Mr Cormac- Nag Nag Nag's Next Star-
Author: Jonty Skrufff
Sunday, March 21, 2004
And 8 months later, the expat Irishman spins monthly at The Ghetto's equally fashionable gay/ electro weekly The Cock and beyond, while continuing to bar undesirables from Nag every Wednesday (notably Christina Aguilera and Irish boy band Westlife).
"There are nights you think it should be called Blag, Blag, Blag, the stories people come out with trying to get in," he laughs.
"I've had girls groping my cock, trying to get in, people offering me money and drugs. Sometimes some of them get embarrassed by what they say, comments like 'do you know who I am-' Actually, only one person has ever said that to me; Kylie Minogue's ex-boyfriend, what was his name, James Gooding- I said 'Yes, I do know who you are and you're not coming in'."
"I've also been spat at in the street once," he chuckles, "It happened when I was walking through Soho Square on day."
Skrufff: (Jonty Skrufff) How long have you been DJing for-
Mr Cormac: "Not long, just a few months. I've been into dance music for seven years or so and I was previously a club podium dancer which made me understand I was more interested in the music than the movement. The DJing all came about through opportunity and good luck. I'd bought some decks and learned how to beat mix and found I really enjoyed it. Though I was actually offered my first proper gig before I could beat mix, to be honest, which I've since found out is quite common amongst lots of DJs who are nowadays well known. It's a good way to learn, to make all your fuck-ups right at the start and also to get through the fear of getting up there and doing it. My first gig was at The Cock, eight months ago."
Skrufff: How did the Cock gig come about-
Mr Cormac: "I'd been doing a project with John Taylor from Punx Soundcheck and part of that project was making music as a band, he was already doing the first Friday of the month as a Punx Soundcheck night at The Cock and he offered me the gig as a monthly thing. Everything progressed from there. My second gig was at Cock Live at The Face magazine party which was even better, I loved it. That was the first time I really saw people reacting to what I was playing and dancing and that was when I really got into DJing. I'd had so many lost moments myself dancing in clubs and to be able to create that atmosphere and effect as a DJ was amazing."
Skrufff: You started from zero; how did you decide what records and what style to play as a DJ-
Mr Cormac: "I started from a position of playing dance music predominantly, though I'd also got into the whole electro thing a few years ago and by the time I started going to Nag I was so ready for it, it was so overdue. For years I'd been going out on the hard house/ tribal gay scene and had got so blatantly bored, so when I started hearing electro, with its tongue-in-cheek, more fun vibe I was immediately into it and knew that it was a scene I wanted to get involved in."
Skrufff: When did you first move from Northern Ireland to London-
Mr Cormac: "I grew up in a little town called Banbridge, near Belfast, which was where I started clubbing and had my first foray into dance music and all that comes with it; the good and the bad, the natural and the unnatural. I was a podium dancer in those hard house clubs of the time (chuckling), I was about 16 or 17 then. Clubbing really inspired me to move to London, actually much more than the gay scene."
Skrufff: How old were you when you came to London-
Mr Cormac: "I was 20 and came over not knowing anybody, I came here for a bit of freedom I wasn't feeling it at home. It was quite challenging for my Mum to deal with my sexuality, being based in a small town, at that time. I felt out on a limb when I first go Tags