DJXOTEC

From Artvoice v1n21, May 23, 2002

Published on the occasion of the second installment of the Kungfunsion Reunion series, featuring a live p.a. set by special guest Tim “Love” Lee.

The Knowmatic Tribe Soundsystem’s role in pioneering Western New York’s electronic music underground cannot be overstated. Throwing the first classic parties, establishing definitive residencies at the clubs that mattered, and sharing bills with the likes of Joey Beltram, Scanner, DJ Krush and DJ Spooky, the Knowmatic Tribe have literally done it all. Currently, the members of the Tribe include: Xotec (Chris Moody), whose late ’80s and early ’90s residencies at venues like The Jam Club and the Icon, and pioneering work with Ed Petellis (a.k.a. Seuss) in promoting the first local raves laid the essential groundwork for all things electronic in WNY; DJ Marcos (Udagawa); Christ Sinister (Chris Schorb); God-Morgen (Scott Swiezy); and Matius (Cianfoni), who enlisted in 1999 and now resides in Tampa Bay. I contacted Xotec, Marcos and God Morgen in hopes of tracing the underground, past, present and future.

CR: Describe the scene in Buffalo before you got involved.

MARCOS: The thing I didn’t realize was that it was always there and thriving, but when I first started I thought there was nothing before me—I guess I didn’t know where to look … and that’s the toughest thing to deal with in Buffalo: it’s here, you just have a hard time finding it.

XOTEC: Non existent! (Other than two events Toni Billoni did in the early ’90s). Before I met the rest of the Tribe I was heavily involved in producing the first series of raves in the WNY area, at the old Ellen Terry Theatre on Grant and Potomac [now torn down], the Masten St Armory, the infamous TCI building [also torn down], etc. Anyway, it was at the first party at the Ellen Terry that I met Marcos, Christ and God and this whole sick twisted ride began, from hooking up at my first raves to playing together Friday nights at Asbury Alley [now Route 66, but historically quite seminal in terms of the development of WNY’s underground electronic dance music roots]. We actually began throwing events as a collective in May ’95–a party in the basement of the Lafayette Hotel. Talk about underground! From then on we worked together to bring WNY some of the most twisted, unique events around.

CR: What made you first start DJing?

XOTEC: The love of a newly emerging electronic music culture centered around acid and Chicago house and the creative possibilities I unlocked once I stumbled into the art of beat matching and mixing … literally a “eureka” moment for me …

MARCOS: I started DJing as a result of a general dissatisfaction with what I heard when I went out. But the deeper I got into it, the more people I met who had the same complaints and dissatisfactions as I did.

GOD MORGEN: Matty Quinn—son of Larry, and bedroom DJ and Knowmatic Tribe friend—introduced Marcos to the decks, and Marcos introduced me and Chris to the decks. This is at a time when we needed something new and positive to happen around here. It sort of just fell together. I remember looking at the decks while Marcos was spinning and looking at Chris like a caveman first seeing a flashlight.

MARCOS: I met up with Xotec, Christ and God ‘cause they were all psychedelic-minded people, meaning they all had a scatterbrained view on things and I think the way I look at life and art and creation is a little eclectic. For example, I love soul music but I’m disappointed with modern R&B. It’s the subtle touches that you can’t get everyday that make someone your friend.

GOD MORGEN: We started immediately after the first party, fall of 1993. I don’t remember much except for not knowing how to match beats yet, so Chris and I became “ambient” DJs. We were searching for something more mind expansive that people could flip out to, so we started developing these “chill out rooms.” All-encompassing mind expansion chambers. If you didn’t want to dance and wanted to go for a ride, that’s where the riffraff ended up. We have always had our separate roles in KT. Old Man Xotec had a lot to do with that. Marcos was determined to create his style, which he most definitely has, and me and Chris refused to let ourselves be pigeonholed into being run-of-the-mill DJs, ‘cause we are not run-of-the-mill people. It was definitely a way to vent our ideas and sometimes our frustrations.

XOTEC: We actually started spinning together gradually over the course of ’94-’95. Marcos started playing records at Asbury Alley on one Technics 1200 and one not-so-good turntable. Once he got another Technics 1200 it was on! Asbury Alley was pretty much the birthplace of Knowmatic Tribe. We began throwing events as a collective in May ’95. There are too many to mention but the parties—from decor to music to vibe—were definitely NOT your stereotypical rave. First one: Timewave Zero, in May ’95 … then we were involved in the first TCI rave after Artists and Models was there … in 1996 we called a party “The Maalox Challenge” … “Keep on Runnin” in Fall ’96, one of the last true underground warehouse parties before the police started cracking down with permits, etc…

GOD MORGEN: The Lafayette Hotel party Timewave Zero was “our” first party. True to the scene—dark, loud and risky. Of course, all the TCI parties involved elaborate space scenarios, opium den-style rooms and, of course, Maureen the Golden Cow. I remember Chris standing up and yelling to the crowd in one room—this kills me by the way—“I love each and every one of you so much!” A speech about freedom to explore your mind followed. By then we had evolved quite a bit into an early composite of what we are now. The scene was already ripping apart at the seams due to heat from the cops, so we spent some years getting fired from clubs and building loyalty between us and those we grew with.

MARCOS: We all hung out back in the day, like the younger kids do now. We all had our problems and things haven’t changed much, but like anyone we needed to have a good time. It wasn’t there otherwise. We made it there. Something that we and people that liked to hang with us would dig. We threw a party, worked super hard at it and made no money, but we and our friends had a good time. I think that we thought that having a good time was a good enough reason to continue it, and here we are now almost making a living of it.

GOD MORGEN: We have never made a dime off of those parties and events as a whole. Never really cared that much about that. Losing money sucks, but that’s what having a personal philosophy gets you. The scene happened because something needed to happen. We happened because we were meant to get together and mix not only music but our unlikely personalities. This volatile mix of people was also the glue that holds us together today. No one has taken more shit from me and Chris than Marcos and Xotec. And vice versa. I am very honored to work with these guys. Matius became a Tribesman and now the Knowmatic Tribe stretches from here to Tampa. He shares our love of the funk, and can sling a high quality insult pretty fast. Our reputation has created itself. Sometimes I think that if we never happened the “stick in the mud” factor would be through the roof around here. That makes me feel good.

CR: How have your personal styles evolved, and the Knowmatic Tribe’s as a whole?

MARCOS: I myself have gone through so many stages and phases and styles of music that now all that learning comes out as one. I’ll play drum and bass but keep a house sensibility and keep people dancing; I’ll play house but work a disco/ hip-hop/ no-wave/ new-wave/ Larry Levan thing with it; and things change. Sometimes it is important to beat match, sometimes it’s necessary to cold cut. A time to scratch and a time to rewind. I think we all have a firm understanding of how to communicate our feelings through record mixing. We all know that Marvin Gaye will make you long for a lost love and Prince will make you wanna fornicate with the person next to you. Expression is something we understand well with limited tools.

XOTEC: As far as the rest of the Tribe, the other three (as well as me) have similar tastes in some respects and differing tastes in others, but our differences compliment each other when we perform together over the course of a six, eight hour set. I was around when Marcos, Christ and God were just beginning, so I was very fortunate to witness all three of them develop their own unique flavas. Even when Marcos was just beginning, his tastes were always very diverse—hip-hop, trip-hop, house, breaks, d&b—he touches on them all. Marcos also gravitates toward the deep, experimental stuff—drum and bass, trash disco, rare groove, hip-hop. What sets him apart from the rest is his “don’t give a fuck” risk-taking, dropping Heart’s “Crazy for You” or James White and the Blacks—nasty no-wave from the late ‘70s—into a set for the hell of it…pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

I have also witnessed Christ and God develop into quite the breakbeat masters. They have a bit of an experimental edge but are learning what works for the dancefloor. They are also developing into excellent, unique microphone masters with their own twisted reflection of hip-hop. True masters of the ceremony as well as masters of shenanigans.

Through it all we have evolved with the times yet stayed true to our old-school roots. My own performances have always been geared toward rocking the dancefloor, and when I fly solo I play a lot of diverse stuff—trance, techno, acid, breaks, house…everything I like between 125-145 b.p.m. When I play with the Tribe, my focus is house with a bit of classics and breaks—the four to the floor “ying” to Marcos/ Christ/ God’s breakbeat and experimental “yang.” I definitely perform differently when I’m with the Tribe as opposed to solo. When I’m doing a club residency or larger event it’s all about what energizes the dancefloor—I play some anthems and familiar tracks along with the deep hard shit—but when I play with the Tribe I tend to play a lot trippier, naughtier. It’s like you’re with family and you have the freedom to get your freak on in choice of material. Our eight-year history gives me the freedom to push the envelope a bit to see how far I can go while still rocking the dancefloor.

CR: How has the scene changed? And where do you see things going in the future?

XOTEC: When we began, the “innocence” was still there in a lot of ways. The scene was small enough that everyone pretty much knew each other and (for the most part) watched out for each other. We were also “under the radar” so to speak, so the authorities were not too concerned with our choice of venues. We had a lot more freedom there… The scene has definitely grown in numbers but that has also brought a lot of problems with it. When you attend one of the bigger events in the area you will notice it has gotten a bit younger—not totally a bad thing as youth brings needed energy—but if they are not concerned with being responsible for their own actions, problems can occur. The media hype on the few irresponsible people and the shit they choose to partake in has definitely limited our options on how and where we can throw events, which is why we haven’t done events outside a club-type venue for a point up until the Kungfusion Reunions. The point of Kungfusion Reunion is to tap into that spirit that made our events so unique in the first place, to simply rock the house live without the unneeded drama that larger events bring. No beef, just good beats!