The death of rock ‘n’ roll has been predicted many times , but thundering drums, heavy bass lines, slick guitar solos and high-pitched shrieks, like the whistling in Guns and Roses’ Patience, will never go out of style. Tomorrow night, DJs Pyro and Amy Rao (饒仲玫) headline Rockstars at 18TC, where punters will be able to let their inner David Lee Roth-wearing spandex out.
California native DJ Pyro (real name Michael Homer) has been deejaying for more than 10 years and started out doing house parties and as a mobile DJ.
“It was a good way for me to make extra money and of course it was fun,” Pyro said in an e-mail interview with the Taipei Times.
Photo courtesy of Michael Homer
“I grew up in Southern California during the gangsta rap and G-funk era so while I did love it, I didn’t limit myself to only listening to only hip-hop. At home I would listen to everything from new age to alternative rock.”
Piano playing is what turned DJ Amy Rao on to music at a young age. As a teen, she knew she wanted to work in music and was a voracious consumer of music magazines.
“After I turned 18, I started to go to clubs and loved the idea of playing music to make people dance, so when I got the opportunity to become a DJ it seemed like a natural choice,” Rao said.
Pyro and Rao’s paths first crossed in 2007, when Pyro came to Taiwan for a university exchange program.
“I went to the club she was working at and became friends with her and the other resident DJs,” Pyro said.
“Amy being a DJ at a time when there weren’t that many female DJs was attractive to me,” he said.
Soon after, Pyro moved to Taiwan permanently.
One of the best things about dating a DJ when you are a DJ is learning new skills from your partner.
“Since we’ve been together, Pyro has helped me learn more about the different popular styles of music in America, both new and old,” Rao said. “I also learned about a lot of groups that I never heard of before.”
Rao re-paid the favor by teaching Pyro about Greater Taichung’s music scene. Pyro and Rao will be playing a different style of music than clubbers are used to hearing tomorrow night. Rao’s definition of rock comes from the punk rockers she used to hang out with.
“My favorite rockers are the Offspring, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Ting Tings. I grew up around a skate crowd and those were the type of bands we listened to,” Rao said.
Pyro, on the other end of the spectrum, has always been partial to classic rock, citing Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Ted Nugent and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
“To me there is a noticeable difference in the quality of music that came out in the 1970s compared to now,” adding that tomorrow night he’ll play rock from the 1950s to the turn of the century.
“It is a rock party,” he said.
“I’ll also be dressed as a rock star and be getting pretty crazy on stage. I’ll have a few bottles of tequila with me to share with anyone that wants to get crazy, too.”
■ Rockstars, featuring DJs Pyro and Amy Rao, takes place tomorrow night from 10pm to 4am at 18TC, 38 Dachuan St, Greater Taichung (台中市大川街38號). Admission is NT$400 for ladies and NT$600 for men, which includes a drink.
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