DJXOTEC

The following is a feature done on me for BLUE DOG PRESS, a former alternative weekly in Buffalo, bought out by Artvoice in 200: (Many thanks to Bill Mahoney for digging this up from his archives)

Diary of a Freak DJ

With 13 years behind the decks, DJs will likely burnout, almost completely losing the focus on what they’re tunneling to their audience. However, it’s a rather admirable trait when a veteran mixer can get louder, faster and more shockingly offensive as his career goes on. Well, meet Xotec, Buffalo legend, local rave historian, responsible husband, loving father and proud owner of the “box o’ bitches.”

From Hard atmospheric Trance to blistering and menacing Breaks, frisky House to spooky and sheer offensive Techno, Xotec keeps the engine in the red throughout his newest breathtaking epic on Diary of a Freak Dancer. “It’s funny going out and playing parties with the DJs that are coming up now,” Xotec said. “It’s like, ‘Gee, you’ve been doing this a long time’ and ‘Yeah, you were probably learning shapes and colors.’”

But even if several of us were still attempting to decipher squares from triangles when Xotec first stepped behind the decks, it is not a hindrance to his talent. In fact, the 34-year-old may be one of the most important fixtures within the Western New York rave community, not just for his always intriguing, highly effective mixes but also for the wealth of event history he contains within that experience.

“What were warehouse parties have now moved back into the clubs for the last couple of years. I was involved with a successful party in September of 1996,” Xotec said of his earlier career as both a promoter and DJ. “We were lucky enough to have an off-duty officer at the door. We had some issues with the local precinct and we came close to getting shut down. So we decided that was the last time we were going to try and get away with it, at least there anyway.

“After that there were parties in this old warehouse. Some of the most successful warehouse parties (in this area) were held there. It was totally filthy! The Buffalo News did a full spread on it and I didn’t even know about it until after the fact. They just bought tickets and showed up.”

From surviving the onslaught of media attacks against raves, the memories of no longer held warehouse parties and remembering some of Electronic music’s more famous names before they achieved the spotlight, Xotec has seemingly lived it all. And it’s no wonder his sets are likely to encompass such a wide array of Electronic styles within one two-hour set. However, what is wondrous is Xotec’s ability to achieve the drive that separates the regulars from the extraordinary and deliver blistering, mischievously playful sets despite what could have been a jaded 13-year career given his experiences.

“My wife took a media class with a local news broadcaster. So he knew her and knew what I did and got in touch,” Xotec said. “What he wanted to do was strap on a hidden camera and get into (Buffalo nightclub) Marcella’s, which was kicking at the time. The person would go in, ask for E and see if it could be bought. I said there was no way they were strapping a camera on me.

Thursday night was the big Techno night when they brought in out-of-towners. They had Robert de la Gauthier, Bad Boy Bill. The place was rammed and was a magnet for that trouble. At that time (1998) parents and media were more focused on the drugs than the music. It was a big mess. At that time all this heat was coming down. The Buffalo News ran a feature on the dangers of Ecstasy and the city wasn’t going to let parties go down anywhere, permits or not.”

“He actually found someone else to do it,” Xotec continues. “The reporter did an expose with a doctor talking about the effects and the police saying how it was infiltrating our schools and children. It’s changed since when I first started throwing parties. We didn’t have the media presence. At the old warehouse, the local precinct would walk through, see the kids dancing and having a good time. They would say ‘Be careful of the neighborhood’ and walk out. And that happened for a number of years.”

Though many of the early-day parties Xotec found himself involved with were illegal by failing to obtain the proper permits, a brief legal venture in an old Buffalo theatre provided an early gig for one of today’s biggest DJs. “When we first started throwing parties we looked into getting permits and some of our first parties were at this theatre in 1994 and 1995,” Xotec said. “It had no parking and we had so much static from the funeral home next door. We managed to get an event permit there because it was a theatre. With the warehouse parties we would have had to change the permits from industrial to entertainment use. We would have had to gut the place out and turn it into a club and it would have defeated the purpose of it, changing locations each time out.

“One of the first parties we threw in the theatre had Micro before anyone knew who he was. We booked him for $300 and his flight up. Yeah, try getting Micro for that price now. It ain’t gonna happen. The second party we threw was on a night when we were supposed to get a real bad snowstorm. We had these jet heaters keeping the place warm and people were getting a little to close to them for my tastes. That’s all we needed was flaming ravers before the party even started.”

Some of those early warehouse parties, however, managed to run askew of the law, as was common in many areas of the country at the time. “I was working till 2 and I was supposed to shoot down to this warehouse and play at 4. I gave my cell number to the promoter so he could call me if anything went wrong,” Xotec said. “So I’m driving along and my cell phone rings. I’m thinking, ‘Uh-oh! This can’t be good.’ That was the weekend we were having Max Graham in town and he ended up playing in Marcella’s.

“A local councilman got himself into a fit and mustered all the forces he could from the local police, DEA, everybody’s harassing all these guys (about drugs.) They found absolutely nothing! Most times the kids aren’t as bad as the media would have you believe. But they had it shut down anyway because they didn’t have the proper permits which I said earlier was impossible anyway.”

Unfortunately, as is also quite common in many areas of the rave community, even today, a legal, permitted party was also shut down by local law enforcement in 1999. “The cops came in at quarter to 11 (to a party) and took all the money from the door and threw the promoter in jail,” Xotec said. “I hadn’t thrown a party in about 3 years at that time but a lot of local talent got together and threw a Halloween benefit party. We made almost enough to bail him out. The charges got thrown out in 10 minutes though. When they wrote out the charges, they couldn’t even get the address of the building right. This party was legal with all the permits. It would have been one thing if he hadn’t put forth the effort to get all the permits and work through all the bureaucratic mess, but he did. So it was just wrong!”

Yet, what keeps Xotec throwing down vinyl is the ability to still connect with a crowd, despite his lengthy roller-coaster career. “I still enjoy it. If I can get a vibe off the crowd, I’m still in it,” he said.

Xotec is still far above just being “in it.” Including the “Superstylin’” Reggae funk of Groove Armada, the snarling Tech-Breaks of T-Powers “Runnin’” and Arcade’s darkly playful “Game One” and some of the most offensive samples to be found within the Electronic community, Diary of a Freak Dancer is one hell of a ride.

Those two tracks of wickedly sick Techno and Breaks absolutely spearhead a very House-oriented first disc. However, where Xotec’s experience pays off the most (besides a striking and exceeding track selection) is his ability to give over two hours worth of listening an unforgettable flair for the dramatic.

“The House is the lubrication before you really start to pound them,” Xotec said, using one of his several sexual metaphors that describe his style. “Then taper it off with something nice, a cigarette, change is by the door and bye-bye!”

It certainly does not hurt that Xotec, having spent the duration of his career in Buffalo, reflects the epitomizing rave energy that drives Toronto’s scene to such drool-inducing levels. Xotec seems to understand that a set is not great without energy, talent, intelligence and a unique atmosphere that’s tough to walk away from for serious fans. In simpler terms, if there’s a showcase for Western New York and Southern Ontario talent, there’s hardly a better trio of talent to be found in the area beyond Xotec, OS/2 and Dr. Trance.

Some very strong moments emerge during Oliver Lieb’s delightful remix of Utah Saints “Lost Vagueness” and Silvo Econmo’s deep Hard Trance on “Running,” but those moments are pushed to perfection by Xotec’s impeccable effect skills and his perfect timing with those techniques.

However, it will likely be the dirty samples that stand out the most on any compilation. (How many ears peak up at the “WTF” of Fatboy Slim’s “Star 69,” for example? Incidentally, that club favorite is added in with several other vulgar offerings throughout the mix.) Sure, the “Hold up, wait a minute, let me stick my dick in it” moment should be enough to get tongues wagging and jaws dropping but don’t close your mouth just yet. There’s simply no forgetting the “Hardcore muthfucka” sample (taken from a work by Ice-T) midway through disc 2.

But let’s not forget about the music. The female monologue sample from Ice-T’s work is set to a hardcore Chromium Dioxide track that slays everything else on this collection. Combined with the fantastic peaks of Tuneboy’s misstated “Body Control,” Stormtrax’s insanely evil “Son of the Devil” and A.S.Y.S.’s deliciously frightening “Acid Nightmare,” one is left with little more than nailmarks on the palms of their hands.

It is that brainwashing, that hard, that exhilarating and that intensely remarkable. And lest we forget, it is that shockingly offensive, as well. “Every song has the word ‘Fuck’ in it, what’s my son going to think?” Xotec said.

If the boy grows up to be an Electronic fan, Xotec need not worry. His experience, passion and talent speak for itself.