Like many teenagers a decade ago, DJ Theory often went to raves, quickly becoming enamored with the raver scene.
"I saw DJs controlling hundreds of people with their music and I wanted to do it," said Theory in a recent interview with the Advocate. "Plus, I was on a lot of drugs."
A self-taught musician—Theory plays piano and drums—DJ and producer, Theory got his start using a friend's equipment before he was able to buy his own.
"I had a friend who was a bedroom DJ," said Theory. "He used to let me play around with his stuff. I was 15—I had no dough. Finally I bought some shitty decks and a mixer and set them up in my bedroom."
Theory experimented first with playing trance, the music he heard at the all-night raves. Then he switched to drum 'n' bass "for the hip-hop vibe." Over the past eight years, he's played in many area bands, including hip-hop groups Sunz of Light, The Natural Mystiks, the Problemaddicts and Lyke Minds (he still plays with the latter two).
Theory has also deejayed under numerous aliases. He was Tactic when he spun drum 'n' bass; he goes by ALYK (pronounced a-like) when he is spinning his blend of club music, funk and soul; he's DJ Theory the rest of the time.
In 2001, after learning record scratching technique, Theory began to play his own gigs.
"I loved playing at Peking Garden, but one of my favorite shows of all times was at a music festival. We set up our equipment in the camping ground and just played all night long," said Theory.
His most memorable show, however, wasn't exactly his favorite. A few years back, at the former Asylum Club in Springfield (one of New England's only rave clubs, Theory says), he was playing dancehall reggae at a "booty party" when one of the patrons felt encumbered by her clothes and promptly removed them.
"Maybe she was loopy on something," said Theory. "She came up behind me, stripped her clothes off and started dancing. Then she was rubbing me up and down, just coming up on me. My girlfriend tried to control the scene, and everyone had their camera phones out."
Having all eyes on him is something Theory has never been entirely comfortable with.
"I've always struggled with stage presence," said Theory. "I'm very calm and collected onstage and I've gotten criticism that I don't get involved with the crowd."
But his shyness and lack of animation doesn't reflect how important the crowd is to him, at least most of the time.
"Sometimes I really don't like my crowd and I don't give a shit about what they want to hear," said Theory, referring to the nights when he deejays Top 40 hits. "But when I'm doing my own event, I put the focus on them instead of me… I'm really influenced by the people and what they want to hear. My main objective is to make people happy."
Theory plays music from a wide variety of genres, including funk, soul, downtempo, '90s party jams, ragga jungle, reggae and hip-hop—just not mainstream hip-hop.
"I play hip-hop that makes you feel good," said Theory. "The hip-hop on the radio isn't hip-hop. It's trash."
Theory is also venturing into playing his own brand of club music under the ALYK alias. Theory is taking music with the tempo of house music and adding some older sounds like soul and funk samples.
"I take elements of all sorts of stuff, then put it all together," said Theory. "Right now I'm doing things I've never done before, things people don't expect from me."
Theory is also founder and co-owner of record label Mystika Music, whose artist lineup includes, besides Theory and Lyke Minds, The Problemaddicts, The Alchemystics, Black Buddha & Tone and Vorheez.
DJ Theory is in residence every Friday night at Tully O'Reilly's, playing Top 40 hits, and every other Thursday as part of Revelation Sound (in partnership with Kultjah) for reggae night. For more information about DJ Theory, log on to www.mystikamusic.com/djtheory or www.myspace.com/mystikamusic.
