Colette started her DJ career in 97 when she and a couple of her friends, DJ Heather and Dayhota (Lady D joined the group after) began a night which they called "Superjane". The idea behind the night was to have only women behind the decks so that people would get used to it. Colette's first exposure to house music was at the age of 14 when she started going to events. She then worked in the industry as a host and a promoter.
Classically trained, Colette was singing over other peoples sets and had already released two records. The first night she spun in public brought out some noteworthy spectators, DJ Sneak, Diz, and Gene Ferris, whom she had become friends with. She recalls, " I was so nervous. I remember my hand was shaking like a leaf, and at the time it was all vinyl, so I'm trying to put a needle on a record and my hand wouldn't stop shaking". Soon after, she began singing over her DJ sets and gained a lot of attention, which led to gigs all over the US and later over the world. Her first artist album, Hypnotized, became the most downloaded dance album on iTunes (US) and the 2nd single "What Will She Do for Love" climbed into the Billboard top ten dance chart and was later licensed to "The Devil Wears Prada" Soundtrack. In just a few years, Colette was featured as a "Newcomer to Watch" in JANE Magazine, was on the cover of XLR8R, and named in URB's Next 100. Originally from Chicago, now in LA, Colette continues to release new music and headlines many shows, spreading house music to people all over the world.
G: Why do you play music?
C: I've always wanted to make music. I remember telling my mom when I was little "When I grow up I'm going to be a singer or a McDonald's waitress." Those were my two job aspirations, mainly because we never got to go to McDonald's. Even though they don't have waitresses, I thought if I worked there I'd get to eat McDonald's all the time. Luckily, that didn't work out. I began studying classical voice at the age of 9 and started competing in vocal competitions when I was 14. Then at age 16, I met DJ Lego. He invited me to sing over some of his sets at parties and lay down some vocals on some tracks. I loved it. I knew from that moment that House music was the music I wanted to be a part of.
G: What's your favorite food?
C: I loooove Asian cuisine! Tahu Telur (Indonesian tofu omelette) is one of my favorite dishes. At home I tend to make a lot of stir frys, but I'm a little more adventurous when I go out to eat.
G: What were your musical influences?C: Out the gate Derrick Carter and Mark Farina were the first DJs who really influenced me. In high school I would finagle my way into the loft parties they were playing at in downtown Chicago. I would dance my little booty off until the sun came up. Then when I met Lego my approach to singing completely changed. Studying classical voice for 9 years gave me the best vocal training, but working with Lego taught me a new way to express myself. I started buying all these house instrumentals and writing songs over them. I recorded all my ideas onto my tape cassette recorder. I still have the box of tapes with my songs on them in a closet at home. A lot of those tape recordings were used to write my first album "Hypnotized".
G: Why did you move to LA?
C: My dad moved to LA when I was five so I started going there every summer for about a month and every December for winter break. I fell in love with the weather right away. I really hate winter, I can't even explain how much I hate it, and that's the reason I moved, I just couldn't do cold winters anymore. Also, I never went away for college and thought it would be good to try out living in another city. I think everyone should move away for a few years as its a good way to stretch your legs and explore who you are outside of your home base. I thought if I didn't like it I could easily move back home. Some people thought I was moving for career opportunities, but I really just moved for weather reasons. Chicago is still my favorite city and every summer I regret that I don't live there anymore. The most challenging thing about living in LA is a lot of my best friends do still live in Chicago. I convinced one of my besties to move here, but most won't even think about leaving Chi-town.
G: How was your first year in LA?
In August of 2000 I moved to LA and got a job at Wax Records. It was a great way to meet everyone in the house community, much better than meeting folks at the club. It was interesting how almost every weekend there was someone from Chicago being flown out to play. Diz and Heather were coming out right when I moved and Mark Farina was there a few weeks later. The Chicago house scene was and still is quite explosive in LA, which was so cool to see. I moved pretty far away, but met so many people who were just as into house as I was. The kids that liked house music in LA reminded me of the kids who liked house music in Chicago. They went to parties in their sneakers and were all about the music... just going out to get down to some dope tunes and for me it was amazing. Although one major difference was the size of the parties, they were a lot bigger. The first rave I played at each room had over 10,000 people which was pretty overwhelming. Talk about a shaky hand on the turntable.G: Do you have a memorable moment from your travels?
C: Being on the road with friends always makes traveling more fun. In 2000, Heather, Shannon (DJ Dayhota) and I were on the road for the first Superjane US tour. At the time Dayhota was very sensitive to flying. We're on this flight and Dayhota falls asleep. The pilot tells us we're about to hit some extreme turbulence and honestly this was one of the five worst flights I've ever been on. So Heather and I are awake and we're prepared for the turbulence, but Shannon is asleep with a blanket completely over her head. The turbulence starts and what can you do, you have to stay calm. Heather grabs the airplane phone and starts singing the Brian McKnight song "Back At One", which is super funny and also scary, that video has a plane crash in it. Suddenly, Shannon wakes up and looks at me and starts screaming because she thinks this is it, its a wrap. Heather is singing, Shannon is screaming, I'm laughing and trying to calm Shannon down. Even though it happened so long ago, it still makes me laugh because it was such a ridiculous moment. These days Shannon is great with flying while I'm the one who is more of a scaredy cat.
C: It changes all the time, but two of my favorite cities to play are Chicago and LA. It could be because I've lived in both places and there's a special connection because of that. I've always loved playing in Chicago because of how passionate everyone is about music. Folks really know their stuff (pretty much everyone is a DJ) and cheer for the blend as much as they cheer for the record. I had a residency at Smart Bar for nine years and it's still one of my favorite places to play. Some of my favorite spots in LA are King King and the recently retired Sunday night party "DEEP". Marques Wyatt's night DEEP would have up to 1000 kids bumpin every Sunday til 4am. Very dedicated househeads on the west coast! The rave scene in LA is nothing to sneeze at either. Last year's Electric Daisy Carnival had 90,000 people the first day and 60,000 the next. It blows your mind. The last time I played EDC the house stage had around 5,000 people. There are no words to describe the energy you get from that crowd, it's just incredible.
G: What kind of challenges do you face as a DJ?
C: I have the freedom to create my own schedule, but working on music takes up most of my time. I might sleep in until 10 am, but then I'm usually up til 4 am working. Anyone who has their own business faces this. The hours may be designed by you, but they're still gonna happen. I miss most holidays, birthdays and I usually only see my husband 3 to 4 days a week... which sometimes isn't so bad (laughing), absence makes the heart grow fonder! I spend a lot of time alone on the road, which isn't fun, but that's the part that makes it a job. When I get to a club and play music, that's amazing, anyone would do that for free. That's not what you're getting paid for, you're getting paid for getting up at 10am after going to bed at 6am and going to the airport and doing it all over again. I always laugh and call the airport my own personal "Groundhog Day"... driving to the airport, going through security, taking everything off, putting everything back on, eating a nasty airport sandwich, dealing with those cranky travelers on the plane. Airport living is a challenge, but the rest of it is so fantastic it's worth it.
G: What's fantastic about DJing?
C: Besides the rough travel days and the occasional blown monitor, everything about Djing is pretty darn good. Playing music that you love and making folks dance is intoxicating to say the least. Being able to travel and visit different corners of the world has really been a blessing. I've been very lucky to see so much, even if only for a day or two.
G: Are there any artists influencing your music now?
C: I've never gotten over my love affair with early 90's house music and I'm trying to incorporate that into my new tunes. Kind of a throwback with a modern touch. I just started working on a new album with Santiago & Bushido and Tim K. We're definitely in the baby stages of writing this record so I'm not sure what life the songs will take on in the end. Musically my taste runs across the board; funk, pop, dub, rock... I think you can find inspiration in any genre. There's always going to be that one artist that blurs the lines for you.
G: What should we be on the look out for?
C: I'm a Chicago kid who is a tried and true music junkie. When I started off, I never thought DJing would be such a big part of my life. Singing was always my main focus. Now I can't imagine one without the other.
G: Any last words?
C: House is alive and kicking because of its dedicated community. It may have found its way into the commercial world, but the underground is where it truly flourishes. We all have to keep spreading the love for House and make sure that younger generations discover this unique and unconventional genre.
For more info on Colette visit www.djcolette.com.
Interview by Greg K
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