We're living in boom times for DJ nights in Seattle... and I imagine in many other major American cities, too. This Portlandia episode may have started as satire, but it has morphed into documentary, for all intents and purposes. With this glut comes a sense of dread and maybe hopelessness and apathy at the overwhelming proliferation of options. If damn near everyone's a DJ, how is it possible not to feel blasé about a nightlife scene in which multiple events occur every day? It's not easy, brothers, sisters, and enbees. But in the realm of problems, this is a good one to have.
The key to navigating the rising tide of DJ nights is selectivity, heeding the word of trusted sources, and reading the fine print on fliers and Facebook invitations. One such new event that may merit your precious time, energy, and sweat is Wig Out, which happens every first Saturday at Beacon Hill's Clock-Out Lounge (full disclosure: I've DJed there). In advance of the next Wig Out on June 2, I asked resident DJs Michael Chrietzberg (Emerald City Soul Club) and Maxwell Edison (who also responsible for booking DJs at Clock-Out) some questions about their motivations, and got their observations about the city's DJscape in general.
The Stranger: Seattle is inundated with DJ nights. We may have reached the over-saturation point. What's your pitch to weary punters to break through the apathy and inertia that come from such an environment?
Chrietzberg: I don’t agree that Seattle is over-saturated with garage-rock DJ nights. It’s true that several small bars have excellent garage monthlies, but none of them have enough space to be a proper dance night. Wig Out features a midnight dance contest and the Clock-Out Lounge has adequate space to support that.
Maxwell Edison: The point of starting Wig Out was to create a dance night, rather than just another night where the DJs are creating background ambience. Aside from having fun with our friends and playing cool records, we hope to make this a destination spot for a great Saturday night out.
Talk about why you chose to base Wig Out around "Wild R&B, Gritty Soul, and Raw Garage Dancers." Is there something inherently superior about the party music of 40-60 years ago compared to that of today, and if so, what do you think explains that?
Chrietzberg: I admit to being a Luddite on this subject, so I’m certainly not qualified to judge the merits of contemporary music. Early R&B and garage records often have a raw and energetic sound. Combine that with wild attitude, and you have the ingredients for a lively party.
Edison: We chose to base it around these particular genres because the four of us [Wig Out's other resident DJs are Kevin Fitzgerald and The Stranger's Mike Nipper] gravitate toward this era of music. The instrumentation/recordings are organic, the energy is pure, the lyrical content is creative and generally evokes good feeling and imagination of a smarter, hipper generation. [Plus], the sound quality on original 45s can't be beat; they're practically jumping out of the speakers! Honestly, I don't listen to much modern music because it doesn't usually grab my attention. There are exceptions to this, of course, but not often.
So far, do you find that your audience skews older? Are people under 30 coming to the night? Do you care about the demographics of your crowd?
Chrietzberg: We’re interested in promoting to a diverse crowd with artistic and punk sensibilities. So far, my observation is that the night skews toward hip people 35 and under.
Edison: Well, we've only the debut night under our belts so far, so it's hard to say. And I'm certainly not going to say the 80-plus people who came out weren't at least young at heart if not young in age! I do care about the demographics, though, and I would love to see 20-somethings dancing and having a great time to music that is important to the DJs as much as I would people over 30 and beyond.
What criteria do you use for booking guest DJs? Is it my imagination, or is there a dearth of non-white men spinning this kind of music?
Chrietzberg: This is an excellent question, thanks for asking. We want diversity, but we find ourselves inadvertently gatekeeping by the fact that we only allow original issue 45 rpm records, most of which are expensive and some are extremely rare.
At the other monthly dance night I’m involved with, Emerald City Soul Club, we actively open our guest DJ roster to women and people of color. For example, next November we’re having Ruben Molina, the man who literally wrote the book on Mexican-American soul music, Chicano Soul: Recordings & History of an American Culture. Also, we’re having the B-Side Brujas, an all-lady vinyl DJ collective based out of Oakland, California. If Wig Out survives as a viable night, we’ll follow a similar plan to promote diversity.
Edison: Criteria for booking guest DJs are as follows: one must have great records that fit within Wig Out specifications, and they must be 45s. That's it. As for the second part of your question, I'll mostly defer to Chrietzberg, only because he has more experience in this world than I do. I book Sunday School soul brunches at Clock-Out, and I actively seek out diversity in the community when making the schedule. There are certainly no biases at all. I would love to see more people into collecting and listening to the 45s we're into, period.
Do you think being based in Beacon Hill presents any special challenges for a DJ night such as Wig Out?
Chrietzberg: For sure. Everyone in the Seattle DJ game knows it’s tough to get people off [Capitol] Hill. I am happy to be on ground floor of building a new scene, though. Thus, we’ve had success.
Edison: Since we're a little further south, people may be intimidated to travel the distance, but honestly, it's really easy to get to Clock-Out via public transportation. I do it all the time [from Capitol Hill]. It's less than a 10 minute walk from the Columbia City Station and there are buses right outside at the end of the night. The biggest challenge will be getting people to realize it's not as far south as they think.
What's the ultimate goal of Wig Out?
Chrietzberg: To create a space with artistic and punk sensibilities, where people can dance shamelessly crazy to non-mainstream records.
Edison: The ultimate goal is to create a fun and welcoming environment where people can dance, have a few drinks if desired, hear really cool music they may not have before and, most importantly, to have a great time!
