Marina’s Reviews > Night People: How to Be a DJ in '90s New York City > Status Update

"Nightlife could be breakneck, but there were also moments of grace that, like the music itself, helped me stay connected to something higher, something beyond myself."

"A party tune needs a party, or at least a dance circle. Also, the unwritten code of DJing stated, “Thou shalt play a song only once.” Repeating big tracks makes it obvious that it’s the songs—not you—making the night."

"There was always a duality to this kind of life—a pain lingering under the surface. I’d seen it growing up. Jemz and I had a shorthand: in a rare quiet moment, one of us would murmur, “Tears of a clown, right?” acknowledging the shadow side of our hijinx. You were seeing people at their best and their worst, and there was always a fear that you’d lose balance and tip into the darker aspects of it."

"Robin and my mother emitted a zany energy, but I was used to how adults behaved at night. They were always more fun and less irritable. Shouting, tension—those were for the day."

"And then there’s the control.
Oh, how I loved that control.
For someone who grew up amid chaos and uncertainty, the DJ booth was the perfect refuge—a one-man command center, where every fader and dial bent the world to my will."