Terrence is talking so pay attention......

1) The biggest influence on the music I listen and play today are somewhat twofold. I got into Dance Music, because my parents went to the trendiest and poshest Discos Asia. They loved, collected, bought and listened to Dance Music consistantly. This was during the late 70s and early 80s Disco era, and so music such as Earth, Wind and Fire was always present. So this was my introduction to Dance Music in general. I carried this love of Dance Music up to this day.

When I moved to the US, in 1986 my love for Dance Music was furthered even more with music such as New Order, Information Society, Inner City and other classics -- though a bit more Poppy --late 80s music was coming to fruition. Sadly, I was not old nor mature enough to have heard and experienced the Acid House movement in person.

In terms of House Music, it's a bit more complex. I embraced the Rave aesthetic, and was playing rave cuts such as Human Resource, 2 Bad Mice and so forth. Then whilst shopping at the store I actually work now, Doc Martin sold me my first UNDERGROUND House songs, SOME LOVIN' by Liberty City and the Los Kings Del Mambo EP. I was playing House cuts at that time, but they usually were anything with a 4/4 beat with a bpm between 118-128. Doc opened my ears to a Deeper sound. Then it was Terence Toy's mix show who introduce me to the Soulful side of House, particularly with Marques Wyatt's classic sets on the air.

That's the extremely shortened version of what influence on the sound I listen to today.

2) I really don't have a particular real Musical hero when I was younger, except for a collective mass of 80s Pop icons, most notably Madonna and Prince.

3) A bit of an ambiguous question in terms of what constitutes "the music scene," However I got introduced DJing when, as a House warming present to my parents, the interior decorator hired a Mobile DJ crew. I was fascinated how the songs I knew by heart sounded a bit different -- the term remix has not been introduced to my vocabulary yet. I was amazed how the music didn't seem to stop, and how they just seamlessly flowed into each other so naturally. From then on, I was obsessed with being a DJ, and replicating what I saw and heard that fateful night.

4) The Hollywood parties I regularly did taught me a valueable lesson in reading the crowd. I learned that my tastes do NOT necessarily translate to what the crowd likes. I learned to play the "happy medium." I understood there is a big difference between playing a straight up, Deep, Underground House Club and what's pretty much a mainstream Party with people who just want to get tanked up and boogie.

5) As a DJ I go with I feel is within me, and what i can read the crowd is craving. I don't necessarily have a style of music I particularly enjoy playing. In my sets, I like going from the Deepest of the Deep (Blaze, MAW) to Disk (Sneak, Joey Negro) to Big Room (Robbie Tronco, Victor Calderone) to Hard Ass Tribal beats (Club 69) to the Sunday Scene suff to the Classics (TSOP, QUALITY Disco), and everything in between. I enjoy spinning a SET, as opposed to just a style, that personally moves me from emotion to emotion.

6) I freelance everywhere in the TASSO area, and play regularly on Powertools, a mixshow on a Major Radio Station in town, Power 106, Los Angles, Usa.

7) Here in the US, Los Angeles specifically, House has a good following with the Underground for a while now. There have been a few breakouts within the Pop realm, but they have been few and far between. For example, SHOW ME LOVE and 100% PURE LOVE were big Top 10 hits, but seen as more novelty flukes if anything. They still see it as the music that "sounds the same after 10 minutes."

9) The people who had the biggest influence on me in House Music in general have been Frankie Knuckles, Marques Wyatt (via the radio mix show), Doc Martin and Aaron O. Aaron was a DJ at Club Universe in San Francisco, who taught and showed me that Garage can move the biggest of rooms, much like Frankie did later on in my life. RIP Aaron.

As for the second half of your question, I believe that more ingredients to the stock, the better. I believe we can only learn from each other. Like I told you earlier in terms of my sound, I like mixing things up. I play what I feel, believe and hear is good. In fact, I think if it was just the US sound, UK Garage, Finnish House or whoever knows whatever all night long, it would get rather stale. This is why I welcome the infusion of different nationalities, races, creeds in this thing we call House.

10) I would die to work with Masters at Work. I would love to see how they are able to create music from both the "live" and electronic elements. Daft Punk is another crew I would enjoy watching in terms of creation. I would love to see how they fine tune what some might consider just absolutely out there samples, into a slamming track. I enjoy being around, observing and absorbing the creative process in general, so I usually take up the chance when offered. For example, to watch how say Louie and Kenny transform a mid-tempo R&B song like GO DEEP by janet into a soul blistering House mix, to me would be more than awe inspiring.

11) I think, form within my own country, people should really look out for Deep Swing. Yes they are a bit more established, but they are still highly under rated in terms of their skills and talent. I AM SOMEBODY is probably one of the best songs of this year, and yet not one big "hype" peep form people. Soulshine, a label based in Florida, is a great label slowly but surely establishing themselves as a consistent and no nonsense House/Garage Label by putting out quality releases one after another. Of course, I can't forget my mates 95 North and their own Record Label venture. SAVE YOUR SOUL.

Believe me that song will be ringing in your ears until the middle of next year. I've been caning that cut since March, and it still blisters my soul and soles to this day.

As for the second part of the question, having not been able to work on a song or track myself, I cannot really say what method I would prefer using, be it sampling or doing it with live musicians. I would think, much like my heroes Masters At Work, it would be a heaping spoonful of both.

12) Yes, there is a stereotype as to what LA sounds like across the US. Some see LA as the base for more harder styles of House Music, like the ones being produced by Underground Construction in Chicago. Others see the Southern California area as Breaks country because of the successful Moonshine Desert Series. Granted, these are all part of the LA Scene, but to generalize the whole scene as such is quite hindrance to me as a straight up House DJ. So yes, I see it as somewhat of an obstacle.

13) Generally, LA's House sound is more on the Poppy side with touches of the old Rave aesthetic, the Vission-Lorimer team for example. This should be no surprise since the Rave scene hit LA hard in the early 90s. Luckily, the sound is beginning to diversify, even with the more Poppy producers, who are now embacing a Deeper aesthetic. In fact, the "French/Disco/Filter thing" is having a major influence in a lot of the new cuts being produced out of LA.

14) Europe is definitely in my goals in life. I would love to spin all over Europe to preach the Gospel of House Music much as my fellow Angelinos, Doc Martin and Marques Wyatt have.

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carl@garage-music.com