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The DJ Booth: DJ PROTOKOL
Las Vegas, Nevada
DJ Experience: 6 Yrs
Terror EBM, Synthpop, Futurepop, Powernoize, Hellektro
http://www.myspace.com/theindustrialcomplex
Bob Donovan
April 3, 2008
When I was 14 my mother’s friend had snuck me into a bar in New Mexico claiming I had forgot my I.D. and they let me in. I don’t recall the DJ Spinning the exact night but after seeing him spinning and getting the whole room moving I knew that music was what I wanted to get into…
For several years before that I had listened to Industrial music and was always interested and well oriented into the so called Goth scene. After I arrived back home in Las Vegas after a really weird drug experience out there I started speaking with a good friend of mine, DJ Parasight/Wes, and from then he would help me remix and get the stuff I needed to pursue DJing.
I am 20 now and have DJ’ed a few clubs here in Las Vegas but I got recognized by the strange remixes I had made using a Microkorg and Electribe ER-1 and a set of pioneer cdj 100s. :Later on when I was 16 or 17 I started going to a place called City Lights where I met DJ Pierrorist. Ever since then him and I have been friends and I would spin there when they were short handed.
Would you like to mention any clubs you spin at regularly and/or any upcoming events you’ll be spinning at? If so, please list below:
Right now I’m booking hopefully Diverje, Vertigo Venus (Both great DSBP bands) along with Bedlam Emotion, The Industrial Complex, and Hardwire the Industrial Tech.
Tell us a bit about yourself:
Favorite Bands: Depeche Mode to Gridlock I listen to everything that has a nice upbeat electronic tempo and awesome vocals.
Movies: Do I dare so und cliché? Blade Runner, The Dark Backwards, Dune, Event Horizon, Terminator, The Breakfast Clubs, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Fear
and Loathing… I basically watch anything obscene, offensive, or completely mind twisting.
Likes: Friendly people, Good atmosphere when working with music, I love my fish and ferrets so much I am practically raising a zoo in my house. Also I love experiencing new music or new books
Dislikes: People coming up to me asking “what the hell is this” in offensive manors (one night I was spinning a power-noise set and someone walked up and actually asked me what the hell I was spinning. I guess she had never heard Power-noise before so after awhile I had to completely scrap my bad-ass playlist and spin oldschool like siouxsie and the banshees and The Bauhaus)
Hobbies/Interests Other than DJing: Breeding ferrets is really cool; I breed fish and anything I can really. I guess I enjoy watching things created; that or I’m sick and like watching animals have sex haha just kidding.. I sit around most of my day emailing and trying to set up gigs or throw out new remixes sometimes I’ll just plug in my synthesizers and play till my fingers are sore I really don’t do much other than that and party but how many of you can’t say you do similar things?
Interview Questions:
[Carpe Nocturne] What got you started as a DJ and when?
[DJ Protokol] I first started at 15 or 16 at local hookah bars for cash and air time money was never an issue which is why this scene is perfect for me
[Carpe Nocturne] How did you choose your name?
[DJ Protokol] Music has always been a priority in my life. I guess I chose it to remind myself to follow my own protocol….
[Carpe Nocturne] Where did you learn your craft?
[DJ Protokol] I can’t say truly that I learned it all on my own but the biggest influence has been my close friend DJ Parasight
[Carpe Nocturne] Do you have any preference in decks that you use and why?
[DJ Protokol] I prefer to use Pioneer equipment it plays everything I love using the Effector 700 or even the 500 both are cool. I like something that calculates the bpm right in front of me so I can put together a great sounding show.. of course it all goes through mixmeister pro before I’ll ever throw it into the mix its awesome tells you the key and bpm has some pretty cool features
[Carpe Nocturne] What are your preferred music genres to spin and are you known for a specific style?
[DJ Protokol] Terror EBM, Synthpop, Futurepop, Powernoize, Hellektro: ,whatever brings the OONTZ!!
[Carpe Nocturne] Do you get to spin at many events and, if so, where have you traveled to in the past year?
[DJ Protokol] Just this past year have I really started booking my own events. It’s really hard in this town but we all are desperately working on our scene out here. Las Vegas is a somewhat small scene but we sometimes appeal to crowds in California as well so those gigs always go over well.
[Carpe Nocturne] What is the furthest you’ve traveled to spin your material?
[DJ Protokol] New Mexico
[Carpe Nocturne] What are the biggest events you’ve spun at?
[DJ Protokol] Wow! I am not really sure they all were great experiences. I wasn’t even old enough to be spinning in the clubs I was in at the time so it was really hard doing anything big. But I’ve only just begun.
[Carpe Nocturne] What are your favorite large events?
[DJ Protokol] Blacksun Festival, Meraluna, LA Industrial Festival at the Avalon was cool. My all time favorite show was seeing Covenant live in the Key Club with Melotron down in LA. I’ve always been a huge Covenant fan..
[Carpe Nocturne] Do you have any favorite venues/clubs to spin at and why?
[DJ Protokol] l spin anywhere and everywhere so long as the right crowd follows!
[Carpe Nocturne] What do you feel the state of this scene is today and, in your eyes, has it changed much (and how) since you first started spinning?
[DJ Protokol] It’s changed dramatically but a lot of things will always remain. The difficulty and originality has changed and evolved so much it’s hard to find now so I usually look at DSBP for my cds or music. The web and MySpace has also changed the scene bringing people closer together opening opportunities for booking and promoting bigger events and finding harder to access bands. The good ole days with Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb are much different from today’s Grendel and Combichrist; but that never takes away from the past and it all still sticks in OUR clubs
[Carpe Nocturne] Have you ever appeared in any other publications or on the radio?
MILF HUNTER WITH MATT FROM CAUSTIC; haha, I called Cyberage once but I think Tommy T hung up on me haha!
[Carpe Nocturne] Do you have any specific bands whose music you really enjoy spinning and why?
[DJ Protokol] Here’s a few shout outs to some bands rarely spun out here; Bedlam Emotion!, Asmodeus X, Iris, Terracorpse, MirrorMan (From our beloved Lights of Euphoria), Provision (who I heard may have broken up), SLP, Pittersplatter, Diverje, Vertigo Venus, Encoder, Derma Tek,, Bio-mechanical Degeneration, and so much more!!
[Carpe Nocturne] I imagine you’ve met many of the artist’s whose music you include in your set. DO you have any favorites and why?
[DJ Protokol] Yeah of course; Jimmy from Lights of Euphoria is great! Remzi from Obszon Geschoff, Daniel Myers from Haujobb, Jesse Edgar from Bedlam Emotion, Matt from Caustic, Paul from Asmodues X; There’s a lot of great people I would love to mention and they all have great sounds! OH, and I almost forgot, Tommy T from DSBP (Frontman of Diverje); he works so hard to keep that label up and they have so many great acts.
[DJ Protokol]
[Carpe Nocturne] Are there any bands you’d like to meet?
DEPECHE MODE
[Carpe Nocturne] Are there any Venues/Clubs .Events you’d really like to spin at anywhere in the world?
[DJ Protokol] Slimelight, DasBunker, Batcave, anywhere and everywhere
[Carpe Nocturne] Any other DJ’s you admire and like to spin with?
[DJ Protokol] DJ Parasight, DJ Pierrorist, DJ Rust Ryu. I like to stick with my pals; they make it special
[Carpe Nocturne] What direction do you think our “scene” is going and do you feel it’s positive?
[DJ Protokol] I honestly couldn’t foresee where we will be or where the country will be haha! But, I’ll always be positive and optimistic for a future full of music and new generations of listeners “new ears for new music.”
[Carpe Nocturne] Are there any parts of the country/world where you would rather be based and for what reasons?
[DJ Protokol] I don’t know… would I still even be the same person? I guess I couldn’t ask for anything to change my life other then what cannot already be controlled.
[Carpe Nocturne] What is the scene like in your area and, if you travel, how does it compare with other parts of the country/world?
[DJ Protokol] Our scene isn’t very large but we are doing our best out here. I’ve travelled to several other cities and saw the scene thriving and only have hopes to bring that same great feeling everywhere I play.
[Carpe Nocturne] Do you have any new music you are spinning and how is it being received?
[DJ Protokol] I broadcast a lot overseas to a lot of people in several different countries and they all seem to love it. They all come from different worlds yet all can come together and enjoy this music.
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