10 questions: DEE JAY JACK

Jack Caton (aka DEE JAY JACK) is not only one of my favorite DJs but one of my favorite people in the city. So naturally I asked him some questions and told him that if he didn’t answer them I’d kill him.

Hey Jack. How long you been DJing for?
Well, technically you could say 18 years. When I lived in upstate New York I used to go to a little club and play their jukebox and dance w/ my friends. The owners liked the energy it brought into the club and said they’d had a DJ years earlier named “Disco Linda” if I wanted to take a look at her old vinyl it was in the booth still-so, as you can imagine I fell in love and had my first Wednesday night residency.

Your real life name is Jack and your DJ name is Dee Jay Jack; why is that??
Not TOO much of a story there other than I grew up listening to some very talented REAL djs at raves and later at Limelight, Tunnel, Mother, Squeezebox and the like and I thought of myself more as just an opinionated music appreciator and thought a dj “name” suggested a I was more technically gifted. As for the “Dee Jay” vs “dj” that’s borrowed from MC Miker G. and Dee Jay Sven of “Holiday Rap” fame.

What genres of music do you prefer to play?
I feel like I’ve sort of set myself up to be an ’80′s dj but really that’s just because I started out playing only vinyl and nearly all of mine was thrifted from NYC’s djs past and that’s what was available (and what I’d grown up w/.) I Love obscure disco, it was just so specifically engineered as “feel good” music and isn’t that what we go out for?


Where can people hear your music?
I do 2 monthly parties at Pony currently. On the first Friday of the month is Beefcake w/ King of Pants which celebrates the release of a ‘zine called Seattle Male Pictorial which pays homage to the pin up mags and gay dives of that era (from the ’50′s to the early ’80′s) and also Meat w/ Amateur Youth which is very different musically and very eclectic. Anything from Gary Numan to Roxy Music to Bikini Kill and Tracy and the Plastics to Divine to Glass Candy to Inner City’s “Good Life”. Other than that there isn’t a whole lot of “good fits” for me at this time but it goes in waves like all things.

What was your first public DJ gig like? Were you terrified?
Well, the Joyous Lake in Woodstock, NY certainly wasn’t terror inducing but I’ve since had many, many times where the stress is there. Opening for Cat Power- that was scary. Comeback‘s an intense experience. It’s all pretty darn fun though.

PICTURE THIS: You’re deserted on an island. A record bag floats ashore with 5 records inside. What would you want them to be?
Hmmm, a lot of ways too look at this one… if it were a deserted island I’d imagine I’m alone: Kate Bush “The Kick Inside”, Sinead O’Conner “The Lion and the Cobra”, Siouxsie and the Banshees “Peepshow”, The B-52′s “Wild Planet” and my Diana Ross and The Supremes “Anthology” (which is secretly a 3 lp set!) or if I had to entertain the natives…. well, we’ll save that for next time.

What advice would you give to someone learning how to DJ?
Don’t take a “gig” for the cash, remember you (hopefully) got into this because you love music so don’t get paid to play garbage.

What are a couple of your DJ pet peeves? No beer on the Technics, for example.
I’m allergic to Top 40 and I find it far more polite to enjoy the music you’re listening to rather than make constant requests. Maybe you’ll learn something : ) (not YOU, Shan.)

Who are your FAVE local DJs?
El Toro, Porq, King of Pants and Amateur Youth are who I relate to most. We all have a real appreciation for many varied types of music without taking it too seriously (NERDS!) There are lot’s of youngsters popping up that are quite well researched and as long as there’s no attitude attached I’m very excited for this new wave of energy.

Remember that one party at Blake’s house when we were drunk and Blake got into an argument with that one queen and then everyone passed out or went home?

No. (but I sure hope I made it home…)