When you hear the name John Course several things could come to mind… from the old Chevron days, to co-hosting a nationally syndicated radio show on Nova and maybe even what John is of course best known for spinning that fat wax. Whatever springs into those housed-out minds of yours, know this; John Course’s musical tentacles are far retching and are expanding daily.
There is no rest for this cult status DJ/Producer, after finishing what could only be described as an exhausting national tour where he played 22 gigs over six weeks in, all while still maintaining his residencies at home, throw in a couple of remix jobs and a impending solo release, well do I really need to go on and on?
Funnily JC was able to spare five so we chatted all things music including the importance and role that DJ polls have on ones career – speaking of which don’t forget to log on to our “Technics Inthemix50” and vote for your favourite DJ, club night and event.
John you’ll finish up the “Ministry Of Sounds” Sessions 3 Tour on the 30th of July, for yourself -this included 22 shows over six weeks. How much planning goes into a tour of that magnitude?
Actually for me its not too hard on the planning side because Kate at Ministry puts the Tour together…I am sure there is stacks of planning for her but I know I have 2 months booked for Ministry and then she sends through venues and flight options, I send back flight preferences and its pretty much done. Kate has to get all the logistics, hotel bookings, tech specs, drivers, and actual venues confirmed.
So what’s on the DJing calendar for the next six months?
Always busy of late I gotta say! About 4 weeks mainly in Melbourne playing my favourite club One Love and various other one off’s before a small series of gigs around the release of Vicious Cuts Volume 3 which is released in September with lots of hot new Aussie stuff and a few of the big international club tunes of the moment. Then maybe a week off in October, some more gigs and then the Annual Tour when the CD comes out in November. That Tour goes all of Nov and Dec…New Years Eve still in the planning so stay tuned…then it’s the summer silly season!
What’s going on release wise for you at the moment, and in the future?
Myself and mrTimothy work as Electro Funk Lovers and we have a few remixes on the go. We have been trying to get some original material completed but with remixes and touring time has been scarce…it will happen though. Also mixing the new Vicious Cuts 3 CD which I mentioned above and a few months later the Annual.
Can you drop the bomb on some fresh tracks that you’re spinning at the moment?
We Share Our Mother Health (Trentemoller mix) by the Knife is a killer. Great production and massive build up that rips it up without being overly obvious. New Mind Electric tune we are putting out from Perth is a killer too! Also locally Mic Newman is a new signing and of course the Potbelleez have just signed with Vicious…lots of new things on the horizon.
Does Vicious Vinyl have any plans to branch out into other media such as magazines, television or perhaps commercial radio?
At Vicious we have an open mind but our core will always be music. One of the great things about how many companies now think is that they consider the benefits of networking with each other so strategic alliances are always considered by us, such as the Rockstar hair product CD we did last Christmas for them.
Is it now harder to become a successful DJ? To an outsider it appears that looks and marketability are far more important than technical ability, then say ten years ago?
I disagree that marketing and looks are more important than DJ related skills. There may be lots of DJ’s who market themselves well and look cool and fashionable, but none of them sustain success without substance to their DJing or production. Its a tougher market, so u have to be open-minded to the pressures of today and consider yourself (to a certain extent) as a “brand”...but the music u play and how u play it is still what keeps you relevant, regardless of anything else.
It’s a well known fact that your DJing has been an inspiration for many a club goer to turn bedroom banger. Who has been your main influence’s through your career?
I have always admired Carl Cox…awesome technical abilities and he always looks like he is enjoying what he does, not to mention being very grounded and down to earth off the decks. Early hip hop / scratch DJs like Cash Money were definitely influences at the start too.
Are DJ popularity polls such as our very own “Technics Inthemix50” of any importance to you or your career?
I think they can give you opportunities that can help, particularly on a corporate level where you can get booked for private gigs, but they don’t make or break your career. It is nice to know you have support out there but the winner does not have to be a “better” DJ than the person who comes 50th…all they have to be is better known, which has obvious benefits for bookings and other DJ related work.
Do you feel Australian electronic music is at its peak at the moment, and is a crash to follow?
Waves of different music styles always cross over to popular culture which won’t change. 4 years ago, when “dance music” was a dirty word to many commercial entities, us DJ’s were all still DJing and very busy. Vicious was still signing artists and doing music. Club culture will always be there, and the core clubs will be there…but if commercial areas such as radio and TV embrace another style of music then the “bandwagon” type venues will follow that and the true club nights and venues (which were all running through the supposed demise of dance music 4 or 5 years ago) will still be there.
Five tracks that never leave your record bag?
“Believe” Ministers De La Funk
“Dancer” Gino Soccio
“Galaxy” (Plump DJ’s Mix) War
“Finally” Kings Of Tomorrow
“Let’s Start The Dance” Bohannon
What are your passions outside of DJing?
Everything I do seems to revolve around music but I think, in no particular order…I am a sports car fan, especially classics / good food & restaurants / snowboarding / AFL footy (long suffering Tigers fan).
What was your first job?
At 15 I was packing a fridge in a take away food shop for pocket money and the usual paper rounds. First job after leaving school… DJing!
This is your chance to have your say and support our awesome local industry, so vote now at www.inthemix.com.au/50
Angel speaking says...
I agree completely with what John says about DJ polls. A classic example is the annual world DJ poll where the same DJ's keep coming in the top 10 spots. Due to their notoriety, they get the uneducated votes from the masses (people who dont get out and see all the DJ's, hence not really having other sets to compare with). All too often however there are other 'lesser known' DJ's that have amazing abilities (spinning 3 records at once, constanmtly dropping in samples, playing to the crowd etc) yet dont get a mention. Sadly i have to add that John Course would be one of these DJ's that gets a vote due to his name. His mixing between tracks (volumes and timing) is far from acceptable for a DJ of his popularity, with often a bare 5-10 seconds before an immediate swtch. Plus his sets rarely get into a flow. Its just one climaxing song after another. The result? One finds themselves standing still every 2 minutes waiting for the biuld up to get back the zone again.