Wiener takes it all

>> DJ Kevin Yost expounds on Puff Poopy and noisy hotdogs

by KRISTA

A pioneer in the truest sense of the word, given that he grew up smack in the middle of Amish country with nothing but cows and 7-Elevens for miles around, Kevin Yost has managed to become one of North America's most respected DJ/producers of solid, feelgood house. A sensitive and thoughtful individual, as the following should prove.

Kevin Yost: Hello?

Mirror: Hi, it's Krista.

KY: Hi. How's it going? So you're calling for Playgirl magazine, right? I mean, this interview is going to run in Playgirl?

M: Uh, yeah. And I wanted to hook up that photo shoot for the article. When's a good time?

KY: Just kidding. I know you're not calling from Playgirl.

M: Well, we could probably work something out if that's what you were hoping for.

KY: I don't know if people are ready for the Kevin Yost Playgirl interview. I mean, that's some pretty heavy shit.

M: You could be right.

KY: So you're DJ Renée's friend, right?

M: Yeah. She tells me you're a pretty funny guy.

KY: What, is she saying I'm some kind of freak?

M: No, no, but she told me to ask you something about a hotdog.

KY: Oh, you mean the sound a hotdog makes in a microwave? I don't think I know you well enough to do that. Don't you have any questions for me? Maybe you should just ask me some questions and I'll think about doing it for you later on.

M: I was kind of hoping you would just be funny and I wouldn't have to ask any questions.

KY: You're probably a vegetarian though, right?

M: Yes.

KY: Well, then you don't even know what sound a hotdog makes in the microwave.

M: Not true. My mom cooked a few hotdogs for us as kids.

KY: Even still. I'm not really comfortable doing that yet. C'mon, ask me some questions.

M: Oh, alright. So what exactly is your role in the i Records label? Do you own and/or run the label, or just record for it?

KY: No, i Records was started by, and is run by, the guy who pretty much discovered me, Joe Ventola. I'm just an artist. He's the smart guy, the businessman. You know, in the music world it's not so much talent as business and direction and who you know that gets you places. I would probably be nowhere without Joe. It's funny. You meet a handful of people in a lifetime who will really touch or change your life in a special way. Joe's definitely one of those people. I owe him a lot.

M: What about before you met Joe? What were you doing before he came along?

KY: Hanging out at 7-Eleven wearing a gold 45 around my neck, listening to hip hop. No, I started in high school, DJing at school parties and weddings and stuff. I'm from a really small town outside of D.C.--like, seven-traffic-lights small. The guy I worked for used to take me into the Baltimore/D.C. area to go record shopping, so I had tons of great records. Of course, I couldn't play until about 10 years after I got them.

M: People in town weren't into dance music?

KY: Uh, no. They still aren't. It's so disappointing. In fact, music today, like what you hear on MTV and stuff, is pretty fucking awful.

M: I hear jazz in the background there. I take it that's a big influence for you?

KY: Well, yeah. I pretty much only listen to either jazz or classical music all the time. I mean, I like dance music, obviously, but I rarely listen to it anymore.

M: Really. Classical. I never would have figured you for a fan.

KY: It's thinking music. There's very little music like that anymore. You can listen to a John Coltrane or Don Ellis tune a hundred times and hear the instruments different every time. What big artist these days can you say that about? I mean that guy, Puff Poopy or whatever his name is, is running out of songs to remix, and he's still at number one.

M: No man, Puff Daddy's over. Now it's all about "The Thong Song."

KY: Oh, well, that's different. But seriously, you take away the sampler and there is no music.

M: So did I ask enough questions? Will you do the hotdog-in-the-microwave thing now?

KY: I don't know... will you be there on Sunday? You should really see it in person. It will lose its effect over the phone, and I want to see the expression on your face when I do it. :

With Deep Dish, Danny Tenaglia and more at the main event of Bal en Blanc, Sunday, April 23, 10pm at le Palais de Congrès