Join host Savia Rocks as she delves into the life and inspirations of Joe Carter —a multi-talented creative force in the podcasting, music, and entertainment realms. In this insightful episode, we trace the origins of Joe's passions and how they've sculpted his path to success.
Join host Savia Rocks as she delves into the life and inspirations of Joe Carter —a multi-talented creative force in the podcasting, music, and entertainment realms. In this insightful episode, we trace the origins of Joe's passions and how they've sculpted his path to success.
Savia Rocks: 0:00
Hey guys, we made it to season five of the us people podcast. I'm your host Savia Rocks. And in this season, we aim to empower and embrace creativity through diversity as we dive into the fascinating stories and experiences of a diverse range of individuals. Highlighting their unique perspectives and creative endeavors from artists and entrepreneurs to innovators and activists. We celebrate the power of diversity in driving creativity and fostering positive change. Join us as we engage in thought provoking conversations like I made myself intentionally homeless. In pursuit of my purpose,
Joe Harris: 0:41
we're aware that a lot of people want to present and they were in my position. And what's worse, they weren't a white male, which is a joke. That's even still a thing. I
Mel: 0:49
think my family never, ever say you can't do something. So full of support, full of support for whatever dream. If I said tomorrow when I fly to the moon, they'll probably say, I wish you all the best Mel.
Savia Rocks: 0:59
So guys, I just want to say thank you for supporting the Us people podcast for the past five years. And we look forward to sharing another new theme song with you. Let's go.
Joe Carter: 1:16
Hi, my name is Joe Carter. I'm a DJ, producer, presenter, podcaster, and musician. And you're listening to the Us People podcast with Savia Rocks.
Savia Rocks: 1:32
Hey guys, and welcome to another episode of the Us People podcast. I'm your host Savia Rocks. And today I'm humbled to have Joe Carter here with me. Joe is a podcaster, producer, presenter, DJ. And musician Joe. Thank you so much for coming on the us people podcast. He's laughing already. I like this.
Joe Carter: 1:51
It's just quite funny, isn't it? When you hear someone read out like your list of what you do. It's uh, it's nice. It's nice to hear. And thanks for having me.
Savia Rocks: 1:58
No, you're most welcome. Thank you so much for coming on the show. So my first question for you, Joe is, could you tell us a little bit about your background of where you grew up, but also how that influenced you to be the person who you are today?
Joe Carter: 2:12
Yeah, sure. I mean, I grew up in South London, Southeast London to be specific, which is a real kind of melting pot of cultures and people, and you get to meet all sorts of different people and all sorts of different places. I grew up around a lot of music. Uh, dad, dad was a musician. Uh, mum was a massive music fan and quite a musical family as well, you know, ended up in bands with family members and stuff like that over the years as well. So, um, yeah, that's kind of where I came from very much music, music, music, but also something I found myself about the age of 10 or 11 was football and I loved football. Um, and that kind of has a little influence on what I do in some ways as well and what I've done in my career.
Savia Rocks: 2:54
That sounds good to me. So here's a question that. I love asking every single guest that comes on the show. So when you look in the mirror, what does your reflection say? He's smiling. What does your reflection say to you? But also how do you emotionally connect to what your reflection is saying to you as a person?
Joe Carter: 3:17
Um, well, I've never really considered that before. Um, I, when I, when I look in the mirror, um, My reflection says well, it depends what day it is firstly what kind of day i'm having how I wake up I agree because we all have um We all have up days and down days, you know, we can't all be perfect all the time Um, so on a good day, it says you got this you can do this And I say and I say yeah, I have got this. Yeah, I can do this. Let's go Let's go and let's go out there and let's win
Savia Rocks: 3:52
Oh, I like that But what about on down day so so you have a good day, but on a down day, how is it for you?
Joe Carter: 3:59
On a down day. It's a bit of a longer conversation. I guess it's a bit more kind of trying to Trying to say things to myself that I've learned along the way that kind of help motivate me, motivating factors for me that I've, I've come across. And, um, I still try and get to that point where I'm like, come on, let's do this. You got this, you know, don't waste the day. There's something to be made out of today.
Savia Rocks: 4:22
No, that's definitely true. I do like that one. Talk to me about your journey of how you got into music. So talk to me about your influences and what made you decide that this was your path. Music was your path. Well,
4:36
first off,
Joe Carter: 4:38
I mean, I, I used to, I used to go and stay with my dad every weekend as a kid. My mom and dad split up as I was growing up. I was quite young. And when I used to go and stay with my dad at the weekends, he had, um, his guitar and he had a little microphone and a little four track recorder. And I think about the age of eight or nine, I started playing with it and we started making songs and he recorded them and played them back. And I was like, wow, like. This is kind of, this is a bit of me, you know, that's what I like doing. And, um, and it grew into kind of early teenage years. Um, you know, parties, house parties and stuff like that. Even my mom would be like, come on, get the guitar out, show them what you can do. And, um, I'd get guitar out. I'd have a sing or, or make up some songs on the spot and just kind of entertain people. And. And that's it really. That's the crux of it is for me is entertaining people and seeing the reaction, uh, on people's faces, bringing joy to people or, or, or any kind of emotion, really, that you're trying to get across and, um, seeing the effect that has on those people and, um, these days it's more about DJing for me. And I like, I like DJing and seeing the reaction that, that, you know, getting that dance floor going. I mean, it's been a while, but, um, Yeah, that's it. It's kind of addictive. It's addictive. And it's, um, some people call it attention seeking, but, um, Hold on! Haters gonna hate it, aren't they? You know what I mean? That's what it
6:06
is.
Savia Rocks: 6:06
Hear that guys,
Joe Carter: 6:07
yeah.
Savia Rocks: 6:10
So, talk to me about you being a radio presenter. This is something that I'm sure a lot of people would love to do as a profession. Along with any other professions, especially when it comes to music, but could you break down a day in your life of what you do, especially as you are a DJ and a radio presenter, break it down for people who might not understand and want to get into that profession.
Joe Carter: 6:36
So for me, um, I DJed as a hobby from sort of 16, 17 years old, I went off to university. I, I ended up in a degree that I didn't want to be doing. Um, which I think a lot of people can resonate with a lot of people sort of my age. Um, it was a lot of pressure of like having to go to uni and do something and, and be this and be that. And particularly, you know, my circles and my family I was kind of pushed in that direction and maybe I didn't want to do it. But what I did do at uni was I met a bunch of cool people. I took my decks with me. I got DJing. I entered a DJ competition. I won the competition. I DJed at the summer ball and the rest is history really from there. In terms of radio, it's something I came to a bit later in life. So about four or five years ago, I was like, I'd, I'd done a bunch of work in TV, um, back in the day, uh, working in like production in sports television. So it's Sky Sports, Sutanta Sports. Um, also did stints at, uh, GMTV somewhere else called the business channel, Red Bull TV as well. And, um, That kind of gave me a, it's a similar kind of buzz, but you don't have the audience reaction right there. You don't have the interaction, the live interaction, or you didn't at that point. I mean, nowadays, TV is a lot more interactive and a lot more kind of, um, audience driven, but with the advent of social media. you know, you get a lot of interaction from that as well. And, uh, radio offers you that kind of interaction in that live thing. So you can be, you can be playing a tune on the radio. You play a mix on the radio. Someone bam, Facebook inboxes you. They're like, Oh, wow. I love that tune. And you get to shout straight back. You get to go out, oh, out to, uh, out to Savia. She's loving this tune. Um, you know, and it's that, it's that connection, I guess that's, um, that's it, but in terms of like a day in the life, um, DJing, you know, it's not a nine to five, what kind of, it kind of is, you have to do a lot of work, but you're working towards this, these parties. So I might DJ two to four times a week in a normal, uh, sort of pre lockdown, post lockdown situation. And, um, I'll be spending the rest of my time listening to music and building my music knowledge and building my music library. And, um, you know, I've always loved listening to music and I don't know, I'm a little bit of a deep thinker. So I, I tend to read into music and read into lyrics and really connect and feel. Um, so yeah, I, I naturally wanted to listen to a lot of music and then I naturally want to entertain. So it's that combination. Uh, that drew me to radio and in terms of getting into it, I went and did a course at a really cool place called Point Blank, um, in East London in, uh, Hackney way. And I was tutored by two amazing tutors there. Um, Michael and Bruno, who had a wealth of experience in the industry with, you know, BBC kiss. Um, and, and lots of other big sort of name radio stations. And, uh, that kind of linked me into, um, working at, uh, my soul radio station that is, um, you know, for sort of soul heads and, um, I've got, I got in there and I worked as a producer on the drive time show, then I got my own show, a specialist show, and then I started covering daytime shows as well. And it's kind of, it's kind of about who you are and about being friendly and being willing to help and willing to help out and willing to work hard. Um, but. All of that said, there's still a bit of luck involved in getting into that, I guess. Um, but yeah. No, go on. So that was it.
10:10
You
Savia Rocks: 10:11
have the voice. Oh, as soon as you came on, the funny thing is guys, as soon as Joe came on and he just said, Hey, Savio, I was like, yep, that's a radio presenter's voice right there.
Joe Carter: 10:26
That's funny. Actually. That was something that was often said to me when I was younger, like, you know, you've got the voice for radio. You need to do that. And I'd always be like, nah, I'm not interested. But then one day I was like, actually, hang on a minute. I could do that.
Savia Rocks: 10:38
Yeah. Sometimes I firmly believe that people tell us what we're capable of, but we don't believe what we're capable of.
Joe Carter: 10:45
That is so true. That is so true. And it takes a certain amount of time and a certain amount of effort and investing in yourself and, and valuing yourself more, um, to realize that, you know, if you've got something and people are telling you, you've got it, then
Savia Rocks: 10:58
you must have it.
Joe Carter: 10:59
You must have it. Right. Yeah.
Savia Rocks: 11:01
I definitely believe in that. I definitely do. So talk to me why DJing to you is so rewarding. What is the reward for you? I know you spoke a little bit about seeing the people dance and just being in that environment, but what really captures you? What makes you wake up in the morning and say, Yes, I love what I do.
Joe Carter: 11:22
Um, it's waking up in the morning and remembering last night and, uh, remember, you know, I mean, remembering the crowd loving it, you know, even the crowd hating it. It's the buzz of, it's the buzz of not knowing what you're going into essentially, you don't, you know, you might be, you know, I play, I play uni gigs and I play the same room every Wednesday night and every Friday night for two years each time. It's completely different. You don't know what tunes you're going to have to draw to get the crowds involved. You don't know what people are going to ask. You don't know how they're going to ask it. More to the point, that can be quite exciting in itself.
Savia Rocks: 12:02
Oh man, tell me about some stories.
Joe Carter: 12:05
Um, oh, I've got plenty of those. There's, um, it's funny. The ones you remember though, they're more like at the time they're a bit negative, but you look back and you go, Oh my God, that was ridiculous. So I was DJing in a pub on New Year's Eve once. And, um, and this lady comes over to me, um, with her phone. She shows me her phone and it's just like a notes thing, but it's blank. It's like the notes. Notes app, but it's blank. And I'm like, I don't know, I don't know what you want. Like I'm DJing at the moment. If you've got a request, can you, you know, like what I said was like, have you got a request? And, um, and she was, she basically, she was so like drunk that she couldn't really like speak. And I think she thought she'd written something down on her phone. Anyway, I had a friend with me. My friend had gone to the bar or to the bathroom or something at this point. And, uh, he comes back and, um, I say, Oh, Can you try and figure out what sort of requests you want and stuff. And then anyway, like 20 minutes later, time passes by. I don't notice what's going on. Next thing I know, a handbag hits me in the face.
Savia Rocks: 13:11
Oh, wow.
Joe Carter: 13:15
And, um, and then, um, And then she comes over,
13:20
I'm
Joe Carter: 13:22
like, bounces, bounces, but what is going on? Um, she comes over again to get her handbag, presumably, and she shows me her phone screen. It's just loads of rambled, like rum jumbled letters on the screen, like incomprehensible nonsense. And, um, that is the kind of thing you can expect if you're DJing commercially. Um,
Savia Rocks: 13:43
I'm looking forward to it, but
Joe Carter: 13:45
also, uh, you know, I've, I've, I've had someone request the song before, and it's kind of. It's on me to decide whether that request is reasonable, um, and whether it makes sense. You know, if you're, um, if you're playing like a classic funk and soul night, someone comes and asks you to drop some like mad drum and bass tune, like Pendulum or something, you have to sort of break it to them gently in a way. I can't do that. You know, this isn't the crowd for that. Sometimes people take it really badly. Um, but sometimes, sometimes people are cool and I say, look, if you think of something that suits better, come back to me and we'll, we'll bang it on. Um, I'm always open to that kind of thing. But, um, one guy just, just whipped a tenner out of his wallet and went, go on, play it. I'll give you a tenner. And I was like, mate, I can't do that. I'm not taking money from people for a quiz. I get paid to do this anyway. Like I've got the manager to think about, I've got the venue, the rest is a clear and so, and, um, And, uh, yeah. And then he sort of turned it into 2040. I was just like, no, I had to like, I don't know. I just had to sort of stand by my morals a bit and say, no, I'm here for the music. That's what I'm doing. Um, yeah. So that's a story. Um, I mean, another one that comes to mind is I was DJing at best of all. And, um, we, I had a D I had two DJ sets books at best of a, one was on, um, the Saturday night at about 3. AM. And then the, the next one was on Sunday at 11. I am. Yeah, I was, you know, it's festival. We all like to have a drink at first of all, and party hard and stuff like that. So I do my 3. AM set goes, it's banging, you know, it's. off the chain. Everyone's loving it. Um, it was like a big funk and soul thing with like some, some crazy little remixes in there and stuff, people loving it. And then I wake up at kind of 1045 in my tent sprinting across the festival with like, I've got my cousin with me who's coming on like a free ticket. With me. And I'm like, come on, we got to go. We got to go. I was like, you need to motivate me. Come on, please. We got to play this like hour long set at 11 a. m. And we get to the, we get to the venue where, um, where I'm playing and they're not even open at 11 a. m. Like there was, cause it's a festival where everyone's all like, Oh God. Right. Okay. We've got to open as a DJ coming in. So we get in there, we get the tunes on and, um, my cousin just falls asleep. And under the DJ box, I was like, he's meant to be motivated me. I was like, come on, Dan,
Savia Rocks: 16:12
he's motivating
16:16
me
Joe Carter: 16:18
to play six, 10 minutes songs that were really chilled. He
Savia Rocks: 16:23
helped me.
Joe Carter: 16:25
He did. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, lots of stories. They're the only ones that really come to mind right now, but there's hundreds.
Savia Rocks: 16:32
I think this one kind of relates to your last one in a way. So let's say you have a gig coming up tonight. What is your approach and. What selection of material do you prepare for the night? I know it depends on what night it is, but how do you prepare yourself? And especially from the share fact that if you're practicing at home or if you're doing this at home, just practicing compared to being on stage or in a, in a venue, how does that all compare and difference?
Joe Carter: 17:02
I think there's A few different ways that DJs like to do things. Me personally, um, rather than practice a set at home and then go and perform it. I think that's too much hassle, too much pressure. Um, what I'll do is I will, I will limit my bank of songs that I've got. So say I'm doing a one hour house set. I will, I will, that will be like 12 to 15 songs, but I'll take maybe 40 songs. And it's not like the old days where you used to have to choose them and put them in your record bag and carry a record bag around because I did that, but it's, it is that principle. So instead of doing that, I'm, I'm, I'm putting, I'm getting a usB stick together with just that amount of songs on. I'm restricting myself to this sort of narrow content, if you like, and some people frown upon that, but. I think narrowing the choice gives you a better message overall, and you stay within those lines a bit more. So, um, but then you still, rather than rehearsing a set, um, kind of beat for beat, which is painstaking and I've tried it. I quite like that spontaneity and that's what does it for me. That's the buzz. So on the day of a gig, um, I'll get up at sort of normal time. I mean, well, What's normal time when you've got a toddler, I don't know. Um, so I'll be getting up at like, you know, whatever o'clock in the morning, um, do our usual sort of home routine. And then when I get an hour or two, I'll, I'll, I'll be checking out all the tunes. Um, I'll be filtering through tunes and I'll be making decisions like. Is this going to bang? Is it not? It might do. Um, that one's definitely going in, you know, I need to play this new record. I need to, I need to try this one out maybe. And I will always put a few classics in there, like a few kind of like. Um, savers, so not that anything is going to go wrong, hopefully, but if anything does go wrong or anything doesn't really bang, you can just go right. Classic, classic, classic. And, and the crowd, you know, people love to hear classic tunes, right? It's, you know, they say like Kiss FM, for example, has, um, two sister stations, Kiss Fresh and Kiss Story. And Kiss Story has like 10 times the amount of listeners than Kiss Fresh. And there's a reason for that is because people like what's familiar. And they enjoy dancing and singing along to stuff they know. So always take the classics with you.
Savia Rocks: 19:23
See guys, that's actually a good thing to say to them. Keep it in a bag, keep it on a usB. I don't care, just keep it with you somewhere.
Joe Carter: 19:30
Yeah, exactly.
19:31
Just
Savia Rocks: 19:32
keep it with you somewhere. So talk to me about some of your musical inspirations. That have helped you
Joe Carter: 19:41
so in terms of, um, being a musician, um, I, so I, you know, I played guitar obviously from a young age, um, I took my guitar to uni with me, even though I sort of dropped out of uni, like as we've touched on earlier, um, I dropped out of uni, but I stayed in Cheltenham. That's where I went to uni and Cheltenham has this crazy music scene, both kind of live bands and also DJs and clubs and stuff like that. Um, so I took my guitars out and I mean, I did a couple of open mic nights as well on the side and, you know, written songs and, and, and, uh, written lyrics as well. And I think I'm just like a, traditionally I was like a guitar singer songwriter kind of guy. Um, And my influences would have been the likes of Paul Weller, Billy Bragg. They're the kind of ones that I grew up on listening to. But then when I sort of rediscovered that side of music, um, in my sort of later teens and early twenties, it was all about the Arctic Monkeys and bands like that at the time. So I got back from uni and while I was still DJing, I was desperate to start a band and I, and I started a band and we were called the Bimmy's, um, named after my granddad's dog called Bimmy. So random, but it's like two of my cousins, um, were in the band as well. I managed to club this band together and we did loads of gigs and it was so much fun. Um, and that was, that was us doing us. It was just what we wanted to do. And that moment into that snapshot in time, the sort of 2005 to 2010, it was just like, that was the time to do that for me. And. And, um, we did it for the love of it, basically, you know, we all, we all were working like full time jobs and, you know, I was working in, um, in TV light and stuff, but then I was like going to two band practices a week and doing two gigs a week as well. And I just loved it. And the DJ and sort of took a backseat there. So yeah, sorry, I'm rambling a bit.
Savia Rocks: 21:34
I love it. Keep going. I'm cool.
Joe Carter: 21:40
So, yeah, that was my influences really. And Alex Turner from the Arctic monkeys in terms of that was, um, like just phenomenal because I always, when I first started DJ and I, I was in through UK garage, that was my, that was my, that was my thing, man. That was my jam garage, get that UKG on, you know, and people like Craig David pioneering the scene and, and, and bringing lyrics and singing at the same time, you know, um, He would rap and sing over these amazing, like these beautiful kind of soulful melodies, but with that, like riding beat those so many garage classics. Um, so yeah, to hear the Arctic monkeys, who basically Alex Turner was a big fan of like Cypress Hill and that kind of generation of rap and hip hop. And, and he used to, he, he, well, I mean, he doesn't really do it anymore. They've changed the way they are that band, but, um, that their first album was really lyrically just. Insane. And, um, and then you add those guitar riffs, which would, should get anyone jumping, really, you know, there's so many classic songs off that first album, uh, that people loved kind of in my later years though. Um, it sounds so old in my later years.
22:48
Um,
Joe Carter: 22:51
um, yeah, so when I sort of discovered funk and soul and disco music, it was all about Nile Rogers and I couldn't stop watching the way Nile Rogers plays the guitar. And I was like, I need to, I need to be able to play these licks on my guitar. So I would sit there watching Nile Rogers on YouTube and get my guitar and trying to figure out the, uh, these little licks and, and then, and then I started recognizing samples from disco music and house music and, and garage music and all these classic samples. And then I'd go and listen to the originals and then I wanted to play it properly, like the original. And, uh, And then, and then I ended up sort of getting into back into the DJ and through, through that. So it kind of, yeah, it all kind of ties in somehow, but I guess what it is, like the, the, the main kind of message is like, I was doing me, you know, you do use kind of thing and just do what you love and, and, and it all kind of come together.
Savia Rocks: 23:48
That's true. Hard work. People's sometimes, um, people think that it's given to you on a plate, which is not true, just because people see your success, but they don't see the work behind your success. That makes sense.
Joe Carter: 24:00
Absolutely. It's like the tip of the iceberg, isn't it? You know, you see, yeah,
Savia Rocks: 24:05
no, that definitely makes, here's a hard one for you. Well, actually you might get it really quickly since you're a musician and you have so much experience within music. If I said to you, Joe, to choose one song that was the soundtrack of your life, what song would you wow his face? Oh my gosh, his eyes just blew out of his head.
24:26
That
Joe Carter: 24:28
is a tough one.
Savia Rocks: 24:31
They choose one song that was the soundtrack of your life. What song would you choose and why would you choose that particular song?
Joe Carter: 24:38
Well, firstly, I think it'd have to be some sort of double album compilation, um, with like 30
Savia Rocks: 24:43
songs. If I've got
Joe Carter: 24:46
to choose one, um, wow, that is tough. One song. What was the criteria again? One song that, um.
Savia Rocks: 24:58
The soundtrack of your life.
Joe Carter: 25:00
The soundtrack of my life.
Savia Rocks: 25:01
Because you are so musically in tuned to melodies and lyrics especially. I thought, let me target this question at you.
Joe Carter: 25:13
Yeah, no fair. Um, this, this is a really tough one, actually. Um, off the top of my head, I'm going to, I probably have to go for something that inspired me like early days, but then I don't know, there's so much music out there, so it's an almost impossible question to, um, To answer. I'm trying my hardest now. I'm racking my brain is trying to think of one song. Um, I mean, actually, okay. Okay. I'm gonna go with and call me romantic. But when my wife and I got married, the first answer our wedding was it's a love thing by the whispers. And that is a tune. Not only does it represent that, but also that's, that's what it is for me. Music is a love thing. I love it. And that's true. Um, that's kind of all I got on there. Sorry. Um,
Savia Rocks: 26:08
that makes sense to me. That's good enough for me.
26:10
If that
Savia Rocks: 26:11
song resonates with you and you are boogieing it down on your wedding night to that song, then that says it all. So if there was one artist in the history of music, That you could work with who would it be and why
Joe Carter: 26:29
it'd have to be Nile Rodgers. I think as I sort of mentioned before, yeah, definitely.
Savia Rocks: 26:36
The man is
Joe Carter: 26:37
just a legend. I mean, you know, his guitar is called the hit maker. He's had the same guitar for like 40 years and he's written all of those. He's written all of those licks on it. You know, he's written, um, everybody dance. He's written, you know, Diana Ross, I'm coming out. He's written get lucky, Daft Punk. And, you know, he's written, um, so many, so many tunes that you just, he's written tunes for Duran Duran. He's written tunes for all kinds of people on that guitar. And I would love to just sit in a room with him for like an hour and just be like, Hey, Show me what you do. Yeah. Give me some tips.
Savia Rocks: 27:12
Well, his guitar's been blessed.
Joe Carter: 27:15
Absolutely. And well, I don't know, like he plays a, he played a Fender Strat, which is kind of what is the guitar I play as well. Um, and just, yeah, it's beautiful. I would love to be able to do what he does, but also to work with him. Cause do you know what? The main thing is he knows how to get people moving. That's what he wants. Yeah, he, he, I mean, people might argue this, but to me, he invented disco and, um, disco music, you know, when it came around in the seventies was, um, it was, it was a genre like any other genre, basically DJs were playing it in the clubs and it wasn't long enough. People wanted to jam to those tunes for longer. So the, the long player or the LP was born. It was like, Oh, the. The 12 inch single, sorry, was born. It's a 12 inch thing that you can fit site like nine minutes or 10 minutes of song on instead of a three minute 45 LP. So, um, so people are making these longer cuts of disco tunes. And then a DJ was like, how can I make it even longer instead of just fading one out and fading one in, I'm going to put them together and beat match it. And that was DJ and born and house came out of that. And all kinds of DJing that comes out of that's around now comes from disco. Um, and. No, I've already invented it. So,
Savia Rocks: 28:34
Hey, we bow down to you. Okay.
28:37
Yeah.
Savia Rocks: 28:38
Here's one for you. So there's DJs, there's old school DJs and there's new school DJs. And the reason why I put them both into two different brackets is because of this. You get, Old school DJs, like you were saying, who used to carry the records around and properly mixed tunes together. And then you get the new school DJs. Yeah. And there's no detriment to them by me saying this, who have a software and everything is kind of done for them. Break down
29:10
the
Savia Rocks: 29:10
pros and the cons of each one in just your opinion. And which one do you prefer to be the realist DJ?
Joe Carter: 29:18
Right. So, um, yeah, DJing was born out of, yeah, of, of beat matching, uh, you know, software didn't do it for you. First thing I'm going to say is both of these, you know, an old school DJ and a new school DJ, if you like, you know, a DJ that started yesterday and a DJ that started in 1980, they have their merits. It's about how hard you work and how you use what's in front of you to do that. I'm someone that's kind of born between the generations. So when I was, when I first started DJing, um, I think the first ever CDJ came out, which was like the CD version of a turntable and. Some people were like, what is this, what is this poison to the industry, you know, if they could see what you do now, um, but, but now it's kind of like, it's accepted that it's CDs and controllers and yeah, fair play. You've got the software to do it, but can an old school DJ manipulate the DJ software like a, like a new school DJ can. It's kind of like anything. It's kind of like, it's kind of like getting a black cab and then now getting an Uber. It's like it's evolved and you have to move with the times. And, you know, technology has taken us into new places and without that technology, there wouldn't be certain songs. There wouldn't be certain DJ mixes. There wouldn't be certain DJs, you know, for example, like something like dubstep, you know, that kind of evolved out of slowing down drum and bass on some software and, and beefing up the base and all sorts of stuff like that, which you couldn't do in 1980, 81, 82, when you literally just had. Two record players and a crossfader.
Savia Rocks: 30:53
That's true.
Joe Carter: 30:53
So, yeah, I mean, for me, the real G's are the OG's who have, are still around now using the new stuff, you know, there are the ones that have, have the base in the knowledge of how to mix and beat match. For example, there's, there's DJs that learned to DJ before kind of, you know, some of the, some of the guys I've worked with at my soul, um, they're in their fifties, um, in their sixties and they, they learned to DJ on the original sort of in the original format, if you like. And, um, and now they're rolling with the times and now they. have learned and they're the people that are still around and they're the people that are still doing gigs and they're, you know, there's, um, 2019 summer of 2019. Um, I was going to say last year then it feels like the whole year has just disappeared, but it was actually, it's actually like nearly two years ago, Southport weekend, the festival in crystal palace park. Um, I was there with my soul and, um, I hadn't even seen the lineup. I was just there like, come on, let's go, let's do this. And someone says, Oh, David Roddigan's on in the tent over there. In about half an hour. Do you want to go? And I was like, yes, I want to go. I've never seen Rodigan before. And I had the pleasure of being able to, and the privilege of being able to watch him from the side of the stage. And let me tell you, man. Like that's a perfect example of an old school DJ who is so in touch with how to do things the new way. And he has maintained his relevance and you know, he's got every dub plates on CD or usB. It doesn't use vinyl and he works the crowd. He, you know, the thing about David Ruddigan, right? He does his DJ set mostly from in front of the DJ box. He's just like leaning over doing the mixing and then, and then, and then he's like, Interacting with the crowd, he's got this crowd going crazy. I've never seen a DJ do it like that before, and he that was inspirational for me.
Savia Rocks: 32:50
See, that's what I like to say. What about you? How do you feel that I'm not saying compare yourself, but I'm just saying, how do you feel like you have evolved from when you first started to who you are now and how you DJ?
Joe Carter: 33:05
Yeah. Um, yeah, that's a good shot. Um, when I first started DJing, it was, I got some, uh, I got some cheap turntables off a friend of a friend. They were like a hundred pounds. It was like, it was pretty rubbish equipment, but it got me going and I was in my bedroom. 24 seven with about five garage vinyls. Um, cause they came with the decks. Someone else had given up. I was like, you're giving up. I'm not giving up.
Savia Rocks: 33:34
Let's see what I mean.
Joe Carter: 33:35
Yeah. And it was like Pied Piper. Do you really like it? It was TKS flyby. It was Jaheim just in case the. the, the remix, something, you know, and it was a few just bangers. And, um, I was constantly, I was just going back and forth between those few tunes, just learning my craft, just learning, learning, learning, learning, tweaking things and learning the attention to detail that you need to be a DJ. It's funny, like you need a really, really particular, you know, you need a good attention to detail to be a DJ, but also. You need to be quick thinking. So you need to be super like laser focused on what you're doing, but for a very short time, and then suddenly you've got to do something else because you're only as good as your last tune sort of thing. Nowadays, nowadays I'm a bit more relaxed. So when I did my first gig, I was probably kind of head down, just focusing on getting stuff right. Now I've sort of, now I've sort of become an expert in my craft, if you like, in mixing and, and, and choosing songs that second nature. And now more time I spend entertaining the audience, you know, I'll pick up a microphone if it's there and I'll, I'll try and interact. I'll, uh, if there's some lights happening, I'll like jump in and try and do some of the lights and play around with the lights, you know, smoke machines, bubbles, anything, you know, jumping up and down on the social media way there, get everyone involved. That kind of thing. That's cool. And then just sort of running back to quickly do the, and that's probably since seeing Rodigan, the way he does it. It's like, if he can do it, I can do it. Of course
Savia Rocks: 35:06
you can. It's just drive and ambition and, and loving what, like you said it. You said it, Joe. Loving what you do.
Joe Carter: 35:14
Absolutely. Find what you love and just do
35:17
it.
Savia Rocks: 35:18
Yeah, I agree. Don't let anyone
Joe Carter: 35:20
tell you any different. Yes, I agree. Don't let I said someone today. Don't let anyone tell you any different. It's the saddest thing. Um, we're only here once. Do you know what I mean? And, and you got to make, you got to do what you love doing and enjoy your life.
Savia Rocks: 35:35
I think people are, the reason why people, if you say to someone, for instance, Joe, that you wanted to be a DJ and someone was to turn around and say, no, you can't do it. Industry is hard. The only reason why they would say that is that people have a tendency to throw their insecurities onto you.
Joe Carter: 35:49
Yeah, 100%. Yeah, I was told I've been told so many times and still to this day, you know, I was at Glastonbury festival in 2019. Um, and I was sitting with a friend. We went to catch some, uh, I think we went to see Mahalia. It was amazing. I'm beating her. And then there was, uh, as we were waiting to see her, we got chatting to some guy and he was like, Oh, what'd you do? And I said, Oh, I'm a DJ. And my friend went, yeah, he actually gets paid to do that. And I was like, That's like cool, right? That's nice. But come on, I believe in your believe what you can do. And that shouldn't be a shock. You know, you can you can make a job out of anything. You just keep doing it. Keep doing it. Keep doing it. 99 percent of the time, you might come up against stuff. But If you keep honing your craft and you become an expert that 1 percent of the time you got to be ready for that day when it comes, when someone says, we need someone to DJ here now. Yeah, exactly.
Savia Rocks: 36:52
It's not your bag. Be ready with your usB. Yeah, exactly.
Joe Carter: 36:55
Literally, literally, I, you know, I go, I go everywhere. I carry a backpack with me everywhere. Right. Um, and it's got my headphones in. These headphones I'm wearing now, and it's got, um, it's got my usBs and I'm ready for a gig whenever, wherever, you never know, right? You never know.
Savia Rocks: 37:13
I agree. If someone said to me, have a mic, I'd be ready to talk to anybody, anywhere, anytime and interview them. That's because you love it.
Joe Carter: 37:19
Yeah, exactly. And that's, I think that's it. It's, it's keep driving, keep becoming an expert and, um, And be ready some sometimes it comes early. Sometimes it comes late for different people, you know?
Savia Rocks: 37:34
Yeah. Do you know what? It doesn't matter when it comes as long as it comes. Yeah, that's why
Joe Carter: 37:38
that's why you've got to enjoy the process of honing that, um, honing that skill and becoming an expert in the field that you love. Um, it's about the process. Try not to focus on. I'm going to be a famous actor. I'm going to be a famous. Or, you know, I'm going to have X amount of followers. It's more about like doing what you love. And if that happens, it will happen naturally. And, but, but actually that doesn't matter. Because you're doing what you love, don't love the, don't love the goal, love the process and do you
Savia Rocks: 38:11
see, you're giving us some advice today, Joe, you know,
Joe Carter: 38:14
it's just stuff I've picked up along the way, you know, and, um, and finding what motivates you and finding the stuff that reminds you, you know, it sounds, it all sounds very simple, but it's not, it's hard, life is hard, like it's not an easy thing to do. Thing to do, but if life was easy, then it would be boring. So you need the hard times to make the good times. So, um, yeah, it's all about positivity. It's all about togetherness. It's I've, I've been the DJ world. There's a lot of people, sort of my generation and older. There's a lot of people who. are out for themselves, because DJing is quite a solo sort of lifestyle in a way. I'm, I'm of a different mindset. I'm of a togetherness and bring people together, kind of like the core sort of, if you've, if you think about what disco music is and what it did and, and what it did for society when it first came about, that's kind of, you know, What I'm about is togetherness. It's bring everyone together. It's, you know, everybody love everybody as Will Ferrell, as Will Ferrell said in a semi pro great film, by the way, but just dropping that in there, but, um, but yeah, I can't work with those people because you're constantly trying to fight for something, you know, trying to get your voice heard or whatever. Well, you know, it's another one I've learned is, you know, surround yourself with the people you, you want to, you want to be like, or the people that you have. When I become, you know, you're a product of your environment. So, you know, surround yourself with positive people. If there are negative people in your life. then try not to have them in your life as much. You know, it sounds harsh and it sounds cutthroat, but you've got to look out for yourself. Number one. And, and, and looking after yourself is, uh, is important in anything you do.
Savia Rocks: 40:09
Definitely. That's really good advice there. I was just listening to it going. What are you most proud of? See, this is going to be something similar to most would be the last one now because we've covered so much, but what are you most proud of that you stand for as an individual?
Joe Carter: 40:25
Um, yeah, well, yeah. I kind of covered it. Um, I stand for, um, togetherness. Um, we're a team, man. Like, you know, um, I, I don't like any kind of, any kind of prejudice. I think everyone deserves a chance to be whatever they want to be. Um, And, and that's kind of what I stand for. I, I wouldn't stand in anyone's way of doing what they want to do. Obviously, we're in reason, you know, within the confines of the law and, you know, and social acceptance.
Savia Rocks: 40:53
Hey,
Joe Carter: 40:57
I just want to go and kill people. No, you can't do that, but
Savia Rocks: 41:02
easy. Just, just back it up. Back it up.
Joe Carter: 41:04
Sorry. I'll back it back. Okay, here we go.
41:07
I
Joe Carter: 41:10
don't want to kill people. Trust, trust me. I don't want to, uh, no, yeah, that's what I stand for. I stand for, uh, just, I'm a bit of a hippie at heart, you know, hippie parents. Yeah. Peace and love.
Savia Rocks: 41:28
What would you do differently if nobody was judging you? So if there wasn't any judgment in the world, because we're constantly always getting judged by how we look, who we are, how we do things, what would you do differently?
Joe Carter: 41:43
It's a funny one. Actually. Um, I just, I literally, I just saw something on Instagram just before we started this and I put it on my stories and it was just a thing that said, No, you don't have to lose your lockdown weight by June 21st. And I was like, that's so true. So many people like people need to hear that message. Like some of the, like there's, there's positive people you can surround yourself with and there's negative people you can surround yourself with. And that goes for social media as well. We spend so much time looking at our phones these days. You can, you can choose who you follow on Instagram. You don't have to follow, um, like, I don't know, some kind of As a man, I don't want to be following some sort of toxic masculinity. Some like, you have to look like this. You have to be like this. You have to wear these clothes. You have to do this. It's something I've learned recently is to just ignore judgment. Like that's, it's kind of what you touched on earlier. So it was like people project their insecurities onto you and you have to, you just have to let that go. And you can't, you can't be letting that involve, um, you can't be letting that kind of. Inside your, your mind and your, and your mindset. You have to look out for yourself and you have to look out for, you know, for me, I've got a family, I've got a young family and you know, that's my motivation. You know, that's my number one priority in life. But, um, but also I need to do what's right for me and, um, Yeah, I'm sorry. I can't tangent it again. I do love a tangent.
Savia Rocks: 43:21
Tangents are actually really good, especially if they're motivated by heart and passion. When was the last time you felt totally at peace with yourself?
Joe Carter: 43:39
Oh, um, maybe not sure actually.
Savia Rocks: 43:46
Totally
Joe Carter: 43:46
at peace. Um, Is that something, I mean, I got into doing a lot of yoga in lockdown, which I hadn't done before. And that really, really helped me to, um, to just, Disconnect a bit from all the screens and all the media and all the white noise and all the adverts and everyone telling you this and that, um, that helped me feel at peace with myself, but I'm in the moment when I'm entertaining. So, you know, if I'm in, I'm, I'm in the middle of a song, singing a song on stage, or if I'm in the middle of a mix and the crowd is loving it when I'm DJing, then that is, that's me. Right there. That's what I love.
Savia Rocks: 44:27
See what I mean? That's good enough for me. If there was one quote that you could choose that represented you as a person, what quote would you choose and why would you choose that quote?
Joe Carter: 44:41
Um, interesting one again. I mean, I think I've touched on it a few times is just a really simple one that, you know, you see it every day, but I think a lot of people, I ignored it for a long time. It's just, you do you.
Savia Rocks: 44:56
And
Joe Carter: 44:56
there's so much in that, you know, if you're a deep thinker like me, there's so many ways you can read into that, but essentially it's kind of like, you know, do what you're good at and enjoy, do what you enjoy doing. You don't have to be good at it straight away. You know, failure is a lesson. The more you fail, the more you learn, the better you get. And if you're trying to, you know, I might suddenly tomorrow I might wake up and go, do you know what? I want to try knitting. I've never done knitting before. I want to try knitting. I'll do it. And that's me doing me and people might be like, you're crazy. What's wrong with you? You're a DJ. You should, you can't do knitting. And you know, like, yeah, exactly. So
Savia Rocks: 45:35
knit me a jumper. What'd you mean?
Joe Carter: 45:36
I'm not you the best jumper, but it will take a while because I'm going to,
Savia Rocks: 45:44
I am.
Joe Carter: 45:46
Oh, wait, but I'm going to go through a learning process while I'm doing that, you know, and I'm going to do some bad knitting and then I'm going to, I'm going to start off with some bad needles, you know, I'm going to get some cheap knitting needles, the second hand from like charity shop, and then I'm going to be like, Oh, hang on a minute. I could maybe get better needles and then get better wool and then make better, you know, make better jumpers and scarves and stuff. Do you know what I mean? It's a process.
46:11
I just
Savia Rocks: 46:13
see a big hole.
46:14
Savia,
Savia Rocks: 46:16
this is your jumper. What happened, Joe? It's an air vent.
46:21
It
Joe Carter: 46:22
might get hot. That's the fashion now, Savia. Everyone's wearing holes on their jumpers. That's it.
Savia Rocks: 46:29
I'd be so grateful. I would wear that jumper with pride.
Joe Carter: 46:32
Oh, Well, I mean, like, bombshell. don't think it's going to happen. I'm sorry, but if I ever do, you're going to be the first person to receive a Joe Carter jumper with a big hole in it. Might be on to something here. I might have to start a shop on Etsy or something.
46:51
I
Savia Rocks: 46:51
have to like, I like bright colors as well. Okay. Yeah,
Joe Carter: 46:56
me too. I like, um, you know, like I've got, I've got this jacket called the disco jacket. It's a bomber jacket and that must be colors. It's um, well, I've got a couple actually. This was my favorite one though. It's just pure. It's all gold sequins. Just like bomber jacket. Yeah. You bust out on the, on the DJ set and people,
Savia Rocks: 47:17
yeah.
Joe Carter: 47:18
Exactly. I'll let you do the singing.
Savia Rocks: 47:27
Oh, man, we don't stop because I know where this is going.
47:32
This is
Savia Rocks: 47:34
going to go. So if you could give any advice to any fans you have, or any followers you have, and we all have them, even if they're undercover, because we're always inspirational to someone, even if we don't have the confidence, like you were saying in the beginning, people have that confidence for us. Absolutely. If you could how to not give up, be positive, no matter if you haven't got the support you need, we haven't got the funds you need. How can you remain positive and keep striving for your goals to be who you want to be in life?
Joe Carter: 48:11
Find out what you want to be and what you want to do and do it and don't let anyone else get in your way and make sure everything you do. Is towards that final goal. And if you, if you, whatever it is, you know, um, there's, there's a lot of different things you can say, like in this situation, but. Again, it comes back to that kind of you do you trust the process, do what you enjoy. You're not here for long. And that's
Savia Rocks: 48:42
true.
Joe Carter: 48:43
You really aren't. And when you get to 36 and you go, hang on a minute,
48:47
I'm
Joe Carter: 48:48
not like young anymore, but you know, some people go, you are young and then you're like, okay, yeah, maybe I've got some time. But it's that kind of thing, isn't it? It's Yeah. It's yeah, I think I'll keep it short and sweet. You do you and follow your dream. And it's not a cliche. That is the truth. And it can happen.
Savia Rocks: 49:10
No, it will happen. Yeah. It will happen. It will happen. I have faith in people. So definitely you don't have to know someone to have. And usually, actually me saying that as the people that don't know you sometimes that have to faith in you the most,
Joe Carter: 49:25
yeah, it's the people, yeah, the people that haven't seen you, you know, um, through your, Life, you know, it's the people that know you for who you are now, the people who see you when you're in the moment, not the people, the old friends and family, maybe who switch off when they see you doing your thing because they just know you as a friend or whatever.
Savia Rocks: 49:47
I've got two more for you. Okay. And my last one is, what would you like your legacy to be when you decide and only when you decide that you've had enough? Or you think you've done all that you can do. How would you like people to
50:05
remember you?
Joe Carter: 50:06
Um, as someone that, like, brought a smile to their face. As someone that, um, entertained them. Um, to be honest with you, I think I'll be doing it until the day I die. Because I love it.
50:18
I like that. That's a
Savia Rocks: 50:20
good answer for me. Yeah. That's a perfect answer for me. And finally, my last one for you, and you're going to be ready for this one is, well, his face is like, it's not that bad, Joe. Here we go with a knitted jumper. Finally, where can we find you? On all your social media platforms. And if anybody would like to get in contact with you, like I've had the pleasure to, where can they find you?
Joe Carter: 50:54
Um, yeah. So, um, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter at Joe Carter music, it's, uh, Joe with an E then yeah, Carter music, Joe Carter music, best places, Insta. That's where I'm most of the time. Um, in terms of social media. And yeah, that's the best place to get in touch.
Savia Rocks: 51:11
Joel, this is where I say to you, thank you so much for coming on the Ask People podcast. Thank you for your kindness and your sense of humor. I've loved every second of it. Thank you so much.
Joe Carter: 51:22
Thank you for having me. I've had a great time as well. Thanks. It was lovely to finally get to chat to you.
Savia Rocks: 51:28
Yeah, most definitely. Guys, thank you so much for listening to the us people podcast. And please remember you can subscribe to Spotify. Itunes change Google play and any other platform that you prefer listening to. Please also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also donate to the Us podcast by simply going on the Savia Rocks website or just typing in paypal. me forward slash us people podcast. Guys, thank you so much for listening. Stay happy, stay positive, and as always, please, continue to be kind to one another.
Joe Carter: 52:31
Hey, my name is Joe Carter. I'm a producer, a presenter, a podcaster, and a pa pa pa
Savia Rocks: 52:36
ha ha ha ha
52:38
pa pa pa pa All
Joe Carter: 52:40
the Ps! Why do I do stuff that always begins with P, right?
52:44
Huh?
Joe Carter: 52:45
I didn't even say DJ did I? In the first one, right? Okay.