JB International; bringing the ShizNiz

Why the name DJ JB International?
Well a couple of years back before I decided to go mainstream I did a search on Google and Yahoo they gave me many hits with the name JB so I thought as I am going to apply myself to the international market why not put that in my name.

And why the JB?
Tony Smith, my mentor his son couldn't pronounce my name and he used to call me John Boy.

So how did you get into DJ'ing?
I was always influenced by music. At the age of 7 my parents enrolled me into piano classes. After school I would always turn on the radio first thing. And then in my senior year at high school everybody was talking about what they were going to study and I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. And when I finished [my exams] it hit me why not study something that I love. So I called Syndicate Records and they referred me to Cape Audio College. And it just went from there that was 19 years ago.

Is DJ'ing your fulltime career?
Yes it is.

What do you think you would be doing if you weren't doing music?
I really have no idea; well my second love is photography so I guess it would have been that. My dad is actually a professional photographer. But like they say family doesn't really mix with business so I decide to go my own way.

How did your interview on ShizNiz on e.tv come about?
Well I was with a company called Good Stuff productions, we actually split now but they asked if I could come on the show. It was all about referrals.

Would you say Jonathan Adams and DJ JB International are the same person or do you have a sort of stage persona or alter ego when DJj'ing?
To tell you the truth JB is actually my alter ego the guy I always wanted to be in high school. Through high school I always thought I was the looser guy, you know never good enough to be in that certain group of cool guys.

Who are your musical influences?
I have many, locally it would be Tony Smith my mentor he's quite a cool guy for being in the industry so long and not touched any drugs or be phased by the music industry. We all know the music industry can be quite cut throat. It's a dog eat dog world. And then it would be Fresh I always listen to 5fm and then Euphonik. And then internationally it would be David Guetta, Laid back Luke, you can always find a little hint of Laid Back Luke in my tracks.

How do you avoid all the negativity of the industry, the drugs and the alcohol how do keep yourself level headed? And do you always keep level headed?
I try, well you no human beings can be very insistent. But the drug thing usually I just smile and say later.

What are your favourite venues to play in SA?
I have a few. In CT it would be Galaxy which is a super night club and Ku deTa, they have a nice set up and the atmosphere is very receptive.

How would you describe your style of DJ'ing?
Its funky, I can never do the deep house type of thing. It's not for me but if it's funky JB had something to do with it.

How's it going getting into the international market?
It's going good. I've been to Japan for a music festival. On Friday I unreleased my new single called Discostruction, the official release will be in August and to my surprise in 4 days it got 124 downloads. And people from Italy contacted me to come over for a house festival.

What is the ultimate goal for you as a DJ?
To be up on the ranks with David Guetta and to be considered one of the worlds's most respected DJ's

What makes a successful DJ?
Be true to yourself. All the successful DJ's you see today are keeping themselves low to the ground they have this huge label that they are the world most respected DJ but they don't act like that. Staying humble.

What has been the craziest moment in your DJ career?
There have been a lot. My official DJ logo is actually a tattoo on my back and when I was playing in Langebaan a fan asked me to show her my tattoo so I took of my shirt and she actually threw back her underwear with her phone number.

If you were being tortured and that torture involved you having to listen to a certain type of music or artist for long periods of time, what would that type of music be?
Ooh well first of all I'm eclectic. I like all types of music except folk. And that would be my worst torture I would probably scratch out my ears.

What do you do in your spare time?
I try to spend time with my family and friends. I like to go fishing though I haven't done that in a while. I love nature I love to go outdoors, you know have a braai in the mountain.

What would most people be surprised to know about you?
That I'm actually quiet and introverted. To a lot of people it is quite surprising when I'm in a room and I am just listening to the conversation going on around me.

How do you find inspiration for creating tracks?
First of all I take a long drive just to clear my head and think about some stuff and then with inspiration it doesn't come to me when I want. It comes to me when I have this certain rhythm and beat in my mind. Then as soon as possible I go home or to the studio to work on it. Once I had a gig and I was 2 hours early for it and the resident DJ was playing a track and then right there and then I did a bootleg on it.

Best and worst things about being a DJ?
Best things.. when you play peoples favourite track and they just go mad I was playing at the Winter Wonderland for about 1600 kids and I played them my remix of Rhythm is a Dancer by Snap and I followed by Everybody is Free and they just went mad so for me that is A no 1. Worst is when people start bugging you “Can you please play this song, I don't know what it's called but it goes like this na na na naaa” Ahh come on that just sucks for me.

How do you know what your audience is wanting to hear and how do you get a feel of what's in right now?
For my commercial sets I listen to the radio and to what's hot and new at the moment. For my underground house hits it's more about your style of music and what you do with it, it's more creative. To me it more about gut instincts I like to bring in old stuff with new beats. I will do live on set re-mixing and bootlegging. It's all about creativity at the end of the day.

Which Superhero would you be and why?
I always wanted to be Spiderman it's quite cool to be dangling from spider webs and stuff.

Future plans?
Grow bigger in the DJ and music industry and travel the world that's my next step. I'm applying myself to the international market so hopefully that pays off soon.

What advice would you give to aspiring DJ's trying to get into the business?
Go far what you want. Always keep a clear ear for what people tell you. Don't be put down by people's words. Because you will always get people who tell you you're not good enough. In this industry if you want to make it perseverance is the key. Show them that you are not going to give up and they will give in.

Message for your fans?
Thank you thank you very much for all the support so far. In the last couple of days the support has been overwhelming cause my fan base on Facebook grew like 300% and it's not only people from SA they also from overseas. And please keep on supporting.

http://www.myspace.com/djjbinternational