Scratching Beyond the Surface with DJ Ned Roy aka WAXX FANATIC

Speaker 1: 0:00

I started DJing not to get an ego stroke, not because I wanted to be recognized by anyone. It's because I was into my music. When you say into music, well, what kind of music do you want? What type of music do you like? A DJ has always been the one that releases new music. I'm professional and all the way down to a guy that just plays music at the local sports club. They're not all the same. Just because we understand how the plane flys big wings, fast, airlift, the flies it doesn't make us a pilot. We understand how it works. Just because you go by a device that allows you to play a track, it doesn't make you a DJ. You've got to put some. You do have to put some time in it.

Speaker 2: 0:50

Aloha, talofa and what's up, fam? It's been a minute, but your girl is back with more mind-blowing episodes to push your passion towards your dreams. Season 4 is here and we're shaking things up. Today we're kicking it with the one and only one of my very good friend, the OG DJ Ned Roy, aka Waxx Fanatic. Recording this episode was actually a wild ride, my girl Lacoco and I. We took it to the Waiheke Islands with wireless mics, dealing with loud crickets, insects, Billy the dog and unexpected visitors. But hey, big, massive shout-outs to Geoff  and Anna for their hospitality and letting us randomly record at their beautiful house. And despite all the challenges, we caught Ned in a sharing mood, revealing some gems he never has shared before on a podcast. You know what guys just want to share. Our audio might sound a little different due to the new software we had to use to remove all the background noise, but nevertheless Ned's story is pure inspiration. Also, just a quick announcement if you have any teens in the Auckland region, come and join us at the OMAC in Otara for free youth podcasts every Friday and Te Oro and Glen and us every Tuesdays after school from 4pm to 6pm. It's free, free, free, free. And I want to do a big, massive shout-out and thank you to Whitecliff Manukau for sponsoring these episodes and providing opportunities for creativity. Speaking of Whitecliff Manneco, if you are looking to study fashion, digital art, IT and so much more, check out Whitecliff Manneco. They are above the Manneco Library, level 3, and just ask for a safira. Sure, hook you up. Alright, guys, no more delays, let's get into it. Yeah, thank you.

Speaker 1: 2:52

Welcome everybody and everybody who has just pushed play Aloha.

Speaker 2: 2:56

Yes, shout out to our amazing crew behind the scenes. My girl like Coco in the building.

Speaker 1: 3:01

We are waiting for the Coco to be ready.

Speaker 2: 3:03

Yeah, we're still waiting. I'm in time, you know, yeah.

Speaker 1: 3:06

And bring it to us. It'll make the ideas flow out and the stories flow out. So for those who are listening, it's not boring.

Speaker 2: 3:14

I hear you.

Speaker 1: 3:15

Stick to the points, make it clear and keep our attention.

Speaker 2: 3:19

We're it up, we're it up and, like I said, it's been a long time coming and I'm just proud of you, man. That's why I wanted to get you on this podcast, have this conversation about you. Where have you been? And for our listeners out there who may not know you, I think it's really important to highlight and touch on your story, because not only you're greater what you do but I also think your journey is amazing. It's inspiring, and you've been in the game for such a long time and you're killing it out there, but you're still underground and you're playing some really dope as music, and I love that. So let's go back in time and let's talk about where you were born, where you grew up, and what was it like growing up in your environment.

Speaker 1: 4:07

Thank you very much. I appreciate that and I want to say before we commit on, I want to say anyone, especially in this case Shil, or Shilay she is just as passionate about what we love as well. So I do recognize that and I have watched it. I know everything that's going on out there. So your question is how did I get involved in it? Would that be one question?

Speaker 2: 4:37

Yeah, I mean, where do you come up with the name?

Speaker 1: 4:40

Because I've born and raised on records. You guys who are in the digital age, some of you probably even know what records are, but I don't think this is a topic to talk about that. This is your chance. You can go research that yourself and do some homework yourself, rather than just rely on the basic sources. I actually got to use this thing up here and go venture out, go find out some stuff about the topics that you're into. The wax fanatic, aka also known as wax fanatic, is my first initial DJ and it was Ned Roy, so I had to think of not reinventing myself, but I started to call myself the wax fanatic rather than saying DJ Ned Roy. Ned Roy was my base and roots name for what I do, but I started using what I use as my actual stage name or my DJ name. That's good and because it makes sense. I'm fanatical about the wax, which is the records, and I do this even today. I've never changed to digital, no matter how incredible the technology was, how amazing stuff you can do. All this kind of stuff, yeah, but choice. Everyone has a choice. Do I change and do what everyone else does, or do and finish what I started with, and I just decided I'm just gonna. There's lots of good reason to attach to it, but I decided I don't need to change and I don't want to change using that format. There's a lot of deep reasons for that, but to me it's. No one needs to follow everyone what they do, basically. So I just chose to stay with what I started out. I love that.

Speaker 2: 6:32

That's cool.

Speaker 1: 6:35

Everything's by choice. And it's 20, let's just say it's. I'm gonna say it's 20, 30, even though it's not, because I always got to remember the one, the top. By the time you listen to this, it's already old, it's getting old. It's always like I'm always thinking of things down the track, gigs down the track, where I'm going down the track, where I want to go down the track, what I want to go, still experience down the track. So I just want to try and keep it short and interesting. I started DJing not to get an eager stroke, not because I want it to be recognized by anyone. It's because I was into my music, into music. When you say into music, well, what kind of music do you want? What type of music do you like? I'm not a fan of the top 40 countdown. People who don't know what that is. It's what you hear on the radio all the time. It's the common ones, it's the typical one. That's the same old generic hits that everybody knows. Anyone can do that, anyone can play that. You don't need to ask your school for that. It's just what are people into today's. And with you and your digital guys, you just download it and just play it. Well, that's not being into something. You become just a crowd pleaser. It's debatable, but a DJ has always been the one that releases new music. He's not just about playing stuff that everybody wants to hear, because there's different types of DJing, from professional and all the way down to a guy that just plays music at your local sports club. They're not all the same. My DJing floats between the big time professionals and just a little bit down from them. To break that down for people to know what I'm talking about, I know personal DJs that make a couple of million in an hour. Who do you know who's a DJ that makes a couple of million dollars and plays for one hour? Probably none of you know anybody like that. Very few of you would know someone, and these are people that I've gotten to know over years as they've progressed, but their music's progressed too. This is why they make different incomes than the standard guy would make at a sports club. So there's the passion gap. What's your passion and what are you different from the other person? Do you sound, as a DJ, the same as the other guy that you just played last week? Does your friend sound the same as the other guy that plays the same stuff as this guy. If you're sounding the same of everyone, it's not a big deal. You're just the same as everybody else.

Speaker 2: 9:27

Would you say, there's such a thing called qualified DJs, and is there a difference?

Speaker 1: 9:32

Yeah, there's definitely a qualified difference and you can tell by where they play, what they play, their actual connections in the industry. I mean, where do they go? Who do they say shit with? Not everyone wants to do that. Some people don't want to go overseas. Some people don't want to spam their DJ for failing. Yeah, they don't want to do that, they're just happy just to play. Your regular could be where it is. The difference is the technology that allows a person to come into the industry, the thing. That's what the technology is about, the reason why there's so many and unfortunately, right at this time, I don't like to down the DJ because I love it, but it's actually saturated right now and it's made not difficult to be a DJ. It's made it easier to be a DJ and then just going around abusing, basically just disrespecting the actual thing. What is DJing? Right? I explain this when you, for those who are listening, thank you for listening, I'll never finish, but for those I always try to make, I always talk about something, then I give you the example. So there's some clarity and some differences. I know my friend who's a DJ.

Speaker 2: 11:11

Yeah, like put some respect on it.

Speaker 1: 11:14

So it's like okay, okay, so how long has he been DJing? I think he started about three years ago, and then you'll get the ones. I've got a friend one, she's a DJ, or he's a DJ, or when they start, I don't know. You know this. There's no this, there's no essence, there's no solidness, there's no history. You know there's. I'm only talking because of from the professional level. There's all sorts of levels. Okay, just because you have some sort of device in front of you and today they're at home or filming and they're like wacking off of their egos, strokes because they get someone viewing. Well, that's not really actually doesn't mean anything.

Speaker 2: 11:54

It kind of reminds me of that time. You talked about the pilot being a metaphor to the airplane.

Speaker 1: 12:01

Shelle is just saying is what I always use an example when we've go for those who jump on an airplane and go lie somewhere. Just because we understand how the plane flies big wings, fast, airlift, the flies. It doesn't make us a pilot. We understand how it works just because you go by a Device. It allows you to play a track. It doesn't make you a VJ. All right, you got to put some. You do have to put some time in it if you you Want to actually understand what this whole thing is about. It does make me sort of sad. I'm not old man talking and I'm not old man bitching about this thing because I'm a current. I actually never been deactivated. So I've gone through all the stages and my DJ career and journey from mid 80s All the way to 2000, jenny, 2030. I've never not not DJ. So I've gone through all the music styles and so, as I'm growing up as a young kid in college I what I was doing was I was learning what styles I love. So my ear was picking up. I like the sound of that, I like the sound of this. I don't want it. I'm no way I want to play this. There's no way I want to play there. So the other question to you is if you guys out there listening to you and you know someone that's a DJ, or you are a DJ or you're learning to be a DJ. You got us. Just have the question what is my style? What do I play? What do I like? Why do I like it? What do I like about that train? Do you know that train? Do you like the lyrics? Do you like the rap? Do you like the bass line? Do you like the instruments? Do you like that quality? Do you like how it's being produced? It's not just. It's not just playing a track and then just raising your hands and jumping for joy. Yeah it's like do you understand what you're actually doing? The technical side of the track? Who produced the track? Who played the drums on the track? Who's on the bass line on the track? I Don't want to go deep, deep. Is this this? I'm cramming my DJ Thing into a small podcast for you to keep it short, interesting and to hopefully understand and and apply it to yourself. If I'm talking to guys who want to be learning how to DJ, or kids, you want to understand. What is this DJ thing? What is it actually reading me about? You?

Speaker 2: 14:35

talked about Entering this DMC, which is like a DJ competition how you even got into. I mean, you're one of the first they ever took that out right and it's still going. It's still going today. So, um, can we like touch a little bit about your journey, like, what was their experience like and how did you even get involved in that?

Speaker 1: 14:57

Yeah, what, what she's? Um, excuse the dog in the background, that's okay, we just wore here. We're not, we're gonna be a hundred percent perfect of everything. Dial in the background, it's okay. So we'll do our best to quiet in a little puppy down what we'll do as Starting with the DMC first. The DMC was basically started from a guy that's involved with music, where his era was the last part of the disco and he and I don't know all the facts, but it's in that department and he started in late, late 80s and what it is is getting to Turn tables and a mixer and doesn't matter what year I'm talking about what it doesn't matter what year I did it and it's the fact that we battled and and done a better routine than the other DJs I came in on after me. So what I did was how I started. I would be traveling to Hawaii quite a while and I, my sensei, as we say, my teacher, the one who sharpened me up to become a good DJ, must give props to Jesse Okinov in Hawaii, and he was in the neighborhood of my cousins which were in Hawaii at the time, and so I would go and learn from him and he would. You know I was, I'm already, I already have started just learning about this whole thing. So we didn't have you know now this is all me talking we didn't have YouTube, we don't have media, we didn't have all this stuff. It was good because you only came across DJs that actually wanted to do it Not, they're not doing it, or any other purpose than I want to do it. So there was no. You couldn't ego-strike yourself, you couldn't put up a clip to see how many people view you. That wasn't even. That wasn't even a thought. It was just like I want to learn how to do this thing because I want to go play somewhere. So the DMC, the DJ, the trickery things, that things that you can manipulate and change the beat and mix different beats and different beats and then the scratching started coming in. That started in Hawaii and I won a local battle in Hawaii, 88 in Hawaii, and I've beat the local cats that were doing it at the time, and so I'm coming back and forth to Auckland, new Zealand, and Hawaii, going back and forth, you're still a team I was in teams. I was in high school. So I was in high school. I was in the fourth form, second year high school, going to Hawaii, spending lots of time back and forth, bringing all the new stuff back and going, learning, learning this thing that is now everybody knows what, or seeing or know someone, or I've heard that we're DJing right. And so I've done that. First battle, I won that one. And then when I came back to Auckland I heard that they're having this DJ composition, a New Zealand championship. First championship, new Zealand DJ battle, and it wasn't called DMC, because DMC franchises only just started to go around the world. So the guy who was running in Auckland didn't buy the franchise till 1990. So because I won the 89 New Zealand champs here in Auckland, he in that process he brought the franchise to call his next comp the New Zealand DMC. So he got the franchise to call it DMC in New Zealand and now I become automatically the defending champion, dmc champion for 1990. All right, and then and so on and so on and so on, and I've won different comps and different ways of yeah, I don't know about just rattling off things that you've won and done, that's just things that people do I perform here? I can say I've performed here and there and there and I have for the listeners I'm trying to share. My message would be if you're going to do this thing, do it for the right reason. Then do it for a show pony. People don't know what show pony, because years move on in different scenes. They don't know what that means, right. But if, for those who know, then be a show pony, learn it, be good at it. Don't go out somewhere and learn it on the spot. You learn that at home and then you go out and you earn it. You don't go out and learn and earn on the spot. You don't go to a job and then they're like right, operate on that patient. Well, what's wrong with the guys? You've got something wrong with the brain. Here's a knife. Now learn as you go. You don't want that guy. Do you want that guy to shop in your party? No, you don't want that guy to shop in your party. You want the guy. They got the highest score in the medical field before you OK him, sign off to operate on your brain. These little guys are going out operating in clubs and bars and things with a scalpel, playing to a crowd and they got 13 out of 100 on the test. This is what I'm saying. People, don't be a fake phony Then treat this like it's a game. It's not a game. This is actually. People live on this thing like full time. Learn it, be good at it. Don't go out somewhere and learn it on the spot. You learn that at home. That's the little story on the DJing something. That's how they came about. Yeah, so I became New Zealand's DJ Champ 1989. And from there it's never stopped. It's just got things that progressed on and on, and on and on and on all the way to this day. And to this day we have a New Zealand DJ Champ. I'm not going to take the whole credit for that, because each DJ has to get out there and practice and learn their art, but I'm happy to be one that's associated with all of that. So, yeah, it's good.

Speaker 2: 21:08

I love how you use them as metaphors, because it really makes sense. It really does make sense. I never really looked at DJing from that point of view and what I'm loving about it is that your passion. I see how much you care for your craft and what I'm hearing is that you really take this serious. You've earned your right to be at this professional level as a DJ and you just want others to take DJing serious and do it for the right reasons. And you've just come back from Canada DJing over there and heading back to Hawaii to DJ a couple of shows over there. I mean, you're really walking the talk, bro. What is it that makes you really want to do this?

Speaker 1: 21:54

What allows me to travel. Travel is my thing. For those who love to travel, who haven't traveled, who like to travel, if you treat this thing properly and you look at it bigger than your own backyard, it can take you anywhere around the world. It's not just two countries of entity, there's a whole bunch of others, but I know it's me. But it allows me to travel and I get to play in places I love to go to In Hawaii, of course, number one. And for those who love beaches and sun and this type of feel and being on the island, who would not want to be next to a beach playing your favorite jams, next to a surf beach, with people all there having fun, relaxed, sipping on whatever you want to sip on, eat whatever you want to eat, and you're playing the latest underground jams with no one telling you what to do, and you get paid and you're in a place where you want to be with your people, your friends, whoever it is you're with, and you're doing what you love to do, and I wouldn't chew. Well, whatever you want to do, whether it's this DJ and whatever else you are asked to see, ask yourself the question do I really love this? And if the answer is no, then find out what it is that you love to do. Right, and I treat it seriously because you know what. When you play, no matter who you are, where you are, someone's watching you. And if you just climb in around up there, I know what every DJ does behind any unit, whatever it is they're using. I know where they're faking it. I know where there is a mix. I know exactly what they're doing and a lot of people think no one knows that I'm actually not doing much. I know, I know exactly what you're doing. If we're in the back of a car and the plane and the plane starts going left and right, we know something's going wrong. But as soon as when it's smooth, we have no idea. Because they're professional, they know they've got it. So they're balancing our drink. When we're in the back drinking, they're watching the instruments. Because why? Because they're professional and they know what they're doing. When you're playing it, when I'm playing somewhere, I can find a hole, whatever it is in front of me, so amazingly that people would don't know that I'm doing all this thing manually. Why? Because I know my music. I know how the instrument, all the equipment works. I know how to find tuna. I know what EQ is. You do the homework up there. That's EQ. There's people out there with MP3, because that's what the current thing is right now. It sounds like crap. You haven't learned what EQ is. You haven't learned quality. You haven't learned sound. You haven't learned your connections. You're how are you getting your music? You haven't learned these formats. When you suck this thing out of the air, you don't get solidness compared to what I do. But you've got to know what you do and you know what. Someone's watching you and if you're a faker, everyone's going to know. It shows. It shows in your performance, it shows when you play, it shows in your cooking. If you're a cook, if your stuff is whack, mate, you're not going to finish that pizza because it's crap. The same thing applies to the BJ. You're a crap DJ, mate. Everybody knows, we know what you do. I definitely know what you're doing. All the professionals, once you have done time. We know what those guys are doing. We know what these show ponies are doing with their little wigs and their sparkly hair and their sparkly glasses and their little gimmicky things. It's a facade, people. They are not into it for the right reasons. They're doing it for you. Those drope because people are looking and it makes some person feel good.

Speaker 2: 25:52

Yeah, you know something they'll love about you what?

Speaker 1: 25:54

What is it that you love about me? Is there anything that you love about me?

Speaker 2: 25:58

Yes, I love how you just keep it underground. You've been around for so many years, you've traveled all over the world but, yeah, you don't get asked to go on these big festivals or you don't play or not that you don't get asked, but I've never seen you go and do those kind of festivals but you've always got a gig when you're here in Haltera. You've always somewhere at some underground place and what's amazing is that I love coming out because you've opened my mind to my new music and not just being stuck to the same thing that we hear on radio. What is it about this whole underground vibe or the sound that you love?

Speaker 1: 26:35

There's a sound that I don't hear sick of. So the sound that I listen to, it's unsickable music. So if you're like, I'm sick of that track, if that comes out in your mouth, you're sick of your own stuff. Here's an indication what you play in your car is a good indication of what you actually like to hear all the time. If you're not playing the stuff that you play out in your car when you go out, it's a job, people, that's just a job to you. You play the same playlist weekend, week out. I don't play the same list. I don't have a playlist. I freestyle Everything I do. It's freestyle. I'll take a stack of records over the year of 2020. Whole new underground I don't do. I don't go backwards and sound. I go forwards and sound because there's always new artists that are out there and they don't hit avenues, because they hit daykeepers and wife and when they do get a release out, these guys like us there's. I'm not the only one that does this, there's not a lot of us, but the ones. When it gets me, if it hits my ears and does something for me, I don't get sick of it, because it's like a sound you don't hear all the time. That's. That's what I like the most about the underground. And you don't get the cheese balls at the bar. Yeah, you know, you don't get all this stuff.

Speaker 2: 28:02

You don't come in a lollipop.

Speaker 1: 28:03

You don't get the lollipop guys. You don't get the showpony guys. You know, get the girls. You know being rude to the DJ of the guy being rude to the DJ, you don't get all this stuff because that's that doesn't attract. That crowd is a separation. There's two crowds You're the top 40 wack, lollipop, bubblegum or your underground cool, unbelievable, wicked, low-key, chill. Good people and not rude is the rude ones over here have no idea what you're doing. Have guys over here they understand what you're doing. These guys understand the time you put in it, the effort, the music you're playing. They have interest in what you're doing. They'll. They can talk to you. They have questions like where, what's his artist? I love the world, I love their track on the producer. Wow, what's this new thing coming up?

Speaker 2: 28:55

These guys ask questions you know, we're also on that same journey of like just constantly thinking of new ways, new sound and another way to kind of get a music out and the right song that people can relate to as well. So it's kind of like the same, you know, reminds me of like just hip-hop culture, and how you got all the elements and that it's all ricks together Is are there any of your favorite artists out there right now? Who are you currently listening to? What? Who's on your playlist?

Speaker 1: 29:23

No, I don't handle Like that. Like Mike, my my good friend, jesse at the time he told me he doesn't like to share Every artist and things like that. Yes, they. Of course I have some favorite artists. I just made one, at least quick, would be my number one, most number one producer, rapper. That's it. And it wasn't him to start with. Of course, it became my favorite. So I'm all about the West Coast now playing the give a go. What do you play? I say I've, you know here's, here's Ned Roy. What do you play, ned? I play. I play the coolest black shit there is in the world. That's it. What's black shit? What? I don't play folk music. I don't play Irish music. I don't play any English, english rock bands. You get me. I don't play heavy metal. You know what I'm saying? I play black shit. There's no heavy metal DJs. There are, but they almost all dead. Rap, instrumentals, underground hip-hop I know what you mean by that. Once you anything, you should leave for spending time. Come in to Hawaii key, I was the island, you know. So we just talking. And for those who are listening to Shea Leitha podcast, give her props and if you know some people out there, that's. You know what she needs to get this guy or this girl, this person on her show. You get out there and get them to her because she's doing an incredible job. She's passionate, she loves her stuff. She's never there's been times she's wanted to quit, wanted to chuck it in. But see, if you haven't gone through the tough times as you are hustling in this thing, you will never know other things. Stay focused. West Van der Dijon, ned Roy Aloha.

Speaker 2: 31:21

All right, guys, that was a very inspiring Talanoa with the one and only DJ Ned Roy, aka wax, fanatic. Give him a follow on instagram and follow our Lehtalanoa therapy podcast page to Find where he is and so you can link up with him or check out his gigs. He'll be Jamming it. Events that he'll be jamming it around the world. Make sure you guys leave a review on our apple podcast as well as our Spotify page. This episode was brought to you by whitecliff, manico and qs productions. Limited Peace, love and power to the people.