Danny Daze on Underground Music and South Beach: "It's an Odd Mixture, It Kinda Works"
Story and its team seem dedicated to bringing underground sounds to South Beach. How badly does the SoBe scene need that kinda music? There aren't many Miami Beach outlets, except Treehouse.
Yeah, definitely. And it's the LINK and Miami Rebels guys who are really pushing it, along with Biz Martinez.
Ten years ago, you had stuff like the Mix afterhours, which was a trance club, but it was really good music. Now I honestly believe that commercial radio is what's caused people to like loud obvious music. So little by little, I think people need to be introduced to ... And I don't even want to call it underground sounds. I just want to call it good music.
But is it going to work? Will people actually care? I'm not sure. South Beach is known for drugs and sex. It isn't exactly known for music anymore. But hell, at least the good music will get into some ears.
Over the weekend, Borgore's set got cut short at Story. And DJ Shadow got kicked off the decks at Mansion a couple months ago. Last year, Dennis Ferrer was a victim of the same shit. So South Beach gets a bad rap. But in your experience, is it worse than other cities about trying to tell DJs what to play?
I've experienced it myself. Every single DJ in Miami's had to deal with "Hey, we got somebody who's spending a shitload of money. Can we play this track?" And as a DJ, if you're somebody dedicated to your craft like I've been, it's a slap in the face. You know, "I'll tell you what to play."
That said, somebody like DJ Shadow doesn't even belong at Mansion ... Ever. It's a mistake at Mansion. But the agent and his manager should've known better. Everybody's at fault there. I mean, you're not gonna go book Bjork at a South Beach club. He's along the same lines.
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It's tough to take chances on SoBe. And Story's taking some risks with the bookings.
Oh yeah, they've booked Kevin Saunderson and Magda. There's proper names coming out. And I'm really excited to play because people are finally going to get to hear what exactly I do on the road. I can bring it back home.
I've played recently at Treehouse. But this is entirely different. It's a couple thousand people. So it's another level.
Despite the usual SoBe drama ... The whole Miami dance music production scene is kinda heating up. Who would you say are some of the most notable locals?
Guys like Lazaro Casanova and Jesse Perez -- they're already up to bat. They're already touring the world. Then obviously, we have legends like Oscar G and Ralph Falcon.
Meanwhile, we've got the guys who play for LINK and Miami Rebels, like Thunderpony and whomever. All they've got to do is start making original music and putting it out. That's what it takes these days. You could have a record collection of 20,000 vinyls, but you won't get anywhere. You have to make your own music nowadays.
What's strange is more people outside of Miami than local fans are aware of Lazaro and Jesse.
That's always the way it is. The hometown doesn't ever get as much recognition as needed, because the locals have seen you come up. For example, DJ Craze, a six-time world champion, if he's booked somewhere in Miami, people will say, "Eh, it's Craze." But the guy's a fucking six-time DMC world champion! Or if you book Oscar G, it's not exactly, "Eh," but it's still "just Oscar."
I guess we just get spoiled when somebody's from our own city.
Exactly. That's why, when you become an international DJ, you kinda have to keep you hometown appearances to a minimum. So people get excited when you come back for a big gig.
Danny Daze. With Thunderpony. As part of Undergound Story. Presented by LINK and Miami Rebels. Saturday, February 16. Story Nightclub, 136 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. The party starts at 11 p.m. and tickets cost $30 to $40 plus fees via wantickets.com. Ages 21 and up. Call 305-538-2424 or visit storymiami.com.
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Story Nightclub
136 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL
Category: Music
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