Dj Addambombb Boston, MA www.addamidiom.com By: Beck Rist Dj Addambombb knows sound. He has DJed over one thousand events ranging from batmitzvah to Harvard College swing parties, and proven his dedication to New England's gothic/industrial scene by working closely with local bands such as Flutter Effect, You Shriek, as well as national acts such as Rasputina. He is currently resident Dj at Northampton's Goth/Industrial night Haven hosted at Club Diva's, and has DJed at Boston's Ceremony and Manray in its reigning day. Addam has been DJing professionally since 1995, recalling with a laugh what a joy it was to queue songs on vinyl with the aid of a china marker to mark position of songs. Since the advent of cd's and CD DJ decks, he enjoys the help of the queue wheel, which allows him to precisely queue songs to within seventy fifth of a second versus the feel of vinyl and eyeballing marks. "Minute jumps are also very nice," he reflected. However, Addam seems to prefer his music to maintain the tactile element that mp3's and computers cannot bring to the booth. "That's fun to watch -the double click," he said staring hunched over at an imaginary computer screen, as if scrolling through a song list. Addam can find the song he's looking for in his giant CD books much quicker than searching on a laptop screen. He much prefers the real to the virtual. The tactile element is what makes Dj Addambombb such a good dj: "You have to take it in, then let it back out, and take it in again." When he plays a gig, he doesn't necessarily have a play list already created. Instead, he relies on the feel of the music and what's happening on the dance floor. His talents of observing the dance floor vibe as well as his close ties with the community allow Addam to introduce more unknown songs to the club scene, but he's also unafraid to play more popular songs. It comes back to the feel of what's going on. If the song helps the energy on the floor "peak," then Addam will play it. This past May, Addam was finally able to see the release of his own work come to fruition on "Owen Tate 06/06/06," a compilation of mostly NYC dj's. His song, "Could It Be," was a special challenge for Addam, considering he has never had any formal training in music, yet wrote and sequenced all of his song. He was a drummer in earlier years, but he was never taught to read music or identify notes. Finding the notes he wanted to use was so aptly compared to the headache scenes in the movie Pi. "It was a matter of getting what was in my head out," Addam said as he put his hands to his head and smiled. He recently started studying music theory but he is still developing the skill to identify pitch versus hitting virtual keys until he hears the correct note. Addam wrote his song using Propellerhead Reason through it's step programming function, rather than drilling a hole in his temple to let the music leak out. Anyone who has ever experimented with electronic music programs without the aid of a USB keyboard or any other instrument will appreciate the battle Addam fought with only his mouse and won. Addam was pleased with the way Dj Owen Tate handled the vocal production and mastering of "Could It Be," considering that days before the mix and mastering sessions he suffered a collapsed lung and had to be hospitalized for better part of a week. He was barely able to make it out to the release party and was unable to sing the vocals at the release as planned. Since "Could It Be" was released, Addam has been pleased to receive many requests for his song and looks forward completing his record. It was fortunate timing to catch Addam and his girlfriend, Kim, after their dinner at an Indian restaurant in Arlington. They drove over to Allston to meet up at Herrell's, a local cafe, where they were charmed by the wall of giant magnetic words. "You should make something before you leave," Kim suggested as Addam eyed up the wall, agreeing. We settled into our teas and met up with a mutual friend. Addam, enamored with the nostalgia of Allston, suggested we head over to a small park by Pan 9, a recording studio off Brighton Ave. The park, Addam explained, used to be nothing but an empty lot. He was pleased that such a place could exist, but was perturbed at the same time that it was already invaded by the wastes of a city. Addam is very conscious about the world. Reading from his blogs, he has a passion to make change happen for the better, and to encourage thought in his fellow humans. He discussed the tangle of Massachusetts's healthcare problems perched on top of a plastic picnic table while Kim sat beside him. "He can go on for hours," she later told me with a smile. Though Addam made his position clear, he wanted to discuss rather than preach. It seemed his goal wasn't necessarily to make you agree with him, as so many fundamentalists have the unfortunate repertoire, but to start thinking about what was happening in the world around you. That was most important to him. Addam is very polite and wanted to give ensure proper time for the interview, but when his friends from Flutter Effect saw us from the roof of Pan 9, he was completely lured to come up to watch the sunset. Allston gets very beautiful, but strangely one can only notice it from rooftops as the setting sun paints magenta to the underside of a darkening expanse of sky. His friends were glad to see him looking healthy and back on his feet after his collapsed lung. "It felt like a back spasm," Addam said as he tried to describe how it feels to have an inside part of you suddenly go kaput. The culprit? Cloves and a susceptible lanky body. Being 6'3" may have its advantages at concerts, but apparently it also has its drawbacks. Now Addam finally has the inspiration he needs to quit smoking. "For the last time," he jokes. Ensuing conversations oscillated between Vessela's [Flutter Effect] musician mayhem of mixing and planning the publicity and advertisement for the upcoming record to Addam's recent release, and found itself back inside the studio. Vessela played two songs as her cat came out for a scratch and band member Valerie arrived with her cello. Watching Addam listen to the music, you could tell he was thinking about the mechanics of achieving the right sound. You could also see him feeling the music, wrapping himself in the sound, taking it in. Note transcriptions later, the interview finished back outside on the roof under the red glow of chili pepper lights and chilling air. We made our way down the rusting stairwell back to the street, Addam exploring the bits of everything that he came across - hopping on an abandoned sailboard, remembering his windsurfing days, assessing the strange gargoyle go-cart parked in the dust, wondering if it still ran. His car was parked in front of O'Brien's, bursting with music from a show. Before goodbyes, he stopped to peek into the bar where he used to dj at Bottle Rocket and take back in the environment of a place he used to frequent. ****** Dj Addambombb can be heard every Tuesday at Haven, and his CD can be purchased at http://the-blessed.com. Upcoming events include Black Sun Festival (with a prelude set at Ceremony) and Pi con, where he is working with Voltaire to give a performance.