Thursday, December 27, 2007

Default Mark

It's been a while, I know...Happy Holidays to all....

It's easy to reach paralysis when you have a million ideas swirling through your head. I guess the only way to get over procrastination is to start

I barely survived Christmas having gone through a filipino-food induced coma. I could barely speak to my relatives for about three days because I had stuffed so much food into my body it was practically coming out of my mouth. Seriously, I had to sleep on my couch practically upright while I watched bits of Holiday, Failure to Launch and Who Killed the Electric Car? at three in the morning for fear of severe acid reflux.

I was actually somewhat excited for Boxing Day because Boxing Day is like a regular shopping day in New York. I thought the bustle of all the grumpy people looking for bargains might render me nostalgic. Unfortunately big crowds of people may feel like New York, but New Yorkers know how to do one thing that other cities (I can't speak for all cities) fail to do. New Yorkers know how to WALK. When New Yorkers walk, they're basically driving. And the vehicle they are driving is their own body. They know how to walk fast, efficiently. They have a fire, a need, to get somewhere. If they wanted to meander with strangers to bad music in a big space, they would go to a club. And New Yorkers don't only know how to walk. They know how to strut and shuffle and jump and shove and push and squeeze and make their way through a maze of people. It's collective rushing and walking. That doesn't happen in Montreal. Needless to say, it's an adjustment.

There's a lot I want to write about; my ambivalence to my work, book ideas, wanting to take a dance class or yoga, my desire for new music and DJ equipment and to travel, but we'll get to that eventually.

Referring to the title of said Blog, I've been thinking a lot about Default Mark. A new year is fast approaching, and finding myself in a new/old city after an exhausting break up, I know I'm in the process of re-charging my batteries and upgrading to Mark 2.0.

While that happens, Default Mark takes over. Here are a few things that I doubt will ever change.

There will always be a cafe to sit and write in
So what if it's usually a Starbucks. I love my coffee. And I love just sitting and writing and watching the world go by.

Richard Linklater, you're my hero
I will always watch Before Sunrise or After Sunset. Maybe it's pathetic but fuck it, I love those movies. I will never get sick of them. Other movies/shows on constant shuffle: Sex and the City, Human Traffic, Shortbus, Party Girl, Porn (yeah I said it)

I'll continue to walk this earth...
I love walking. I do. I like taking in the fresh air, looking at people, at buildings. I love watching little dramas and situations unfold each and every moment. I love walking through Urban Outfitters. I love window shopping.

Mark needs to disco nap
Me and my sister are basically borderline narcoleptic. I rationalize this by pretending I was a fabulous party person at Studio 54 in my former life so now I'm napping my way through this one. I heart naps.

Let's face it. I know I'm in a state of flux. As human beings we're constantly evolving, learning, creating. But whenever I'm feeling low, or need some time to myself, I know I can always watch Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy traipse through Paris, or have a vanilla latte while flipping through Nylon Guys after a long walk.

Simple pleasures are the best

Saturday, December 8, 2007

DJ Rant and Raves...

I just came back from CODA. I really like the vibe in that place. But it got me thinking about DJing and what it means to me.

First off, I'm so over the labels. It just irks me. I completely understand that a particular DJ will gravitate or be known for one particular genre, but if it's music that I love and I think it's sexy and I want to share it with the world then I'll fucking play it. I love that Sven Vath plays Night of the Jaguar (still) and that the first time I heard it was on a Body and Soul compilation. Danny Krivit, Joe Claussell, Francois K and Sven Vath couldn't be farther from each other but they can appreciate a good tune.

I'm sick of people saying they don't like House Music. None of the hipsters would recognize it in New York City. House Music is such a broad label. Progressive House might as well be Electro with the right BPM pitched over 130. Where do people think electronic music came from anyway? It came from Disco. It came from the Garage and Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles. It came from New York to Chicago to Detroit Techno. You might as well call electronic music sexy bleeps with a hip-hop beat. Heaven forbid you use the word "House". It's so retro...I feel like every time I say I play House people look at me like I just said I fuck my mother or something.

DJs used to have to lug crates of records wherever they went. Back then the playing field was somewhat even. Maybe a mixer was rotary, but that was it. Today, DJs are lumped into different tribes. I bought my headphones off a guy who only spins vinyl and refuses to embrace the digital age. I just spun in a club in Toronto where the resident DJs no longer wanted their Allen and Heath because it didn't have the functions they needed when they were on the road. Every major club now has CD Pioneers alongside their Technics. Almost every DJ I saw in Toronto used their laptop. At Coda, every DJ they have is on Serato. They don't even have Pioneers. I probably could never play there until I could afford a Mac Powerbook and learn Final Scratch.

Once upon a time a DJ would spin for the entire night. From 10pm to 6am one single DJ would create a musical journey. These DJs would speak to the crowd through music. They would tell stories. Sometimes the stories would be so obvious, "I am feeling so sad right now, this is what my pain feels like." Other times it would be uplifting, inspiring. And on a good night it was everything at once.

Now, a "Guest DJ" is lucky to spin maybe a two hour set. It's probably all the Promoter can afford. People are listening to the music but no one is really LISTENING to the music. No one wants to be taken on a musical journey. Everyone wants their bangin' 4am beats now before the clock strikes twelve and we all turn into pumpkins.

Don't get me wrong, there are still good DJs out there, and people are getting into the groove, but people are so hung up on the medium, the gadgets, the kaos pads and efx boxes and i-pods and laptops. All the boys and their toys. I say use them all or use none of them at all. Who the fuck gives a shit?

Because when it comes right down to it, I don't care if you're scratching your vinyl plates and have an impressive array of mp3s in your itunes. I don't care if it's Drum and Bass, Happy Hardcore, Breakbeat or Minimal. If people ain't dancing, then you're not doing your job.

sorry for all the swearing. I blame my good friend, Jamieson

I heart NYC

I have so many emotions about this place that it makes it hard to write about it. The decision to leave was easy at the time. I was getting out of a messy break up, I had no money, I was living on the down low for almost five years and I had just lost my job. The city was eating me alive. I needed to get out and get some clarity.

New York will always be there, people say. You can always come back. But as I sit here looking out my sister's apartment window at the frozen tundra that is Montreal, I'm starting to doubt if I could do it all over again.

The thing about New York is, living there and visiting are not the same thing. She lures you in with her siren's call and arm raised high with a torch aflame, but make no mistake, she can be a bitch at times. There's the great divide between the rich, the wealthy, the nouveau-riche, the euro-trash, the trust-fund babies and the poor, the middle-class poor, the working-class poor, the really-really poor. New York is not like the movies unless you are a movie star.

I have never been more exhausted in all my life than when I was living in New York. Just a single day of waking up, getting my ass to work at my SoHo restaurant, finishing the day and getting back on the subway for my fifteen minute ride to Brooklyn kicked my ass. There were nights when I wanted to go out, but the idea of getting on that subway again was too much to bear. And even one night out in New York City will set you back a ton of cash. People get so tired in New York that sometimes the mark of true success for a New Yorker is not living there anymore.

I can't justify why anyone should live there. Not without a million bucks. And yet, I have to admit I miss it. It's fucked up, right? Is New York simply tough love or an abusive parent you keep coming back to? I can't decide which.

And yet every time I see that Chrysler building at night or think about all the times I crossed the Williamsburg Bridge onto an island of twinkling lights, I can't help but be a little homesick. Maybe that's what New York is: it's a sickening place for those who struggle. But it's also home. And there's no place quite like it.

all that glitters is not gold -Shakespeare

Monday, December 3, 2007

mark vicente - dot - com

There's a famous Producer with my name. Not my name, I guess I don't own it, but the same name. He's very accomplished. He should be, he's older. I on the other hand, am not...yet. In any case, I will never have the website "markvicente.com" because my very famous Mark Vicente has that title. Sorta humbling. I'll probably have to stick with DJMarkVicente.com when I become a famous DJ even though I prefer simply Mark Vicente sans "DJ" in front (it's just not my style.) Damnit: I have yet to define who I am and already someone has made my name a creative success. I've added my name to his mailing list, just so I can keep up with what I am doing.

Hello, my name is Bill

Sunday, December 2, 2007

...master of none

I’ve had this blog open for a while now and I’ve been struggling to define it. I keep asking myself, what am I going to use it for? What do I want people out there on the wide world web to know about me? That I’m a DJ? A Writer? A big ol’ mess? All of the above?



We’re so obsessed with occupation in our society. “What do you do?” is such a frequently asked question. But does what we do define who we are? I can up with probably a thousand things I want to do in my lifetime. I want to travel, I want to rock climb, I want to write a novel, I want to fall in love again and over and over, I want to learn to make a three course meal, I want to learn French, I want to DJ in Ibiza, I want to own a home in Costa Rica…



When I was young, I wanted to be a film actor. And somehow, here I am, a man of thirty one with several career paths under his belt. I have been an actor. I have written articles and countless journals. I have lived in New York under the radar for almost four years; one of my greatest achievements, I think to date. I have spent most of my life onstage. I still love the world behind the velvet curtain and yet I am fascinated by everyday things and people. I love coffee. I love it. I love going to the theatre, museums, galleries. I like meeting new and interesting people. I am passionate about DJing. I think the life of a professional dancer is underappreciated and one of the most grueling in the world.



What defines me? What is this blog all about? What do I hope to accomplish or discover about myself? I’m not quite sure yet.



So that’s me…and what do you do? Oh, really? That’s nice…