Gina Star

Looking at some massive Miami midnights

Welcome to DMCWORLD Gina. A Dallas, Texas girl who has certainly moved around the world taking in this dance planet. So tell us about back home, growing up in Dallas. Was it a musical household you came from, what is your earliest musical memory?

“Well my parents were really into music, and there was always music playing in my house…. They were always talking about the artists and history of songs that came on the radio and they were very eclectic so I learned about all different genres. Without this mentality being instilled in the from a young age I don’t know if I would have gotten into dance music, seeing that there was such a small following for it in Texas…”

So we head back to the family home and check out your music collection when you were in your teens, what artists were you into?

“Like I said I’ve always been pretty eclectic, so artists like Ace of Base, Notorious BIG, Moby, Erasure, Led Zepplin, C&C Music Factory, 2Pac, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Fleetwood Mac, Robert Miles, CCR, Technotronic, Jamiroquai, Eric Clapton, and Black Box.”

At what point did you decide that you wanted to have a career in music?

“The dream of a career in music came very young…. the decision came about a year after I started DJing”

What was your first venture in clubland…can you remember the clubs back then and the DJs you were grooving to?

“Well I was always trying to figure out a way to get into clubs way before I was old enough to go, my favorite was the Lizard Lounge in Dallas, which was and still is the best electronic music club in the city. I was also crazy about going to raves – I think everyone was at the time. The first one I can remember going to featured Richard ‘Humpty’ Vission and Bad Boy Bill. I absolutely fell in love with their style of house music and how much energy they put into their sets. I mean being able to play 50 tracks in an hour – on vinyl… now that is exciting to listen and watch”

You moved to LA in 2006 to further your career, what was your first break into the music business?

“When I first got to LA I dove head first into the local dj circuit by going to shows and meeting promoters, then once I had a few gigs I made sure to give out tons of mix cds. People really loved getting free cds and it helped me to build a following here. Those same cds are also what got me my job at a dance label called Thrive, where they asked me to do A&R for them and put together compilations. Working there allowed me to go to all the international music conferences, which is how I met all the other record labels including Toolroom.”

Over at DMC we have managed some cool female DJs such as Lottie who headed up Radio 1 for years. When you first started out in the industry, what was the reactions of your male counterparts in the DJ booth, was their any hostility?

“Well when I was first starting out I found it difficult to break into the tight circles or “DJ cliques” that organized and ran the underground parties. The fact that I was a girl automatically made me an outsider as opposed to part of their circle. There was definitely hostility because the guys were worried that I was going to take their spot based solely on the ‘girl DJ novelty factor’ – not talent, which is understandably annoying. Dance music has seen some great female artists, but unfortunately it has also seen a lot of females who DJ in bikini tops and never give a thought to making any of their own music…this only makes it more difficult for females to be taken seriously. Respect comes from other DJs and producers hearing and playing my productions. Hopefully over time my music will speak for itself.”

What is the big top 10 you are spinning right now?

Title	Mix	Artist	Label
Beautiful World	Gina Star Remix	Tiesto & Mark Knight feat. Dino	Toolroom Records
Charlie Brown	David Aude Remix	Coldplay	EMI UK
Million Voices	Original Mix	Otto Knows	Refune Records
Night Like This	Original Mix	Trent Cantrelle	Spinnin Records
Heroes	Original Club Mix	John Dahlback	Toolroom Records
Midnight		Gina Star V Yazoo	White Label
Discopolis	David Jones Remix	Lifelike & Kris Menace	Azuli Records
Icarus	Extended Mix	Madeon	Popcultur
Lump and Pop	Original Club Mix	D.Ramirez	Toolroom Records
Damaged Feat Fiora	Main Mix	Antillas	Zouk Recordings

Not many people know this, but Gina Star is really good at…?

“Making burgers. I make really great gourmet style hamburgers on the grill. I use special seasoning on the meat and then while the patties are cooking, I caramelize mushrooms and onions, butter and toast the buns, and prepare the secret sauce.”

A famous quote from Toolroom boss Mark Knight…”Gina Star is a name we are putting our money on here at Toolroom, she is a name you will be hearing a lot of…” – what were your thoughts when he said that?

“It was really nice to get recognition from someone who is so well respected in the industry. Toolroom is such an awesome label and I feel really lucky to be part of the family”

What did your family think of your choice of career?

“My Mom was worried that being an artist would make life hard for me. I wanted to go to school for music, but she would only pay for me to go to business school. So I did that and managed to get a minor in music while getting my main degree. My Mom sacrificed a lot to make sure we had the best education and lifestyle possible. My Dad was really into the idea, as soon as I started djing he started listening to dance music, constantly asking for more mix cds and coming to gigs”

A lot of people know you from Tongy spinning your Cirez D & Sunscreem mash up and also your cheeky ‘I Want It Now’ Queen hooked up anthem which shook WMC to it’s roots. Where were you when the idea of the Queen track popped into your head?

“Well I have always been a huge Queen fan, which I can thank my Dad for, and I was at this festival last fall and they had this brilliant Queen cover band called Mercury playing there. As I was rocking out in the front of the crowd, the song “I Want It All’ came on and I suddenly had this thought that it would make a great anthemic style house record. I figured that someone had probably already done it but to my surprise no one had… so away I went to the studio. I originally made the record as a bootleg for WMC, and when it got such a huge response from the djs, we went down the avenues to clear it (not thinking it would ever actually happen). When EMI came back and said that Queen Music really liked it and wanted to see it come out, we were ecstatic.”

What has 2012 got in store for us musically from you?

“Hopefully at the end of 2012 I’ll be able to say that lots of my new records were released and were well received. I have finished some great collaborations with Chris Willis, Marcella Detroit, and Jonathan Mendelsohn, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear them”

You have traveled the world – what clubs do you enjoy rocking the most?

“The Ministry of Sound in London. Beta in Denver and Space, Egypt

What producer would you love to get into the studio with and make sweet music with?

“I’d love to work with Adam Levine, you don’t often find a pop singer that actually writes his own lyrics – and well. His high tenor voice really lends itself to dance music”

It’s your birthday, what 3 DJs do you invite to play for you?

“Axwell, John Dahlback and Grum.”

And finally, what is the finest record you have ever played to a dancefloor?

“Yikes, that is a tough one…the last 2 years at midnight on New Years Eve I have played ‘Call On Me’ Eric Prydz … works like a charm…”