Flash is hugely responsible for shaping the all-killer/no-filler approach to DJing tailored for humans' ever-shrinking attention spans. He also popularized the notion of selecting killer breakbeats from a diverse array of musicians. While his sets contained the expected funk and soul contributions from African Americans Funkadelic, Zapp, Joe Tex, and the Bar-Kays, Flash ranged widely to include European artists (Kraftwerk, Cerrone), Asians (Yellow Magic Orchestra), the British (Queen, Hot Chocolate, Babe Ruth), white rockers (Blondie, the Eagles [!]), and white jazzers (Bob James, Incredible Bongo Band, Dennis Coffey).
I could delve into Flash's history, but since Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton do such a thorough job in the notes to the CD The Official Adventures of Grandmaster Flash (Strut), you're advised to obtain that crucial artifact, which contains four amazing Flash mixes replicating his Technics magic from the '70s and '80s. (I especially love the anecdote about the teenaged Flash only dating girls on the basis of whether their parents or siblings had good record collections.) Catching Kool Herc rock an outdoor party in the Bronx convinced the young Flash that DJing was the ultimate. Herc was the first jock to play the breaks of songs--the most exciting bits that made crowds lose their shit. From another New York DJ, Pete Jones, Flash learned the value of seamlessly blending tracks. Thus inspired, Flash honed his craft with monkish dedication for four years.
Flash cites the "energetic resurgence in old-school hiphop" for motivating him to tour again. "The whole concept of hiphop was created by a DJ--Kool Herc--in 1971," Flash explains. "And because of the resurgence, I felt it important to help set the story straight. So many people loaned their lives to this huge industry we call hiphop. Nobody talks about this being created by a DJ. Why?"
Will this tour be like a history lesson? Or will new tricks and tracks be added to the routine?
"I want to chronologically play the music of the time when it was just a DJ. I want to stress the importance of that DJ being qualified to captivate an audience. I want to play some rock, jazz, blues, R&B, pop, funk. I'll play for a while and then stop and make sure the crowd's still with me--check your pulse, take it to another area. I'll go from 1971 up to 2004. But what's important is that you guys get the history lesson of where this came from."
Far from being stuck in the past, Flash enthuses over many current artists (Jay-Z, Groove Armada, 50 Cent) and he's amped to launch his own label, Adrenaline, in 2004. The dude recently played for the queen of England and will spin at a seminar organized by Bill Gates in February, but he's still basically the vinyl- and electronics-obsessed geek he was while growing up in pre-Watergate Bronx. "Flash is fast, Flash is cool," sang Debbie Harry in "Rapture," but he's also disarmingly nice. "I hope to see you at the show," he says as we wrap up the interview. "I'll take you on a journey with me." DAVE SEGAL
Launch party for Flyer Magazine in Seattle on Fri Jan 9 at Chop Suey, 1325 E Madison St, 625-8000, 9 pm-2 am, 21+, $18 adv.
