Jack, jack, ja jack jack your body, jack ya, jack, jack ya, jack your body. Dan Prince gets the exclusive interview with the seminal, ground breaking producer who made all this possible…
Silk welcome to DMCWORLD dude, a real pleasure to speak to you again. Where in the world are you right now?
“Hi Dan, I’m actually on a family road trip with the kids! This past weekend I was in Orlando at the Vitality Convention for Body By Vi, I’ve been getting my nutrition right and I’m down 23 pounds now. Getting ready for the forthcoming tour! I got off the plane Sunday night from the Convention and had to go to three locations to shoot over the last two days and now have been driving with the family for 18 hrs. All with two hours of sleep. Sound fun, right? LOL.”
DJs and keeping their bodies in check, not two things we normally associate with our guys keeping the dancefloors rocking…
“Ha ha! Well I have always played basketball and for the last eight years I’ve been trying to chip away at the ol’ gut that I obtained from eating junk through the years with my hectic lifestyle. I was halfway fit but my nutrition wasn’t right so I couldn’t lose the last of the body fat. In April I started The Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge and I’ve drastically improved my nutrition, losing 23 lbs and gaining muscle now. I’m in the best shape of my life, but not done. Dave Morales here I come bro! I have a team of 30 people including fellow DJs and friends that have reached out to me through my Facebook inbox who are now doing the Challenge with me…and everyone is getting results. I love the fact that I’m also changing lives.”
You are drinking half a gallon of water a day – how do you cope whilst DJing needing the jon?
“Ha ha! I’ve been able to hold it longer now that my body is getting the proper nutrients!”
Cool. Well let’s crack on. Massive news concerning your seminal, live changing, music changing ‘Jack Your Body’ anthem being remixed and released on Toolroom next week, how did this project come about and what were your initial thoughts on people touching this record?
“Well it’s been 26 years or so since the original came out so I figured it was time to give it to the new generation, since they weren’t even born yet when it was released! My partner in S&S Chicago / S&S Records is Shannon “DJ Skip” Syas. Skip and I wanted to give the world a new version that reached the kids out here. Well Doorly seems to have found that connection! We are excited to team up S&S with the Toolroom family. Of course Mark Knight and I go way back, but I haven’t known Pete Griffiths very long and it feels like we are old buddies!”
Before we delve into the new stuff, let’s rewind a little. Back to your school days and a young guy spinning R&B on blue turntables at high school after listening to Peter Lewiky and Kenny Jason on the radio station Disco Dai Plan. Was this the first time you had heard DJs mixing records together – what did you think of what they were doing?
“I was in complete amazement that they could actually play two records at the same time, to the point that I started destroying my big brother’s stereo system by trying to pull that off at home. Not only did they play the records together, they made their DJ set sound like one big song. That was the beginning of my quest for mastering the art of mixing.”
Your DJ career started with just five records that you had bought courtesy of your grocery job. Can you remember any of those 5 tunes?
“Wow. Some research! Some of the first 12″ records I bought were “Christmas Rappin” by Kurtis Blow, “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang, and of course “Good Times” by Chic. That’s ironic because one of my new singles I’ve been working on an few years is with my long time friend Nile Rogers from Chic, which will feature my daughter B. Laurén and Jameisha Trice on vocals…a Silk and Chic throwback on the music with a mostly new school vocal approach and production! The five records that I was looking to play when breaking into the House scene were records like Suzy Q’s “Get On Up And Do It Again”, Unlimited Touch’s “I Hear Music In The Streets”, and Nick Straker’s “A Little Bit Of Jazz”…all baseline-driven, uplifting chords and usually with funky guitars!”
DMC are of course the people behind the World DJ Championships, the competition that has given us the likes of Cash Money, Roc Raida and Craze. One of the biggest breaks in your early career was winning a DJ Battle at Sawyers that allowed you to be exposed to house music. What’s the story there and just how good a battler were you?
“Yes the battle at Sauers was a very pivotal moment for me. I played about 20 records in 10 minutes. Mostly blends, but I also did some beat juggling and scratching as well. I remember that I started with a kid’s record that was teaching the kids how to march. The record said “OK boys and girls, on the count of 3 I want you to March, March, March!” I went into the marching band snare drum intro of Yello’s “Bostich”, which was a hot new record at that point. That record became one of the biggest records of the house scene and is still played today! After that I played my other 18 records battle style and I won the $100 prize, a trophy and the opportunity to play for the authentic House crowd at Dave Risque’s Gucci Promotions parties every week…one of the happiest moments of my career! To answer your question humbly Dan, I can say I was a very good battler. I won several battles to get into the game. But battles were only good for appealing to the front row of aspiring DJs (mostly young lads) that were cheering your every trick. The house scene was more about the love of the songs and song selection. I had to learn that to make the girls dance too, and make the whole room rock to my set!”
2013 has seen dance music finally explode in America. Back in the day a DJ made his name from being aGREAT DJ, today you have to have a hit record to make a name for yourself. What was it like for you back in the 80s before you started making your own tracks, what changed things that it finally clicked to make your own tunes and what equipment were you using…?
“Yes, growing up in Chicago the competition was fierce to become a crowd pleasing and diverse DJ, and that was how you got work…all about making the people happy. I wanted even more than to be a DJ though. I implemented drum machines, keyboards and 4 track recorders into my sets to be different, and to have records that nobody else had…my own records that I performed! I was using the Roland 808 and 909 drum machines (which I borrowed) and I bought a Korg Poly 800 with my last pennies! I still have both approaches as a DJ today…to be a CROWD PLEASER and a TREND SETTER, always embracing the young DJs and new technology.”
How important was it for a producer / DJ to be regularly spinning in the New York clubs back then to get asked toremix for artists such as Liza Minelli and Madonna – the dancefloor was a gorgeous mix of superstars lapping up your records every weekend who must have regarded people like yourself and Junior Vasquez as gods?
“What’s ironic is that the whole time I was doing those records, I lived in Chicago-and the studio! I was at a disadvantage by being in Chicago and the record labels being in New York, LA and London, but I just stayed focused on making the best music I could from my heart in the studio. I was doing so much music that the studio was actually my club! Remixing was different back then. It used to be about taking the existing track of someone’s song and rearrange to make it DJ friendly. You though decided to change the whole record into a completely new track when reworking a tune. Why did you go against the grain? When I replaced an entire track for the first time, I felt so free, like there were no boundaries. I became addicted to that style of mixing after my reworking of Roberta Flack’s R&B Ballad, “Uh Uh Ooh Ooh” went number 1 on the US Dance Charts in 1988!”
A famous quote from you…”Jack Your Body was an underdog song – it wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.” Did you not rate the track?
“It was a record that I just had fun with. I didn’t add verses. Just comedic character voices like James Brown imitations, “hey”…and Mr. T saying, “Jack it up out there”…just fun, nothing serious. I loved the final result but didn’t take it serious because I knew it was so against the grain!”
What were the early days working with CeCe Peniston like? How did you finally get her to hit her notes?
“I’m just really a believer in CeCe’s talent and with her being a new artist back then she didn’t have the confidence that she does now. So it was my job as the producer to help her reach her potential in the studio. I had her pronounce some of the words differently to reach the notes at times. There were also tears but in the end she cried tears of joy as she now hits those high notes effortlessly. I wonder sometimes how records would have turned out without the necessary “tough love” in the studio. What if I would have just been totally nice to her and gave her a lower note to sing? I am a student of music and I have learned from the best…Jam & Lewis, and Nile Rogers to name a few. They always strive for perfection, so I’ve followed their lead in my career!”
Amazing scenes at Wavefront in Chicago a few weeks ago, Chicago is on the way to the top again, why has it taken so long for this seminal city to be back on the map?
“Well I think Chicago has always been about quality, so while fads come and go, great music can weather the storm and stand the test of time!”
Who are some of the up and coming DJs from Chicago you are giving props to right now?
“You’re not gonna get me in trouble, Dan! There are wayyy too many to name but many of them have done remixes for us. Check out “The Word Is Love” (S&S Remixes) packages that we just released. It’s been #1 on traxsource for 3 weeks and obviously I love all those guys that remix our records! Skuo and I always embrace new talent and S&S will be featuring some of the new Chicago guys very soon and you will know!”
What are some of the big tunes you are spinning right now?
“The Word Is Love” (S&S Remixes) – Alfred Alzetto Rework
Plus the other great mixes in the package. That’s more than 10!!
“Jack Your Body” (S&S Remixes) Doorly Rub Dub Mix On fire!
Check out the official music video to see what the reaction is!
Many more but I’m going to miss the deadline for this interview if I continue. I’m in the car typing this…!
Ha ha! How does it feel as one of the most important people in dance music history in a country that ignored dance music in the mainstream for so long to suddenly be going to the local store and hearing dancefloor beats blaring out? America is going off the wall!!!!
“Obviously I have feelings of vindication, but it’s going to another level now as far as quality, and that’s what’s really going to feel good!”
Okay let’s find some personal stuff out about you…the film you can watch over and over…?
“The Nutty Professor” & “Norbert” and anything Adam Sandler is in, like “Click.”
The song that always makes you cry?
“Whitney Houston – “I Will Always Love You”. Reminds me of my favorite singer of all time and my hero – my dad, who passed away in 2010.”
The best thing you can cook in the kitchen?
“Omlettes , Waffles , Cabbage, Chicken…Bourgandy.”
Your big friends in the DJ world today?
“Tryin to get me in trouble again? Too many to name. Here are just a few that you may know…DJ Skip , Maurice Joshua & E Smoove, UMEK & Shark , Shane D, the EC Twins, Stonebridge, Mark Knight, Olav Basowski, Fresh & Euphonik, Simon Dunmore – not a complete list at all!”
Greatest record you have ever played to a dancefloor?
“Impossible to answer! Too many…not counting anything of mine they would range from “Disco “Circus” to “Din DaDa”to “Move Your Body” to “Get Get Down” to “Stardust” to “I Heard You Say”! Every week a few new ones…and I always look for what I produce, remix or release on S&S to make the list!”
What is coming out next from the famous Steve Silk Hurley studio…?
“As mentioned earlier, the ‘Chicago LP 12′ mixes, a collab’ with Silk Nile Rogers Nile Rogers from Chic, which will feature my daughter B. Laurén and Jameisha Trice on vocals, ‘I Can’t Turn Around’ (S&S Remixes), ‘Steve Silk Hurley Past Present & Future’ Mixed CD and Steve Silk Hurley feat. CeCe Peniston ‘My Dreams’.”
How do you feel about that house music is back in vogue again. I know it never went away, but finally we have kids on the dancefloor singing along to music again!!!!!
“The new generation is now learning how to feel the songs and music rather than just the beat!”
And finally…fact or fiction? You were christened ‘Silk’ due to your wavy hair you sprouted in the dance group you were in when you were 11 years old?
“Yes and when I became a DJ I always wanted to have the smoothest blends!”
Beatport link: http://btprt.dj/1689pqy
You can listen to it here: http://bit.ly/1dEUjvh
