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December 2007 Profile:
Affiliations:
Lizard Lounge, Bad Brother, Inc.
Mix:
Listen
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by: Juan Porrata
Johnny Funk's career as a dj would be best described as obsessive by
nature. Falling in love with club music at an early age due to Latin
dance stations was the very beginning of a life long passion to
discover new sounds. This introduced Johnny into the world of teen
clubs, raves and an addiction for vinyl that has only recently morphed
into a vast digital collection.
Like any good addict, Funk went straight to the source for his fix and
began working at the ATPT record store in Mesquite. There he was able
to aid local dj's with their wax compulsions while satisfying his own.
His passion finally led him to dj'ing with a focus on showcasing some
of the fresh sounds of big room dance music. He got a job running the
lights at the Lizard Lounge courtesy of his friend and mentor, Funk W.
Holding down both jobs at the Lizard Lounge and ATPT soon presented
him with the opportunity to meet many of Dallas' longstanding talents
such as Merritt, Kelly Reverb and DJ Love and Jeremy Word. Taking what
he learned from such talents, he soon had an Edgeclub mix under his
belt already and his afterhours sets would continue to
flourish allowing him to develop his craft to the point until one day
he got the nod from Lizard Lounge to take the reigns of the main room.
This was a dream come true for a kid who had only been playing out for
only two years.
Five years later would take Johnny to many residencies and events
playing an ever changing range of music in various venues with his
obsession for new sounds showing no signs of letting up. You can
currently still find him every Saturday at the Lounge playing
alongside some of the worlds dj talent. Also, be sure and check out
his weekly podcast on itunes: Bad Brother, Inc. which is an avenue for
him to stretch beyond some of the typical formats of his residency.
What have you learned from your current role holding down the main
room at Lizard Lounge and/or from your predecessors there like Funk W?
The most important lesson anyone can take from the LL main room is how
to read reactions. You are in control of a sizable room so any type of
reaction, from very dramatic to extremely subtle, is presented to you
on larger scale. In Dallas there aren't too many floors that offer you
the chance to hear and feel a song in that context, so I'm grateful
for the chance to utilize and study with such a valuable tool. I'm
also grateful to have learned from DJ's like West to stay open to many
genres because you never know which direction you may have to go. Your
crowd and their energy level will change from week to week or even
hour to hour.
Some people would be very surprised at some of the content of your
sets. How would you describe your typical sound?
It may sound dated, but my style has always had its core in funky
house and techno. I find no reason to describe it in any other way.
With so many different styles and genres coming up these days, it can
be very difficult for a DJ to maintain a strong sense of awareness
with his/her creative self. But with this core firmly in place, I feel
I have been able to add/remove, change, and adapt to new music without
having to dramatically change my style or approach. This is a surprise
to a great many people who think the Lizard Lounge would never play
certain styles that actually get played every week.
