Storm Front DJ Michael Storms Brings the Power of Music to Miami Nightlife
By Jenny Adams
DJ, producer, international party instigator — call Michael Storms what
you like. They all apply. Mixing beats for some of the largest club
scenes in the world, Storms created the soundtrack for more than one
club owner’s successful evening. We sat down with him to discuss the
past, the future and a little of the celebrity capturing he has been
working on currently.
Michael Storms Interview:
You have mixed beats for crowds of well over 3,000 people, how did you get into this business. When did it all begin?
I got into the business about 25 years ago. I have always liked
music, and when I used to go to local nightclubs in Rockland County,
N.Y., I used to go to one nightclub all the time. I was a regular, and
I knew the bartenders and the owners, and one day the DJ didn’t show
up. I kind of, as a favor jumped up there, and I did the best I could
and wound up playing for the night.
Was there one DJ who was a mentor to you?
One person in particular that was a DJ, who a lot of people know and
who was very big in New York, by the name of Roman Ricardo. I believe
that he was the resident DJ at Roxy. This was back in the day, and he
and his partner were innovators. They were probably the first people to
bring Hip-Hop into New York City when it was a bunch of urban kids
spinning on cardboard boxes on the street corners. He was one of the
first people who saw that style of music as cutting edge, and they
actually brought that into the Roxy roller rink, and then they made one
night of dance which turned into almost 5,000 people strong and
launched almost every major Hip-Hop artist from back in that day. Right
now, I don’t know if you can deny it any more. It’s huge. I mean, I
don’t have the sales reports in front of me, but if I had to take a
guess I would say it is probably the largest-selling genre of music out
there.
What is the Miami music scene like in 2005, how has it changed, how do you feel it is different from the rest of the country?
Miami is a very funny town to me. I love it to death, but also in a lot
of ways it is the home of the fraud. It is a lot of people from a lot
of other cities like New York that couldn’t make it and then wound up
in Miami. As hip as it is in a lot of ways, it is pretty behind New
York, and it’s not really cutting edge. There are a lot of sheep in
Miami, and there are not that many Shepards down there.
What I mean by this is that these clubs open, and they want to steal
the staff from the most successful place that is already open. Because
they’re not innovative enough to go out and find their own talented
people. So they just say, “Who ever the hot flavor of the month is,
let’s just go grab their DJ, their doorman, their manager,” and they
stick out their checkbook. They have a lot of money, but sometimes not
the creativity that comes along with it.
Tell us a little about working for Crobar and Space in Miami.
I was the opening DJ when Space and Crobar first opened. It was
like four years ago, and as soon as they opened the doors, and the
paint was still new and drying, I was the Saturday night DJ. The
numbers we did there were staggering. It was unbelievable. I DJed there
for a little over a year, and it was the craziest thing that I ever
saw. They had the best staff, the best building, and I think the music
was really fun. The crowd was extremely energetic. We used to get
standing ovations at the end of the night, which I’ve been 25 years in
the club business and I haven’t seen too many of those. Everybody took
part in making it a tremendous success.
What are you currently working on?
Right now I am in the studio I am doing a couple of different things. I
am looking to put together another nightclub. I am working on a bunch
of different interesting projects with a few top people in the
industry, as well as some of my own music which is the one thing that I
haven’t done in my entire career.
You said you also were working on your own stuff. What is going on with that?
I am doing some tracks and some stuff with some emerging new artists,
and I am working with a couple of new labels. I am taking a chance if
you will, and we will see what happens. If it flys, if it doesn’t fly —
either way, I am having a good time, and to me that is what it is all
about.
What do you think about the DJs of today’s music scene?
“Anybody can DJ and mix two records together, but it is the art in my
opinion. It is the art of taking people on a journey, of picking the
right music at the right time — not just putting your head down, beat
mixing a fabulous mix or hot mix or whatever you want to call it, and
then you pick your head up and nobody’s left on the dance floor. That’s
not the idea of the game. A lot of the run of the mill DJs, they
haven’t paid their dues and put enough time in to have a feel for it. I
really believe that is something that can’t be taught. It is experience
— to have that inner soul and a feel for the music and a feel for how
to guide five or six thousand people throughout the course of the
night.
What equipment do you use, and what would you get if you had a limitless budget?
Steve Dash’s Phazon Sound System. He custom makes it, probably the best
sound system in the country, if not the world. The guy is just a
master, and the sound is just ridiculous.
What is the craziest place you have ever performed in your career?
Crobar, in the VIP room when they first opened up. It was insane. The
place was filled to twice capacity. Everybody was cheering, and no one
wanted to go home. The club was open ‘til 5 a.m., and at 5:15 no one
would leave the building. The owners told me I could play one more
song, and I played one more song, and it was like the Rolling Stones or
The Who doing an encore. For the first time I felt what it was like to
be a Rock star. Champagne was being shaken up and sprayed everywhere,
and at the end of the song I broke the record and threw it into the
crowd.
Can you tell us a little about your current work as a celebrity photographer?
I started doing it because of my access to the nightclubs, and because
I got bored DJing, quite honestly. I know a lot of celebrities from
DJing for them and having them in the VIP room. It kind of happened by
accident.
What mistakes do owners make when hiring a DJ?
Go listen to the DJ at another venue to see if you like the music, or if you ... can picture the DJ in your club.
In this day and age with all the computers and Pro Tools and home
mixing, it is not hard for a DJ who doesn’t have that much skill to
make a killer demo tape. Yet that was done in the kid’s bedroom, and he
has never even played outside a venue for 60 people, and now your venue
has 5,000. That’s a big nut to crack. Hire someone who does know music
and who area DJs are. This way, they will know who is appropriate for
the market you are looking to hit.
What would you like to see more DJs doing in the booth?
I get bored easily, so I would like to see the DJs get more creative
and take chances. Not everything has to flow and be perfectly
beat-mixed.
Me personally, I would rather have a DJ who can’t beat-mix two records
together but knew how to program like a genius. I would rather have
that than the guy who mixes flawlessly for five hours, and someone’s
got to elbow me cause I have fallen asleep.
What advice do you have for the younger generation of DJs trying to make it in this industry?
Practice your skills. It is important to be good at your craft — go
get in it. Go where they maybe don’t have a DJ, and play for free if
you have to. You can’t just walk into a place like Space or Crobar ...
It is a long waiting list ... So, you have to be talented and somewhat
aggressive.
What is in your car CD player right now?
A mixed tape of easy listening elevator music (laughs). When you are
playing at a nightclub it is a whole different scene, and I am a little
older now. NCB
DJ, producer, international party instigator — call Michael Storms what
you like. They all apply. Mixing beats for some of the largest club
scenes in the world, Storms created the soundtrack for more than one
club owner’s successful evening. We sat down with him to discuss the
past, the future and a little of the celebrity capturing he has been
working on currently.
