What I Learned About DJing
I have a DJ alter ego. His name is Kid Finesse.
He came to me while daydreaming in seventh-grade math class. I was obsessed with rap music and DJ culture and wanted to be like my idols, Grandmaster Flash and Jam Master Jay. Scribbling graffiti tags in my notebook, I experimented with the monikers JJ Flash, DJ Mellow J, IzReel Productions—but ultimately, Kid Finesse won my adolescent heart and mind.
As Kid Finesse, I spent many nights practicing my skills on a sound system that I’d cobbled together out of my dad’s old turntables and a cheap Radio Shack mixer. I used pennies to weigh down the needles so they wouldn’t skip while I attempted to scratch.
In college in the late 80s, I hosted a hip-hop show called Finesse Radio on WCNI in New London, Connecticut. The show is long gone, but the name endures. I still run into classmates from college who apologize for not remembering my real name. They only know me as Finesse.
After college, I started a mobile DJ company called The Chill Factor and DJed weddings and bar mitzvahs in Long Island. I even landed a few steady DJ gigs at Joe’s Pub and Angel in New York City.
But I never believed DJing could be a real profession. It was a hobby, a side hustle, something other people much better and cooler than I did.
So I traded my turntables for a laptop and pursued a dorkier career in writing and editing. I still DJ from time to time. The PTA loves me because I spin all the school fundraising dances. But Kid Finesse has retired.
Until recently.
Turns out I was wrong about DJing not being a real profession. As Bill Brewster, my guest on this week’s episode of Write About Now points out, “The DJ has been the driving force in popular music.”
Brewster chronicles the DJ’s evolution and explosion in his classic book Last Night a DJ Saved My Life.
Starting with Christopher Stone, a tuxedoed British DJ in the 1930s, Brewster highlights all the big moments and big personalities in DJ history—Martin Block, Alan Freed, Jimmy Savile, Wolfman Jack, Cool DJ Herc, Francis Grasso, David Mancuso, Grandmaster Flash, Larry Levan, Franke Knuckles, Tiesto, the list goes on.
He details many of our DJ forefathers' many contributions to change the form and take people’s enjoyment to new levels. We learn about the history of scratching, house music, and EDM. How DJs evolved from radio to clubs to recording studios to stadiums.
And many made quite a good living doing it, flying around in private jets, presiding over massive raves, and even getting Morrisey to mope, “Hang the DJ.”
The interview got me so excited I dusted off a few old cassette tapes and resurrected Kid Finesse for a few hours. You’ll hear some embarrassing outtakes in the interview.
I’ve also inquired about manning the wheels of steel one night a week at a local club. I volunteered to do the 6 to 8 pm shift—the early bird special if you will.
Let me know what you think of our conversation, and remember to pursue your dreams, no matter how foolish they seem at the time.
Kid Finesse out.