Behind-the-Scenes: Locals DJ Night ft. Baghead, snake tits, Discnogirl, DJ Juanny
By B-Rated
Host, The Sunday Screeches · she/her
Ready to shake your booty and cleanse your soul? Need some extra community in these dystopian times? You need Locals DJ Night ft. Baghead, snake tits, Discnogirl, DJ Juanny at The Independent TONIGHT!
Featuring DJs with deep Bay Area roots, Locals DJ Night celebrates the soul of the Bay Area the way it was meant to be experienced: with community, with chest-thumping beats, and a genuine love for the living history that is music.
To help you get ready for the party, we caught up with the DJs to learn about the influences and experiences that shaped their sound. Don’t forget to grab your tickets!
snake tits (she/her)
Describe your sound in 3 words: scrunched up noses
Q: What inspired you to start DJing?
A: I am extremely grateful to have felt the freedom of self-expression that I have in the US. To crack the UK scene as a posh English school girl would have been near impossible. Out here, I have been able to converge my love (and need) for dancing, with a deep craving for music that moves me. I am honored (pun intended, it is my first name!) to have been given the opportunities, after I learnt during the pandemic, to share this part of me with people.
Q: How does music hold memory/history?
A: Music IS memory. There is nothing close to the transportation one feels when listening to music. I believe great music is created from what has passed, whether directly lived or otherwise, and weaves stories and knowing into the present, thus impacting the future.
Q: How does the Bay Area influence you?
A: The caliber of music in SF and that comes through SF is world class. It is inspiring (and intimidating) to be amongst musicians I greatly admire and have influenced my life. Also, the nature surrounding SF and in SF has created beautiful mental and emotional space for me. I am frequently on Ocean beach dancing, running, laughing, skipping, crying etc. as I listen to music that brings emotions immediately to the surface. It is my therapy!
discnogirl (he/they)
Describe your sound in 3 words: bass, booty, breaks
Q: What inspired you to start DJing?
A: I love having a glorified aux cord moment, any chance i get to share music with others is a blessing whether its 1 person or 1000.
Q: How does music hold memory/history?
A: Music is not only a way for us to peek into the internal worlds that live inside of us and our heads, but it’s also an important record-keeping infrastructure and tool that can provoke thoughts and emotions from almost any time in ur life & thats why that song u heard in Target the other day can make you cry and it’s why you feel euphoric on the dance floor, hearing bits and pieces of familiar sounds.
Q: How does the Bay Area influence you?
A: The Bay Area is my home with a very unique sound and my colleagues, comrades, and friends in this scene are my biggest inspirations, everything i know how to do in music comes from them and my community continues to uplift me every single day.
DJ JUANNY (he/his)
Q: What inspired you to start DJing?
A: My DJ journey began in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, where I worked at a revered streetwear shop -- a hotspot for notable Bay Area DJs who played sets and sold mixtapes. It sparked an obsession with DJing.
I started throwing parties, spinning tracks sourced from the more obscure corners of Soundcloud. After a stint living in Miami, I became passionate about bringing the emerging club sounds of my adopted home back to the Bay Area. This led to the creation of the party series and netlabel, AMOR DIGITAL.
However, in the years since, I've focused on production and I find that both feed into each other. I produce things I'd want to DJ and in my sets I include tracks I'd like to be able produce.
Q: How does music hold memory/history?
A: Music tells the story of the time we're living in and the people who are creating the sound. Reggaeton, for example, tells the history of Jamaicans working on the Panamá Canal, bringing dancehall to Central America. Then, as Panamanians started making dancehall in Spanish, it traveled to Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican diaspora in New York. All in combination, we end up with reggaeton, which has now shifted in a million other directions and has tons of iterations in other cities and countries around the world.
Q: How does the Bay Area influence you?
A: I grew up on Bay Area rap, particularly The Jacka and Messy Marv. I learned from the independent spirit that characterizes the Bay. That selling out of the trunk energy has inspired the independent music scene around the country and the world. I vividly remember being taken to Frisco Street Show in South San Francisco and seeing this entire brick-and-mortar business dedicated to local hip hop. I think I carry that energy with me, even as I make music very different from the mobb music I was listening to back then. I also think with the influx of tech gentrifiers, private equity, etc all around us, I feel a special responsibility to be as true to our region's original ethos as possible.
Baghead(he/him)
Describe your sound in three words: nasty, heavy, eclectic.