noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 58 October 2008 - Index

Yes, Gauthreaux has relocated to
the City of Angels. “I get restless,”
he said in a recent interview. “I’m
32 years old. Before I get too much
older, I want to move around and
try out new places before I settle
down.” He admits that he’s getting
tired of the Yankee winters, but Los
Angeles has other charms. His manager,
Patti Razzeto, lives there. And
so does his collaborator on mixing
projects, Peter Barona (who’s also
Manny Lehman’s engineer).
He’s moved in with a friend in
Hollywood, but he has yet to get a
car. He even let his driver’s license
expire. So he’s a long way from
becoming an official Angeleno.
Besides, it’s not as though he’s leaving
New York forever. His occasional
residency at Splash will continue,
and he’ll still be doing plenty of
gigs on the East Coast.
In fact, Gauthreaux is making a
musical imprint at parties all over
the world. When noiZe caught up
with him, he had just returned from
Rapido, the big September party in
Amsterdam, where he contracted a
nice case of food poisoning the day
before he was scheduled to play.
“I hadn’t eaten for 24 hours,” he
recalled, “but I’ve never cancelled
for getting sick.”
That kind of sticktoitiveness has
helped propel him to headlining
status. After 12 years of DJing,
2008 has proved to be Gauthreaux’s
breakaway year. Aside from regular
gigs in New Orleans for Halloween,
Provincetown for July Fourth and
other stops, he spun the Winter
Party in Miami. He shared the turntables
at the mammoth Pier Dance
that caps New York’s Gay Pride with
Tracy Young. He was at Gay Days.
And, in what he considers the year’s
most memorable event, he closed
the Saint-at-Large’s Black Party. As if
that weren’t enough, he’ll be opening
for Victor Calderone during
Miami’s White Party.
If the Black Party was the highlight
of this remarkable year, it was not
only because of its unique nature
or even the notoriously demanding
musical sophistication of the crowd.
Rather, it was because he knew he’d
be following Jonathan Peters, one
of a handful of gay DJs who has
established himself as a major star
in the larger club world. As the closer,
Gauthreaux was responsible for
bringing the 18-hour marathon party
down with the Morning Music and
ending it with the Sleaze segment.
It’s the kind of music Gauthreaux
loves best. He readily admits that
he’s never been a fan of pots-andpans,
and gleefully heralds the end of
Tribal’s dominance on the dance floor.
“The days of playing all night long
are over,” he said. “People are not
doing crystal the way they used to—
they’re being more responsible than
in past years. The music reflects that.
Four or five years ago, it was hard to
find good lyrical music. Everything
was drums, drums, drums.
“I don’t play tea dance all night
long,” he added. “But my music is
happier; not ‘Perfect Day’ all night,
but people want something not as
dark as a few years ago.”
Gauthreaux honed his musical taste—
as well as a sense of the evening as
a journey from one musical point
to another—from the woman he
acknowledges as his mentor. “Susan
Morabito was the DJ who inspired
me to become a DJ,” he said. It was
at his first Circuit-type party, during
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Happy Am I! Healthy Am I! holy Am I!