Original DJ heroes

Indeed some DJs do fear the game could open the floodgates wider for more DJ wannabes already infiltrating the industry armed with laptops, special software and arsenals of online tunes--but not much in the way of talent. Some members of the new generation of DJs, in World's and other colleagues' opinion, lack the knowledge of music, artists and beats that used to come standard in the industry.

"DJing is so popular right now and it's the 'in' thing," Fathom DJ (a.k.a. Danyell Abston), a resident at Tantrum in the South Loop, said. "We deserve credit for being the foundation and the vessel for music, but the trendiness and commercialism is creating an anybody-can-do-this energy for people." Technology, such as the popular software Serato Scratch Live, has diluted DJ professionalism in recent years, according to DJ White Shadow (a.k.a. Paul Blair), whose jet-setting appearances include Angels & Kings on the Near North Side and Hyde in Hollywood, Calif.

Scratching, blending and mixing songs is now the result of key strokes rather than physical agility, according to Shadow and other local mixmasters who said it makes it too easy for anyone to play DJ.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day when being a good typist would make you a better DJ," said Shadow, who has lived in Chicago for the past seven years. "But I've got buddies who use Serato and they can find songs super fast because they are good typists and can punch the names of songs in faster than I can."

The availability of online music also all but eradicates the once time-honored DJ tradition of spending countless hours in record stores searching for good music.

"I remember I used to skip lunch to look for records ... that one good record," said WGCI "Go Ill Radio" show host and globe-trotting DJ Timbuck2 (Tim Jones). "Kids now will never know that struggle and joy. It comes from a deep passion."

Rather than having an encyclopedic knowledge of artists, albums and musical genres, all aspiring DJs need now is access to a good online search engine or message boards, Shadow said.

"Kids are trading song titles over message boards and nobody knows what artist is influenced by who," Shadow said. "Now it's just a career for people who think being a DJ is great because you can get as drunk as possible while you're working and have all the girls make out with you. That couldn't be further from the truth if you're a real DJ because you can't be drunk and do a good job, and if you're focused, you won't have enough time to make out with all the girls."

Timbuck2 said technology is more a blessing than a curse and counts himself among the pioneers who traded in his turntables for a laptop set-up while touring with Kanye West on "Late Registration."

But what he is tired of: gimmick DJs, ranging from Playboy models to celebrities.
"I've always been the nice guy, cool, quiet and humble, but now I'm calling names," Timbuck2 told RedEye. "Nick Cannon is a DJ? Give me a break. Just because you weren't respected as a rapper doesn't mean you can be a DJ. Do you hear me trying to rap or model? ... It's like a fad."

A fad that could be worsened if people at home get good at pressing the controllers on DJ Hero and assume they can make the leap from the couch to the club scene.

"I'm nervous about it," Fathom said of the game's release. "I know rock stars and people who play guitars are insulted that some people think because they can hit some buttons in "Guitar Hero," they can transfer that over into real playing. I think some people will believe DJing is nothing, and that they can buy some turntables and get to work."

But Timbuck2, like World, doesn't see DJ Hero as a threat. In fact, he said it could serve a practical purpose.

"Some of these DJs in the club should go home and play DJ Hero," Timbuck2 said. "Leave the professional work to those of us who know how to do it and who are passionate about what we do."
 
Their spin on it
Aspiring DJs might think it's a snap to get into the game, but the road to ruling the turntables can be rocky, according to some who talked to RedEye.

>> Timbuck2: Time Jones, downtown

How he got it: "I got the name from my older brother who also is a DJ, Twilite Tone."

Why he started DJing: "My sister took me over to Tone's house when I was a kid, like 11 or 12 years old. She was like, 'Sit on the couch and don't move.' But I heard all this commotion so I ran in there and saw Tone on the turntables scratching and cutting, going back and forth doing tricks and Common was in there rapping. This was like my first, up-close and personal encounter with DJing and hip hop. It blew my mind."

How he started: Carrying Twilite's crates [of records] for him, following him and opening for him at parties until he began doing his own parties in the early '90s.

Musical focus: Known for hip-hop, but "plays everything."

Toughest thing about the craft: "I didn't really run into any challenges until recently. The challenges are trying to stick with the times, regardless of how I feel about the music. Sometimes it can be challenging to stay relevant and move with the times."

>> Fathom DJ: Danyell Abston, South Side

How she got it: A tag name from her graffiti days. She was inspired by an old-school song called "Ain't Saying Nothin' " that featured the word "fathom."

Why she started DJing: "I love to dance and the concept of movement and the power I felt the DJ had over me," Fathom said. "I wanted to have that."

How she started: An ex-boyfriend's brother let her test out his turntables, but nothing came of it. Then she moved to the North Side and met someone with turntables and officially "got the bug."

Musical focus: Soulful music

Toughest thing about the craft: Being a woman. "I wouldn't have said that before," Fathom said. "I just recently came upon the realization that this is a challenge. There all these stigmas, kind of like being a female basketball player. People say 'Oh, she can't really play like a man, but that's cute.' It's a male-dominated industry and that's who people are comfortable with."

>> White Shadow: Paul Blair, Lakeview

How he got it: From a club owner in Detroit, who made note that Blair was the "only white person in the club" where he DJed. "He said White Shadow was a show about a white dude who busted his ankle and went to teach inner city kids basketball," White Shadow said. "He said I was tall and reminded him of that dude, so we started putting it on fliers."

Why he started DJing: Shadow started while in high school, but he "wasn't that good." But after going to Japan at the age of 17 during his college years, Shadow tried again and earned a year-long residency at a club.

How he started: "I came back to the States and bought turntables," Shadow said. "I had my first club gig before I turned 19."

Musical focus: Formerly hip-hop, but now dance

Toughest thing about the craft: Bad DJs who don't really know what they're doing. "What makes me sick is kids who take their laptops, get good gigs in top cities and then bag on other kids who might actually have a love of DJing and taunt them, saying 'Ha, I'm at this hot club,' " Shadow said. "Guess what, the club you're playing sucks and you suck. And that club you're so proud of working in, it'll be closed by this time next year.'"

>> DJ World: Lionel Bordelon, Woodlawn

How he got it: Because of his worldliness and an old high-school nickname of "World B. Free" (after a basketball player)

Why he started DJing: His father is a renowned horn player and he encouraged his son to take up music. When the trumpet and piano didn't quite do it for World, he experimented with DJing as a fifth-grader. His dad approved and bought him equipment by the time he reached the seventh grade.

How he started: "In high school, there was a big house movement so I got started by opening for big DJs like Steve Silk Hurley." In college, World entered the big leagues during his freshman year at the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana, when he was asked to tour with Def Comedy Jam. "That's when I learned about things like DJs who had sponsorships and that traveled the country working. For me, that was it."

Musical focus: Hip-hop, house and some Top 40s

Toughest thing about the craft: New crop of promoters who want his playlist to echo what's on the radio right now. "I'm from the old school," World said. "It used to be that the DJ breaks the record and the people catch on. We led the radio. Now the radio leads the DJ. They want me to play songs like do-the-stanky-leg or the dodo bird."