WHO Even though James Pants doesn’t like to label his style, his wacky musical methods almost call for new genre names. His offbeat electro boogie is funky and funny — much like his debut album Welcome, which came out this year on his favourite label, the Los Angeles-based Stones Throw Records. Pants met label founder DJ Peanut Butter Wolf in 2001 at a rave after his prom night in Austin, Texas. Demonstrating his many talents with numerous mixtapes and tracks featuring himself playing guitar, keys, drums and vocals, Pants eventually landed a record deal with Stones Throw. Now living in the small town of Spokane, Washington (home to the late Bing Crosby — and where rent is cheap), Pants conjures up the sounds of ‘80s rap and early house on second-hand gear thanks to the abundance of thrift stores in the area. He got his start playing drums in high school and as the DJ/producer for a rap group called Ballistix with fellow Texan Deon Davis (who sings on Pants’ LP). “The group’s content leaned heavily on the black-nationalist side of things and I was the white DJ,” says Pants, who’s currently spinning as often as he can and working on a second album that will be “a little creepier than the first,” along with a bunch of remixes including one for Beck that he’s really excited about.
WHAT “I like to play around the board: hip-hop, disco, reggae, Latin, baroque, psych, weird stuff. Sometimes normal stuff too,” says Pants, whose best DJing experience happens when “turntables get knocked over and when you can get away with playing The Monkees.”
WHERE Aug. 15 with Dam Funk and Koushik at Wrongbar (1279 Queen W.)
FAVOURITE RECORD OF ALL TIME “This is always too difficult. I'll say, Gary Wilson, ‘You Think You Really Know Me?’”
FAVOURITE RECORD RIGHT NOW TI, TI vs. TIP
FAVOURITE WEBSITE RIGHT NOW “My wife just showed me www.wikihow.com — pretty cool. The front page article right now is ‘how to run up a wall and flip.’ I'm going to go outside after this to work on that.”
WHAT IS YOUR WEIRDEST DJING EXPERIENCE? “I did a backwards somersault in NYC recently while I was doing karaoke during my DJ set. I think I sprained my thumb or something, ‘cause it still looks ugly. I probably should have checked WikiHow before I attempted that.”
DIGITAL OR ANALOG? “I like them both. I buy all vinyl, but DJ with Serato a lot. My album was recorded with all analog instruments, but I recorded it on a computer. Maybe it's because I'm a Gemini.”
WHAT IS VITAL TO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE? “Fish oil and Earl Grey tea. I'm working on being British.”
WHAT GLOBAL ISSUE CONCERNS YOU MOST RIGHT NOW? “Poor city planning, sprawl, the disappearance of bees and the year 2012. That's a decent start.”
WHAT IS YOUR RING TONE RIGHT NOW? “I've got this prototype one where it doesn't make a noise, but you can feel it — like a vibration in your pants or something. I don't think it's out for the masses yet.”
WHAT IS THE LAST GREAT FILM YOU SAW? The Tenant, by Roman Polanski. “It's about creepy neighbours.”
WHAT ACTOR WOULD PLAY YOU IN A BIOPIC? “Maybe Michael Rapaport? He's a big Stones Throw fan. Plus, more girls would watch the show if it was him instead of me.”
WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW? St. Augustine's Confessions. “I'm pretty guilty right now.”