to get people going. Music is my life and it’s nice to go and experience someone who inspires you."
Currie is playing the entire night for Off the Hook, preferring to have control in creating just the right atmosphere for the bar.
"It’s only a four hour set, which isn’t that big of a deal. The first couple of hours are important because if the music isn’t good no one is going to stay there, so it matters," he says.
"It’s all how you present the music and lead people into it. I think if you work it right and get people in the mood and slowly build it up you can move into playing harder stuff."
And judging by the phone calls Tommy’s received when word started to leak out Currie was returning to the bar, he is working it exactly right, and can only get better.
