TELL US ABOUT THE BOOTIE VIBE?
We’ve always believed in creating a scene and a community around mashup culture, based upon sharing the music and ideas in a very open manner – for example, by sharing the music via free CDs and MP3 downloads, and creating a party where everyone, no matter who or what they are — are welcome. “Fun” is the operative word!
One club reviewer called us “commitedly unpretentious” and that’s really what we strive for. Which is interesting, because both of us came up during the “club kid” scene, with guest list lines, VIP rooms, and making sure you always look fabulous enough to get in for free. And humbly, we were the ones getting the VIP treatment. However, as adults, we see that differently now, we see it as a bit childish and not what we really consider “cool” anymore.
We wanted Bootie’s values to be different. “Cool”, to us now, is being yourself and doing what you want despite what other people think, not following whatever trend is popular that moment, or putting others down so you can be one up on them. Cool is being true to yourself and not being a follower.
WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU MEET AND HOW THEY INSPIRE YOU?
We’re on tour right now, and it’s been wonderful to meet so many different people, excited by the open-source nature of mashups, and the mix of genres and emerging mashup scene means we’re meeting a mix of people of all styles, ages, races, etc… which is really the whole point of mashup culture.
DESCRIBE YOUR GENERATION?
We call it the A.D.D. iPod Shuffle generation. We live in such an accelerated culture, where we take in and process such a vast amount and wide variety of information. Plus, we’re taking that information, and putting our own stamp on it, in a very D.I.Y. fashion.
Everything is being recycled, reinvented, and revisited, mixing and matching different media and genres. It’s happening in fashion, film, and of course, in music. As technology advances and the tools to manipulate music and video become cheaper and more available, it will become even more common for people to want to try their hand at putting their own creative stamp on pop culture.
WHAT’S YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
Everything inspires us… can be the smallest thing or moment…. or something profound and deep. It varies and it’s fluid and changes moment by moment.
WHAT HAS BEEN MOST INFLUENTIAL TO YOU & YOUR GENERATION?
The digital age and the advancement of technology.
CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE US A BRIEF HISTORY OF YOU & HOW YOU GOT INTO MASHUPS?
The first mashup we ever heard was either 2manyDJs’ “Smells Like Booty” or Freelance Hellraiser’s “Stroke of Genius” — both were on a CD called “The Best Bootlegs In The World Ever,” which was reviewed by a writer for Entertainment Weekly magazine back in May 2002.
Once I read this, I immediately Google’d it and found it for sale via import through Rough Trade. At the time, we had just started DJing, and mashups fit in perfectly with our very eclectic, all-over-the-map DJ style. It was love at first listen! It was everything we loved, all rolled into one! Back in 2002, we were DJing a bar night called “Smashed,” where we played pretty much whatever we wanted. Of course, we started playing a lot of mashups, but back then, most people had no idea what we were doing. We constantly had to explain it to people – how these tracks got made, where to find them, what this culture was all about, etc.
So we thought doing an entire club night dedicated solely to this new kind of mashing up and remixing would help establish a mashup scene and create an in-person community around it (rather than it being solely on a very few select message boards, as it was at the time). We realized then, that we were the first DJs in the United States doing this, and we thought it was a great club concept. We called it “Bootie,” because at the time, mashups were more popularly known in the U.K., where the scene started – as “bootlegs.”
The slang term for a mashup bootleg is “bootie” – so we appropriated that as the name for our party. Plus, it’s a double-entendre. Most mashups are illegal, so it’s like pirate booty and when you come to our party, chances are you’re going to shake your booty. So as a name, it works on lots of levels.
WHAT’S YOUR LATEST WORK?
We just did an exclusive mashup for UK indie-electro group The Young Punx, who provided the multitrack stems off their new album to a select group of producers so we could create a mashup version of the record. So we mashed them up with Lady Gaga’s brand new track “Telephone,” and makes her sound like she’s in an indie-electro band.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE DESIGNER/ PHOTOGRAPHER/ FILM MAKER?
Designer: Alexander McQueen / Photographer: David LaChapplle / Filmmaker: Tim Burton
MASHUPS ONLINE?
Mashuptown – a good selection of mashups
GYBO5.com – the community-based message board of mashup producers and fans
AudioPorn Central, SheenaBeaston.com & Hype Machine - for remixes and new music
Pop Wrap blog on NY Post – we’ve just started working with Pop Wrap to make exclusive pop music mashups for them on a regular basis
WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS?
Damien Hirst , Ron English, Jeff Koons
DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?
Purveyor of pop music and culture with a rock ‘n’ roll heart, a punk attitude, an indie vibe – a bit of goth-damage.
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO NOW?
Obviously, a ton of mashups and some electro. But beyond that, a little bit of everything: indie rock, robot rock, electronica, hip-hop, pop, alternative rock, you name it. There’s a reason we like mashups … we like a little of everything!
WHAT IS YOUR SCENE AND HOW DID YOU GET INTO IT?
We created our own scene. Before we started Bootie, there was no “mashup scene,” outside of the internet on some message boards. But we’ve always embraced different scenes and cultures — one night we’d go to a rock concert, and the next night a rave.
We never stuck to one “scene.” Which is why we created Bootie. Because the music is mashed-up, no one group can “own” it. So it’s the one place where people from very diverse groups can unite on the dance floor.
EVERYONE’S A DJ… COMMENTS?
Anyone can mix two records together, but reading a crowd, and figuring out what to play that’s going to make them go crazy is an entirely different skill set that most technical minded DJs seem to forget. It doesn’t matter how skilled of a mixer you are if you can’t read a crowd or don’t have a good music collection to select from…..technical knowledge alone doesn’t make a party. DJing is to a large degree psychology, experience and understanding your audience.
WHAT ARE YOUR PEEPS GETTING INTO THESE DAY?
Lady Gaga’s new video for “Telephone”, Twitter, and mashup videos.
WHAT ARE PEOPLE DOING WITH MUSIC TODAY?
Everyone is making their own remixes, mashups, blends, re-edits, whatever you want to call them. With the software tools so cheap and readily available, anyone with an interest in music can go from passive listener to active participant in remixing and mashing. Most DJs now create many tracks for their sets, as well as collect them.
WHAT MUSIC GADGETS ARE YOU INTO THESE DAYS THAT YOU CANNOT STOP PLAYING WITH?
Adrian likes his Numark iDJ2, where you can DJ off of an iPod but using actual DJ controls, but that already seems obsolete. We’ll soon be making the move to all digital DJing, and the Stanton touch controller — which has no knobs or faders, it’s all touch-sensitive controls is looking interesting. Can’t wait to play with it! Either that, or wait until there’s a DJ controller application for the Apple iPad!
THE TRACK THAT HAS BEEN INFLUENTIAL TO YOUR GENERATION?
“Stroke of Genius” mashup of The Strokes vs. Christina Aguilera by Freelance Hellraiser. Kicked off the modern mashup movement, and was a sign of the iPod Shuffle generation to come.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CITY?
There are so many scenes in San Francisco. No matter what you’re into — no matter how obscure — you will find at least five other people into the same thing as you… and in most cases, may more. San Francisco has a vibrant music and art scene, which is based on art for art’s sake, rather then commercialism, which can be said for other U.S. cities.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO DO IN YOUR CITY?
Same thing as any other city: eat, drink, dance, party!
YOUR 3 FAV PLACES TO EAT IN YOUR CITY
Millennium — an amazing vegetarian restaurant
Saigon Sandwiches — Vietnamese sandwiches, cheap and delicious
The Crepe House — delicious meal crepes
YOUR 3 FAV PLACES TO DRINK IN YOUR CITY
DNA Lounge – where we do our Bootie party, and because the drinks are strong!
The Cinch – the kooky neighborhood gay bar where we did our first DJ night
Minx – rock-n-roll bar run by a friend, and it’s a block from our apartment!
YOUR 3 FAV PLACES TO SHOP IN YOUR CITY
(Neighborhoods)Haight Street, Union Square, The Mission
BEST PARTY IN YOUR CITY… WHAT IS IT?
We’re not gonna lie or be humble. The best party in San Francisco is Bootie! We have over 1000 people at nearly every party (three times a month) and it attracts the most diverse, fun, unpretentious, “up-fot-it” crowd. We always say that Bootie’s crowd is as mashed up as the music. It’s kind of a “Noah’s Ark of nightlife,” with at least two of every kind of person there! It’s very mixed with all ages, styles and sexualities coming together on the dancefloor, which is the whole point of a mashup night. 
And expect a Noah’s Ark of Nightlife. There’s a little bit of everybody there -straight and gay, mainstream and hipster, very unpretentious, and “up for it.” Bootie brings an openminded audience who don’t mind hearing their favorite song fucked with! Mashup music naturally lends it
self to diversity because of the genres and eras used. Indie, ’80s, electro, hip-hop, classic rock, R&B, mainstream pop, soul, goth/industrial — we mash u
p ALL of it! So our crowd is often as mashed up as the music!
THANKS A+D, NOW TURN US ON TO SOMETHING?
Burning Man.
“A+D plays LIVE at BOOTIE SINGAPORE / 2 MAY 2010 / VELVET UNDERGROUND / 4:40pm – 8:20pm”
Imagine Michael Jackson rocking out with Nirvana, David Bowie crooning with MGMT, Madonna fronting Daft Punk, or Kanye West rapping with Beethoven, and many other unexpected combinations! Can’t imagine that? Then get your ass to Bootie to hear for yourself!Is this legal? Does the skull-and-crossbones in our logo mean anything to you? So where can I get these mashups? Since 99.999% of all mashups aren’t legally cleared by the artists, you can’t just go to a store and buy them. However, MP3s of these bootleg mixes are available all over the internet.
