DJ of the Month: Charles Feelgood
From busted old-school turntables in ‘89 to advanced controllers 20 years later, Charles Feelgood has come a long way in his stellar DJ career. Along with partner DJ Scott Henry, Feelgood founded the legendary Baltimore club night Fever in 1992 and helped define the bangin’ Baltimore/D.C. house sound during the halcyon rave days of the ’90s. And he’s never slowed down; Feelgood has launched labels, opened a lounge bar in Baltimore to support local DJs and delivered a steady stream of remixes and original productions that reflect his diverse sound of funky, tech-y, electro-y house. Now, after more than a decade and a half of inter-continental touring, Charles Feelgood has truly seen a million faces, and he’s rocked them all.
Recently, DJ Tech Tools caught up with Feelgood and friends in LA between gigs to talk about their experiences using controllers. Afterwards, we followed up with Charles for this interview, where he reflects on what he’s seen and learned while rising to and staying on top.
WHEN DID YOU START DJING?
I first started DJing around 1989 (in my bedroom) with turntables that didn’t have pitch control. That was a challenge to say the least!
HOW DIFFERENT WAS IT BACK THEN?
Back then, the scene in Baltimore consisted mostly of dance music being played in gay clubs. We used to go to a club called Odell’s where Yazoo 12-inches and disco was being played early into the morning.
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR UP-AND-COMING DJS?
It seems these days you need to get into production to make a name for yourself, so I always recommend getting a program like Pro Tools, Logic or Abelton Live and practice producing!
WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED, DID YOU IMAGINE YOU’D EVER PLAY FOR THOUSANDS OF FANS AT COACHELLA?
Well, Coachella started around ‘99, and I’d been on the road quite a bit before then. But it definitely was an honor playing the Coachella stage. There was so much energy in that place I didn’t mind the 120 degree weather!
HOW HAVE YOU EVOLVED MUSICALLY AS A DJ OVER THE YEARS?
I’ve always been influenced by all kinds of music and really don’t care about what genre a track has been labeled beyond EDM. I honestly feel I play the same as I always have; if I like it or it’s got at least a tiny bit of funk in it, I’ll play it. Right now if you were to look at my iTunes playlist, you would see everything from The O’ Jays to The Killers.
WHY THE CHANGE TO DIGITAL DJING AND CONTROLLERS, AND HOW HAS IT AFFECTED YOUR SOUND?
I’ve definitely come to embrace technology, and traveling with your laptop and a controller is waaay easier than with 100 records that sometimes don’t even make the flight. You can also get really creative on the fly with controllers and really take your performance up a couple of notches. For the first time in a long time I’ve found myself practicing to see what I can come up with next with my VCI-100 SE!
HOW DO CROWDS AND FELLOW DJS REACT WHEN YOU’RE ROCKING THE ARCADE BUTTONS?
It’s so funny, I’ve gotten so many emails asking “what in the world were you DJing with last night?” It’s great to see people so interested in the technology behind the VCi. I’m still learning, and it’s definitely put the fun back into DJing.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE TRACKS RIGHT NOW? ANY HOT REMIXES YOU’VE DONE THAT WE SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR?
I have so many, I can count right now! I just did a new CD “Live from the How Sweet It Is Festival” on Moist and I’ve always got some funky stuff up on my site www.djfeelgood.com or Beezo.net to download. And some of my favorite producers are Lee Mortimer, Aniki, Santiago & Bushido, Charles Feelgood (oh wait, that’s me), Mowgli, Bart B More, Hervé, Switch, mom and dad.
YOU’VE PLAYED EVERYWHERE FROM UTAH DESERT RAVES TO IBIZA BEACHES. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ENVIRONMENT TO DJ IN?
I like playin’ the “no drama” spots where anyone and everyone can get in without all the lines and bottle service and crap. I just want everyone to be on an equal playing fields when they get in the door, let their guards down and just have a good time!
WHERE CAN FANS FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR WORK AND UPCOMING GIGS?
I have quite a few newer singles on Beatport.com right now, and you can always check out tour dates on www.myspace.com/charlesfeelgoodmusic , for bookings contact matt at amonly dot com.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:38 am Quote
Nice i-view! Feelgood u rock that shit ;)
Awesome to see and old-school guy, straight fom vinyls, go to controllers. Hopefully others will join :)
October 5th, 2009 at 12:38 am Quote
That groove is ree-dick-you-lus.
Very nice, Mr. Feelgood
October 5th, 2009 at 1:02 am Quote
wicked! looking forward to more digital-dj interviews/articles. well done
October 5th, 2009 at 5:28 am Quote
Does anyone know the song in this clip or is it sampling? Very funky dirty sound!
October 5th, 2009 at 5:51 am Quote
There is any chance of Charles make a video explaining his workflow in djing with a arcade VCI-100?
Would be awesome to know how you do your tricks, and to see what you think that is fun to play with.
And I have a request from the Brazilian’s rave crowd: can you make a interview with any Psytrance Full-on Digital DJ/Producer? The Japan people would like it too.
Thanks!
October 5th, 2009 at 6:42 am Quote
come on, why this? dj of the month? it’s not that this guy wasnt hyped in other videos already.
dont like it, the site should be about technology not about djs who happen to use modded vci’s
October 5th, 2009 at 6:56 am Quote
New school technology in an old school DJ. So what if he uses a mod Vci.
October 5th, 2009 at 7:02 am Quote
For me it gives great street cred to the controllerist movement when a DJ and Producer of Charles caliber embraces the tech, the man is a legend for me. I use to go to his Fever gigs and Rise gigs with him and Scott Henry starting around 91 and then later worked at Nation in DC. This the real deal. For those whose scoff at this digital age, a man like this can only help bring positive attention. So more power to ya guys bring more artists to light.
October 5th, 2009 at 7:52 am Quote
-Well I like it. Nice to see articles showing the faces of those who use the tech.
October 5th, 2009 at 9:04 am Quote
Same feeling :) Keep it up djTT. Mad video, got me groovin’ hehe
October 5th, 2009 at 9:48 am Quote
its BAg Lady, Leko – Decoder Ring (Charlse Feelgood Remix)
October 5th, 2009 at 11:14 am Quote
was that Traktor 3? — just wondering ??
October 5th, 2009 at 1:26 pm Quote
I hate to kind of agree.
I want to know what type of cool things traktor 1.2 has that I can benefit from that Ean or anyone else on the team is using. More than a little snippet with Charles. Although I like it, I guess I would rather know more about the tech.
But like I said the post was still good.
October 5th, 2009 at 1:54 pm Quote
Love the crowd. Really big place.
And its real true that only producing could get you to the top.
October 5th, 2009 at 2:51 pm Quote
Well Im diggin the interview. Better this that something about a new gadget to put on my already crowded Dj table. I love what DJTT is about you know, the getting the most out of your equipment, is a surprisingly simple and yet very different approach compared to other websites that feel like browsing a catalog or something.
Well, thank you DJTT for not beign Yet Another Catalog.
And yeah, I agree that the best posts are those about learning new tricks with your current stuff the zillion things you can do in Traktor or Ableton but also inspiration (this interview) is needed to keep you going.
If you ask me what I would like to see more in DJTT is that about production. I think maybe the most simple way to learn production would be about how to make a remix of an already existing song. I would definitely LOVE to see that :)
October 5th, 2009 at 4:29 pm Quote
I like the interview, but it could be more in depth.
sort of questions i would like to see answered:
How do you set up your controller? How is it mapped?
What features of traktor you use most, how do you use them?
What features dont you like and why?
A video of some tricks would be very nice. A real liveset properly recorded, and then edited to see some interesting stuff with commentary from the dj on what he is doing.
October 5th, 2009 at 5:42 pm Quote
WOW!! SWEETNESS
October 5th, 2009 at 7:17 pm Quote
Thats exactly what i wanted too :D
October 5th, 2009 at 11:12 pm Quote
Much love. Dope interview, dope video, dope tech.
October 6th, 2009 at 3:25 am Quote
Nice vid & article. I just found something interesting about him:
http://twitpic.com/kc4dg
Looks as if he’s not on VCI anymore but converted to Pioneer :( I’m not sure if he still deserves the DJ of the month at DJTT.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:53 am Quote
Oh Snap, love that last post….I bet he uses Pioneer now…I sale this product at a AUTH shop and starting to realize it’s just a tad too small for me. If NS7 ever came out it would be cool. Pioneer saved the day(2-3 years too late?) but I would think Mr. feelgood could just tell promoter what gear he needed. Why would he want to go so small after years on decks and CD’s? Seems to me, CDJ’s are the standard and I don’t think carrying the lil’ box is to much to ask. He’s carrying a laptop anyway. It’s just a laptop bag on an aiplane. Seems were tryin to go smaller already and bitchin about carrying the serato box now. Just keep the serato disk in thurre and your good. CDJ’s all the way for me. Startin to love the SDHC card feature though….32g on each Pioneer would be tight. No buffering either. I don’t think he uses the VCI all the time to be honest. The pitch on CDJ’s can’t be beat I think.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:14 am Quote
Yeah! Love electro!
October 6th, 2009 at 11:45 am Quote
Not so sure about “DJ of the Month” feature and partially agree on not creating GAS on new equipment too. What I like about techtools is when I hit the site i have something of interest, not necessarily the latest controller, unless it adds something special, or if a DJ article something of depth to what/how they they digitally DJ, and I especially have been against “of the month” (greatest DJ ever etc., however I’m not against recognition).
Please don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to have something different as much as possible, your better being known as a site for integrity and informative discussion in the long run. Like the late great Bill Hicks pondered, the next step is sucking that corporate c**K! Peace.
October 6th, 2009 at 12:04 pm Quote
I will let Charles speak for himself on what gear he uses but here is what I know for sure:
He has been using the arcade controller at most shows, that photo was taken by the product development guy at Pioneer. They brought their CDJ-2000 around to many of the top djs in the world and shot photos and video with them in front of the CDJ-2000.
Ironically, Remember this video where I shot charles and some other djs in California?
http://www.djtechtools.com/2009/09/24/top-american-djs-talk-about-controllers/
Well….. All those guys showed up to learn about Traktor and the VCi-100 Arcade, on the day the pioneer cdj-200 was being released. In a bizarre twist of irony, the product dev guy from pioneer heard about the meet-up and showed up to interview a few of the guys about the CDJ-2000. I am not going to put words in peoples mouth, but it was very obvious where the energy and excitement was focused and it was not about the cdj-2000.
October 6th, 2009 at 12:17 pm Quote
Well perhaps we need to change the name from “dj of the month” to something else because its not about naming who the greatest dj is- absolutely not! Its about exposing the readers to people that are doing interesting things or may offer something that we can learn from. Charles has been a pro dj for 20 years- so he has a lot to teach about surviving in the game- which has been a theme this month.
Look at our last dj of the month feature, who was a relative unknown but we thought he was doing cool things and it was a great example of a new school kid coming up in the ranks with nothing but a controller.
http://www.djtechtools.com/2009/07/01/july-artist-feature-sticky-k/
In the future I want to feature artists and djs that are doing crazy inventive things to exposure new ideas and methods but we try and offer a blend of success/creativity and give a balanced view of the dj world.
October 6th, 2009 at 12:54 pm Quote
October 6th, 2009 at 1:07 pm Quote
The thread should stay, Im just waiting now till you pull someone like square pusher or computer club. Id really like to know what they are up to.
October 6th, 2009 at 3:54 pm Quote
love the article, im the person that can learn from anything positive or negative. getting a little info from a dj or seeing a clip from a show is helpful. i don’t have the time between day job and gigs to getout and see other djs, so stuff like this is interesting.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:26 pm Quote
gotta love some feelgood! i swear i remember him dropping some remix of sanford and son at a party in new orleans and i completely lost it. seen him many time in many places and he’s always good. rock on charles!
October 6th, 2009 at 8:53 pm Quote
Long live Bill YO!
After reading all of this stuff, I went to the YouTube page and realized there are a whole bunch of tutorials about using gear, tricks, etc. I learn more about Traktor here than NI. For that I am greatful. I like gear and I like interviews. And I’m not really concerned with wether you guys are loosing focus.
I sure would like to see a general Bomes tut though.
October 6th, 2009 at 10:09 pm Quote
Big up to the Bill Hicks fans! Remember his bit about “do a commercial, and you’re off the artistic roll call forever”? Yep, he set a high standard.
Just a note about future DJ profiles: We definitely want to make them more detailed and in-depth as to how each DJ performs and how he or she uses the equipment, including video. We’ll be ironing out our methods for making this happen and hopefully be shooting the videos on location, in person.
Feel free to send any suggestions for DJ profiles directly to me — or nominate yourself!
October 7th, 2009 at 5:07 am Quote
Really nice! Do it please :D
October 8th, 2009 at 9:15 am Quote
There is a sanford and son…It’s a domestic USA chicago jackin kinda record on old school label…
October 14th, 2009 at 4:44 pm Quote
What is that stand he has his vci on??? Is it meant for CDJ’s??