PROFILE: Everyday Is Like Sunday [A Tribute to The Smiths/Morrissey]

...sometimes, yr plans just work out. In the case of DJ MisterKid (aka Louis Wood, Jr.) this weekend's Everyday Is Like Sunday tribute to The Smiths/Morrissey comes right as the enigmatic frontman releases his new album, Years of Refusal, which, according to some reports, may close the book on his musical career. Either way, the timing seems perfect to revisit the music of The Smiths/Morrissey. Here's what the organizer had to say about it all...

The Buddha Den: How did you decide to do a tribute to The Smiths/Morrissey? How much did your own DJ background play into this?

DJ MisterKid: I remember dancing at clubs like 1470 West in Dayton to songs like "How Soon Is Now" from The Smiths and stuff like "Just Like Heaven" from The Cure. I liked dancing to alternative music like that because you could be yourself on the dancefloor and express yourself however you wanted to with your own made up moves and people wouldn't give you crap for it. I remember wanting to be a DJ because of alternative music like that. I went to a normal dance party once and tried dancing by myself and people teased me for it. They asked me why I was dancing by myself and I told them I always did at places like 1470 West in downtown Dayton and The Warehouse in Cincinnati.

I think that kind of music connects with a lot of people because it touches on a lot of subjects that people don't generally hear in normal pop music. It gives me a rush and a push, no pun intended. I think it's good for people to go beyond the norms in music like The Smiths and Morrissey did and do, and people seem to be attracted to it because they have the same feelings of things like loneliness, isolation, intellectual despair and heartache. It's also not as mainstream as some pop music lyrically, instrumentally, so it stays unique by not getting too over exposed. DJ Mike Dangers, now the resident DJ at the Dock nightclub in Cincinnati, and former goth night resident DJ at the warehouse, began teaching me how to mix good alternative music towards the last days of the warehouse there in Cincinnati. It was very exciting and a rush much like a musician experiences during a live performance. It's great seeing people react and get physical towards music you enjoy as well. It felt great getting people to dance with music from groups like the Smiths and Depeche Mode. I feel like I have/had a purpose doing it and it make me feel good helping people have fun and enjoy dancing the night away. Music is a big passion of mine, and doing a tribute like this to one of the greatest modern bands like this is a treat to me and the others working on this project right now. It only took me two days to have ten bands on this lineup and people knew what songs they wanted to cover before I even had the chance to ask them what they had ideas for. I knew then that this was going to be a great music festival which is what I am calling it since its six hours long, with over 13 performances from many different genres of artists statewide.

TBD: Once you put out the call, how did bands respond? Did you work closely with the bands to select material or did you leave them to their own devices?

DJMK: I recomended some songs personally that I would like the bands to perform to help make this event fun and exciting, but for the most part like I said, they knew the songs/material they were going to cover. I was very impressed by bands like The Northwest Ordinance, ZAS, Bitchpipe, Dripfeeder, and Gunsucker and the others. They seemed very passionate about it. They didn't ask how much they were going to make at this show and just cared about doing it. That was an incredible feeling as a promoter and show organizer at the DDC and other venues. Next month I am doing a Cure tribute show and people already feel the same way about that too. I think I am doing the right thing by tributing great acts like The Smiths/Morrissey and The Cure. They mean a lot to people, and these two bands especially some people live their lives to the lyrics and music, which isn't a bad thing in my view. They provide a release to people that is well needed is such an intellectually lonely world.

TBD: With the event running 6 hours, how did you decide what bands/DJs to have involved? How much material will everyone present?

DJMK: I wanted first off to see how many genres of music to be presented in this particular show. I thought that was most important so the audience didn't get bored with it, I also wanted to be unbiased when it came to the genre of music I personally like. I want the audience to make up their minds of what they think of the performances. I told the performers not to "Panic" if their set didn't sound perfect to them. I also told them to have fun with it and do it the way they wanted to. I told them they had complete artistic control and I didn't believe in any form of censorship. At first I wanted to have the acts perform about 25 minutes each, but that evolved into about 3-4 songs per band/artist. Its kinda hard to learn this material honestly. One time I heard Johnny [Marr, guitarist for The Smiths] say in a magazine that he himself had trouble playing his tunes after he himself wrote them. I told the artists performing to just have fun with it ad at least make somewhat of an attempt. The bands have been very confident in their abilities to say the least though, which with the groups that called and I asked to do this isn't a big surprise. A couple of bands are only doing a couple of songs, and another only one song. I think that is cool though and I'm glad they are at least doing that, very glad actually.

TBD: How has the Dayton Dirt Collective staff responded to the event? What can people who have never been to the DDC expect from the venue?

DJMK: The staff is super stoked. They have been very helpful and energetic about it. I couldn't ask for any more help. They made me feel confident about this show, technically and artistically. I feel as though I can call anyone at anytime at the DDC and get an answer or help right away. I honestly can't ask for anything else. I am glad the DDC exists and I think it's a wonderful thing. Dayton should feel lucky they have a venue like this. The DDC is all about the music. We don't have to worry about making a certain amount of alcohol sales like most bars/clubs. We are for non profit, and that is a great thing. We are all doing this because we are passionate about it, and for the music/acts/collective like I just said. When people come to the DDC I think they will notice a lot more patience and enthusiasm for the music and people performing. The staff isn't as nerve racking as you see in a lot of bars and clubs. We have deadlines and and goals like a lot of other music venues, but we are confident in our mission and what we are doing for the Dayton community. We are doing this for the performers and city, not just to make money, not that that is a bad thing honestly.

TBD: How do you see the music of The Smiths/Morrissey fitting into the modern musical climate? What impact do you feel that music continues to exert on the current crop of practitioners?

DJMK: I think even the earliest Smiths material sounds fairly modern. One of the DJ's performing this night, DJ Joesph Nicholson, told me once that a lot of the 80's music he spins sounds modern to where people cant tell its not new. This is same for The Smiths. You can usually tell when a band or artist is ahead of its time. Kinda like filmmaking for instance, like films from Directors Stanley Kubrick or Ridley Scott. Their material doesn't look quite dated yet and will be enjoyed for generations probably. I know I will enjoy it for the rest of my life, it's simply timeless, and I plan on living my life to Morrisey's lyrics as much as I can, but I eat Meat though.

Be sure to head on down to the Dayton Dirt Collective this Sunday to check out Dayton's ode to one of rock n' roll's most influential bands...