Jouvay.com: Tony Tempo Interview

4/30/2003

Search the internet for soca music and you’ll surely find DJ Tony Tempo’s website. With over 3 million hits this Atlanta based DJ whose mission includes “bringing soca music to the internet and the world” provides an online music lab with tracks and mixes that can start a party on their own. Crowned the Best Soca Sound at the 3rd Annual Atlanta Caribbean Awards in 2002, and named one of the Most Influential West Indians in Atlanta by the Caribbean Star newspaper, Tony Tempo continues to make dancefloors shake from Miami’s Soca Fest during October to Oakland’s jouvay.com parties, from a Christmas in Paradise concert in St. Thomas to Atlanta’s Flag party during Memorial Day weekend, and of course, from anywhere in the world where people log on to djtonytempo.com. Impressed by his skill and popularity we sat down to find out how Tony Tempo makes thing spin.

Jouvay.com: Tony, there’s a picture of you on caribwaves with R&B legend Gerald Levert in St. Thomas. What show was that and what was it like? I must add that you look rather smashing in your jouvay.com shirt in that photo!

DJ Tony Tempo: Yeah, I was representing for you guys. I was the headline DJ at the 2002 Christmas in Paradise in St. Thomas on December 20th weekend. It was hosted by Frank Ski of the R&B morning show on V 103FM in Atlanta and promoted by Caribe productions out of Atlanta. Musical guests included Gerald Levert, Kelly Price, Beres Hammond Cultura Perfetica, a wicked reggae band from Puerto Rico. The Concert was on Saturday and I played for their beach party and Battle of the DJs event on the Friday. It was good, the crowd numbered around 10,000 all weekend.

J: You also do shows in the Bahamas. Who do you work with and what’s your connection with Visage Band?

T: Well in 2001 I was part of a show that included Square One and Bunji Garlin. It was organized by Visage and their manager, Obi had visited my website for some time. Through the site, we linked up.

J: Let’s step back to the beginning. When did you start DJing?

T: Years ago I played mainly R&B and hip-hop at clubs in Long Island where I was known as DJ Tony. Then in 1994 I moved to Atlanta and started to do a college radio show on 91.9 FM out of Clarke Western University. The show was known more for jazz and reggae, but we had a 10 minute soca set which I did. That turned into a half an hour set and was the only time soca was heard on the radio in the area. DJ Melee, a reggae DJ, also played at the station on a program hosted by Glen Simmons. One time I did the first set from 7-7:30 pm and then Glen asked Melee if he was ready and he said, “I don’t know how after that tempo Tony just did”. The term stuck and I said, “ I’ll now be known as DJ Tony Tempo.” That was good for there was another DJ Tony (Randall) in Atlanta at the time. The show is called Natural Mystic and plays from 6-9 pm (wclk.com).

J: How did you get into the DJ scene in Atlanta? It seems quite difficult for Caribbean DJs to find the scene and get networked when they move from their home base.

T: I started with IBIS international, a sound system in Atlanta. When I arrived in August I hooked up a Bacchanal Time special mix by Super Blue and met Ibis in a record shop and we discussed the remix. We exchanged numbers, but did not connect until November and from there I started doing parties with him. I remained a part of their group for 5 years and by then had started getting booked for gigs on my own. I had also put up the website in 1999 and that was sending business my way.

J: Tell us a bit about the Atlanta carnival that occurs on Memorial Day Weekend, same time as the San Francisco carnaval

T: Folks must remember that Atlanta is in the South. It’s very different from the rest of the nation with respect to race relations, but we are trying our thing. Labor day started small and in Harlem and then moved to Brooklyn and after 25 years is now attracting millions of people. Many West Indians are moving to Atlanta and many people are coming down for the carnival which is now in its 15th year. Our parade is actually on the Saturday which is unique. The bands consist of a mixture of islands. For the first time the Dominicans have a band this year and I am playing for them.

J: And for people looking for things Caribbean in Atlanta, where would they go?

T: There’s a new shop called the Roti Place (4634 Rockridge road, Stone Mountain GA (404) 299-5222) which serves very good food, and the Jamaicans have restaurants all over the place like Island Café on Memorial Drive. There are also quite a few clubs like Deuplex, the Aquarium which is more Jamaican, Pan Yard and the Bookstore for soca people. I try to post the fete information on my site. If you’re looking for Caribbean music stores there are More Music and 4 Seasons.

J: Last year marked some new ground for you as you played in Northern California for the first time for two of our parties and for the Caribbean Summerfest. I should mention that when we first started jouvay.com, we called some people in the business from here to the East Coast and asked them who they would recommend and that’s how we got your name. Where are some other destinations that you have played and are you charting any new courses this year?

T: I played and promoted in Mississippi last year for the first time. And this year I will play in LA for Joyce Productions on May 31st and July 19th. I recently did a show in Houston with Scrunter and Rupee who said to say hi to you guys. The crowd in Houston was mainly Trinis, Bajans and folks from the Virgin Islands. I’ll play in Philadelphia for their carnival on June 7th and 14th and New Jersey for labor day weekend.

J: We’ll definitely try to make LA. Last October we gave Joyce the Back in Times CD mix you made for us and she was sprung. You know you have to burn us another one.

T: It shall be done. I’m looking forward to LA. I am a member of a ttcalifornia yahoo group and know quite a few folks in LA on there and the energy seems high for the party.

J: When did you leave Trinidad? Have you ever played there as a DJ or played mas’ with a band?

T: I’m actually a British born Trinidadian, but spent some time in Trinidad and my entire family is Trinidadian. I’ve played mas’ down there and one of my goals is to DJ events there.

J: How much time do you put into your mixes? Have you ever gotten any heat for having full mixes of music on the web?

T: A thirty minute mix would take about two and half hours. And a remix of a song may take about an hour after I think about it. You know when my site started I would put new music on there before it was released so that people could get to hear it and know it. It takes time after a song is made for it to make it to a CD and folks in the studios normally give it to others in the business before that happens. I heard that Machel had gotten upset and said, “who is this djtonytempo.com, my music is not even released as yet and it’s on his website.” I’ve stopped putting up the single tracks even though they were not downloadable and recording the song would produce a low quality reproduction. So now I put up my entire mixes which people seem to prefer. One of my mixes (#21) was featured on BBC radio this past Sunday. It’s a show hosted by Slic and Machel Montano.

J: Well, we look forward to having you play at our May 10th band launch for the San Francisco carnaval. I know you’re mixing something special for us.

T: Yep, I’ll do a j’ouvert/jouvay segment with music that will fit right in with your theme. Tell folks to bring out their iron section and be ready to beat a rhythm.

Tony Tempo's Website

Tony Tempo's Remixes on Acid Planet