Fresh from a Twitter feud with Lady Gaga, Scottish DJ/producer Calvin Harris is threatening to sue the BBC over a Newsbeat story quoting him as saying that he thinks it’s acceptable for DJs to play pre-recorded sets during gigs.
According to the story written by Newsbeat music reporter Greg Cochrane, Harris said: “I think it’s not a problem. In the club, you want to hear a produced piece of music, you want to hear the bass, you want to hear it as good as it can sound…I used to perform with a band putting all sorts of work into a live show, and I can tell you that the reaction was worse than it is when I’m DJing.”
Harris took to Twitter yesterday vehemently denying that he uttered those words and stating that he is considering legal action against the Beeb. (See a few of Harris’ many tweets below; he’s also asking for the audio of the interview to be released.)
Harris’ accusation comes after allegations of child sexual abuse committed by the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile have come to light that have rocked the U.K. broadcaster and led to the resignation of BBC Director-General George Entwistle.
So far the BBC hasn’t issued a statement about Harris’ claim that he was misquoted.
What the hell happened last week between DJ Sneak and Tommie Sunshine on Twitter? Within the blink of a tweet the two DJs squared off and threw down on the social media network in a heated exchange. And it got very personal. Those who followers Sunshine know that he speaks his mind on a host of issues in addition to music (drugs, politics, life). Regular readers of Big Shot will remember that in March, Sneak, the self-described House Gangster, got into a bitter Twitter feud with Swedish House Mafia’s Steve Angello over comments he made about the act in an interview. “If you are going to do pre-recorded sets then call yourself a live act or a performer, leave the DJing to real DJs,” an unapologetic Sneak told us. “There are many DJs out there that can rock a crowd and do what they have to without faking it.” It seems that both jocks’ opinions clashed in a perfect storm. But what instigated the virtual brawl on November 12?
On November 13, Big Shot contacted Sneak and Sunshine to get their side about what caused the war of tweets. Dan Ross of X-Mix Productions, Sneak’s management company, said a comment would be forthcoming but none appeared (we followed up three times and didn’t receive a reply). Tommie Sunshine, however, told us his side of the story.
Tommie Sunshine: “This [incident] seems petty but maybe there is something bigger to learn here.”
“[I was] enjoying the endless irony of RichieHawtin‘s CNTRL_EDM feed as he was one of the first producers with a publicist and an ‘act.’ It set off a kid in Canada who then tweeted to Richie thus starting chaos. He then brought up Sneak in which I replied:
“I have had it with people talking about the good ‘ol days. I have always had the utmost respect for DJ Sneak and his illustrious career. He made many classic Chicago house tracks that have endured the ages. That being said, I always am disappointed when he complains about the state of our music. He has had a very amazing career in which he’s only ever done what he wants to do and the industry has let him. Why would someone like that have anything to complain about? It’s sad to hear legends complain about what is coming next. The kids rule the world. Without them, we don’t have careers. The whole vibe of this music has been taken back to the feel of the rave days in the early ’90s some 20 years ago. I’m thankful for that and am enjoying it all over again with the biggest smile on my face.”
Sneak then fired off a series of replies. Here are a few:
During the virtual fracas, a fan of both DJs pleaded for calm but received a Twitter smackdown from Sneak.
Later on, Sunshine took to Twitter to defend himself:
Though Sunshine has seemingly maintained nothing but respect for Sneak’s career in his tweets, the tussle opened up an old wound: Sunshine, who is now sober, accused Sneak of blowing pot smoke in his face after crashing his DJ set in L.A.
In spite of the brouhaha, both jocks with Chicago roots are carrying on. Sneak just played a show in São Paulo and remains active on Twitter. Sunshine released his Growth EP on November 15 and says his recent gig at EDC Orlando (where his DJ bag was stolen) was amazing (“It was tremendous. These kids were having the times of their lives.”) and he’s also on the bill for EDM for Sandy Relief with The Crystal Method, Drop The Lime and others at Gramercy Theatre tonight.
With a few days perspective from the scuffle with Sneak, Sunshine seems now be in a pragmatic frame of mind about the feud. “This [incident] seems petty but maybe there is something bigger to learn here about us moving forward and the growing pains of it all.”
