Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > October > 30 > Entry
Fun Fun Fun Fest Preview: Car Stereo (Wars)
Chris Rose, better known under the moniker Car Stereo (Wars), began his life as a DJ inauspiciously enough, with a regular Sunday night slot at Red River dance club Plush. But his musical direction changed when a close friend recommended he combine Ghostface Killah and Ghostland Observatory for a laugh. Rose took a shot at it, and it became his first experiment with mashup — the DJ’s art of slicing and dicing different elements from several songs and reconfiguring them into something new. Rose was fascinated by the contexts created by assembling disparate elements of disparate songs, and quickly became one of Austin’s most popular DJs.
A UT alumnus who studied screenwriting in college, Rose packed up his bags in June to move to Brooklyn and pursue television and comedy writing. But he hasn’t given up his musical ambitions, and is returning to town for Fun Fun Fun Fest. The American-Statesman caught up with Rose, 25, to discuss his move to Brooklyn, the appeal of mashup and his plans for the festival.
American-Statesman: The last show you played in Austin was a farewell show at the Beauty Bar back in June, right before you jetted off to Brooklyn. How has living in New York treated you so far?
Chris Rose: Well, it’s been good and bad. From a music standpoint it’s been pretty fun. I’ve been able to play some really cool shows up here. I was able to be a part of the Jelly Pool Parties free concert series in Brooklyn. Those used to be in McCarren Park Pool but now they’re in the East River State Park. It overlooks the East River and that was really fun. It’s such an Austin type of event. It was free and a beautiful day and had a wonderful view of the city. That was really cool and unusual. It’s been fun to play in New York and it surrounding areas. And it’s been fun to see actual seasons for once in my life. But I haven’t found work yet, so in that sense, not as good.
How has living in Brooklyn been different from living in Austin?
I’ve started getting interested in biking, which is something I never did in Austin. I love being able to walk and bike around the city instead of having to drive. But it’s definitely a lot more expensive up here, and there’s no good Mexican food. But surprisingly there is amazing barbecue in Brooklyn, which would rival any place in Austin. There’s a place in my neighborhood with this gourmet hot dog that they throw a lot of barbecue on and it’s amazing. And I don’t even like hot dogs.
How is the music scene different there? From a distance there certainly seems to be a lot going on, but what’s it like in the thick of it?
Music-wise I miss being able to go to shows in a way that you can’t do up here. I’ve seen almost no shows, because in Austin, at all the regular places like Emo’s and stuff, you can go for seven or eight bucks and drinks are $3. Even the smaller shows here are like $25. And if something’s free and cheap it’s overrun with people. That kind of lifestyle of being able to go to places like Red River and just see music is totally absent here.
Have any of the shows you’ve played in New York, aside from the Jelly Pool Party, really stuck out?
I got to open up for John Oliver from “The Daily Show.” Which was kind of cool and didn’t make any sense but it was fun. (Daily Show correspondent) Wyatt Cenac was hosting a night of comedy and music, and I’ve known him for a little while from working with him for South By Southwest. So it was his idea.
You also played Lollapalooza this year. How was that experience?
It was amazing. The whole time I was just thrilled to be there and spent every second I could at the festival seeing as much music as I could. It was really fun. I had a really early spot so it wasn’t crazy or anything but the people who were there had a really good time. I had stage dancers and was able to get a bunch of people from the crowd up on stage. That makes it more fun and less awkward for me, standing up on a giant stage on my own.
Do you have any particular tricks up your sleeve for your homecoming show at the Fun Fun Fun Festival?
I do. I’m working right now on trying to figure out how to be a mobile DJ, where I’m not attached to a mixer and table but will actually be walking around and in the crowd. I mean, I do everything on my laptop, so I don’t need turntables and I don’t have to be on stage. I’m experimenting on a few ways to do that and hopefully I’ll have that ready for the fest. As far as I know, I don’t think anyone does it. And I’m working on a lot of new music.
You switched from being a traditional DJ to a mashup artist fairly early on. Why does mashup appeal to you so much more?
What I like about it is that it’s way more personal. I’m not just playing the same songs everyone else is playing. And I’ve never been interested in scratching, which I’ve always thought was kind of annoying. Mashup is a way to make something unique out of something that already exists, and that’s good for me, because I’m a terrible musician. I’d be awful playing guitar or drums in a band. This is a way to make another something cool from people that actually have talent.
With the advent of popular mashup artists like Girl Talk, do you find the public profile of the genre has changed since you’ve started?
I definitely think people are way more aware of it. And beyond that, I remember when, early on when I started doing it, I would get hassled a lot by drunk people at bars for DJing from my laptop. But now that doesn’t ever happen. It probably hasn’t happened in two years. You see almost every DJ with a laptop these days. When I started, which wasn’t even very long ago — like five years ago — that was rarely the case. I guess people realized they didn’t want to lug around 40 records.
Car Stereo (Wars) will play at 4 p.m. Sunday on the blue stage.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Fun Fun Fun Fest
Comments
Austinites love to be heard, and we're giving you a bullhorn. We just ask that you keep things civil. Leave out the personal attacks. Do not use profanity, ethnic or racial slurs, or take shots at anyone's sexual orientation or religion. If you can't be nice, we reserve the right to remove your material and ban users who violate our Visitor's agreement. Click here to report comment abuse.