The Music, Art and Travels of Alan D. Oldham a.k.a. DJ T-1000.
The Home Stretch.
Tuesday's the big day. I'm sooo outta here. Just getting some last-minute things straightened out around here today and tomorrow.
I got a "best wishes" e-mail from Stewart Walker yesterday. He's been over there for almost two years now with no intentions of coming back in the immediate future, at least none he's shared with me. He's looking forward to my arrival. Something about that guy, I like him a lot. His new album is really good, too. Very different for him. Listening/soundtrack-type music. No 4/4 beats. I can hear a couple of tracks in a car commercial, easy.
Tresor's been looking after me a lot, too. I'm doing a couple of the "It's Not Over" tour dates, including Maria, the night I arrive! I'd kinda been on the outs with them, but we've been friends again since the closing parties. I've always liked being associated with them, playing the club (particularly my two-year Love Parade weekend residency at Tresor Park!), and doing records for them. "Progress" was the single most successful release of my career and I hope to be doing more for the label. I'm glad things are cool again.
As you can see at left, I'll be attending Popkomm for the first time. The event has moved to Berlin (I think it was in Cologne before), and I'll be in town, so no reason not to go. I won't be playing or anything (as far as I know), just chillin'. If you see me, come up and say hi.
Hope you got your e-newsletter if you signed up! Lots more news to come, stuff I can't talk about yet! And if you wanna leave a comment here, feel free.
OK, back to packing. See you in Berlin!
-AO :: 4:44 PM ::
My Bunk-Ass Summer.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
This has got to be one of the worst summers I ever had. The only time I've ever looked forward to fall. The only thing good about this summer was the weather.
First of all, when I planned to move to Berlin, after the Tresor closing parties, it was late April, early May. I figured back then I'd enjoy the summer in Chicago, and leave at the end of August. I'd looked forward to a lot. As for parties, it'll be summertime, surely somebody will be giving parties I could play at!
Right?
Well, I was supposed to go to VA. Cancelled. Then NYC. Cancelled. Detroit was cool, but it was a charity thing to help out Electric Avenue. I liked the drive, though, it was great to get into the country. And kill me for saying this, but I missed Royal Oak. It felt good to be there again for a couple of days, hanging out like I used to.
My little group of friends here in Chicago didn't get together all summer, either, aside from Henry's little b-day party. We didn't even go out on Henry's boat this year! Also, Mills was gone all summer so we couldn't hang out. The only high points for me were that gig in Providence, the San Diego Comic-Con (itself cut short 'cause of plane ticket hassles), making some good music again, and me working with Emilie, my new best friend.
Gas prices kept me close to home as well.
And now that the summer movie crush has ended, I must say that the winner (among those I've seen), is "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" of all things. Yup, better than "Batman Begins," better than "War of the Worlds."
Anyway, I'm busy between now and the end of the year, and thank God. I can't wait to put this summer far behind me.
PS: For all of you who signed up for the mailing list, thanks for your interest! The newsletter is coming out within the next couple of days.
-AO :: 6:11 PM ::
The Countdown Begins.
One of those days. I haven't been able to sleep all the way through the night lately. I get up early, then I walk around all day like a zombie. Too tired to get anything done. It's a nice day out, though, if a little cool. Fall's on the way.
The countdown has begun. I'll be out of here next week. I've been to Europe many times, as you know, even lived in Berlin a few times before, but I'm really excited about this trip. I can't wait to get out of the States and rock some goddamn shows. God, you have no idea. There's a Helmut Newton retrospective going on now in Berlin through the 17th, as well. Guess where I'm going when I get there (well, in between playing out)?
I've got some release news too, but I'm trying to wait 'till the newsletter is sent. Yup, the first of these new tracks is about to hit. There are a couple of things I have to confirm before I send the newsletter out, though. If you want to sign up for it, get hold of me at info@alanoldham.com
I heard from Mr. Ben Sims earlier today. Not much going on with him right now. He's sounding a little burned-out. I know that sound well. They're doing a boat party this weekend in London. Clarke was supposed to play but he cancelled. I wish I could have wormed my way onto the line-up. I'll bet I could have, but I won't be over there yet. =P
Don't know if I told you, but I finally found a singer for my trip-hop project. Her name is Emilie, and she used to be in Courtney Love's band, The Chelsea. She was with Courtney during that whole meltdown tour in NYC back in early 2004 where she bopped a guy upside the head with a mic, went insane on Letterman, let a random guy suck her tit, all that shit. If you look at the paparazzi photos from back then, Em's in a lot of them. I love her to death. And yeah, she's writing and singing over my tracks. More on this trip-hop thing as it develops.
-AO :: 5:05 PM ::
Politics.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
I don't really talk about politics on this blog. Too many people can get offended when somebody of any stature takes unpopular positions, especially when they're black. I did that a lot in the '90s when it came to techno and dance music, and I know how heated people can be when you challenge their opinions.
But I just wanted to say that I'm 100% in support of Cindy Sheehan, the lady who started the anti-war vigil outside of President Bush's ranch in Crawford, TX.
Somebody on the Internet likened her sit-in to that of Rosa Parks. I'm naturally very leery when any white American is compared with our beloved civil rights leaders, or they hijack black rhetoric to justify white positions (like when Republicans use MLK's "color-blind society" quote to defend their anti-affirmative action polemics) but in this case, the comparison is well-founded. One lady has sparked a movement, it seems.
Between the high-visibility of Ms. Sheehan's efforts, the failure of the puppet Iraqi government to draft a constitution or to quell the insurgency (one man's insurgent is another man's freedom fighter), Karl Rove's legal woes, and gas prices at $3.00 a gallon and climbing (and Cheney's mafia in the Dept. of Energy--in essence--telling the American people to "get used to it"), it seems middle America is finally waking up to the true nature--and ultimate failure--of the Bush/Cheney agenda, and it's great to see.
(Of course, that agenda is only a failure if you aren't a shareholder or Board Member of Halliburton or related companies, Bell Helicopter or related companies, Carlyle Group or related companies, or any of America's energy corporations.)
Call me a cynic, but if things deteriorate any more for the Bush administration, expect to see either a) another video tape from Bin Laden (Uncle Sam knows where he is, by the way, and uses him as an all-purpose Boogieman), or b) another "terrorist" attack somewhere on U.S. soil, either of which will serve to validate the Bush agenda.
The Israelis seem to be smarter than the Americans and have seen the writing on the wall. Their pull-out from Gaza is a great victory for peace on both sides. You can bet there won't be any PLO or radical Islamic violence there for a good long while.
OK, I got the political thing out of my system, I won't talk about it anymore ;-)
-AO :: 4:28 PM ::
Monday Monday.
Track of the day: Gang of Four "Call Me Up"
Two weeks and counting 'till Berlin. I'm a celebrity, get me out of here! This music is a lost cause here in the States. It has been for a few years, but it's gotten more acute lately. I was asked yesterday by this person to put a mix on her website, but it's American and so is she, which means it would do me absolutely no good to put a mix on there.
On the other hand, I was asked by Play.fm in Austria if they could record my upcoming set in Vienna. I was like, "of course" ;-)
Needless to say, the few Americans who still like my stuff and buy my records and comics are super-cool with me. I love you guys. Consider yourself in a very, very, very exclusive club. There will be some new stuff for you to buy, stay tuned. =)
Going to my friend's place later today to lay down some vocals for this track I'm working on. New psuedonym, new sound, the whole bit. I've been grindin' the shit out. I'm shopping the EP as a work in progress as we speak.
Got some trip-hop stuff I'm doing, too, also with female vox. I've mentioned it before. Really dark and sexy. That's my thing, lately. One good thing about Chicago is that I've fallen in with this great bunch of non-electronic indie-rockers who all have their own studios and like working together as friends.
I talked to Keith Tucker yesterday. I'd never talked to him on the phone before. He just got back from Berlin. He's considering making the jump, too. We talked about our experiences with Submerge ;-) I might be doing a remix for him at some point.
OK, gotta get out into this day. Have you seen these gas prices? It's skirting towards $3.00 a gallon here. It's gonna be like "Mad Max" out there in a minute. Tribes fighting for gas.
-AO :: 2:03 PM ::
Mailing List.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Hey everybody, I'm getting the latest direct mail newsletter together right now. If you want to sign up for it, please send us your e-mail address at info@alanoldham.com. Sorry there's no direct link, I'm on the cheap version of Blogger =)
Not much to say today, I'm saving all the news for the newsletter.
Here's a crazy question: Does anybody out there have any idea what it would cost to have a doll/action figure manufactured?
Let me know.
-AO :: 11:25 AM ::
Stuff.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
I've been working on this track for a week, getting the EQs right and everything. It's not techno at all, but it's still dance music. It's gonna have vocals. Yes, I'm gonna sing on it. It won't be under the DJ T-1000 name, but a new psuedonym.
These remixes for "Elektrofive" are almost done. Nope, still not gonna tell you who the remixers are (there's a clue somewhere in this blog, though). It's nobody you'd normally associate with my usual style, like Ben Sims or anyone like that. I did vocals for that one, too.
I'm telling you, I don't know about 4/4 these days. When it comes to playing out, yeah. But as far as production, I'm all about new things at the moment. Sometimes I feel like I've said all I have to say with 4/4. That could change though.
The gig offers are coming in now that I'm moving to Europe. We'll post them here as they're finalized, of course. I'm excited to be getting out of here. I went out yesterday and bought me a big ol' suitcase. My last one got smashed by Air France last year =P
I got an e-mail out of the blue today from this woman named Ruth, a old friend from Wayne State. She used to date a friend of mine and we became friends, too. She was surfing the web and came across some of my art. I was doing the "Johnny Gambit" comic and "Fast Forward," too, back when I knew her, in the '80s. What a blast from the past.
OK, back to work on this track. I'm recording it now.
Thanks to Steve Tang for loaning me his Quadraverb.
-AO :: 2:09 PM ::
Back To Work.
Had a nice weekend in Detroit. The gig wasn't half bad considering it was Foran's. What a dump. The people who were there were into it, though, and even dancing (*gasp*). The system was decent, as well. I actually played a whole set in the USA with no problems, imagine that.
Billeebob opened for me, an old Detroit head from back in the day. He closed with the Bus Boys "Did You See Me" and I damn near died. I hadn't heard that record in 20 years! Such fun. I gotta dig my copy out, I've had it since 1980. If you really wanna know who the Bus Boys were, leave a comment and I'll explain. Nobody knows their music like black Detroit DJs.
Saw a few of my hardcore fans like Jimmy Stewart and Gary Elliott. I went to middle school with Gary and his parents live a few blocks from my grandmother. They seem to be there every time I go home to play. Jimmy's got a new girlfriend with a pretty face and some big-ass boobs. In fact, a lot of the women at the crib look like they've been drinking their milk, putting it tactfully.
Alex from Ultradyne was there, too. He's always at my Detroit shows. We're working on something together right now. It feels funny saying "Detroit shows" in the plural, seeing as I swore I'd never play there again. Never say never, I guess.
I played 100% techno, by the way. Didn't try to tone it down or anything. All new set, too, a bunch of stuff I never played out before. I guess they were so starved for real techno, they screamed and cheered for it.
Mark Flash closed. I thought he was all electro, but he played hard. I was surprised. It was kinda like DJ Funk only without the booty lyrics, that jack style with the clap and kick on the same measure, you know.
Next day, I did a little shopping (cheaper at the crib), had a decent Coney Island (which they don't have in Chicago), went and visited my mom, and came on back. I'm not doing much today, just making plans for 2006 and doing some writing (comics and this blog). On Mondays after I spin, I usually need a vacation from my vacation.
-AO :: 3:12 PM ::
Projects.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Seventh Sign art job (finally) finished and out.
Djax art job finished and out.
New EP project demo (finally) burned to CD and out.
Remixes on "Elektrofive" track continue, should be done by mid-August and shopped end of month.
Had coffee with vocalist/lyricist for trip-hop project (last week).
Mailed out 30-second promo video spot to European booking agents.
Secured Berlin flat (last week).
Currently writing second issue of comic.
Back to Detroit this Saturday to spin.
I'm over my frustration with software, by the way. For now ;-)
-AO :: 2:47 PM ::
