My office phone rings roughly around noon and wouldn't you know it, it's none other than B.A.C. of Miami Nights. "Got any knowledge on Lee Burridge?" He said, and with a stammer in my voice I replied, "Not exactly, but if you give me about five seconds I'll know everything about Lee Burridge". He then goes on to add that he has scored an interview with the legendary DJ and asked if I would be able to make it out and have a little face to face pow-wow with a DJ who is highly coveted around the world. This DJ was a very sophisticated and witty man who I shamefully had never heard of.
Read on for my interview with Lee Burridge and a review of his show!
I arrived at the Raleigh Hotel two minutes pass the time I was requested to be there. I was greeted by his people, a very charming woman by the name of Betty. I waited for a bit of time until Lee was ready to answer some of my questions. After a day full of cramming all knowledge available on Lee Burridge, a few knots turn in my stomach as I spotted them exiting an elevator and coming towards me. He was close now and I approached to shake his hand, preparing myself to chat it up with a master behind the decks.
The interview went great, and I got everything I wanted to share with you all. Unfortunately, my 1992 tape recorder purchased at a thrift shop in Hialeah was accidentally set to pause after a nervous twitch during the earlier half of the interview. Can you believe it? After twenty minutes of conversation, I learned a few more things about Lee Burridge that you may have not known. For instance, he lists a gig at a school for the deaf on his resume. According to Lee, "That was a bit weird, but they were definitely thumping to those vibrations!”.
Lee also appreciates the cover art on vinyl records, hence why he continues the tradition of playing those incredible sounds that can only come out of the grooves on a vinyl record. He is also seriously looking into taking a full six months off, locking himself in the studio, and hopefully gracing the public with an album of his own material. Oh, and he is also just as excited about the Spice Girls reuniting as I am. I asked Lee if there was anything special in the works for next year’s Winter Music Conference. We can certainly expect another “Burridge Barrage” party, but most probably not at B.E.D. this time around.
Lee let me in on some of the problems he had with the fire marshal and the over crowding of SoBe patrons during that special week. It looks as if the party could possibly take a trip over to Downtown and have its 2008 premier at Pawn Shop. Lee states that he certainly loves that venue, especially the outdoor patio area. “It’s got a grunge feel to it, and I like that”. Thankfully, Lee realized in 1991 that a DJ career was it for him. He is currently on a massive tour in support of his installment of the Balance series mix CD’s.
Rather than being what was next in line, a chef, he would be doing his tour stop here in Miami later that night at Studio A. Fast forward about five and half hours, I arrived at Studio A just in time to see Lee on stage, meticulously placing headphones on his ears. I was pumped and ready for my first ever “Lee Burridge experience” As you’re all aware, Studio A seems to have a bit of trouble with their sound system and it’s connections. A problem that unfortunately has yet to be noticed, but I'm confident the New Year will bring great things. As the bass of his first record rattles throughout the room, I immediately could see that Lee was having trouble with what I believe was his headphone cueing.
After calmly trying to fix it on his own he throws his hands up as Studio A personnel begin to crowd the stage and assist. Thankfully after a few beams of a flashlight, and some tinkering of the mixer on stage, a much more relaxed looking Burridge places record number two on the decks. Fast forward another two hours in the night and my body has begun a lengthy process moving and shaking. Lee was providing us with a big storm of deep and pulsating tracks, and I was definitely feeling their effects. I lasted till about 6:30 A.M., then it was time for me to kick it back home on my bed. I lied in bed thinking of all that has happened today. I wonder why the higher power hated me so much that night. Was I possibly cursed, or am I really just a fucking idiot? Please refrain from comments on that last one, we all know what the answer is. One thing I can certainly take from this entire experience is to double check the route you’re going to take, make sure shit will work out properly. As a technical mishap can happen to anyone at any time, I feel relieved to know that DJ’s are human too.