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Verve Magazine gets upclose and personal with J Scott G
Posted by:
Elena on
Friday, June 08 @ 11:01:40 CDT
Albuquerque born DJ/Producer, J. Scott G get's personal with New Mexico's own Verve Magazine
By Lo DeAlba For Verve Magazine
Rebirth, that’s just what New Mexico’s J. Scott G is doing today. J. Scott G was a member of the group Deepsky for 15 years. After looking down with both feet still on the ground while on top of the dance/electronic music industry for well over a decade, what achievement could possibly outshine traveling the world performing in front of hundreds of thousands of dance/electronic music fans or remixing Madonna , Paul Oakenfold , Seal, Frank Sinatra (the first official estate commissioned electronic remix ever), David Bowie and The Crystal Method to name a few? What could be more rewarding than being featured on MTV, and producing tracks for Sandra Collins, D:Fuse, and DJ Rap? “You just start all over again,” said J. Scott G. J. Scott G's new Summer Channel venture is, a more than direct answer to the continued enervation of the dance music industry that he helped impel as one half of seminal beat rockers duo Deepsky. Summer Channel’s songwriting ability is unsurpassed and has received much critical acclaim. "J. Scott G is one of the most talented and passionate producer/songwriters that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and what he has put into Summer Channel only goes to show how gifted he really is,"said Flipper Dalton who Produces and remixes the likes of The Prodigy, P. Diddy and Madonna. Most if not all of the songs from their debut album, “The Sweet Sound of Inevitability,” showcase J. Scott's survivor mentality and wry sense of humor about the music industry, loss, perseverance, fortune, and life itself. Not quite a solo project, J. Scott has enlisted the talents of several choice performers to make Summer Channel a reality. “The thing that's made this record amazing so far are all of the people I've chosen to work with,” said J. Scott. J. Scott G’s Summer Channel is not merely a culmination of fortunate circumstances; but rather it is an unfolding emission on the path to a more modern and refreshing force in a society dominated by tasteless and tedious ideas and hyper-processed pop drivel. Simply put is new and fresh and certainly not boring. J. Scott G grew up in Belen and Albuquerque in New Mexico, his dreams and life goals continue to grow in this journey he has taken into the dance/electronic music industry, he has seen the promised land and wants to go back with a new set of ideas and dreams, J. Scott took time to talk with Lo DeAlba for Verve Magazine and this is what was said: Lo DeAlba: You had many successes with Deepsky, share with us one of your personal successes? J. Scott G: Well I live in loft in downtown Los Angeles. Despite the geographical limitations, I've managed to successfully raise a small herd of goats on the roof of my building without the landlord noticing. I'm quite proud of that. Ha! No actually, one of the most recent personal successes was doing the FIRST electronic remix of Frank Sinatra EVER. I remember getting the 4-track transfer off the original studio tapes from the Sinatra vaults. I sat at the computer for about an hour staring at the screen thinking to myself "Wow, I've got Frank Sinatra a capellas. What the hell do I do now?" I mean, you can't mess with Frank! The project actually turned out great, and I remember being able to call my Dad and finally have him understand what I did since I worked with someone he was familiar with. Lo: Summer Channel is almost your solo project, what do you want to do with this project that you maybe did not do with Deepsky? Scott: Before we started Deepsky almost 15 years ago, I used to actually write songs (with real song structure, verse - chorus). When I started making music for the dance floor, I really didn't have much chance to make songs like that anymore because the structure is different for that application (Plus, dance music typically is focused around the beat) After doing dance music for so long, I found myself wanting to write songs that meant something to me again, instead of making what I call "disposable DJ tracks." Those kind of tracks are the ones that a DJ picks up, plays for a month and then forgets about when something newer takes its place. I would rather make timeless music like U2, Depeche Mode or Tears for Fears (all of which I grew up with). Deepsky wasn't an appropriate forum for that because a) people expected a certain sound from us and b) it wasn't really what my partner was into. At some point I had to make the decision to leave Deepsky to pursue what I really believed in. Plus, I find that a good vocal can be remixed any which way. I'd rather write a great song, and let the other dance guys do the remixes. It seems to be working out great so far, especially with the first two Summer Channel releases ("A Thousand Miles" feat Fisher & "Soulmate In Every City" feat. Patrick Scott). Don’t get me wrong, I STILL LOVE TO DJ... I just don’t’ write as many DJ tracks anymore. Lo: You are considered one of the hardest working producers in the industry, where does your passion/inspiration come from? Scott: Well passion/inspiration comes from lots of things, but I tend to find that the best songs seem to come from pain (unfortunately). "A Thousand Miles" was about losing everything I had and rebuilding myself and my life. Now this rule doesn't always apply. "Soulmate In Every City" is about... (cough) having a girl in every city I play. A good rule is to never really take yourself too seriously! At the end of the day, I still love making music like when I first got into it almost 20 years ago. David Bowie once said (when he was asked this same question) "First of all I'm a music FAN, before a musician." This is true for me as well. Lo: You grew up in New Mexico, Belen/Albuquerque in the northern part of the state, the industry has made it here but has not exploded as of yet, do you think it will and how? Scott: Well, it's interesting you ask this. I think that New Mexico is about to have a renaissance with its entertainment industry as a whole. Hollywood is moving 30% of film making to Albuquerque. Who knows what that will do? There are a lot of talented people out there, and some great studios as well. I think that the film boom will really breathe some new life into New Mexico's music scene. I certainly think New Mexico probably takes electronic music more seriously as opposed to when I lived there. I remember the Alibi would never write about us because they said “electronic isn’t real music.” Hrm... Lo: Any new projects on the horizon for you? Elaborate? Scott: Well, I just started my first record label called Libra Rising Recordings which has been taking a lot of my time. (www.myspace.com/librarisingrecordings). That and I'm going to start putting out my first J. Scott G. dance tunes soon (I still love dance music, I just don't do it primarily anymore). My first J. Scott G. tune is called "Everybody Loves A Bad Boy" feat. Lea Luna. It's pretty tough! I'm also writing my first movie script based on a Summer Channel song I'm working on called "Super Villain." I like to spread my creativity around and do different things. I don't know if it's because I have A.D.D. or just want to accomplish a lot before I die. Either way, I keep myself pretty busy. Lo: Who were you influences growing up in New Mexico and who are your influences today? Scott: Growing up in New Mexico with the music I listened to got my ass kicked a lot (and I don’t mean that figuratively). I went to Belen High, and was one of 10 new wave kids there. Now if you know anything about Belen, especially when I was going to school there all those years ago, there were a lot of cowboys, stoners and metal heads. The music we (the new wave kids) listened to wasn't regarded very highly (I could list a myriad of things we were called but I won't). We were listening to Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, etc. I remember doing the talent show every year and LOSING to guys doing songs like "Signs" or "There's a Tear in my Beer". Sad. But hey I don't hold a grudge. My life turned out great. Today I listen to just about everything (except metal and country - go figure). I think denying yourself different experiences only does you a disservice. Life is too short and too stunning to live with a limited scope. Lo: If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, how would you do it? Scott: I'll give you a quote that I live by instead. "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." ~ William Shakespeare.
Verve Magazine gets upclose and personal with J Scott G
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