DJ Jason Smith Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 16th 2010 5:37PM by Ben Israeli
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From igniting the party in the country's hottest venues to touring with Shwayze, look for DJ Jason Smith to continue grinding through 2010. An NYC resident since 2004, Smith moved to the Big Apple from Binghamton, N.Y. Always the crowd pleaser, Smith looks to touch all bases by switching and mixing genres, surprising audiences with songs they'll know but may have forgotten. Spinner spoke with Smith in anticipation of his appearance at SXSW.

Describe your sound in your own words.

I started off as your standard hip-hop DJ in the '90s working with a lot of vinyl. I've definitely grown over the years and opened my ears to different types of music from the grateful dead to classic R&B and funk. My real focus nowadays is bringing that broad mix to the clubs. I feel like my style is really eclectic -- I try to make sure that people have a good time and do my best to stay from the standard DJ format where you hear the same old songs.

How do you find that perfect balance between trying to play stuff that's familiar to people but can still surprise them?

It's risky but it's a chance I'm willing to take. It's either going to be really cool or it's going be really weird. But when it's good, it's really good; people react really well to it. It's just a chance I have to take because, like I said, I try to stand out from the other DJs out there. Last night, I played 'Ice Cream Paintjob' into Ace of Base's 'All That She Wants.' You don't think it would work, but when people hear it and they realize what's just happened, they go nuts.

Why did you decide to stick with your own name?

When I first moved to New York, I was DJ Boogie. The problem with that was there were way too many variations of DJ Boogie at the time. There's like Ty Boogie, K Boogie -- too many people with "Boogie" in their name. It wasn't making me an individual artist; it wasn't shining any light my way. So my manager, Johnny Maroney said, "Why don't we just go with Jason Smith?" My name is so common that it'll stick. And so far, it has.

What are your musical influences?

Well, I was raised in upstate New York and up there I couldn't really be eclectic. It was either straight-up hip hop or nothing else. I mean, I could play a little bit of house music but they didn't know it up there. I remember I was doing some huge fraternity party in Binghamton and I put on 'Gypsy Woman' and it kind of worked there, but it never worked in the clubs upstate. It only worked for the college kids because they were from New York City. So, when I moved to NYC, I went to the club and heard this kid DJ and it was great. He's playing classics, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, and I'm like, "Wow, man I can do that! This is going to be great." So, I took it from there and I started playing all the standards. It became so big that now I'm trying to play songs that everybody knows but that they forget about. Like now I'm playing 'Higher Love' by Steve Winwood with Beyonce's 'Crazy in Love.'I do this for the people though, you know. I can't emphasize that enough. I just want to make them happy. I want everyone to have a good time.

You say you knew you couldn't rap. How'd you know?

Because I can't even f---ing talk right! I'm more into beats; lyrics are second for me. All you really need for a solid hit record is a good beat and a catchy chorus. I am into lyrics but I love the beats. I love great drum kicks. That's why I love reggae -- it's just happy beats, man.

What's your biggest vice?

It's definitely the energy I get back from the crowd when I'm rocking it. It's addictive. No drug can replicate that feeling.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I would never feel guilty about what I listen to but I'm a huge Phish fan. I follow the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers.

Beatles or the Stones?

Oh, jeez. That's a tough one! I have to go with the Beatles, man. I saw 'Love' last year and it took my breath away. I'm a huge Beatles fan.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

The weirdest thing was seeing a guy on another guy's shoulders in Melbourne, Australia. The dude was on the other dudes shoulders with his shirt off. I've definitely seen my share of girls tumbling down the stairs trying to look all fly in their heels and don't know how to wear 'em, you know? One time, this girl was standing on this table staring at me and she had her arms up and all of a sudden she started sliding like three feet off this table.

Ben Israeli is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.