New York City 1971. A ten-year-old kid with eyes shining, hands trembling and the knowledge that this round piece of vinyl in his hands was where his future lay. Danny, what musicians were filling the streets of NYC back then that had you totally captured?
“Dan, this is a really great question for someone to ask me at the moment. I started collecting music really early on in my life. The whole household was filled with music growing up, I am one of five brothers with no sisters and a whole host of aunties and uncles who were into such different stuff, Doo-Wap, Latino, Bossanova, Barbara Streisand and Frank Sinatra whilst my brothers were listening to The Beatles, Cream and Led Zeppelin and I was basically a big sponge absorbing everything around me. However, this year has been major for me. I have been researching the year that I first realised music was where my future lay, 1971. It was the year I discovered Michael Jackson who at the time was being groomed as a solo star whilst still a member of The Jackson 5. My brothers and myself were all around the Michael Jackson records back then. Simply a tragic, tragic loss we have suffered. Then the transition happened a little while later when Motown came around and I saw the light, I realised that it was the more soulful and the sound of Philadelphia melodies I was into. I matured over night into my own area of music. Bands like The Supremes were great with their two minutes of sing-along music, but I latched onto the more sophisticated and warmer sound that led onto House music eventually. I came from a strict parental background, loving yes, but my mom and dad made sure we were all brought up correctly. I used to live for TV shows like Ed Sullivan and Sonny & Cher to see who musically was new and exciting. But answering your question, the record that perhaps changed my life perhaps is ‘Love Is The Message’.”
New York City 1979. An eighteen-year-old young man with ears bouncing, feet tapping and the knowledge that this sound was where your future lay. Danny, what was that first venture into Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage like for you?
“I was eighteen years old when I first went to The Paradise Garage – I recognise that The Garage is known as the biggest and perhaps one of the important clubs in dance history but there were predecessors. ‘Starship Discovery 1’ on 42nd Street amidst all of the mayhem was fabulous but that place didn’t last long, it had three levels with a massive dancefloor, a cabaret/lounge area and a coat check area and I thought it was fabulous but my friends were like, Dan, you are going to the wrong club guy, you need to go to Paradise Garage. They were so right. It was like nothing I had ever seen or witnessed before – magnified by a hundred. A famous Danny Tenaglia story you must have heard, I walked in to The Garage and within four feet of entering the main room I couldn’t move. I had to hang on to a rail to keep on my feet. I got the whole culture of the club straight away – the way the owners were putting on a club with no liquor available, it didn’t open until 1am, the venue had amazing daylight screaming through the skylights until the panes were painted over years later, there was a locker room where everyone could go and change their clothes throughout the night – it was like a dance music gymnasium Dan. Predominately a black crowd, the owner was the late Michael Brody, a great Jewish guy who had Natalie Cole singing on the opening night and people like Grace Jones, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Karen Young and Colonel Abrams soon followed. So much of the success was down to Larry Levan and that night when I walked in for the first time, I thought, shit, I am home! Walking up that famous ramp and looking up at that famous neon sign overhead – which I now have a replica inside of my New York apartment, it was such an eye opener for a young kid, I have goosebumps thinking about it now. The DJ set up was so different back then – these days it’s all about the interaction with the crowd, I used to look up at Larry back then in his own booth, starting his set early doors just sorting out his records, casually going about his job but playing the best records from track one. 1975 to 1985 were the best years of the club and it became a lifestyle for me Dan. I became a participator in that party for years, firstly as a punter and then after getting to know people like the Record Pool’s Judy Weinstein, I was sort of welcomed into the whole fold of the club – the staff, the DJs and eventually got a special discount membership card. It was such a shame years later when we all knew Paradise was going to close. People were getting sick, Crack was infiltrating the dancefloor, music was changing, Larry had had enough…time to move on. I moved down to Florida which is my second home now, but I did fly up for the official closing of Paradise in 1987.”
New York City. Tuesday April 26th 1977, 254 West 54th Street. Studio 54 opens with the red carpet treatment for the Jaggers, Calvin Klein, Liza Minnelli, Brooke Shields, Debbie Harry and the Trumps whilst the likes of Frank Sinatra, Woody Allen and Warren Beatty couldn’t get past doorman Marc Benecke without that elusive invite. What are your memories of possibly the most famous nightclub in the world ever?
“Sure I ventured out to Studio 54, which was a very significant club in club history, but it was so different from The Garage. I was able to get into Studio due to the fact that I knew the DJs but it never had the same feeling of Larry’s night. I thought Studio 54 was too ‘foo-foo and fancy’. Here I was, a kid coming from a strict family background, my father was in military work working for the National Guard and my mom struggling with five sons to look after trying to put food on the table every day. I knew and respected true values from an early age. Studio 54 was like walking into a circus and seeing clowns and trapeze artists everywhere, but I quickly recognised it for what it was however, the place wasn’t about the music, it was about the glamour and red carpet a-list celebrities even if it did have a great Richard Long sound system with a great pulse.”
A big night this Saturday for you Danny, a special Michael Jackson tribute evening at ‘Be Yourself’ at Pacha in New York?
“Yes indeed. His music meant so much to me. He was the best dancer of his generation, he created his own iconography – the single shiny glove, the Moonwalk, the signature red jacket and the Neverland Ranch but Michael Jackson was that and more, he had grace, passion, fire, soul and most importantly he had love. MJ was more a part of my life than most might ever imagine.
I’m going to be playing a special set ‘within my set’ dedicated to Michael on Saturday. Back in 1994 a select few DJs and Producers were asked to remix ‘Thriller’ by Sony, in my view his greatest piece of work. People like Masters At Work, Todd Terry, Roger Sanchez and Moby were asked to work on it including myself and it was going to come out as a double pack CD. So there I am in the studio with my finished mix in my hands when the phone goes and it was the label people telling me that unfortunately they’re shelving it. I was shattered, my heart was on the floor. Anyhow, I made a pact to Sony and myself that my mix would never come out, be bootlegged, I’m a believer in karma. From time to time I would play it if I knew 100% nobody in the place could be recording it. The reaction I’d get was incredible, I’d play it in New York around Halloween time and people would be running up to the booth to see what mix it was. And then earlier this year before he passed away I did a new version especially for Miami’s WMC, I mashed it up with the acappella of my ‘Be Yourself’ tune and have christened it ‘Thrill Yourself’. It is like a marriage made in heaven, they sit perfectly together. The horror of Michael Jackson’s record intertwined with the magic melody of ‘Be Yourself’ is something else, I didn’t even have to change the pitch of his voice. So Saturday is going to very special. The venue is going to be decorated accordingly, our performers will have special costumes and I have a great set planned, expect the unexpected. The photograph below is a very young me with Michael down at The Paradise Garage back in the day…”
So where have you been DJing this weekend?
“Italy. I have been there many times before but this time it was a dream. No bumps along the way and every city was so different. Naples beautiful, Torino intense, Rimini so flamboyant but the ‘Mosquito’ festival in Catania in Sicily was unbelievable. It was my first time on the island and I thought it was so breathtaking. My set saw two hours of daylight breaking which I always love – seeing the sun shine on people’s faces as they dance to amazing music is what it is all about.”
The amazing thing about your success story Danny, is that this stunning career didn’t arise due to a major release, a huge residency at a major club or a big time radio show – it is quite simply down to the whole aura you have. You are a whole experience, a Tenaglia set is like no other – you emit warmth to your dancefloor, people love you and you love them. How important is that connection with your clubbers to you, most DJs just get their head down and spin the records, then shoot off home with their pockets lined…
“I hear you Dan, the question alone warms my heart and it’s very flattering to hear. I think it comes from what I touched on earlier and my childhood. I came from a real musical household always surrounded by instruments and different sounds, dancing with everyone at crazy Italian family weddings, there so much going on. I remember going though to see Larry at The Garage and although the records he was playing were simply jaw dropping, there was no interaction going on with his dancefloor. Luckily I have never been a shy person throughout my life. I once had a job DJing at a roller disco for three years back around 1979 when I had to be on the microphone all night announcing maybe that the snack bar was about to close, had anyone lost their keys which had been found, calling security if there was an emergency on the dancefloor. It brought out a certain character in me, it help make me be the DJ I am today, interacting with the clubbers from an early age. It’s funny you know, if you ask a young clubber today if they knew what the letters DJ actually meant most wouldn’t know if stood for ‘Disc Jockey’. When I told my parents I was dropping out of school to become a Disc Jockey they were like ‘no way Danny’ and when I told them a nightclub Disc Jockey they were like ‘definitely no way Danny!” Thankfully they saw how much passion I had for it though. However, going back to your question, the experience that really changed the way I am now and have such a fabulous interaction with the clubbers dancing in front of me, was the first ever time I went to Ibiza in 2000 and set eyes on Space. It was so different for me, you had no choice at all but to interact with your people. I was used to big DJs at New York’s finest such as Twilo and The Tunnel, here you are dancing in the sunshine pretty much on the same level as thousands of people right in your face, it was awesome. Sure, I’d played at places like Paradiso in Mykonos which has a similar type of vibe but everyone was like, ‘you think this is mad, wait ’til you hit Ibiza.’ It was life changing the same way when I heard Marvin Gaye for the first time, Patti La Belle, The Jackson 5, a piece of work from Giorgio Moroder or Kraftwerk. Suddenly all eyes are on you, cameras flashing away and it was like stepping from the shadows onto a stage. I’m telling you, I owe so much to Ibiza… and I’m not just talking about helping to pay for my mortgage!”
So you still have the love doing what you do?
“Absolutely. When I’m DJing and looking around the club I still see myself as one of the kids out there, the sheer enthusiasm and energy bursting out of them. I love going to far flung places such as China, Argentina and Brazil where you recognise that this is a big deal for these people, getting the likes of myself, Carl Cox and Tiesto spinning in their home city. They don’t have that many great concerts or music TV shows, some of these places have major poverty so when we roll into town it’s like New Year’s Eve. In America and England we are so spoilt being able to catch Erick or Morales, Sasha and Fatboy Slim all of the time – going to places a little out of the way keeps the fire burning Dan, promise you that.”
Obviously Miami plays a large part in your life, you had a few years down there in the mid 80s but got disgruntled playing other people’s records and headed back to NYC to hit the studio. These days a Tenaglia marathon set at WMC Miami is unmissable. I used to hit NYC when the New Music Seminar conference was based there and it was fly, but I have never seen a clamour for a ticket or guest list for your shows down in Florida ever – and I mean EVER!
“Miami WMC week is so different from any other week in Miami. This is the third decade that I have been attending the event and it really is the best week of clubbing of your life. Going way back, when it first started in the mid eighties I was resident at a place called Cheers which used to put on showcases involved with WMC, hot at the time acts like Joyce Sims and Taylor Dayne. But the thing about Cheers is that the club wasn’t on the beach like many of the other venues, this was seven miles inland and the most amazing thing about it was that it was one of the only few places around the city that had a late – and I mean late, licence. So we’d get all of these clubbers landing down at the venue to see the big acts play and when the showcase had finished, I had them in the palm of my hand as they were going nowhere so far from anywhere – the 7am closing time was the real clincher. The music I was playing was so across the board. The place was predominately gay but we got goths in, Pop heads, hippies – whatever the trend was at the time I’d be playing it. One minute I’d be spinning a Rick Astley track, the next I’d be introducing these people to a Belgian industrial piece of vinyl, Erasure, Depeche Mode, a German techno track, some Shep Pettibone production, a Donna Summer classic, ‘Jack Your Body’ or New Order. I used to be able to find Pop records that had been made with the same drum machines as house tunes and it all flowed beautifully. People would come onto the floor for what they liked, head back to the bar and then return when their feet starting tapping. It was a great time for me back then, I was writing for Billboard magazine, getting loads of press from the UK and things were really starting to take off. But back to WMC, I moved to Groove Jet where we dropped the showcase thing as it simply split up the party and I’d be putting on DJs who were coming out with hot records of the time, people like Cevin Fisher and DJ Vibe who although my crowd had never heard of them still welcomed them with open arms. Then of course we moved onto Space. The thing about our parties at WMC that still makes the hairs on my neck stand on end is looking out at the famous faces whilst I’m DJing. We have Sasha, Pete Tong, Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox, Farley & Heller, Tom Stephan, DJ Pierre, Rui Da Silva, the Def Mix crew, John Digweed all bouncing around – normally you get these people together sharing cocktails on the beach or in a private party in someone’s hotel room late into the night – not at someone else’s gig! I love it.”
So, how BIG is your guest list for Miami? If it wasn’t for Basics’ Dave Beer standing on your door, I would never have got in, it is always chaos out there.
“Ha ha, you know Dan, you really pull out the great questions. Put it this way, it is over 1000 people every year.”
As mentioned previously, you knew there was more inside you than simply DJing whilst you were in Miami all those years ago, and returned to NYC to begin a beautiful era of Tenaglia remixes, over 100 so far. What do you think is the best ever remix you have done?
“Different remixes over different eras that were significant to so many careers – it’s difficult to choose one. I mean, who’d have thought ‘I’m Too Sexy’ Right Said Fred would have been so big (it was so cheeky) and I loved working on Jamiroquai’s ‘Emergency’ and Madonna’s ‘Human Nature’. I still get the nervous jitters every time I go into the studio though to re-work a tune, but if you had to push me I suppose my remixes of the stunning The Daou tracks stand out. Vanessa’s wispy vocals, my incredible friend Peter on the keyboard, coupled with grand, thick chords and club grooves gets me every time. ‘Give Myself To You (Give My Dub To You) is timeless, it could have been made yesterday and my Twilo mix of ‘Two Tango’ still goes off – that record sat at the top of The Billboard chart at number one for three weeks. ‘Surrender Yourself’ is also close to my heart. I couldn’t believe when they placed these brilliant chilled records in my hand to remix and said, ‘just do your magic’. We had such a vibe working together like a band, wonderful people.”
The Danny Tenaglia ‘Back To Mine’ CD is without doubt DMC’s finest ever compilation release – the amount of times I have wobbled into someone’s house after a club and spotted it nestling on a shelf is unreal. What has been your favourite compilation you have done over the years?
“I have always been quite choosy regarding my compilations. I have always really wanted to concentrate on my personal stuff and the DJing side of things. I love to play eight or nine hour sets and can play any form of music in that time, so I kinda feel it’s a little unfair for someone to buy a ninety minute mix I’ve done that doesn’t allow me to express fully what I do. I’ve been speaking to my manager about comps recently though and the DMC Back To Mine is one of my favourite releases I’ve done alongside my Tribal’s ‘Mix This Pussy’ in 1994. So many compilations that are put out by labels these days all sound the same start to finish. I came from the school of listening to so many different eclectic artists and you know, I always want to find the unexpected – when one DJ plays something like Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ I’ll be the guy flipping over the record to see what is on the b-side. Funny though concerning my Global Underground ‘Athens’ mix I did for them around 1996-7. The first four or five tunes were very minimal, and this was way before the minimal sound got so huge. Well, Andy and James totally freaked out on the first listen and thought it was a little too far out. I thought it was great and told them so. So what did they do? Themselves and their crazy crew took a load of E’s and locked them in their studio and partied to the mix – then they loved it!”
Dave Beer – a simply unique person in clubland?
“You know, I have met so many great and inspiring DJs, journalists, producers and promoters over the years – but Dave, phew! The first time I met him was at WMC and I was thinking, well I don’t want to be rude to this guy but dude, I have not got the faintest idea what you are saying. His accent was so strong and the UK slang he was coming out was baffling. I mean, what is a quid? Great guy though and a lifelong friend.”
What is your favourite city in the world and why?
“Obviously New York is imbedded in me. I lived there, have seen the metamorphosis it has gone through since the 60s – it really is one of the best cities in the world. I have all of the heritage associated there concerning my family, my mom who was one of nine children who migrated there and I have a real sense of history about the city. Also the music, I have learnt from the finest and enjoyed the different cultures and influences the place has opened my eyes to. But there are obviously the downsides. The whole drug and violence side of things that our parents warned us about in the 70s that we all witnessed in the Bronx, Queens and Long Island. I was raised in Williamsburg, a borough of Brooklyn bordering Greenpoint, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Bushwick. Many ethnic groups have/had enclaves within Williamsburg, including Germans, Hasidic Jews, Italians, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans. But I find it kinda sad when I go back there, it has changed so much with 24 hour laundromats, huge condos being built, Vegan restaurants popping up everywhere, Catholic churches closing every week…it’s losing it’s charm. So many people think Miami is my hometown, but New York is MY city, always will be. It’s every DJ’s dream to have a residency in their home city, it’s like a baseball player hitting the home run to win the World Series – it doesn’t get much better. I loved Italy, the people really know how to give their appreciation, London is obviously a favourite city but how can I not mention the big clubs and cities in Scotland, Wales and Ireland – so much good feeling from your countries. Montreal in Canada is unreal, Ibiza goes without saying, some places in Argentina are spine tingling – however I have a confession. I am scared so much of flying. I have been through four passports and visited over 30 countries to DJ but still hate getting on a plane. Small jets are the worst, geez Dan, this is like a therapy session, not an interview! So going way back again, I was 14 and our family flew to Disney World and we had the worst turbulence – my mom was so frightened…her mother died at the age of 57 and she didn’t want to die so young. We were all so frightened looking at her in a huge state of panic. The whole trip was ruined because I didn’t want to get back on a plane to fly home, as I knew she was going to be so scared again. She never flew again and it affected me so much. I miss her so much, two of her sisters died so close to each other and two weeks later my mom died what I think was a broken heart. Even today, I do so much research looking at which airlines have had the worst accident history, what the weather patterns are like when I have to fly and I tell you, if it wasn’t for the likes of British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France – I wouldn’t be at half of the places I get to. The worst airlines are the little ones that shoot you from Mediterranean island to island. And even last night, Kevin’s plane was struck by lightening on his way to New York – I didn’t think stuff like that happened anymore with modern technology. I was really scared, as he had to change flights to Philadelphia and the sky was so black up there, I stayed up until he called me to say he was safe. If that was me, I would have hired a car and drove, seriously. I have cancelled so many gigs due to poor airlines – sitting on Alitalia flights when the cockpit door is hanging open and I’m thinking is this legal? Unbelievable. This one time after the big Madrid plane crash I had to cancel a gig in Greece, there was no way I was getting on that plane and returned the deposit and even sent them a doctor’s note explaining why I couldn’t fly. I do a lot of praying before boarding a plane.”
America vs The United Kingdom – the two countries’ that changed the face of music and lifestyle, as we know it. We brought rave culture, a nation of clubbing and Rock & Roll with Manchester and London the leading lights. What cities are/were important to America in the music world and why?
“Most people I think would just roll out the obvious like Detroit, New York and Chicago, but I think a city that does not get the recognition it deserves is Philadelphia. It has never received the attention that it should have. MFSB and ‘Love Is The Message’ on Philadelphia International Records produced by Gamble & Huff – what a record. They backed such groups as Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes, The O’Jays, The Stylistics, The Spinners, Wilson Pickett, and Billy Paul. Immense. Then there was ‘Let No Man Put Asunder’ – phenomenal (Farley Jackmaster Funk – you were rumbled with that bassline!), Doctor Love’s ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ – a Philly groove at its 70s finest, all lush strings and Hi-Hats that oozed Disco and set up music as we know it. And what about Philly’s The Stylistics, Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Rawls, Phyllis Hyman, Jerry Butler, Billy Paul, The Delfonics, McFadden & Whitehead and The Intruders plus Three Degrees – Richard Barrett who discovered them, so much love my man. He was the guy behind and the key force and behind groups like the Chantels, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, and his own group The Valentines. A real talent.”
What have we got coming next from Danny Tenaglia production wise?
“You know Dan, I feel like I am at the peak of my Djing career right now. I have a great life in Miami and New York and just so enjoying what I’m doing behind the decks, I love seeing new clubs and cities and even though I have remixed over 100 tracks, at the moment it’s all about the DJing. Thank you for your time Dan, I love talking about my passion for music, and this has been the best interview to date…”
