Interviews

Interviews: John Tab

Smother: You have a drum&bass residency at one of the nation's most touted parties at Buzz in DC, certainly this is a milestone in your career, would you consider yourself successful and what are you aspiring for in the future?

John Tab: Although I've been Djing for almost 6 years, I really haven't promoted myself as a DJ. That may change. Right now my focus is definitely on Buzz and how we can constantly improve and reinvent the party. I never rest on my laurels, so no, I don't consider myself successful. There is still so much that can be done with Buzz and the development of the greater DC scene.

Smother: With that in mind what advice would you give to fledgling DJs and producers regardless of what particular genre they find themselves spinning?

JT: The best thing is to network yourself with a crew of other people. We only have a limited number of open slots available for local DJ's at Buzz, but what has really helped us is when we hold "local crew takeovers." Anywhere from 3 to 5 DJ's of a local crew "take-over" the outdoor patio during the summer, which builds up the excitement among the DJ's friends, as well as other customers. We're more likely to book a "crew" than a single DJ whom we've never heard before.

Also check out Metatrack Studios in DC. Lessons in Djing and producing are available there -- www.metatrackstudios.com

Smother: What was the motivation that led you to start to spin? Was it the love of the music and the desire to entertain or was it something different?

JT: Basically I had always wanted to DJ from a young age. Even when I started clubbing in '89 (in the pre-rave DC scene), I felt drawn to Djing. But until about '95 or so, I preferred being on the dancefloor and just partying every weekend. I loved the music so much, but the partying had to taper off a bit. The best way to stay connected to the scene and music that Ioved was thru Djing.

Smother: With drum&bass becoming more accepted into mainstream music where do you see this style going in the future?

JT: I personally think you're going to see the different styles of drum 'n' bass just develop stronger and more independent followings -- perhaps separate from the other styles of d 'n' b.

Smother: What kind of gear/equipment do you use when you play out live? How about in the studio or at home?

JT: Technics 1200/1210's and a Pioneer 600 mixer at Buzz. Pioneer 500 at home.

Smother: Do you have any plans for an album in the future?

JT: I released 4 mix CD's in 2001. Three of which were double-discs, so that roughly adds up to 10 releases total. None of these were released on a label -- more or less underground releases.

Smother: What labels do you find most promising and what style are you currently into?

JT: C.I.A., Outbreak, Cylon, Science Fiction, Advanced, Function, Phantom Audio. I'm really into the beats and bass scene at the moment. Lots of chopped breaks and sub-bass.

Smother: Pretend that you were talking with someone who had never heard electronic music before let alone drum&bass or jungle, how would you describe your style to them?

JT: Futuristic-sounding, mutated hip-hop beats sped up and chopped up to tempos and rhythms beyond the physical limitations of human performance.

Smother: What's the one thing you try to accomplish when you mix? And what do you concentrate most on in your mixes...something like emotions, the crowd, do you try to build your mix off of a particular tune, or a combination of various things?

JT: I always think: "if I were dancing right now, would I want to hear this record?" My mixes I try to program carefully and keep as smooth as possible. It's a bit more difficult in drum 'n' bass than it is with house, trance or techno, to create dynamic mixes that complement one another. Too often the complexity of drum 'n' bass sounds like crap when two records override each other at the wrong point in the mix.

Smother: Name some mixes regardless of whether they're new or old or if they're on or off of the "charts" that you really like to drop in your sets or that you just really like.

JT: Check out my "Sell Your Soul" and "Solitary Refinement" CD's. I'm particularly happy with the way Disc 2 of "Sell Your Soul" came together. The progression and flow of the records worked better than I anticipated. "Solitary Refinement" is a compilation of classic '95'-'96 style atmospheric drum 'n' bass -- records that are difficult to find today. I programmed both discs of this set so that the mixes complement each other and flowed well.

Smother: A while ago Buzz was shut down because of Fox 5 "sting" report. What was your reaction to this as both a promoter/DJ and a person that loves the scene? Were they're steps that were taken to ensure that didn't happen again?

JT: My reaction was one of shock, but at the same time I was not surprised. If anything the Fox 5 report cleaned up the DC scene a lot. When things reopened, a lot of ecstasy paraphernalia that you see in other cities (Vicks inhalers, dust masks, pacifiers) were banned at Buzz and gradually decreased in popularity in DC. These were such superficial items, that people started looking at the scene in a more serious light -- much more emphasis on DJ's, dancing styles and DC's relationship to the rest of the global dance community.

Smother: Obviously a lot of kids come out to the clubs just to do drugs, what do you think about that? Also do you think they're can be a "healthy" balance between raving and the drug scene or do you think it's more of a hindrance?

JT: Like I said above -- the Fox 5 piece actually had the unintended effect of making the scene more popular but also cleaned up its image. People are going out to experience good music in a premier venue such as Nation. When you have an excellent lighting rig and sound system, with hi-caliber DJ's and a wide assortment of people, there is less incentive to do drugs out of sheer boredom.

Smother: How do you think the terrorist attacks that struck the Pentagon has had an affect on yourself as well as the local scene? Had you been in the President's shoes would you have made a different decision about the US response?

JT: I think overall it had an immediate economic affect, as many people lost not only family members but also their incomes and livelihoods. That is something that you have to consider as a nightclub promoter and as a DJ. As a promoter you have to be more budget-conscious -- try your hardest to prevent booking agents from jacking up fees so that you don't have to raise the cover charge at the door and isolate your loyal customers. As a DJ, I have to remember that people want to go out and have a fun night. They don't necessarily want all that dark, angry techstep music that dominated drum 'n' bass the past few years. Not only was it unhealthy for the evolution of drum 'n' bass, it just doesn't reflect a mindset that most of us want to have in the post-Sept. 11 era. I didn't vote for Bush. I'm not a Republican. But I think he's made mostly the right decisions. I don¹t like to see violence beget violence, but these terrorists offered no compromise or diplomacy.

Smother: If our readers would like to find out more about you do you have a website that they can check out for more info?

JT: www.buzzlife.com should have everything they're looking for...

Smother: As is tradition with most of our interviews, we'd like to ask you this question - If you met a guy named Carbomb what would you think/say/do?

JT: In this day and age, I probably would try and contact Tom Ridge...