New York Press: Dance Floor Prophet

DJ Nickodemus has been spinning for Turntables on the Hudson, an annual series of outdoor dance parties on the Hudson River, for 11 years. This summer, TOTH has a party tonight at Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City, three events slated for August and one on Governors Island. Nicko put down the discs to talk with New York Press about crazy partiers swimming across the Hudson and why the East River has been left in the dust.

So this is the 11th year of Turntables on the Hudson. How has the party changed through the years?
As much as I hate to admit it, we're a lot older now. The party has changed locations and ends at 2 a.m., but we're still outdoors and still keeping it funky.

What about the party's music has kept it popular?
The music we play at the party is funky, eclectic and all-inclusive. Plus, DJs and producers keep pumping out interesting sounds, so it never gets old.

What's the craziest thing that's ever happened at a TOTH party?
Well, we plead the 5th. OK, a few times on the Hudson, people jumped in the River, but one time a guy swam across to the Jersey Side. Other than that, it's mainly just clean fun with an occasional musical surprise.

Your new CD, Sun People, came out mid-June. How's that been going?
It's exciting to hear everyone's reactions around the world. It's seemed to reach all sorts of music lovers, not just the DJ's. I love when someone like my Mom can relate to the sound as well as a dance floor in Stockholm or Barcelona.

Anything new or special surprises for this year's shows?
Yes, I'm working on the live show, which is turning out to be more of a DJ set with a few live guests, some interesting performances and visuals. Getting the band together is a real challenge in New York, but there are other creative ways to perform the music that are interesting for me and hopefully for the dance floor. Sept. 6, we'll show off a little of the new tunes live on stage on Governors Island for our 11th Anniversary.

What do you think about the current state of the NYC party scene?
I think it's busy as ever, and it's going on in smaller secret venues all the time. There's always all these trends popping up, but in general I think people are out for a good time and something different. I do wish there were more young people going out who were into underground music. We were 15 and 16 years old sneaking into hip-hop, techno and house parties back in the day. I wonder if kids these days are stuck to the TV and video games, or clubs just got way too serious about underage entries. In that case, where are the 21 year olds?

Where do you see TOTH going in the future?
As long as there's an outdoor space available to us, we'll be rocking the party! With Water Taxi Beach's presence on the NYC Waterfront, we should be in NYC at least a couple more years. After that, Europe, Brazil… It's all wide open and very inviting!

Why on the Hudson? No East River love?
We've done Turntables on the Thames, Danube, Sydney Harbor and Delaware. We like to call it the "Hudson East" River cause it branches at the top of Manhattan, but you're right. It is time we give the East River some love! What do we call the Governor's Island events, then? "The Sunday Getaway featuring Turntables on the Buttermilk Channel!"

New York Press: Dance Floor Prophet