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What are your thoughts about the music industry's changing face? Songs don't have any longevity anymore. How do you think this keeps producers motivated to create new music when it's here today and gone tomorrow?

I try not to think or put myself into that kind of mindset. If I find a piece of music that really appeals to me, then it lives in my record case for a very long time. I hang onto it because good songs are hard to come by - that's the bottom line. I don't care about people saying, "Oh that record's so old and he's still playing it." Well, then you play something for me that's better than this! Because other DJs are saying this shit anyway, and I'm sorry, DJs don't pay to get into clubs and DJs don't dance in front of me... I'm not playing for them! I'm playing for the room. Don't sit back and critique me or the next DJ... Do your job!

It's not enough just to be current, because I can't play disposable music. I come from a school where songs lived a long time, they had at least nine months of a lifep. And right after that they turned into classics. I'm not saying that it has to be played everytime you play, but what's wrong with carrying it with you?

Like with all these classics parties that everybody has, and people hearing all this old-school stuff... It's not attractive when you hear it all the time. It's just mundane. It's a bunch of old records being played all the time. But when you're at a party and you've got music that's current and groovy and it's happening, the vibe is really there. And then all of a sudden... PING! Out of nowhere, you play something that's completely old school but it's great, it just completely blindsides you and you get the whole room go up at the same time. It's a rush! And that's what it's supposed to do! Even a great song that came out last summer or three summers ago can still do the same thing.

Except for "Mirror Dance"!

Oh don't worry about it, I don't play "Mirror Dance"! I understand the attraction to it though... especially when you're high.

A lot of DJs were still playing that in Miami this year, can you believe that?

When you've got these events in Miami and you've got a bunch of different DJs playing in one particular party, they're all competing against one another now. They're not playing with each other. I don't think the camaraderie is there.

Really? Did you used to think like that?

My mindset is that I think we're all performers, just like singers. If you go to a show and see Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder or Aretha Franklin... You don't expect Gladys to do Aretha, you expect them to do their own repertoire. It's them being themselves! For as long as I've been in this business, I've managed to amass a repertoire of my own. Stylistically, people know exactly what they're going to get. However I still have to read the room the best way I know how. I never second-guess my audience, I'm never complacent and it would be a lousy thing for me to pull on the crowd. It basically says that I'm not working, I'm just going through the motions.

Do you think the cult of the superstar DJ is over?

I hope! Seriously, I hope. I think it's just blown this whole thing completely out of proportion. It's moved everything from what was simple and magical about going out and clubbing into a much bigger stratosphere that is so beyond anybody being able to handle it. It's big business.

I'm sure you feel that there's an expectation of how you're supposed to sound.

Absolutely. All the time! I know what's expected of me here in Chicago, but it's a struggle for me to butt up against it everytime I play. Bottom line, people who have followed me for years expect nothing but old school. And therefore a lot of them will always complain, "I'm not going to see him because he doesn't play any old school - he plays all that new shit!" But they forget all that "old school" I was playing for them back then was new at the time! Nothing about what I do has changed. I've always tried to stay ahead of myself just to remain in it.

I left here in '87, and this city got locked into everything I did before that and stayed there, from 1977-1987. But here's the interesting thing... When I played at Smart Bar, those kids didn't know and those kids didn't care. All they knew is that I was there and they were enjoying what I was doing! But if it had been event of my own, there would have been a contingent in that room that just would not have been happy.

How do you know?!

Baby, I know! And believe me, I am my own worst enemy when it comes to being judgmental about what I do. There's nothing anybody can say about what I do that can make me feel worse than what I can say about it. Because at the end of the day, I have a conscience and I have to completely reflect on what I've just done.

Are you hard on yourself?

I think I am. It's not worth it if I'm not. Believe me, I know when it's good or when it's over the top. I know when it's better than best. And then I know when I could have done better!

I bet you get a lot of stalkers, huh?

Hmm... I get a lot of them in Italy. They're very pro-Frankie over there! [laughs] I love the Italian people, they're very passionate. They're very event-oriented. Every meal is an event. Fashion is an event. Like when you're ready to go out? Nobody steps out not looking like they stepped out of the pages of a magazine. Food, dancing, music - everything is all done in such a big way and when they know what they like, they hang on it.

Do you still have your residency there?

Yes, in the city of Riccione. I'm doing it again this year, once a month.

Speaking of residencies, why don't you tell me about when you did Sundays at Hydrate? I used to be there every week, and everyone was so surprised that you were going to do this small club on Halsted Street!

I wanted to do that more than anything just because it really took me back to basics. It's nice being able to be in a small room like that and be so close to everybody. There's no fluff! It's a little neighborhood bar, and it got to be something special. But the people who owned the place didn't quite understand what they had. There were a lot of different things that were involved that kind of worked against it.

Would you ever do it again?

I would love to do it again! I've completely restructured my traveling schedule and, actually, I'm looking for a residency here.

Oh my God, once this article comes out your Facebook inbox will be full! Well before we wrap up, is there anything else that you'd like to tell the folks?

You know, I've never tried to be unapproachable, because the job I do is just not that serious. The only thing I ask people to do is to at least allow me to do my job when I'm doing it and respect the job that I have to do. If I can't just hold an in-depth conversation with you about absolutely nothing when you're on your job, well then give me the same respect. Just because I say it's not that big of a deal doesn't mean that it's not important. It's very important to the people I have to play for!