SceneKC

DJ Eric Coomes has been on the rise on the Kansas City Scene for the last year. He started out with a few gigs at The Jones and quickly worked up to his latest high profile gig, opening for Grammy nominated producer, house DJ, and remixer, Dave Audé. We want all of you on the Scene to get to know DJ Eric Coomes a little bit better so we asked him a few questions.  When you get a chance go hear Eric live, he will definitely make you move to the music.

…Now is an exciting time to be a part of the scene in Kansas City.

So Eric tell me how long have you been in the DJ game?

I’ve always loved music and have been DJing parties and private events for friends since high school. I started DJing publicly at bars and clubs in Kansas City about a year ago.

Who would you say are your main influences?

Stylistically I love DJs like A-Trak who can remix a Drake lyric over a David Guetta beat, or take an indie song like Heads Will Roll and turn it into a club banger. Technology today has made it easier to pick up music inspiration from around the globe with artists like Above & Beyond and Gareth Emery breaking new music on their podcasts every week.

Musically, I’ve been influenced by so many artists. I grew up listening to hip hop and more recently developed a passion for electronic dance music. I love bands like Cut Copy that blend multiple styles and genres together. I love that DJs like David Guetta brought dance music mainstream in 2009 by collaborating with artists like Will.i.am, Estelle, Kid Cudi and Akon – he was nominated for 5 Grammys this year! Some of my other favorite artists include everything from Deadmau5, Kaskade and Eric Prydz to MGMT, Chromeo, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Morgan Page, Daft Punk and everything in between.

And I’ve definitely been influenced by Kansas City’s nightlife scene — Bill Pile, Paul DeMatteo, Joe Perez, Spinstyles, Mike Scott, and several others. Now is an exciting time to be a part of the scene in Kansas City.

How would you describe your style?

I really like almost every genre of music, so I try to blend many styles together. When I’m DJing, I want people to have fun, so I try to read the crowd and play whatever will make people get up and dance. I spend all of my free time doing music and nightlife research, I love finding new music online every day, and I check out as many clubs as possible whenever I travel. Some of the bigger cities in the U.S. and throughout the world have such a great electronic dance music scene, Club Voyeur in San Diego is one of the best clubs I’ve been to recently — I’d love to see that type of scene in Kansas City. I have a passion for dance music and hope to help more people in Kansas City get excited about dance music.

My friends Jimmy Keown, Paul Manning, Mark Moberly and I have started the Carriage House Movement dedicated to music, friendships and the philanthropic impact we can have on Kansas City. We’ve started hosting monthly Dance for the Kids events with the intent to introduce people to new dance music in a positive atmosphere and donate the proceeds to charity. Stay tuned for upcoming events.

Ok now you have risen up pretty fast in KC what are some of your thoughts on what makes a DJ stand out?

I think song selection is most important. As much as I love dance music, I understand that some crowds just want to hear songs they know from local radio and want to be able to sing along and have fun when they go out. My job is to make sure people have fun.

On a purely technical note what are you using in your DJ setup?

I use Traktor Scratch Pro software with an Audio 8 DJ sound card and a VCI-100 SE controller. I recently made the switch to the new controller from www.djtechtools.com after seeing all of the innovative new features Ean Golden and his crew have included on the model. Ean has dedicated his DJ career to using Traktor and the VCI-100 SE controller, and has made some amazing mappings for the VCI 100-SE. Bill Pile recently had a chance to meet Ean and is working on bringing him to Kansas City to do a workshop.

You recently opened for Dave Audé, tell us about that, were you nervous?

I was more excited than anything. It was such an amazing opportunity and an honor to open for him. There was a huge crowd at Lucky Strike for the show, and I was able to play all of the house and electronic dance music I love, which was great. I received several compliments that night too, which made me feel good. Several people said I set the right mood for Dave to come on, and Cassie Whatley working in the VIP area at Lucky Strike said she didn’t even know when I stopped and Dave started, which was awesome to hear. It was seriously a dream come true to play a gig like that and it was such a fun night, I want to recreate that atmosphere again every weekend.

Tell us about your current and upcoming gigs?

FRIDAY, MARCH 5, and every Friday, I will be at Lucky Strike in Power & Light. Lucky Strike is one of the best spots in KC — the venue offers something for everybody with a big lounge area and a huge dance floor. Everybody had a great time at Dave Aude last Saturday, so I can’t wait to play again on Friday.

SATURDAY, MARCH 6 I’ll be at Firefly Lounge in Westport to launch a new Saturday night event hosted by Joe Perez. Firefly has a great vibe and it’s the perfect venue for Joe’s new Saturday Night Sessions event.

SUNDAY, MARCH 7 I will be on the Living Room Main Stage at Power & Light for the Oscar Night Snuggie Party. Free admission, popcorn and candy, plus the bar will be open and the Oscars will be broadcast on the KC Live! big screen. And it’s for a great cause, with raffles and prizes benefiting Young Variety Kansas City.


Well all you folks on the Scene there you have it! But now it wouldn’t be right to just leave you without a little something to groove to so here is DJ Eric Coomes latest mix to promote the upcoming Saturday Sessions at the Firefly Lounge, which I hope you all will get to. Enjoy!

Saturday Night Sessions by ericcoomes