In this series, we profile DJs who spin R&B, soul, and rock music in San Francisco's bars and clubs.
For DJ John Diaz, collecting records isn’t a hobby, it’s a way of life. Not a day goes by where he isn’t bidding on records or listening to music, and the results of his intense crate-digging can be heard in the form of a dance party on Friday nights at Edinburgh Castle in the Tenderloin. We spoke with John about his commitment to music and making people dance.
What is the name of your gig?
The name of my gig is Take-a-Trip. It comes from two songs of the same name that I played back to back regularly when I started the night. One is a rock-n-roll soul record from Jimmy Vick and the Victors, and the other is a song by the Latin Blues Band. I liked the name because it opened me up to different genres or areas of the world in terms of music. I liked how it sounded.
How and when did Take-a-Trip start?
Shortly after moving to the city in 2010, a friend took me to Edinburgh Castle, and I noticed the DJ was playing the same music I was DJing back in Venezuela. That DJ was Lane Miller, a.k.a. DJ Serious Leisure. I approached him and asked if he took guest DJs. I had a DJ session recorded, and told him I would like him to hear it, so I could guest DJ with him. I sent it to him, and he asked me to DJ with him the next week.
I did that gig regularly for two and a half years, before he decided to retire in 2013. He asked me to take over the spot, and of course, I took it, but I added some of my personal touches. Lane was more specialized in late '60s and '70s, and I'm more '50s and '60s, which was my focus when I took over the night.
Tell us more about the music that you DJ at Take-a-Trip. What makes the genres so special to you?
At the beginning, I was playing mostly rare R&B and soul. I like a lot of different types of music, and collect records from a lot of genres. What I do now is try to not close myself off from any genre. There are some I won’t play, but I will play anything that’s danceable, rocking, funky, and soulful from the 1950s-1980s: R&B, blues, early soul, sweet soul, boogie, disco, Latin boogaloo, Afrobeat, Afrofunk. Basically, everything that I like and has a logical progression.
My only requirements are that has to be on vinyl—I like the challenge—and it has to be danceable and interesting. It doesn’t matter where in the world it’s from: if it sounds good, I will play it. I try to play the same percentage of songs in each genre throughout the night. I also consider how those genres go over with people on the dance floor. Sometimes they're into funk and boogie, sometimes they’re into R&B and soul, sometimes the crowd loves international stuff like cumbias. It’s a conversation between you and the people, with the people giving you signals of which direction to take. Yet at the same time, it's you commanding the flow. It’s all that.
As part of my daily research into music, I come across different kinds of sounds from America, Africa, Brazil, France, wherever. When you discover something you really like that you haven't heard before and you expose it and it works on the dance floor, it validates your research efforts. It's very rewarding when you see the sound works on others as well.
All the music I play is timeless. It’s not subject to trends; I don’t play with the intention of creating a trend. All my efforts go into finding music that is timeless. It creates a safe environment for me, because I know that every record I buy and play right now, I will still love in 40 years.
Photo: Alvaro Castillo
Tell us a little bit about yourself. How and why did you become a DJ?
I was born and raised in Venezuela, and have always loved music. I started playing in bands when I was 12. The drum was my favorite instrument. I first started DJing in the mid-2000s, because I love sharing music with people. I’ve always been curious about discovering new music—not current music, necessarily, but music new to me. That’s one of the things I still love to do the most. If you can share that with many people at one time, it’s even more special.
I started DJing experimental music, but slowly moved towards danceable music. It started with experimental hip-hop, experimental electronic, then to what people in Venezuela were calling intellectual hip-hop. I hate that label, but that’s what Venezuelans called it. It wasn’t traditional mainstream hip-hop, it was more experimental. I still love that kind of music.
When people started dancing to that music, I connected with that, because my approach to sharing music was shifting towards providing enjoyment to people. I really connected with the reaction people made to the music. I started looking for music that was interesting to me but that worked on the dance floor. That was one of the reasons why I gravitated towards music from the '50s and '60s. Music from those decades is the type of music I have continued to play over the years, with the intention of satisfying both myself and people on the dance floor. From there, I experimented with international or anything with roots in soul, funk, and R&B, and anything that has a Latin vibe to it.
What is your favorite song to spin at Take-a-Trip?
I don’t have a specific song, but I love when I try out a song for the first time and it works out on the dance floor. That’s my favorite song to play. It doesn’t have to be from one specific genre.
It's all about experimentation and playing different sounds, and arriving on Friday nights with a certain level of uncertainty about which of these records are going to work and which ones aren’t. It’s part of the enjoyment of the challenge.
Take-a-Trip with DJ John Diaz and guests is every Friday night from 10pm-2am at Edinburgh Castle. It’s free.
