DJ John Kelley made his mark on the Los Angeles underground scene back in 1993 when he began spinning at the Full Moon Gatherings in the Mojave desert. Playing this now-famous monthly desert gathering led to other bookings and John quickly became known for his unique funky, bottom heavy style. His attention to detail, rhythm and positive energy set him apart from the "Club DJ" pack. Johns reputation spread quickly, and before long he became one of the most popular DJs on the West Coast.
The August 1996 release of Funkydesertbreaks launched DJ John Kelley out of the underground West Coast desert rave scene and into the national spotlight. He followed this debut release with two subsequent mixed CDs, and before long was booked on a constant tour schedule across the U.S. and Canada that allowed him to quit his day job. Wherever he plays, Kelley wows crowds to a fever pitch with his ability to program anything from funky breaks, minimal techno, electro and trip hop.
What type of music do you like to play these days?
A pretty big variety. Ill kind of go all over the play during a set, Ill play anything from some progressive stuff, most of the stuff I play is on the tribal side. I like to play a lot of tribal techno, tribal house, tech house that type of stuff. A lot of stuff with good beats in it. And Ill go all the ay down to some straight up house. So all over the place.
After the success of Funkydesertbreaks in 96, what persuaded you to integrate the more global sounds of trance and techno into Knee Deep in 98?
The big part of that was to change the music. About that time I was really stating to have... It went from a point of having so much great break beat music coming out that you didnt even know what to do with it, to you know.. just good breaks being really hard to find. I think that CD was almost like a testament to that. I put every good one I could find at the time on that CD. I was sort of forced to start looking for other thing that I was into. And that was the first CD I started to put some tech house, and some techno on there. The CDs funny, it was such a transition for me. I was really kinda looking for some other kind of sound that I might be into. I was sort of lost at that point.
Youre well known for your sets at the Full Moon Gatherings in the deserts outside LA. Can you talk a little bit about your experience with these parties?
They were pretty awesome; I got really spoiled. It was just me and DJ Daniel who was their first resident; he invited me to join them. There were probably like 50 people that would show up. The whole reason we all went is.. The scene had become sort of not fun and kind of ugly for while in LA and thats when we decided to start kind of doing our own thing. I was so spoiled; I mean we went from like 50 people to starting getting several thousand. It was all like word of mouth, its a free party, no flyers, no voice mail, you just have to know somebody. There were no lights you know... there was just the sound, and the desert. It was a beautiful location, beautiful sunrises, beautiful people and every month it was just this awesome beautiful party. Ya, I got pretty spoiled.. Its just not like that playing anymore. I was very fortunate to be a part of that. I was able to DJ and grow as a DJ with that party.
How did you get signed on with Moonshine?
Same deal, they were at the 3 year anniversary party... I dont know. But they came to some party and were like "oh my god this is so great" and they actually wanted to do a whole series with all the DJs there but they didnt want to do it as a group, so I was the only one there that was like "Yeah, I really want to do this". Yeah, they just came to a party and they wanted to share that with a bunch of people across the country.
From your experience what advice could you offer to up and coming DJs?
Wow! Well.... Id offer a lot of advice. The first thing is it takes a lot of work. Its not just DJing, its more than DJing.. I hate to put it this way but there is definitely a business professional side to it. And you cant just expect it all to happen because youre a good DJ, because theres a lot of good DJs out there. You have to have a decent professionalism about you, and you definitely have to work hard. You cant just sit around and be a slacker and you know... dj every once in a while and hope to make a career as a DJ. That and stay grounded, dont let it get to your head. Youre still just playing records when it comes it you know.. And making people dance. Youre not changing the world. Just showing people a good time so they can forget about things for a while. But a lot of guys get all big headed and believe all the hype about themselves. So I think staying grounded is really important.. Just sort of making sure who you trust too. Doc Martin told me a long time ago; he was sort of giving me some advice. He said, "Did you have friends before you started DJing?" I went "Yah." He was like, "Those are your friends, dont forget that." It gets hard sometimes to determine whos being real with you and whos not.
What do you do outside of the DJ scene?
Well I DJ on the weekends, I spend a lot of my week producing music producing music with other people and stuff like that. I have been doing some video game stuff, which has been fun. Im like a total video game geek. Its like my vice, some people smoke, some people drink or whatever, this is my vice. (laughs) So Ive been doing some music for video games. I was a music supervisor for this game called Majestic out on EA thats getting a lot of hype right now. Just getting an opportunity to do that kind of stuff. Thats about it, Ill probably spend the rest of my time just playing video games, hanging out with my friends, and going out. Regular stuff. I try and have a regular life.
Do you prefer paying at clubs or bigger events like raves?
It really doesnt matter. For me, as long as the crowd is good and I have a decent environment to work in then it doesnt matter if its a rave or a club or a cafe for that matter. As long as people are up for dancing and you know.. Having a decent place to mix is pretty important. Ive played some pretty huge parties and you get up there and the DJ looks really miserable and your like "Hey, hows it goin?" and hes like "Man this is shit up here!" And you get up there and you start to mix and after two hours you just have a spitting headache you know.. Because the setup they have is just miserable. Yah, but as long as people are having fun.
What do you like best about being a DJ?
Working the crowd, and uh.. gettin to sleep in. (laughs)
Whats the worst part about being a DJ?
Traveling.
All the time?
Ya, traveling is pretty rough. Its rough on your health. Its just rough on you in general. Its pretty rough on the social life too. So ya, traveling is definitely the biggest downfall.
What are some other DJs or Producers that you admire?
I really admire DJ Dan, Doc Martin, and Carl Cox, those guys.. Some of them vary. Carl Cox is just technically amazing and the other 2 have a lot of talent as well. Theyre great programmers, they have great taste in music. I mean what they play isnt exactly my taste but I love what they play. They have a certain style. Theyre great at working the crowd and theyre really cool people. To meet Carl Cox you wouldnt even know he was you know.. One of the biggest DJs in the world. Hes just totally humble and very real. Those guys I just really admire. And producers, there are just so many.. Im really into Peace Division right now. Obviously from what I was playing tonight. And I like all that tech house stuff. As far as electronic goes, Im a big Underworld fan, Orbital fan, Left Field; I love their last album. Big Daft Punk fan, Bassment Jaxx all those guys.
Have you always been musically influenced?
Ive definitely always been into music; its always been a big part of my life. Its just been techno music for the last 10 years. I was always in Jazz, Miles Davis, and Coltraine that type of stuff. I really like classical music a lot. I like most types of music. Im not really into Country and Western, but I love funk, classic rock and Pink Floyd and stuff like that.
What has been your most embarrassing moment in your career?
Theres been plenty.. Its ridiculous how much shit happens. You know when you spinning and theres people coming by... I had one guy knock a candle onto the record I was playing, and the wax just went all over the record and solidified. It was one of my favourite records at the time too. People always bumping the tables. But probably the most embarrassing moment was probably because it was completely my fault.. Like Ive played on bad setups when you just cant play well and you sound like crap. And everyone is not dancing and looking at you like its your fault. But probably the worst was my first gig, and I was playing and can remember my hands were totally shaking. I played for like a half hour and I was like "You know what, I can do this. This is alright, everyones dancing" I started getting a little cocky and everything. I started to get into the party, and I just took the fader and mixed this one record in and had em playing for a little while. Then I mixed one record into the other record and I faded the wrong record out. It went from everyone dancing to silence. I had everything on cue so I didnt realize it cause I had headphones on the whole way. And everyone is just looking at me and then just went "Ah shit!" and put it back up. That was pretty embarrassing, but they didnt even realize it because everyone was pretty wasted. (laughs) They all went crazy when I put the music back but.. (laughs) I felt like a complete moron.
Future plans? Any new tracks or albums, stuff like that?
Ya, I just finished a new mixed CD for Mixer Magazine. United DJs of America vol 19 i think. Im pretty excited about it; its a good company you know. Djs like Mark Farina, Little Louie Vega, Darren Emmerson, Josh Wink, some pretty well respected DJs have done that series. So I feel pretty honoured to be in that company.
Website:
http://www.djjohnkelley.com/
Interview by: Graham Robinson
