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Paul Dirks (NL): “The audience went wild”
I met Dutch DJ/producer Paul Dirks during ADE, where he played. About his first gig he said: “After two good transitions I lost that nervousness.”
My First Gig
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Irregular Synth (ITA): “Felt a tremendous sense of calm”
Vincenzo Palumbo a.k.a. Irregular Synth’s first official gig took place in The Netherlands. “My parents had to give permission for the flight because I was only seventeen.”
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Hellboy (POL): “Extremely critical of myself”
The Polish hard techno DJ/producer Hellboy had his first gig at a techno party in Krakau, that he had organized himself. “Most of all I was very excited!”
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Groovemaster Johnson (UK): “’Fade in, fade out’”
UK-garage pioneer Groovemaster Johnson has lived in The Netherlands for many years. Of course, we spoke about his unique first gig story. “Freaking out over a small bag of weed.”
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Frau Hofmann (DE): “That gig skyrocketed my motivation”
Frau Hofmann and I met in 2017. After an interesting chat we agreed to do an interview about her first gig. She remembers: “The delay of the mixer was on the whole time. Hilarious!”
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Dave Leatherman a.k.a. TFX (NL): “Made plenty mistakes”
Dutch DJ/producer Dave Leatherman a.k.a. TFX is a true house pioneer who started DJing in 1987! He speaks vividly about his first gig. “With trembling knees, I put my first record on.”
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Gary Beck (UK): “The event got off to a bad start”
The first time I saw Gary Beck live, was in the Amsterdam Studios. In 2017 he told me about his DJ-debut. “Every mix was a train wreck.”
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Full On Funk (NL): “Lucky to have good mentor”
Dutch DJ/producer Rens van Nellestijn a.k.a. Full On Funk a.k.a. Kind Of One told me in May 2017 about his first gig: “I was mixing with trembling hands.”
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Daniela Haverbeck (CHI): “Owned four hardcore records”
Chilean DJ/producer Daniela Haverbeck and I often saw each other at Ruigoord. In 2016 we had a chat about her first gig(s). “I simply played both sides of every vinyl.”
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DJ Cellie (NL): “Amazing time in that ‘farmer’s shed’”
When DJ Cellie and I run into each other, we always hug and have a laugh. About his first gig he told me: “I realized: pre-programmed DJing didn’t work.”
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Chopstick & Johnjon (DE): “John helped out”
In 2017 I interviewed Chopstick & Johnjon about their first gig. Chopstick: “The pressure not to mess up and the many drinks beforehand, due to me being nervous, had made me a bit tipsy as well.”
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Kid Culture (NL): “Had to work with what was there”
Dutch Kid Culture started playing at a young age. He remembers well how it was, that first time. “My real first big gig was being the support act of Gangstar in Paradiso, Amsterdam.”
