Donovan Livingston, August 11, 2003

Before I say anything, I want it to be clear that, after talking with Phillip from Kayotic Productions, I was going to give Miss Lisa a chance; I was going to go in with a completely open mind. That said, here is my take on Magnetism (DJ Miss Lisa CD Release Tour, Albuquerque, August 10).

The first thing I see is a big black limo sitting out in front of the party, which obviously contained Lisa, but she didn’t get out of the car until two minutes before her set. A limo? Come on, I thought we were trying to stay away from the hype.

So, she gets on the decks, and of course the whole crowd suddenly rushes to the floor. She proceeds to let the Reverend’s (or Brandon’s) last record end, then after a couple seconds of silence, starts her set. Now, anybody who knows me knows that I HATE that shit. To me, a good DJ will always mix out of the last DJ’s record, no matter what. After you have mixed into your own record, then you can stop the music all you want, but stopping the last DJ’s record is disrespectful, in my lame view.

Okay, so now the floor is hopping, as she is playing this really straightforward, hard techno (or that’s what I call it). Very typical L.A. techno, I thought. Oh, and she did all this lip-syncing to the 80’s techno remixes she played (yes, the violent femmes remix was dope). So I ask Phil if I can go behind the decks to observe. My first thought was that she was in fact mixing and not on some DAT or something. After watching her, I saw that she did nothing more than play records. That is, she would put a record on, let it play to the near end, then do a one phrase mix out into the next record, which 99% of the time built to a “drop” break, then back up into some more in-your-face techno. When the beat-mixing would start to fall off, she simply took out the bass, then the mids, then highs. In between these “mixes,” she would do this very pretty thing with her arms, as if she were a model on “The Price Is Right.” Oh, and lots of touching the frequency isolators, but never actually tweaking them.

So ... my guess is that this girl hasn’t been spinning for more than 2 years. I’m also guessing that at each stop of her tour, she played the same records in the same sequence. I’m guessing that if you listen to her CD, it will sound exactly the same as her set. I’m guessing that because she is “hot” and we are such a consumerist society, that she can wiggle and vogue her way to success, as long as she keeps playing that in-your-face techno (I thought the music was actually good, for the most part).

I have to give MAD PROPS to Phillip. You did a fantastic job for a Sunday night, and I thought. Security was done quite well. Thank you, Phillip, for a great night. That said though, I have to admit also that I am disappointed that Miss Lisa was in fact all hype, even though you assured me she was not. In the future, I would spend less money on limos and more on decorations, asthetic, a real chill area; you know, focus more on the people that make this great culture what it is. In my opinion, the party is much more than just the DJ; the Rave is a multifacted experience that takes lots of effort from lots of people. Placing so much focus on the DJ takes away from the sense of community, the sense that we each are equally as important as the other, because without each other, there is nothing.

Again, to be clear, I’m not dissing on anyone, I am simply stating my opinions on how I saw the night go down, and where I would improve, if I were in charge. In the end, I know I cannot stop this whole “hot girl DJ fad,” but I’m not going to agree with it. Being a DJ has never been about gender, race, or religion. It’s about the music and the people. DJs are conduits for love, freindship, community, and awareness.

Oh, and the face-painting lady was really dope.