Thursday, May 22, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Music: Mass consumption

Deep Dish is conquering the planet--even Vegas

By Mike Prevatt

Like any out-of-towner you know, Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi--the Iranian-born, Washington, D.C.-based duo known as Deep Dish--have had mixed luck when it comes to Las Vegas. But we're not talking about slapping cards on the felt. Despite the DJ/producer act's reputation as one of the leading forces in electronic dance music, the odds haven't always been in its favor when it comes to playing the local clubs.

Its infamous Vegas debut at Ra in June 2001 was thwarted when club management took the two DJs--known for their marathon sets--off the stage for an hour or so to satisfy patrons wanting to hear hip hop. Its gig at C2K six months later was grossly under-attended, thanks to an outside promoter who failed to hype the show.

Shirazinia and Tayebi's reversal of fortune finally occurred at Baby's in early 2002, during an intimate and rapturously received set. Obviously, the city's festive appeal, their own desires to reach out to a stubbornly unadventurous audience--and lucrative booking fee offers, no doubt--keep enticing them to return.

"Vegas is obviously an adult playground and it definitely has the sort of party vibe firmly in place," says Shirazinia. "But as far as quality of clubs' sound systems and DJ booths, they've got a ways to go. We haven't played every venue out there...but, once you play Space in Miami or Arc in New York, it really raises the bar, to the point of you having to be critical of certain clubs. We're there to educate the people and bring quality to the gigs. And Sharam's an avid gambling freak, so any experience we have to get out there, we do."

Beyond the frequent Vegas visits, the Grammy-winning duo averages 48 travel weekends a year for gigs, on top of its other musical endeavors--namely, remixing artists such as Madonna, co-producing with P. Diddy, running a thriving underground house label (Yoshitoshi) and booking agency (Bullitt), and recording mix compilations.

On June 10, Deep Dish releases the 25th installment of the bestselling Global Underground series, called Toronto. It is a significant release in that it follows the two artists' acclaimed Moscow effort, this time offering two bonus mixes (due July 1) where the members separate to program his own disc--a first for the beloved turntable tag team.

Whereas Moscow, like most GU mixes, was more indicative of the vibe Deep Dish created at its gig there, Toronto sounds like its locale because Shirazinia and Tayebi wanted to acknowledge the talent of the Canadian underground. But, even as respected as the duo is, certain tracks it wanted on the mix were denied.

"With mix CDs--and a lot of people who aren't involved with doing something like this don't know this--it's never what you set out to make," says Shirazinia. "There [are] certain tracks you don't get clearance for. We couldn't get clearance on Coldplay's ["Clocks" remix], or the cheeky bootlegs, because legally, it's just not do-able. There's a bit of compromise."

The Coldplay remix was one of the highlights of the twosome's acclaimed set at last month's Coachella Festival, near Palm Springs, where Deep Dish was hailed as being as innovative and thrilling as any of the rockers playing outside.

"It was fun playing something like that," says Shirazinia. "Rock musicians can be very snobby, saying dance music has no true level of musicianship or substance to it. At Coachella...there were 5,000 people in [the tent], so there is support for dance music, [especially] as a live art form. We're not putting up walls. Next year, my guess is you'll see a lot of interesting fusions between rock and techno, and that's something we try to do."