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Glad you got back. Yeah, I play the sax, drums, guitar, bass, and
whatever else I might get my hands on. Yes, not every Dj is a musician,
but I might argue that every clown that plays an instrument is
not automatically a musician either. Is a kid who strums Led Zepplin and
Jimi Hendrix songs from heart a musician? Not really; a musician is a
creator, or at the very least a mechanically proficient player. I
definitely recommend you check out Q-Bert from San Fran. He is in my
opinion the quintessential example of a Dj who is also a musician. Also,
on the topic of other tools used in a set, I'm not some type of purist
who feels DJs can only play turntables. In fact, on my radio show here in
Ann Arbor I use an effects processor to add an element to the tunes,
beat-box on the air, whistle and scat, and have weekly guests who have
played live with me
at different times on the sax, congas, tablas, guitar, sitar, harmonica,
and even somebody making ill sounds on a balloon (w/ some wacked out
delay on it). In this environment I feel that I am every bit as much as a
musician as everybody I play with- I lay down the grooves, but also
restructure them and add my own solos on top while vibing with the other
cats.
As far as all live groups, I wouldn't
necessarily cite BNH or the Solsonics as examples of incredible
musicians. Yeah, they are proficient, but they reproduce styles and
sounds that have been around for 30 years, which I suppose is what a Dj
does in a way by playing records. Not that this is bad, but I think some
of the focus of discussion has turned towards the Dj, and moreso to
"produced" music because this is where the steps in new areas of sound
and music have been occurring. Again, not to say that live groups haven't
been doing this. I purposely left out Groove Collective because they as
well seem to push music into new directions, same with a group like
Medeski Martin & Wood. Just some of my favorites, and I'm certainly not
suggesting that "live" music and musicianship be written off; I believe
in it as strongly as you do, my radio show being testament.
Hope you understand where I'm coming from. Keep on keepin on. Peace-
DJ (and musician)
Bubblicious