DJ Spotlight
Dec 2009 D6
Real Name: darren barnes
Alias: 'd6'
Hometown: reno/n.shore since 1979 / born in ventura,ca
Age: 38
Profession: NNIC /visuals/bots/ basic grunt laboring
Hobbies: staring / dogs / generally being alive
Affiliations:
Q: When did you get into electronic music and what made you decide to become a Dj?
I started to collect records when i was given "sgt peppers" for my 6th b-day - lots of looping sounds on that one that freaked me out as much as the "good vibrations" sound did. I'd just sit in my room playing it over and over trying to figure out what those sounds were. The 1st record i bought was "the story of star wars", and i loved the bleeps/bloops. I'd do chores to get 75cents together to go down to tower and buy 45's. By 1984 , i started making mixtapes w/lots of depeche mode, new order and kraftwerk, to go along with my love for speed metal,skatepunk, and rap(liked the drum machines and scratching), but i'd also throw in the "hot butter-popcorn" 45 or something like "v2' eno/bowie. I didn't actually "dj" with technics until 1988, and from then on i'd play on them any chance i got. i don't believe that i've ever decided to be a dj -
Q: Where did you come up with your Dj name and what does it mean?
'd6' used to be the collective name we used for shows in the mid 90's, ("d6 presents") specifically when our core group was happy,alcheme,spam,myself, kheshire, arch and j.curl. Seems like most people just called me that anyways, but after a show was incorrectly credited to me as an individual in an article, i was stuck with it. Prior to that, i'd use a diff. "dj" name for every show. 'd6' itself spawned from a mis-labeled piece of mail i got from the meat beat manifesto fanclub as i was on my way to the bowling alley - so "duhairon barones" became "duhairon6" for the automated scorekeeper, which then de-evolved further to 'd6'. could you find a more boring story?
Q: What genres do you play and what others do you have an interest in?
for edm, i like just about everything aside from happy hardcore and club trance, there are great sounds to be found almost anywhere. i will always listen to uk breaks, minimal, DnB (even though i dont play much dnb out) & mbm projects. i have always loved experimental/noise as well - coil (and all of their related projects, including TG) being a huge influence. Liars is one of my favorite bands in recent history, i'm a total music nerd through and through......
Q: For those not familiar with your style, how best could you describe it?
gawd awful! - i'll ruin styles equally - it depends on the show, so i'll try and play whatever fits the "theme" best now, or compliment who's before/after me, whereas in my early days i'd just play what i liked and didn't care if it cleared the room. i've tried to become less of a self-absorbed artard, with limited success.the best quote back to me re: my own playing was @ the freighthouse when a gangbanger leaned over the tables and said "man,how much acid did you drop"? after an attempted scratch session over jb3's "forklift" and whales.
Q: What are your latest accomplishments as a DJ?
i don't think i've done anything as a "dj" really, so still being allowed to play publicly? - 'Family' - organized by j.curl,mener,arch is always a great reminder of just having fun, while the beats antique event proved we could still swing variety shows w/ dj sets (coop and bbt crushed that show, btw). decom and yuris went well i suppose.
Q: What is or was your greatest accomplishment?
still being alive due to my own stupidity, having kids, married to a great woman.....as far as "dj" though, hasn't happened - too many moments that are all uniquely special and twisted, and there hasn't been one above all others, just lots of amazing tiny ones (which is great since they cancel out all of the terrible ones) - i like that i've gotten to see so many people play, and evolve, which has helped me tremendously to stay motivated.
Q: Any strange requests, odd happenings or just weird things ever happen while you were playing? Or your most memorable gig?
lots!, but isn't that more of a robot-appropriate question...and that would take too long - something "curious" happens almost every time. so a shortlist: "play more swing music" (@ an open fire pit pig roast), "you just gave me my 1st orgasm of the day" (@sf decom), wanna-be sexy girl dancing w/ a tazer as a light show and unintentionally zapping those close-by (@kystne), the other weirdness i'll have to keep to myself........
Q: MP3, CD or Vinyl and why?
vinyl and cd (especially now w/lots of non-vinyl releases), i can't afford to switch technology every time it changes
Q: What's the one track that never leaves your record bag or cd case?
songs of the humpback whale and 80808 - bassbin twins
Q: Are there any projects you’re working on to look forward to in the next year?
I'm attached to Androids Dungeon, Yuris Night and Decom events annually. Getting Lu.Bo.Ra. something decent, and improving upon our visual efforts for Tipper and 'BigBounce2" are high up on my list. Coachella is ok, and we'll hopefully be asked back to Voodoo. We're always tinkering for Burning Man as well. it goes by fast.
Q: Who are your favorite Producers and or Dj’s that you listen to, play or have been influenced by and why?
as lame it reads, everything i hear influences me, positive or negative. i respect jack dangers tremendously even if i don't like everything he puts out. spooky is great as multimedia, bassbin,vandal, blende,cirquit freq,q,koma&bones, and on and on and on. dj -wise i've always loved turntablists - q-bert and the inv.sk.pklz destroyed my mind the 1st time i saw them.
Q: If you didn’t become a Dj what else do you think you would be doing when you’re not at your day job?
personal time, would still be the drumms, which i play infrequently these days. i was in bands from age 13-35, but once i had a family it needed to be more about meeting their needs than me being out on tours, or practicing endlessly. i'm lucky i have gotten to find a balance in between it all.
Q: Didn’t you used to own a record store in Reno? What ever became of that?
Nope, however i used to co-run the Satans Pimp record label out of my house, almost up until the time i left gob (91-96), then Jon took it over completely. while I was an integral part of the dj store, most of the upfront money was Happy and our mutual friend Janelle, w/ me there everyday. Happy and I wanted to do something other than just shows, but our timing wasn't so good with the formats changing, and operating a store on next to nothing. The store lasted a couple years with it paying for itself, and it just worked out so that when the end came for Scurvy Bastards (the other half of the store space was run by the captain), we could fold the store as well. Happy went to school and re-located, just as most of the Bastards did.
Q: You’ve provided different types of interactive media to many events in Reno as well as many other cities. Where did the interest in interactive screens, visual and robots come from and how long have you been doing it?
I've loved visuals / lighting since i first saw them @ concerts. to me, it's just as important as sound, and adds another texture to the show's overall impact. we'd light fireworks for our sh!tty punk rock/joy division cover band shows, and we used to just do tv's and video feedback and project vhs tapes. the screens originated w/ munz, chad and jeremiah (aka spectralcodec) back in 1996, and after our 1st meetup, we've been working together ever since. Chad and Jeremiah left reno many years ago, so i took up where they left off w/ munz. I'll record specific audio for the screens when they're in black rock city, which i look forward to every year. Creating an overall environment has always been of interest, and we're good at being self-contained, so when we think of something we'd like to do / see, we do it.The bots i've always been attached to, the 'zine Intruder Alert! and I collaborated a lot, starting back in 1990, which led to robot paintings, other stationary robotic "art", and then came H.T.R., which was started from a scrapped art car that my wife and i had from burning man 2003.
Q: Have you noticed a decline in attendance at events you’ve played, and do you think it can be attributed to a possible loss of interest in EDM?
1) of course less people will show if i'm billed, thats why i previously used all diff. names!
b)attendance waxes/wanes when any true "underground" movement develops. When it becomes broadly-known, some of the original supporters feel less-connected and stop going, think:"i liked that band before you did, and now that they're on the radio, they suck"- it's the old equation of "the more people know about it, the less cool it is". that seems to always be a cycle. for edm, the advent of computers and online-only releases is good and bad. i love that i can preview for free instead of $10 bucks per unheard 12" that might have 90 seconds of something decent, but when a higher ratio of "suspect" tracks - (and especially "suspect" shows) happen, that makes the overall quality of each drop, and it's hard to convince new listeners/attendees that there are more amazing edm artists (and show production) out there than ever before if all they find/hear 1st is garbage.
Q: Any suggestions for other artists or promoters, either up and coming or just in general?
sure. nobody cares so d.i.y. bitches! but even so, it's always nice to be nice.
Q: Anything you would like to add or get off your chest?
32 pounds of flapjacks.