(discuss this interview) | (BiZaR's artist profile)

EverydayJunglist: Where did the name Bizar come from?
BiZar: When I was 13 or 14, I got into graffiti art through a friend of mine. I played around with a few different names, but "Bizar" ended up being the one that stuck. A couple years later, in '96 or '97, I started spinning and decided to keep it as my DJ name.

EDJ: How are you playing your tunes these days, Records, CDs, Torq, Serato or a combo?
BiZaR: Either CDs or Serato, depending on the venue or setup. At home I have 2 Technics 1200s, 2 Pioneer CDJ 1000 MKIIs and a Vestax 07 Pro DJ mixer.

EDJ: How do you go about laying out a demo mix? Do you just hit record and hope for the best, or do you plan it out?
BiZaR: Usually I will just get an idea for the first couple tracks, then go from there. I'll usually record a couple different arrangements, then go with the one I end up liking best.

EDJ: It looks like you've released a few tracks with Bomb City Records. What tools are you using to build up your tracks?
BiZaR: Mainly Reason, Ableton and Soundforge plus a MIDI controller.

EDJ: Where do you two draw inspiration from when creating your tracks?
BiZaR: As far as DNB goes, DJ Hidden, EYE-D, Kid Kryptic, Evol Intent and Squarepusher have been some of my favorite artists through the years. Labels like Kid Kryptic's Theoretic Records, Fear(RIP), Warp, Ninja Tune and Ruff-Teck have had a big impact on me as well. They all have influenced me in some way or another.

EDJ: Would you consider yourself a Producer first, and DJ second, or the other way around?
BiZaR: Honestly, I devote much more time to spinning these days than writing tracks. Not for any reason in particular, though. Sometimes it's the other way around. I love writing music, but lately I haven't been spending much time on it.

EDJ: What would be your dream lineup at an event you are playing at?
BiZaR: I think I might have already had that experience, actually. I threw an outdoor music event in Northwest Arkansas a couple years ago called "Project Stereo". With the help of some friends I brought some of my favorite artists and DJs including: DJ Hidden & Eye-D of The Outside Agency (Belgium/The Netherlands), The Enemy of Evol Intent, Kolby Lankford as well as many of my best friends from around the region. Long story short, we ran out of 500 armbands before sunset and estimate that we had at least another 200-300 people on top of that. We definitely weren't expecting that big of a turnout, but it definitely has to be one of my favorite shows.

EDJ: What is your favorite classic track to drop live at a show?
BiZaR: It's still got to be "The Reign" by Evol Intent. Before it was released, a few of us played it out on dubplates at parties around the Mid-South back before E.I. had officially formed. Brings back memories, that's for sure.

EDJ: Do you have any unreleased tracks that only a select few DJs have? If so, are they mixed into any mixes we should check out?
BiZaR: Nah, not really anything finished. Tons of unfinished projects that I hope to polish up someday.

EDJ: It looks like you are friends with a couple of the guys from Evol Intent. Have you guys collaborated on anything lately?
BiZaR: I've known AJ aka "The Enemy" of Evol Intent since I lived in Tulsa in 1998 or 1999. He had a DNB crew back then called UES! Through the years we worked on a few things together here and there, but none of it was really ever finished or played out. Although, I did learn a lot at least.

EDJ: What advice would you give to any rising DnB talent?
BiZaR: Don't limit yourself to only one sound or niche. There is so much good music out there, electronic or otherwise. With all the technology available today, I don't know why anyone would choose to play or collect only one genre, honestly.

EDJ: What line of work were you into before DnB?
BiZaR: For my day job, I've been in Printing & Graphic Design since 1999. Right now I'm running a printing press at the University of Arkansas.

EDJ: I noticed you used to live in DC, but moved to Arkansas. Why the move?
BiZaR: I've moved around a bit through the years. I was born in Texarkana, Texas and lived there till I was 12. Moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas until I graduated High School, then to Tulsa in 1998 to go to a 2 year school for Printing and Graphic Design. A couple years later moved to the Washington DC area to help out a family member in need. After my help was no longer needed there, I moved back to my hometown, Fayetteville Arkansas.

I've been lucky enough to have thrown lots of shows in the past as well. I brought Evol Intent to their first appearances in the DC/Baltimore area when I lived up there and was a resident of 3rd Degree, a DNB night in Reston, VA. Some people I've brought to Arkansas through the years have been, Kid Kryptic, Tittsworth, DJ Craze, Evol Intent, DJ Hidden and Eye-D to name a few. I also used to run a weekly internet radio show called "Rural Takeover" on MW-DNB which is now Elements of Bass. I made many appearances on the long running Dirtbox Radio as well as many other shows on Jungletrain.net and Destroyer as well. Since moving back to Arkansas, we've started a Thursday night weekly here at one of the favorite bars here in town, Brewski's. Our 1 year anniversary party is Thursday January 1st 2009. The weekly is called "Aerosault Sessions" named for the website I started 5 years ago. At the Thursday night shows you can hear anything from Hip Hop, Dubstep, DNB and Old School Jungle to House, Techno, Downtempo and IDM.

http://www.myspace.com/chazbizar

http://www.bombcityrecords.com