New York Fashion Week :: ZOOZOOM Interviews DJ Shakey [DJ at Nanette Lepore's Show] [The ZOO]

ZOOZOOM Interviews DJShakey

DJShakey aka Julie Covello tells me to meet her at Botanica Bar and when I ask her what she looks like she says "I have bleach blond hair. I'm kind of hard to miss. I'll be wearing a Rush t-shirt." She's right and I spot her as soon as she walks in the door with the help of a friend who I've relayed the description to.

Julie tells me we should get down to business and offers me a cocktail in this candlelit bar where the tables are full and the music is funky. And get right down to business we do. In a husky voice and a winter hat, she tells me about music selection on the runway.

"You meet a room full of people, production, Nanette, office managers, sales reps, six people or so, and you look at the inspiration board. Between you and me, [not anymore!] do you know what an inspiration board is?" she asks me. I tell her I can probably guess, and the obvious is true. It's a huge cork board, and on Nanette's is everything from scraps of cloth to Polaroids and buckles. Though Women's Wear Daily quoted Nanette's latest to be Edwardian themed, DJShakey sees disco and early 80's decade influences in the button-downs with dagger icons and vibrant reds.

As expected, the music is an ever-evolving animal, beginning with research and a roster of up to 300 songs which have to be whittled into some recognizable shape that strengthens the look of the collection without detracting from the visual. Starting with 65 looks and editing down to 58, Shaky has re-mastered her final edit four times, and like everything in the whirlwind week of catwalking, it continues down to the wire.

What else does the DJ DJShakey see in Nanette: tweed, english Sherlock Holmes influences, short capes, and even Eastern influences with huge keyholes and vibrant reds. So how did this Rush t-shirt adorning regular DJ at Botanica Bar jump onto the runway scene? Ed Potokar who's company is called "Music for TV" had been working with DJShakey and kindly referred her when he moved on. A creative partnership ensued, one that DJShakey understands from a branding perspective, a technical perspective, and everything with an eye for fashion.

"I learned a lot," she tells me while I ask her what the day of is like. In the end she lists the names of every track off the top of her head, including Morningwood's Nth Degree, the Rolling Stones' Emotional Rescue and Blondie's Good Boys from their most recent album. After we are done with the business and mulling over other stories of our lives, she goes on to tell me that Debbie Harry had called Nanette Lepore's office to request an invite to the show only to find that she had a scheduling conflict.

"Did you feel like you were dead on when that happened?" I asked her. "You know, of all people..." I say. "No, she says. It was cool, but just a coincidence she says." She does not seem impressed with herself in the least. That makes one of us.

Since she uses Ableton Live and ProTools to shape the jigsaw together, DJShakey says that all the environment on the day of the show is high energy and high stress with "hundreds of people including famous people," the only thing to do on the day of show is to get there on time. DJShakey says everything, and she means everything, should be ready the day before the show. "The most important thing is to be cooperative."

DJ Shakey also curated runway sound for Secrets of Charm, a newcomer to fashion week. "They have this feminine, country western and Middle America base," says Covello. For their "Montana" theme attire, she chooses the Raveonettes. With every question and answer, there is an apparent gratitude for all of the work she has been given, and her experience with the back and forth process of an industry that is designed, and sometimes thrives on changing its mind, she is calm and shows no signs of stress.

While people come and leave the candlelight, they give her hugs, ask her what she has been up to, and comments fly around, like the occasional "Remember when I didn't know how to spin and you gave me that tutorial?" When I ask her why she interviews so well she says, "I've done filmmaking and interviews, so I sympathize." Julie Covello schools me on internationally-known Soul and Funk 45 collectors, how she ended up writing for Sweet Action, a "Porn Magazine for Girls" that also reviews music, and a series of synchronized events that connect seventies basketball shorts and eBay to lead her into a world where she does what she is happy doing and surrounded by good friends. She's the type of girl that offers you a ride, bonds with you over her Hello Kitty fanaticism, offers to draw you a Hello Kitty version of yourself, and forces you to let her take a picture of you even though you're interviewing her.

You see, people know Shakey for being in the NY Times, for mixes on Moma WPS1 Online Radio and her Nightowl Record Fair, but no matter how they know her, people know DJShakey. They like her and they learn from her, and I'm proud to be one of them. [Xenia VIray]

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