The Secret Garden

Imagine this: It’s Monday morning. You’ve just woken up and are walking down Michigan Avenue heading to work. You’d rather not, you’ve had a great weekend, and all you want to do is get a couple more hours of sleep before you start your week. And then you hear music. You’re not quite sure where it’s coming from. But it sounds GREAT! Suddenly your morning shifts. You’re getting excited. You’re thinking, “Why can’t I start every week off like this?”

The event that brought Fig down to the Water Tower Park on Michigan Avenue this fateful Monday was “The Secret Fashion Garden.” It was a fashion show presenting outfits designed by students at The Illinois Institute of Art. Andrew Ettenhofer brought Fig in to provide music for the event. Carrie Lannon emceed the event, describing the outfits and how they were made.

I’ve dj’d a few fashion shows since working for Fig and they are so much fun! Intense, too. Cues need to happen on the spot, switching from one song to another as each model comes down. In this case, there were two different shows – one at 8am and another at noon. Andrew and I came in with an idea to play mash-ups (two songs that are merged together to sound as one). While we were getting ready for the first show to start, we started talking about the music and if it was the right choice for the event. Carrie was going to be speaking over the music and we didn’t want the vocals from the songs to interfere with that. So we decide to switch it up on the spot. This is what we’re good at. We’re like the A-Team combined with Second City. We prepare for war, but are able to handle anything that comes up in the moment and switch on the fly. It was cool to be able to think of alternatives in a moments notice. An idea came into my head, and I went with it.

For the 8am show, I played some Hotel Costes like stuff mixed in with some St. Germaine and Mr. Scruff. Jazzy, electronic, lounge type stuff. It worked great. Perfect for the morning. The only downside was that it didn’t have a strong beat. It wasn’t danceable. Between shows, Andrew and I trade off and on hitting everything from Motown and funk to hip-hop and house. I also throw in those mash-ups I was dying to play while going back to the drawing board for the music for the noon show. I come up with some jazzy house mixed with some funky breakbeat and a little eclectic world beats.

What I liked most about this event was playing music for people that wouldn’t normally hear it. And getting creative in the process. It was like I was on a playground and I could play anyway I wanted. I was doing all sorts of effects and tricks, one of which I just learned the night before. This was a chance for me to express myself and my creativity and I used it well. I love scratching. I love beat matching. I love putting two songs together that you wouldn’t normally put together. I love making new sounds, new effects, adding to what’s given me and interacting with the world around me. Oh, I love showing off, too. I pushed my creativity on decks to a new level with this gig. It only gets better from here.

--Jonathan Hood