story by Noah Levine
Countless twentysomething Chicagoans grew up listening to Bad Boy
Bill on the radio every weekend. His hard hitting, energetic Chicago
house sound and standout mixing skill made him a natural fit for the
DJ mixshows. His sense of self-promotion helped him stand out as his
mixes were often perforated with vocal drops to make sure the listeners
knew the name of the man in charge of the music. But it wasn't until
the mid '90s and his Bangin' the Box series of mix CDs that Bill put
himself on the map around the country and then around the world.
He was in high school when he started his own record label and landed
a regular spot playing on the radio. Today he finds himself at the helm
of a number of dance labels while somehow managing to fit in more than
100 DJ gigs around the world each year. Still, he credits the classic
DJ mix tape with getting him noticed at the start of his career.
With the release of Bangin' the Box Vol. 1, Bill was among the first
DJs to license the songs on the mix and pay royalties to the artists
and record labels that originally released them. Before that, his mixes
were put out as bootlegs and Bill said he thinks the bootleg mixtape
or CD is still an important part of the DJ world.
|
BILL'S INNER VIEW
|
|
"The fun part is trying to make energy.
The more energy that the crowd is giving me the more I'm
gonna give back."
|
|
 |
Music industry groups recently cracked down on sales of unlicensed
mix tapes and CDs. Raids on some record stores got less attention than
the industry's fight against online file sharing, and Bill believes
mixtape crackdown is pointless because the mixes don't damage the music
industry.
He's glad to be in a position to release fully licensed mix CDs, but
thinks young DJs need to find a way to showcase their skills and spread
their name. The mixes help new DJs get noticed while exposing people
to new music. If DJs can't sell them in stores, Bill said he's sure
they'll still find a way to spread their sound.
"If I was the up and coming DJ, I'd still do whatever I could
to get out there," Bill told Chicago Innerview.
On the radio and through his mixes, Bill reaches huge crowds he never
sees, so he likes nothing more than spurring a crowd into a frenzy and
keeping them packed on the dancefloor during his live sets. Over the
years he kept up with the dance music trends, but his sound still remains
rooted in the uptempo pulse of Chicago house music.
Saying he gets bored if he just fades between songs, Bill likes to
keep a crowd excited by doing the unexpected. Once a DMC competition
regular, Bill uses turntablist tricks and battle tested scratching skills
to remix tracks on the fly. Whether he's playing to a crowd of 40,000
in Amsterdam or to a tiny club somewhere in the States, his goal is
to make people dance.
"I definitely try to keep it more energetic. I try to be more
of a peak hour DJ," he said. "The fun part is trying to make
energy. The more energy that the crowd is giving me the more I'm gonna
give back."
With his latest release, Bill tries to capture that energy while taking
the mixtape to a new place through the addition of a peek into his hectic
backstage life. Behind the Decks is a mix CD and a DVD documentary at
the same time. The project was a lot of fun for Bill, who got to play
with some new studio tools while working to refine both the audio and
the visual portions of the release.
The DVD features videos, interviews, backstage footage and some of
the visuals Bill now incorporates into his live sets. It captures some
of the crazy schedule Bill keeps when he's on the road. He wants his
fans to see a little of what he does on the road when he's not in the
DJ booth controlling the sonic atmosphere of a club.
The mix is recorded in both 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound and DTS, really
taking advantage of a surround sound setup. Bill said he created the
multi-media project because he was getting a little tired of the mix
CD format. He also used Behind the Decks as a chance to showcase some
of his own music production. He hopes production will be the next successful
phase of his career.
"I think DJs have a huge advantage over guys who are just musicians,"
he said.
Many dance music producers make the move from the studio to the DJ booth
so they can showcase their sound and spread their name. But Bill said
taking the opposite route makes it easier for him in the studio. His
experience behind the decks helps him understand what's required to
keep a crowd in motion.
His music takes its influence from a range of musical styles and his
album will include some laid-back tracks alongside frenzied dancefloor
cuts. Bill hopes to have his first album of all original music out next
year, but he doesn't plan to take a break from his constant touring
while he's working on the tracks.
His DJ bookings take him on a constant ramble around the globe where
he hops from city to city playing to packed clubs in the middle of the
night. He rarely gets to spend more than a day in each place, and Bill
laughed when he said that he makes sure to see what he can of the world
on car trips rides to and from the airport.
Bill regularly finds himself at or near the top of the list when votes
are held to pick the best DJs in the world. Still, one of his many titles
stands out a bit from the rest. Lotus Magazine once dubbed Bill the
"Wilt Chamberlain of Techno." When asked about that title,
Bill chuckled and said it was a funny surprise to see that in print.
Still, he was quick to point out that he and the great basketball playing
lothario do share the same birthday.
Bad Boy Bill will play at Oasis One-Sixty in Chicago Heights Nov. 27.