Wedged between 10-hour shifts and facing a soggy commute in the morning, a wiser man than myself may have chosen to stay home.
“But it’s Sunday,” I reasoned. “I’ll be back by midnight. Things can’t get that crazy on a Sunday.”
Six hours later, I was helping a man with no shoes out of flower bed somewhere in Brighton.
Ghostdad and Ryan Durkin had invited me out to ZuZu for their new, weekly DJ night, Do It Again, and after our last meet-up with the Captain, I was reticent to miss the opportunity.
But a parting glass became two or three, a dance party became manifest, and Ghostdad and Co. tag-teamed the room with classic beats.
As I reflected back on the evening, I made a mental note: things can, in fact, get that crazy on a Sunday.
Ghostdad, who moonlights as NU grad Ryan Sciaino by day, is a renaissance man among disc jockeys.
In addition to his gig at ZuZu, he spins low-end cuts at the Milky Way’s Bass Invaders and holds down a weekly radio show on WZBC, and Ghostdad kicked off a new monthly party (Revolver) at Goodlife a few weeks ago with special guest DJ Huggs.
And, if the mixing, spinning, and broadcasting weren’t enough for you, he also teaches A/V editing at the ICA, develops computer software (read about the Dad Sampler below), and installs new-media art.
More importantly, though, Ghostdad has one of the most intimidating record collections around town. Check out the MoFo Radio archives to get a sample of his musical palette (the reggae two-shot is a persistent highlight). You can also listen to guest appearances by the Spank Rock team and other local musicmakers.
We asked Ghostdad and Ryan Durkin if they wouldn’t mind sharing a few live sets from ZuZu, and they came through with more than an hour of free, digital love.
Ghostdad’s set is embedded below, but check out the SoundCloud page for mp3s from the rest of the DIA crew (including Mayhem and Brek.One). Plus, you can annotate that shit!
Where did you grow up, how did you get to Boston, and how did you start doing what you do today?
GD: I grew up in New Jersey and came to Boston for college.
I’ve been playing records in my room since I was 13 — I DJ’d sweet 16s and house parties and all that until I was old enough to play clubs.
I started doing the radio thing at Northeastern, where I majored in music technology and multimedia studies, which kept me active composing and producing as well.
What can we expect to hear on MoFo radio?
GD: Lots of new mp3s from friends and blogs and a lot of old records from my digging addiction.
The new stuff is generally comprised of dance music, hip hop, and remixes from around the globe, while my record collection contains a lot of disco, jazz, funk, boogie, house, and the occasional psyche-rock record.
What’s your go-to track when the dance floor slows down?
GD: I really like building the vibe with disco tracks, but it’s sometimes hard to move the crowd with older records.
That Australian guy Shazam is kind of my go-to right now. His Munk and Dizzee Rascal remixes get people moving and sit well in the disco groove.
I really dig Badman On A Real Train. How did you develop that mix?
GD: That was a school project to start with. I did a series of electronic compositions with reggae songs as source material.
That Busy Signal and Mavado tune was on the radio a lot at the time, so I grabbed the a capella and ran it through a vocoder with some weird bell tones.
The result sounded kind of somber and spacey and reminded me of Tangerine Dream for some reason, so I added synth arpeggios and bass parts to go with it.
I added the beats after turning it in to my professor for extra block-rocking appeal.
Everybody in Boston has a side hustle — what do you do when you’re not making music?
GD: Right now, I’m working with a local art non-profit called the Berwick Research Institute as co-coordinator of their Special Projects Incubator.
They have a very strong artist-in-residence program and they’re looking to branch out even further with special events taking place outside the residencies.
I also teach audio and video classes part time for teenagers at the ICA. In my spare, spare time, I edit video and install new media art. I tend to keep a lot of odd jobs that way.
Please tell me there is a video somewhere of the Dad Sampler in action on a wiimote – it looks absolutely awesome. Where did you get the idea?
GD: No videos on YouTube, but I highly recommend watching all that come up when searching “dadsampler”.
I was mainly influenced by a little flash app called FlossyFX (built by the Flosstradamus dudes) that did essentially the same thing, but didn’t let you load your own samples or control it outside the keyboard and mouse.
I had a Max/MSP class in college, so I started putting together my own version for DJing. You can control it from any midi controller, but the wiimote makes it fun. For those playing along at home, check it out at djghostdad.googlepages.com/dadsampler.
What are some of your regular nights and what projects do you have in the works?
GD: I do Bass Invaders with Nick Yoder the last Thursday of every month at the Milky Way in JP (I also maintain the JP party line — 1.800.988.7361).
I’m part of the Do It Again! crew alongside Ryan Durkin, Brek.One, and Mayhem every Sunday at ZuZu, and I just started a new monthly called Revolver somewhere around the third Saturday of each month at the Goodlife.
I’ve been putting together remixes and tracks with all those dudes and my friends over at Fully Fitted.
I’ve also got some other little Max patches I’m working on putting out there (including a Dad Sampler for video).