In '06, NYC's Jonathan Peters Summoned the Forces to Win America's Best DJ. So How Does a DJ From a City Crawling With Global Jocks Take That Title? By Staying True to His Fanbase.

Published in the April 2007 issue of DJ Times Magazine
Volume 20 - Number 4
By Jim Tremayne

     New York City—Jonathan Peters knows that he’s not America’s best DJ. He’d be the first to admit that no one is, really. But, as long as we’re talking about DJ polls, the 38-year-old jock doesn’t apologize, and certainly not for the activism of his rabid fans. He’s worked too long and hard to earn their patronage, and win them over he has—by the thousands.

In 2006, Peters surprised many scene watchers by nosing out all the big U.S-based global jocks for the title of America’s Best DJ, an online vote inaugurated by DJ Times. Along with three ABDJ contest winners, JP (as he’s known) was at Privilege in Ibiza this past August for the DJ Times party that capped off the promotion. He accepted his award and, before Masters At Work took the decks at the world’s largest nightclub, he thanked “the fans of New York City for the support.” It was a sweet night for the 22-year DJ vet, and especially uplifting considering he’d never even visited Ibiza before then.

So how did JP gain such a fanatical fanbase? The simple answer: Hard work.

He played NYC’s cut-throat club game for years before his big opportunity presented itself. When it did, he grabbed it, worked it and began to earn a lucrative career. His seven-year run at Sound Factory was one of the most successful in New York club history, and it included some of the craziest EDM events the city had ever seen. There were parties that lasted 20, 25, 30 hours with JP playing tribal, classics, trance, vocals, garage, progressive—even Elton John and Pink Floyd. And they left a mark on anyone who ever participated.

To this, Dave Dresden can attest. At a dinner with hitmaking duo Gabriel & Dresden several months ago, we asked Dresden about his favorite DJs and the first jock he mentioned was JP. In the late-’90s, Dresden was a Connecticut club jock who’d drive down to the Sound Factory’s 46th Street space to catch JP’s act and bathe in the wild atmosphere. “I never heard anybody work a record like Jonathan,” he recalled with an obvious sense of wonder. “In those Sound Factory days, he could take a track I thought I didn’t like and, by the end of the night, I loved it! More than any other DJ, he made me feel those records.” He wasn’t the only one.

Of course, the 46th Street version of Sound Factory is painted with a bit of notorious history. It was shut down in 2004 by New York City authorities, which charged the owner Richard Grant with a variety of drug-related offenses. (In 2005, Grant was acquitted of all charges.) Sound Factory was over for JP, but his relationship with the room remains. These days he maintains a monthly residency with the space’s new occupant—Pacha.

Thanks to audio engineer Steve Dash, JP’s gigs at Pacha or any other venue are no small endeavor. Instead of trusting any club’s on-site setup, JP and company haul in a customized DJ booth he calls Samantha—complete with a homemade digital DJ controller, a pair of new Macs, Ableton Live 6, plus a million plug-ins. All the digital music is there for his on-the-fly remixing. And, as evidenced by a recent packed gig we caught at Bliss in Clifton, N.J., the deep connection with the fans hasn’t been lost. From our spot near the booth, we could see their effusive reactions as JP worked Samantha, filtering and tweaking tracks to critical mass. (Expect the same on March 22 at Space in downtown Miami when JP and DJ Times get it on together during Winter Music Conference.)

We caught up with JP soon after the Bliss gig and discussed his recent history, his advice for DJs, and why he’s proud of his America’s Best DJ title.

DJ Times: The last time we did a story like this (1998), you were in your 46th Street glory at the height of Sound Factory. We talked a lot about your history, but a lot has transpired since then. A lot of drama with venues, the city and other DJs…
Peters: Some of them were cool with me and some weren’t. When I was coming up, I always tried to keep things on a positive level with other DJs, but so many times I was dissed, straight-out. But you know what? I’m such a bitch, that I confronted every one of them [laughs].

DJ Times: In the New York scene, your status has certainly changed—you’re one of the region’s biggest DJs, one with a crazy fanbase. What did winning the America’s Best DJ vote mean to you?
Peters: I have to be real honest with you—winning was important to me because I’ve been doing this for over 20 years in New York and it’s been tough over the years. Up-and-coming DJs want to know how to succeed, right? Some people think it’s easy, but in this town the knives come out. I was lucky to have those positive experiences at a young age with DJs like Frankie Knuckles and Danny Krivit.

DJ Times: Why does your audience remain so devoted to you and your parties?
Peters: Honestly, it came out of my Sound Factory residency. When I was working there, I never missed a Saturday in seven years. I’m passionate. I did my best on a weekly basis to make sure that everything was new, fresh and beautiful—and not re-tread the same stuff, like “Uh-oh, here comes that record again with the same mix.” I was always conscious that there were repeat customers. I have so many people come up to me and say, “You know, JP, you wrote the diary of music for my life.” When I hear that from people, that’s the biggest thing that moves me.

DJ Times: Years after Sound Factory closed, they’re still loyal.
Peters: I think the reason why I have so many fans is because I have a style that has nothing to do with the records I play. I’m able to control the energy and create the vibe. I’m known to work a record for 45 minutes, but that’s what I might have to do to raise the energy in the room.

DJ Times: That residency really put you on the map. You must’ve looked at it like your big opportunity.
Peters: Of course! When Sound Factory opened there weren’t any mega-discos with a straight edge anywhere, so I took it very seriously. I was always going to clubs that played the underground music that I wanted to hear, and when I got my chance I was going to support that music the way I felt it should be supported.

DJ Times: And that meant playing super-marathon sets that most jocks wouldn’t dream of.
Peters: Just the record shopping alone…records, remember those? It was unbelievable. Playing records for 20 hours is a lot of work [laughs]. And keeping people interested to stay there for a long time was a challenge because I never played the same record twice.

DJ Times: What kept you inspired to play those crazy sets?
Peters: I took it so seriously because my whole life—all those years prior to Sound Factory—I was working so hard and getting little dollars. People were coming to those little-dollar gigs and, if I wasn’t on-point, the promoters would be like, “Yo, JP—you’re gone.” It was really hardcore like that. I remember all the DJs in record stores during that time. I mean, I was in the stores three times a week because I was scared. That was the vibe.

DJ Times: Your best memory of playing Sound Factory?
Peters: Being able to go in the booth and lock the doors from both sides and having my privacy to play music with zero distractions. I really have fond memories about some of the parties, the ones that went 30-35 hours and thinking, “How did this happen?” I couldn’t leave the booth. People brought me food. I’d piss in the garbage can. It was crazy.

DJ Times: So winning this award must’ve seemed like a vindication for you, something that was a long time coming.
Peters: Coming from Sound Factory, it was a different situation from anything I’d ever seen. The way Sound Factory ran…they didn’t want press. They didn’t want me to get press. So for me to never get nominated for anything in the press and play so many years of 20-hour parties and being so 100-percent dedicated, it was tough. I’d see these DJ charts and rankings coming out with DJs who play New York two or three times a year and I’d think, “Is this [chart] really as important as it is? It’s not as real as what I’m doing.” It was the hardest thing to figure out. But don’t get me wrong, I was grateful to have my fans and I am grateful to still have them. Honestly, it’s them—that’s why I won [America’s Best DJ].

DJ Times: Your Myspace page has 24,000 friends. You and your people have worked so hard to cultivate and keep a fanbase. How did you summon the forces to support you?
Peters: Now, they come to me. My manager Lou B is amazing. He always puts the puzzle together. We promote. We send out email blasts, flyers—the whole nine. The fans are great. I love them.

DJ Times: What did you think of Ibiza when you went over there to accept your award at Privilege?
Peters: You saw my speech when I was there—it was the truth. I had to thank the fans of New York City. I also said it was refreshing for me, at least, to see big parties [in Ibiza] where the people are really dictating how the event is going. Seeing people enjoy themselves in several locations there, it was amazing. The people are just so happy there.

DJ Times: Why did you feel the need to create Samantha, your customized mobile DJ booth?
Peters: One reason—club owners. You play one or two hours at a place, and that’s fine. But you go try to play 15 hours and the turntables aren’t maintenanced, it’s tough. I mean, I’d rip tone arms out—I brought in custom tone arms with special weights and all that. But you go to these clubs and the hip-hop DJ from the night before has the turntables one way and maybe there’s beer all over it—oh, the pain. Who needs that?

DJ Times: Our sister publication Club Systems International featured your booth a few months ago—any updates since then?
Peters: Hallelujah for the new laptops! I was able to migrate into the MacBook Pro dual-core [Core 2 Duo] 17-inch units. These have made such a difference for what I’m trying to do, on this level. Nothing else was ever fast enough for me.

DJ Times: Ableton Live is your main program. Why?
Peters: I was always a fan of the other programs, but their file management wasn’t on the level that it needed to be, as far as keeping it tight. I was running into hours of losing things and drama. Compared to Ableton, other programs are more DJ-focused and maybe a little more DJ-friendly. But as a producer coming from the studio world—I have custom plug-ins and so forth—to get it really tight, I found Ableton has so many things for me. The upside is there for me—I’m remixing on the fly. And I created a controller made for a club environment that’s really a musical instrument.

DJ Times: Tell me about your controller.
Peters: I designed my box to be more like a mixer, more DJ-intuitive. Again, I’m actually remixing and producing on the fly for the most part. I can tweak things from my box. It allows me to focus into my rig, in a traditional way of DJing. Sometimes the energy gets so high I that I pound on the thing and, believe me, the way it’s built, it’s not going to break.

DJ Times: And your digital files?
Peters: I don’t play MP3—I use larger files—AIFF or WAV—so I have to deal with the issue of storage. I have had so many arguments with DJs about MP3s. They’ll say that it’s so close to the WAV, but if they don’t hear the difference [laughs], I’m sorry! It’s clear as day to me. My sample rate is 44k. Although I do hear the difference with 96k, when you’re dealing with 96k, you have to have everything else compatible with 96k, especially with a Live situation. The upgrade factor is huge. The art of my booth is the drama-free factor. It’s perfect for me.

DJ Times: Transporting this system looks like a chore.
Peters: In the beginning, carrying around two G5 computers around was a bitch. I mean, I had special cases that let me throw them around. But I realized that my happiness comes from playing. So I’d rather carry everything and have a great night than walk out of the club at the end of the night free and easy—and be disappointed. It wasn’t worth it to me. If it’s not 100-percent, why am I doing it? I never bitch about carrying this stuff around, but, let me tell you, it’s not cheap.

DJ Times: How important is it for a DJ to have a regular residency, say, a weekly?
Peters: It’s not important at all if you’re not passionate. It depends what you’re doing with it. Four years prior to playing Sound Factory, I was at Save the Robots in New York City. Prior to that, I was doing all these parties, in the shuffle, fighting it out, sometimes not getting paid—like I said. Believe me, I appreciated it. Having a regular place to play keeps you on-point—straight-up.

DJ Times: You’re back in the same 46th Street space now, but these days it’s a residency at Pacha. What’s it like for you going back there?
Peters: My soul is in those walls. The fans are happy and if they’re happy, I’m happy. The fact that we’re together again is great. The energy is still there, and I believe that Pacha is the only one that could pull it off. When it was Sound Factory, we cared about one thing and one thing only—that Saturday night. But Pacha is an organization that has a couple of nights, corporate events. It’s a brand, another kind of animal. It’s unbelievable. Pacha supports dance music and dance culture on another level and I love that about them. Much respect.

DJ Times: What advice do you have for up-and-coming DJs?
Peters: People come up to me and say, “JP, I wanna be like you.” I don’t want to shoot them down, but do they know what they’re getting into? You gotta be willing to take that chance and roll the dice. Yeah, I’ve gotten thousands of dollars for gigs, but how about those 15 years when I wasn’t? There was dedication and hard work. I was killing myself to make it happen. A lot of people don’t want to do that.

DJ Times: It’s like picking up a guitar and expecting to play Madison Square Garden the next year.
Peters: Yeah! So I really have two answers for people. The spiritual, good man in me wants to be real and say, “If you’re not willing to put your time into it and dedicate yourself to this, don’t do it.” I don’t know anybody who has really made it who hasn’t had a genuine life dedication to DJing and music. Don’t fool yourself—do it right. My other answer is the more positive side of the coin, and it’s this: Technology is on your side! When I was coming up, I didn’t have all this. Nobody was helping me, honey. I didn’t have the magazines, the websites, any of that when I started in the mid-1980s. DJing is a whole different world from my day. Still, if you want it that bad, if you really want to be able to say, “This is what I do,” you have to put everything into it. That’s what I did.