Fifteen Minutes: DJ Dope: Fifteen Questions for Tym Ryan

The first sentence I ever heard about spinning had DJ Tym Ryan's name in it. Naturally, then, I was ecstatic to secure an interview with the artist behind some of the first and finest electronic music I've experienced.

Ryan has become a pillar of Boston electronic music and club culture. He's a long-spinning resident at Axis, one of the most popular clubs in Boston, and his Friday night set, Spin Cycle, is broadcast weekly live on WFNX and on-line. Word of his prowess with vinyl has also extended well beyond Boston, and his track "Supa Crush" features on the recently released CD "Torchbearers: A Compilation of 11 Club Culture Vanguards."

I sat down with Ryan, a 32-year-old North Shore native, a few weeks ago at Axis to talk about music and the life of a DJ.

Fifteen Minutes: So FM has a broad spectrum of readers, some of whom may not be familiar with electronic music and clubs. Could you explain a little about what you do?

Tim Ryan: I present a mosaic of all different styles, trying to get as many people into all different kinds of music, within dance music, as I can. It's a little bit more involved than you might think, other than just going up there and playing recorded music or music that I myself have recorded before and am playing. It's more than that; I hope to take people on some kind of a journey, so that it has a beginning, a middle and an end, rather than just playing one song or another.

FM: How did you get started in electronic music?

TR: I started way back when in college [Ryan attended the University of Maine in Orono] in the '80s. It actually wasn't called electronic back then; it was called industrial, and house music was just starting. I had a radio show on my college station, and I became obsessed with music from then. What became of that was me, from my obsession, trying to get other people into what I was hearing, which has brought me to this point. That's where I started, just college radio.

FM: What was your musical background?

TR: Actually, classically trained--all through high school and part of college, I was a violist. It gave me a very important appreciation for many important styles of music. I really have listened to everything; the only thing I have not really listened to is anything that is purely mainstream. I seem to like things that are more underground.

FM: What does your family think about your current occupation?

TR: They have no idea what it's all about. They think that I'm playing weddings and bar mitzvahs and things like that...it's a far cry from that.

FM: Do you have a "day job?"

TR: This is it. The DJing is a small part of what makes the night happen. The rest of the time I'm setting up promotions. I try to keep different things happening every week--a different promotion, promoting a new album or a new artist, or different DJs coming in to showcase what they have. That keeps me busy during the day. One or two days a week I'm at FNX taking phone calls from record labels and doing that side of the business. I also do a little bit of studio work where I produce my own music.

FM: What kind of jobs have you had in the past or did you have when you were just starting off?

TR: It has always been in music. Right out of college I was the singles buyer for Tower Records. I left Tower and was the rock buyer for HMV for four or five years, and then I had gigs as a record buyer for Boston Beat and Beat Nonstop--small record shops--but no office job or anything like that. It's always been in music.

FM: How were things different when you were just starting out?

TR: It was more difficult to find the equipment, like turntables, things like needles and slipmats that you need. I had to make my own slipmats and things like that; now there are specialty shops all over the city. As far as getting work, it was pretty much me schlepping around town giving any manager who would give me a minute tapes of me spinning. I happened to get lucky and get the gig at Axis right off the bat in 1990, which makes it about nine years that I have been here, which is pretty lucky. It's a pretty long run for a club DJ to be at one club.

FM: Does playing in a club like Axis affect how you play? Do you play to the dancers?

TR: Sort of yeah, sort of no. I would never say that I compromise my music to the point where I am playing things that I don't like. I think that is where I would draw the line with my career; if I ever started doing that, then it would become a job. But at the same time you want people in the club; you want people coming through the door, and for your radio broadcast you certainly want people listening, so you have to keep that in mind without compromising your own integrity. You definitely want to play what you love, and hopefully, if you're lucky, other people will like what you're playing and everything works out. I think I've found that formula well enough to have some success at it.

FM: Where do you think electronic music stands in music history?

TR: That's a good question; I have no idea. Everything is moving so fast... [Electronic music] is strong. It's not going anywhere, but I don't know how much bigger it will get. I think it holds a really strong underground position that I don't think it will relinquish any time soon.

FM: How is the electronic music scene in Boston, compared to other places?

TR: In some respects Boston is a little bit behind in terms of what can be played out in bars and clubs. Not far behind, but definitely a little bit behind... I think it is catching up all the time.

FM: So what's it like doing the Friday night Spin Cycle at Axis?

TR: I am proud to be a part of what it is and what goes on here. It's a little bit unique because you come here and there is one type of music being played on the second floor--'80s and new wave--and downstairs there's full-on club music, and on both floors there's a complete party atmosphere. Anyone who comes here will have a good time and leave with a smile on their face, and that is really all you can expect working in a club.

FM: I've been listening to Torchbearers, and I really like it. What's the story behind the compilation?

TR: The label approached me and everyone else on there with the idea that all these people are strongly involved with music itself for years and years and really involved in the industry, and most of the people they approached for the compilation have not done any studio work at all. So their idea was to take these people with good musical knowledge and see what would happen if they put them in the studio and let them create their own track from beginning to end, and that's what Torchbearers is. I had a great time doing it, and I am really impressed with the outcome.

FM: So how about the suckiest part of being a DJ, if there is one?

TR: I'd say that it's the dream job. It really is. There's no negative to it. It's not a job; it's all fun. It's the dream gig, no doubt about it.

FM: Is there a single shining moment in all the time you've spent as a DJ?

TR: The best experience I've had was maybe 3 or 4 years ago. After playing at this really cool club in Geneva, Switzerland, we drove into the Alps and played at an after-hours party [outside]. Just seeing the sun come up and beautiful country... that was it for me.

FM: Any advice for young DJs just starting out, maybe as college students?

TR: I think if you want to be a DJ and you want to be a good DJ, the one ingredient you need is a pure love for the music; that will be your main drive. If your drive is anything else, it's not worth it to you-it's not worth it to anyone that would ever hear you. That has to be your focus. Everything else will follow if that is your main motivation.

Fifteen questions completed, Ryan headed off to the DJ booth, and I stood aside as the magic that is the music of Spin Cycle began.