5 Questions with Rags #13 - DJ Nu-Mark

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It’s kind of amazing how much DJ Nu-Mark has permeated the world inside my ears throughout the majority of my life. Jurassic 5 was one of my big four of hip-hop that made me truly love the genre. “I Know, Didn’t I” from his amazing album with Pharcyde’s Slimkid3 last year, immediately found a special place in my heart, finding me at a particular time in my life. Most importantly, last year at Shambhala he gave my brother and I our “bonding set.” That one special set that both of us were looking forward to more than anything else. Holy shit, it was amazing. The guy put on a damned class in the History of Groove. While the set was criminally under-attended, my brother and I danced our faces off in front of those speakers, loving every single choice the good Uncle Nu made. I was lucky enough to get to talk to him before that set for the Martlet and even luckier to get some of his time here for y’all. Big props to one of the greats in the world of DJs and just an all-around cool cat, DJ Nu-Mark.

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1. Do you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What medium was it? Do you still have it? Does it still hold up for you?

Yeah, the first album I bought was U.T.F.O.'s first self titled LP.  I still have it although it's pretty beaten up from multiple 80's house parties.  Can't really play it out now but it is for sure a Hip Hop classic.  Roxanne Roxanne was the big hit.

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5 Questions with Rags #12 - The Gaff

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For some while now, the Gaff has been one of Western Canada’s foremost purveyors of funky goodness, rocking dancefloors all around our great land. He’s also a really cool, interesting cat. (Peep the profile I wrote about him earlier this year for the Martlet.) I’m still fairly new to the DJ world and sometimes I feel like I’m some kind of infiltrator (Though I’m really just a student) but not talking to the Gaff. Maybe it’s because so much of his roots are here at home base in Victoria and we move at a similar speed, but really who knows. As the Rock would say, “It doesn’t matter!”

The Gaff’s soundcloud is an endless smorgasbord of tasty delights that can get you through any day, good or bad, with an extra bounce in your step. You should listen to it.

You should also check out his other soundcloud, for his label Do It With Soul, because it’s his label and shares his groovy, groovy aesthetic.

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1. Do you remember the first album you purchased with your own money?

The first one that ever purchased…It was N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton. It got  stuck in my parent’s cassette deck in the car and I got in trouble from my parents.

 2. If you had to choose between keeping your sight and your hearing, which one would you go with?

 I’ve thought about that many, many times. I would have to say my sight. If you turn music up loud enough you can feel it anyways. You don’t necessarily feel melody as much but you do feel rhythm, especially if you get a good sound system with lots of bass. I would choose my sight because to function in this world would be so hard and there are so many beautiful things to see. I’d go for sight.

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5 Questions with Rags #11 - Dane Roberts (Victoria Ska Society)

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Dane is a fixture here at homebase in Victoria. He's responsible for bringing some of the most consistently fun, diverse concerts we get every year, and that's not even taking into consideration the annual Victoria Ska Fest, hands down the best week of music in the city every year. I've managed to catch him for a couple conversations here and there but never talked as long as we talked here. Brother is completely delightful and came through with thoughtful responses to my silly little questions. Much respect.

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1. What was the first album that you went out to buy with your own money?

It wasn’t my first album but I do remember one I liked in particular…we used to get tapes…I’m trying to remember…When I was 13 and 12…Jeez, that’s a really tough question. I do remember one significant purchase that even though I had bought albums far before that I can’t remember…I had a tape deck in my car with subs in high school and was always listening to cool music. I had a Datsun P210, ’77 Orange Datsun I used to drive to Cedar Hill Junior Secondary. I used to have a booster cushion because I was pretty short. My mom would say, “Sweetheart, remember your booster cushion.”

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5 Questions with Rags #10 - Chuck Robertson (of the Mad Caddies)

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Confession: Second-wave ska music kind of makes me insane. I want to like it, I really do. Everyone involved with it seems pretty cool and people in the crowds are always jovial and peaceful, but man, something about it makes me want to punch someone in the face. And as a guy who’ll have a big puff and listen to Run the Jewels with no inclination to punch another face, this is really saying something. A couple of years ago the Mad Caddies, a band with 20 years under their belts and a total of zero listens from your truly, headlined the Victoria Ska Fest (the greatest music week on the Victoria calendar) and I was more than pleasantly surprised with what I saw. These cats rock and burn, throwing every genre scrap they can into their “ska” and making something honest and uniquely theirs. The good homey and frontman Chuck was super cool to oblige me with some time while he was waiting for his California hotel room to be ready.

1. What was the first album you went to buy with your own money?

It was at a place called Records, Etc. I think by the time I started shopping there at age 7 or 8 they still had records, but they definitely mostly had cassettes, rock ‘n’ roll posters and posters of Ferraris and stuff. The first tape I bought was Billy Idol’s Vital Idol, if you can believe it. <laugh> That was the first tape I bought with my own lawn-mowing money. After that it was all Guns ‘n’ Roses, Metallica, Poison, lots of glam rock.

Do you still listen to any of that stuff?

Well, a lot of that glam rock didn’t really stand up to the test of time except for Guns ‘n’ Roses and a few Motley Crue tunes.

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5 Questions with Rags #9 - DJ Dubconscious

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If you've been around electronic music in BC for any length of time or if you've made the trek to the EDM-mecca that is Shambhala, you're probably at least passingly familiar with the name Dubconscious. Dude makes some tasty, reggae-based music that never fails to energize and dose the listener with positivity. He's a fixture on the Living Room Stage at Shambhala, the chillest zone at the festival. He had been on my radar for the 5 Questions for a little while now and when he got me confused on ye olde Facebook with another person who goes by "Rags" (WTF?!), I took the opportunity to test his interest and BOOM! It happened.

Catch the good homey Dubconscious playing with Moontricks in Vancouver on Friday, Jan.23 at the Electric Owl at the monthly "Kootenay Time" show. Check the FB page for the show info.

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1. If the world was about to end and you go to anywhere in the world and grab one piece of culture what would you grab? And you can’t say the Internet, because a couple people have done that and I’ve closed that loophole…

I would say soundsystem culture and Jamaican reggae heritage. Soundclashes, vintage reggae, 45s, deejaying and toasting and roots reggae. That’s kind of the one thing that comes to mind.

If you could only take one guy’s Soundsystem who would you poach it from?

If I was going to cover all my bases and it was only going to be one it would be David Rodigan. He’s been huge in reggae/dancehall  for a long time but now he’s kind of adjusted with the times and keep himself updated, rolling with Chase Status and Shy FX and that stuff. So I think that would be my #1.

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