And we're back. Welcome back to the Truth in this art. These are conversations connecting arts, culture, and community. These are stories that matter, and I am your host, Rob Lee. Today, we're going way back to beginning of the series, and I'm joined by a guest from the very first episode of this podcast.
Rob Lee:My guest excels at producing and DJing Baltimore club music while maintaining roots of turntablism and open format DJing. Please welcome James Nasty. Welcome back to the podcast.
DJ JAMES NASTY:It's so great to be back here. You're you're
Rob Lee:the first you're the first person. First guest. And so as I defamboy myself, I like to go to the the dulcet tones because folks are like, hey. I could fall asleep to you talking, Rob. So I'm just gonna bring it down.
Rob Lee:But, but it is definitely great to have you back on. And, and it just speaks to this this thing where I've been playing around with, reputation and identity. And when you're able to talk back to, like, the folks that you had on, it's like, one, it was a good conversation. To, you know, this person doesn't hate you. So it's great to go to, to tie it back in or it hasn't been canceled.
Rob Lee:You know what I mean? Because there's some people.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Oh, actually, I'm a name came to my head immediately.
Rob Lee:Off mic. But but even even this, like, in being very limited in this sort of preamble, but being very limited in who I wanted to interview, I I was, like, questioned. I was, like, would James even wanna come back on? Because that was that was sort of the thinking. And, like, who could I get?
Rob Lee:Because there were some no's, you know, as far as people that I reached out to, and then there were, like, some really, like, strong yeses. And then folks who are like, hey, man. I know I haven't been on before, but if you can move away from what your goal is of running it back with folks and just have me on because I need to promote something. I was like, I don't really know if I wanna do that. I'm gonna stick with sort of this plan because it's a challenge, you know?
Rob Lee:And, you know, so before we go any deeper, I wanna go into sort of this question for the legend that is you, or this request.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Okay.
Rob Lee:For the listeners who might not know who you are, and I don't know what is going on if they don't
DJ JAMES NASTY:Where have you been?
Rob Lee:Could you introduce yourself and tell us what you got going on these days?
DJ JAMES NASTY:My name is James Nasty. I've been DJing in Baltimore primarily and beyond for fifteen years now. Also a music producer mostly known for making Baltimore club music, but, again, no genres no genres off the table when it comes to just making music that feels right. Currently, I have a residency at the Royal Blue, which is the first Saturday of every month. I also, put on an event called Estatic Dance Baltimore that is, like, a substance free, all bodies welcome, sort of, like, therapeutic wellness sort of dance situation.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Sure. I describe it to some people. Like, if you just kinda, like, have a dance party by yourself in your house, in your pajamas, in your underwear, in your whatever, and you've ever wanted to do that in a group of other people where, like, no one's gonna talk to you and all that, you just wanna, like, dance out some stress around other people that are looking to do the same, that's what this event is.
Rob Lee:Nice.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And that's the first Friday of every month from seven to ten.
Rob Lee:I I feel like there is a a song that comes to mind where you talk about, like, sort of dancing something out. You know? Dancing one's pain away. I I immediately.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. Yeah.
Rob Lee:So so fifteen plus years. Because, you know, we always have to add the plus at at a certain point. Like, you know, I'm almost 16 plus right now in in this sort of space. And, you know, always looking for for inspiration as I touched on a little bit, you know, being able to go back to folks and seeing, like, what's new in your your world over the last five to six years at at this point. That's the thing that's very interesting to me because it's a challenge and because, you know, it's a challenge in a couple of ways.
Rob Lee:It's a challenge in really trimming it down and, like, making sure you're not asking the same question, but also, a challenge in, like, you know, was the first one even good? You know, like, doing doing that a little bit as well with some of the guests. And, in limiting the number, like, having parameters as a person that's an independent, I just kinda do my thing. But now it's just, you know, you gotta work within these parameters that you're setting yourself. So checking in with yourself and keeping inspired in that, that challenge has me inspired.
Rob Lee:So for you, it kinda is a a second part to that initial request. What's inspiring you currently?
DJ JAMES NASTY:Before I answer that, I just wanna say that first episode was legendary in my mind. I don't care what anyone else says. I'm glad that you're still doing this.
Rob Lee:Thank you. What
DJ JAMES NASTY:was the question was what still inspires me?
Rob Lee:Yeah. What's inspiring you currently?
DJ JAMES NASTY:I still I mean, I'm gonna forever be just a fan of music in the way it moves all of us.
Rob Lee:So the so the music and sort of
DJ JAMES NASTY:it's And in the nursing home, I'm gonna have, like, I made this playlist on Spotify or whatever the, like, 2075 version of Spotify is. You You know, I'll be in the nursing home, like, making Spotify playlists for all the old ladies in the nursing home. You know?
Rob Lee:I can't help but see, like, the turntable somehow attached to the walker. I I don't know why.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Oh my god. Yes.
Rob Lee:I mean, I I'm just gonna have, like, you know, maybe one of those, what is it, the larynx machine, like, the the voice thing. Like, you know, welcome to the podcast. It's like, this is where we're at, guys. This is this is where we're at. We're still doing it and being inspired.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Maybe by then, we'll all be telepathic and we'll even need to use vocal cords.
Rob Lee:This is true. This is a good point.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. Yeah. So that's always gonna be part of who I am. A few things have changed in my life since the first episode. One is I found sobriety about sixteen months ago, which,
Rob Lee:Congratulations.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Needed needed to happen. You know? The lifestyle of being, you know, professional entertainment can I mean, we've seen people on, like, much higher levels of this industry just get completely taken away in in all that? And I just hit a point, like, a year and some change ago, I was like, I can't keep doing this. I left town and ran away to Asheville for a year to try to find a better relationship with the substances around me, and instead went in the opposite direction.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Came back here after that year, and in my first two weeks back, I was like, I left town. I did a lot of growing, and I'm back here. And I'm just really not gonna let myself go back to the person I was and the lifestyle I was living before. This, like, ecstatic dance event has helped me find a great outlet Yeah. To share music with people in a way that doesn't involve me being around alcohol and for people who don't.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I have a lot of other friends who have found sobriety that are like, I wish there were so places for us to go out and dance. I'm like, I got something for you, actually. And also, once I removed all the substance abuse from the DJing, from the gig life, like, I found a renewed love for music. Okay? Went back to, like, I do this because I love music.
DJ JAMES NASTY:That's something I lost years ago when I started doing my first few gigs at, like, Sonar with Steve's promo or, you know, the first few nights I played at Autobar before that became a whole thing. Yeah. Like at some point, it became not just about, hey, I do this because I like playing music. It was also like, man, all this stuff is free. I get all this attention.
DJ JAMES NASTY:There's just so many other things involved that at some point took priority over. Like, I'm doing this because I genuinely love music and believe I was put here to, like, be a channel, be a vessel for music to get from some place to people.
Rob Lee:No. That wow. Thank you thank you for for for sharing that. And I think when it comes to to growth, and it's it's not not the same, what I'll share here that, you know, in the last year, I've last year plus, I've lost about a hundred pounds just, you know, doing just different more so just being aware of food in in a different way. Not having yo.
Rob Lee:I can't turn it off. It it was never that as much as, yeah. I'm just gonna kinda eat this and just not really doing the mindful thing. And it helped, you know, especially early on. You know, the clarity was there.
Rob Lee:The mindset was different and having sort of I've always I've always been a very, you know, focused individual. I get a lot done, but I see the difference now than what I was doing then. I was just getting through stuff, just kinda having poor eating habits because this and other things were taking priority, but now I sort of prioritize my time a bit better. I've seen that shift, and that's now implemented into how I go about doing this or my day job or just just life in general. So that degree of clarity, but also having a regular thing that I am doing every day that is for me, and that's that, you know, that morning walk, getting out hitting that three and a half, four mile walk, and then hitting the gym, it is a different vibe.
Rob Lee:It's a different energy. Kind of not the it's not the same as, you know, finding sobriety, but it is a a thing that I relate in that it's a degree of clarity, and it helps you at least it helped me kinda realize certain things about myself and certain patterns I was, you know, going into. And, you know, I also in that time, I was very, early on, especially, very much no carbohydrates, 1,200 calories, just bugging out.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah.
Rob Lee:Yo. I'm six four. You you need to figure this out. Right. Then learning and growing and learning and growing and building off of it.
Rob Lee:And the the other thing I would say in that regard as well is not knowing where I fit. I didn't know how people received me. Right? And when you kinda look different, you know, there have been some folks who pop off and they're not like folks like you and I, but that was, you know, and Rob, you've lost some weight or just commenting on my body just randomly and like sort of art folk and so on. And I'm like, this is a very interesting time for me.
Rob Lee:So add it to that clarity and that awareness, I suppose.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. I experienced a little bit of that too. Like, as soon as you stop drinking half a bottle of tequila a day, random, roughly, like, your eating habits change. Like, I'm in the house way more, so I'm not just having, like, dinner at the bar on a Tuesday just because I'm already there. And just, like, you know, the caloric intake goes down when you're not drinking half a like, I lost some weight.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. And I can I know it shoots like that feeling, like people commenting on your body like that? And it's like, I don't this is weird. Like, I think this is just a compliment, and this is coming from the right place, but, like, also, like, ugh. Like Like what?
DJ JAMES NASTY:What? You feel real comfortable. You know?
Rob Lee:Yeah. Because I'll I'll even say, like, just out of because I, you know, I I'm very much, like, I do things in my in my own way, and and I'm gonna move into this this next question in a moment. But kind of do things in my own way and just certain things just naturally fall off. Like I showed this, like, I love Cheez Its, right? I mean, it's been like in two years.
Rob Lee:I was like, I don't even look at them or even early on because I was not really touching carbs. I wasn't even drinking. And I don't, you know, like, drink to excess or anything along those lines. But, you know, it's just like, oh, I can, you know, have this and and kinda keep it rolling and just really looking at and kinda litigating sort of my relationship with any of the things that I incorporate into my life. And I need to fix the energies and all of that different stuff.
Rob Lee:Yeah. Absolutely. So Growth.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Look at us. We're both growing and
Rob Lee:Yes. Yeah. I just wish this part grew a little bit more. Because it's not there. I I want you to barbershop earlier because I was like, look.
Rob Lee:I'm talking to James. I can't, you know, go in here with, like, stubble. Just got the DMX head. It just wasn't working. And DMX head might have to coin that.
Rob Lee:Yeah. So specifically to, like, your your work and how you go about your work. You you've touched on professionalism even in the the the first podcast and in this one, so maybe that's in the lane. But what would you say one of the biggest lessons is you've learned related to your craft in the last five years from from the conversation we had previously to now? You know, sort of maybe what creative approaches have you moved away from, and what ones are you, you know, kinda exploring right now?
DJ JAMES NASTY:When I started DJing the ecstatic dances, it's, like, kind of like a ninety minute two hour set. And it starts from usually, like, a people that are, like, seated on the floor and you've gotta kind of build you're, like, building energy to, like, this, like, this, like, feverish pace
Rob Lee:Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:In in ninety minutes. And it was just, like, a different format than, like, you play at a club and you're the guest DJ, and you just step up and you play for an hour and ninety minutes. And it's usually like peak hour or whatever, and you just get on and you do you. You play the records, people know you for playing, you play all their high energy music, boom, that's it. Or a place like Royal Blue where it's like start to close, you're playing a four hour set, And it's like a different form of, like, coaxing people to the dance floor.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And, I think I've taken all three of the different sort of, like, the three different sort of I don't know what the right word for this is. Three distinct different types of sets and just being able to take pieces of each one to sort of craft even more unique experiences. Yeah. Just like having an understanding of, like, a greater mastery of moving people with music, I think is the overall and just like how and when to use music that is familiar to people versus when you're introducing new music to people versus when you might be playing something that is completely instrumental that has like no no real hook to it that's just just there and just like pure energy. And as far as music production, there's just always changing technology, new plugins, new little techniques to do stuff.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And that's just, like, sometimes that feels impossible to keep up with. At this point, like, I get my ideas down on tape. If I'm collaborating with people, I get their ideas, and I'm just shipping it off to someone else to do the mixing and the mastering and the technical part. And I'm just like, that doesn't sound good. Can you try it again?
DJ JAMES NASTY:Like, oh, that sounds great. How much do you need me to send you? Like, you know, that's the luxury of, I guess, like, being deeper in this and having better connections to people and also, like, having more more money available to outsource those things. A lot of that is the, like, money that I'm not spending on tequila and wings.
Rob Lee:Right. Right. No. That that that makes that makes a lot of sense. Yeah.
Rob Lee:When you when you get into, you know, doing doing this, like and I talk about the volume and all of that stuff that I do, and I've been doing it for as long as I have, how do you do it? There's no way you could do it. You're just one person, and you have a job. It's like well, the job funds a lot of this for one. Two, I have an editor.
Rob Lee:I haven't produced. I'm like, Yo, can you take care of that? And here's some notes. But I go in there with sort of this perspective of I know what I want to know what I need that we're able to work on the fly. And that's kind of what you're what you're touching on there.
Rob Lee:It's like,
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah, Yeah.
Rob Lee:Listen to this. It's not quite where I want it to be. Can you look at this specific, track and this specific, like, like, level right here, maybe tweak that enough, and it makes it easy, you know, for the Yeah. To interpret what needs to be done and to get that back to you. And, technically, you're involved, you know, because it's coming from you, but it's like, you guys are doing a mixing mastery.
Rob Lee:All of this is up here, and I'm building it out.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. I think that is but that should be the natural progression in this industry. Like, when you look at the big artists, like, they have you know, everyone has a team, and they have a bunch of different people who have specific roles so that the artist can focus on being the artist first and foremost. And even though I haven't reached that level, like, I have reached a place where I do have enough income to outsource certain things to people.
Rob Lee:Yeah. Instead
DJ JAMES NASTY:of instead of fully relying on it all myself. Like, oh, okay. Well, I have I have the ability to do it all so I can save money by just doing like, I don't need to save the money now. Like, just spend the money. It'll come back.
DJ JAMES NASTY:If it doesn't come back, like, you're onto the next project, and you just gotta keep going. You know?
Rob Lee:And and again, I think it's the agile thing where, you know, I look at, like my my job is in, data. Right? I'm an IT person. So, obviously, chat GPT, AI, you know, all of that stuff has been a a piece of it. And, you know, being dipped into and experiencing it and and thinking of how to use it as a tool versus how to just make my life easier by having to do all of the work.
Rob Lee:And that's what I look for in how I structure some of those relationships is, like, I need to be involved as the person doing the interview. I can't have someone else do this. Like, welcome to the truth and the desire, and it's someone else talking to you. It just doesn't work. But or or even when it's, you know, the questions and the insights and what's being driven at, it's just like you can't automate that or have someone else doing it.
Rob Lee:So from from my lens, the sort of I'm the creator in that regard to I have to be involved. But as far as some of the packaging of things, someone else can can do that because it frees me up to go out there and maybe do some of those gigs. It frees me up to build out sort of those next level of questions. And as you you touched on, move to the next project because Yeah. We're sharks, baby.
Rob Lee:We're sharks. We gotta always move.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. We
Rob Lee:I just described this as a shark. We're sharks that are growing, James.
DJ JAMES NASTY:We're growing sharks. Yeah.
Rob Lee:But I wanna go back a little bit. You you touched on, you know, sort of, like, residencies and and recurring gigs. Mhmm. What what's something that you you look for in a gig and on an opportunity these days? You know, let's talk about the red flags.
Rob Lee:Let's talk about the green flags, because I I get offers all the time to do different things, and I'm like, I have some considerations. I need my green M and M's, damn it. So what are your your your green flags and red flags? What do you look for?
DJ JAMES NASTY:I think overall, my approach has always been and what I've ever what I've always tried to share with, like, the next generation of DJs or whatever is just like you have to have the balance. Like, if you wanna do this full time, there has to be a balance of, like, gigs that make you money and gigs that are artistically fulfilling. When you find yourself going too far in one direction or the other, like, that's when everything starts to unravel for you. I guess we'll start with the the money gigs and then move more to the artistic fulfilling. We'll save the better for last.
DJ JAMES NASTY:This whole time, through through my DJ journey, I've always DJ'd weddings. I've never really advertised myself as a wedding DJ, like, on, like, the WeddingWire or any of those websites. A lot of it has just been referrals from people or I get emails a few times a year from people like, oh, you're my favorite DJ to to go see at Royal Blue. Like, I don't know if you're, like, too cool to DJ a wedding or whatever, but we're looking for a wedding DJ. And I've never been too cool to DJ a wedding because I'm still just a lover of sharing music with people.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And that's just a different venue in a different moment that calls for a different type of music and, like, a different a different experience. Weddings also pay very well. Maybe I shouldn't tell everyone that, but I'm trying to keep that balance, you know? But, yeah, it's can't be too cool to DJ a wedding until you're like I don't know. Who's a big name DJ?
DJ JAMES NASTY:I don't wanna drop any big name DJ names right now, but, you know, unless you're one of them where you got a booking agent that's getting you 4 to 5 figures a night, like, you can't be too cool to DJ a wedding every now and then. Right. You know, you get a deposit when the contract is signed. So you get half the money, like, upfront months before you even gotta play. And then even the night you play, you're probably gonna walk out of there with enough money to pay your rent for two months.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Like, yeah. Four weddings a year and pretty much my bills are set. Like, the basic level, you know, maybe that's oversharing what my expenses look like right now. Well, no. Who cares?
Rob Lee:That's the insight that we we we look for and Yeah. You know, so do these conversations because, you know, in in in give me a moment, but I I think of, you know, that was a gig I did at the end of, last year. And I don't even do gigs. You know what I mean? Like, oh, here's an opportunity.
Rob Lee:And it was kinda like, what would you like for it? And I always run into this thing of setting sort of parameter of what it is as I would imagine a lot of, like, artists roll fall into because, you know, there's it's it's not it's the wild, wild west when it comes to, like, hey. I'm a podcast. This is what it's worth. It's like, I am not gonna send you anything.
Rob Lee:I've got nothing for you. I can't say it's gonna be this influential. It's gonna get this many downloads. I'm like, I can make you an interview. I can do a podcast.
Rob Lee:Mhmm. And what you choose to do with it is what you choose to do with it. But with it, I got a, you know, pretty much the largest piece of money that I've gotten for doing podcasting from that gig, and it was, you know, a few hours on a weekend back in August. And, you know, it was it was cool. It was good.
Rob Lee:And I was able to, you know, one, have that challenge. And as you you were touching on sort of the the gigs that pay, but also the the gigs that are creatively fulfilling. Right?
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. I was
Rob Lee:able to maybe blend the two. I was like, this is gonna be challenging. This is an on-site thing, and this is a gig. So it's like, how much of me am I really gonna put into it? It's their parameters, but I can make it work.
Rob Lee:And so it was little little green flags, little red flags, but ultimately, it was a thing that worked for me, and it was a it was a good situation.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. In the middle ground would be somewhere that's like a royal blue type, like a residency, a regularly occurring thing. Somewhere where I got I'm not just playing, like, the music I produce, not just like some club James Nasty shit. It's just like, I might have to play some sexy red. I might have to play some Bruno Mars.
DJ JAMES NASTY:You know? At this point, when I take on a residency like that, I'm looking for a place that is paying guaranteed money. I know I know my worth. I know that people are gonna come to see me play, and I'm not gonna work for just 10% of the bar because that's what most last time I checked, because I haven't really had talked to a lot of venues in town. Right.
DJ JAMES NASTY:But, like, the last time I was really looking around, most places are just paying 10% of the bar still, and you're just basically a glorified liquor rep. Now, we'll come back to that. Yeah. So it's like that's a red flag for me. I don't want to be working for a percentage of the bar at this point.
DJ JAMES NASTY:No. I walk into a venue and I'm like, you're paying me x amount of dollars to entertain the people that are in the building.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:First and foremost. You're paying me to entertain the people in the building because I'm gonna keep them here the whole night. They're not gonna be like, oh, this DJ is trash. Let's go around the corner to the crown or whatever. Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:You're paying me to be here and do that. And also, there's a thing and again, I might be giving away too much, but who cares? What I learned from so many years of DJing for bar percentages is this thing that's called, like, flipping the room. Are you familiar?
Rob Lee:No. No. Please.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Alright. So flipping the room, you're there, and you're DJing. And there's a bar, and you've got a room full of people. To maximize bar sales, every twenty minutes or so, you might need to go in a hard different direction musically.
Rob Lee:Oh.
DJ JAMES NASTY:So the people that are vibing to the music right now, they kinda stop and think, like, the vibe change. Oh, let's just go to the bar and get a drink. And then you're kind of looking at the people that have been standing at the bar, and you're like, well, let me reel them into the dance floor. Like, on a good night, I can divide a room into three distinct different groups of people by race, by gender, by whatever. I can just divide the room into three.
DJ JAMES NASTY:In an hour, I can kind of, like, pull a group of people in and send a group to the bar every twenty to thirty minutes.
Rob Lee:Moving people with music. That was the thing you said.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. And that's, you know, that's, like, professional top tier shit. I learned about that also from just, like, listening to the podcast from, like, the bigger dudes that are, like, doing this shit in Vegas and places like that, the Vegas and Miami big room type shit. But, yeah, that's when I go to a venue. Like, this is what you're doing.
DJ JAMES NASTY:You're paying me because I'm a professional at getting people in the place, keeping them here till the lights come on, and maximizing bar sales without being invested in taking a percentage of those bar sales from you.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:So that's the middle ground in a place like Royal Blue or whatever. I guess the red flags from them from it's not from Royal Blue because that's, like, the great it's a great setup. I love them. But in that, like, four hour club residency, a red flag, the first one that sticks out is an owner or a manager that's trying to micromanage what you're playing. They're just, like, kind of in your ear, like, hey, you're playing too much rap.
DJ JAMES NASTY:We get that a lot, you know, especially like Fayette Hill, Fells Point, you know, the places where they still don't really want us at. No. You'll get that, like, oh, you're playing too much hip hop. And that's fucked up because it's only that only happens to you when your skin is brown. Because I've gone to some of these bars and see white boys and they're playing Waka Flocka Flame at 10:30, and nobody's telling them to switch it up.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Right. So that's a red flag, you know, when someone's trying to micromanage your selection in the genre you're in a play. Venues that just have a reputation for being funny with the money, obviously, is a red flag. Venues with heavy handed security Yeah. Is also a red flag.
DJ JAMES NASTY:You know? If I'm playing somewhere and, like, you know, if there's not already a strong reputation of that place having heavy hand heavy handed security, If I see some shit that looks off with the security, I'm like, you know what? I might need to start planning my way out here and finding somewhere else to go go work with. Yeah, there's just a right or wrong way for a venue to treat their patrons. And I've been far too many situations where I've seen patrons being on excessively treated poorly for the fact that these are the people that are keeping your doors open.
Rob Lee:100%. And, you know, I think, you know, as you you were touching on or I'll I'll I'll sort of add to, I suppose. If folks are coming there based on your rep, your name, your music, your ability to move people with music, then, you know, you to to the degree in which you can, you don't wanna have them folks coming in to check you out ultimately to encounter that, you know, people being treated excessively, people being treated like poorly because it's just like this is a bad situation. This is a bad circumstance. I I remember it was, years ago when I was doing a different podcast, right before I actually started this one.
Rob Lee:There was a, it was an old theater. I was doing a live podcast and and it was in a very the the lighting was questionable, this part of Downtown Baltimore. It was like Lexington. And it was, like, super dark. Everything was, like, kinda closed, but we were open.
Rob Lee:So folks are pulling up. They said, yo, is this a real place? And I was like, I'm just gonna hang outside just as a, you know, forbid as people are showing up as a sign of, like, look. It's fine here. It's safe here.
Rob Lee:We're all good. Because I think that, you know, I take on a lot of sort of responsibility and and not burden, but I would just say responsibility when someone is going to a thing that I'm involved in. I want folks to have a good time to the degree in which I can control that. And I'd imagine it's a similar thing when you're like, I can control this thing. And if this place is weird or if this place, you know, as far as to protect you know, you wanna cover yourself professionally, but Yeah.
Rob Lee:You wanna cover the reputation of what your brand is, is James Nasty, of the venues that you work with.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yes. It's absolutely. It's a % of responsibility. Like, if it was just on a personal level and you invited a friend to a place, you'd want them you'd be inviting them to somewhere safe. Like, so you just because they're strangers, like, doesn't mean you get to ignore the fact that you have a responsibility to make sure that people are safe while they're, you know, within your control.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Like, you're not gonna have complete control over everything, but you wanna invite people into a space where there's the least amount of risk of something harmful happening.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And, yeah. That hasn't always been something that I did. You know? I look back. It's been, like, ten years now.
DJ JAMES NASTY:But, like, I look back at that experience with the Autobar and their security and everything that played out there, And I sometimes wish that I'd walked away a lot sooner instead of being, like, stubborn ass James who was like, I can get them to change. I'm gonna change the system from within the system. They fuck their system. Fuck them. You know?
Rob Lee:Yeah. It's it's
DJ JAMES NASTY:And I'm grateful that there wasn't, like, more real harm caused. Yeah. But it's just it was just some awful just there weren't enough venues that were open to having folks like us in this part of the city. So it was like we were just fighting to, like, still have the space for that, but it should've just been like, you know what? We'll just go find somewhere else.
Rob Lee:Yeah. I I I had this
DJ JAMES NASTY:And it was a blessing that the crown came along right around the same time to be a better option for the people. But
Rob Lee:100%. And Yeah. I have this this sort of belief, like, you know, we have different places that they and and we're seeing at a very high level right now. And sort of the discourse around things, just in the news, just there's always some story. And it's sort of the folks that are in power, right, have belief that they control sort of the wave.
Rob Lee:And that's Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Kind
Rob Lee:of not not the case. It's just like if folks were not doing the sort of individual thing and doing a more community centered thing, even to a higher degree than just so you can't do it 100%, but he is, you know, a little bit more of an effort to do more of, like, if we say, look, we're just gonna take 20% of who's gonna go to this venue or who's gonna buy from this place. You know, they have those goofy, we're gonna do a blackout. We're not gonna buy from this place during this time. It has to be, you know, sacrifices are made and so on, but it has to be a concerted and ongoing effort to actually show, like, there's some impact.
Rob Lee:And I think a lot of times, we don't stick to things long enough to actually demonstrate and and show setting that you actually affect change. Before I move into this next question, I'll share, you know, a a red a red flag, actually, that, you know, it was a venue locally. I was doing a I try to do things from a cultural lens. It's not purely just a podcast. I'll do movie nights and so on.
Rob Lee:And I think, like, I'm a movie guy. I enjoy a good movie, and I enjoy talking about movies. And I like to use, you know, my connections and my friends and having those folks come on because I know a lot of people who have a lot of different interests and a lot of backgrounds that are pretty diverse. And, you know, I I did this series of, you know, sort of black movies at, at a venue. And and it was it was cool on the onset.
Rob Lee:And then, you know, you have people you touch on a micromanager thing. You have people who insert themselves in the thing. And I'm like, I don't recall talking to you about any of this. And it was just like a lot of, well, we just want to make sure that we're getting the bang for our buck here. I was
DJ JAMES NASTY:like, you are a library. Okay.
Rob Lee:You're a library. Like, you know, you need people to to pull up and, you know, so get down to doing we're going to do four different movie nights, and they were going to be monthly. And I realized they weren't promoting it. And this is going to sound wild, but I don't talk to workers. I usually I have a connection with, like, the boss of the boss, you know.
Rob Lee:So let me just run this over there to the to the boss, to the CEO of the whole situation. Yeah. Just let me just how you guys normally treat dot dot dot. And just here's the emails of kind of what I'm hearing. So I send this after, because I wasn't going to do it at first.
Rob Lee:I send this after, you know, the the the flags are moving from a pink to maybe a little, and then it just got real red. I was like, oh, this ain't gonna work. I decided to cancel my fourth of the my my fourth of the four movie nights. I did three, and then we had those weird, fires from Canada, and the air quality was really bad here that really set the stage for you.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Oh, yeah.
Rob Lee:And I had, I had some breathing challenges. And I was just like, yeah. I don't think this is gonna work. So, you know, I was just like, I'm happy to postpone it if we can figure out another date. Blase blah.
Rob Lee:Trying to be gracious. Giving like three, four days notice. Right? And I get like a nasty gram back from the person as if I weren't for them. Oh, no, no, no, no.
Rob Lee:You got this wrong. I was like, You must be mistaken. So send this to the CEO, the whole rundown. And the CEO is like, looks like this person may need to relearn their job. You're a valued member of our community.
Rob Lee:You're doing this for us. And we've dropped the ball because we've not even promoted it, which is probably why not that many people has come out. And I was like, oh. So, you know, there's there's that. Now this is the thing that's really funny about it.
Rob Lee:This past weekend, I go there with a few few folks who are in the, the comics realm and they're therefore talk. And the person who was talking particularly spicy to me realized she'd never seen me in person. She's like, oh, you're Rob. And I was like, I am. You're the person that was real spicy to me and reached out.
Rob Lee:Yeah. We would love to work with you again on some programming. I was like, no.
DJ JAMES NASTY:That's a that's a strong no for me.
Rob Lee:Avenue flight. Yo. It it it's it's that growth thing again. I was like Yeah. Opportunities are sparse, but this one doesn't fit.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Mhmm.
Rob Lee:So moving into this this next question, and I saw a post from you. This is actually generated from a post that I I saw maybe in one of your stories or what have you. And, you know, I I got from it that sometimes, DJing can feel like a job, and other times, it doesn't feel like a job. So what makes it feel that way, and how do you get the most out of an experience that might feel more workish than, hey, man. I'm creating and having a great time?
DJ JAMES NASTY:It still kind of touches on that whole balance of, like, I'm here because this pays well. It's not really you know, the musical constraints are already sort of set in stone. Like, oh, we need you to just play some background vibing music for two hours, You know? Or a wedding where, like, you know, you're pretty much playing, like, wedding standards, wedding hits mixed with, like, the custom requests from the the newlyweds. You know, there's not a lot of wiggle room to, like, go into left field.
DJ JAMES NASTY:You gotta kinda just, like, stick with what you know works, and the only real creativity you have is, like, how you're weaving all those songs together. And, yeah, that can feel like work. And the exact opposite is where I get booked and I'm just allowed to be myself and sort of, like, play what play what feels right for the occasion. You know? Your set is about, like, the space and the people.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Like, some music doesn't sound right in a room for 500 people. Some music doesn't sound right in a space for 50. Yeah. Just being able to use all of your creative muscles to take people on a musical journey. Like, that is when it never feels like work.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And those are some of the times, like, I'm not really so concerned with how much I get paid. It's like, I just want to do the thing.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Another part of it that it's more another part of this is now that I don't indulge in any substances. I don't get to have that escape where, like, you get to the club and you have your two to three shots of tequila before you even start DJing, and you get to kinda turn off all your problems that were going on outside, and you get to just party with everyone. But there was a period in my career where my mentality was like, I don't care who shows up tonight. I'm gonna be the I'm gonna party harder than anyone else in this building. And that was sort of the energy that I gave.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And I think some of those nights were so legendary because of the example I was setting. Like, oh, we're just free to to really take it to this level in here. Like, it's okay because he's doing it. And he's comfortable, and he's having a good time, and we all feel safe having a good time along with him.
Rob Lee:Right.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And it's harder to get into that mode and, like, be enjoying yourself and being partying being party mode completely fucking sober.
Rob Lee:Right.
DJ JAMES NASTY:You know? If you're in a shitty mood and you show up to the bar or the club, you know, it takes a lot more work to change your mood to get into a space where you're ready to perform for others and help people celebrate life and dance their pain away or whatever whatever the moment calls for. You know? Yeah. So some of the some of those nights, like, yeah, it feels a little more like work when you're like, I don't really feel like being in a partying spirit right now, but I know that that's what the people who came here need.
DJ JAMES NASTY:They need the release, and I just gotta find it. I just gotta find it. And you're just like, it's an uphill battle, like, I'm just not finding it. Like, where you find it for a little bit and then someone walks in the room that normally if you were drunk, you're like, whatever. I don't care you're here.
DJ JAMES NASTY:But instead, you're like stone fucking sober, stone cold sober, and your ex walks in with her new fiancee and they're just dancing on the dance floor in front of you. And you're like, bro, this is mad disrespectful that you would come to my place of business and do this. And, like, I don't know how to, like, be okay with this and, like, still keep a party going for everyone, but you know what? The show must go on, I guess.
Rob Lee:It's it's working so many, many different muscles to just figure it out. As you said, the show grow goes on and old saying one monkey don't stop in our show. Yeah. You know, I remember, you know, early on, talking about sort of growth and all. Remember early on, I would go into these conversations kinda, like, nervous and, like, hey.
Rob Lee:You know, like, yo, yo, am I gonna say something that's wild? I'm gonna say something that's stupid, or is it just I'm just gonna, like, literally just fart on the microphone? Just literally it's just my mouth just and I think, you know, as time goes on and kind of having that that dump, that that feeling, taking in all of the stuff that goes in before the conversation of had a bad day at work or there was something goofy that happened at home. Like, oh, I got a leak. That's weird.
Rob Lee:Or whatever the thing might be. And having all of that going in and then trying to have a conversation and then thinking about it, I'm like, well, if I had this, there's a possibility that the guest did as well. So trying to empathize a bit more. Yeah. So, you know, as you could probably, you know, notice in the beginning before I put on the recording, you know, I'm giving you all of the prep, but we're just kinda, you know, shooting a breeze a bit.
Rob Lee:Yeah. And I find, like, folks need that a bit because there were a few live interviews at, at Big when I was doing it where where we did ours. And I had a couple of guests come in. They they, you know, have the anxiety thing, and I I do as well, but have anxiety. And they came in and definitely pulled out a bottle.
Rob Lee:And I was like, no. I'm I'm good. You whatever you need to do, but I'm good. And, you know, I learned that early on. It's just like I had a when the old wind up space existed, I was doing a live pod like, a podcast festival, and, you know, it's the thing, the allure.
Rob Lee:The bartender that was there was like, oh, you're the talent. You drink for free. I was like, oh, free?
DJ JAMES NASTY:Oh, free? Let me get
Rob Lee:let me get that double. Let me get that double shot of that whiskey. Great. I get on stage, forget all of my stuff, and I'm the person that's running the show. I'm not, like, the crew.
Rob Lee:I got money. I'm like, never again. I can't have that just from a professional standpoint. Yeah. And I felt embarrassed and all of that stuff, and I was able to right myself, but I was like, I can't be in that spot because I was good at leading into it.
Rob Lee:Everything was prepared. All the nerves are kind of abated.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah.
Rob Lee:But, you know, having that, I was like, yo, this just wiped my memory briefly. What are we doing?
DJ JAMES NASTY:I, I've got a story that kinda relates to that. But first, hold on. There's two things I was gonna say. Shit. Oh, I was gonna say, I definitely had a few drinks before that podcast that day because I was like, man, I'm I'm kinda insecure about my talking voice.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I don't know what to say. Like, am I gonna fuck this up? Like, whatever. A couple of shots of tequila. I'm gonna get in the zone.
DJ JAMES NASTY:When was the last time you were interviewed? Have you ever been on the other end of the podcast?
Rob Lee:Yes. I I've
DJ JAMES NASTY:You have?
Rob Lee:Been interviewed. I had this running bit. Every January 20, I would always have a person interview me for my birthday.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Bro, I wanna interview you next year.
Rob Lee:Okay. You're you're the guy then. You're the guy. Because last year, it was, wordsmith, and he and I have the same birthday.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Okay. He said, I'm
Rob Lee:interviewing you for our birthday. I was like, don't say r. That's mine.
DJ JAMES NASTY:This is my moment.
Rob Lee:But it's it's definitely an an interesting sort of switch. I will say that much. I'm like, oh, but, yeah, you're you're you're the guy.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Perfect. Perfect. I gotta survive a whole year now. Damn. I have a story about, oh, man.
DJ JAMES NASTY:There were a few times. I I was a really big cannabis guy until my my DJ journey started. Kinda like I was one of those people where one day I just woke up, and whenever I smoked or whatever, it's just my heart. I was like, man, am I having a heart attack? Am I dying?
DJ JAMES NASTY:I would just get really anxious, and I was just like, I don't enjoy this no more. But over the course of my career, like, I dabbled. And there were two there were two instances where somebody gave me an edible right before I went on stage.
Rob Lee:Oh, no problem.
DJ JAMES NASTY:One night was at the auto bar, two for Tuesday, you know, downstairs. I I don't know. You know, it's like 300 people in there, 400 people. And I'm on stage, and I think they told me to only eat, like, half of it. And I was like, whatever, man.
DJ JAMES NASTY:It's just I I wasn't really thinking, and I ate the whole thing. And it just hits me just like, wow. It hits me. And I'm standing on stage, and I'm looking out and it's a type of stage fright that I had never experienced in my whole life. I'm like, what am I doing up here?
DJ JAMES NASTY:All these people are here and I I have to be I'm in charge of all, like, what the fuck? And I started, like, hyperventilating a little bit and just freaking out. And, like, the music is playing, and I'm, like, so deep in my head right now. I have completely left the room. I'm just in my brain, and the song is running out.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And I'm watching the song running out on the screen. I'm like, what do I even play next right now? Shit. The song runs out and there's a brief pause, and I gotta get to the next song. And I'm right back in my head, and I'm like and I'm like, oh my god.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I've kinda forgot how to DJ right now.
Rob Lee:No. So
DJ JAMES NASTY:I'm like on my phone and I'm like scrolling through my phone. I'm like, what do I do? I'm like, why do I have my phone in my hand? And I looked out in the room and, DJ Pancakes was there, and DJ Pancakes saved me in this moment. Because I messaged them.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I was like, yo, can you come on stage for a second? And they come up on stage, and I'm like, yo, I'm having a moment right now. Like, I've literally forgot how to DJ. Can you just, like, can you just do this for a second? I'm gonna, like, go outside and try to, like, get back into my body and everything.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And they were like, yeah. I got you. And I ran outside, took a few deep breaths, like, walk around the block, and came back inside and was, like, able to, like, finish the show. And a similar thing happened at the crown shortly thereafter because, of course, like, that James, you couldn't tell him nothing. He never learned his never learned his lesson.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And that time, like, it was only an hour long set. So the the edible doesn't hit me until after I'm off the stage. And I was, like, wandering around the crown, and I run into an ex. And this is maybe a month after we had broken up. This was still, like, the you threw me out.
DJ JAMES NASTY:We broke up, but maybe I still love you phase. And I I see her in public, and I'm like, oh my god. And the edible hits me, and we're standing at the bar, and we're talking. And again, like, I've just, like, left. I've left reality, and I'm in my head.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I'm like, man, I might float away. Like, I feel like I'm about to float away. So I was, like, literally holding on to, like, gripping onto the bar, staying trying to, like, stay on the ground on planet Earth. And just, like, shit got so weird. And I think that was the last time I ever ate an edible.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I was like, no. Alright. Lesson learned. Lesson learned. Cannabis and me are just not gonna it's just not gonna work out.
Rob Lee:The the edibles the edibles is a thing. I I have this video from years ago with an ex where it's just kinda like her gone away party 04/20, and I used to, like, make edibles, what have you. Oh my god. I'm an idiot because I'm a fat man who still likes to lick the bowl. And I did it the right way.
Rob Lee:I did the whole method. Right? And I'm like Oh god. I am a crazy person now. And I remember she was like, yeah.
Rob Lee:We should go get some food. And I was like, sure. Let's go do that. And we went over there to Parkville while this just these brownies are baking. So we got, like, forty minutes to get there and get back from, you know, I'm over there near near Morgan at the time.
Rob Lee:And we we made it. It was fine. But I just remember going there and speaking so quickly to the Chick fil A person, you know, making my order. I was like, yo. You talk fast, son.
Rob Lee:I'm I'm just, like, a different creature. So we get back. She went to KFC. So he went to two desperate chicken places. And I put the GoPro on, and we were just making fun of each other's eating habits while eating these.
DJ JAMES NASTY:She was like, are you gonna make
Rob Lee:the funfetti cake as well with weed in it? I was like, I am not. So, yeah, it it it was one of those things. I was like, I am painfully high right now. I was like, I can't I can't fade it.
Rob Lee:I can't do this. Yeah. So, yeah, edibles was not for the long was not for the long for me.
DJ JAMES NASTY:They're dangerous. They're so dangerous.
Rob Lee:So I I got two I got two more real questions, and I got a few rapid fire questions I wanna rock with you.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. Yeah. Alright.
Rob Lee:So this next one, in because he and I share a birthday, I had to shout about, and the late David Lynch. He said that everything that he learned, to paraphrase, he learned because he decided to try something new. Do you have a recent example that comes to mind that you've, like, learned something new by just kind of experimenting, you know, in music, taking risks or just trying something different?
DJ JAMES NASTY:I mean, every night when you're DJing, you're trying new new blends. You're discovering new, like, oh, these two songs work together.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:You know, new new little routines. Like, I have I have quite a few different routines that I can always pull out that I know, like, I know they can get a reaction from people. But every time you're like, oh, wait. This goes with this. Like, whether it's like some tone play or like some some word play of, like, two different songs or I mean, we're to the point now where I mean, I'm not sure how old you are.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I'm I'm in my forties.
Rob Lee:I turned 40, recently.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Hell, yeah. Welcome to the club. You made it.
Rob Lee:All I get is knee pain.
DJ JAMES NASTY:We we deserve a trophy. Like, if you're a black man, you make it to 40, you should get a trophy. Absolutely. I swear to god, you know, like, you're playing life on hard mode and you get to 40.
Rob Lee:Right.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I what was that? Why did I say this? Oh, because now we're getting to a point where, like, the new R and B and rap shit is sampling the shit that we were listening to in grade school or, like, early in high school. So now it's, like, always just these routines of, like, do you play the new song first and then the OG? Do you play the OG first and then the new one?
DJ JAMES NASTY:With all the technology that everyone has axe to access to access to now, There's all kinds of crazy remixes and edits where you can like plan the original into a remix, or the original into this remix, or an edit. So there's always this new ways of turning a familiar hook, a familiar something into a longer piece of musical experience with, you know, a variety of old and new original remixes. Something else I tried to see what was something else. I think just putting myself out there and going off into this weird world of ecstatic dance Yeah. Was also something new that I've tried since we first spoke, since we last spoke, that I just discovered, like, it just works.
DJ JAMES NASTY:It just works for me.
Rob Lee:I love it.
DJ JAMES NASTY:The time the, like, the time frame of, like, ninety minutes to two hours is the perfect set time to, like, start, build something, resolve it. The music I get to play in those type of events is also, like, a type of music that I really enjoy playing, that I don't get to play at a place like Royal Blue, or I don't get to play if someone books me to play, like, the James Nassy productions and music that fits that. And you just get to play for such an eclectic group of people that are just there to dance, and they're there to dance feverishly. They don't care how they look doing it. They don't care who else is watching them.
DJ JAMES NASTY:They're not there to, like, meet their future ex wife. They're not there for anything. So I'm here to just dance and just express myself. I'm so grateful that I discovered, like, that part, that that avenue to express myself as an artist.
Rob Lee:That's, that's really that's really good.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. I you know, the story, you know, the story has been, like, James and his substance abuse problems. Then also we talked about how encouraging other people to drink is also a part of the career and, like, making money to support myself. And another reason that ecstatic dance was, like, such a great thing to to find is because, you know, I felt a lot of guilt for those those nights where it was just, like, me and the microphone. It's like, don't forget, the more you drink, the harder you party.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Shout out to my bartenders. Take care of my bartenders. And that's not necessarily true that the more you drink, the harder you party. It's just like one of those industry things that I would see DJ saying that I also adapted, that I learned that works really well, especially in the realm of, like, yo, I need y'all to spend a lot of money. I need y'all to get we need to rank 3,000 at the bar tonight because rent's due in two weeks, and I'm 300 short on rent.
DJ JAMES NASTY:So, you know, let let's all go get some shots at the bar type shit. Yeah. And, you know, when you when you've been at this for sixteen years, you see a lot of people on both the performing and artist side of things and also the performer and also the not performer, the attendee side of things. You see a lot of people get lost in substance abuse and sometimes they don't get a chance to bounce back from it. You know what I mean?
Rob Lee:Right.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And, it's been good to find a place to express myself artistically where people who don't want to be a part of that can can be there. And just like another way to share my talents with people that's uplifting uplifting, you know? Going to the club is not always an uplifting experience, you know? If you're a woman, you gotta worry about men grinding up on you without using their words. You gotta worry about men putting shit in your drinks and and all of that.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I've got stories. And also it's just like, you know, there's certain venues in certain places in the country where there's a reputation where it's like people don't really dance. Right. I play I played an event one time where I swear to God there were only women dancing, and it was just a string of men standing at the bar just drinking and staring at them. And they get kind of all, like, were dressed they all came out dressed really well.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And it was kinda like a weird, like, sneaker flex. Like, I don't know if there had been, like, a sneaker event in town before or something, but but it's just, like, my memory is just, like, a row of dudes at the bar that were kinda all standing positioned in a way where, like, their left foot was, like, all, like, was poked out. So it was, like, a line of dudes, like, all kind of flexing their sneakers at the bar, staring at women dancing. I'm like, y'all came out to do this for real? And who knows?
DJ JAMES NASTY:Like, maybe when I'm 85 and making playlists in the nursing home,
Rob Lee:it'd be like,
DJ JAMES NASTY:this is the best type of DJing I have ever discovered. You know? I'm just open to open to new new avenues, new venues to share music with people. That's good. Yeah.
Rob Lee:So I got I got this one last last real question.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Okay.
Rob Lee:And I'm curious about it, in that the sort of Baltimore scene, the music scene. Mhmm. How has it changed over the last five years? Or maybe even how would you look at it from when you you got started to where you're at now? Like, what's the musical identity?
Rob Lee:Like, what does that look like now versus, you know, when you got started, you know, sixteen plus years ago?
DJ JAMES NASTY:When I started, it was the peak of club music. You know? Rest in peace to k Swift and the movement that k Swift was the the queen of. I think as my my stock rose, it was sort of in the aftermath of that where club music didn't have a strong identity and have a strong leader to say. I think there were a lot of venues where people weren't playing club music or just wasn't really a lot of DJs just didn't embrace the sound.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And, it's great to see that that's back, that there's a new generation of DJs and producers that are really championing the sound. You know, there are nights when I'm playing at Royal Blue and White Women will come up to me, like, are you gonna play some club music tonight? I'm like, yeah. Oh, we're back. We're back, baby.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Or, like, I'll go out and see guys. Like, shout out to, like, Cade Young and Sdot and Tromat. And just, like, these younger guys, like, they're playing the house music and club music in the in not the Crown Dam and Royal Blue from start to finish. And, like, people are vibing with it from start to finish. And, like, that feels so good to, like, see that happening right now.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I think we lost a lot of formal venues in the city, and there was a resurgence of underground events happening. That's also a beautiful thing to see because, you know, I think that's an important part of creating safe spaces for for marginalized people is you're not dealing with establishments that are usually owned by white men that are concerned about protecting their investment maximizing alcohol sales first more than they are about creating safe spaces for for other people to be present. You know? Yeah. A resurgence of underground events, Club music DJs are back and are some of the most popular DJs in the city right now.
DJ JAMES NASTY:That's really all I can speak to. I don't know too much else. I haven't I haven't been going out like I used to to really know what else is going on.
Rob Lee:No. But that's
DJ JAMES NASTY:I left town for a year, like, when COVID, quote, unquote, ended. So, like, you know, I don't really have I can't really speak to more than those two those two things.
Rob Lee:No. But that's but that's good, though. I mean, I I see it and I'm tangential. I I I I can move around a little bit, but it's a lot of arms and legs here, and I take up a lot of areas. I'm just excuse with my movement.
Rob Lee:So I am I'm not out there too often, but, you know, it's it's good to hear that there is a, a healthiness that's that's there. And I you know, the underground piece, the sort of being able to have younger, you know, DJs playing and acknowledging the music and the sort of connection here because like with anything, if it comes from maybe marginalized groups, somehow it gets branded that, oh, we actually are the people that did it, and it's no respect and consideration for the folks that actually were the groups and the folks behind it. So I'm glad that that's being carried on and that sort of lineage is is next stage.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. Yeah. I to go along with that, to say, like, house music has always been black people music. And it's great to see, like, how much this younger generation is, like, this is our music. We're back, and we love this again.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And because then for a little while, it felt like this city and the city was just, like, people just wanted to hear rap. They just wanted to hear hip hop. They're like but they didn't wanna hear house music like that. There was this or even club music. There was, like, this sort of stigma.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Like, oh, this is like EDM. This is like rave white boys with glow sticks type music. You know? And, which is crazy because, like, Deep Sugar is the longest running event in this town. And
Rob Lee:Right.
DJ JAMES NASTY:You know? That's never that's never not been there for the people. Yeah. Just, you know,
Rob Lee:we're back. It's just
DJ JAMES NASTY:We're back, baby. We're back. We're making we're making house music. We're making club music. People are dancing to it.
Rob Lee:It's almost in the best interest of the folks who see the value and who want it, who want to oh, that's Jersey Club. That's such an interesting Spotify playlist or whatever the thing is not to give it its due to tell you that, oh, yeah. We don't like that. That's weird music. That's for this people.
Rob Lee:That's not cool. Just play this rap music. Just play something that's not of the culture or what have you. Don't even incorporate that. But to see that we're kinda bucking against it because when you see sort of these crossover songs that when you know you know, you're like, no.
Rob Lee:No. This is this is ours. Why are you crossing something else? Yeah. And it's it's there.
Rob Lee:So, you know, to to sort of summarize and or just put a pin on it, Just really happy that that that's happening and, you know, sort of that acknowledgment and just folks occurring, the torch.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah.
Rob Lee:I want to move into the rapid fire portion. I got three of them.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Okay.
Rob Lee:And as I tell tell people all the time, don't overthink these. It's like what I said, what I said.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Okay. So like true false questions?
Rob Lee:True false. They're kinda like what was the first thing that comes to mind?
DJ JAMES NASTY:Okay. Okay.
Rob Lee:What is one song that never gets old for you no matter how many times you hear it?
DJ JAMES NASTY:Damn, man. You're gonna do this to me? You know, I might as well just start with it. It's Bruno Mars in Lady Gaga, Die With a Smile. Ever since that song came out last summer, like, that has had such a stranglehold on my existence.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I learned how to play it on the guitar. I've looked at the music theory just like I've picked that song apart in every way you can as a musician and also just, like, gotten emotionally attached to it and so do many different ways. It's just, like, still. If it comes on, like, I'm just it just takes me there. Wherever that's wherever there is, it takes me there every time.
Rob Lee:It's good too.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. It's good too. Yeah.
Rob Lee:So this one is and I'm curious because I do this myself. Do you have a preferred flavor of seltzer water? Because I feel like I drink much more seltzer water now that I look at calories differently, and you're you're not dealing with the the the the booze or what have you. You're you know? So water doesn't water water is not sexy by itself.
Rob Lee:It needs to be elevated. It needs to have a nice to it. Is there a salsa flavor that you prefer?
DJ JAMES NASTY:I'm gonna go with some sort of citrus flavor. Maybe like a grapefruit or a lime or a lemon.
Rob Lee:Okay.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Not not an orange. You know? It's like a lot of times, like, the artificial orange flavor. It's like if I want that, I might as well just drink an orange soda. You know?
Rob Lee:Exactly.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I want a I want, like, a little grapefruit essence, a little lime essence in it.
Rob Lee:I like the I'm allergic to cherries. Right? So I can't have the real thing, which is a really weird thing to be allergic to. Right? That and passion fruit.
Rob Lee:Those are the two things. It's like, you wanna take our rod? Here you go.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Passion fruit. Cherry fruit. Cherry passion fruit. Okay. Got you.
Rob Lee:So whenever there's and I've if there's been a few times at the the job recently that they've had, like, the black cherry lime, like, Waterloo joint, delicious. No notes.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I can get down with that. Some black cherry lime.
Rob Lee:Yeah. So so here here's the last one. Here's the last one. Okay. And conversely, you know, sort of the the the one track that, you know, never gets old, what's the one that's a really popular track?
Rob Lee:You're like, I will not play this. I I can't. I just I I have just I just won't.
DJ JAMES NASTY:No. I don't know if there's anything currently that I feel strongly against. I was very I still am. I'm very anti ACOM.
Rob Lee:Really?
DJ JAMES NASTY:I have I have always found Akon's voice very abrasive. I know. And I started DJing, like, in, like, the mid to late two thousands when, like, Akon had that string of hit records.
Rob Lee:He did.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And I remember, like, my first my first, like, open format gigs were at this bar in Fells Pointe, card cheerleaders, where the Rockwell currently stands. And that was when like Akon was so big and like, just like people asking me to play these records. Like, I fucking hate having to do this. Like, how do I get away without playing Akon tonight? Like, I hope I hope he was writing all those records because I can look at them and be like they were well written, but, like, I just wish he'd found someone else to sing those hooks.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Because just, like, the timbre of his voice is very abrasive.
Rob Lee:I hear you. That's
DJ JAMES NASTY:I don't know if there's anything current. I'll say Taylor Swift, not because I think Taylor Swift's music is inherently bad. I just think there's a demographic of people who ask for you to place Taylor Swift
Rob Lee:Mhmm.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Religiously that are kind of annoying and entitled and not able to read the room and understand, like, hey. This might not be the moment for this. Right. Or, like, the people that don't understand is just because you've asked a DJ to play a song does not mean he's gonna play it and he's entitled and you're entitled to have him play it, and it doesn't mean he's gonna play it next. Like, it's always a suggestion.
DJ JAMES NASTY:It's never a request. And I wish that we could somehow pivot to, like, this have this cultural shift where people don't even talk about a DJ request. People come in like, yo, like, do you take requests? I'm like, I take suggestions, never requests. And some people are caught off guard.
DJ JAMES NASTY:They're like, I'm like, what are you thinking? Like, what do you want to hear? You can tell me what you want to hear. There's no guarantee that I will play it. I will do my best to play it if it fits the vibe, where we are, who's here, and the type of time of night it is.
DJ JAMES NASTY:But there's a a world of Taylor Swift fans that just, they don't get it. They just come in and they're Swifties, and they're just like, I can't have fun if I'm not dancing to Taylor Swift. If I'm going to play
Rob Lee:like this and move my hair around.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. They're like, will you play Taylor Swift? I'm like, I might. Like, I'm gonna do my best. I'll do my best.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I understand that people love Taylor Swift. Like, I'll do my best. It's not gonna happen in the next five minutes. I don't know when it's gonna happen. Like, I'm playing dance hall right now.
DJ JAMES NASTY:This is not Taylor Swift time. No. You know?
Rob Lee:That transition will be wild.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Right? It's fine. How how do you get from Taylor Swift to I mean, I could do it. I already have this string of songs lined up in my head, but, you know. And, yeah, it comes down to, like, who you are, like, how you talk to the DJ, how you express what you wanna hear.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Like, I'm gonna meet you there. If you're an entitled piece of shit, I'm gonna be a piece of shit back to you. I'm not gonna play your song. I'm gonna play the exact opposite.
Rob Lee:I mean, hold on. I I just have to say this and then I'm gonna wrap up because that that was really good. And so two things. One, you actually somehow got a rapid fire question in there. You answered the rapid fire question.
Rob Lee:Because that was in my questions, rapid fire of what's the etiquette. So that's great that you answered that without even getting it. Right?
DJ JAMES NASTY:And the
Rob Lee:other thing is I was thinking of, like, you could go from Sean Paul to Taylor Swift, you know, just shake it off, you know, from, you know, this is I was like, that's an easy and I was like, nope. Nah. I don't even wanna I don't even wanna entertain it. I was just thinking of it, though. We when you said, like, yeah.
Rob Lee:You know, I can absolutely do it.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I could do that.
Rob Lee:You can. You're you're super talented, so obviously Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah.
Rob Lee:So that's pretty much it for today's proceedings. So there's actual two last real things I wanna do. One, one, thank you so much for coming on back onto the podcast and staying on the podcast.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Having me. Give thanks for giving me a chance to redeem myself and also interdelt like, I feel like I'm a different person now. Like, thank you for giving me a chance to introduce who I am now to your listeners that have been here for the whole journey and anyone else that may find this podcast from us sharing it. Like Yeah. I haven't been leaving the house very often.
DJ JAMES NASTY:There's a lot of people that I haven't seen. There's a lot of people who maybe still think I'm in Nashville or don't even know that I left town. Just don't know who I am right now, and I'm, you know, grateful for this opportunity to hopefully introduce who I am now to Baltimore and beyond.
Rob Lee:Thank you so much. So I'm gonna hit it with the, if you can share with the folks, you know, where they can follow you, website, social media, all of that good stuff to stay up to date on all things James Nasty. Please, the floor is yours.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I'll start with, like, Instagram. My handle is James Nasty. Mostly, I just use reels. Or not reels, stories. You could find me on TikTok.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I'm mostly just doom scrolling. I don't post very often. I still have a Twitter account. I don't use it for anything. Same with Facebook.
DJ JAMES NASTY:Yeah. Just Instagram, man. If you want to find out more about Aesthetic Dance, there's an Aesthetic Dance IG, which is just at Aesthetic Dance Baltimore. I still have a hot sauce company. We didn't talk about hot sauce this time.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I still have a hot sauce company, the Jones Falls sauce company. That used to be like much more of a seasonal business and then through COVID, I developed a new sauce that I am producing year round. It's called Cabernet Aero. It's very delicious. It's, available online if you wanna go to jones falls sauce company dot com or through the Jones Falls Sauce Company Instagram.
DJ JAMES NASTY:It's also available if you wanna buy it retail at Chuck's Trading Post in Hamden. I've also been doing, like, private label sauces for people if anyone out there wants their own custom hot sauce for an event or for themselves. When we talked last time, we talked about how, like, I rationalize making hot sauce as sort of like my artist's merch.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:And so there are other artists that have approached me, like, yo, I also want a hot sauce that, like, would be, like, my artist's merch. And I've done, like, custom hot sauces for people's weddings as, like, wedding gifts.
Rob Lee:So
DJ JAMES NASTY:I still found ways to make hot sauce in in my time.
Rob Lee:That's that should probably be a a conversation we have because I tend to I'm a spicy individual outside.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I feel like you need a hot sauce. Okay. It's a limited edition special release. You know?
Rob Lee:Yeah. The truth on your lips. That's great. Yeah.
DJ JAMES NASTY:I think that's that's it. If anyone out there is interested in hearing the music I produced, Spotify is a great place to find it. Bandcamp is even better.
Rob Lee:And there you have it, folks. I wanna again thank James Nasty for coming back onto the podcast and running it back to the very beginning. And for James Nasty, I am Rob Lee saying that there's art, culture, and community in and around your neck of the woods. You just have to look for it.
