Lori Branch and IAMBRANDON on the Vintage House Show

Introduction

0:00You're tuned into the Vintage House Show, home to the original stories of the history of house music as told by the legends, pioneers, and icons. Hosted by Kevin Mega McFaul, Lori Branch, and Lauren Lowry.

0:16What do you prefer? How do you prefer people refer to you? Oh, you can call me Brandon. It's kind of a funny story of how I started with my whole name. I had a weird username back in the day, and I decided to change my name. And so my name is Brandon. So I was just like, oh, yeah, I am Brandon. I am Brandon.

0:38Okay. I got you. I got you. I got you. Hold on one second. Here we go. I'm not getting good signal for some reason here. Radio.

0:54M1 is always a little weird to me. I was, I feel like you, can you hear him good? Yeah, I can hear Brandon good. I think M1 is not good. M2 is good. So you might have to just speak closer to bring that on over. Hello, hello, hello. That's okay. We'll get it together. Yeah, because it doesn't register on the thing. But if you're on M2, you can hear it more on M2. So I would just like bring that closer to the middle. And then you all can both probably be able to hear him.

1:25Well, I think that is better. Okay. And then for this, I already started, but I don't know if you're going to. You're all good. Okay, cool. Now we can get close.

1:35I'll hear it for you. All right. So I'm here with Brandon.

Brandon's Background

1:42And Brandon is, you're a relatively new DJ. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been, well, it feels like forever, but I started in 2020. And then I just started actually like DJing like out in places. I believe in 2022? Yeah, 2022. Okay, I want to get into all of that, but first, before we get into all that, I want to ask you some stuff about the Vintage House Show. So you're listening to the Vintage House Show. This is the place where we celebrate the icons and upcoming and everybody else in

2:16between who's into house music, Chicago house music, worldwide house music. But we're really happy that you're listening to us. We're here every Wednesday from 10 to 11. And I'm Lori Branch, and I'm here with Brandon today. Hi. I am Brandon. Yeah. Because he is Brandon. Yeah.

Chicago Roots

2:36So Brandon, before we get started, are you from Chicago? Yeah, born and raised in Chicago. Okay. Yep. Where about? So I lived in the city when I was growing up, and then- Where in the city? Fullerton. I went to Dirksen Elementary School. North Sider. Yes. So around third grade, my mom took me and my brothers, and we moved out to the suburbs into Hillside. Okay. I was a suburb kid for a bit, and then after I got out of high school, I went to Northern,

3:07so I was out there in the country. So I do say that I'm grateful to have gotten out of Chicago during my college years, because I was already going out to clubs, like, very early on. So I was happy to get out. It gave you a bit of a reprieve so that you could, like, grow up a little bit. Mm-hmm. So when you say out in the country, where was that? DeKalb. Oh, DeKalb is- DeKalb is not the country. Well, you know what? It's funny to me, it felt like it, mainly because, like, you know, I grew up in the city, and then, like, going so far away from everything.

3:37Yeah. Um, and actually seeing cows for the first time, like, like, out and just walking around, I was like, oh, this is, this is new and different. Yeah. They have cows in DeKalb. Yep. And then they got cornfields out there, um, which, honestly, for me, it was nice to have, like, kind of a small town feeling, because I used to be in the city so much. Yeah. Um, but it helped me to kind of just, like, be able to make friends, and just, like, for the first time being on my own without, like, you know, living with my family, so, yeah. Okay. Well, I, I get that. I think, uh, you know, my, I have a brother who is about to move, well, I'm making, I shouldn't

4:09be saying that, because he hasn't made it from me, but I have a family member who's considering moving out of state, and they've never lived outside of, sort of, the Chicago area. I'm just like, I think everybody should, everybody should leave their hometown for some period of their life. I think that's just part of, like, the rites of passage as an, as a, as a human being. Yeah. But you got to travel somewhere.

College and Career

4:33Mm-hmm. So, did you go to college outside of Chicago? Uh, yeah. So, um, yeah, I was out there, uh, to Northern for, yeah, for five years, um, and then I graduated, then I moved, well, I had an option. Uh, when I graduated, it was basically, I was, I was, I was in a relationship at the time. Okay. The person I was with, uh, they, they basically were like, hey, we could move to the city, or if you want to move back with your family, you could, and at that time, I was, I just freshly turned 22, and I was like, you know what, I had all this freedom, I don't want

5:07to live back with my family, so let's move downtown to Chicago. So, um, I live right down, uh, Michigan, like, right by Michigan Avenue. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Such a, it was an interesting experience. That's nice. Um, but that was kind of around the time where I, you know, was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and, uh, trying to become a journalist, because I went to school to become a journalist, and everything kind of changed from there. So what were you, what were you hoping to do as a journalist? Um, well, I was just always interested in just, like, journalism in general.

5:38It started off because I wanted to be a teacher. Um, and then I failed the teaching certification test by one point. Tell them the truth. Tell them the truth. I failed it by one point, and I'm, I'm not good with standardized tests. Yeah. So I was like, I can't sit again for three hours and take this test again. It's been, like, hundreds of, hundreds of dollars to do it again. Yeah. So I was like, you know what? I'm just going to change my major. Um, and at the time, I was, uh, I was playing a lot of video games. Okay. And so I was, I wanted to start my own, like, gaming blog to kind of talk about the video

6:09games I was playing and things like that and kind of get it out there. And so I just went on, like, WordPress, created my own website, started talking about video games and, like, reviewing it. And it was my first time kind of, like, being on social media, like, promoting my, like, brand or website like that. And it connected with people and people wanted to actually work with me to, like, create content and all that. And I was like, oh, I guess I'm an editor in chief now of this website. And so that's how it started from there. You had a new career. Yeah.

6:39Well, that is cool.

Press Package

6:40You know, I noticed that, uh, you send me this beautiful press package and I'm like, wow, he's, it's very polished, you know? And, and for a new DJ, you know, listen, you know, we've been doing this for a hundred years and most of the DJs I know don't have very polished press kits. And some of it is just like, eh, I've been doing it for a hundred years. I just, you know, I do it where I do it. But I, I love that you put so much time and energy into it. And it sounds like, so I'm looking at your, you know, Brandon, uh, features in his press

7:10kit. He has like, you know, how many followers he has on, on, on Instagram and, and X, you know, thousands, thousands and thousands of, of subscribers and followers. So does that happen before you were DJing? Is that a part of your gaming situation? Yeah. Yeah. You were able to leverage that? Yeah.

Social Media

7:28Talk about, talk about your, talk about social media as a sort of a way to like, get out there. So that, that, that's a great question. So it's funny cause, um, when I was in high school, I was big into MySpace. And so I would, I would actually like work with like people who I was in, uh, high school with and I would build out their MySpace pages. And it was funny cause my mom was always back in the day. I haven't heard that term in a long time. It takes me a little bit. Um, and my, my mom, she was always saying to me like, Oh, you shouldn't be on social media.

7:59That's not going to take you anywhere. And I was just like, Oh, I still like it. It's fun. Like, cause I love the coding of like websites and things like that. So it kind of helped me kind of, um, just like get into that very much. And then I eventually, um, just started to, uh, branch out into like, when I started to do my website, I was on Twitter at the time and just like posting my articles and stuff like that. Yeah. And, um, yeah, then I started streaming on Twitch and just in case if you don't know what Twitch is, uh, it's basically a platform that, you know, people can watch other people

8:30like play video games or like talk on there kind of like how we're doing right now. Yeah. Um, but I got into it very early on before it's like got to mainstream. Right. And I got into it because I was trying to promote my website. And then I shortly learned that you can't, you can't do like a live stream or promote a website. It's more about personality. Yeah. Um, and so I took a lot of myself, um, that I was like, kind of always like the nerdy kid, but people didn't really understand my humor. But when I streamed on Twitch, I started to meet people who liked-

9:00You found your community. My community. Yeah. I mean, that's, that's the one positive thing about, I think, social media is that you can find a community. Now, my question for you, is that a real community? Yeah. It, it, it, it, it sounds, it sounds crazy, but like I was able to like, um, which is, I'm sure there's some people who are probably out there who still watch me. Um, that I like people who watch me consistently. And, um, when I started streaming on Twitch, I learned that I could actually like make it into a career. Um, so I worked really hard to try to get partnered on Twitch with, that's like, they're like, you

9:33know, you start off as a streamer, then if you become a partner, you start making money. Yeah. From them. And, you know, I had like a great support system of people who loved what I was doing. They thought it was funny, which was, you know, I, I think I'm a little funny, but, uh, they, they loved it. And, um, we were able to do a lot of stuff just with the platform that I was able to have, like raise money for charity. Um, and actually I started to learn how to DJ on Twitch, um, back in 2020. So that's great. Yeah. That's wonderful.

DJing Journey

10:02I think, um, how, tell me about DJing on Twitch. So you started DJing like to an audience. Yeah. And I couldn't see any of them. Well, you know, I think there's some value to that. I mean, it's sort of like a basement, we used to call them basement DJs where you, you know, you were playing for yourself or your friends and until you got into, in front of an audience, talk about that. Like, so, so that 2020 is in DJ's life, you know, it's kind of late to start.

10:32Yeah. Very late. So what made you want to get into it as a craft or did you see it as like a way to make money or what was it sort of something like artistic passion calling? Like, so what was the decision tree there? Yeah. So it's funny. Cause like ever since I was a kid, I've always had a love for electronic music. Um, there was a video game that I played like when I was probably like maybe 10 or 12 and, um, it had electronic music in it. So I always loved like how it made me feel.

11:03Um, and so during 2020, obviously like when everybody was inside, um, I, you know, have been to clubs and, you know, loves like seeing different DJs out and about. And I was like, I kind of wanted a hobby that I can learn. Um, cause I feel like, you know, I do all the streaming stuff. Let me try to learn something. Right. So I decided to buy a controller and I had a library of just music. I just was collecting for, for about two years. I just like love the song. I wanted to, you know, if I ever did DJ, I would play from this, this library. Um, and so I learned, I figured out how to, you know, set up the, the controller onto my

11:38PC to stream on Twitch. And I was like, Hey, y'all, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try to DJ on Twitch. If you like it, cool. If you don't, you know, I understand. And, and people were, were, yeah, they responded to it. Cause I was playing a lot of house music and it was a lot of people's first time hearing it. Like when you, when you stream on Twitch, it's a lot of people from all over the world. Yes. So, um, it was a really great experience to see like people in the chat be like, Oh, I love this song. Or like, Oh, you have this song. And then other DJs who were like in during that time, um, during quarantine, they would

12:08come in and be like, Oh, you're from Chicago. Like I hear about all this stuff. I was like, Oh, I am from a, like, I love this. Yeah. So he created an audience. I'm talking to people back here. I am DJ mega. What's up mega. Thanks for tuning in.

House Music History

12:22Um, so you had an audience that you sort of brought along with you on your DJ journey. Yeah. That makes total sense to me. It's really like smart. Yeah. Smart, smart way to, to make that transition. So you were doing it in your home for a Twitch audience. Yeah. They were appreciating what you were doing. When did you make that leap to go to a club? Oh, it was funny. Cause I had a friend, uh, his name is Alex and we were hanging out one day during the summer. Uh, this was like, I think it was like 20, 21.

12:52And I had made a joke to him and I was like, Oh, you should book me the DJ. Cause he would, uh, he used to, uh, book parties at Cerise, which is basically Cerise. Um, but I was like, Oh, you should book me the DJ. He's like, Oh yeah. You want a DJ? I was like, sure. And he's like, okay, I'm gonna book you in September. And he gave me the date. And I was like, Oh, I was kind of joking, but I guess I really had to do this in front of people. Yeah. Um, so I spent like the month that like, I knew that I was coming up practicing, practicing on Twitch. And, um, I remember the first time I played, it was like at Cerise and like seeing all my

13:22friends around me, like, just like really happy. And then like when I got off, um, of like the, the, the tables that the first time I had people who like did not know who I was and coming up to me like, Oh, you're really, really good. And it was like, it was the first time I had witnessed someone who did not know me appreciate what I was playing. And I was like, Oh, I should take this more serious and like want to do more of this. So, uh, after that, uh, I, I decided to buy the really big decks of Pioneers. Okay. And I'm like, okay, I gotta learn how to really do this. And then from there I was like, I got booked every month since like that day.

13:53That's amazing. So I have like, you know, so you know what, I mean, what I love about that story is that there are people who, uh, who really, um, want to do this and they feel like it's too late and I shouldn't have started earlier. And you're such a good example of like, it's not too late. I mean, I mean, you're, you're, you're still relatively young. And I say that because a lot of people start when they're teenagers. Yeah. Like we were all like 15, 16. And even now kids start so young, but I, but I love it. And how do you see it? Like, how do you categorize it in your life?

14:25What does it mean to you? Oh, I, I, for me, it's like, I, I, I love the passion. I feel I love seeing people's reactions to the different tracks that I play. Um, I know for a fact, like I don't do, I don't DJ to, to be cool. I do it because I I'm passionate about it. I love the history of like house music, DJing in general. And that's one thing I made sure like when I first started to learn how to DJ is to look into the history of everything and just know what I'm talking about. Because I feel like as a DJ, you need to know, like, you know, the pioneers who came before you

14:58so you could understand it. Because, and that's why I give respect to like all the DJs who, that's why I'm also kind of like very appreciative of being here. Cause I'm like, you know, legend. Um, but I, I always felt like it was important to know my, my, my stuff when it came to that. Because I wanted to make sure that if I'm going to DJ, I want to take it seriously. And this is not like, oh, I'm just playing around so I can like be cool. No, it was like very passionate for me. I feel you. So big shout out. Hey, Kevin Abdullah, we need you back in Chicago. What's up, Lisa Calloway. I love to see you here in this spot.

15:28Lisa be making rounds before she gets around. She's like my favorite person to see now. I'm like, okay, it's a party. Lisa's here. Yeah. Successful Twine. Oh. Hey. What's up Twine? What's up Twine? So we're here. This is, I am Brandon. Brandon is relatively new to the game. I've been doing it for five years. So you started during the pandemic. Yeah. And you still had a crowd. Yeah. What month was it when you started playing? It was always during the summer, because I remember it was hot outside.

15:58So you were outside. We were outside. I mean, because that was a crazy year. I mean, 2000 was the year that Vidi Girl, me, Vidi Girl, and Darlene started The Good Girls. That was the year we started, and we had our first party at the club on Grand. What's the name of it? I'm sorry. I'm blanking on it. But it was like such a nice party. We were all so happy. Everyone's hugging and kissing and loving each other. And like literally the next week, they were like, COVID's killing everybody.

16:31Yeah. And so they shut it down, and we were like, jeez, we were just getting started. So that you would start in the middle of the pandemic is interesting. Were you also streaming at the same time? Yeah. Honestly, well, during all that, that was the most, I guess, popular I was during that time period. Because, you know, Black Lives Matter was out more in the public eye. And so more people on Twitch were trying to support Black creators and Black streamers on Twitch.

17:04And so I had, I've been doing it for a long time. And Twitch, like I definitely have, like, I had opened up the doors for a lot of things on Twitch. Wow. And it was, it was really, it was just, it was amazing to see like the, like all the hard work I had put in for years on Twitch. And then wanting to kind of maneuver that into DJing was a, it was a great transition between the two. Because I've had so much experience like being a content creator, being a streamer. So when I was able to start DJing, it was like starting over. But I was happy to do that because I wanted to be able to basically just, I wanted to start from the bottom.

17:38Yes. I didn't, I didn't want to use like, oh, you're, you're assuming you have this notoriety. Like, let's put you higher. It's like, no, let me start from the bottom and like work my way up. And. Well, you did it pretty quickly. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mean, that's, that's something that most people think, hey, what's up Antonio? Thanks for tuning in. Most people, their ascent is not that rapid. And so I, I think you had a bit of a running start. Yeah. Because you have some of this baked in audience. Did that give you confidence to be in front of live people? Oh yeah.

18:08Like, you know what? And I, I can definitely say it was, it was my first time performing in front of people. Yeah. And I love the, I love the rush of that. Yeah. Especially from the first time I DJed in front of people, I was like, I wanted to chase that and be like, oh yeah, I want to, I want to. It's a bit of a high. Yeah. I think that, that, you know, you wonder why people never stop. It, it really is its own sort of drug and DJs out there can appreciate what I'm saying. Is that you, especially if you have a moment where everybody's just sort of on the same

18:38wavelength, the same energy, that rhythm gets to you and you feel like you have helped create that space. Mm-hmm. It's very egomaniacal high. Yeah. You just feel like I did that. I think honestly, that's why I started, like it felt, it felt better starting off later in my life. Yeah. Because I, I went through all those times in my twenties of like being wild and like, Yeah. You know, doing all that. But like now since I'm older, it's like I'm focused on, okay, I'm DJing. This is work. I got to make sure I'm just like being prepared. Yeah. Making sure everything works right.

19:08That's why every time I have a gig, I try to make sure that, you know, I say hi to the staff, make sure everybody's like. That's great. Have a really good time. Yeah. So. That's a really interesting thing. Just to think about like what it means to start being a house music DJ. Mm-hmm. When you're 17 versus 37. Yeah. You know, like it's, it's a, it's a big difference in sort of how you approach life. Because it's 17, 18, you're just, you're part of the party. You're just like there to have fun. Yeah. And you know, as, as a teenager, it was, you know, you're not thinking about making history.

19:41You're like, like, are we, is enough people paying at the door? Yeah. And you know, what's funny is back then it wasn't about the DJ. Oh yeah. It was about the experience. I was just, so Wendy city times recently, Wendy city times is a gay newspaper in Chicago. And Tracy Bain was the editor, you know, sort of managed that whole thing for many, many years. And she recently was, anyway, she's done a lot of great things, but she recently like released

20:12like the digital copies of like all the Wendy city times and black lines and in La Vida. These were newspapers that were sort of offshoots, you know, of that paper. And so this was like the main gay magazine in Chicago for, for launch. It still is, you know, but I bought one, you know, sort of the, the, the catalog. Yeah. And I was looking back at all these parties that were advertised and I swear, you never saw the name of the DJ. Like, I, I mean, and these were big parties.

20:42Like I used to do these huge parties at South shore cultural center and like for the women's day dance and LCCP and some of these organizations. And very rarely, I mean, I saw the flyer. I was like, I was the DJ there and you know what it said, DJ, it said, you know, music, entertainment, DJ, because the DJ wasn't the thing. Yeah. Not, I mean, I think that even for underground clubs, you kind of knew it was going to be

21:13Frankie Knuckles or whoever it was, you know, playing there. And then some of the posters, they would advertise that for, for a lot of the parties, for a lot of the parties, they just, that wasn't the attraction. It was either the social club or the actual venue, you know, or the theme of the party. And the DJ was just like the bartender. Yeah. It was like, DJ was like staff, you know? And so things have changed a lot since then. Yeah. And that's, that's so interesting. Cause like, I know that conversation has come up about like, you know, back in the day

21:44where it's like, you know, this game was not meant to be seen, which I, I respect that. Um, I would, I would, I would be okay with it if I wasn't being seen most in time. Yeah. Like I guess in the back. Um. It wasn't, you know what? I think it wasn't like, it wasn't, well, not in my experience, it wasn't that it wasn't intentionally like, don't show the DJ. Mm-hmm. They just didn't go out of their way to make it easy. Yeah. And so the DJ would be up, you know, in a booth somewhere in the sky, you know? Mm-hmm. And so like, ain't nobody asking for requests cause you can't access them. Which I, I would love that. When we were, when we were at Red Dog, you know, it was like, we were all the way up

22:17there and everybody was all the way down here and many other clubs, um, or like in the back of the room, you know, sometimes even in a different room. Yeah. Like that was weird. Like I, I used to do, this club I did on the south side that the DJ was in a different room. Mm-hmm. And so I'm like, I hope they liked it. I hope they liked it. I like what I'm playing, you know? Yes. I don't know. It's, it's, it's an interesting, um, interesting contrast. Yeah. I'll just say from, from back then to now.

22:47Mm-hmm. Um, so you have a few things, a few other things that you, you talk about.

LGBTQ Community

22:52And one of them is being, um, a part of the LGBTQ community. Yeah. So when you think about house music, it's a, it's a constant, you know, discussion that we're having. Mm-hmm. So the gay presence in house music, how do you understand that? Especially as a newer DJ. Mm-hmm. Um, but, but the history of sort of the gay presence in house music. And that's all, that's all, that's the only way I'm going to put it. Mm-hmm. I want to see what he says. Yeah. Uh, for me, um, I honestly, house music changed and saved my life. I have always said that.

23:22Mm-hmm. And I remember the first time I really like understood what it was, I was at Smart Bar. Yeah. I was like 20, I think 22. It was at Queen, but the first time I went to Queen. Yeah. Queen is on Sunday nights at Smart Bar. Yeah. If you haven't been, I would highly recommend it. Yeah. And I was there and I was just remember I was there with a friend who, who told me about it, uh, who unfortunately passed away, but that's why I also, that's another. I'm so sorry. Thank you. Um, that's another reason why I feel like I've, I'm so passionate about it. Um, and just being around all the energy, it just like everybody just dancing on the dance

23:53floor. It wasn't about I'm trying to beat somebody. Mm-hmm. It's just like about the music. And I remember when I left, I was just like, oh, I love that feeling. I want to get that back. And I didn't, I didn't go to Smart Bar for maybe five or six years until I moved back, uh, like in, in Lakeview. And then I started going again. I was just like, oh, I feel like there's history here. So I started to like look up and I was just like, how did I not know this, this stuff? How did I not know this? Yeah. Um, but that's why, like, I feel, I try to put, for me, I want to like show my love

24:23for house music in the history of it. Mm-hmm. Um, and that's why I started like my show at a replay that's called like when house music was black and gay. Um, and it, it comes from a playlist on Spotify. Well, I listened to a while ago and I wanted to name the party that because I wanted it like, even if someone has never been to the party or would never go. Yeah. I wanted it to be a statement where it's just like, oh, okay. Like giving back to that. And so, um, it's. You know, I got a lot of flack about that. Yeah. Okay. So I am Brandon is the DJ.

24:56He's my guest today, y'all. And, uh, he does this great party at replay, which is a bar on North Halston street. And he's, he, uh, did a party where he invited me to play along with him. It's a, it's a series. Yeah. Yeah. And, and then what's the name of it? When house music was black and gay. When house music was black and gay. I need to pull that up. I'm gonna pull up those comments where people are like, what? But that's, I've always been. What? What are you talking about? I've always been a person that I like to be.

25:26Well, one, I, I like to be vocal, but I want to be kind of, um, aggressive about, especially things that I do, because it is a statement because a lot of people forget about that or maybe don't even know, um, like the history behind it. So I always wanted if someone were to see it, especially if you're like, you know, like no, like queer people at all, where it's like, no, you're gonna, when you see this, I'm trying to remind you of this is where it came from. Right. And I think that, that, that is the rub that often happens. And I like to say that when we think of house music, you know, you've heard, you've, you

25:59guys have heard me talk about this, but house music culture versus house music canon, which I did not coin that phrase in this East move. That the culture really was something that was birthed in the, in the underground gay community. Yeah. Right. And that canon meaning like songs that we called house music was a little bit later. Um, the songs that we started to call house music happened a little bit later when you had producers, many of whom were young people, my age in, and even younger or not that much.

26:33And we were all like, you know, 18, 19, 17 years old, um, who started producing tracks. Um, and including Ronnie and Frankie and all those. So if you, if you look, look at, you know, the years 83 to like, you know, late eighties, a lot of energy happened in that period. And we started naming those songs house music to sort of fit in the genre. And then we started grandfathering a lot of other songs in there, like the disco songs that we liked and, you know, remixes of things.

27:04And that became house music. So, so the reason that it's controversial and why I was getting flack is that, wait a minute, you know, I'm not gay and what, and I was a house music producer or a DJ. So what do you, what does that say about me? Yeah. It tends to like touch a nerve for some people in our community. Um, so I appreciate it. The, the, I appreciated the, the flyer and I actually have it in my living room. So when people come by, they go, what? Well, I was like, that was a cool party. But, but I, I kind of liked the controversy.

27:35Um, you know, not, not just for controversy sake, but to really, to do what you said is to sort of unpack, you know, the history around like, what does that mean? Exactly. Yeah. Who are you talking about? Exactly. And then I, and I wanted it to be a statement because like, for people who may not know, I want them to go and look it up and like check in, like Google, check that out. Um, like, just like how, when I started like DJing and I was looking into the history, I, I feel like it's everybody's responsibility. Well, not everybody's responsibility. Yes. But if, if you want to learn that the real lore about house music, that was, if that's

28:07going to be a statement that gets you excited to learn more about it, I did my job. Right. And, and yeah, just start Googling. Hey, Eric Cummings. Thanks for, uh, hanging out with us. Um, yeah. So I do think that is possible that you can start a conversation, even if you know, you're pushing the envelope a little bit, like to ask, let people ask that question. Yeah. Uh, and, and for me, it just means a lot. You know, we just had world AIDS day. Um, that just happened this week. Was it this week? Yeah.

28:37Yeah. Monday. Jeepers time. So December 1st is world AIDS day. Um, our, our wonderful, uh, administration, our national administration did not choose to, to acknowledge it, but everybody I know did because so many of us lived through that period. Um, so many of us are living through that period, um, where we lost so many people to HIV. And so the, the day, world AIDS day, December 1st is really to, to do a few things. It's to commemorate the, the losses, but it's also to sort of recognize the perseverance,

29:11you know, the people who were, who were warriors in the fight, who tried to help find cures and, and, and vaccines, and who are still doing that work. Um, life saving medication and, and the people who, uh, who may not, you know, want to talk about it very much, but it's a part of their life and it's, and it's, and it's a big deal. And to let those folks know that we are, we're all in this together. Everybody's been touched by it in some way. And the reason I even bring that up is because when I talk about house music, um, and I think

29:43about all the people that we lost, um, in the mid eighties, who were from, who I was hanging out with at the warehouse and, and, and at the music box and the power plant, you know, those early clubs, um, who are no longer here and who were all a part of this, this community. And not just the dancers and hanging out, but who were making music, who were singers and, and, and burgeoning producers and folks who were just getting started.

30:15Think about like folks like Robert Ford. You have, have you ever heard of him? So as a matter of fact, I think I just heard that thing magazine is going to be, there's a convenient coming out somewhere. My wife was reading. I was like, wait, what is that happening? Anyway, he was a publisher of think ink and thing magazine. And, um, he actually came over my house when, you know, I had turntables in my bedroom and he was like, show me how to DJ. And I think I was like maybe 20 years old or so. And I was teaching him how to DJ and he wanted, he really wanted to get into the music.

30:49He wanted to DJ. He wanted to produce. He was a very ambitious guy. And just to think what would have happened if somebody like Robert Ford had survived long enough to be, to take advantage of these life saving medications and sort of all that. So my heart breaks when I think about the people that I lost. But I also think it's important for those people who did not have to experience that, who maybe were not part of their community and who like to lay claim to house music because they, they should cause they, they helped, they produced and do and did all kinds of things.

31:19You know, just to acknowledge there were people who should have been there. Yeah. Yeah. You know, there were a lot of people, especially gay men who should have been there. If it wasn't for that disease that took them out prematurely. Yeah. And like, for me, like, you know, my uncle died of AIDS, like, like late nineties. So I take really like pride of trying to just showcase the history of just like all the people we have lost and how, you know, house music has really helped a lot of people through difficult

31:49times, but just reminding people about the history of it because like, you know, the different generations, there's so many people who don't know that this happened in the eighties and it was continuing to still happen. It was, and it was, you know, it was a sort of a sad time when we think about like Chicago house music in the eighties, like there were these different little eras. So you have the beginning, you know, where it was new and fresh and sort of the, the pre-house music, you know, music box warehouse stuff. And then sort of the explosion, the hot next five and, you know, places like the playground

32:21and, you know, where you really have like the Jesse's and chips and Vince Lawrence. And, you know, I can go on and on Joe smooth, all those great artists, you know, who were just starting to, to make a name for themselves. And simultaneously you have this sort of slow devastation that was happening in part of the community. And it rarely gets sort of acknowledged, sort of juxtaposed that these things were happening at the same time, you know, at the same time. And it was really, it was crazy.

32:51And there was a time where I just stopped DJing. I mean, I was in college and I couldn't be a successful club kid, DJ and college student. Some had to give. Yeah. So I, I stopped DJing and I started, you know, trying to do sound engineering and stuff for, it was like four, four years or so. Basically while I was in college, I wanted to finish and I went to Columbia. Yeah. Yeah. And so, and so, uh, somebody asked me recently, why did you, you know, you stopped DJing?

33:21Because after a while I was like, don't call, don't call me a DJ. Cause it was getting depressing. Oh yeah. It was, it was, it was the scene in the late eighties was, or mid to late eighties was getting very depressing because so many people were getting sick that I knew. And I felt like this connection was just like somehow not the same. It was not fun. I mean, I was growing up, you know, you grow up and you want to do other things, but I was also like kind of distancing myself. And so I think by going into the studio, it gave me this kind of distance, you know, that

33:55I could still work on this stuff, but I don't have to sort of be confronted with, with like, Oh, that person has the package or this person died or you see someone and they looked like a skeleton and it was really, really painful period. You know? Yeah. I can, I can only imagine. And like, that's why it's like, I, you know, I'm lucky and blessed that I am able to be able to live openly as a gay man, but just like, even with my uncle and knowing about all

34:26the stuff that happened, he went through. Um, I, I just, I, I, I want to do my best of always like showcasing, um, the black queer history of like house music and just in general, because it's, it's, it's, it is sad to like realize that there are people who are not here who were, who were like pioneers who began a lot of this and they're not here to see how. No. Yep. Nope. They, they're not here to see. Hey, Louis Green, thanks for tuning in. Hope you're doing okay. Um, so, but it is a rainbow community and that rainbow includes everybody.

34:57Yeah. It includes everybody. When you think about the rainbow folks, don't think about it just as part of the queer community. It's everybody. Exactly. Yep. Um, my straight brothers and sisters, you know, and my cousins and my parents and my friends and, and the queer people that I know. And so that's what makes, I think our community so beautiful and peaceful is that it is all inclusive. So we just got to keep that going. Yeah. All right. So you are doing many more things, but before we get into all of the wonderful things you're

35:27doing, um, again, if you're just tuning in, I'm here with, I am Brandon. Brandon is a content creator. He's a Twitch game coder who was able to sort of use his, uh, his talent and his audience, which he has 42,000 viewers. How many people are in your, in your Twitch account? Uh, thousands and thousands of people. And he was able to leverage that, you know, to sort of springboard into house music. He started doing this in 2020.

35:58Yeah. And has already established several residencies, including at Replay, um, Berlin. Yeah. I love Berlin. Yeah. That was, I, I, and that's one thing I really do. I, I, I, I will say throughout my entire like DJ history, I was blessed to be able to be like a resident there for the last two years before they closed. That's amazing. And just like, it used to be my home bar. And so when it closed, it was just like, I felt like, where am I going to go? Oh my God. So, but it was motivation for me to be like, you know what? Yeah.

36:28I, I can't, I can't depend my DJ career on one venue. I got to make sure I'm just, just out there promoting myself and try to get out there. Um, but I love Berlin. It's, it's always sad to talk about cause it's still sitting there, but yeah. I know it's still there. Still there. They haven't, they haven't done anything with it. No, it's still sitting there. If you've never been to Berlin, you, you did miss a party. Um, and that was there for a long time. I mean, I was going there when I was in college, this was in the eighties. That's how long Berlin has been there. Yeah. It was about for a long time. Yeah. So anyway, really great club.

36:58And we did, you know, I DJ there a fair amount. Yeah. I did, I did a few parties. I wasn't a resident, but we did a few parties there. Um, so listen, I want to ask a few sort of rapid fire type questions, maybe not too rapid fire. You can take your time. Um, I hope everybody else is doing okay out there. Um, if you have any questions for me or for, I am Brandon, feel free to just pop them in to the chat. Just let us know you're here. Um, Louise, good to see you as always. Oh, by the way, let me just plug a couple of things real quick.

37:28We have the, uh, uh, exhibit partial exhibit that is out at O'Hare airport. So if you happen to be traveling, you do have to be checked in to see it. Um, but it's really cool. It's in a corridor between the, uh, second and third, uh, two and three terminals when you're sort of going, you know, by American. Anyway, it's pretty cool. And what we did, what we did is we just talked about the exhibit. There's like six or seven panels and you know, that talk about the exhibit and give you a QR code so you can see more about it.

37:58And then we featured the panel on DJ Lady D, um, and on the song, um, you can't stop the house by Rick Lenore. Um, and we featured that song. We, we had to choose a song that sort of epitomize that. There's so many that we could choose from, but we picked that because it was one of the earlier songs that talks about house and it was remade so many different times. So we could acknowledge like Terry Hunter's remake and so many people who took a stab at it because it was really important, important track at the time.

38:28And then we talk about the people who we've lost, you know, in the house music community. And unfortunately that list continues to grow. So, uh, you know, continue to send blessings to the family of the people that we've lost most recently. Uh, you know, Keith Nunnally, uh, uh, we had, um, Ron Carroll, so many folks, um, most recently. So I just, you know, we continue, um, you know, Harry, my blessings to your family. So love each other. Let's keep each other alive as we move into 2026.

38:59We have work to do. Okay.

Year in Review

39:01Let's keep the house music people and keep dancing and moving. Yes. All right. So Brandon, what's keeping you up at night? Oh, keep me up at night. What's keeping y'all up at night? I mean, um, I mean, I, I've always like, like I'm a person who I can't, I don't like being bored. So I'm always thinking about the next project. And I honestly, creativity helps like fuel my soul a lot. So I'm always doing something. Um, so I'm like always thinking about what can I do next? What can I do here? Do you finish your projects? Most, most of the time.

39:31Yeah. Like I have a lot of ideas and like, I'll think about it. And I like try to write them down. But most of the ideas that, um, like I really want to tackle. I've, I've been, I've been pretty successful. You're pretty, you're pretty good. Yeah. I guess you would be successful. Hey, you guys out there, tell me what's keeping you up at night, especially with this administration. Oh yeah. Yeah. Cause there's some crazy stuff. Oh yeah. Mm-hmm. I'll tell you what's keeping me up at night. Unfinished projects. Oh. That's why, that's why I asked.

40:02I have like all these, these, these balls in the air. Cause I'm like that, you know, where like, I love to be creative and I have a million things going on. Other podcasts series that I'm working on and film that I haven't completed. A whole bunch of family stuff. So I know that we all have a lot going on. So think about what's keeping you up at night and my, and what recommendations do you have to get good sleep? Ooh. I see. I'm still trying to learn that because I'm a night owl and like, I can, I can sleep.

40:35I can get like maybe four or five hours of sleep. Um, but it's just cause I'm so used to being out. Like, you know, if I'm at a club or whatever, DJ. Um, but I just, I don't know. I just like being up late and then, but I like, I work like early in the morning. So I'm so used to just being like, okay, eight o'clock. All right. Gotta get up to work. But I've always been like that. Okay. That's good. That's good. Health in the health in the house music community. How many DJs don't have an exit plan? Yeah. That's a good one.

41:05Um, you know what, Louie, I appreciate you bringing that up because we, we've had that discussion on this show. Um, I don't know that you can support yourself. First of all, let's talk about employment in the house music community. Yeah. I had this beautiful conversation with Vic Lavender who owns Bridgeport records in Bridgeport on Hostet. If you haven't been to Bridgeport records, you should go and support those brothers. Cause they had it going on. And he said the reason, one of the reasons that he loved, you know, doing this record store

41:38is that he had a job in the business. And I, I found that phrase really interesting because it's difficult. I mean, most DJs, unless you are like one of these multimillion dollar showcase DJs, which are very few, there's probably hundreds of thousands of DJs and there might be a hundred on that list. Yeah. Um, you know, you have a better chance of getting an MBA. Uh, that's true. That is very true. You know, you gotta, you have, it's a hustle, you know, it's a hustle. So you, you can make, you can make some money and some do better than others, but you have

42:11to do, you have to do other things in order to, to support that. Like you were saying. Yeah. That's funny. Cause like when I started to stream on Twitch, um, I, I, I wanted to, I knew I didn't want to be doing it full time. Cause what it's not sustainable, um, cause you basically have to hope for people to support you and like, you know, financially support you. Right. Um, so as soon as I found a way or just like a job that I could work in the gaming industry, I took it. So, uh, right now, you know, I'm like, uh, I work in PR and video games, which is really cool.

42:41Uh, and I still like, I don't stream anymore, but I still have that connection with Twitch and all that. Cause I still work with Twitch streamers and then, uh, you know, DJing on the side, that's like extra money, which is great. Cause I love doing it just in general. Yeah. That's nice. That's nice. It is good. Um, new adventures in music. Is that, what's keeping you up melody? We miss you. I haven't seen you out in a while. So, uh, you need to come out. Um, all right. So what's making you happy? Oh, I feel, you know what, what is making me happy is that I finally got to like, retire

43:13from Twitch on, on my own terms. Um, but I like, I feel like I'm at the place that like 10 years ago when I started, I'm exactly where I wanted to be. Um, you know, I'm, I'm happy and like everything in life and you know, despite everything that's going on in the world. Yeah. Um, you know, I have a great job, which I love. I love doing what I'm doing. Um, and I've always, I guess like since I was younger, I was always meant to feel like I wasn't, I wasn't worth like having things that I have now. Yes. And so it's just really cool to see like all the hard work I put in for the last 10 years.

43:46And I'm like using content that I've like, have for 10 years and still using it now and it's still relevant even now. So I get to sit back and I'm like, okay, let me just like put some videos together that I did 10 years ago. And I look the same. Some of these videos I look like, like the same way. You're a baby. You got a baby face. Um, what else is making you happy? Um, oh, certain people. I'm looking over here. Yeah, but I definitely will say I'm, I'm in a really good place where I feel like I have surrounded myself with people who I really care about and people who care about me.

44:19Um, when it comes to friends, partner, um, and they just family as well. Like I'm being closer with my brothers and we, we, we are now trying to become closer. So listen, I appreciate that you said that because, um, Eric Cummings. Hey, what's up? What's up? What's up? Thanks for tuning in. Um, DJ Gene Hunt, legend. Oh yeah. I just played with you.