RS: You started as a club DJ and made the move to radio. Here in 2005 what advice do you have to DJs who want to try and make the same
move?
Hosh Gureli: You mean get into radio right now? Radio is not what it used to be. I was very fortunate in doing radio in its heyday when we could go, I like a record and five minutes later it's on the air. It doesn't work that way anymore. It seems like the big radio station owners have a corporate structure where everything has to be tested so much. It probably is not as fun being in radio right now. That's just me talking to people that have been in radio back then and now. But I think it's such an exciting time for DJs to look at what new things are happening, whether it's satellite radio, internet radio or just learning about all the digital possibilities. I really believe that this year, 2005, will go down as the year when everything changed. Look at your cell phone, it is going to be the most important tool for the next generation. iPods will become part of the cell phones. i-Tunes better start making deals with Motorola, Cingular and all those carriers because it's all going to be on your phone. Then there's the ringtones, the master tones, and all the other music possibilities. If these DJs come up with some really clever stuff that could be utilized and sold on the phone, that's where it's at. You've got to have musical sensibility.
Do you ever ask yourself, why are the biggest DJs in their later 30s/40s? Calderone, Junior, Rauhofer, Hex, Armand and the Europeans like Tiesto and Paul Van Dyk? It's because they grew up in a time where you really had to be creative in your play list. There was better music out then and it takes time to learn how to work a crowd. I hope to find new talent, and there are a few of them out there. Being a DJ and learning how to play to crowds is a gift. I always like playing to the crowd by pushing to the cliff but not pushing them off, and you find DJs that either push them off the cliff or they don't push them to the cliff.
RS: Nice, nice. You just spoke about the iPod, what's in your CD player or iPod right now? Aside from Superstars Hits Remix Number
One of course..
Hosh Gureli: Mylo, Killers, Scissor Sisters They have a lot of that 80s element and this is not a fad of the 80s thing coming and going. You're going to see more and more records - big, massive smash hits that have 80s elements with a 2006 feel. Eighties music is fun and I think people want to hear fun music again.
We've gone through a lot, we're still at war, and our lives will never be the same since 9/11, with all the security and the normal things that we used to take for granted. People want to have fun and I think the whole culture of getting wasted, staying out 24 hours and listening to the same chich-chich sound is getting tired. I think people want to have fun again. Certainly the kids do, because when I go to see what the younger generation's listening to at Poprocks and gaycollegeparty.com parties, it's amazing. The kids under twenty-five, whether you're gay or straight, listen to hip-hop and pop, and that's what they love. They couldn't care less about a remix. They'll love a Deborah Cox because she's been able to penetrate that because she's mostly known for the remix, but overall they like the original versions. They want to hear the original versions of "Outrageous" by Britney Spears and "Lean Back" and Terror Squad.
RS: Anything you want to say to the dance music lovers out there?
Hosh Gureli: It's getting fun again. Just recognize
