Consider us blessed for getting an interview with world-renowned global dj, remix master and producer, living legend New York native Danny Tenaglia aka El Maestro. When we found out he was playing at San Francisco’s Ruby Skye at Releases’ 15-year Anniversary celebration Saturday January 8th, 2005, we jumped on the chance to get an interview with the man. Lets just say it has been awhile since this interview originally happened, but it has been a remarkable experience to see DT’s progression in the next 5+ years. He makes people smile.
AT: How did you first get into dance music and at what point did you decide that this is what you want to do in life?
DT: I knew from an early age, that I was different. As a little boy I knew I possessed this gift that I loved music. I was always interested in playing and making music if it was just picking up instruments or banging stuff. I have two careers, one being a dj and one being a production artist. The production follows being a dj. I first started as a dj when I was a teenager in Brooklyn, New York. I played at all kinds of places – house parties, weddings, and roller discos. It wasn’t till I moved to Miami I first got recognized. I moved to Miami in 1985-90 and held a residency at Cheers in South Miami. At the time, I was playing at the only after-hours club, open till 7a.m. I also started playing at the Winter Music Conference (WMC), which gave me a lot of exposure from media and allowed me to showcase my talents; people started talking about me and the word spread. People often mistook me and said I was from Miami. Danny Tenaglia is from New York. People from Billboard magazine were writing about me, and I was getting great reviews. In 1988, I decided to get into the studio and start production. I’ve played around with keyboards and pianos at a young age, so it came natural. I did my first track in 1988 on Atlantic Records, “Waiting for a Call” I was known as DeepState; and I did another one “Everybody Get Down”. In the 90’s I started doing tracks for big name artists like Right Said Fred, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Grace Jones, Deep Dish, Pet Shop Boys, and Blondie.
AT: Who have been your biggest influences?
DT: I have a lot of influences throughout my career, but two are basically the forefront of influences for me. When I was a teen I used to go see dj Larry Levan, who played at the Paradise Garage in New York. I was like a wallflower. In New York I would go out on Fri & Sat …pretty much the whole weekend. I would watch Larry and he would make the audience feel the music how he felt the music. It’s all about the presentation and delivering it well. Some people just do it better; one person will play a track and another will play that same track but make you hear it in a whole new light. Kind of like when you taste your mother’s lasagna; it’s different when someone else makes that same dish. (Tenaglia laughs) It’s true.
Another person who was a big influence was Shep Pettibone, famous dj/producer and KISS mix master from the early 80’s. He was doing radio mix shows and was like the godfather of re-edits and remixes. His skills were phenomenal. At the time, he was remixing everyone’s music. His catalog of songs is around 3000 songs; he did a lot of stuff for Madonna, and produced the Erotica album.
AT: You’re a seasoned veteran when it comes to djing around the globe; where is your favorite place to play?
DT: That’s a hard one to answer; every place is different and the crowds are always different. I play in over 20 different countries, and to say one place is the best, is impossible. As far as enjoyable, I have three. 1) New York. I love going home playing for residencies and weeklies, which involves consistency and brings something new each time. 2) The WMC, which is a global gathering in itself. 3) Ibiza. Playing there for me is like turning 40 professionally, a revelation in its own. I played there the same year as 9/11, so that year particularly was memorable. But as far as touring other countries, most people treat me with respect and appreciation.
AT: What current projects are you working on?
DT: Well first I need to get my ass in the studio and finish this track I’ve been working on called, “Dibiza” on Stereo Records; it will be the first track to be released since ‘Elements’. I’m also planning a collaboration with DJ Chus & Ceballos, we’ll be known as the Madricians, and something with DJ Vibe, one of my favorite DJs.
AT: What’s your all time favorite track you love to play?
DT: Again, a hard question to answer… what’s your favorite track?… (I pause, and he laughs) See, not that easy. (I thought briefly and mentioned two tracks….one, being Jasper Street Company’s “A Feelin” and Romanthony’s “Ministry of Love”) You mean this? (He plays the tracks from his laptop. I laughed and said, “Man I love that stuff!!”) You got good taste. Well a question like that can be broken down into vocal, instrumentals, etc…. The stuff I really love playing is a Philadelphia classic cd, very soulful music, MFSB history. For the record, Philly soul, one song in particular – “Love Is the Message” by Arthur Baker, 1972 – is the mother of all dance anthems and never gets old.
AT: You have been known to play 8-10 hour and the longest a 30 hour set, how do you prep yourself for a long night ahead of you?
DT: My average set is about 8-10 hours; like at Vinyl I get on at midnight and play till noon. I enjoy having upcoming djs open up for me, and we get to share the peak hours of the night. Preparing for the show, that’s the work. Depending on the country and crowd I search through all my titles on vinyl, iTunes, and CDs. Some of it depends on what’s in front of you at the time; like for News Years I had to prepare for the hour up until the countdown. You have to prepare yourself musically, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. And of course I eat a solid meal before the show.
AT: Fans are interested in knowing what entails Danny’s contract when getting booked?
DT: I do ask for people not to record my shows. Friends give me demos to play that aren’t released yet, and for someone to record the show, that isn’t right. I do have three special requests 1) Privacy, having a booth that gives you privacy is key because I can’t have tons of people in there while I’m working. It becomes distracting, and I tend to feel obligated to talk to people, but I do step out of the booth and come say hi. I don’t like being the center of attention, so privacy is a must. 2) Water, you have to have water, and I might have someone bring me some protein bars, fruit or coffee. 3) Respect, usually people give you respect and if there is a guest list then that’s usually taken care of.
AT: What plans do you have for the 2005 Winter Music Conference in Miami? Is it true that you have a part in the start of the WMC?
DT: I plan on playing at two places for the 2005 WMC – on March 22nd in downtown Miami, previously known as Envy, and the Ultra Music Festival. The person responsible for starting the WMC 20 years ago is longtime south Florida DJ Bill Kelly.
AT: When you’re not playing what does Danny Tenaglia do in his spare time between projects?
DT: I enjoy communicating with people online at www.dtourism.com and spending time with my family. I just got this really nice TV and I’m starting to build my DVD collection, one of my favorite movies right now is Lost In Translation; I can relate from going to Tokyo. I also have a growing passion for furniture design. After traveling around the world I’ve seen very unique designs, especially from Italy. That’s what we do.
AT: What’s next? What do you see in the future for dance music? Any big changes?
DT: I just don’t know anymore. I used to have answers to that question. Looking back, I thought I knew, but now technology is so unpredictable. I do see the dj taking on a bigger role with more multimedia.
AT: Any last words to say to the dance global culture in 2005?
DT: If you can gauge the amount of appreciation, love, and enjoyment I have for my journey in life, it would be massive. Twenty years ago, I never knew that what I was doing would turn out to be so widely accepted throughout the world, and I never anticipated on being a celebrity at all. I also want to thank Behrouz and everyone from San Francisco’s Release for having me play for their 15th Anniversary celebration.
We would like to thank Danny Tenaglia, Kevin McHugh, everyone from SF’s Release and Behrouz because with out them this interview would not be possible. To find more information about Danny tenaglia visit his website at www.dannytenaglia.com
This interview was first published for the Legend Magazine, Sacramento. www.thelegendmag.com