Who is Paul in Chicago?

I had the pleasure of interviewing Paul Rodriguez, a creative visionary of many talents, one of which is an amazing skill to connect with people anywhere at anytime. Paul also has an ear for what's hot in underground dance music, a great eye for design, and a vision for what's next in the underground dance music industry.

Ron Sager (Fluxcore): Tell us about yourself.

Paul Rodriguez: My name is Paul Rodriguez and by profession I am a graphic and web designer, in addition to being a promoter, host and event producer operating under the moniker of Paul in Chicago. Music, design, humor, and people excite me, and I bring that passion and energy to everything I do. My goal at each event is to introduce everyone to each other and have them dancing until the last song of the night.

Ron: What are you most proud of?

Paul Rodriguez: Ultimately, I am most proud to have had the opportunity to be on several amazing teams of people that truly care about music and quality events, year after year, such as Dark Wave Disco, The End, Out of Order, the Congress shows and Boom Boom Room to name a few; in addition to my early college days when I started out at Joe’s and Orchid Nightclub in Champaign, IL. As a promoter, host and event producer there is nothing more gratifying than having a party with the best music getting played to an appreciative crowd that is going bananas. Knowing that you were part of making it all happen, and seeing everyone leave at the end of night sweaty, smiling and thankful, I really love that.

Ron: What gets you up in the morning? What motivates you?

Paul: When I wake up every morning I try and think of anything that has happened recently that will genuinely put a smile on my face. Then, I try to think about how I can make this world a better place and how grateful I am to do what I love, which is to design logos and to promote great events. However, time doesn’t always allow for those early great thoughts, so every morning in the shower for the last minute I turn the temperature really cold, which closes up those pores, and to shock my body into wanting to be alive and appreciate the day. I call it morning waterboarding, which is a bad joke, but it really does get me going, along with an occasional cup of joe.

Ron: Who is your idol?

Paul: As a promoter/host my idols locally are definitely Dave Medusa and Charles Little, starting from when I met them both during the (club) Karma and Shelter days in Chicago. Everybody loved these guys, everybody. Their events were always amazing, and anytime they walked into a room people would just light up in their presence, that is how I wanted to be. Similar idols, are Tony Wilson and Peter Hook at The Haçienda in Manchester, the stories of their love of music and how they made history inspire me. As graphic designer, my idols are Milton Glaser and Shepherd Farley. Their design work amazes me, along with their influence on pop culture. Musically, Giorgio Moroder is an idol of mine, if you don’t know who he is Google him immediately.

Ron: Who are the 3 hottest DJs right now?

Paul: Without a doubt, locally I have to give it up to the Dark Wave Disco DJs: Trancid, Mark Gertz, and Greg Corner, love these guys and their music, which always gets me dancing. Lately, many parties launch in Chicago with them as headliners, because they rock. Globally the hottest DJs have to be 2ManyDJs and Soulwax, love their tracks and remixes, and if you catch them live, they are just breathtaking because you cannot stop dancing. Another two guys that continually deliver great tracks and remixes along with equally amazing DJ performances are Claude VonStroke and Jessie Rose, both are true tastemakers.

Ron: What was your favorite event you have ever promoted?

Paul: There are several Dark Wave Discos that come to mind, the first time we brought Steve Aoki to Chicago, every time Tommie Sunshine has played for us, especially the BPM 10-year anniversary party, and when Uffie performed live with Feadz, all of these were just amazing nights to have witnessed firsthand. In retrospect, my favorite event would have to be when we brought Curt Caris, Crobar resident DJ at the time, to our Wednesday night called Jel-low at Joe’s Brewery in Champaign, IL in 1999. That was the first time I had reached out and brought a DJ to our crowd. That night, people were simply losing it to tracks such as The Freight Train by Robbie Tronco which at the time were only getting played at underground parties and clubs in Chicago. During the span of that night I took a break from everyone, still able to hear the thumping of the music/crowd going nuts and thought to myself, “Wow, I worked really hard to help make this happen and everybody is having a blast because of that work.” I knew there and then that I had found one of my callings in life.



Ron: What direction is music heading?

Paul: Good question, I feel that a lot of music is going minimal tech-house or back to house/disco roots as far as dance music. Hip hop is a strong force to contend with in America and see it getting morphed into forms like b-more juke to make it dancier if that is a word. However, time and time again I keep hearing re-makes of classic songs, which is great for unfamiliar crowds to dance to because they know the original lyrics. However, I see the future of music in live bands such as Glass Candy and Phoenix. We need people to keep making original music, and so do all those talented remixers out there.

Ron: Describe the Chicago underground music scene

Paul: The Chicago underground music is filled with lots and lots smaller parties that are all competing against each other because of the clubs. Rave is dead, there is an occasional amazing underground loft party here and there, but for the most part it has all gone to clubs or big venues like the Congress theatre. In spite of the promotional competition, Chicago has a wealth of musical talent walking around this city; it is unreal how much talent we have here. We need to find ways of coming together so it is all conducive to bigger things, and stop with the popularity contests.

Ron: If you had to do it all over again, what would you do different?

Paul: I live for the moment, whatever it maybe, so regret does not fit into that type of presence or state of mind. That being said, I wish I had paid more attention to the people and music in Chicago when I first started going to clubs, raves, and loft parties back in 1990-1997. It wasn’t about the music for me then, it was more about having fun. Had I known that I was going to be doing what I do now, I would have paid closer attention to what was happening and the people involved. Personally, I love to know the history/stories of this city and the people that made it happen. In return, creating history with nods of appreciation from those that have done it before.

Ron: What does a day in the life of Paul Rodriguez look like?

Paul: Well I haven’t had a real job since September of 2006 when I left my full-time position as graphic designer to The Home Depot via IMS in Morton Grove, IL. With this in mind, I live the life of a freelance artist getting by on his design work, while befriending as many people along the way. Every day is a different adventure filled with family, friends, design work, making clients happy, Facebook, Twitter, music, audio books, and going out to support local music and events.

Ron: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Paul: Honestly, I do not know where I will be in 5 years. My ultimate goal is to make the world a better place through graphic design and music wherever that is. I have done my best to create a clearing for opportunities to come my way. Although, I do want to travel more, better my fluency of Spanish, learn to speak Polish (# 3 language in Chicago), and when possible take improv comedy classes because I love, love, love comedy. Until then check out my design work at ideanaire.com and upcoming events at paulinchicago.com.

10/30
CHROMEO / CRYSTAL CASTLES / BOYS NOIZE @ Congress Theatre
http://bit.ly/1GDmCw

11/06
BASEMENT JAXX / MSTRKRFT / MODESELKETOR @ Congress Theatre
http://bit.ly/18xIJ7