Bringing the Party to You!

Up-and-coming DJ D:Vice has been involved in music since he was a strapping young lad

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.

"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.

D:Vice- Hot or Not?