Groove Junkies Interview
by Terry Matthew | Published February 2007 | Features Archives

THE HISTORY OF THE music industry, from Perry Como to Perry Farrell, might be littered with burned-out artists hyped as the Next Big Thing, but the House music industry doesn't live by those rules. An ingrained cynicism toward "one hit wonder" means singers and producers are constantly paying their dues through a stream of original productions and remix projects and tours of every town with a nightclub in it until one day - and it seems like it's "overnight", but those who have watched the process unfold know better - you're suddenly a walking, talking, living legend.

Together since 2001 but with more than four decades of experience between them, Evan Landes and Parrish Wintersmith - the LA-based DJ and production duo known collectively as Groove Junkies - can tell you something about the work involved in making an "overnight success". They've toured Europe and North America several times over and remixed and produced dozens of hit records and best-selling mix CDs, but it's only recently that they've graduated to the status of being considered giants in the dance music industry.

You know their sound for sure. Their remix of Frankie Knuckles' "I've Had Enough" (featuring Nicki Richards on vocals) was a club hit - and, in Chicago terms, a rare "crossover" that found favor with both old school and new school DJs. Their original productions such as "Music's Gotcha Jumpin'" and "Dr. Feelgood" have made their MoreHouse Records label one of the few imprints that distributors, stores and DJs purchase on sight, without hearing a note from a new slab of vinyl. And last summer, Frankie Knuckles (one of the earliest Groove Junkies supporters) included three of their mixes on DubJ's D'light, an album of Frankie's classic material remixed and reworked by a handpicked group of elite producers. Their mixes were featured alongside those of Blaze, Eric Kupper, Quentin Harris and others - good company, by any definition.

Ahead of the start of a worldwide tour, a slew of new releases prior of the Winter Music Conference in Miami in March and their second ever trip to Chicago to play at Sonotheque on March 16, 2007, I talked with Parrish and Evan about the long road to their becoming an "overnight" success.

PARRISH WINTERSMITH: I'm originally from Detroit. I moved to LA about twenty years ago, so LA is my home now.

5: Did you ever get into the early sounds from the Detroit techno movement - Juan Atkins, Carl Craig, etc.?

PARRISH: I really didn't get into it when I was living in Detroit. I guess I got into Detroit techno later on. I didn't come to House music until around 1989, through Masters at Work, Todd Terry, Kerri Chandler, Tony Humphries . . . I was totally engrossed in it once I discovered it.

EVAN LANDES: I'm originally from New York City and lived there until I was 19. I made my way across the country and lived in Minneapolis for about eight years. I was actually introduced to the DJing world back in that era. It was an interesting time because that was when the Minneapolis sound started to evolve. I started going to nightclubs in New York in the mid-'70s, but I really caught the bug in Minneapolis in the late-'70s. I was in a record pool with Jimmy Jam before he was with The Time and met Prince back in the early days.

Eventually I came out to Southern California in the mid-'80s, and that was really when I caught the House bug. I've been DJing for 27 years, but I caught the House bug in the late 1980s, and really started honing my own songwriting skills from that time through the early '90s. Slowly but surely, I started to inundate myself with all of the material - playing it in the clubs, living it, eating it, breathing it . . .

5: So how did you guys first meet?

PARRISH: Evan and I first met at a club we were both DJing at out in Santa Monica back in 1997. Prior to joining forces, we'd already had our own things going on. A friendship grew from there, though we didn't actually start working on music until 2001. Between the time we met and the time we started working together, we kept in touch and kept an eye on one another until we finally got together at the Winter Music Conference in Miami.

EVAN: We wrote a bunch of tunes 2001, ultimately put up a package together and sent it out to a bunch of labels, one of which was Soulfuric Records. [Label head] Brian Tappert really liked what he heard and was interested in putting out some songs, but at the same time we were interested in starting our own record label. That was when MoreHouse Records was born, basically in 2002. Brian ultimately saw the bigger picture - long story short, MoreHouse wound up becoming Soulfuric's first distributed label. We're no longer with them, but we parted company amicably and they're still our extended family, so to speak. Great people - what can you say about them? They're certainly one of the leaders in the House music world.

5: I wanted to ask about Frankie Knuckles - you seem to have a really strong working relationship with him. How did that come about?

PARRISH: I met Frankie when he was playing out here in LA at Deep, Marques Wyatt's residency. The wonderful thing about Frankie is he's not one of the "superstar DJs" that's an unapproachable spirit with an unapproachable vibe. He's the same way with everybody. He took a little time to talk to us, took some music we had. This is before we had any records out and were still in the shopping stages. He was one of the first guys on the ground floor to take notice of what we were doing. It's been a very, very welcome relationship. Last year, at Pacha in Ibiza, we had the pleasure of opening for him. It was probably the highlight of the year for us.

EVAN: I'll take it one step further - it was one of the highlights of my career. Working with him - and in that venue, with the energy in that room, the number of people there . . . and Frankie was a more gracious host than you possibly dream of. It was a great experience.

My wife and I are both from New York, and I'm pretty sure she knew Frankie from back in the day before that night at Deep. It was extremely lucky and we're very blessed to have made that connection with him and make this long-lasting friendship and relationship we have. He's one of a kind - certainly a true legend within the music community and House music in particular.

5: The remix you did for "I've Had Enough" - it was really strange when I first heard it. It was in a set of classics, from a DJ known for playing classics, and I honestly thought it was an old track I hadn't heard before. But it was popular everywhere - I'd say just about every flavor of House music DJ found something to really love about that mix.

PARRISH: Really? That's really cool. It's good hearing that.

EVAN: It is interesting hearing that because while we do a modicum of travelling and playing out, we sometimes don't get to see the end result of our labor and how it's being received. We get feedback, but quite honestly, I had no clue how it was being received. That's really nice to hear. We've heard good things about it and that it was doing well. But we've only been to Chicago once prior to this upcoming date in March. We definitely have to get back to the city where House music was born.

PARRISH: Prior to that, we remixed Frankie's "Matter of Time". Both that song and "I've Had Enough" had the same vocalist, Nicki Richards. When you have a vocal that good, you can go so many different ways musically. That's part of the fun, I think.

5: You showed some of your remix skills on DubJ's D'light, the album of remixes of Frankie's material that came out last summer. Was that kind of a "seal of approval" for you?

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