Last summer, two local DJs set out to establish an unburdened alternative to the stuffy top-40 dance club scene. So far, their unstifling consortium of audio-visual sorcerers, robots and big blue bunnies has been a step in the right direction.
Dubbed “Freaks in the House,” the performances by DJs Shawn Mediaclast (aka the Audio Schizophrenic) and Steve Sawada have grown from a monthly event to a weekly staple at John Henry’s. The downtown bar, at 77 West Broadway, hosts the free show every Saturday at 10 p.m. for audiences 21 and older. The brainchild of Mediaclast and Sawada, “Freaks” also features an array of guest DJs, visual projection artists and an imaginatively dressed audience.
The scene they’ve put together is quite different from anything you’ll find in Eugene, said Keith Martin, book agent for John Henry’s. “It has a big city feel to it. It’s not a top-40 dance night.”
According to Mediaclast, transcending the predictable dance club circuit was at the heart of their vision when creating “Freaks.”
“We just wanted to fill a gap with what we saw in the dance floor scene in Eugene,” Mediaclast said. “There wasn’t much that really had a focus on the music, or where the DJs really took care of their music.”
For both DJs, taking care of the music means having a compositional directive with the songs they play.
Under the guise of the Audio Schizophrenic, Mediaclast spins a frenzied fusion of sound he is hesitant to classify as either house or techno. But while he’ll play a wide net of music, including content not necessarily written for the dance floor, he says everything he pulls together has a compositional purpose. Meanwhile, Sawada works under the less-is-more philosophy, going for a cleaner style, but with an equally moving sound.
“Freaks” also features regular performances by The JIRCS, a group of digital arts graduate students from the University, who synchronize reconfigured video clips with the music. Once a month, Sawada and Mediaclast take the night off and invite guest DJs to perform in their place.
According to Sawada, another essential element of “Freaks” is the audience they attract. “We’re just trying to create an environment conducive to anyone who wants to be there,” he said. And so far, “anyone” has been showing up.
From jocks and hippies to loggers and environmentalists, Mediaclast said the shows draw “people you normally wouldn’t imagine hanging out with one another.”
The DJs encourage the audience to dress up, and each week they give out prizes for either best dancer or best costume. Mediaclast said they recently gave away a turntable to a woman for her “nipple glowing tin lady costume.”
From casually dressed revelers to those clothed as furry animals and androids, the scene goes a long way toward reaching their vision for an all-embracing do-it-yourself milieu.
“It’s an opportunity to express yourself in an environment that you don’t have to feel suffocated or uncomfortable with,” Sawada said.
In the end, both DJs are most concerned with getting people to dance.
“Is this going to move people or not?” Mediaclast said of his underlying philosophy as a DJ. “The point is to have fun.”
Get your ‘Freak’ on
Daily Emerald
April 20, 2005
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