Photo Credit: Worthy’s Facebook Page
A few weeks ago DC native Worthy came back to his mother-city for an incredibly funky tech set with option4 at U St Music Hall. With the scene in DC continuing to grow and grow, it was great to see Worthy return to see how DC has returned as a music destination. We got a few minutes to talk with Worthy about a few subjects within his crazy busy world right now.
RR – The One on One Tour is a great concept teaming up with so much many different artists across the country. Where did the inspiration for such a dynamic tour come from?
Worthy – The initial idea was inspired by my booking agent Jon Sax. Last summer we worked together with my wife and manager to brainstorm the details of the tour concept with the hopes of creating something that was unique. Jon came up with the idea of doing the date of the tour with a different artist in every city, and I really wanted to add the interview component. For anyone who knows me personally, I am a bit more of an introvert, so this concept really gave me an opportunity to push myself in a new way and to step outside of my comfort zone in the interviewing process. Also, it’s just really rad to be able to get to know all of the artists that I respect and admire and to have that meeting of the minds with them in the interview sessions. It’s a creative spin on things and although I’ve been overwhelmed at times because it is a lot to juggle doing the DIY interviews followed by the gigs on such a tight tour schedule, it has been the most rewarding experience of my career outside of when I made my Disbehave album. I have enjoyed it so much and it’s shown me that with a fantastic team of people and an incredible idea you can really dream big. (And big props to Jon at Liaison for putting all of the pieces together with all of the different artists, which was a crazy time-consuming process. He’s the man!)
RR – You’re a DC native yourself. What are your thoughts on how explosive the scene has become here?
Worthy – It’s great to see DC’s electronic music scene thriving again. You have two solid clubs such as U Street Music Hall and Flash and on top of that, the parties at some of the other bigger venues seem really great as well. DC definitely took a big dip there after the initial rave explosion in the 90’s after parties like Buzz and the Ultraworld Massives were going on and then died off. When that decline in the scene happened, it became part of the reason I decided to move to SF. To come back here and see such a great scene thriving again is really awesome and I can’t wait to see how it develops.
RR – Your label Anabatic Records carries artists with multi-genre production skills such as Gerry Gonza who has great tracks such as “Bad Bitches” on Confession and recently his Freak The Core EP on yours. What do you look for in artists when bringing them on board?
Worthy – What I look for when someone sends me music is something that makes me want to get out of my seat and dance or makes me wish I was at the club to play the track to a sweaty crowd. When Gerry sent me the two tracks on his EP, I was super stoked. We had already done some work together when he was still an artist in Thee Cool Cats, so I knew I was in for some great tracks and they absolutely were. I had a hard time even figuring out which one was going to be on the A side, because his production is so good. Its all about the music for the label, plain and simple.
RR – I’m really digging your funky deep house (first) release on Exploited Records “Keep Me Up” which we know has to led to Claptone, Joyce Muniz and other great talents being discovered. What was the decision making behind releasing the track on Exploited versus your own label?
Worthy – It’s always hard to decide if I should shop around my tracks and or put them on my label. Sometimes there are songs I make that I want to keep on Anabatic and usually that is some of my weirder, bassier, or more experimental stuff. Also, at this point in my career I have been working on specifically releasing certain tracks on high quality labels that I want to work with because I really want to show the range that I have as a producer. I felt like “Keep Me Up” was the right kind of song for Exploited and I guessed right. With my deeper stuff, Exploited is the the perfect label to release with. I could not be any happier, as they are one of my favorites.
RR – As you just released 10 Year Anabatic Records compilation, what do you see ahead in the next 10 years?
Worthy – I just want to keep growing the label and gaining more traction in the dance music community. I can’t wait to see what new artists are going to pop up that we can help break into the music world. And I am so open to exploring ways to evolve the sound we are putting out and exploring new territories in music. I feel really blessed to be able to hear the talent and recognize the drive of so many budding producers. It’s really inspiring, and drives me in so many different ways.
RR – As one of the original four Dirtybirds that include Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, Christian Martin, and yourself, if you had instead formed The Beatles, who would each person be?
Worthy – Claude would be Ringo, Christian would be George, Justin would be Paul, and I would be John.
Thanks to Worthy for taking the time to speak with us during his busy tour. There are still a few more dates available which you can check out here.
Connect with Worthy:
https://www.facebook.com/WorthySF
https://twitter.com/W_o_r_t_h_y
https://www.soundcloud.com/worthy
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