D:vice

Story and photos by Lou Smith

Cutting his first album at age eight by covering quintessential jazz classics on the piano such as "Take The A-Train," "Tea for Two" and "Misty," D:Vice is the artist identity of singer/songwriter/DJ Alexander Davis.

"I would consider that (D:Vice) just an identity. That's not necessarily a side-project."

Alex has been doing more than just production stuff though. On August 16, 2008 he had his first gig-experience as a DJ/Remix Artist, putting a successful show in a crowded basement on the Rensselaer-Polytechnic Institute campus.

"It was a straight-up rave," he comments. "I've been giving everybody a taste and they like it. I've been writing a lot of stuff, a lot of words, a lot of demos. Just a lot of beats in general."

Citing Camp Bisco (Mariaville, NY dance music festival), an "eye-opening" experience as his main reason for showing interest, he named off Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, SHPONGLE and MSTRKRFT as some of the better DJ's there, triggering the most inspiration.

"So I knew going into this that it's pretty much a three day rave…and the second day rolls around and that's when I got to see a lot more talent. …When I saw DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, they were the only ones there doing vinyl (records). Their skills just really blew me away as to how far away you can go with turntable work. When I saw them and went back to one of the late-night dance tents, I saw the difference between a performance artist's turntable work and a dance/entertainment sort of thing. I just thought it was possible for me to get involved in this."

"I've been giving everybody a taste and they like it."

The beats and samples he has been gathering for his remixes and dance tunes range from African cadences to heavier New Age rhythms (he has engineered his own rhythms through incorporating acapella riffs as well as progressions he has made with aid of a synthesizer and studio setup).

"Alex came up to my suite and spun…he makes it look easy but it's real intricate. Even with the little musical mind that I have, I couldn't do anything," Luke Brown, a musical peer of Davis says.

D:Vice jumped at an opportunity to really bring it out when rapper and "nerd-core" genre creator mc chris held a contest in which DJ's and listeners alike had the chance to remix his songs and the soul who mc deemed superior would win the job of creating the beats for his next album. D:Vice cut a superb mix-up of chris' "Pizza Butt" and submitted it promptly. Apart from that, Alex's remixes range from The Beatles' "Let It Be" to Wolfmother's "Woman."

"Right now, I'm really just creating a collection of beats that will explode somehow once I find an outlet for these beats…"

"My initial thought was that this was a sort of hip-hop sort of thing, but there's a lot you can do and you can go in any direction. When I was there (Camp Bisco), I just heard stuff that made me want to dance and I wanted to bring it back to the community that's not really happening."

In the works of planning shows at the underground hot-bed "Koinonia" located on 56 Elm Street in Plattsburgh and awaiting gigs all across the downtown Plattsburgh area, Alex has a full schedule planned. He is also gifted with having Montreal close by, for the city is infamous for its bumping nightclubs and alive dance-scene. Latching on to the current-advertising craze of myspace, Alex has created a page to showcase his D:Vice remixes on his myspace.



D:Vice spinning at 96 Broad Street

Photo courtesy of Facebook.com
"Right now, I'm really just creating a collection of beats that will explode somehow once I find an outlet for these beats…I'm spinning a lot of house music and I have show parties (house dance parties) in the past and I've got ‘em coming up…so far its (DJing) been pretty positive, I'm enjoying myself and everybody else has been enjoying themselves."

Indeed they have. Fellow musician and peer Chris Brown reported that Alex's 96 Broad show was "great…he played like an energetic techno mix. He had a lot of music, but couldn't play because the party got shut down unfortunately."

D:Vice might be on to something utilizing his time residing in a college town, for you see in a college town there are bound to be parties. He knows that people love to dance at house parties, and he is in a position to set forth a wave of gigs and booking once people discover his sound. It's all a matter of time and it's evident that Alex is using his time to mature as a musician, but also expand his sound, a move critical to all successful musicians.

from: http://www.apnmag.com/fall_2008/smith_dvice_profile.php

Copyright © 2001-2008 All Points North. All Rights Reserved.

- All Points North

Charlie Peppers
Published: Thursday, November 20, 2008
Updated: Tuesday, January 6, 2009

More and more people are calling him "D:Vice."
Alex Davis, Plattsburgh State student, has gained a reputation through both his deejay pseudonym and proficiency. He's cut and produced a myriad of mixes. He's transformed his dorm room into a makeshift music studio. He's culminated a wealth of expensive tools: $200 headphones, a $1,500 turntable and a $1,000 home-surround system.
Davis never imagined that his interest in music would lead to his becoming a part-time deejay.
"I took piano lessons for 10 years," Davis explained. "I'd say that I'm also fluent on electric bass. Everything that I've learned is applied to electronic symphonizing. Later I decided that I wanted to (play everything I'd symphonized for a live audience)."
Sometimes he scribbles down ideas while sitting in class, Davis said. He relishes in the creative process that deejaying entails.
Davis elaborated: "Putting everything together on my own makes it my own. A lot of stuff I pick up is rap beats, I throw out rap beats - it takes the crowd by surprise. It's edgy. I cross the gap between emcee and deejay."
PSUC student Robert Inconstanti is also a part-time deejay. He works for Maggie's, the downtown bar. However, Inconstanti's deejaying style differs from Davis'. He doesn't produce his own mixes, but he does do nightly themes and takes song requests from the crowd.
"I'm trying to figure out ways for people to get up and dance," Inconstanti said. "I'm still training. I'm far from knowing everything."
Inconstanti wasn't aware of schools, such as the DJ Scratch Academy of Manhattan, that concentrated on nurturing the talents of deejays. He doesn't think that he'd enroll.
"It didn't cross my mind," he said. "This is just a hobby that I enjoy. It's not something that I'd pursue a degree for."
Davis was aware of the school.
"I've never thought about (enrolling in that deejay school)," he said. "I went to Bonnaroo, the biggest music fest in the U.S., based in Tennessee. It was four days of music. The DJ Scratch Academy commercialized at that fest."
He doesn't have faith in the possibility of deejaying being brought to PSUC as a course.
"The chances are slim to none. It'd be great, but it wouldn't happen," said Davis. "College is all about preserving classical music theory. Deejaying represents a sub-culture of (the) U.S."
PSUC student Becca Sorensen, who's taking courses in classical music theory, disagrees. She believes that the sub-culture of deejaying would ultimately be beneficial to the school's music department.
"It'd fit into the music technology class," Sorensen said. "We had to learn how to produce our own tracks using different files. That's something that a deejay probably knows already, but on a whole different level."
Sorensen doesn't disregard her belief in the importance of a formal music education, but respects deejays as an alternative brand of musicians. Music is a language and can be taught in numerous ways, she said.
"I think that music can't be defined under one category," Sorensen added. "There are many types of music and musicians. It's only going to expand throughout centuries to come."
Rick Davies, chairperson of the music department, is indifferent about whether deejaying has a place in the program. He said he feels that those getting a music education that's focused on deejaying would be lacking in fundamentals.
"(Deejaying) is a specialized area of music," Davies said. "You couldn't learn that here. It's almost more of a (communication department) skill, but we may be able to conduct workshops on it."
If deejaying were taught at PSUC, Sorensen said she feels she'd be up for the challenge of learning. She said music provides a solid foundation for pursuing the art of deejaying.
"There are certain emotions conveyed in songs," Sorenson said. "A lot of being a deejay is having (intuition). You have to have personality. The audience must be engaged with you."
Davis is optimistic about his future as a deejay, in spite of his disbelief that his craft has no place in the classrooms of PSUC.
"I'm going to keep playing for friends and get my name out there, taking every opportunity," Davis said.

From:
http://www.cardinalpointsonline.com/2.7385/deejay-ed-students-debate-mixing-s-credibility-as-course-of-study-hobby-career-1.1269860

© 2008 Cardinal Points
- Cardinal Points

How different are rap and country music?
Charlie Peppers

Associate Fuse Editor

Published: Friday, April 17, 2009
Updated: Friday, April 17, 2009

Photo illustration by Jen Stiles.
Most people deny the similarites between rap and country music said Rick Davies, associate professor of music. Both genres have Southern roots and gospel influences.
Most people couldn’t imagine similarities between Kanye West and Carrie Underwood.
West rose to fame through rap songs that glamorized an urban-bourgeoisie lifestyle.
Underwood progressed in the mainstream by belting ballads about the southern lifestyle.
However, some Plattsburgh State students and faculty believe there are more similarities than differences between the two genres.
Rick Davies, associate professor of music, said rap and country music have the same roots.
Davies said they both originated in the south. He argued that there wouldn’t be country music without African-Americans.
“If you dig deep, rap and country music are both African-American to an extent,” he said. “Southern people wouldn’t admit it, but there’s some gospel in country music. It’s not as dramatic, but it’s still there.”
Davies said rap is rooted in soul music which was, like country, derived from gospel.
“Hip-hop music comes from soul,” he said. “It’s the updated version of rhythm and blues with the rap element. It covers a lot of ground.”
Davies said the mechanics of country music were influenced by gospel — almost all of the same instruments and elements are used.
He said he doesn’t believe the popularization of rap has marginalized the overall success of country music.
“I think (country music) is still popular,” he said. “Country is more conservative, rap is liberal.”
PSUC student Alex Davis, who specializes in audio-production, agreed that country music hasn’t been overshadowed on the charts.
“Back home in Albany, the country music station is No. 1 by over three points,” Davis said. “That’s huge. I was very surprised.”
Davis said rap and country music aren’t polar-opposites. Both of the genres encourage stereotypes of people who don’t exist in real life, he said.
“They both exploit women,” Davis said. “They both embrace automobiles. There are a lot of songs about going to bars, drinking and smoking and guns.”
PSUC freshman Meg Montgomery sees the similarities between rap and country music as being more modest. “Every single song tells a story, whether it’s country or other types of music,” she said. “Most people don’t like realize it sets the stage for Elvis and other rock musicians.”
Montgomery said most people don’t like country music because it “(tends to have a twang), and is mellow.”
There are also political reasons for the lack of popularity of country music in the mainstream, she said.
“Some people are turned off by it because it has a hyper-patriotic underlining,” she said. “It’s kind of ironic because most of country music comes from the south, and they’re singing about how great America is.”
There have been instances in pop culture where famous rap artists and country musicians have opposed the government.
On Sept. 2, 2005, rapper Kanye West created controversy for his comment during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina.
He said that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
West’s remark is in synchronization with the attitude of most rap artists’ opinion of the 43rd president.
This remark was preceded by the Dixie Chicks.
On March 10, 2003, the Dixie Chicks, a country band, were criticized due to band member Natalie Maines’ comment, “We do not want this war, this violence and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”
Davies said the juxtaposition of rap and country music is important.
It’s inaccurate for country music to be labeled as “classical white music,” he said.
Without the development of gospel and later, rap and country music, everyone would “probably be singing opera.”

from: http://www.cardinalpointsonline.com/fuse/country-vs-rap-similar-in-origins-messages-1.1718945

© 2008 Cardinal Points
- Cardinal Points