The Bag Messenger BlogBag Design and Urban Living

Unlike fruit or trendy haircuts, a good DJ can age gracefully over time obtaining "complex undertones", and that elusive "oaky" flavor aficionados seek. San Francisco's DJ B.Cause is the perfect example of refined flavor. A true connoisseur, B Cause has exquisite taste, a gift for crafting edits, and enough years under his belt that he can hand out cigars. Sit back, grab some grier and let the gentleman speak.

-THE BAG MESSENGER

 

 

THE BAG MESSENGER: Name, Where are you from?

DJ B CAUSE: Josh B, aka DJ B.Cause. I grew up in Cali, born in SLO, lived in places like Mount Shasta, Orick, Arcata, Trinidad, Los Angeles...settled in SF in 1993.

THE BAG MESSENGER: How did you first get involved with DJing?

DJ B CAUSE: Other than doing inappropriate things to my parents' stereo in the 80s, my first hands on experience was also in 1993 where my neighbor Mike used to let me mess with his Techs. I was already a fan of mixtapes and fascinated with the concept of layering stuff together tho, my friend Gavin knew dudes like Imani from Santa Monica radio and Charo ICP who gave us our first real dose of what real dj's do.

 

 

THE BAG MESSENGER: Were you always collecting records? 

DJ B CAUSE: Yeah, since the late 70's...it started with stuff like Blondie and Pink Floyd. I collected a gang of rap, reggae and punk lps in high school (late 80s) but some so called friends I was living with a couple years later disappeared with them and I all but gave up for a short period. I started again when I got to the city.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What kinds of things are you looking for these days?

DJ B CAUSE: All sorts of things, but always gospel records, indie and bay rap 12"s, soul and 60's r&b, international records, etc.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Any interesting digging stories?

DJ B CAUSE: A long time ago I was working at this shop in the Richmond district, and this lady from Santa Rosa kept calling us about looking at her husband's old classical records that nobody else was interested in. We put it off for a while, until I finally convinced the owner to make the trip up there and take a look. I am a known optimist when it comes to looking at records, I hate to pass up an opportunity! Anyways, when we got up there she said her late husband was actually a radio DJ and was into all kinds of other music including jazz, 20th century classical and international. There were thousands of lps. The first stack I grabbed had two mint Dorothy Ashby promo lps and the Archie Whitewater record sealed. The car was almost dragging the ground after we loaded it up, haha.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Favorite finds?

DJ B CAUSE: Bill Doggett - Honky Tonk Popcorn for a quarter on a Tuesday afternoon stoop sale on Valencia st. I didn't even know what it was at the time but it was a clean King lp and a JB production...the Beatnuts record that used it came out a couple weeks later, nice timing!

THE BAG MESSENGER: How deep in the crates are you? 

DJ B CAUSE: You mean how deeply am I buried by them? Just kidding - I don't know, I have way more than I or for that matter anyone should though. If I didn't care about rap 12"s I could get rid of half of them.

 

 

THE BAG MESSENGER: When did you first get involved with creating edits?

DJ B CAUSE: I started with the edits on the tascam 4 track decks in the 90s, then the roland vs 840 digital recorder later. But the the real work started when DJ Spair hooked me up with cool edit and I realized how much I could do with it. That was around 2002-2003. Once Serato entered the scene I was already turning my live blends into real "remixes" by editing and working around chord changes/progressions, etc and sharing them with other DJs. A big factor was the Night Of The Remix party - which was a monthly that we would do live blends and play our own remixes at . Having to come up with 10 reworks or so a month helped form good productive habits.

 

THE BAG MESSENGER: How often do you travel?

DJ B CAUSE: Not too much, I just visited New York and Scandanavia for the first time in 2008.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Has Serato changed the way you get down?

DJ B CAUSE: Yeah, I feel much more free to change genres and or the game plan if a gig doesn't turn out to be what I expected. Also with the cues and loops it's much more possible to play around within the mix and move around within tracks...and it's great because there is NO SKIPPING!  Also no tearing up doubles of dumb rare records.

 

THE BAG MESSENGER: What do you listen to for fun? How has becoming a DJ affected the way you listen to music? 

DJ B CAUSE: I like old time stuff, gospel & r&b, jazz, old country, reggae harmony, arabic and asian records, etc...but I also love new music. I like keeping up with the new rap, r&b and pop stuff for example, it's fun to listen to with my kids...we talk about what's good or bad about particular songs, etc. I like to have an open dialogue with them about their music, rather than just condemn it. As adults we should know better than that. The one thing about listening to music as a DJ is you want to automatically determine whether or not a record is "useful" to your needs, which is too opportunistic of an approach and I really try to check myself when I realize I am doing it. 

 

 

THE BAG MESSENGER: Favorite crowds to play for?

DJ B CAUSE: I like all kinds of audiences, really.

THE BAG MESSENGER: Every DJ has a horror story or two....what is the worst thing to happen at a gig?

DJ B CAUSE: Played a wedding in Hillsborough and the bride slipped on the wet cement dancefloor and smacked her head on the slab...we spent the rest of the evening waiting at the Stanford Medical Center. Song playing when it happened was RBL Posse "Don't Gimmie No Bammer Weed".

 

 

THE BAG MESSENGER: Where do you find inspiration to do what you do?

DJ B CAUSE: By listening to music that I love, mainly. 60s R&B records. I find the act of practicing the DJ basics like cuts and doubles very important as well to stay grounded. Singing and playing with my instruments. Being active with the music appreciation, learning everyday and always working towards improvement. Playing with the kids and riding my skateboard.

 

 

THE BAG MESSENGER: What are you working on now?

DJ B CAUSE: Musical Mixchief 2 with DJ Spair, Soul Boulders 2 with Matthew Africa, a remix for the homie Nick Nack out of Austin, and an upcoming EP for Bastard Jazz.
 

THE BAG MESSENGER: What can we be looking for in the future?

DJ B CAUSE: More mixes. I have a list of like 10 projects I really want to do. Unfortunately they take me really long to complete, because I'm way to detail orientated, haha! If I could figure out a way for them to pay my rent, I would put the mixes out much quicker though.

THE BAG MESSENGER: What do you think DJ culture is going to look like in the next ten years? (Will the DJ become more of a performer of less?)

DJ B CAUSE: Hard to say...everything is cyclical so I'm sure we will be seeing some changes as people get bored with the current trends. The music will always be there, though. And hopefully some good, open-minded DJs.

 

 

Keep up with B.Cause 

www.twitter.com/djbcause
www.diamondsinthedust.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/djbcause
www.4onefunk.com