When Covid restrictions closed down the live entertainment industry, DJs and VJs all the sudden had nowhere to play. Those who relied on income from live performances had to look to other avenues, along with everyone else in the nightlife industry. For some, the pandemic gave them a launch pad onto a new playing field, while others took the opportunities that came by, and some took the time to build connections they wouldn't have otherwise dreamed of and think toward the future.

I talked to three DJs and one VJ about their experiences during the pandemic to get the perspective of the performers who bring the music and visuals to the dancefloors we've missed so much. They were all eager to talk about the forced transition to a digitally connected world and what it means for dance music, DJs, and audiences moving forward. All of them highlighted how lucky they have been for the opportunities they have had, and that for very many in the nightlife and hospitality industries, the pandemic has not been so kind.

Danny Aye gave his unique perspective as a VJ, and how providing visuals for livestreams opened him up to connections and collaborations he never would have thought possible. But he made sure to note the flipside, that he saw the financial and mental health burdens of industry workers who didn't have the options that he had, and how he saw many of his peers struggle during the pandemic. We talked about how he utilized the down time to hone parts of this craft that he hadn't focused on before and is excited to perform them for live crowds. He praised the sense of support and community from even the limited attendance events where he has already participated.

Kerry Quirk addressed the subject as both a DJ and producer of a monthly. She talked about the transition from in-person to online, and the differences inherent to each. Kerry reminded me that what she does (and every DJ should) "play, gets people out of their seats and on the dancefloor". She talked about taking The Ooze online and how life changing it was to be able to "to book people from all over the world", as well as her desire to see support from the community to revive a hard-hit industry.

Manindabag and Mizeyesis both spoke to me about their experiences coming up in the 90s and 00s New England dance music scene and how it has informed their goals of community collaboration through music. Manindabag's reentry into DJing as a result of the pandemic is a flip to the story of most performers, whose schedules got less busy when the pandemic hit. While Mizeyesis has earned her stripes through years of hard work and quality execution, and is seeing the fruits of that work pay off with recognition from labels like Hospital Records and Repertoire.

In conducting these interviews, I was reminded of how our individual journeys have brought us together as a community. Through even the strictest of lockdowns we have found ways to connect with each other through music. It gives me hope that we will rebuild and recover from the impacts of Covid and the pandemic as long as performers find ways to bring us together.

Danny Aye - VJ - Goop Troop Collective, Sub•Cul•Ture - NH

Danny Aldaz, better known as Danny Aye, is a VJ, a visual performer who works alongside live acts to produce visual accompaniment. He aims to "use a midi controller and (his) software to accurately and on-time represent visually what the DJ is doing audibly." He has worked festivals along with Goop Troop Collective and Sub•Cul•Ture in addition to residencies at various Boston nightclubs. Danny and I spoke recently about how the pandemic affected him creatively, connections he made throughout the lockdown, and how he hopes the scene will rebound.

*interview edited for clarity

Ryan:

When the pandemic hit and live events stopped, performers lost their ability to have venues to be able to perform at. What types of things did you do and how shocking was that to your system and career to have that happen?

Danny:

For my main day job at the venues it was catastrophic. It came to a screeching halt because no one expected a shut down, so no one was really planning for what to do or where to go.With everything that happened, I was able to bettering my design skills versus my performance skills. I spent a lot of time in Resolume, which is my visual software, and AfterEffects and Blender just creating content and dialing that down. Luckily, I was able to find the market of visual streaming sets and people were reaching out to get me to make and perform stuff for the streams. I was very lucky that I was able to keep that going as best as I could and wait for the return.

Ryan:

Did you find that us all being forced onto digital media and live streaming to be a different kind of networking and communication became available, or was the lack of live events and in-person face-to-face contact more detrimental?

Danny:

I found it very helpful to me, I’m not gonna lie. I had a lot of friends who suffered a lot for it. But besides being able to really master the design element of things, the networking was vast. I started working with people all over the country I never would have, never even come close to meeting if it weren’t for the streaming sets and them being able to see what I can do and reaching out through collectives and certain things that made it possible for my work to get to them.

Ryan:

Now as live events are starting to come back, are there any particular good habits that you’re going to make sure you’re adhering to once we get back into the swing of things?

Danny:

Absolutely. I’m starting to procrastinate less with design. I’m two or three projects ahead now. Before I used to be on the deadline for a lot of things. It made me more of a personal artist versus a performer. I am involving all of the art I made during the shutdown. So, the habit of that of making new stuff and getting it out there versus getting stagnant. That’s what I’m happy about.

Ryan:

You’ve performed at a couple live events and outdoor festivals. Do you have much lined up for the late summer/early fall?

Danny:

I’m part of the Goop Troop Collective out of Boston. We have four festivals lined up for the summer and one the just passed. Also I have residencies at nightclubs in Boston on top of offers coming in and out here and there.

Ryan:

Do you have any concerns about the fact that we went step-by-step through the individual phases and Memorial Day hit and the region opened wide-open again?

Danny:

Yeah. It raises a lot of questions. Everyone had their own opinions of whatever this is, and the state ws trying to be really safe which was appreciated. They had this one date that was the opening date, and then they were just like you know what, fuck it, let’s go to Memorial Day, let’s just do it. So that seemed a little odd. But I’m also excited that we get back to work, so it’s one of those bittersweet things, should I be more concerned, or do I want to get back to work.

Ryan:

Is there anything else that you’d like to talk about?

Danny:

I’d like to talk about how difficult it was for a lot of artists to find their way during this. There are a lot of people who lost inspiration and motivation. I find that sad. I don’t think we should depend on state guidelines to be out there and be creative. The whole stream thing is a big example of that. What way can we be expressive and creative from what life has given us? I feel that is the lesson as a culture that we need to take in, and also be ready to pivot. Because after a certain point I was like you know what, if music’s not a thing, what can I do with my design. I’m a 3D designer, so architectural design, product design, although it might not be truthfully artistic and expressive it’s a way to go. I was looking for the pivot or shift if things weren't going to go back the way we wanted it to.

Ryan:

As horrible as it is for all the venues that have closed and live artists who rely on performance work to be able to survive, do we have the opportunity to rebuild the industry into something more inclusive and community-driven?

Danny:

I really do. I think a lot of people found out how important it is to be tightly-knit and no one is taking anything for granted anymore. Back in the day you could ask about, the festival I just did was capped at about 120-130 to follow guidelines. And if you ask about that back in the day you’re like how many ppl were there at a festival, if you said 140 people wouldn’t even look twice at going there. But now, people say you know what, I’ll be right there I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I think it’s brought a lot of value to the love of what we’re really doing and not take that for granted. With that build cultures around that, and do it the right way and stop doing it for the ticket sales and just be out there for the experience.

Ryan:

That’s one thing I’m hopeful for, is for this to be a way for us to all lift each other up. We have to support each other in order to make this happen again and make this viable the way to even a fraction of what it formerly was and build upon that.

Danny:

Even as artists, there is more support. There is less asking for guest list and comps. Kind of a good reset on the culture.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Haze Sessions 002 - July 30, 2021 - Electric Haze, Worcester, MA

The Circus of Life - August 19 - 22, 2021 - Bethel, NY

Sub•Cul•Ture Music and Arts Festival - Sept 3 - 6, 2021 - New Echo Lake Resort, Afton, NY

Various Goop Troop and Sub•Cul•Ture events and Boston nightclub residencies

Kerry Quirk - DJ/Talent Buyer - The Ooze - Boston, MA

Kerry Quirk is the founder of The Ooze, a monthly multi-genre event currently housed at Zuzu, and has been DJing since 2005. Her experience in booking and other nightlife-based jobs has taken her into the role of talent buyer for Sonia, part of the Middle East family of venues in Cambridge, MA. Kerry and I spoke over email about not being pigeonholed, booking streaming vs. live events, and hopes for the post-lockdown future of live events.

*interview edited for clarity

Ryan:

How would you describe your DJing style?

Kerry:

I like to call my DJing style something along the lines of older stuff, stuff your parents and grandparents probably enjoyed at weddings years ago, mixed with new stuff that sounds from that era, and a little bit in-between. I feel comfortable playing just about anything and my music ADHD usually expresses that. I hate when people ask me to pick a genre on a flyer because you can’t write “just come, it’ll be a party”. But what I do play, gets people out of their seats and on the dancefloor, and I feel like so many DJs have forgotten how important that is.

Ryan:

With COVID-related restrictions hampering most DJs' ability to perform for dancefloors, how did you adapt to not being able to play for crowds?

Kerry:

Oh man, so get this. The OOZE, it’ll be 6 years old in September and is my pride and joy. Now, sometimes, as luck would have it, when you throw events, they time out perfectly to land on a holiday and you can do cool things, bigger bookings, and just go all out. My 30th birthday was a few weeks after covid shut everything down and I had a huge OOZE 30th birthday bash planned, flying in one of my favorite artists from Vancouver. Now normally, I don’t get to book acts outside the northeast, being as the event is on a Tuesday so I was devastated.

Damien Paul of Rabbit Revolution, who’s been a long time friend and peer, on top of being the first person to book me at RISE (rip), came up with this amazing solution to allow The OOZE to be streamed, and not just in Boston but all over the world. So The OOZE has always been based around internet subculture, niche parties I loved from NYC, LA and Tokyo, video games, nostalgia etc, so it was a no brainer to make this an internet thing for a bit. I got to book people from all over the world, kids I never thought I would even waste my time reaching out to, and it was life changing. COVID actually helped me because for once, I got to focus on just me and The OOZE, and I got to reach places I didn’t think I’d ever see.

Ryan:

You took The OOZE streaming as a monthly event, bringing local and international talent to the airwaves to raise funds for some great charities. Was favoring a monthly, over weekly or intermittent stream events, successful for you as a DJ, or do you wish you had done more events?

Kerry:

Lol, NEVER weekly. Not physically or internet-ly. Providence (where The OOZE started at Therapy 2) and Boston weren’t ready for what this event is. People didn’t get it then, and still some don’t know. It’s a niche event, based more on providing a space for both the creator and creative to dwell together. I have an emulator for people to play games on during physical events, I purposely stack line ups with no headliner, and everyone playing a different style, most of which isn’t standard club music. Pre-covid, you were creating a death sentence for yourself or event by hosting a weekly. Boston phased out of that probably around 2014-2015. The only real weekly’s now are at bottle service clubs with huge headliners and everyone over at Phoenix Landing (shoutout Infra, Re:set and Elements). It’s too much for me to do that booking weirdos, there are only so many people who want to play weird shit on Tuesdays who don’t live in LA or NYC.

Ryan:

Did you see more opportunities for connection with other DJs and promoters during the pandemic? Do you see things reverting or persisting once restrictions are lifted?

Kerry:

Yes and no. With The OOZE, I felt more connected because I could book more people. People who I thought wouldn’t care, did, though it was much harder to get responses and even sort through bookings. A lot of people didn’t have the tech qualifications we needed or even took what I was doing seriously. I found myself getting more frustrated seeing artists I would’ve paid to be a part of the streams ignore me, only to play these HUGE massive streams. Like I get it, it’s for clout, but it was disheartening.

As far as now, it’s nice to be getting more bookings than I was pre-covid. It’s nice to see people eager to go out and be there when doors open. I really hope that continues because it’s should. We’re a very walked on industry and people didn’t appreciate all the people who work so hard to create fun until there wasn’t any. And that’s not how it should be.

Ryan:

Once live events are in full swing again, will you continue to stream, or focus on live events?

Kerry:

My last stream was June 1st. I’m taking a break for the summer until my venue where I throw The OOZE opens back up.

ed. note: The Ooze has returned to live events at Zuzu as of July 6, 2021, the first Tuesday of every month. The OOZE ft. Will Monotone, Ring Gate & Ellimist ft. Josh Knowles is coming up on August 3, 2021.

Ryan:

What concerns or hopes do you have now that COVID-related restrictions are being lifted?

Kerry:

My brain is mush from thinking about COVID. I hope people remain kind to one another and I hope people continue putting themselves ahead of their jobs and societal “obligations” because that’s what got us into trouble in the first place. People need to take time to be people or we’re all doomed, and I really hope that continues.

Ryan:

Do you have concerns about DJing for live indoor crowds with no capacity restrictions?

Kerry:

I’m fully vaxxed so I try not to worry. I 100% will be masking back up come the colder months because I get sick so much every year and it really helped I think this past year.

Ryan:

Any final thoughts?

Kerry:

Be nice to each other, try to hit some events you wouldn’t have before and get out of your comfort zone.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The New Motif with Sundog Organ Trio - July 31, 2021- Platforms Dance Club, Providence, RI - (opening as Sax and Candy with Lee Ross)

The OOZE ft. Will Monotone, Ring Gate & Ellimist ft. Josh Knowles - August 3, 2021 - Zuzu, Cambridge, MA

The Circus of Life - August 19 - 22, 2021 - Bethel, NY

Electric Mabon Festival - October 1, 2021 - Bozrah, CT

You can find more Kerry Quirk at https://soundcloud.com/djkerry7 and her blog https://gorgeousrantingbrunette.wtf

Manindabag - DJ/stream organizer - 100 Proof Crew - Boston, MA

Curtis McMillan, aka Manindabag, is a long time member of the New England dance music community who streams regularly on twitch as part of 100 Proof Crew. With regular shows multiple days a week, spanning genres from acid techno to hair metal to drum and bass, and monthly raid raves, Curtis has used the pandemic to launch himself full force back into DJing. We talked his pathway through dance music that brought him to streaming, lasting impacts and influence of streaming on DJ'd entertainment, and the employment/wage equality issues of the bar, nightclub, and restaurant service industries.

*interview edited for clarity

Ryan:

Tell us a little about your background and what led to you streaming.

Curtis:

I am from Colorado originally. I kind of grew up in the 90s Colorado scene, spent a lot of time in Boulder and Denver. I spent most of my time with a local promotion there called Sugar Twist. It was an offshoot of the club kids down in New York, so same kind of, halfway LGBT, trans kind of community. It was pretty much the first real gay scene in Denver that was kind of Generation X. That was kind of like my home base. They were a very heavy hardcore base, almost more hardcore than they were trance and techno.

When I came out to Massachusetts, I was like 17 or 18, and my dad had just remarried. I met Jeff Gill (Gil-T), through mutual friends in Colorado, and he was running the Asylum and we just like hit it off right away. I pretty much felt like a real-life photocopy of Jeff just younger, and just started hanging out with him. Then I started working with the sound all the time and running around like a chicken with my head cut off, and that just kind of led into the scene. So, for part of the 2000s rave scene here in Massachusetts, I was either promoting at some of those events or working for Jeff at the Asylum.

From there, I got out of the scene after the Asylum closed, and I've been working in the liquor industry and working in restaurants either GMing, or just things in that realm, up until when COVID hit and our restaurant closed down. I've been back now, pretty much just doing odd jobs and keeping myself busy. I haven't been back into restaurants since when COVID hit. I needed something to keep myself busy, because I've spent my entire life having something to do all the time, and having large amounts of downtime is unhealthy for me. So I figured the easy way to get around it would be to go out and buy just a cheap controller and just get back to DJing again for a little while. The little controller turned into a gigantic professional streaming setup and playing on Twitch twice a week. I can't do anything a quarter of the way. I have to do everything 100% of the way.

Ryan:

So you pretty much started back up DJing with COVID rather than having a DJ whose livelihood got taken away from by the pandemic?

Curtis:

Yeah, for at least for me, it was getting back into it. It was interesting because I had been on vinyl prior to giving up everything. Once the Asylum closed, it was kind of a clean break where I walked away, sold my tables, sold my vinyl, and didn't really even think about it until COVID hit and I was like well, I gotta do something. I can't just sit in this house and watch Netflix every day. I'm gonna go crazy.

Ryan:

Speaking of playing a couple times a week, you and 100 Proof Crew are doing things three, four nights a week. So has that schedule been really good for you, since you were talking about not wanting to have downtime?

Curtis:

Yeah, I mean, it's definitely been therapeutic in the sense that it's given me something consistent to do. Plus, it keeps me relatively busy. Our monthly rave, just planning it, booking the lineup, putting all of the pieces together, building the flyer, all of that stuff is just super time consuming, but it's rewarding in the sense that I'm able to put together these events that I've always wanted to put together, where putting together a real in-person rave is, you know, 50-60 grand. I can put together some of the most amazing lineups that I've ever made in my lifetime, and it's not a risk on my back, other than the hard work that I put into it. So we're able to put together these fantastic lineups, with fantastic talent from all over the country, world for that matter. It's been super rewarding in the sense that, like, my creativity is out of control.

Ryan:

So were these connections you had prior to the pandemic? Or did the pandemic really open up the opportunities and avenues for a lot of this?

Curtis:

So it's like 50/50, I mean, some of the people are lifelong friends that have been streaming, even prior to the pandemic, and the other 50% of people that have just met. If you spend enough time on Twitch, you start to network and build connections. You kind of fall in lockstep with people that you, I think, would just be like lifelong friends with in real life. It's interesting, because you can build such strong connections with people. You know, like, if you're on Twitch enough, and you see these people three, four times a week, you talk about stuff when you're in a chat room for two hours, three hours. It's just very, it's very rewarding in the sense that there's definitely people that I look at as spearheading the tone for how things should be done.

On Twitch, I always revert back to Billy Lane from 916 junglists, he has pretty much a standard that if you're playing drum and bass on Twitch that this is how we do it. We lift each other up, it's all about having fun, like when we make mistakes, we all share it with each other because it's got this really fun family mentality to it. And it just keeps growing and growing. Everybody that's attached to that has their streams keep getting larger and larger, and it pinpoints back to Billy. I think that he has been such a focal point for the way to do it correctly, and I think people just gravitate towards it. I think that it's given a lot of people that had nothing to do during the pandemic, it's given them a lot of hope and it's been really rewarding.

I assume that when the pandemic is over, which we're starting to get the beginning pieces of, and life goes back to being normal, there's gonna be a lot of people that leave Twitch and other streaming platforms. Because you've got your real life, you've got your family, or your girlfriend, and you have these gigs that you need to live up to and go play. The idea of coming and playing an hour on Twitch may not be as accessible or being done at the same level that people were doing it before. But I think that people like Billy have made it into such a fun alternative. There's a lot of people, myself included, that are probably going to just stay with Twitch. I mean, I don't think that I would turn down offers for gigs in the real. I have one in Maine in August that I'm super excited about, but the opportunity to play in the real is a lot more of a hassle, which sounds really weird, than me just going downstairs and firing up my equipment, playing an hour, and then going to bed in my own house.

Ryan:

As these restrictions sort of got relaxed all at once, do you have any concerns or worries about indoor dancing and just how packed some of these places are going be?

Curtis:

I’m interested to see how this whole thing plays out, because I know that if you look at the CDC, the federal government, and the way that they're handling everything, be very cautious. Three months ago when the rollout was happening, everybody's getting the vaccines, but we weren’t really sure, and it was difficult to get them. There's horror stories of elderly people that were up until like four or five o'clock in the morning waiting, just to get an appointment to go in and get a vaccine. I think that it just ramped up very quickly to where everybody that wanted one was able to get one.

I think that we're finally starting to hit that point where the other part, the portion of the population that has not gotten vaccinated is just like, it's never gonna happen. Like, there's no way. I know that there's certain states that have been giving a lottery for a million dollars for their vaccine, and it's definitely improved some of the amounts of people that have turned out for it, but I think that there's enough people that are afraid of getting it. It's kind of put us in a situation where if you look at the CDC now, they're lifting restrictions and everything's coming back to normal. I can't tell if that 50% was enough to not give us a fourth wave, but there's a piece of me that feels like it's not; that everything's good right now...

It's great that everybody wanted the vaccine has been able to get it and that we've gotten so many people vaccinated. But the bigger question is that if this summer goes back to being no mask, everything's 2019 levels, and everybody's out having a good time; I just don't know if we go into December and have just massive amounts of people that were in that group that were not vaccinated, getting hospitalized, and, you know, the people in that group would say that they'll get sick, and it's no big deal.

The bigger picture of why we've been inside for so long, and why things have changed so much is that you as one individual may be fine, but the implications of how many people died because of that is not, it's not okay for me. I'm not of the mindset that my actions should affect other people. It's completely anti-libertarian approach on things. I'm fine with people doing anything they want, as long as it doesn't affect other people. That's where my issue with this whole thing is. People can make their own decisions. It just can't be something that could hurt or harm somebody else.

Ryan:

I am in full agreement with the majority of that. I am very concerned about where we're going to be even on the Fourth of July. We'll see how this Memorial Day opening, basically, across New England impacts things. Hopefully, it continues to be relatively low cases, and we don't see a large upturn, so we can continue trying to bring back the live music industry that has definitely taken a big hit during all of this.

Curtis:

Yeah, I've seen it from both perspectives, being in the restaurant industry, and all of my friends in the live music industry. Definitely the toll that we have taken in this last year has been extreme. The amount of restaurants that I never in a million years would expect to close here in Boston, just reference points that have closed, it is boggling. The bigger picture that we're running into is that there's not enough people reinvesting back into the system because they're not sure where things are going. In the same way, I'm not sure where things are going.

So you have a lot of people in the restaurant industry that are out of work that have no real place to go back to. What ended up happening is that you leave these people in a long enough time period where the option to come back really wasn't available. So they ended up finding alternative ways to support their families. I think that the end result is that now you get huge, huge pockets of restaurants that are trying to come back after everything that went down. And there's just nobody, there's nobody to staff them. If you are a server or a bartender at this point, the sky's the limit. They’ll hire you right off the street. We had staffing issues prior to the pandemic. Now, I can't even imagine what that would be like.

I think that it's going to definitely put some spotlight on what really is going on in the restaurant industry. If you work in a place where you can't make a living to support your family, making less than minimum wage and expecting tips to really suffice as a real livable wage, and at the same time, you've got a general public that's like 50/50 on even tipping, it's not sustainable. And it never was, and a lot of us would work multiple gigs just to be able to make it sustainable.

Sooner or later, you get wise enough to jump behind the bar, because being a server or being a hostess, it's not a lifetime gig unless you find a place where owners really appreciate and train their staff, and raise that minimum wage to try to give them that livable wage, and give them that opportunity to work in a place where they'd be able to be there for 10-15 years. I don't see that coming back.

I think from the musician's side, you've got a lot of guys that were really living hand to mouth off of those gigs when that went away for a year, just dissipated. I don't know, if it will be as detrimental as the hospitality industry was with restaurants, but it's definitely a possibility that we could see lots of people that were moonlighting at five, six different bars just to make ends meet are just not there anymore.

UPCOMING EVENTS

PoweRaid - August 6 - 7, 2021 - twitch.tv/100ProofCrew

Birthday Cake Rave - September 4 - 5, 2021 - twitch.tv/100ProofCrew

Manindabag Mondays, 100 Proof Crew Friday shows on Twitch

Keep up with Manindabag and the rest of 100 Proof Crew at https://facebook.com/100ProofCrew

Mizeyesis - DJ/Producer - New England Junglists, DNB Girls - Boston, MA/CT

Mizeyesis, a Boston-based DJ and producer, has been a staple of New England jungle and drum & bass since the early 2000s, first DJing under that moniker in 2004. Her DJing experience has taken her to festivals in Panama and classic club nights in the UK, and along with releases on Monochrome Recordings and Repertoire, are the mark of a titan walking among the New England DnB scene. We talked about her journey through electronic music from the early 90's to now, a trip that has taken her from NYC to Connecticut, back and forth again, and has her currently settled in Massachusetts. We also touched on how she kept busy during the pandemic and how DJs need to innovate to succeed in partnership with venues.

*interview edited for clarity

Mizeyesis:

My name is Mizeyesis. I’ll tell you the full story. This totally happened by accident that I became a DJ. In the 90s, I loved electronic music. I was in high school in New York in 1992 and my aerobics teacher at that time used to play what we used to call rave music. We knew what rave was, and rave was just sort of beginning at that time in New York.

The stuff she was playing was stuff like Bomb Scare by 2 Bad Mice and all these breakbeat hardcore tunes. I didn’t know what it was called. I used to hear it in school from my aerobics teacher and I used to hear it on the radio station in NY called Z100. I loved that sound, but I didn’t really hear much of it. It kinda stopped being played a lot around 1993 and you had more house and techno and breaks, like real breaks. So I really loved that sound, that really fast, amen break, chopped break sound, but I didn’t really hear much of it after that.

So around 1996, during the middle of high school, I moved from NY and I was living in CT. I was studying dance, and I loved house, and breaks and techno and trance and all that, but I wanted something meatier. There has to be a style of electronic music, that takes all the styles of music that I love including punk, metal, and hip-hop, and throws it all as one.

I was working at Buckland Hills Mall in Manchester, CT and there was a radio store, HMV, and I saw a compilation called Urban Beats for URB magazine, the publication from the 90s. Keoki, who I was a big fan of at that time, was in there, so I thought, “this has to be good, maybe I’ll discover some new music.” I forgot which track it was, but there was the radio edit of Inner City Life on there and when I heard that song, I said, “That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.”

I had seen the CDs for Timeless in all the music stores before that, and I was like what is this. And (now) I knew what it was, so I went back the next day and bought that CD. I played that CD probably 20 times as loud as possible. My mother hated me for it at the time. I cried after listening to it, like for some reason this was going to play a big part in my life, I don’t know how. I literally said, “I don’t want to be a DJ, I’m a dancer.” I was studying dance at the Hartford Conservatory for Dance Performance, going back and forth between NY and CT studying and taking classes in 1997-98. I graduated in 1998 and then I auditioned in Boston at the Dance Complex for a spot in Alvin Ailey School and I got in.

That summer that I got in, 1999, I got immersed in rave and club culture. I started going out to raves and clubs, particularly in New York and Connecticut. I was living in New York at the time, but would come home and meet up with my friends and we would go to the newly opened Asylum nightclub. While in NY I would go to any jungle night I could think of. I would go to Konkrete Jungle. I met Odi, I met Odyssey. I met MC Zezo1 and TC Izlam, and also Meszenjah.

The first time I went to Konkrete Jungle was with my cousin. No one knew who I was, and I think we were the only two girls in Konkrete that night too, which was funny. But I knew after hearing it live, that I needed more of this in my life. I just loved the music. I would buy whatever CDs I could. I found that I had an immediate gravitation toward techstep. Intelligent drum and bass from LTJ Bukem, Reinforced Records, and Moving Shadow. I loved what No U-Turn Records was doing, what Trace was doing. Prototype Recordings. I would read anything I could find.

I moved back to Connecticut in 2001 after injuries had derailed my dancing career, but was still heavy into the dance music scene. The internet was just becoming a thing, so I would just look up things and find out as much information as possible. One of my friends gave me this little booklet called the Rough Guide to Drum and Bass, and it listed everything. It was one of the earliest books on drum and bass you could find at that time. Simon Reynolds would come out with essays, Generation Ecstasy, and all that stuff, just so I could understand, where did rave culture come from? and how did we get to drum and bass? And I developed my synopsis from talking to people online.

A few years later we had things like Myspace and I already knew of producers that I liked and had heard things of. Around that time (2002-03) I was going through a really bad break-up and my ex and I, before we broke up, were entertaining the possibility of DJing. I was hesitant, and he was like, “well if you become a DJ all these dudes are going to fall in love with you and you are going to leave me.” So when we broke up, I went to Spiritual Emporium, a record store which was part of the Municipal Cafe, and I bought five pieces of vinyl. Because I figured, hey, I’m single now, all these guys are gonna love me.

I didn’t know what I was doing for a few months. I didn’t understand the concept of beatmatching. I remember being over at my friend who passed away many years ago, James Miller Jr. and another friend explained the concept of beatmatching. I always kept it in the back of my head and tried to do it, but it never would work. One day, I was dating a house DJ, a few years later, 2002-03, still the same time period. I was over at his house and mixed two records and he ran into the room and was like “you finally got it”. I said, I know I finally got it. He said just keep playing those two records over and over again, and when you feel comfortable, bring in another one. And so I did that, and then I was able to mix all my records together and it felt great.

So I would just go to house parties around New England. I already knew JJ Blades. I had a good friendship with Jeff Gill, even back then, and Jeff wanted to book me. I told Jeff, “honestly, you know how people are, I’m a woman. I don’t want to come out until I’m fully ready.” He said, “Okay, you let me know when you’re ready.” So another house party came and I played and he was like, yeah, you’re ready. I’m putting you on for New Years. And my friend Dwayne “Mighty Mouse” said my party isn’t until next year, but I’m booking you for this event at the Municipal Cafe which was 100% High Octane and that was July 2004 and was my first official gig as Mizeyesis.

The name came about because I always had an infatuation with Egyptology. It was originally supposed to be Isis and I was going to change the name to Eyesis, but Snafu, a DJ in CT, he was like nah, dude. There’s so many Isis’s out there. I don’t want you to change your name but you need to make it yours, so how about putting Miz in front of it. Because you’re from New York, you love graffiti, you’re a b-girl, you’re cultured, and that represents who you are. So we named it Mizeyesis, and that’s where it came from.

Traditionally, back in the day, your DJ name never came from you, it came from someone else. It was a way of them birthing you, so I felt like I was birthed. Shortly after that set, I met up with some individuals who had a restaurant in Hartford, and they wanted people to throw nights. I said, how about we throw a drum and bass night. I called Torrential, who was another drum and bass DJ in Connecticut that I really admired. He played some really crazy ragga jungle, and One Self. I asked Meszenjah but he didn’t want to get involved yet.

So it was me, One Self, and Torrential. We started throwing this night, our friends came. The guys that owned the restaurant hated the music and said, “We don’t want you guys back here again.”, but there was a well-known pub down the street who used to book DJs and musicians and MCs and they said, “You guys can come here and do your night.” For four years we had a spot called Threshold every Thursday at Sully’s Pub. In that time period we booked Breakage, Liondub, Tester, Arkive, Remarc, Human, Strife, Dave Shichmann, and people who either are not playing now, or who have evolved to bigger headlining spots within the scene or the industry. Some, like Strife, are amazing industry professionals.

When we (Threshold) broke up, I started developing a lot of contacts in NY and Massachusetts, and MA collectives. In 2010 I joined Satellite Records as their Drum and Bass coordinator, so when we would get new releases in, I would be the one to upload it to the website, I would give the reviews, so on and so forth. I would start talking about my knowledge of drum and bass a lot during that time period.

I linked up with someone in the UK named Antidote and Burn Rate, and Antidote put me on to Jungle Train, because he said, at this time you have evolved. I’ve known you since you started DJing, I’ve seen your progression, You need a radio show. Even if you don’t keep it forever, have this radio show, let people know who you are, you deserve it. And he put me on, Antidote was sort of like a mentor, a big brother to me. He would talk to me a lot, some of the things I still even deal with now, the misogyny, the racism, the blacklisting. Definitely at that point in time when I was new, and really, really starting to evolve into higher positions, people were really throwing that on the local perspective in Connecticut. It was disheartening at first, but as you evolve and you start doing more things, people can’t take that away from you.

I moved from Hartford to New Haven in 2014. I started doing Heady and Amen there with Meszenjah and Felicia Moncada. Due to the job market in CT not being sufficient, I made the decision that I needed to move somewhere where there was more music, more DJs, and where I’d be a little more appreciated. So, I chose Boston about three years ago.

By this time, I had already produced, played in the UK and around the country, and had started working with Tribal Gathering in Panama. I put my radio show on hold, I’m debating whether or not I will renew my lease on Jungle Train. I have enjoyed my freedom a bit, since I have so much going on. I linked up with DNB Girls, which happened by accident. I didn’t know they were watching me, and they asked me to join the crew in 2013. I was able to bring on about ten other women onto the crew from various different points in the US, that are strong, amazing DJs and producers, and are leaders within their local scenes.

That’s sorta how everything started. It was kinda by accident, I had no interest in DJing. I saw what a lot of DJs go through and I didn’t want that for myself. I didn’t want the drama, the blacklisting, any of that. Now, here I am, and I’m still dealing with the same things. It’s amazing. Aside from that, I enjoy music and I enjoy sharing it with other people. Drum and bass has always been my heart and soul. I’ve also evolved into playing house, techno, footwork, bass music and dub reggae, and producing it too!

Ryan:

A lot of your experience came from being around the scene and being able to go out to clubs and go out and meet people. Covid killed that for the entire live entertainment industry, so what did you do to stay connected with your peers and other people in the industry?

Mizeyesis:

Right before Covid hit I was going through a really rough time. I was looking for work and got a contract opportunity with Novartis, then hired at MIT. I was going through a really bad breakup and left a very difficult housing situation. I moved into the Creative Zone in Chinatown and one night I went out and it was to see Rakim, who was my hip-hop god. I knew I had to go see Rakim. After I saw him that night I was reinspired and started working on a track. I put a lot of months into this one tune. But then Covid hit and everything got shut down. I was laid off and I didn’t know what was going to happen. I had some money so I ordered an XDJ-RX2 and I had my tables and a bunch of vinyl. I started getting hit up to do recorded sets for streams. So I said sure, I’ll do it.

When Repertoire put out a call for tunes for Streetlight, I knew my track was ready. I didn’t know until then who I was going to send it to, but I knew that tune was ready, and it was unlike anything I’d ever written before. So I sent it. About two hours later, I get a message from Law saying yeah, we’re putting this in there. Just do this, this, this and this. This tune is fucking crazy. I was like, "Yeah, I know right? (laughter)".

All these things just started happening. I got hit up by Hospital Records to do a stream and I didn’t expect that either. I knew I was going to get hit up for guest mixes, and I just kept busy. They weren't opportunities that I seeked out, I just sort of ran with anything that came towards me. Then, I started putting myself out there to other promoters, you know, anyone who wants a stream, hit me up. Left and right I started getting hit up for streams.

That was how I kept busy, with streams and putting out mixes. I got hit up by BPM Artists out of the UK for my UK and rest of the world representation and now have artist management, which is pretty awesome. I go over there quite a bit, so it works. Covid has been a blessing in disguise.

As far as financially for many of us, a lot of us rely on gig work. I drive Lyft or I do consult work from home, working with universities, but as far as musically, it’s been one of the blessings and greatest times in my life that I am absolutely grateful for. Despite anything else I may talk about, the frustration of dealing with peers, and people maybe not appreciating your success as you do, and putting negative things on you, looking back, I know I’ll look at this time with amazement that all this has happened to me. This doesn’t happen everyday.

Ryan:

As things start opening up, do you think you'll keep as much dedication and time to all the online and internet connectivity you have or once live gigs come back into play will that slow things down for you?

Mizeyesis:

With all the responsibilities that I have on my plate, I have to have a balance. I have a mix I have to do for a radio show coming up, and I have commitments for other mixes and a few other streams. I feel moving forward, for DJs who don’t normally play out live a lot, Twitch and various other internet platforms offer ways to connect with a wider audience. For me, it’s just going to add another layer to everything I already do.

Ryan:

Now that things are opening up, do you have any concerns about live events? Or about how we sort of opened up like a flash flood Memorial Day weekend after all these months of going step by step?

Mizeyesis:

Now that I’m vaccinated I’m not worried as much. What I am worried about is if we’ll have venues. Will we have places to play? We’re very lucky in Boston within the drum and bass world, and techno and house, that we have a venue like the Phoenix Landing and the Middle East which are more underground venues where we can express ourselves in optimal ways. But everything is still up in the air in Boston, but in other parts of the Northeast, like New York, Connecticut, Worcester, things are popping off. In Maine they’re popping off too.

I’m more worried about everyone else’s consistency and if people will support events. But I can’t even say that because I DJ’d at Platforms for Feel Good Fridays and it was a packed dance floor and it was amazing. So, I’m looking forward to it. And Valdee (M.A.D.E. Productions) did his birthday party at Echo Lake recently which was amazing and the response there was so great. I think as time progresses if we’re all consistent, we’ll see a major revival in ways we may not expect. Maybe not here in the Northeast, but maybe in certain other parts of the country. But as long as we don’t have an outbreak of some crazy disease and we can remain at the quality of life that we’re projecting towards. It may be an exciting time for all of us DJs and producers, we just have to believe in it.

Ryan:

We have to band together, look at the opportunities that we have, instead of everything we lost, and see where we can grow from now.

Mizeyesis:

We’re really going to have to get creative in the Northeast. Winter is going to be rough, because we’re not going to have as many venues as we did prior to Covid. And the ones that are available, particularly in Boston, are expensive. I looked up the show for Rusko, and I can’t afford that. Even the (cancelled) show at the newly renovated Limelight is $100. I need that $100 right now. I can’t afford that. I’d love to go to Limelight, I would absolutely love to revive that.

*ed. note: the event at the former Limelight was cancelled due to too much interest.

Ryan:

Do you think the pandemic has hit live venues enough that landlords are going to need to get tenants and be willing to be more flexible with lease rights with some of these venues to come back?

Mizeyesis:

I think so. Particularly when we hit fall, if a lot of them are smart, they whittle out more DJs too, happy hour events, and just DJ for a few hours. I’m already seeing it too, a few of my peers, Leah McFlight and Kerry Quirk are doing residencies at a few restaurants. And in Hartford and in CT, my mates out there that are doing more Top 40 stuff are definitely starting to pick up as well. I think for those of us that specialize in certain genres, it’s going to be more difficult for us. Sort of like people who specialize in bass music and drum and bass, even though it’s popular in the United States, it’s not something that everyone likes. You have to have an acquired taste. It’s going to be more difficult for us, hopefully we can all band together, stick together, and make some cool shit happen. That's what I’m hoping for

Ryan:

We need to figure out ways to promote ourselves, but also provide quality business opportunities to these bars and nightclubs to want to have us in there, that makes it better than a Top 40 night or college night or whatever else they might have to draw patrons.

Mizeyesis:

Absolutely. That’s what I would like to help facilitate. I’ve been throwing events since 2004, almost 20 years. I would like to throw an event again in Boston. It’s not something I’m pushing for just yet, because I have so many other things going on, but I would love to collaborate with a group of people and get something rolling. We really need it. We have everything we have, but we need other things, even if it’s a one off thing. I would love to do that, just get us all together so we can just throw down.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Our House w/ resident Sex on Decks (House set) - July 24, 2021 - Electric Haze, Worcester, MA

Glow Hard w/ Elijah Divine - August 6 - 8, 2021 - 4x4 Proving Grounds, Lebanon, ME

Higher Education Music & Art Festival - August 27 - 29, 2021 - 4x4 Proving Grounds, Lebanon, ME

You can find more Mizeyesis at https://soundcloud.com/mizeyesis or https://www.facebook.com/MizeyesisDJOfficial

*Original photo of Mizeyesis by Adrian Feliciano at Adrianfeliciano.com and is used with permission