Five For Friday #09: Tittsworth
March 2010 is going to be a momentous month for electronic music in DC, and one of the key players is none other than Jesse Tittsworth, a standout of the DC music scene; accomplished producer (check last year’s debut album ‘12 Steps’ on Plant Music), revered bootlegger (the oft-heralded remix of Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.”, which US music publications noted as being a prime example of unofficial remixing done extremely well), seasoned promoter (the drum'n'bass booker for the Stereo events at The Edge, part of the crew that threw dnb weekly Volume at UP in 2003, and then the no holds barred Krunk events, where hip-hop and club reigned supreme, with DJs and crowds that were out to have a good time), and then on to globe trotting club DJ, headlining everywhere from gully dive bars to sonically pristine mega clubs and multi-day music festivals.
So what is next for Tittsworth? Where does it go from here? How does one of DC’s own go from opening up the occasional dnb night in 2000, to eating live octopus during a three week DJ tour of Asia in 2009? Lets get down to the Q&A
DCDNB: We are jumping right in. What’s the word on U Street Music Hall? We want to hear about the sound system, first & foremost. Plus stuff like capacity, age limits, hours, the kitchen menu, the bar, any hidden little treasures. What is going to make this spot the spot for electronic music in DC?
Tittsworth: U Hall is a no frills dark basement spot at 1115 U Street NW (under the 7-11 / Subway - http://twitter.com/uHallDC). It focuses on forward thinking dance and live music several nights of the week. It’ll be around 350 capacity, 18+ on most nights (21+ on one), and come as you are - no bottle service, dress code or bullshit pop music. Some nights might be techno or dubstep, others might be house or even a live band performance.
Imagine a proper stage to enjoy your favorite live act and a large wooden dance floor that runs almost the entire length of the venue, connecting to the DJ booth on the opposite end of the club. The dance floor has a little bit of spring to it so that it will bounce just enough when folks really get into it. The DJ booth alone is larger than some venues in DC and the sound is epic. I’m talking a system that will physically compel you to dance.
The are 2 bars, one of which stretches almost the entire length of the club. I’m not sure if we’ll be open with food right off the bat but expect interesting culinary takes on old favorites like hot dogs and grilled cheeses.. you know, proper bar food you wouldn’t be ashamed to eat if you were sober!
DCDNB: Any event info you can leak to us? The opening night with Belgian duo Aeroplane and DC’s Beautiful Swimmers is on the calenders for 3/17 already, as well as 88 Music’s Forward Festival event on 3/19, but we want to know what else. Any drum'n'bass acts planned yet?
Tittsworth: One of the things that I love about U Hall is that most of our weekends will focus on residents and locals. I love the idea of having our city and our friends hold down Fridays and Saturdays. I think it speaks volumes for the talent in our city and in our scenes.
Don’t get me wrong, we’ll have the occasional exception to the rule, but by in large expect many of your touring acts to take place on week nights. This will include drum'n'bass of course ;-) The thought process here is that U Hall DC become the type of place you go to because you expect good music and good times, and less about having to see this DJ or that.
DCDNB: Your own musical history includes a heavy chapter on drum'n'bass, from DJing a lot of the pertinent local drum'n'bass events to going on to throwing several of your own that featured drum'n'bass. Now with your genre bending, “lets just party” sets incorporating whatever you are feeling & is moving crowds, you’ve been going in to some stretches of drum'n'bass tunes in your current sets. What was doing it for you back in the late 90s / early 2000s? And who is doing it for you now?
Tittsworth: I was a weird kid growing up. In the 90’s I was in high school and all over the place. I remember when I would get all done up in goth paint and was really into Skinny Puppy, Coil and Throbbing Gristle. Around then I got a taste of local hardcore, punk and indie bands right (Hoover, Frodus, Jen Hitt). At the same time, I was always drawn to black/urban music. My first 2 tapes were The Fat Boys and Michael Jackson, Prince too, but in the 90’s I guess it was more go-go, Big L, Wu-Tang, Nas, ATCQ, etc.
THEN THE RAVE BUG BIT.
After that it was all over. For about five years I forgot what songs with vocals even sounded like. My world unraveled to to the beat of drum and bass, techno, house, etc. Goldie’s 'Timeless’ was one of my favorite albums. Really came into it through Reinforced Records and UK hardcore on labels like Moving Shadow. I followed drum'n'bass for damn near a decade (still loosely do) and enjoyed many of its periods - tech/hardstep, heavy breaks, jungle/amens, Certificate 18 weirdness, dubby stuff, you name it. I’m glad to see that I can still get away with playing drum'n'bass in my sets now. In a recent set I played NC-17’s “Slugpath”, Future Signal & Audio’s “Furyen” and new bits from Subfocus.
DCDNB: What makes for the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich?
Tittsworth: lotta love, a touch of hate and a hot iron.
DCDNB: With you and Will Eastman’s new venture, what do you hope to see happen in DC’s electronic music scene (e.g. the all encompassing term, rather than the little pockets of genres)?
Tittsworth: I love playing different types of music just like I love eating different types of food or having friends from drastically different demographics. To me, I miss having a home to dance music. To some that was Tracks or Nation/Capital Ballroom, or Red. I remember going to Buzz almost every week for years and years. I experienced so many talented artists from so many places in the world and in so many genres. Met so many good friends that I continue to consider family; gay, straight, black, white, Spanish, old, young, whatever. I miss that type of home for the various scenes I see scattered around town.
Thanks again to Jesse for taking the time to do this Q&A for DCDNB! With the final preparations being done, I appreciated the time & thought Jesse put in to the questions and the answers. At the time of this posting, the sound system was just installed, and U Street NW might experience some seismic activity due to sound checks over the next week and a half. Opening night is marked for March 17, 2010. Best of luck once again to Jesse and Will Eastman on this!
Next on deck for the Five For Friday feature will be the Cannon Boyz, based out of Baltimore and playing at Club 24 in a couple weeks. We will catch up with where they are taking their sound in production, where they are traveling and information about their upcoming debut LP.