You really started collecting records at age five?
My siblings were already teenagers. My folks were trying to get these kids out of the house and then here comes Paul. I wanted to be like my older brothers, and they collected music. My dad loved music and was a jazz guy. I'd look at his collection and think, "He has a bunch of records!" But now I realize it was just [gestures to show a 2-foot stack].
It all depends on what's in the stack, right?
His was hardcore jazz. [John] Coltrane and Thelonious Monk. For a kid's ear, it's not like a melody you catch on TV. It was more [mimics Monk's percussive piano chords]. Listening to that with him and my mom's records… everything was focused on records. Back in those days, department stores had record sections, and I told my mom I wanted the 45 of James Brown's "Hot Pants [(She Got to Use What She Got to Get What She Wants)]" and King Floyd's "Groove Me." They were 99 cents each. Those two records were the beginning of my collection.
This is just a Long Island suburban department store. Not digging in crates at A-1 [Record Shop (legendary East Village record store)]?
[laughs] A-1 didn't exist. I don't think the owners were even born yet! Just regular department stores, like Korvettes or TSS (Time Square Stores) all had record sections that also stocked cassettes and 8-tracks.
You developed into a DJ before joining Stetsasonic. How did you move from collecting to learning the craft of DJ-ing?
I started DJ-ing when I was 10, and that was prompted, again, from having older siblings. They'd talk about getting a Pioneer turntable or a new needle, so my focus was on what they had. In those days, I'd ride my bike to the park, and they'd have these big speakers set up. In Long Island, I'd hear "thump thump thump" and know somebody's having a party. As I'd ride closer, I'd see all these people outside, speakers blasting, and the turntables. I would sit in front of the DJ on my bike thinking, "That's what I want to do!" We had one of those component sets that had a turntable and maybe an 8-track attached to it. I got another cheap BSR turntable, and I put it on top of the console. I ran the two turntables left and right side into the console and channeled it out to mono. I could mix from one turntable to the next with the balance knob. After a while the knob got pretty loose!
The one knob you needed.
This was before scratching, so from there it was really about trying to get money. At that point my dad had passed away and we were a single parent household. "How do I get this money to buy records?" Equipment was just way out of pocket. Slowly but surely, I got a better setup, but I think learning how to DJ on something rickety made it easier by the time I got something legit.
It's like finally driving a nice car.
It's just like driving a car. I had this one-wheeled car and I balanced it out. Now I've got four wheels. I could turn corners without a problem. It made me that much more skillful and even more mindful of every little thing about a turntable. It's like when you see Terminator X [Norman Rogers] and he takes something and breaks it down. You had to figure out how things worked and why it worked. You opened it up. You took it apart. Let's tighten the clamps. Let's oil it, let's clean it. It's like going to Cuba and they got all these old cars. Where are the parts? They're making them themselves because they can't get parts and they are trying to keep these cars from the '50s and '60s working. That's how I analyze music as well: From the technical side of the equipment, to looking at music and doing the Terminator X thing, to dissecting every little part, every tone.
That's the same way you approach conceptual albums like A Prince Among Thieves.
Everything is a picture in my...
