Aug 2010 Sean Murray “Pasean”

Real Name: Patrick Sean Murray

Alias: Pasean

Hometown: San Francisco ca.

Age: 37

Profession: Sound and lighting designer / dj

Hobbies: saving sarah, buffalo wings, and hotdogs

Affiliations: Reno House Musique / Hustle / Pacificsound & Sunset -Sf

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Q: When did you get into electronic music and what made you decide to become a Dj?

I had a few friends that had dj setups and would do house parties in the late 80's and in the early 90's when I was just out of high school. It never really stuck out to me as something i was interested in until I started going to nightclubs in sf when i turned 17. Keep in mind that the electronic music scene and raves had not even really started to "go off" at this point on the west coast, so I was going to top 40/hip hop and alternative dance nights since the clubs had not stared catering to dance music yet.

A couple dj friends had a few nights in town that I went to regularly, One was called "the X" at the city nights club that went down on Wednesdays, and they also did Sundays at club dv8 called "church". This was really when I was first exposed to house music, but at that time is was still mixed in with modern rock dance stuff and other genres. Once night in 1991 after hitting up the clubs my buddy told me that we were going to go to Baker Beach for this party with dj's playing at night...in the sand..outdoors. I was blown away by the concept of it all. That party ended up being the first outdoor wicked full moon in sf.

This in my eyes was when it all changed for me. There were only about 30 to 50 people there that night, but the vibe I felt from the acid house the wicked boys were playing could not be denied. happy dancing people that were really friendly and open minded. A far different scene than what I was used to in the sf clubs at that point. I knew then that I wanted to spread this feeling to more people as a dj then and there. If I remember correctly the cops even showed up, but it was such a new experience for everyone involved that they didn't even break up the party right away. There was minimal drinking and not many people under 18 there. That's all they used to look for back then. As long as we were not disturbing the peace, it was mostly all good and the cops could be reasoned with if they showed up, a far cry from things now.

Q: What genres do you play and what others do you have an interest in? Which is your preferred style to play out?

Well that's a bit of a tough question for me. I'm old, and I mostly just consider all the music I play as "house music". My style has changed over the years as the music and technology has progressed. Since moving to Reno 7 years ago I have also played other genres like 80's (at the satellite bar etc) and downtempo at our first few musique events around town. acid jazz, downtempo, funk and soul are the other genres that I favor when not playing my default house sets.

Q: For those not familiar with your style, how best could you describe it?

I guess my style right now starts with SF house and has infused Detroit, Stockholm, Acid and the newer "tech" sounds to create a deep, almost techno, soul music. My mixing style incorporates long layovers so it makes the mixes part of the peak, not just the track peak itself. This seems to be a fading style that I wish more dj's would still use. But sadly technology has made it really easy to just beat match and mix 2 tracks together with not having to have much sense of key and tone. I just try to avoid lazy mixing in general when at all possible, but still try to keep a human sound to it. It can be good thing for a mix to be off just a bit. I work the eq's allot, and basically do all I can to enhance the music in general without corrupting the original vision the producer had when making the track. I don't use built in mixer effects, samples or looping.

Q: What are your latest accomplishments as a DJ?

Just this last weekend I played in the morning at the friends and family campout party that I have been attending and helping with for 10+years but had never played the main floor. This is a big deal for me because they do it different than most events. dj's are voted for each year, and nobody gets paid. EVERYONE pays for a ticket. So to finally get voted for by my friends for a morning slot on Sunday was a big honor and was worth the wait. Another accomplishment would have to be our HUSTLE parties in Reno. It feels good to expose more people to an SF style of event here in the biggest little city.

Q: What was your first party playing in Reno and what was the experience like?

My first real dj gig here in Reno after i moved here was when the crystal method played at the new oasis years ago. I was the only dj to play before and after their live set. That was fun, and NOBODY here knew who the hell I was. The gig just kinda fell in my lap via the radio station that was promoting the show. I had met one of the radio guys at the satellite bar and he asked me to play after giving him a cd of a set I had done in sf just before moving here. I had played in Reno before i lived here with John Howard at the old hurricanes sports bar that my old friend from the bay used to manage... for those that don't know, that space is now known as the tonic lounge.

Q: What was the first party/event that you threw in Reno and how did that go? Who was on the bill, what venue etc..

I think it was a musique party we did at satellite. We brought up John Howard from sf. It went off. we had Sully and Ahn as supporting dj's along with Patrick Rhoads, all who I had just met a few months before.

Q: Any strange requests, odd happenings or just weird things ever happen while you were ever playing? Or your most memorable gig?

Wow, ok where do I start.....In the early-mid 90's we were doing a weekly morning after party in sf called "scrambled" at 111 minna. (this and our freaky friday parties were one of the first dj events held at the venue) This was the place people would go after the big rave events that didn't want to deal with the end up on Sundays. It would start at 6am when the bars could reopen and things got strange for sure. I had a big issue there for awhile with random "deck jumpers". Super wasted people that would be trainspotting you, then all of the sudden feel the need to grab the needle off the record or just fall into the dj booth itself after watching the records go around and around. I'm sure you other dj's know what im talking about.

Dj Keoki licked the side of my face in the mid 90's at a event I was renting sound to at the Warfield in sf. that was odd. All I did was ask him to move his drink off the turntables.

I did my 2nd show with Moby in the mid 90's in sf and during his set he played a track called "1000" (song that goes to up to 1000 bpm from like 10 bpm). The year before he did it and stood on the stage monitors at the edge of the stage in a Christ on the cross like stance, while he was flashed by lights as the bpm's built up. This second show he did it naked. Moby's junk and flashing lights...that is up there in the odd happenings for sure.

Most memorable gig would have to be at the sunset campout in 2000. Jbird and I were accidently dosed with quite a bit of lsd in a bloody mary that was meant for another person during Saturdays setup. (im not joking about this...i don't mess with lsd) I was in charge of the lighting, sound, and also playing a prime slot. The lighting never really got setup, but I was able to pull my shit together and play a really good set...that was heavy on the acid house side. strange right? Random people ended up getting naked around the dj booth as I played. This started a 3 year long sunset campout "oh Seans playing, let's take off our clothes and dance behind the dj booth" time. Memorable for sure!

One of the strangest request I have ever received just happened last month at the gsr pool party that I played with Dave Pezzner. Two young girls came up to the booth and said " do you have anything that is made by people?" I got a kick out of that.

Q: How did you get involved with the sunset crew in San Francisco? How long have you been working with them?

By the early 90's I was already working with the wicked crew and at other events providing sound support and dat recording the parties. By the end of 93 I had started to put together my own soundsystem and was doing "renegade" outdoor night parties. When I heard some boys from the north bay that were mutual friends of friends where going to do a daytime party at the Berkeley marina I went to check it out. Daytime parties were rare unless they were a wicked full moon that when into the next day or until the records warped from the sun. All my parties had been renegades that were held at night in parks etc all around the bay area. So a random daytime only event on a Sunday sounded like a chill way to end a hectic weekend of massive raves and other parties that i was working at in 1994. It was a great first party, but the strong winds were kind of a bummer. During that time I met Galen, Solar, Jason, Lorien and others involved. I started helping out anyway I could that first year, and by 95 I was bringing the generator and dj monitors and was getting chances to play music. (see pic) Galen had just maxed out his credit card to buy the kilpsch sound system we would use for the next many years until I started taking over sound duty after I built my 3rd revision of my personal sound rig. This is the system that I sold to sunset just before moving to Reno. (some of you may have heard it while it was here over the past year at hustle) The rest is history.

                    

Q: Where would you say you had the best time playing? (venue, city, date and why)

There have been so many, I don't know where to start. I went on a small dj tour in 1995 with my girlfriend at the time and got to play allot of cool places in the u.s. and canada. I played in Seattle while we were on the west coast and that was fun. The night was called "desire" and was smaller but really good crowd. I also headlined a rave in Denver in an airplane hanger, that was interesting. A few years back, the sunset boys and I played a Stompy party in Hawaii and that was a blast. But really when it comes down to it, nothing can beat sunset for the best time playing to a crowd. At any of them. People who have been will relate, and if you haven't yet...you NEED to make it happen.

Q:What's your preferred style of venue for playing music to the masses?

Anything outdoors. period.

Q: What format are you playing music with these days? What do you prefer and why? (vinyl, cd, laptop etc.)

I played strictly vinyl up until I moved to Reno. Now I use a combo of serato w/ control vinyl, records, and cd's.( I just started played cd's at the end of last year, and seriously with a laptop about 4 years ago) I have 3 herniated discs in my lower back from dragging sound equipment and records around for years. having my music collection on a laptop has saved my back, but if I had my choice I would only play records. I only play uncompressed wav or aiff files when i use my laptop to pay house music.

Q: What's the one track that you never leave home without?

That would have to be M.A.W "The Bounce" or Paperclip People "Throw" They are both great tracks that over the years I have found will work after almost any dj I'm on a line up with.

Q: Who are your favorite Producers and or Dj’s that you listen to, play or have been influenced by and why?

Dj wise it would have to be the wicked boys. Markie in particular. I have never seen anybody so deep in concentration while mixing the longest layovers. He basically created new tracks on the fly with 2 or even 3 turntables..ONLY. no gadgets, or laptops, etc. just straight musical mixing skill. After watching them for hours and after years of shows I still feel that this affects how I mix today.

As for producers right now...Inland Knights are crushing, Reset Robot, Soul Clap, Rede Truth, and Maetrik can do no wrong, and of course Justin Martin and Galens stuff. Their new release on dirtybird will crush when it comes out publicly in about a month. (DB41) It has been getting play at hustle and sunset for the past few months and kills every time.

Q:Are you currently producing any of your own music? If so what’s your focus, what kind of hardware/software are you using these days? What’s your favorite piece of hardware to use?

I have been making music for years as a sound designer in the video game industry, but but nothing dance related that has been released yet. Yes, I said yet. I also have a couple remix projects on the table that I will be messing around with for friends of mine. Stay tuned.

Q: Have you noticed a decline in attendance at events or clubs you play, and do you think it can be attributed to a possible loss of interest in the music?

Not at all. This year's sunset season opener had more than 5000 people at it for a 7 hour Sunday daytime dj event. That's the most in 15 years, and they just keep getting bigger. As for the real house music club scene, I have noticed it seems to be heading a bit towards the smaller side. The economy and amount of people out of work is not helping the nightclub and bar industry right now that's for sure.

Q: What would you say are the best and worst things about being a dj?

In Reno, I would have to say the worst would be the lack of quality equipment (or lack of equipment completely) at bars and most clubs. I'm getting tired of having to drag turntables and monitors out, or finding somebody with cdj's every time I play or do a show.

The best thing about being a dj would have to be the chicks. It's how I met my wife ; )

But seriously, The best thing is making people smile and dance and forget about the real world for awhile. It's also a great emotional outlet for me. Playing music Also gives me the chance to forget about all the heavy things going on in my life, even if it's for just a couple hours.

Q: If you had a chance to play anywhere, anytime and with anyone of your choice what would you choose?

On a beach somewhere in the south pacific with close friends. That would be nice.

Q:What are your thoughts on file sharing websites and blogs vs. file purchasing websites?

I don't use blogs to download free music. Most of the stuff I have heard are usually just remixes or mashups that I don't really play. In the rare case that a released track is on a blog for free, I will most like find in on a pay site like stompy or beatport that offers it in an uncompressed format and supports the artist or label directly. If the original artist is offering it for free that's a different story. I have used file sharing in the past, but usually it's just to find something i most likely already have on vinyl. I'm lazy and old that way.

Q: I’ve seen on your myspace and event promotions “save Sarah”, could you explain what this is?

My wife has stage 4 breast cancer that she is currently in her second round fight with. Save Sarah is the name of the campaign I started so we could raise awareness that young women can also be victims of breast cancer. It's also a label that we use for fundraising. Please visit: www.savesarah.org for more details, or pick up the august 2010 Reno Tahoe Tonight magazine that Sarah and I are on the cover of. The article goes into way more detail than i can type right now. Also try to support any event or business that is involved with "save sarah" because I can tell you...its working! really.

 

Q: Any suggestions for other artists or promoters, either up and coming or just in general?

Not really. just follow your heart and do what you feel is right. Try to lead and not follow. If it's not getting done right...do it yourself, if you don't know how to do it...learn.