A veteran of the North American party scene, Vicious Vic knows his way around. Playing on the harder side of the gamut he tries to create an experience which is enjoyable not only to the ears but to the heart and mind. Recently he played in Vancouver at KISS: A Valentines Massive.



Where are you from?



Long Island, New York. I was born in Brooklyn.



Is there a difference between East coast and West coast parties?



I would say that the only difference I see is that the West coast has more massives, but both coasts have the same vibes.



How would you differentiate the sounds?



Both coasts have an enormous amount of talented DJs playing any one of the styles of electronic dance music of trance, house, breaks, and drum n bass. Well, maybe the East coast has more of the drum n bass heavy hitters.



How long have you been DJing for?



Sixteen years.



What kind of changes have you seen in the scene throughout the years?



I have seen the over abuse of drugs and the scene go from underground to mainstream.



You seem to find the party experience to be a spiritual one. Do you feel that sense of oneness with the music and fellow party kids has diminished over the years?



Party kids these days seem to think a party or massive is a place to go to do their drugs when before its was a place to go and dance and enjoy a musical ride and trip of its own, and also enjoy the sound and visuals that you would never see at there local teen club or night club.



Do you ever get the chance to play at small, underground parties or are you do you always find yourself headlining at the larger parties and clubs?



Especially now that the bigger parties and massives are far and few I have been playing a lot smaller events. I love them just as well as the bigger parties. To me it can be twenty-five people or 10,000 people. I love playing music and watching people dance there asses off.



What are your thoughts on corporate sponsorship?



I have no problem with sponsorship. I have seen promoters which were personal friends of mine invest their hard earned money into an event and loose it because of the local municipality closing the event down, but now with these corporations being involved maybe the cops and local DEAs will see that these parties are to be taken more seriously (as if it were a good old music concert).



Are you still producing with DJ Micro?



Sorry to say no. I was producing and remixing a few years already before Caffeine approached me about doing a label and bringing Micro into the studio with me. I had expressed to all the people who came through my studio that I eventually wanted to go back to producing and remixing my own material.



Do you produce tracks by yourself?



Yes I do and soon, little by little, in the next few years you will see stuff back out on the market by me.



How would you describe your sound?



Progressive house with a taste of trance and breaks.



Do you consider a DJ to be a musician?



Yes. Many of the alternative groups have added a DJ to cut and scratch and create sounds and rhythm beats into a song such as a drummer or guitarist.



What career do you think you would have now if you hadn't become a DJ?



A porn star.



How did you come up with the idea of the Mime Experience?



One of my girl friends came up with the idea of the Mimexperience. She saw and felt that I was different from other DJs and felt that I needed to show people through an external source. The only sad thing is that I was doing it five years ago and now there are a few DJs out there bringing girls to dance on stage with them. But no one will be able to bring to an event the artistic performance that my girls do All of these other so called dancers look like drunk strippers jumping around on stage all out of beat.



Who is the Mime?



Madison and at the moment she is ready to put out her new clothing Mime-X Clothing.



Are you friends with DJ Keoki? Is he still alive?



We have known each other for years but we dont frequently speak on the phone. Yes, he is alive and happy living in the hills of Los Angeles, I think.







Interviewed by Ariadna Peretz