Bio of DJ David Graybill

In the fall of 2005, I came home with a copy of “Assassination Tango” and was stunned and intrigued by the tango dance scenes. I started taking Argentine tango lessons and two months later, I returned from my first trip to Buenos Aires with a suitcase full of tango CDs and a shiny new pair of custom made tango shoes.

After several years of lessons and attending all the milongas I could, I began to notice that many of the tango songs played were rather difficult to dance to, an observation made by other local dancers as well. I began putting “danceable” milongas together on my own, bought a decent amplifier and talked my way into DJing a few of the local dances. I always made it a point to ask the dancers their opinion of the music and made adjustments accordingly. From this, I developed the philosophy that the DJ’s prime responsibility is to play the music the dancers want and not the music the DJ wants.

As for my music, there is no “my music”. It’s “their music”, the people who pay to dance. I look at their faces and watch their responses when the cortina begins. It’s their music and the minute a DJ loses sight of this is when people start walking out the door.

On balance, I play golden age classic tangos, mostly recordings from the 1940’s and 1950’s. I select for “danceability” and positive, balanced energy using the TTMTTV format. Too much energy is like eating sugar, too little is like drinking lemon juice. Put the two together and you have a great combination!

Most of my tandas are by a single performer but there are many “one hit wonders” like Loreena McKennitt, Juan Carlos Caceres and Lalo Schifrin who don’t have three good similar songs to form an appropriate tanda so I occasionally mix the artists. I don’t want to play a marginal song or exclude a great song on a vague principle. What counts the most is how well the songs compliment each other to form a great tanda.

Cortinas are as important as the tangos for creating and sustaining good energy and I put a lot of effort into their selection and editing. I have groups like disco, rock n roll from the 50’s, torch singers from the 40’s and 50’s I use as a theme for each milonga. I don’t use the same cortina twice and there is never any confusion as to whether it’s a cortina or not.

I love the tango music from the Golden Age, the 1940’s and 1950’s. It so intricate and elaborate! But I have to say the best concert I’ve ever attended was Bajofondo in Buenos Aires in 2006! I am intrigued by Nuevo tango and I feel it’s very important to the tango scene in Sacramento. First, it’s the natural evolution of tango. When the tango we love today first came to the US in the 20’s and 30’s, it was condemned as “Devil Music” and the “Sounds of Madness” from paper to pulpit by the self righteous, just as Rock N’ Roll was! What kind of nation would we be if Rock N’ Roll had been suppressed?!! The same applies to Nuevo.

Second, Nuevo and Alternatives songs bring young dancers to the milongas. Tango needs young people and young people need music with an edge. There are wonderful new songs out there and I try to include a few in my play lists. Tango needs young people.

I’m a techie to the marrow so I put a lot of thought and research into equipment. Most of my tango songs are fully remastered, which are very expensive. The difference is incredible! Full, rich sound with no static or scratches! Well worth the small fortune!

A good PA system is a critical step in producing a good milonga and good equipment costs good money, no exceptions. I selected my laptop for its “Entertainment Package” but all laptops have a serious short coming when decompressing MP3 audio files, so I use an external audio sound card to get the full range out of the song. I also run an Apple iPod Touch II with the same play list as a backup should the laptop fail, and they do fail. I use a UPS power unit to filter the electricity and provide power should the lights go out. I have NEVER had an interruption during a milonga.

I was getting numerous inquiries into the titles of songs and the names of the performers so I developed a PowerPoint presentation synchronized with the play list displaying a photo of the current performer and the song title which updates with each song. The dancers love this connection to the music!

Most of the DJs in Sacramento are eager to see each other succeed and we are always discussing ways to bring a better music experience to the milonga. Kenny Bell is just bubbling with ideas and has been very instrumental in raising the quality of milongas in Sacramento. It’s just a matter of time before dancers from the Bay Area are driving here for milongas! I’ve been to a number of Bay Area milongas and I’ll put our play lists here against them all. Sacramento has come a long way and we’re moving fast! --DHG