DJ Shines (LifeSavas) (December 2009) | Interview By: Chad Kiser

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Interview was done in December 2009

Questions Asked By: Chad Kiser & Norff Wess

LifeSavas Interview Part 1 (Jumbo) (November 2009)
LifeSavas Interview Part 2 (Vursatyl) (November 2009)  

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Dubcnn Exclusive – DJ Shines (LifeSavas)
By: Chad Kiser & Norff Wess
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Dubcnn: In the beginning what was it about the genre that gained your interest and made you eventually want to be a DJ?.

I think the main thing that grabbed me early on probably around 83, I was very aware of (hip-hop music) I was about seven years old at the time. It was probably the newness of it, the freshness.....like kids closer to my age was more into doing that then playing guitars and growing their hair long. Because really before that I was listening to Kiss and the thing with Kiss was the whole spectacle of it an so for what ever reason I was in to that. But I remember like getting into Hudini, UTFO,Run-DMC and then I remember one day being in Alberta Park; my mom played a lot of softball an stuff back in the day; my whole families at the park for her games and I’m hearing this music. We would be going to New York every summer because my family’s from New York and I’d be hearing DJ Red Alert, Marley Marl; at the time I didn’t know who they were, I’m just hearing these records starting over and I was like, ‘wow! how are they doing that’? I didn’t understand if these were new remixes


Dubcnn: How did you join the the Lifesavas crew and what has that experience been like?

I originally met up with the LifeSavas through a friend of mine in high school and because I was already collecting records and starting to find you know breaks an samples that hadn’t been used but should be, he introduced to me his cousin Jumbo, although they weren’t really cousins, I think Jumbo had dated his sister or something crazy, they were friends or close homies. He was like man you need to play him some stuff. I had met Jumbo and Vurs in passing a couple of times, they never knew who I was or what I did or any thing. My friend Sir introduced me to Jumbo and Jumbo liked the stuff I played for him for the most part, I’d play a record and he make beats out of them. Some times we’d work on beats together; I kind of translated through him. I’d watch him chop up beats on the MPC. Shortly after that Jumbo passed along a SP-1200 to me and that’s when I really started making beats. The first beat they recorded that I did was Living Time on the Spirit in Stone (album). I made it on that Sp-1200. Shortly after getting the Sp-1200 they’re DJ Mixmaster K.D. who like the dopest DJ in the history of Portland, got job down in southern California with Adidas, It was a good money opportunity at the time. Lifesavas definitely felt like they were going some were but nothing was locked in yet and he was like when is this opportunity going to come up again?. So I was there kind crafting my skills up under them, I was just kind of the next guy in line for the job and that’s how I became there DJ. But the weird thing was right before that happened, I had been selling records at this place called Jump Jump, an meeting other hip-hop producers;ended up becoming friends with Kenny Dope the house producer from New York, he gave me like an internship and that was starting to develop when LifeSavas asked me to join the group. I probably was in LifeSavas for about a year them I had to move to New York an do this job and they were really understanding, Vursatyl especially was like yo man you should do this because who knows what’s going to happened with us right, you ain’t that far away an we’re still a group. So i went off to do may thing what was crazy, was around the same time Vurs got discovered by Blackalicious and was starting to tour with them. So Jumbo and Vurs were getting their experience on the road there. I was on the road with Kenny Dope; went over seas with him on a month long tour and I stunk it up, I dropped the ball, but I learned how not to do the job; when LifeSavas started touring I just had so much experience, like I knew how to behave;how to deal with being on the road. But anyways that’s how it happened; we’re developing the thang its an on going process.


Dubcnn: What’s it like to be a DJ on the grind in Razorblade City?

Its a crazy one now actually. We were talking about hip-hop up until this point. But DJing in Portland in particular I think there’s one thing there’s so many DJ’s an I'm sure most cities that you go to you find that (situation). It just seems literarily every body a DJ here. I think one of the reasons that is;there a wide musical taste an appreciation here so there room for many different types of DJ’s. so one thing that I’ve.....I not the most cut crafty DJ out there.....you know you your DJ Chill’s and your DJ Wicked’s who’ll just slaughter any body on the mixing skills, scratching, tricks, which those guys are dope DJ’s all around for that particular thing those are the dudes. Then you got just your club DJ dudes. I kind of try to combine every thing. I’m a selector. It’s all about the music, what you play and how you play it. That’s the sequential thing once I got there, surviving in Portland to answer your question playing lots of different kind of music. taking that hip-hop style of DJing the club DJing an applying that to some more experimental music. I have gigs where I literally go and there’s nobody dancing; I’ll be creating a vibe, I’ll play a song with vocals the wwhole time, or I might do another gig where I just play female vocal songs. Then I got gigs like the fix where it’s live and direct where I’m just trying to make people dance; I’m playing hip-hop classics, house and stuff like that. For me, surviving out here in the game I like it, I think It’s pushed me to really broaden my horizons musically, so its cool. It’s a fun city to DJ in. I love you Portland!


Dubcnn: From the DJ perspective who would you consider to your biggest influence on the ones and twos?

Wow that’s a good one. My number one I would have to say Jam Master Jay; just because he was an all around DJ, he was a DJ’s, DJ. From a performance stand point he just added a new element. I’m Run-DMC they had one of the most explosive live performances in the history of music and they just had to emcees and a DJ. So LifeSavas, that’s exactly what we were going for. Jam Master Jay was the Icon you look up to for that (live show blue print). One more from era and sort of fine tuning what Jam Master Jay did was Maceo from De La Soul. Like we had all ready been doing shows as a trio and we had it down for the most part an we were getting a lot of good experience being around Blackalicious; and learning how to rehearse, really learning that it’s really all about rehearsing 8 hours a day every for three weeks straight or what ever it takes til you get it. None of it’s like oh yeah we’ll probably get n the day of the show. You know I think a lot of groups don’t realize and they’ll go “lets run through this a couple of times, maybe by the time we get to show day it’ll happen”. No, man you gotta get that right at home; then take it to the stage. So Maceo of De La Soul is just the epitome of that man. I can remember going to a De La Soul show; remember this about 2 or 3 years after we started touring or a couple years and just see him and I’d seen De La before, but now I'm watching from a whole different perspective an being like that’s what I need to do, that’s exactly what I need to be to the Lifesavas. You obviously you know there’s really no parallel as far as what Maseo has done. Basically I’ve tried to bring my own version of it with in reason for me. Those are probably the 2 most profound turntablelists for me an then as far as just rockin a party like in a club I’d have to say Kenny Dope cause I toured with him and I go an watch him do it. Another cat the Soulman Phil Stroman from Phily;those are my main influences.....and Vitamin D from Seattle.


Dubcnn: What would you consider your maine forte as a DJ?

I’d say mixing man. Mixing from that stand point of going from song to song, not necessary like I put these Biggie vocals over this Rhianna track you know what I mean? That’s very dope an I appreciate that, but that’s blending. For me its more about just orchestrating from beginning to end these bits of music, not necessarily having to keep it one beat per minute and really again going back kind off like genre or just going in an out of genre an kind making that fit together some how. That’s forte selection straight up selection.



Dubcnn: Who are the top DJ’s in Portland right now?

There’s a few man that I’m feeling these days. Again he’s not around these days but Mix Master K.D. was definitely the epitome, he could scratch, juggle an do some tricks, he could also just rock it, he’d play the right songs and that was kind of a blue print for a lot of these other people that I like, like DJ Chill, DJ Wicked, he’d probably be our best chance of somebody in the town wining a DMC battle or something like that or being one of take over mix-tape type of DJ’s, a DJ envy type of cat. He’s like our go to cat for that and also OG-One is king of in that category. But DJ nature is cat I just got hip to about a year ago. I’m doing a night with him; actually now I’m over at this place Venture I’m really feeling that cat he’s a similar DJ to me an he likes to play a lot of different kind of stuff and go from really up tempo to just like bangers. I really respect his style a lot to, those are probably my favorites in town...oh and also DJ Mellow C, he’s not originally from Portland he’s a New york dude which has a lot to with why I like his style, but he’s just a hard working DJ; him an actually Juggernaut are two of the hardest working cats I ever seen busting out an going from record to record. I don’t know how many records their still playing but they're still there; when people are still playing vinyl they can go through so many records so well not blending so much......but knowing right when the beak was coming and then “bam” right into the next one that’s my kind of DJ. Not necessarily knowing how to blend songs together, but knowing something’s going to billed up and drop an when to go into the next thing. I think that’s how you’re supposed to do it.


Dubcnn: I’ve talked with both Jumbo and Vurs on this one. I’m curious if you know when that new Lifesavas album going to drop?.

First of all when it’s going to drop I don’t even have a crystal ball.


Dubcnn: Well I talked with Jumbo and Vurs earlier and Jumbo wasn’t even sure but he was like maybe early 2010. Plus, Vurs was also thinking early 2010.

Okay that’s good to know.


Dubcnn: Now he didn’t lock that in yet, but you know LOL.

Yeah by early 2010 that’d be a good look for us. I mean I think we’d have something for early 2010.


Dubcnn: I remember Jumbo talking about breaking the next project down to just hungry beats and rhymes.

Well because that’s the kind of music we came up listing to. We were into the Native Tongues and Boot Camp Click, D.I T.C aka digging in the crates crew as well as Dre and King-T, Souls of Mischief, you know west coast stuff. But you know I think again the time that we came up in the game music was changing. The last album being a concept album was an idea being kicked around for some time and the way things came together it just seemed natural. I could go into a whole spiel about Gutterfly as to how every thing ties together, and the whole like other meaning, but that’s a whole other interview. It’s not just a concept record; it’s really genius how they did some of that stuff. It’s not that we wanted to get away from that (classic Boo-Bap). We just wanted people to know that we’re just some straight ahead hip-hop dudes. We still like the banging beats and raps talking about how much more doper we are then you and lyrically murdering people you know “my magnum is a microphone murdering emcees”. It’s just something that they feel we still need to go hard on before our wick completely burns up in this game. It’s like yeah we need to go there to that Boom-Bap rap and I’m looking forward to it. The beats that I’ve heard from Jumbo that Vurs has played me are really tight. They shone interest in a couple of my beats. I like were they’re heads are out. I heard a vurs from each of them recently that’s on the up in coming Libretto album and it’s ridiculous.........people listen to me....I don’t know if this is any indication of what they’re doing on this record, I don’t know if they’re trying to do something else. But too each of them it’s one of the best verses I’ve heard from both of them ever. I think it was because they were able to step back and it’s a little less pressure because it not a LifeSavas project. They were like I’m just going to come in here and bust. Which I think as artists an I do this my self. We are very hard on our selves, LifeSavas in particular, we really are our own worst critics and that’s why it takes stuff a little longer to come out. We’re perfectionists.


Dubcnn: That’s not necessarily a bad thing at all.

No it’s not. But also one thing about becoming an artist....and I think we are really figuring this out now.......that part of being a artist is about letting go an really being able to put your trust in the music in your art and not necessarily to take your particular ear an your criticism to heart so much. You know you’ll never be as dope as the person you immolate. Sometimes you need the people to judge. I think we’re doing that sooner now. We’re allowing the people to start being the judge a little more. Rather then being like we’re perfectly content with every little second of this body of music and we can put it out now. Not until recently have I even got the feeling of wanting to play my stuff for people, I wasn’t even ready to play it because maybe I didn’t finish up a beat the exact way I wanted to. They probably like it better then I do. Well they’re the ones who're going to potentially buy it an play it for they’re friends not me, so lets do it. That’s how you can benefit from the whole internet downloading thing. The fact that you can give away music it helps me, I’m not going to speak for every body but it helps me let go. I’m not making any money off this shit anyway. I might as well just give it away if they don’t like it then what ever I wont put that up again. It’s really good way to find out. Were other people just stay locked up in their bedrooms there whole life. It was probably a lot of undiscovered talent out there before. Now you can put it on my space an get 8,000 hits if you play your cards right.


Dubcnn: There are a few people out there that think the radio DJ's dominance of hip-hop music has been a hindrance to the genre, what’s your view on that vantage point?

I mean its business. I lot of the cats I’ve just mentioned have all had to go there at one time or another; shoot all those cats have had to do it. But we do it because we love it, the older you get more money you make the more your loving it; cause you’ll have that freedom to continue to do it. Its hard lately I know for a lot of people, cause the money isn’t really there like it used to be for a lot of people. So I don’t know. I think from another way to look at it to is, if your not that type of a cat, like a radio type of a dude and your asked to come and do that an provide your skills an what you do for a radio station because of every thing leading up to that not necessarily on a mainstream platform that’s really dope; people giving you props for what you do its like you might as well do it its going to a give you an edge in the game, another style to come with. Mainstream and underground if we’re breaking it down like that I think its good to have knowledge of both sides, its like anything you can’t be too locked into it man. I think doing radio even though these days you have to play music you don’t love. But to have that experience of being on the radio, and just broadcasting what you do to this large number of people yeah I think you should do it, unless your completely selling your soul I think its a good look.


Dubcnn: Okay, can you talk a little bit about “Shine language” for a minute?

Yeah Shine Language was originally my publishing under ASCAP. From there it just kind of grew, obviously I make a lot of beats that don’t make the Lifesavas albums or just don’t even start out sounding like any anything; just me off on some weird stuff. I just wanted to start like a production unit. I have my man Arkitek that engineers my mix tapes on stuff and gives a lot of creative in put on the stuff I do an he makes beats of his own, mix tapes of his own he’s a dope DJ in his own right. So it just seemed liked a good idea to start this unit. Having the brand sign language has given me a little more reason to be productive. We started giving stickers out and it kind of blow up I think people kind of like the an the logo. Then it was like oh, lets start cranking more stuff out, lets turn it into label. So we put out the first couple of mix-tapes Today’s Good News volume one and two under Sign Language and then I’ve had the imprint on a couple of other things I’ve done. But now I’m getting ready to release 2 more mix-tapes that should be out; well actually one just came out digitally and another one will be coming out in about a month. Also I’m working on a number of projects with other emcees and Arkiteks beats. I’ve got another song project with Diamond D.,a kind of throw back deal with some cats that I came up with;this dude Jake One that used to be in Artifacts and his other group Slow Suicide Stimulus they’re some cats I’ve come up with as well as Jumbo,Vurs an Bretto also some artists from around here. So look for some big things from Sign Language.


Dubcnn: I asked both Jumbo and Vurs this question. It’s more politics than hip-hop. It concerns our first black President and how it affected them. So, from your perspective how did it make you feel.

I’m fucken pissed! Let me tell you something about that there brother! Honestly, politically dud,e I’m pretty much head in the clouds. I’m really not into all that. But it’s like people are finally starting to figure this shit out. Obviously I’m a white dude, but my best friend growing up was black. I was basically raised in a black household for a good part of my life. That’s a big part of my musical back ground. They were always listening to some soul music of some kind. I remember hearing lots of Loose Ends and Cameo. When other white kids where listening to New Kids on the Block, I was listen to RJ’s Latest Arrival (Shackles 1987) or something. Growing up like that and almost having a real blindness to it, obviously I know there’s racism. But being a white dude I would never feel it. Once in a while I would like notice it. When I would go to family members when they weren’t totally into me and I would feel this tension. But never did I realize how messed up shit still really was until I started touring with Jumbo and Vurs. I was just as much an ignorant jackass as these other people because I was blind to it. I mean just seeing this crazy amount of prejudice in traveling. I remember we were traveling to Canada and the dude let me go through security; they were right behind me; maybe it wasn’t plain as day that they were traveling with me, but it should’ve been pretty obvious. He let’s me go through, then tells Jumbo and Vurs they have go through a security search. So I’m like do I have to go too? and he’s like, ‘are you traveling with them?’ I’m like yes, and he was literally like disgusted and in a derogatory voice “yeah go with them then”. It was so blatant, dog it was ridiculous and there’s a million stories like that. Over the years, and it wasn’t like I thought we were living in one big happy world before that, but to see that it was that freakin bad. Then we'd go into small cities that are believe it or not whiter the Portland, Oregon. To see how people react if we’re not at a venue were people are coming to see us, or a gas station. I’ve heard people yell crazy shit to them. It really opened my eyes. So to now see a black man become President.


Dubcnn: Wow that’s an unusual perspective. It sounds like you unfortunately walk in their shoes from the outside looking in.

Well not necessarily in their shoes, but there’s a whole other type of discrimination that goes against me, sometimes from either side. But for LifeSavas the bond between us, it’s bigger than us, but finally they budge.; Barack Obama has created a movement.


Dubcnn: Man that could be a whole other interview right there. But let’s move on. We lost one of the original b-boy’s, Michael Jackson, this past June-25th, from a DJ's perspective how did Mike’s death effect you?

I remember around the same time that the whole hip-hop thing hit like I told you earlier were it just changed for me. It was probably the same year Thriller came out like 83 or afterwards. I remember it was a battle between being a b-boy or being more like Michael Jackson. Now as a chunky white dude from the N.E.P. (Northeast Portland) I could be that much like em, but I definitely through glitter on a work glove one time. My moms would never buy the zipper pants or the jacket.


Dubcnn: Wow the secret life of DJ Shines LOL!

Yeah I can remember making a deal with my parents to get Thriller. Looking back it was a crazy roller-coaster ride because I loved em so much. Yes he was a different kind of cat, but look what he gave to the world. I realize what a lost to music because of just being an icon and representing music as a whole he was so important. He was the most recognizable figure in history. I mean aside from Jesus is there any body more well known then Michael Jackson?. All the negative media?, I don’t know but he was never found guilty so I going to treat him like he’s innocent. I want to celebrate what he left, which is an amazing musical past that has paved the way for so many things. Mike was the illest.......it wasn’t Biggie Smalls.....it was Michael Jackson!


Dubcnn: And with that, is there anybody you want to shout out to, man?

Man obviously shout too Misfit Massive Crew, Jumbo, Vursatyl, Libretto, Sy the Brown Hornet, Wolverine, Fix Crew, Dundiggy, Kez, Ronin Rock, Ohmega Watts, my Live an Direct Crew, Big Nature, Conrad, Colton, Cris, the whole staff Starchile the host, Slim Kid Shreck....you know the deal!......503 baby!....and big up to Dubcnn!


Dubcnn: Shines, thank you so much for your time!

Thank you!