#funk jungle

[sparkcityprovidence]

STREET EATERS SHOW TONIGHT IS STILL ON BUT HAS MOVED TO FUNKY JUNGLE! PLEASE EMAIL [email protected] FOR DIRECTIONS!

[iamdj88-blog]

Next up, Mona Lisa...

"HANG THE DJ" #10

The girl with the key to Los Angeles,...Mona Lisa!!!

The lovely, soulful, always smiling Mona...(MonaLisa Murray full governmental). Simply put, EVERYONE knows Mona...and Mona knows EVERYONE.  

I met Ms. Mona 120 years ago...actually, I'm not sure exactly when...probably around the time I first starting going out to clubs...as a matter of fact it might have been this one...

(wish we would've put the year on these things back then...), anyway,...

I really got to know her when I was promoting a club called "LAVA CARRO" which I've mentioned a few times before on this blog.  She was a street promoter then...one of the hardest working women in show bizness at the tender age of her very early 20's.  She has worked at LOUD records, MCA, WILD PITCH, IMMORTAL, DELICIOUS VINYL, PMP, A&M, DEF JAM.  

Mona was everywhere.  If she wasn't working, she was dancing...similar to myself.  The fact that she's a dj now is no surprise...similar to myself.  She's been around the booth and on the dancefloor since I can remember.  Last year I had the pleasure of djing with her at AFEX for "Ladies Night"...Mona, myself, and Spinderella...it was a VERY special and nostalgic night.  It was the first time I heard her play and it was no shock that her set was damn near flawless technically and the selection was impeccable for those of you who are classic/underground 90's heads...

(photos by Adam12)

She is kind, knowledgeable, beyond educated when it comes to music, and one hell of a funky b*tch.  It's rare that you come across those special people who everyone embraces and loves to be around.  She grew up in the LA club scene...and as all of us have has gone thru many transformations...(sorry, Mo I couldn't resist)...yeah...that's Mona on the right w/locs grabbin her pants...LOLOLOL

In 2011 she is just coming into her own as a DJ, djing opening sets for DJ Spinna for his "Wonder-Full Party", she has a weekly residency at Little Temple with recently featured "HANG THE DJ" #8 interview DJ Destroyer, and still works at Amoeba Records in Hollywood where she gets first dibs on all things amazing.  She is an LA Icon in regards to the club/music scene and we will all continue to cheer her on as she evolves and shines as a DJ. 

Girls and Boys...meet Ms. Mona Lisa Murray...

How did you start? "I actually learned how to DJ in 1993, out of sheer curiosity. Vicious Lee showed me the mechanics of how turntables work, as far as pitch & direct drive control, and Mark Luv taught me the basics - beat matching and word scratching. i remember i had a very bad habit of pushing the record forward on the one count instead of just letting it go... i never pursued the craft, but if i was at someone's house and they had tables, i would always play their records. My friend Dusk, a brilliant DJ and a beautiful person, was killed by a drunk driver in 2006. After he passed there was a big void where good music regularly came in my ears. I started going through my record collection, which was a combination of records archived (gaffled) from various relatives, rare promos from my life as a music promoter, and random joints i always loved. I hustled up some equipment, got to diggin' and started practicing. Dusk's passing was a major reason why i finally decided to start spinning, and a lot of the music that i play reflects both what i love and what i learned from him." 

What was your first gig and when? Were their any memorable moments that night good or bad?

"I did opening sets at a few small bars to start out, but my first official "oh shit, she's really DJing" moment was here in LA at the Do Over during the summer of 2008. It was two days before my birthday, and I just said, "hey, i wanna play some records for my birthday". I brought two crates of my favorite funk jams and just went for it. J Rawls (Lone Catalysts) was on after me, and after my hour was up, I unplugged my headphones and gestured for him to move forward. He said "NO. Keep going, I love what you're playing! Happy birthday!" my LA DJ heroes Rhettmatic & A-Ski are cheering me on, Peanut Butter Wolf is texting Dam Funk about my set... long story short: best birthday present ever - and it launched my career. I had at least 4 gigs a month for the rest of that year. The only bad part was the recording i heard later with all the obvious mistakes in it... but of all my recorded mixes, it remains my favorite."

How long have you been djing?

 Officially: 5 years. goofing around with the idea of it, collecting wax and jumping on tables at people's cribs: 18 years."

What genre are you "known" for?

 "Late 70's/early 80's funk. my first love is hip hop - BUT - the majority of the hip hop songs that i love and cherish have soul/funk samples in them, which adds to the reasons that i love them. 60% of my record collection is funk records. the rest is a mixture of hip hop, rock, jazz, world sounds and random stuff."

What do you/would you love to play you don't get booked for or that you're not known for?

 "Rock and/or 80's new wave. I did a guest spot recently at Rock Hard, which is a monthly hosted by Destroyer & C-Minus, and I got to play all my favorite rock & roll...classic rock, heavy metal, goth, hair bands, psychedelic headbanger shit... Danny Holloway has a night called Fuzz, and there I got to play 60's prog rock from my uncle's vinyl collection. I need more of those!"

What are a couple of your new favorite artists or songs in the genre(s) you're known for and especially genre(s) that you aren't known for but really dig?

"Most of the funk that i play is old school, but Dam Funk is one of my favorite newer funk artists. I've learned a lot from him just by watching him play records. The appreciation that he has for music and the people that create it is stellar. He can pretty much tell you everything about his crates...i mean like what kind of mayonnaise somebody had on their sandwich the day they recorded a funk record...the brother digs DEEEEEP in the crates. There's a handful of newer rock artists that I'm digging - Gossip, Broken Social Scene, Band Of Skulls, Phoenix, Big Pink, Queens Of The Stone Age, etc...Dubstep - 6Blocc is my favorite... Electro - SBTRKT, Little Dragon, all the Brainfeeder cats - Tokimonsta, Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer, Thundercat..."

If you weren't djing what would you be doing?

 "I'd be creating something...everything...clothing, jewelry, accessories, meals...kids...lol."

What is your hobby or interest when you're not djing that people don't know about?

 "Sewing.... i take old stuff and make new stuff out of it... i make skirts into pants, dresses into blouses, pants into bags, things like that. i have tons of unfinished projects (hence my answer to the last question!)"

Whats in your dj bag (aside needles, headphones, vinyl, and slipmats)?

 "- a flask- a Y cord, a mix CD and serato control CDs, in case everything but the mixer & CDJs fail to work; - top coat and a nail kit in case my nails are jagged (scratching up your own record sucks more than the scratch itself)- earplugs... i'm going deaf in my right ear :(" How do you deal with requests?  

"I just say NO most of the time, because 99.9% of the time its something ridiculously inappropriate or insane."

Top three re-occuring request situations? (i.e. "can you play something I can dance to"?)

- "can you play 'dear mama' by tupac?" (during house music)- it's my birthday and i wanna dance. are you gonna play this (MICHAEL JACKSON) all night or will there be dance music?- (after i've given into a request and played it) Can you play it again?"

Why do you think people think the dj booth is also a coatcheck?

"Because they assume the DJ will be in that spot all night... why would you leave your stuff in a random place with a stranger?!"

Who's the "character" in the club that annoys you the most? i.e. club promoter, birthday girl, makin' it rain dude, Jamie Foxx on the mic doin his "stump the dj" bit, etc.

"- barefoot drunk birthday girl (top #1 answer on the board) - drunk girl that tries to "scratch" on the turntables- guy in dark sunglasses with no friends- loud cellphone "I'M ABOUT TO BUY A BOTTLE SON!" guy- guy wearing his bluetooth on the dance floor- MC Failure (talks over every verse of every song, all night long, but stops talking over the songs he doesn't know)"

Your story about people asking you to play "hip hop"...when you're playing hip hop?  

"The girl that asked me to play some hip hop while i was playing Passing Me By... ME: "what the hell do you think THIS is"?HER: "this sounds like R&B. Do you have any Lil Wayne or Gucci Mane?" ME: *blank stare*"

Worst gig you ever had?

"Private party at a club on Sunset, in the rain. NO turntables, no serato box, no soundguy. only a pair of CDJs, a Y cord for me to play my computer through the mixer, and a drunk guy standing by the booth shouting requests for songs I didn't have and had no intention on playing, ever."

Weirdest moment djing?

"Yeah, that one up there."

Best moment djing?

"Every year I do the opening set for SoulSlam (Prince vs Michael Jackson) and Wonder-Full (Stevie Wonder), thrown by DJ Spinna and Footlong Development. That's my highest high as a DJ in general - but this last month I did a set at the Long Beach Funk Fest and everybody in the street was doing the Electric Slide...that was a great moment, just watching everybody dance in the street...and of course i put the headphones down and danced with them :)"

Worst moment djing?

"Do Over 09... i don't even remember it - a friend of mine passed out five minutes before my set and i was a mess. People told me it was a great set, and I have some video of it, but I don't remember one minute of it."

Tips - biggest and smallest or any short story about getting tipped? 

"Some guy gave me a dollar to play James Brown - i gave it back & played the James Brown anyway - a few minutes later he thanked me & gave me $10. I said "well shit...ok, what else do you wanna hear??" 

The Good, Bad & the Ugly of the current club format/scene right now?  

"good: lots of new venues popping up everywhere, DJs supporting each other's events and playing good newly discovered music regardless of when it came outbad/ugly: promoters aren't supporting each other like they used to, and some are getting downright desperate to make money; starting to hear the same music, old & new (even from myself) but i try to dig as much as i can."

Least favorite thing the dj opening before you or going on after you does?

"Having the crowd going, then purposely changing the tempo and clearing the dance floor to try to throw me off. same person - we've had about 3 gigs together and they've done it each time. i always recover, but it makes that person look stupid each time they do it."

What would people be surprised to know about you?

"Nothing surprising. they might know these already:- i have an older sister, 2 nieces and 2 nephews, and 5011 cousins...- Blu (LA emcee) is my mother's 2nd cousin, once removed- B Young from Pac Div is also a cousin on Blu's side- My grandfather was a well known boxing trainer and was popular in clubs on Central Ave back in the 1940's"

Who are some of your favorite DJ's that you think people should know about who people might not know about on a mainstream level (name the DJ and what city they're in)

"Ohsokool - New York NY, Sean O - Los Angeles CA, Malachi - SF Bay Area."

Whats your poison? (drink of choice in the booth)

"Hennessy & Pineapple Juice (and a shout out to the fine bartenders in Ca$hville, Tennessee for introducing me to that combo in 2004)"

What will you be/or want to be doing 5 years from now?

"Knowing me, I will probably still be DJing and working at Amoeba... but also producing & remixing."

You can catch Mona here on 9/8/2011

and here on 9/10/2011...

FOR MONA'S LATEST MIXES CHECK OUT HER PODOMATIC PAGE @:

MONALISALA