[INTERVIEW] MIX EXCLUSIVE – THE JUGGERNAUT

 

(We’re unbelievably excited for our next installment of Mainline, absolutely shutting down Spin Nightclub with our MASSIVE double-headliner featuring ajapai and THE JUGGERNAUT. Deets Here )

The Juggernaut are seemingly elusive throughout the interwebs – unsure whether it’s because they’re overly modest or it’s because I’ve refused to get on the Google+ bandwagon and now the search engine has turned against me, but either way it’s completely unacceptable, if not slightly unsettling. OC two-piece THE JUGGERNAUT made-up of members Erik Tinajero & David Gill are emblems, if not key members of SoCal’s steady-rising bass music scene, and certainly deserve to be recognized as such.

Erik kindly took the time to chat with us about The Juggernaut’s recent tour with SKRILLEX, their forthcoming releases, and gave us his thoughts about the West Coast’s dubstep movement.

TheMixster.com: You guys just finished doing a few tour dates with Skrillex – how was it?!
Erik (The Juggernaut): Pretty much anytime you play a show with [Skrillex] it’s going to be the best shows, just because of the crowd he brings out. I’ve played with Sonny [Skrillex] a bunch, I was friends with him before the whole Skrillex thing… So luckily he’s carried on our friendship through the years and now bringing us along for shows! It’s always a great time.

TheMixster.com: What was your favorite city/most memorable gig to play on the tour?

Erik (The Juggernaut): Wow I dunno Scottsdale, Arizona was really good, because the venue looked like you were playing on Main Street in Disneyland! It was probably one of the coolest venues ever. Oh, and EDC of course.

TheMixster.com: OK so you guys have some pretty exciting releases coming out soon, including an upcoming EP! Give us a breakdown.

Erik (The Juggernaut): On our [Noble Dream] EP it’s kinda mix of everything. Like general heavy kinda stuff and then there’s the more melodic stuff. Then we’ve got a track with DELL: he’s the guy from Atlanta who raps a lot with AC Slater. And we have a remix on there from Figure and as well as a remix from J. Rabbit. We’re hoping to get the EP out, probably by Fall or Winter!

As for releases, we just had a remix come out for Getter, it was a track called “Vile Orchaestra” that came out recently, just over a week ago. And we also just gave away a track for free to our Facebook fans, it’s called “Good Grief” and it’s a bootleg of the Charlie Brown “Peanuts” theme. We also have a remix for Dawn of Ashes coming out soon as well! You know how labels are, the song has been done for 6 months but it hasn’t been released so…

TheMixster.com: I hate the term brostep. So what term would you guys use to describe your sound?

Erik (The Juggernaut): HA! You know, I just call [our sound] “generic space music.” I don’t really like to define anything because at the end of the day it’s all really coming from the same tree. That’s pretty much where it’s going these days because the lines of genres have become so blurred and everything is just becoming just a mix. In the end it’s all a great thing because before it used to be, if you went to a dubstep show you couldn’t play anything else except dubstep. Because like, people would actually hate it. And when you played an electro show, and you played dubstep, people would you know, throw things at you. (laughs) It’s great to see that nowadays you can go to any show and hear so many different styles of music, all in just one night.

TheMixster.com: How do you guys feel about SoCal’s Bass music scene in general?

Erik (The Juggernaut): I think it’s going great! I think, just from traveling around, it’s one of the best I’ve seen! On any given night… It’s the best and the worst simultaneously, I will say that! Because LA, even though it’s the best, sometimes you have TOO MANY events, rather than a city where you can only have one event a month, altogether. It keeps people hungry for more. I think LA has a great scene and so many great producers are living here in LA, so the scene in general is really good.

TheMixster.com: So you guys live in Orange County is that correct? What’s it like to party up there?

Erik (The Juggernaut): There’s only a few really good ones. The main one, that put Orange County on the map, is Dubtroit, and that’s run by 12th Planet. And that’s pretty much the best one out here, aside from monthlies and off-shoots. Flinch throws a night called HEAVY which was really good, until it got shut down by the cops. (laughs) But right now I think they’re trying to find a new venue for it.

TheMixster.com: So they’re aren’t just a bunch cougars up there?

Erik (The Juggernaut): (laughs) HA! O no there is don’t get me wrong! But on certain nights you can find some good things, but as a general “is there something to do every night?”… No. It’s a once a month/twice a month thing.

TheMixster.com: You guys have also played in San Diego at Dub Dorado before – How would you compare Dub Dorado to other events you’ve played?

Erik (The Juggernaut): Oh I loved it! I still talk about that show to people when we talk about places to play in San Diego. I always tell them to hit up Corey (Mr Biggs) or Joe (Headshake) because the scene, and the crowd is fantastic! I like smaller venues, with high energy crowds. I used to play in hardcore bands so those are the kinda shows we like better. I think that mentality sticks to this day. So those shows to me are much more fun than the bigger ones we play.

TheMixster.com: So EDC was kinda overwhelming huh?

Erik (The Juggernaut): EDC was great for the experience but I was so far away from anybody! I was so high up the crowd looked tiny from where I was. It was great and I’m totally grateful for the experience of playing at EDC but as far as crowd interaction goes, it wasn’t at the top…

TheMixster.com: Why the name THE JUGGERNAUT?

Erik (The Juggernaut): Well we started out making electro under the name DMNDAYS and I used to have a residency out here in Orange County. The residents were me, Flinch, and 12th Planet and we were making electro. Then Jon (12th Planet) started getting me into dubstep and showing me all this new stuff and everything and from there we decided to make a few dubstep tracks ourselves. So we made two tracks: the first was called “Rape Escape” and we did one that was the original bootleg for the Charlie Brown theme. And “Rape Escape” received way more reaction than we expected. It was getting played by Borgore, 12th Planet, etc. But then we couldn’t get any shows because [under the name DMNdays] people thought we would only play electro. So that’s when we decided to change the name and our manager always had said that “The Juggernaut” would make a great name for a band. Which, I’m pretty sure there is one out there, but we just don’t know about it. (laughs) So we decided to go with that name.

TheMixster.com: So it’s not because you guys are undercover comic book nerds?

Erik (The Juggernaut): No… People always ask us if we’re big X-men fans and I hate to burst their bubble but nooooo… I didn’t even know it was Comic Con in San Diego this weekend until a friend told me yesterday!

TheMixster.com: You guys have been working hard in the studio and have been producing a slew of remixes for huge names in the Bass Music realm as of recent. Who are the top three people on your guys wish list to remix your own tracks and why?

Erik (The Juggernaut): O man! I would think Skrillex, just because we’ve been friends for so long and I’d love to be able to see what he could do with it. And my personal favorites are Skream & Benga, and Emalkay. If I could even meet Emalkay one day, I’d probably freak out (laughs) I’m very into the UK production. US is doing its own thing and everything but the sound I enjoy the most is the sound coming out of the UK.

TheMixster.com: What’s one track (aside from your own) that you’re definitely going to play at MAINLINE this Friday?!?!

Erik (The Juggernaut): The newest tracks Sonny (Skrillex) just finished, a couple of tracks that are going to be on his new album! Which are phenomenal! I don’t think they even have names yet…

TheMixster.com: And you excited to see/play with ajapai this Friday? Have you played with him before?

Erik (The Juggernaut): I’ve never seen him before! But my buddy Jeff (J. Rabbit) he played with [ajapai] not too long ago and he said he’s one of the nicest guys and he buts on a great show.

 

 

Support West Coast dubstep and join our SoCal crew taking over – unleashing top-notch bass music this Friday night, July 22nd at Spin Nightclub SD (2028 Hancock St.)

EXCLUSIVE: RSVP here and say “TheMixster.com” at the door for a sweet $5 off cover before 1AM.
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By: TD