Our ninth interview for April of 2000 was with DJ Devil Girl of Florence, Alabama. Slamming techno is her trademark sound: watch out!

SISTER SF: OK, first off - mini bio: where do you live and why? What collectives or residencies are you part of?

Devil Girl: I'm 26, Sagittarius, and one of those slightly insane, decidedly eccentric Southerners you always read about in Faulkner novels. I do, however, wear shoes on occasion, have all my teeth and am only prejudiced against racists and other hate-mongers (that's irony for ya!) I currently live in my hometown of Florence, Alabama. Yep. Alabama. My family (all 40 billion of 'em) lives here. (That's why on some flyers, my town is listed as "depths of Hell" which isn't exactly a lie, now is it?)

It's really not that bad, cause I'm a bit of a recluse. I like to keep away from the day-to-day aspects of the scene as much as I can. Drama doesn't thrill me. Drugs don't interest me. 15-old-boy-DJ-wannabes with egos-bigger-than-their-50inch-jncos don't impress me. :)

The music scene here is actually thriving 'cept for the local tastes run much more to the break-beat/jungle/trance side of things since the south is primarily influenced by the Florida scene. I paid my dues in the Midwest, so there was a bit of culture shock when I moved back down here. I couldn't get over the fact that DJ ICEY was practically a SAINT and _NO_ONE_ had heard of Jeff Mills!!!!

I will say that I've met some really great people here though. Even so, I'll be pullin' up stakes and headin' back to the Midwest, probably Chicago sometime in the near future. The affiliations I claim are Bitchcraft and Static-Age. Both are my own pet projects, though I'm not at liberty to discuss them yet.. top secret and all that.. ;)

SISTER SF: Why and when did you begin DJing? What styles do you play?

Devil Girl: I started DJing in '92 for KWUR in St. Louis. I played a variety of styles from alterna-rock to industrial/goth/techno. There was really no mixing involved until I fell in love with house in '94 and started "spinning". Since then, I've evolved from playing Chicago house/ghetto (Relief, Cajual, Dancemania, Traxx) to techno a la Robert Hood, Jeff Mills, Surgeon, a bunch of that Swedish stuff.. um..

I also really dig the Kalamazoo sound... Fanon Flowers, Jay Denham, D-knox (mechanisms industries, Black Nation, and Sonic Mind records respectively). What else? I like a lot of the stuff coming out on Audio, User, Subsounds, KK Trax,Primate, UR, Holzplatten, Konsequent and Zync. Oh yeah.. DJ Rush is tres fab :)

SISTER SF: Any classical music training?

Devil Girl: 10 years Violin.. even made it to All-State.. woo hoo! haha :)

SISTER SF: Who inspired you to begin spinning? Have you had any women mentors in the electronic music scene? If so, who & why?

Devil Girl: Nobody really "inspired" me to spin. It just made more sense to mix it than to play two 10 minute tracks in their entirety with radio-styled segue ways. When I started spinning, there really weren't that many females in the business... In fact, I've been told that I was the first female DJin' the Midwest to start spinning parties.. I don't know if that's true or not, BUT I do know that it was a huge novelty at the time.

The first party I was ever booked for was in Chicago in '95. Mystic Bill and Traxx heard me spinnin' at an after-hours in a coffee house in St. Louis, and booked me cause they had never seen a female DJ before. I have always dug Miss DJax and Marusha, though. Heather Heart is cool... So is Electric Indigo. And a lot of the DJ's comin' up really rock like Shiva, all the Chicks with Decks in Canada (Bianka, Raissa, Plush, Miss Matrix) just to name a few.

SISTER SF: What does your DJ name represent to you?

Devil Girl: There was this B-movie from the late '50s/early 60's called "Devil Girl from Mars". I was doing a radio show with guy, who decided that my real name was somewhat bo-ring.. (It's Leigh, BTW) so he wanted me to call him Morpheus (his real name was Andy, which in his opinion was also too boring), and I would be Devil Girl From Mars... It sorta stuck.. I've had the name since '93. :)

I thought of changing it to SISTER SF Mary Techno: Our Lady of Da Beat, cause I'm pretty much the Techno Nun(TM)("don't drink, don't smoke, what do I do?" to paraphrase Adam Ant ).. not really a Devil Girl at all.. But I grew up southern Baptist, and somehow that kinda seems disrespectful to Catholicism.. So Devil Girl it will stay.. :) hahahah :) Irony once again..:)

SISTER SF: How do you feel has the scene (locally, nationally, internationally) has changed since you began?

Devil Girl: H'mm... well, in the beginning, people didn't have a set way of doing things.. Everybody had their own interpretation of what a party should be. There was a lot more innovation in presenting environments. Now, you can go to any party in any city and it's gonna be pretty much the same thing to a greater or lesser degree. It's like there is a "rave formula" that every one is using i.e. you must have x amount of cyberlights and speaker cabinents times the square root of ravers expected.. you have to either play a) scenes from anime or b)one of the many minds eye videos... It's all rather tedious... and more *gasp* commercial... they lack the personal feeling these days...

There are a few exceptions that I've seen though... for instance, the Ele_mentals in Columbus Ohio always have great concepts for their parties. Check out http://www.ele-mental.org for more info on them..

SISTER SF: Where is it going?

Devil Girl: I hate to say this, but it seems like the beginning of the end.. I'd like to be more optimistic, but with the current heavy police/media scrutiny on the seamier aspects of rave culture, it doesn't look to promising. I spent 2 hours on my knees with my hands on the back of my head during a DEA raid of a party in Nashville before I was released. It was not a very pleasant experience. I hate to say it, but I think this will happen with increasing frequency till it's a) impossible to get permits or b) it's simply outlawed. It's sad, but it's the rave lifestyle that gets so much attention, not the music.

SISTER SF: Played anywhere exciting we should know about?

Devil Girl: Oh, I've played in Canada a few times, Baltimore, Salt Lake CIty (there are actually MORMON ravers! :) Chicago, Albany, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Chattanooga, Nashville.. TODAY ALABAMA, TOMORROW THE WORLD!!! muahahaha (*evil cartoon laugh*)

SISTER SF: Female DJs vs. male - is the current media fad portraying female DJs in the right way?

Devil Girl: I don't think so. It's not portraying females in the scene in general positively either... there is a discrepancy in most mags... girls are the eye-candy, guys are the serious musicians/DJs/producers. I for one want to see articles focusing on serious female DJ/producers/musicians and MORE MALE NUDITY in music mags. It's all about equality baby! ;)

SISTER SF: Is being taken seriously as a woman performer an issue for you? What do you do to make sure you're given an equal standing and opportunity?

Devil Girl: Well, I've spun with the big boys from the get-go. Sometimes the attitude that only guys make good DJs can be a little irritating, but I just prove them wrong. And make 'em eat their words. :) *shrug*

SISTER SF: What woman (in general) do you admire most & why?

Devil Girl: Joan of Arc. She had voices in her head that told her to lead an army at the age of 16. She was damn ballsy! maybe crazy too... that's the best combination..:)

SISTER SF: How do you feel about "all female" events?

Devil Girl: If they are not exploitative, they can be very positive...

SISTER SF: What DJ sets that you've seen in person have really inspired you to try something new?

Devil Girl: Every time I've seen Traxx (Chicago) spin, it's been mesmerizing... he has such energy. He works the EQ like no-one I've ever seen. Jeff Mills in Kalamazoo for Sector 616 in '98.. mixes soooo fast! He was amazingly technical on 3 turntables and a 909(when he messed up, people cheered cause it proved he was human!) Richie Hawtin in '95 on the FUK tour in St. Louis... the party was almost shut down cause there was no dancehall license.. The police said the party could go on as long as no one danced... The man has SUCH a sense of narrative. He defiantly knows the concept of gestalt: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

SISTER SF: If you had to play another genre than what you spin now, what would it be? And why?

Devil Girl: Rockabilly. It's gotta beat and you can dance to it... :P

SISTER SF: When you're not DJing, what do you do?

Devil Girl: I work as a graphic designer/production artist... I have to feed my nasty record habit, you know...

SISTER SF: Favorite gig? Dream gig?

Devil Girl: The most fun I've had at a party was in Baltimore at a party called "Feminine Melody" (silly name for a party though). I had the prime slot, and people really seemed to enjoy my set. My dream gig would be on the moon... or maybe Mars... or Madagascar. I like Lemurs.

SISTER SF: Gig horror story?

Devil Girl: It was a party called "Higher Ground" in Chicago in '95. It started out as a dream gig... the bill was Luke Slater, T-1000, Joey Beltram, Frankie Bones, Scott Hardkiss, Miles Maeda, Mindrive, I think Derric Carter (but I could be mistaken) The promoter had all the DJs in this crappy Pay-by-the-hour motel called "the Star Motel" in Chicago Heights. (Free porn and massage beds, hookers on the corner)

The map point for the event was in Chicago proper, about 45 minutes from the event. Well, the promoter was told at 8pm that if he threw the party, he and everyone else at the party would be arrested (there had been an "expose" on the front page of the Chicago Sun Times about Nitrous use at parties.. The irony is that green Velvet's "Flash" track had JUST come out.. )

Anyways... he kept the map point open till eleven, sold tickets to roughly 2 thousand kids at 20 bucks a pop. Then he left town with all the cash and stranded all his DJs... no one but him saw a dime of that money. I spent the evening with a guy I didn't know who was soo kind to let me stay at his grandmothers house...

SISTER SF: Exactly what equipment do you use?

Devil Girl: 12's... a Numark Mixer, and Ortofons...

SISTER SF: Any producing in the past/present/future?

Devil Girl: I've messed around with it in the past, but haven't really had a chance to work through the kinks, and find my "voice". Some things are in the works right now as far as studio goes. We'll see. :)

SISTER SF: What are your goals for the future in regards to DJing?

Devil Girl: World domination.. hahaha! Barring that, I'd like to be a superstar. Really, though I'd settle for getting paid every time and free promos from all my favorite labels...:)

SISTER SF: If you could have someone else's record box, whose would it be?

Devil Girl: Oooh.. such a hard question! I'd like DJ Rush's... half of Jeff Mills box... and... maybe some from Electric Indigo's... for good measure.

SISTER SF: Anything else you want to say?

Devil Girl: To all the new female DJ's comin' up: Don't be afraid to be your self and express your personal vision. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of up and coming DJs who might be better than you. You have to stand out in the way you present your material, and ultimately remember that it's about enjoying what you do. Don't do anything that you do not have a passion for. It shows.

Contact: DJDevilgirl_@hotmail.com booking: Super Agent Trevor from Teknomafia Teknomafia@aol.com
Devil Girl was interviewed by XJS.