RS: Tell me about your first white party, the pool gig.
Kimberly S: The first pool gig was at The Hilton, a small pool party. It wasn’t the big Wyndham party, there were people just laying out by the pool and stuff. I remember meeting my very first major fan, Richard Morales, there. He was dancing up front and he said “girl, this music’s fun, good, happy and it’s got groove, I love it.” He was dancing and it just so happened that the right people were there at the Hilton in the rooms and could hear. The word spread that the pool parties at the Hilton were a lot of fun. The next year, Jeffrey put me on at the Wyndham and that was a major event. I played that Saturday and then the Tea Dance the following year. The Tea Dance was the biggest party in terms of people who love being at the White parties, the Tea Dance I think is definitely the favorite party, and I did it again this year.
RS: How do you describe yourself musically?
Kimberly S: I would describe it in a simple words as positive, emotional, and fun. I play familiar music but I also play stuff that’s interesting and different, I like to mix my sets with the old and new. I like bouncy basslines, if I play tribal it has to be upbeat, with a bouncy bassline and maybe a disco break or some other break in it. I play lots of peaks and valleys, crescendos and climaxes, music that makes the listener feel something at every point of the night or the day, whenever it is that I’m playing. I play so that the dancers feel inspired and it becomes a natural feeling.
I view playing in two ways, one is you take the audience on a journey or you take them on a trip. When you take a crowd on a journey it’s just one of those things that just happens, it’s automatic and everyone’s together as one. They're not all going to want to take that journey together, it’s like a bunch of different people wanting different things at different times. That’s where the real talent comes in, when you keep everyone happy for the most part.
RS: You played at The Girl Bar, which I’m assuming is a lesbian club, and you played circuit clubs or circuit parties, and I would think those are more gay male-oriented. How do you play them differently, like, do you take the gay boys on a journey and take the lesbians on a trip?
Kimberly S: Well there have been times when I’ve been able to take the lesbian crowds on a journey and as of late it’s more difficult. Girls are very into familiar music and music that is radio-oriented. The lesbians really like hip hop and R&B, which dominates popular radio, so a majority of that is played out regularly in clubs. I was discovered through playing lesbian clubs and that is much of my experience, so I think that’s what makes me able to be extremely flexible is that I have played for both. Girls are definitely the most difficult group to play for and my career is based on the guys. I play Girl Bar once a month now and I do Dinah Shore weekends as well as travelling every week and playing for the boys
RS: How do you think being a woman has affected your career as a DJ?
Kimberly S: I am lesbian but I have a very Southern California girl appearance, I’m small and I’m feminine at the same time, so and I could compare with the female DJs who are out there. I’ve had to really become a part of the environment, not the drug part because I’m sober thirteen years, and that part is just something that I accept and deal with. Playing for the guys allows me to be free and dress comfortable in a wife-beater or funky urban wear as opposed to dressing up more for the girls. It really allows me to completely be myself and be comfortable. I find that that is more accepted than when I first started playing for the boys, it more about “oh, she's really pretty and she's got that kind of publicity and she is more of a product.” I felt that my talent in the very beginning may have been overlooked due to that. I think that looks work but I think that at some point talent is more important. You know, I’m not a guy so I can’t go out there and go look, I can take my shirt off, I’m really hot and I’m a good DJ. I have to really prove myself out there that I’m super talented. I can say that I feel that I am talented, I know that not everyone’s going to love what I play or what I do or how I do it, and that's fine, there’s no perfect world. But what is important is that I’m able to reach my fans in a way that maybe no other DJ can or that they understand what I’m doing for them and for myself. So the fans understand me and what I’m doing and we don’t have a problem in that area as far as boys go.
