Clivilles:And there’s no growth, there’s no real dedication to growing, but the underground can always do that. All you need is a rich, rich guy to put a club together and kind of throw a party, like the loft. You know, they were all pretty much parties, you know, ten dollar contributions, it’s always pay the electrical in the hall, you know, to run the place but not really to get rich.
Lainie: Now, when you were younger, who were your top five DJs compared to maybe your top five now?
Clivilles: I mean, I enjoyed the Loft but that really wasn’t DJing, but it was a party. So David Mancuso did a great job playing one record at a time, but it was the ride that he took you on.
Lainie: There’s still some DJs who’ll play one record at a time, nothing wrong with that.
Clivilles: I need to see that, I have seen that. You know, Larry Levan, at the height when I first went in, I think it was 1985, that was when he was really the good DJ. Later on in the years he kind of, you know, was paying too much attention too much to the glamour. But when he was at the height of his career he was a good DJ and I still have some tapes. There was this guy called Reggie, I forget his last name, but Reggie…He used to play in the original Infernos in 19 Street. In 19…..wow, I don’t even remember, I think I was a teenager. But I got in because my cousin knew him, but he was a great DJ. Walter Gibbons, Bruce Forest was great to me at the better days, Ken Carpenter at Bonds.
Lainie: And what about now?
Clivilles: I really haven’t, you know, and not to dis anybody, because I’m not into dissing anybody, but I’ve always kept it real black and white and that’s probably why I’ve been hard to deal with in the music industry. Because I like to be honest rather than, you know, be cool about it, but I really haven’t heard anyone that’s really, really taken me to the point- I mean, I grew up with the greatest DJs and at a time when no one stood against the wall, you know, looking good. There was a time when everybody was partying, you know, you had four, five, six thousand people partying at the same time, so I’m a bit spoiled so it would be unfair for me to, to…*laughs*
Lainie: You’ve got a smirk on your face.
Clivilles: Because I really haven’t heard anyone, I mean I’ve enjoyed Little Louie, there’s been times that I’ve enjoyed Little Louie, you know, the last time I heard him and that was about three or four years ago. But everyone now like the Little Louie’s and the David Morales, you know, I’ve enjoyed Frankie for years, back then, I haven’t heard him lately so I can’t comment. I really can’t comment on the last two or three years, but I have gone into clubs in the last two or three years and pretty heard the same thing I left two or three years ago, so it’s not exciting to me. And that’s no to dis anyone, because I’m sure everyone is doing great at their craft, but no one has taken me to the climax that I was when it first happened.
Lainie: Is it weird to hear that, you know, you have these DJs though nowadays that, like Frankie Knuckles and David Morales, where they're promoted as classic night. It’s just like, that was five minutes ago, and what happened to that song, and it’s a classic already?
Clivilles: Yes. No, I don’t know, it’s not the same. Definitely there’s no dedication of passion in dance music right now, and that’s pretty much probably why I haven’t made a record in the dance music field since David passed away. Because I just felt that, I just felt that everybody was separated at that time, you know, and of course me always being honest in the way I felt, I kind of never really mended in any kind of crew, I always wanted to be part of every crew and kind of, you know, everyone has their own thing. So I kind of pretty much walked away from it, you know, I was like you know what? If you can’t play fair…
Lainie: Exactly.
Clivilles: But, you know, I wish there was dedication and passion in that music, I mean hip-hop pretty much has that dedication or passion. And I grew up in Harlem so it’s something that I’ve always wanted to be a part of. I mean I’ve always done everything, you know, I was different as a DJ, I started as a songwriter and as a DJ at the same time, so that kind of always separated me from all the other DJs.
