JOE NICE
Joebama. Dr. Dubstep. Mr. Minus Degree. The Dubstep Ambassador. El Presidente. Jose Noches… Many nicknames, one guy – Joe Nice.
Leader of the stamina crew, general manager of the Red Bull Posse, and the CEO of OMG, Inc., Joe was there at roots of dubstep in America. With his endless enthusiasm, passion, and energy, Joe helped plant the dubstep seed on North American soil and has been watching it grow for years.
Before the interview, Joe warned me that he had a lot on his mind and indeed, he did. A couple of hours before his show in San Francisco, we sat down in the basement of the club and no topic was out of bounds. From cooking ramen noodles and ironing, to performing (not playing!) dubstep (not brostep!), producing, being better, doing more, and staying true. Read on and listen up, this man you can trust.
Interview by Katya Guseva
Joe, let’s just get this out of the way. Why do you play with your shoes off?
I always get this one! I do it because when I first started deejaying about 15 years ago, every house I performed in had a carpet. And my mom would never let me wear shoes in the house. I always remember her voice: “Joseph, take your shoes off,” and I’d always leave my shoes in the kitchen, ‘cause it was the only place in the house with tiled floor. So one of the first times I played out, I was terrible, I was horrifically bad… and I remember driving home that night and thinking that something wasn’t right, something went wrong that night. And I realized I had my shoes on! And I’d never played with my shoes on before.
It’s not some hippie thing, where I’m trying to be one with the bass, have the vibration come to my feet or I like having my toes vibrate when I play. It’s simply a habit. And now it’s one of those things that people are waiting for, “The shoes are OFF! The shoes are OFF!” People are even taking pictures of my socks and my shoes when I play…
