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BAD BOY BILL: Interview Article
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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House music

Derivitive: House

Long Form: The Warehouse

Origin: Chicago, IL, USA

Associated Terms: Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, DJ Pierre, Felix Da Housecat….

...Bad Boy Bill

“Housemusic was born in Chicago in the early 80’s and has been a staple in the club scene since. [Chicago] will always be the Home of House Music.” Chi-town native William Renkosik has helped that legacy through his many exploits as the one and only Bad Boy Bill. Pioneering the mix tape business and setting precedent as a business man by co-founding Beatport.com, the worlds premier online store for Dance music, are just a few things you can read on his resume. With the release of his first CD, The Album, he hopes that being a veteran doesn’t mean he’s history.

Being voted “Americas number one DJ” doesn’t come easy. It always starts with a young kid with big dreams. “I grew up listening to the guys who were mixing on the radio, The Hot Mix 5. These guys were the ones who influenced my style and made me love and respect the art of mixing music together." In the early 80's, Chicago radio station WBMX was the home to Ralphi Rosario, Farley Keith, Mickey Oliver, KennyJason & Scott Silz aka The Hot Mix 5. The crew took what had been bubbling at clubs like The Warehouse (later called The Music Box) and The Power Plant and brought it out of the underground to inspire future DJ's like Bill who would later take it worldwide. At the same time, a little thing called Hip-Hop was becoming the sub-culture to beat. Regardless of which one became more dominant, the true winner was the turntable, and Bill was tackling turntablism by balancing House & Hip-Hop on both platters. When not at the club opening up for the likes of his idols, The Hot Mix5, he was hard at work practicing.

Question: How much did competitive Djing contribute to your style? I recently spoke to a former DMC champ about whether scratching has a place in dance mixing, what’s your opinion?

Answer: I was into scratching and doing tricks with two copies of the same record before I entered any DJ battles. Once I entered the competitive circuit I realized I needed to step my game up and really practice because battling is something that cannot be taken lightly. You have to practice hours and hours every day, and come up with new techniques and tricks. It is a serious commitment and I give props to those DJ’s who have competed and achieved success because I know how hard it is. I think scratching and tricks can be incorporated into dance music as long as it is used at the right time with the right track. I always use it as a highlight, try to keep the groove, and not take away or over power the dance floor with too much scratching or turntable tricks.

In the early days of the DMC World Championships he came close to winning on a number of occasions but wasn’t able to grab the gold. Despite falling short in the competition circuit he soon found his niche in another, the mix-tape game. Mixes, still the prominent tool by which DJ’s promote themselves, has always been a double edge sword. A successful mix series can take you from obscurity to notoriety, but, if they become too successful you’ll quickly have the RIAA breaking down your door for bootlegging other artist's music. While his competition was illegally selling street mixes, In 1995 Bill created Mix Connection Multimedia to enable him to legally license popular songs for CDs & tapes that could be legitimately sold at any major music retailer. Needless to say, this changed the game and helped to make DJ mixing a viable format for major labels to invest in.

Question: My fiancé would like to thank you for your Bangin’ The Box mixes, which she played at all her high school skip parties. How do you feel knowing you provided the soundtrack for a generation of young truancy violators?

Answer: I love it! Ialways say, if my music can help someone get paid or get laid or just have a good time, I view it as a success.

Although mixes can keep your name in rotation amongst music followers it is usually original productions and remixing that makes the difference between a local DJ and a worldwide celebrity superstar DJ. Just look at Tiesto, Deadmau5, and David Guetta and you’ll understand what I mean. So how has Bill managed to go 20 years without an album? Based on the typical career template, this is somewhat unorthodox. As of September 2009 the wait ended thanks to the release of the appropriately titled The Album, a collection of Electro-House originals that may boost Bill to a new level if things go his way.

Question: Why wait so long to release a CD of original tunes?

Answer: That is the million dollar question. I have [wanted] to put this original album out for a long time, but it was never really the right time or the right group of songs. I think it all came together this year and I am really happy that it is finally out and people are diggin’ it.

Q: Besides Jazz, Dance music seems to be the only genre that offers producers & musicians the option of using vocalists or to release music simply as instrumentals. You went the vocalist route, what are the benefits of that decision?

A: I feel that you can always take a vocal song and do a “dub” remix for the clubs or dance floor, but it really doesn’t work too well the other way around. Also, I just love vocals when I am listening to music. When I am DJing it is another story, vocals are sprinkled in during my set, but for a true album, I think vocals really can connect people to the music and the vibe you are putting out there.

Q: It has been a long time since Chicago & New York were the cradles of Dance music. With Dance having developed a much stronger presence over seas, what is the foreign response to American DJs and producers?

A: I think the response to American DJ’s is really welcoming, and in my experiences, people over seas seem to enjoy and respect U.S. DJ’s and producers.

Q: Give me a few hi-lights of the touring lifestyle?

A: I think the lyrics from my song "Fast Life" tell it all... “Non-stop Fast Life, different city every night. No sleep late flights, tripping on these club lights...”

It’s a lot of fun, but at the same time it is a lot of sacrifice. Always being on the road, not eating/sleeping the best. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Q: Where are you looking forward to visiting in support of The Album?

A: I always look forward to the crowds in Germany. I have been going there since the 90’s and they always give me so much love. I hear that “Falling Anthem” is doing well in Malta and Australia, so maybe I will make it over there as well.

For a veteran to tread new ground as an artist it can be nerve racking. Time can only tell if his new material’s acceptance in Malta will translate in London or even Chicago for that matter. Regardless of the outcome, one thing is for sure, he wont be hurting. Since its launch 5 years ago, www.beatport.com has become the top online retailer of Dance music. With Billboard magazine’s top 200 focusing on traditional genres, beatport’s top 10 has emerged as a reputable source of bragging rights to all Dance artists, producers and labels. Bill can claim pride in saying that this mighty institution was partly his idea.

Question: I was impressed to read that you co-founded Beatport.com, and being a DJ myself, I’d like to thank you for that. As a businessman, what was the motivation behind taking on such an anambitious venture?

Answer: Thank you for your support, its DJ’s like you that have made Beatport what we are, and we are thankful and grateful to be a part in helping DJ’s get the music they love. There were alot of DJ’s starting to play off of CD’s and [the software] Final Scratch was coming out. At that point if you wanted to play a track digitally, you had to literally buy the 12”, take it home, record it, digitize it, [in order to] be able to play it digitally. Eloy Lopez and a couple guys from Denver decided there had to be a better way. They approached me, we all worked together, and within a year, we had Beatport launched.

Q: With such success touring and as a businessman, what else do you have in the pipeline? What can we expect to see or hear in 2010?

A: Right now I am remixing singles off The Album and touring to support it. [The Album] has been a long time in the making and I want to make sure I keep the focus on it, and don’t put my focus some where else too soon.

interview and article by D. Painter