DJ Phone Home

Briefly describe your show. A big old DJ dance party with games, mayhem and a level of interaction between audience and the DJ never before seen.

What was the inspiration behind your show? I’ve been DJing dance nights for over a decade, my flagship night being Mr McClelland’s Finishing School, where I danced just as hard as the crowd and I loved the interplay of energy between the DJ and dance loor. Then I saw the brilliant FNC stand-up/impro show in Melbourne where the crowd can send suggestions to the performers and vote on what they’re enjoying most in real time, via their phones and see the direct results of that instantly in the performance. I realised the same could be done to make a heck of a dance party, so I done done it.

What makes your show different? For one, every night is different. The crowd has a big hand in picking where the dance party may go. As a DJ I’m more of a ‘selector’ in that I’ve a huge amount of music at my fingertips, from Chuck Berry to Beyoncé, and the interactivity between myself and the crowd means we can go anywhere musically. Every show can and will be different. I’ve also got a lot of surprises up my sleeve when it comes to games for the audience to get involved with, once they’ve shed their inhibitions.

Briefly describe the development process of your show? Tell us a bit about your creative team, too. The rather high-tech interactive element couldn’t have been done without the help of Simone Pulga who runs the Butterfly Club in Melbourne. He’s also a programmer and has put together a heck of a system by which people can send in suggestions for songs and vote on songs that have already been suggested on their phones while watching how their votes are going against each other on the screens in real time. It’s kinda hard to describe, but it’s pretty damned awesome to watch.

Why did you decide to do Fringe 2015? And have you been involved in previous/interstate Fringe festivals and how was the experience? I’ve been involved in the Fringe for over a decade now as a stand-up, but my other line of work has always been DJing. It’s a passion and pleasure for me and I really wanted to combine my love of DJing a party with the more performative elements I’ve developed for years as a stand-up. Adelaide Fringe is the perfect place to bring the show as it is the most concentrated and hard partying of all of the festivals in Australia. I say that not to flatter, merely as truth.

What are you excited to see at this year’s Fringe? Essentially everything and all I can at Rhino and the Gardens. I love a combination of solid stand-up and wild carny performance.

And for a fun random one, in a fantasy world who would you be the love child of? Jarvis Cocker and Taylor Swift. I’d have talent, style and one heck of a double-barrelled surname.