Needle Exchange: A DJ Questionnaire with NorthernDraw

His craziest gig, his go-to records and the music you should never ask him to play.

IMAGE: Niklas Niessner.
By Matthew Singer

Years DJing: Somewhere around 10 to 15.

Genres: Funk, hip-hop, soul, future beat, house, international.

Where to catch me regularly: I curate, host and DJ a monthly hip-hop event called Thirsty City at the Know. I also play first Thursdays at Beulahland, second Thursdays at Moloko, once a month at Aalto Lounge, and 10 pm to midnight Sundays on KBOO with King Tim 33 1/3.

Craziest gig: Last year, I randomly played at an Army base in Tobago—that was strange. Also, a couple years ago, I helped organize and played at a big hip-hop show in Zurich. It was located in an old hospital converted into a squat. About 100 people lived on the property. When we showed up, people were spray-painting a big mural that said "Hip-Hop" just for our show. It was a really cool place. They had skate ramps, lots of art, a free shop, a darkroom for photography, and even a tattoo shop.

My go-to records: Vaughan Mason and Butch Dayo, "Feel My Love"; Kenix, "There's Never Been (No One Like You)"; the RAH Band, "Messages From the Stars"; anything by Dam-Funk, Devonwho and Roane Namuh.

Don't ever ask me to play…: You can ask me whatever you want. If I have the record in the crate, then I'm down to play it.

NEXT GIG: NorthernDraw spins at Beulahland, 118 NE 28th Ave., on Thursday, Feb. 2. 9 pm.

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