I guess I can start this explaining how I felt the first time that I heard this DJ play records. It was some crazy party back in 1994 somewhere in the bowels of San Francisco. Back then, I was not so much into who was DJing, but mostly the music and how it made me dance. Well, this DJ played a three hour set that night, and I nearly passed out from a near asthma attack from dancing so hard and so long. The man who did this damage to me was the one and only Mark Farina.

It would be another year before I would get to hear the sounds of Mr. Farina, but this time I was actually DJing before him - WHAT A TREAT! The lower level of the docked Delta King in Old Sacramento would play host to an intimate crowd of 200 to rock out to the infamous Chicago-house sounds that Mark boasts. Again, I felt an energy and a vibe that could be touched by no other. It became a small mission of mine to try and hear Mark play as often as I could. It always seemed that things would never work out right. Mark would either play before I got to the party or he would be closing an event and I would not be able to stay till the end. He would play at clubs and the clubs would have already met capacity, or the parties he was booked at would be busted. You name it, God somehow held me back from hearing the sound I loved to hear from Mark.

Fast forward to December 1999...

I'm a new resident for a club called "Eden." For our special opening night, our guest would be the man himself, Mark Farina. That night I got to prep the packed house in MY flavor of House and hand over the frenzied, 600 club heads to the man who would be educating each and every person with his building music. Throughout his slammin' 2 hour set, Mark bumped the funkiest and most colorful array of vocals with blissful peak rhythms that Sacramento hadn't heard in years. Rockin' 3 turntables in the newly remodeled DJ booth, Mark seamlessly mixed together all forms of house with the smoothness of some acid jazz and some rough minimal techno beats. At the end of his set, the crowd at Eden was applauding, whistling, screaming, and yelling praise; Mark bashfully waived to them and with a big smile expressed his thanks. I had the most awesome experience that I've ever had since that day back in 94. I was even luckier because the following morning, before he had to take off back to San Francisco, I got to kick it with Mark Farina and dig deeper into his head. The following is what came of my visit with Mark that morning.

DJ Dennis
February 2000

The following interview was conducted by DJ Dennis in December 1999:

Last night... the music that you played... everyone knows that you have your own distinctive style... what kind of roots did you have that you bring out through what you play now?

I started spinning and listening to industrial and alternative... and coming from Chicago definitely helped. The music from Chicago and the interpretation of house is a little broader than other areas. Even if something is a little more vocally, or a little more hard and tracky, it's still considered House. I throw in some different vibes; a little bit of variety and I see what people are in the mood for. I still try and maintain a certain sound that is cycled through my records. I bring in stuff from and industrial background and some from a disco background.

Is there a heavy influence of an old style of House (i.e. 87-89)?

I try and play some old stuff, but I always try and keep the same vibe, but I am always keeping up with a lot of new records. I keep a certain sound I like that is not all vocally and samply... some Latin, some vocals, some percussive, etc. I know that different geographical regions can attribute to the style... blending too, sometimes long/short... changing it up a lot, sometimes playing some oldies and see if people will remember the song... but I do tend to lean heavily toward the new side of things. I have a formula that I've established way back when I started buying records. Working at a record store, I would set aside time to do "homework" on new records and immediately try and incorporate those new sounds into my sets. I still try and keep that format; I try and listen to as much new music as I can.

When you say "homework" do you just read a lot into what is "new" or are you consistently at the stores shopping and listening?

I read up a little bit, but usually by the time that the periodicals get to the new stuff, unless its a really new magazine, I've kinda already got it. If you can get a UK mag DIRECT, you have a better chance of reading up on the NEW stuff, but definitely shopping on my own and listening to everything is how I do it.

Where do you actually go to shop for your music? People have always wondered where DJs like yourself get your music, not to essentially BE you, but to have that same feel that you portray through the music. Others out there, myself included, love your music, and it's definitely hard to find...

In San Francisco I always check out the new shipments at Clear and Tweakin' Records... Tweakin' Records definitely sell out really quick, if you don't go there the day that the shipment comes in, you might miss that certain song and you won't even know what you missed. Traveling helps a lot. Different regions carry a different sound and you can grab some cuts that people in that area might not be into.

Any city's in particular that are the best to pick up great records?

Chicago, Atlanta, New York... those cities are definitely the best. Chicago there's Gramaphone, Hot Jams, NY there is Dance Trax, Satellite, and a whole bunch of others, LA there's Wax, Portland there's Platinum, and Vancouver there's Basics. England is definitely a great spot to shop. London and surrounding areas is probably the best, I'd say its better than shopping in the States because there are so much stuff that is promo serviced in advance that they never make it over here to the US. I'd say that London is by far the best to shop for vinyl, if you are into dance music... London is the spot.

When I DJ, I have a sound that I try and portray... I accentuate on a "snappy" percussion... I noticed last night that when you played, a majority of your records had a consistency of "keys" in them. They were a lot of freestyle to them... is that what you focus on regularly, or was that just what you wanted to play last night? Do you have a favorite sound or instrument that you like to play?

I just get different new tracks that appeal to me more so than others do. I seem to get more interesting sounds now a days, like when someone can do something interesting on a track that feels a little different, but I really like that combined element of something that is pumping with melody. I like a drive kinda underneath, but softer overtones... not to soft, yet not to pumping... somewhere in the middle. The combination of strong programming over more real keys, less programmed keys, some sequenced, some not, sometimes a more "sneaky" sound, the more filtered disco stuff. I find I'm picky with vocals, it has to have that right feel to it.

How do you go about licensing material for your CDs? Have you ever had any troubles with getting songs that you really want?

Well, I never do the CD till I get the tracks licensed... I talk to the labels, try and get permission for numerous songs, wait for what you actually can work with, then go from there. You have to watch out for those white labels and samples because you can't always get the tracks you want. Sometimes you don't; there's contacts at labels that end up moving, and there's always those songs that just don't want the publicity because of the samples they used; you don't want to get people in trouble... even if the song is so great, you just have to work with what gets OK'd. Its become a little easier now, I've found out that once you get more known, it becomes easier to license tracks. People are more apt to help you out when they've heard about what your are doing and how you can help them out as well. If they don't know you they are sometimes skeptical about what you will do with their song. I just try and pick songs I really like and stay within a certain genre of house, and hopefully they won't get played out by the time the CD gets out. Making CDs can be difficult... it's like a DJ exam... a test of what you can do. United DJs of America for example, did really great, the distribution is better than tapes, and people all over the world can hear you. Tapes are fun though because they are more spontaneous and you can put more feeling into it... you don't have to worry so much.

Are you working on any productions?

Yes, but not that much. I mean, I've been making tracks for several years... I've been pressing some tests of some stuff, burning some things on CD to see how it goes, but more or less I've put production on the backburner. I've got something coming out on Panhandle later in Feb, but spinning takes so much time, it becomes hard. It's difficult to produce and spin effectively, so I concentrate more on the spinning. I'm putting all the pieces together slowly, and it will eventually work out. I like to work at my own pace, and renting out studio time isn't always effective, but definitely there will be some stuff out soon.

Do you pretty much stick to playing house? Do you ever see yourself going into different genres?

I play acid jazz and sometimes hip-hop, a more downtempo sort of style. Sometimes people will ask me to play an old acid-y, old school Detroit style of set, but that is about as stray away from house as I actually go. I like the old Detroit style, Mayday and things... the early acid tracks, sometimes I'll get a request to play classics, but that's about it. I don't ever see myself playing jungle or anything like that...

Mark and I went on a little while longer on various topics jumping around on different tangents, covering some of his feelings about touring, and booking different DJs in different areas around the country, his feelings about professionalism, and just the music scene and how it has grown and prospered. What was nice about this time I had with Mark is that I found out he's all about the vibe and he's all about House. He was always cool and relaxed, and very open and friendly, never at all showing any kind of "rock star" attitude. He is one of the most welcoming DJs I've ever had the chance to actually sit down and find out what they are all about. He was REAL in every aspect of the word.

I want to thank Mark for the time he spent with me and for the awesome night he burned into my brain the night before at the club's opening. My word of advice... if House is a passion of yours, and if you've never heard the sounds of Mark Farina, make it a personal mission to catch one of his sets, you will never forget it, and you will definitely not be sorry.

Currently, Mark has a CD out called "San Francisco Sessions," and has a prior mix CD that is part of the "United DJ's of America" collection. Don't forget about his "Mushroom Jazz" compilations either. Request them at your local music shop and enjoy the sound that is Mark Farina.

For more info on Mark, check out his Web site at www.synergize.com.