Sean Alvarez is one of Chicago’s busiest and most versatile DJ’s. Dropping such styles as Deep House, Broken Beat, and Underground Hip-Hop. It’s not a stretch to say you can catch him playing somewhere pretty much every week. As a member of Chicago’s Swank Society, Sean is part of a community responsible for keeping Chicago’s nightlife fresh and innovative; with events ranging from Live Shows to internet radio. Check out this month’s edition of Ten2One as Sean Alvarez talks about everything from MC Hammer pants, to Dating Dealbreakers, to Mickey Mouse…and everything in between.
Sean Alvarez
1-What’s the most bizarre recording in your collection?
Mickey Mouse Disco. Probably the oldest record in my collection too. I’ve had it since 4 years old.
2-What’s the best Birthday Gift you ever got?
A surprise birthday party when I was 15.
3-James Brown or Fela?
James Brown, He inspired Fela.
4-What Superhero has the greatest powers?
I’ll give you two. One from Marvel Comics and one from DC Comics.
First Marvel:
Vision from the Avengers Comics in the 80s. He could manipulate his density, heal himself, and had superhuman stamina, reflexes, speed, agility and strength in any form of density. He has very few weaknesses and is virtually indestructible.
DC- Superman. His only known weakness is kryptonite. As long as he stays away from that nothing can stop him.
5- What’s your favorite Sports-related memory?
Too many to name. I’ll break the rules and give you 2. Both are nicknamed “The Run”.
From the time I was 5 years old and into adulthood I was a huge University of Nebraska football fan prior to Bill Callahan’s coaching stint (2004-2007). I gotta go with my man Tommie Frazier’s 75 yard run vs. Florida in the 1995 NCAA national championship (1996 Fiesta Bowl). On this run he broke several tackles on his way to a touchdown. Frazier. Throughout his career the Florida native Frazier tormented all 3 Florida powerhouses in 3 straight National Title games earning the MVP in all 3 games. Florida State in 1993 losing on a controversial play in the 4th quarter, Miami in 1994 (national champion), and Florida 1995 (national champion). That run symbolized Nebraska’s dominance and pointed to the 1995 team as being arguably the single greatest college football team ever.
“The Run” Adrian Peterson of the Chicago Bears when he was in college at Georgia Southern in the 1999 Division 1-AA National Championship vs. Youngstown State. Peterson spent the entire week prior to the game on crutches due to a turf toe injury. Georgia Southern mauled Youngstown State but it was a run by Peterson that stands as the most electrifying play in my recent college football memory. During this run he broke several tackles, ran over a few defenders and grabbed someone and threw them out of bounds as if he were in a fight in a dark alley. If you youtube “Adrian Peterson the run Georgia Southern” you’ll see what I’m talking about.
6-What brings out the snob in you; Music, Movies, or Food?
Movies used to be on the list but I stopped taking movies so seriously when I realized not all have to be thought provoking, intriguing, artistic or deliver a message to be entertaining. Over time I found myself also amused by simple predictable stories that were basic, sometimes corny but fun.
Now we narrow it down to music or food.
I am very passionate and picky about food. The preparation, the quality, freshness, how it’s paired, new unique ideas and presentation. Nevertheless, I generally view different peoples opinions with a to each his own attitude and am not as snobbish when it comes to food as much as I am when it comes to music.
Nothing irritates and gets my blood pressure up more than hearing people give props to music that is really not deserving. I am probably one of the biggest music snobs you will ever meet. However I am very fair about giving my opinion on some positive creative stuff. I know everyone is entitled to their opinions but some people shouldn’t be. For instance people implying that mainstream rappers like Lil Wayne or Drake are better than MCs like Ghostface or Common is just insane. It just goes to show how easily society is programmed into following what the mass influence wants them to like and refuses to think for themselves on virtually every level. During the 1990s I heard silliness like this on the regular. The most ridiculous comment was the summer of 1994 when someone emphatically told me Outkast’s debut album with Players Ball was better than Nas Illmatic. Not to crap on Outkast. Over the years they have had plenty of solid projects and I have grown to become somewhat of a fan, but their debut album was barely average especially when you compare it to other Hip Hop albums around that time. Illmatic was the one of the best albums in that era and one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time.
Another time I was on a date and we were discussing music. And asked her what music artists she likes and emphatically mentioned some bullshit one hit wonder artists. I think it was the Wreck n Effect. I was really pissed because I feel like Teddy Riley was hugely responsible for the crossover R&B sound working its way Into real Hip Hop. So then when I asked her what she thought about KRS ONE and she said he’s wack. I was saying in my head “Aight, its time for me to take you home”… But business needed to be handled first if you know what I mean… While “letting one go” I loudly mumbled, “The Realness”.
Nowadays hearing some of the stuff people play at parties is ridiculous. I sometimes wonder if my level of impatience and irritation shows on my face. If you could only hear what’s going on in my head…It would sound something like…”Oh great I love hearing a not so random selection from the top 50 overplayed Disco and House classics. I can’t wait to hear that song again at the next party I go to. As if the first 99 times I heard it just this year is not enough…” Then seeing people get hyped to it as if it were brand new is just crazy, especially when the last time I saw them they were doing the same thing to the same song. Don’t get me wrong I love the classics too, but there is a time and place for it, and the time is not every week. I take music very serious because I believe in it so much, and have the opportunity to hear so much good music that doesn’t get much publicity and has a difficult time making its way into everyone’s CD player or Ipod. This is one of the reasons Swank Society Radio was created.
Music truly soothes the soul. Think how much better the world would be if we were able to hear good positive uplifting music as opposed to the nonsense and wackness floating on the airwaves today.
Another thing…I was never really a fan of gangster rap simply because it is in general some non-creative garbage that sends negative messages and affects young minds. I also felt like if you cursed on every verse it was probably hiding the fact that you really didn’t have skills. Rakim, KRS, and Chuck D rarely cursed to get their point across and did it in a very creative way.
When in High School at a party someone once told me that music (particularly gangster rap) doesn’t affect people’s behavior as he was wearing MC Hammer pants and tried to be “Lil Hammer”. I was looking at like dude what the f*#k are you talking about? I immediately asked him “So what inspired your outfit today and that dancing you were just doing 5 minutes ago? Were you auditioning for a position as one of Hammer’s backup dancers?”. Apparently music has not affected your behavior. I told him “Your thoughts and actions are sooo original and not influenced by anyone or anything except you, right?”. Then he proceeded to want to battle and I smashed that fool…Chicago B-Boy Style.
As a fan regarding my opinion of DJs I stopped being as much of a snob and critic once I started traveling and realized how not everyone is as good as Chicago DJs (Plus my expectations aren’t as high as they were in previous years). I also realized in other cities they were more about the music than the art of mixing. I’ve heard cats that weren’t the best technically but were playing cuts. I was happy as long as they weren’t train-wrecking blends. In Chicago we are spoiled because there are very many good DJs that we get a chance to hear on a regular basis that can mix well and play cuts but generally don’t necessarily take risks or do a great job of introducing new music consistently. Also, when we hear someone who may not be as technically sound but has great music, some aficionados will not give them a chance even if their selection is good. Not to discount the technically sound aspect…that is very important in DJing. Being able to properly mix and program while playing for a dancing crowd is huge in being able to take the crowd to another level. Song selection, style, timing, and uniqueness are just as important. Great DJs have all of these components.
As far as the actual music aspect I am extremely picky about what I buy and play. I only play music that I believe is good. I do not play music that I believe is of an inferior quality or just isn’t relevant or necessary. I stopped DJing for approximately 5 years because I felt like I was compromising my style and wasn’t able to play the music I really wanted to play. Plus I feel like a huge part of a DJs job is to Introduce crowds to new music and if you’re not able to do that…What’s the point. Eventually, I caught the bug thanks to Tone B. Nimble, Kai Alce, and DJ Kemit and started DJing again and resurrected my love in playing records for a crowd. I refuse to be stale and non-creative only playing crowd favorites. There isn’t anything wrong with a classic record everyone knows. I believe you should mix in some music that is good but not so familiar music to create and Influence songs to become classic joints for the future.
7-Who’s your favorite DJ?
Besides myself? (without sounding arrogant)
I can’t narrow it down to just one DJ. There are many who I feel are good but these are my favorite. Anthony Nicholson, Lil Louis, and Jazzy Jeff.
Anthony- He has never let me down when going to hear him spin. Most importantly he plays cutting edge newer dance music and does not compromise his sound. It’s important to play new music and not just classics. If there is no new music being played we become stuck in a time warp and cannot build a future.
Louis- Mainly at a party thrown by Lil Louis and when he really wants to beat. Events he and his staff put together are very thorough and creative. Also, the combination of his monstrous sound systems and his ability to steer the crowd in the direction he wants them to go while introducing them to music and bringing back memories all at the same time is fantastic. Listening to him in the mid 80s inspired me to become a DJ.
Jazzy Jeff- As far as Hip Hop DJs he is the best. His skills of turntable remixing, tricks, precise cuts, and timing of when to drop the next record in at the right time of a particular song are amazing. In regards to skills while rocking a party…There is no one better.
8-What’s the funniest prank you ever pulled?
This isn’t the funniest, it’s just the most recent. Thinking of the funniest would require too much thought because brain cells were likely being killed at the time the prank was being perpetuated.
I sent one of my friends who was looking for employment to Dunder Mifflin’s website http://www.dundermifflin.com Dunder Mifflin is the fictional company from the TV show The Office but has a real website that looks just like a company. When you navigate throughout the site it still appears like a real website even under careers. When you try to apply that’s when you get redirected to NBC’s website. He didn’t watch The Office so he had no idea.
9- Any Phobias?
Getting caught doing something I’m not supposed to be doing.
10- What was the last new genre of music you fell in love with?
NuJazz. I like jazz and I like new things. Therefore I like NuJazz. It’s similar to liking Tomato Sauce. If you like tomatoes and you like sauce. Put the 2 together and you can’t go wrong.
Nah but seriously NuJazz incorporates various styles of jazz and makes really good music suitable for the dancefloor. It sounds really good especially on a good sound system.
Parting shot:
Celebrate Life and make the most of it.
As previously mentioned, you can catch Sean Alvarez just about ANYWHERE in Chicago, but here’s a few more words from the man himself, about how to get in touch with him:
Hit me up for Mix CDs or booking me for an event via email or facebook
Email: seanalv@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sean.alvarez1
Also, check out my podcast page
www.seanalvarez.podomatic.com
It includes episodes of my internet radio show Past Present & Future aired live Fridays 11am-1pm CST (12noon-2pm EST) on Swank Society Radio www.swanksociety.com
Before we wrap this up I’d like give a special thank you the Ten2one staff for this opportunity and doing their part to keep good music alive.
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Tags: Sean Alvarez, Swank Society
. My brother used to tell me that I was found in the dumpster behind our apartment in a Dunkin’ Donuts box and my real family abandoned me. I would ask, “Why do I look like you, then??” He told me they got me plastic surgery and I was too young to remember it. And he somehow got my mom in on it. So he’d be like, “Mom, didn’t we find Shari in the dumpster?” and she’d say yeah. So I believed that lie for a really long time.
Sorry friends, But the folks here at Ten2One have been WAAAAAAAAY too lazy in keeping you folks up to speed with what’s going on in the Creative Underground. We had a few false starts, and some of our best ideas went to waste. We REALLY wanted to get some new posts up, But like they say: “The Road To Hell is paved with good intentions…”
