Many know W.i.P. nightclub in New York’s Soho as the place where Drake and Chris Brown famously duked it out over Rihanna. New York DJ/producer Tommie Sunshine, who was booked to play the club on Saturday night, says that he was kicked off the decks for not playing commercial enough music. “I was taken off the decks at W.i.P. in Manhattan tonight 40 minutes early,” Sunshine told us on Sunday morning. “I was advised 15 minutes into the start my set that I needed to play ‘more commercial music with softer drops and more vocals.'”
Sunshine issued the following statement exclusively to Big Shot:
It was a record release party for my remix of Faustix & Imanos “Ambulance” on Strictly Rhythm. Date was moved twice before because club didn’t promote it properly. I got stuck on the Brooklyn Bridge for (no kidding) two hours on the way to dinner in the city before heading to my gig. I dropped my [girlfriend] Daniela at Mister H where she dances. Then had to walk from Mister H to W.i.P. in the rain because of no cabs. I arrived and started to play. I played as commercial as I ever play. The “owner” started in at my second record asking for “more commercial music with softer drops and more vocals.” Mind you the track the release party was for has NO VOCALS. Then I was informed that they were “hearing from clients they weren’t digging it and thought it was too hard.” Swedish House Mafia, a Ke$ha remix, the Pitbull track in the new Bud Light commercial, Avicii, some fun bootlegs…a bit past halfway into my set I was informed that I was being taken off the decks while standing with Askay from MTV and my booking agent Cody from AM Only.
We all had a good laugh about it because everyone is now an expert of this music, especially the ones who pay BIG $ to consume it. Not to mention the clowns who supposedly “run” clubs.
W.i.P. also gave the five people I put on the guest list a huge hassle for not coming with girls and tried to sell them bottles for entrance to the club. They also wouldn’t take care of drink tickets for my agent at AM Only, the promotional director of Strictly Rhythm, Nick from The Disco Fries and Kevin who runs my label, Brooklyn Fire.
Basically their #1 priority is their “clients” who spend money in bottle service & what they say dictates the music direction. The DJs who have to play to people who act this way don’t deserve this kind of abuse.
Not only will I never play there again but they have a huge mountain to climb for pissing off AM Only who sent them both Skrillex and Wolfgang Gartner for shows there and now they pretty much spit in my and my agent’s faces.
I wish them luck and I feel sorry for anyone who has to play there. This is not what this music is about. This is not what I am about. That’s is my story and I’m sticking to it.