Thursday, September 13

Dieselboy, D&B and DC

By Sean Mulligan
EXPN.com

We caught up with Dieselboy, one of America's most well known and respected Drum and Bass Djs for a quick chat. Dieselboy is sponsored by DC Shoes and is part of a growing number of DJs who are getting hooked up with skateboarding and snowboarding companies. When he is not traveling to gigs around the USA and the world, he lives in Philly and presides over one of the most popular Drum & Bass nights in the country, Platinum, which he began and is the resident DJ at.

EXPN: So how did you first get hooked up with DC Shoes? Did they approach you with an offer or how did it go down?

Dieselboy: Up until a year ago I never really had offers in the way of sponsorship. No free gear. No ads, nada. Then out of the blue I was approached by Circa, Etnies and Osiris almost simultaneously with offers of gear. Circa had the farthest reaching intentions, they wanted me to help design a record bag for them. A few months into my dealings with Circa they became tied up with helping out other artists in other forms of music (hip hop, rock, etc) and it was then that DC quietly stepped in and offered to sponsor me. I met with Damon Way down in San Diego one day, we hit it off, and I knew that DC was the company to run with. They have great product, forward thinking design and Damon is one of the coolest guys I have ever met. I am proud to be a part of the team.

EXPN: How does the deal work? Do you get cash from them or just gear?

DSL: My relationship with DC is slowly expanding. Intially it was just free gear. Now I am in the process of helping design a record bag, along with fellow dj Sage, for the company. Plans are being worked to solidify the sponsorship. I will be paid to rock the clothes, do ads, be more active and visible in my DC Shoes gear. There is no rush really, I am just having fun working with the company on any level.

Bringing it to the masses.

EXPN: Why do you think they are deciding to sponsor D&B Djs?

DSL: I think Damon feels that Drum & Bass is very forward thinking music. Since he is trying to push DC Shoes in a futuristic/modern direction, the two go hand and hand. Beyond that, I think Damon has hit it off better on a personal level with the djs that DC has sponsored: myself, Sage, Teebee and Goldie. At the end of the day it is better to work with people you can relate to.

EXPN: Ok, the ring. How iced is it? How much do you wear it?

DSL: I wear my sponsorship ring pretty much every day. It's white gold and there are 23 tiny diamonds on it. Damon gave it to me during the Winter Music Conference in Miami this year, I was stoked! We joke that the rings are our membership to a secret society called the "DC Skulls". The bling-bling pinky action is quite pimp I must say.

EXPN: Are there any plans for you and the other DC Djs to play at an event or at one of their skateparks?

DSL: That has never been presented to me, though I would definitely be down for the cause. Back when I was working with Circa I dj'ed one of their huge skate/rap shows. It was a learning experience, but interesting in the sense that I was playing to a new audience. I am always interested in spreading the gospel of Drum & Bass as far and wide as possible.

EXPN: Do you think this is going to be a continuing trend with skate/snow companies teaming with Djs?

DSL: It's quite possible. Skateboarding and snowboarding still represent a far reaching end of the sports field and electronic music, especially Drum & Bass, also represents that farther, hip end of the musical spectrum.

EXPN: What do you think of the whole situation?

DSL: I think it's cool. It always surprised me that skaters didn't get into electronic music earlier. It seemed that everyone kinda hung onto the hardcore and hip-hop thing instead of opening their ears up to other styles of music. In the past few years I have met so many skaters who are into electronic music...things are finally starting to change. I think that Drum & Bass in particular carries that whole hardcore skating vibe in its sounds anyway.

EXPN: So what's up in the next few months? New singles? Album?

DSL: I am in the process of remixing a track called "You Must Follow" by Stratus for System Recordings that should see release by the end of the summer. I am also working on my next mix cd entitled "PROJECT : HUMAN", which is going to raise the bar for everyone else out there in the Drum & Bass mix cd field. It's going to be a collaborative effort between myself and a bunch of UK and US Drum & Bass artists. That should see release in January of 2002. We are getting ready to start work on next year's PLANET OF THE DRUMS tour with Dara and AK1200. I have tons of gigs, I will probably be going to Korea, Guam, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Mexico before the year's end.

EXPN: How is Platinum going? What do you think of the state of D&B right now in America?

DSL: Platinum is running strong. We are approaching the 3.5 year mark and things keep getting better and better. We pride ourselves on the calibre of talent that we bring to the club. Pretty much every well known dj, UK and US, has played there. We are getting ready to rock our 5th t-shirt celebrating the night, which will feature the names of all of the djs who have played there. The Drum & Bass scene in America is the healthiest it has ever been. DJs from all over the world want to play here because our parties are so big and the enthusiasm is there. I am proud to be part of it all.