Q&A with ADRIAN LOVING

[First Published on DC Setlist on Thursday, March 22, 2012]

He DJs, teaches, creates, curates & puts a smile on your face!  He is ADRIAN LOVING, a DC creative who is making things happen!  See what he's up to this weekend and we bet you'll want to join in the fun!

Q:  Adrian you have a packed schedule of killer events coming up this weekend! Let's start with the AXEL party this Saturday at Liv! Give us all the details...

A:  Well, since it's Women's History Month we thought we would honor our musical queens by focusing on the music of our most popular female singers, emcees and musicians of the time. Axel F focuses on music from 1977-1987 respectively. Artists such as Chaka Khan, Evelyn Champagne King, Vesta Williams, Grace Jones, Minnie Ripperton, Roxanne Shante, Lisa Lisa are a few that we really love. DJs Jahsonic, Stylus and myself really put a lot into this party. We have videos, games and tons of friends that come celebrate each 4th friday of every month.  Wear your best 80's outfits too!!

Q:  Sunday is also a big day for you that starts off with a pre party at Napoleon in Adams Morgan; it's a meet & greet with the artists performing at the Corcoran Gallery of Art featuring Basquiats band GRAY! Please tell us about both!

A:  Gray is my favorite art band from New York City. They will be doing a pre-party dj set with me on Friday night at Napoleon.  Should be a lot of fun. We're gonna play classic art disco and nu wave from back in the day. The Gray show on Sunday will be killer! Lots of projection art, homemade sounds and noises but very intellectual and groovy.  Downtown luminaries such as Fab 5 Freddy, Glenn O'Brien and Jean-Michel Basquiat will be featured in the short videos. Tickets can be found on Corcorans website under events… but hurry... they are going fast!!

Q:  You mentioned that you've had a long standing relationship with Michael Holman of GRAY. How did you to meet & decide to put this show together? 

A:  I have known Michael since we were both professors at Howard University back in 2006. We did an event together at a music store called DJ Hut for the releaseof his DVD Grafitti Rock. We just stayed friends all this time. He is a real inspiration to me! When he mentioned Gray performing again, I said "we gotta do this in D.C."so we started the discussion to work together.  It's been about 7 months since we started planning this event.

Q:  For folks who want to attend any of these events please tell us where we need to go to RSVP or buy tickets for each.

A:  Napoleon is FREE for the pre party, and if you want to go to the show for Gray on Sunday... use this link:  GRAY LIVE.  Axel F is on Saturday at Liv 2001 11th Street NW.  Go to: AXEL F PARTY $5.00 before 12 and $10.00 after.

Q:  As a DJ here in DC, where do you get most of your VINYL???

A:  I shop around to a lot of places like thrift stores, Joe's Record Paradise, Som Records, and trade a lot of music with friends and other djs. There aren't many shops left in the area so it's tricky these days.

Q:  For those who want to track your gigs where should they go? And what's your twitter handle? 

A:  I usually post my gigs on Facebook, and I am working on my website now. But my twitter handle is @adrianloving Email works best though, and if your my friend…usually you know what I'm doing!!

Q:  You mentioned that you are working on a solo video project featuring neo art pieces that should be ready in May.  Sounds amazing! Can you tell us more about it?

A:  Yes, well it's really techie but the pieces are small videos that work in the language of analog to digital processing of the image. Video textures are explored through the use of color saturation, static, and visual distortion. The pieces are primarily abstract in nature, non-narrative and color based with overlays and layering as the technique. It's sort of hard to explain but you will get it when you see them. Video projections, sculptures and installations of audio and video make up what the exhibition will consist of.

Q:  Like most creatives, you have a day job! What do you teach at Marymount University as an Adjunct Professor? 

A:  Well I have several jobs… but my life as a professor of 6 years consists of teaching Photoshop, Illustrator and Drawing to students at Marymount University and Montgomery College. It's a lot of fun to work with kids and stay creative. I learn a lot from them.

Q:  To wrap it up please tell us 3 of the Songs [and the Artists] who've been looping on your iPod this week. 

A:  Berlin - Take My Breath Away / The Human League - Love Action / Gwen Mcrae - All This Love I'm Giving