DJ Ayres of The Rub recently sat down with Washinton, DC producer and jock Tittsworth. After the cut, he talks about the experience of opening his own club (U Street Music Hall), DJing, records, and food he won't eat. He also left The Rub a new mix, called Titty Recall. (You can leave all those unwanted titties with us. We take them used and damaged.)
Titty Recall (Tracklist and Download)
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You took a long stretch of time off from touring to get U Street Music Hall up and running in DC. Can you tell us about that process a little bit, and about any unexpected shit that came up along the way you had to deal with, or things that were just different from how you thought it would be?
It all started when I was touring Australia and randomly hit Will Eastman up with the idea to open a club in DC. I had worked with Will doing shows at 9:30 club before, for several years. It turns out he was talking to Brian Billion about the same thing. The process happened a hell of a lot easier than I thought it would. A lot of it had to do with the combined experience with all the partners and staff. We have Brian who has designed some of the more reputable places in DC. We have Farid, Ian, and Eric (Thievery Corporation) Scott and Will. Will has thrown solid parties for 10 years. I've been on the road for several years touring at clubs.
This incredible team has got together and made this happen pretty smoothly. Having said that, we have hit a few bumps. Besides spending a small fortune on AC, still trying to come up with solutions to cram that many kids into a sealed basement. Had some minor noise complaints. But all things considered we have been pretty lucky. The dry cleaners above come back on Monday to a mess of thread from spools that have fallen off their shelves. 7-11 looks like Jurassic Park when getting your drinks. They move through more cigarettes than a lot of prisons so I don't think they mind the bass.
Now that U Hall has been open for a while, what have been your top three best / proudest nights there?
1. The first night we sold tickets. The first time the doors were properly open to the public and it was a nice feeling selling out. Despite having a sereies of soft openings. I was so excited that 10 min before the headliner was to go on we realized that no one had picked them up.
2. The fist night I actually was promoted to play. Playing my own club, my own party was a proud moment.
3. The night we had Paco Osuna was a fun night. I remember dancing so hard to Paco Osuna that the Washington Post wrote about how active I as a club owner was on the dance floor that evening.
How have your DJ sets evolved over the past couple of years, both from a technical and a musical standpoint? What is working at home and what is working out of town?
What I've noticed is that there is a direct correlation of my confidence level and what I can get away with. I've learned how to please and control crowds better, but also how to flex a little better and get away with what I want. Technically I've let records ride a little bit longer than I used to. I'm getting a better idea of programming and flow. Also playing on a big system you realize sonically what works and what doesn't. Classic Baltimore Club and Go-Go goes over well at home, but for the most part I'm not playing very different from home to the road.
What are you working on in the studio?
I am working on a new album for Plant. And I've given myself a personal deadline to have it done by the fall. And being at home and working on the club has given me a lot more time to produce. I am very much looking forward to releasing my sophomore album.
You know I'm gonna plug T&A Records here... we've got Munchi, TNT, Steve Starks and Rampage & Nader all coming out late summer and into the fall, with a bunch of awesome remixes! How stoked are you on this label that we started up as some bootleg vinyl shit a few years ago? [Ed. Note - DJ Ayres is a co-conspirator and partner in T&A Records.]
T&A is now reaching a new level of accomplishment and excitement in my eyes. We've come a long way since bootlegs. And some of these releases we are about to put out are some of the biggest tunes in my crate. I'm very excited for Steve Starks to begin with. Get 'Em has been the biggest song in my aresnal for months now. Threezy and Nacey have been killing it as well, and Munchi is a FUCKIN genius. I'm really proud of how T&A is shaping up. And a special thanks to you Ayres for all your hard work.
Alright last question: You're into super gross food tourism. What is something you absolutely refuse to eat?
I refuse to eat endangered species, a human killed for my meal, and Subway.
Titty Recall (Tracklist and Download)
.............
You took a long stretch of time off from touring to get U Street Music Hall up and running in DC. Can you tell us about that process a little bit, and about any unexpected shit that came up along the way you had to deal with, or things that were just different from how you thought it would be?
It all started when I was touring Australia and randomly hit Will Eastman up with the idea to open a club in DC. I had worked with Will doing shows at 9:30 club before, for several years. It turns out he was talking to Brian Billion about the same thing. The process happened a hell of a lot easier than I thought it would. A lot of it had to do with the combined experience with all the partners and staff. We have Brian who has designed some of the more reputable places in DC. We have Farid, Ian, and Eric (Thievery Corporation) Scott and Will. Will has thrown solid parties for 10 years. I've been on the road for several years touring at clubs.
This incredible team has got together and made this happen pretty smoothly. Having said that, we have hit a few bumps. Besides spending a small fortune on AC, still trying to come up with solutions to cram that many kids into a sealed basement. Had some minor noise complaints. But all things considered we have been pretty lucky. The dry cleaners above come back on Monday to a mess of thread from spools that have fallen off their shelves. 7-11 looks like Jurassic Park when getting your drinks. They move through more cigarettes than a lot of prisons so I don't think they mind the bass.
Now that U Hall has been open for a while, what have been your top three best / proudest nights there?
1. The first night we sold tickets. The first time the doors were properly open to the public and it was a nice feeling selling out. Despite having a sereies of soft openings. I was so excited that 10 min before the headliner was to go on we realized that no one had picked them up.
2. The fist night I actually was promoted to play. Playing my own club, my own party was a proud moment.
3. The night we had Paco Osuna was a fun night. I remember dancing so hard to Paco Osuna that the Washington Post wrote about how active I as a club owner was on the dance floor that evening.
How have your DJ sets evolved over the past couple of years, both from a technical and a musical standpoint? What is working at home and what is working out of town?
What I've noticed is that there is a direct correlation of my confidence level and what I can get away with. I've learned how to please and control crowds better, but also how to flex a little better and get away with what I want. Technically I've let records ride a little bit longer than I used to. I'm getting a better idea of programming and flow. Also playing on a big system you realize sonically what works and what doesn't. Classic Baltimore Club and Go-Go goes over well at home, but for the most part I'm not playing very different from home to the road.
What are you working on in the studio?
I am working on a new album for Plant. And I've given myself a personal deadline to have it done by the fall. And being at home and working on the club has given me a lot more time to produce. I am very much looking forward to releasing my sophomore album.
You know I'm gonna plug T&A Records here... we've got Munchi, TNT, Steve Starks and Rampage & Nader all coming out late summer and into the fall, with a bunch of awesome remixes! How stoked are you on this label that we started up as some bootleg vinyl shit a few years ago? [Ed. Note - DJ Ayres is a co-conspirator and partner in T&A Records.]
T&A is now reaching a new level of accomplishment and excitement in my eyes. We've come a long way since bootlegs. And some of these releases we are about to put out are some of the biggest tunes in my crate. I'm very excited for Steve Starks to begin with. Get 'Em has been the biggest song in my aresnal for months now. Threezy and Nacey have been killing it as well, and Munchi is a FUCKIN genius. I'm really proud of how T&A is shaping up. And a special thanks to you Ayres for all your hard work.
Alright last question: You're into super gross food tourism. What is something you absolutely refuse to eat?
I refuse to eat endangered species, a human killed for my meal, and Subway.
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