| written by Jennifer Warner
Sexy, raw and powerful. That's his music,
and the feeling you get when experiencing him DJs live. Down-to-earth,
humble, and appreciative - that's the feeling you get when you talk
to Bad Boy Bill in person, or as we did, by email, for this exclusive
interview! The opportunity arose with the release of his latest
CD + DVD "Behind The Decks LIVE" (which pretty much blew
our reviewer Claire's socks off, click
here to read her full review) and you know we jumped on it!
Bad Boy Bill was actually the first DJ I ever saw scratching, and
it was as electrifying then as his energetic mixing and music is
now. Also how can you not love his super-smart use of his insane
touring by videoing the fun and putting it out on DVD along with
the mix CD? "Plain CDs are just played out." Now that's
the way to make anyone want more than just a download!
What was different about doing this release, compared to all
your past releases?
This release was unlike anything I have ever done. We filmed the
entire mix, live with multiple cameras, a crew of 20+ people, in
three different cities. It was a huge undertaking to actually record
and then an even bigger undertaking once we got it into post production.
It seems like you’re doing less scratching, at least to what
I remember from prior releases. Is that true? If yes why?
In the past I was doing a lot more raves, all ages, or 18+ events,
and the younger crowd seems to really enjoy scratching and tricks.
Recently, I have been doing a lot more 21+ events and clubs, and
I think the amount of scratching I am doing is right for the current
crowd I am playing for.
As executive producer, how involved were you in the making
the DVD portion of the disk?
I was involved in every single aspect of the creation of this
project.
Do you have any favorite moments in the video footage/interviews?
I think there are moments in LA and Denver where you can really
FEEL the energy and excitement of the music and the crowd coming
together. I felt that same energy watching the DVD as when I was
dj'ing at those events. That's pretty powerful.
How did you decide on those 3 cities/venues for recording?
People have been asking me the last couple of years what my favorite
city to play is and I have always said Denver. The audience there
has been amazing and is really into the music. LA is like a second
home to me because I have been coming and playing there for so many
years now. Chicago is where I was born and raised, where I first
built my following, and where the people have had my back since
day one, so it was going to be a part of it no matter what.
Do you ever get nervous before a gig or any of these 3 gigs
in particular, knowing they’d be recorded live?
Not really. I get more nervous if there are technical difficulties.
That is what I am most afraid of. As far as my performance, I perform
better under pressure, and I love rising to the occasion.
Did anything crazy or unexpected happen while you were recording
that got edited out?
A LOT! You can see some of it in the behind the scenes footage,
other stuff either is better left on the cutting room floor (or
in this case, the hard drive).
How did you set it up technically in the booth?
Red Bull let us use their custom DJ booth, and Pioneer gave us a complete
setup (thanks Karl & Dave). We had the Pioneer CDJ 1000's, the Pioneer DVJ
X1's, The Pioneer DJM 800 mixer, a Pioneer EFX 500, and a Technical 1200
turntable.
Did you have to do a lot of tweaking in protools afterwards?
Yes, there was a lot of editing and tweaking that needed to be
done because the mix was close to two hours and we had to get it
down to 72 minutes. Also there was a lot of audio, crowd, and eq
adjustments as well as mixing down the entire surround version.
Why did you decide to do another CD/DVD package? Will you
ever do just a CD again?
I think plain old mix cd's are played out. If you are going to
do just a mixed cd, you should just do it as a download, there is
no need to put it out on the cd format. I feel the mix cd has graduated
and you have to include a dvd to give the consumer more than just
a cd they can download from the internet. The visual aspect/DVD
of the project to me is the main part of the release, the cd is
just there as a supplement for the person who listens in the car
or if they want to rip it and put it in their Ipod.
What are you working on now?
Touring and Promoting BTD Live and in the studio working on my
artist album.
Where are you living now? Why there?
Chicago. I love Chicago. Even though I hate cold weather, I love the city.
I will always call Chicago my home.
Why do you do what you do?
I really enjoy the art of mixing and I really love seeing people responding
to the music and having a good time.
Please tell us one thing that you think probably know one
or only one other person knows about you.
People close to me will probably say that I am a homebody and I
love to eat celery and salad with no dressing.
Anything else you’d like to say?
Thanks to all the people out there that buy my cd/dvd's and come to my events.
You are the reason I am blessed to be able to do what I love and
I just want to say Thank you for all the love and the continued
support!
Thank you!!
For more BAD BOY BILL...
| 
more
features in the