Eclectic and versatile are words that get thrown around all too easily these days but when your sets vary from jungle to footwork to freestyle, it’s fair to say the title is justified. And so is the case with Chrissy. He’s played everywhere from Berghain’s Panorama Bar to his residency at our favourite place on earth, San Francisco’s The Stud.
His next project is hooking up with Lisbon-based, DJ/producer/vocalist Maria Amor for Community Theater. The duo drop their new EP, Having Everything, today and it’s a throwback moment of freestyle. The EP includes four new tracks from Community Theater along with four remixes courtesy of Shcuro, Violet, Bianca Oblivion and Escaflowne. Chrissy tells us about being inspired by Divine & Dead or Alive and how to get into Berghain…
How did you and Maria Amor meet? And how was Community Theater born?
Maria and I met through our mutual friend (and amazing DJ/producer) Violet. I came to Lisbon for a gig and played with both of them, and it was just a really fun experience. Maria and I ended up working on some tunes over the internet, and it turned into Community Theater.
How did you come up with the name?
The name was inspired by old 1980s freestyle & hi-NRG groups like Information Society and Banana Republic, as well as wanting a name that simultaneously hinted at camp melodrama as well as punky DIY execution.
How did you approach Having Everything?
I wrote the songs for this EP right before COVID, and sent them to Maria to see what she thought, and if she wanted to work together on them. She sang the lyrics, and we basically swapped semi-complete versions back and forth over the internet, trading ideas and adding/removing/changing stuff as needed. It took a while to put it out because of COVID, but I’m really glad to have it out in the world now for everyone to hear!
‘Another of Me’ is absolutely my favourite on this EP. How did this track come to be?
“Another of Me” was just kind of a fun, campy song about the fine line between high self-esteem and narcissism, or self-love and self-absorption. I was really inspired by Stock-Aitken-Waterman’s productions for Divine, Dead or Alive, and Bananarama, as well as 1980s Hi-NRG / gay disco covers of showtunes (like Vicki Shepard “Somewhere” or Gloria Gaynor “I Am What I Am”), and of course lyrically I always take a lot of inspiration from Pet Shop Boys. Also, I’m originally from Kansas, so there’s a little bit of my bio in the lyrics I suppose.
I still have the internal struggle of looking for a partner who is the same as me, but as I get older I realise the dynamic is better with someone with different interests. Where do you stand on this theory?
I honestly think either dynamic can work, as long as you communicate with each other really well, and as long as the ways that you show care to and for each other are compatible. (Is this the start of my new Loverboy advice column?)
I really live for the Escaflowne remix of ‘Let Me Party’ too. Did you hand over any specific requests when commissioning the remixes? Or let everyone have free reign?
We gave the remixers freedom to do their thing, but Maria and I (and Sorry Records, who are AMAZING to work with) really tried to put our heads together and think of remixers who we knew would “get it” and appreciate the original songs, and who we could trust to take that freedom and create something that totally flipped the originals, but also still fit the tone of the release, you know? I think all four of the remixers did amazing jobs and I’m super happy with how it turned out!
You play such a wide variety of electronic music. Based on the community alone, not the music, which is your favourite community to play for?
That’s a tough question. Honestly my favorite is to play for everybody: parties that are really diverse along the lines of gender, race, sexuality, class, age, and even level of dance music expertise (i.e. a mix of experts and total newbies) are my ideal, and what more parties should be aspiring to and working towards. Queer events (well, some of them, anyway) often come the closest to that, and that’s where I feel most comfortable and tend to have the most fun.
Violet says you ‘actively try to debunk the gatekeeper mentality.’ Do you feel the DJing world is more open than ever before? Have you come up against any prejudice?
I do feel like DJing is more open than it used to be, but we still have “miles to go before we sleep”. As for personal experiences, I’ve definitely felt, especially in my teens and twenties in the jungle or footwork scenes, like I was judged for being effeminate, and I’ve heard my fair share of insults and slurs over the years. But as a white guy who realizes the privilege that comes with that, I’d much rather use this space to talk about what we can do to support actually oppressed members of our nightlife community instead of recounting some relatively mild instances of people being rude to me once upon a time. We honestly need to rethink and restructure the whole nightlife economy—from the way nightclubs are run, to liquor and drug laws, to security and door policies, to booking, to ticket pricing. All these things and more need to be radically reimagined in order to fix systemic inequalities in our scene. More diverse lineups, or clubbers having more open-minded personal opinions are nice things to happen, but they can’t be the end goal.
From what I hear SF’s The Stud is sadly no more. My one and only drag performance was doing One Night Only there at Meow Mix. What are your favourite memories of your residency there?
The Stud is in hibernation, but I believe it’s coming back! They are looking for a new physical location and (hopefully) will be reopening soon. I honestly love that place so much. It’s my favorite club—the crowds there often approached that ideal mix I mentioned before, and were always really fun and receptive to play for.
You’ve also played Panorama Bar several times. I’m heading to Berlin in a few weeks and hoping to get in. Any advice for actually making it inside the club?
I pretty much only wear neon or pastels, and a lot of patterns and prints, so I’m probably not the best person to ask. I honestly don’t know if they’d let me in unless I was booked to play! One time I had a set there and I showed up in a pink plaid shirt with a big print on the front of a teddy bear in a frilly lace dress sitting on an old-timey porch swing (I actually think it might have been an oversized girls’ nightgown because I got it from a thrift store and it was really long and I had to cut several inches off the bottom and hem it when I first got it). Anyway I wore this adorable monstrosity to Berghain once and the door guy was VISIBLY PAINED when I told him I was working that night and therefore on the guest list. You’ll probably want to do the opposite of whatever I do, frankly.
I know a previous EP of yours has referenced Francis Bacon – I wasn’t expecting such a dark influence in your work. How did that manifest itself and which artist has been part of the process for Having Everything?
The Francis Bacon reference was honestly more about optimism for the future than something dark and gloomy, and the title track “Having Everything” from this new EP is the same way: it seems to be really frustrated, and complaining about the state of the world, but it’s really coming from a place of hope and optimism, and a determination to fix things.
Lastly we are named after the biggest selling single of 2001 – by the queen of remixes! So we always ask what is your favourite Mariah track and why?
As a DJ, I can never play just one song! And you’ve heard all the originals, so here are my fave remixes:
“We Belong Together (Malugi Energized Edit)”, “My All (Merkury Remix)”, DJ Vibes & Wishdokta – “Ravers Choice Vol. 4 (Any Time You Need A Friend)“, “All I Want For Christmas is Creep“.
Community Theater’s Having Everything EP is out now on Sorry Records.
