Q&A: DJ REED MCGOWAN Talks Club Music, Men, Sex in a Tanning Booth, DJ Advice & More
New York-based Billboard award-winning DJ/remixer Reed McGowan shares his 20-plus years of DJ expertise regarding the state of club music, his 'sexual bravado,' advice for new DJs, sex in a tanning booth and more:
Muzo: You've been DJing since you were 16 years old - that is an impressive feat! How do you feel about the current state of club music - has it evolved?
Reed: Well, first off, in the state is in NOW, I wouldn't say it has evolved at all, lol. While the continuum of dance music has been interesting over the years, I think it is sort of feeding off itself now, because all the ideas seem to have been depleted and are now being regurgitated.
It's as if we are living in a black hole or a vacuum. You can even see it in the way some guys are mixing now, with the attention span of a fly...mixing a lot of sound bytes, instead of full songs, which to me doesn't give any depth in the experience. Full songs are almost lost in the process. I suppose sampling & looping in itself can create a different kind of narrative...but truly after a while, I just want to stab the DJ in the ear.
A DJ is telling a story, and if the plot of the story is just "blah, blah, blah," then why bother? In order to evolve, you have to have context. Some of that is learned from an appreciation for history, and if you are bombarding yourself with the same crap all the time, how can you ever evolve?
Maybe all of this is culminating into an evolution of some sort, but it seems very transitional now, and very stagnant. Most dance music does not seem to have a sustainable shelf life anymore. I can listen to dance tracks from 25 years ago, and some still have a contemporary feel to them. So what does that say about current club music? There needs to be direction to evolve, not just random noise with no journey or purpose in mind. If the bottom line is a profit, then most surely, the music will suffer.
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Reed: My sexual bravado? My twisted humor? No, wait it's my decisiveness! LOL. Actually, it's probably authenticity. If you don't have that, then all your other qualities suffer. And that authenticity comes through in my music, it's what connects me to everything else. You have to be true to your spirit.
Muzo: You've won a variety of awards, including some Billboard songwriting awards - congrats! Do you foresee more wins in the future? Any projects in particular?
Reed: Well, I won't win the awards if I don't put original work out there...and so I need to be putting stuff out all the time...I just wish I had more time to create original pieces as opposed to paid projects. Sometimes, however, remixing for other people takes precedence...and right now, ain't nothin' goin' on but the rent!
Muzo: You have over 50,000 CDs/albums in your collection - so this may be a tough one...do you have an all-time favorite club/dance track? If so, what is it?
Reed: Well, I really detest limiting the human experience of dance music to one note, but if I had to recall a song that really STOOD OUT, it would have to be Donna Summer's "I Feel Love," and hearing that on the radio for the first time...it transformed my life.
Muzo: If you could spin anywhere, where would it be and why? Will we hear you there soon?
Reed: I would have to say Berlin, because I have never been there, and others tell me I would be very welcome. I am dying to go, so who knows when it will be. Any offers?
Muzo: Favorite current artist or release?
Reed: The Presets, "Apocalypso" full CD release.
Muzo: Complete the sentence: 'I'm secretly in love with Muzo because...'
Reed: He is a perv.
Muzo: Who are your biggest influences - personal and professional?
Reed: Personal influences...anyone who inspires me daily, whether they be famous or not, dead or alive.
Professional influences...Giorgio Moroder, Prince, The Beatles, and a mess of obscure geniuses.
Muzo: Complete the sentence: 'Porn is...':
Reed: Funny. And a distraction for what we really desire.
Muzo: Biggest turn on in another guy?
Reed: Experience. Intelligence. Humor. And a great smile.
Muzo: Favorite personal vice?
Reed: My brutal honesty.
Muzo: Least-favorite personal vice?
Reed: My brutal honesty.
Muzo: To get naked with Reed, a guy needs to...
Reed: Be clever.
Muzo: When you go out with your friends, what do you do?
Reed: Annoy them.
Muzo: Complete the sentence: 'My favorite part of my body is...'
Reed: My brain. And then that other organ.
Muzo: Sticky or sweet?
Reed: Who cares, as long as it's hard.
Muzo: Craziest place you had sex?
Reed: A tanning booth (ouch).
Muzo: When having sex, the guy should...
Reed: Kiss well, take his time - and always play safe.
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Reed: Actually, I was working on a poem, a rant of sorts about the status quo and how our country seems to be teetering on the edge of chaos. It is basically a laundry list of today's challenges, dysfunction & woes. But it is also an honest look at the things that we are desensitized by through a constant bombardment of distraction. And then, the poem "American Idle" turned into a song...and I started writing other songs about relevant issues, mostly slamming the current politics and pop culture of today.
Musically, I wanted the project to represent a vast spectrum of Americana, using a variety of musical influences woven in the context of each individual song. I really wanted to make a commentary about the social issues we are avoiding, and so we bombard ourselves with junk for the mind on a daily basis.
Despite the tone in the music, it's about reclaiming freedom, and peace in our country and lives. We are in an oppressed state, and we have become slaves to a system of mindless values and pursuits. There was nothing being done like it in the club scene, so I said "why not"?
The name "Empulse" came to me after watching a History channel documentary about weapons of mass destruction, in which the EMPULSE bomb was discussed (electromagnetic pulse bomb)...and so respectively, my music is explosive, lol. I am currently finishing up the followup EP, "Fight The People" which should be released before the end of the year, which includes remixes from Quentin Harris, Richard Morel, Twisted Dee, and more.
Muzo: Thoughts on gay marriage? Will you ever marry?
Reed: A commitment is a commitment. It requires love, patience and selflessness. I don't know how anyone, gay or straight, can maintain a relationship without those qualities. Love extends beyond sexual orientation, gender, race, and culture. As individual Americans, if we cannot get at least that part of the equation right, then how can we impose hypocritical standards on others? I'm not interested in getting "married"...if I connect with someone, then that's enough for me. If the laws in this country won't afford us the rights we seek, then I suppose I'll just have to move somewhere else. I'm not anti-American, just anti-ignorant.
Muzo: What advice would you give to new DJs just starting out?
Reed: First of all, learn about music theory & music history, and listen to as much as you can. You can never learn enough, or stop learning about music in ways that influence you in many aspects of the creative process.
Secondly, try NOT to limit your abilities to one style of music OR form of technology, ESPECIALLY the new mixing tools which seem to take all the ingenuity & spontaneity out of the process. I have watched DJs spin on laptops with Serrato, and the mixing is horrendous, the music selection schizophrenic, and the thought process just ignored altogether.
Lastly, I would say make it about the music, not about your ego. I fear that in this age of MySpace & Facebook, that it has become ALL ABOUT THE IMAGE, and the content has suffered drastically as a result. Learn to read your crowd. Learn to educate them and take them on a journey while telling a story with sound. Stop trying to imitate rockstars...you'll never be one if you don't perfect your craft first. Living IN the moment is more productive than living FOR the moment. Balance only comes from a broad perspective, and an understanding that communication requires give & take on both sides of the turntable.
Muzo: What's next for Reed?
Reed: Nirvana.
Relevant links:
myspace.com/reedmcgowan
myspace.com/reedmcgowanakarawdeal
myspace.com/empulseny
ReedMcGowan.com
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Posted by MUZOPHILE at 9/11/2008 10:18 PM 
Categories: DJ Reed McGowan,0ALL LISTINGS,HOT!,0Q and As,Q and As
Categories: DJ Reed McGowan,0ALL LISTINGS,HOT!,0Q and As,Q and As
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