Q&A: Jack Davey of J*DaVeY
Jack Davey, one half of LA-based multi-genre duo J*DaVeY, is a woman of style, class, and impeccable music tastes. While J*DaVeY concentrates on sounds primarily stemming from hip hop and jazz, Jack Davey’s own DJ sets showcase a wide array of everything from 80s jams to today’s top hits.
Exposed to records at an early age by her parents and having her own turntables by the age of 13, she knew that a musical career was in her stars. Jack Davey took some time to chat with SF Station about the DJ aspect of her career in a phone interview from L.A. Catch her at an intimate DJ set at SOM. with Trackademicks and KingMost on March 12th.
SF Station (SFS): Since you’re a performer and a DJ, which came first?
Jack Davey (JD): Well, I’ve always been performing, but when I was about 13, my dad got me a set of turntables and a mixer. I would go buy records and practice in my room, so I’ve always loved to DJ and play music.
I really started taking it more seriously after J*DaVeY because I’ve really gotten to build an extensive music collection. DJing started out as something fun I would do at friends houses when we would throw parties in Rohnert Park in L.A. But all in all, it’s really just something fun that I like to do.
SFS: What made you not have a DJ moniker, for example, how Mayer Hawthorne has his moniker DJ Haircut?
JD: Well, when Brook and I DJ parties together we go under Black Morris, and I just go under DJ Jack Davey. When I used to DJ parties at my house, they would call me Brijus Christ because my name is Briana (laughs). But I don’t really like to call myself a DJ — more of like a record collector — but being Jack Davey is still fun.
SFS: DJing is quite different from performing live. What’s one aspect you have to do to work the crowd 
differently?
JD: As a song selector, you tend to want to play songs you like, but those songs might not be songs the crowd wants to listen to. I always say the main objective is to get people to dance and interact. I don’t like taking requests, but you have to know how to get them on their feet and keep them on their feet.
SFS: What’s been one of your more memorable DJ experiences?
JD: I DJ’d a party for Micheal Young, the head designer for Lacoste, during Paris Men’s Fashion Week in 2007. We performed and I DJ’ed after, and it was the liveliest crowd because it was filled with both young and old fashion people. I was playing a lot of jams and some of them were obscure, but they were just going crazy. That was a really fun party.
SFS: What is one of the most memorable records you bought?
JD: From my friend producer GV, whom we collaborate with a lot. I bought this really rare Prince B-sides album from him, and it came in this really crazy box. I was lucky to get that.
SFS: When you come up to DJ at SOM, what type of music do you think you’ll be concentrating on?
JD: My DJ set is pretty versatile, so I can go from Talking Heads to playing Ying Yang Twins. I like to mix danceable songs to recognizable songs, or a lot of classics, just good party songs. I kind of just get in the mood and feel out the crowd. I also play new stuff, a lot of LA based music I get from friends of mine, and underground stuff. I’m pretty all over the place.
SFS: Do you come up to SF a lot?
JD: Yeah, I love DJing in San Francisco. People actually party and dance. We have a lot of friends up there, and the food is amazing. We love Squat and Gobble; that is like my spot. And you have good thrift shops up there too!
Jack Davey DJs at SOM. on March 12. Tickets are $5 presale, and $10 at the door. The party starts at 9pm. She also performs with J*Davey at 330 Ritch on March 10th.
