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The first public performance of Dutch DJ Bob Squat took place over 25 years ago. In 2014 Bob Keller, also known as Bob Squat, told me about his FIRST GIG. "Back then, nobody cared about mixing."
“My first performance in front of an audience ws 25 years ago. It was the summer of 1989, in discotheque De Ossenstal, that was situated on a camping site in Scherpenzeel, De Lucht.”
Nobody cared about mixing
“In those days nobody cared about mixing. You had to work with two turntables and two regular CD-players, something that resembled a mixer, and a microphone. That’s it.”
Silly joke
“Nobody cared about DJ’s either. They weren’t very interesting. We were rather considered to be a weird ornithological species that verbally connected one track to another, including an obligatory silly joke here and there.
Immediately sold
“In the DJ-booth there were tons of cases with vinyl. I was immediately sold! I would love to do this every single evening! Well, for the next four years, during high season, every single day me and my moped covered the sixty kilometers from Amsterdam to Scherpenzeel and back. I loved it.”
Ready for the big city
“One day my cousin, Rooie Cor, came over to hear me play. Consequently he offered me the chance to play at the Leidseplein in Amsterdam. After that I went to Baroque, at the Lijnbaansgracht in Amsterdam, across the street from The Melkweg.
Choices
“At a certain point I had to chose in between my construction work or full-on DJing. It was a simple choice. Very fast I got acquainted with house and mellow. Every Sundaynight you could find me in club iT, where I was enjoying the sound of labels like Outland Records and Fresh Fruit Records.”
Club Ja
“A good friend, Hans of discotheque Cash, knew really everyone who mattered in the house scene. He asked me if I wanted to get started as the house-DJ at club iT. Not the club itself by the way, but its little sister, Club Ja, around the corner, in de Paardenstraat, close to the Rembrandtplein. Manfred Langer, the iT-owner, once started at Club Ja with his parties. When they got more and more popular, they moved to the other building at the Amstel river.”
After parties
“Club Ja had been closed for a while. The landlord, Kees, who also owned the iT-building, wanted to reopen the place for after parties. It was a large club with two floors. Really everything a DJ dreamt of. And so I was thrown of the deep end. With shaky legs and a small mistake here and there, I made my debut. I was as happy as a kid in candy store.”
Shooting
“About six months later, when the business got back on its feet, it was sold. For a short period it had been a R&B club, but after a shooting the doors were shut for good.”
“On my own I found my path in the underground scene. Aside from that I played on the radio and started organizing my own parties in squatted buildings and under bridges in and around Amsterdam. Hence the alias Squat. My big examples were and still are Carl Cox and Jeff Mills. The way the set the atmosphere and give people the ultimate experience, is pure art. From techno to minimal, house is my life.”
This interview with Bob Squat is originally published on September 4th 2014 on DJMag.nl.
Who is Bob Squat?
DJ Bob Squat began spinning records in 1989. After moving from his hometown of Best, in the south of the Netherlands, to the capital city of Amsterdam, Bob Squat became inspired by the music and vibrant club scene. At a young age, Bob Squat was already playing dance music in clubs around Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein, in the heart of the city.
When house music emerged in Amsterdam and the warehouse parties and underground scene became a reality, Bob Squat developed himself and his music alongside the hype. While spinning at various underground parties in Amsterdam, such as the Silo Warehouse, he organized his first underground event called Final Solution. Bob Squat also hosted large events in the east of Amsterdam under the Schellingwoude Bridge, in the west near Sloterdijk, and at the Bricorama.
Not long after, Bob Squat became involved in organizing Legalize, the annual street rave in Amsterdam. Due to his growing knowledge of underground locations in Amsterdam over the years, many organizations and DJs often seek his coaching. As a result, Bob Squat has organized and/or played alongside artists such as Steve Rachmad, Micha B alias Chris Cortez, Miss Wendy, Dimi Angelis, Alex Motu, Joel Mull, Carlos Valdez, Dexon, Lady Lago, Pavo, and many others.
DJ Bob Squat is one of the three founders who launched the Amsterdam Dance Radio show in April 2009. Together with DJs Miss Wendy and Alex Motu, they host their own weekly radio show, featuring the latest club, tribal, trance, tech house, electro, techno, and classic sounds. DJs, producers, artists, label owners, entertainers, dance fashion promoters, or other guests from the dance scene are always invited for the second hour for interviews and/or a live set or act. DJ Bob Squat is also working on his first productions.
More Bob Squat?
More FIRST GIGs? Chech them all here!
