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Interview with DJ Rossstar
By: Patrick Steven Patterson
 Long Island, NY native, Ross
is a DJ. Not like Dr. Dre or the RZA, but more like Carson
Daly (whom he thinks takes more crap than he's due) and
Howard Stern (perhaps back when Howard used to spin
records).
His alter ego, DJ Rossstar (three ess's, dammit!), fronts a
punk rock show for idobi Internet Radio on Wednesday
and Thursday nights from 7-8pm PST. In company with
many who support the indie music community, his radio
show is a 'labor of love' - no pay, no benefits, no frills. What
Rossstar does have, though, is a large (and growing) list of
pop punkers that he's had live in studio and on the phone
during his program.
Recently, the world's next Ryan Seacrest (we don't want
one, but something like that) gave NowOnTour a few
minutes and shared an interesting perspective on indie
music efforts - and especially on growing through non-Major
Label/Clear Channel conduits.
Why are you a DJ? Are you a failed/incompetent
musician like most of the rest of us?
Thanks (laughs). No, when I was growing up - in middle
school and in high school - I was the only kid in Long Island
that wore MxPx shirts and Less Than Jake shirts. [There
were] hundreds of kids that would make fun of me - "Why
do you like that stuff, you're a loser." One of my favorite
things to do would be to introduce somebody I knew to a
band I liked, and they got into it, then I felt like I was
helping out in a way. I'm making a difference. I'm getting
people to like my music. I figured radio was a way to reach
hundreds of people at once - why not try to make a
difference through that [medium].
And I also am a failed musician. I sang in a band called The
Ben Savage Project, named after Ben Savage from
Boy Meets World. We were so punk that we
had one show at the bowling alley and then we broke up.
That was the end of that.
Do you mix and spin on the wheels of steel
because you are a DJ?
Do I what?
Do you spin? You know, wheels of steel, a DJ,
(gestures over the phone)
wicka-wicka-wicka.
No, actually when I started the show in college they had
turntables in the studio and I had no idea how to use them. I
was also the general manager of the station so when people
would ask me, I'd be like, 'I have no clue.' I have vinyl, but
I don't have techno vinyl. I have all of Green Day's rare stuff
on vinyl.
It seems that there is a lot of similarities in what
you're doing with your show and what we do here at
NowOnTour - basically turning people on to bands that are
getting little to no exposure.
It makes me feel like I have more in common with people. I
do this show and there are a couple of thousand kids that
listen because they like that music. I feel like, for them, they
might be in middle school or high school - they might be one
person in Iowa and the only person that and people pick on
them. So they feel like they have a community. I like the
sense of how everyone can feel like a nerd
together.
Do you have any radio-, or at least media-wise
influences?
Obviously, everyone would be lying if they said they didn't
listen to Howard Stern. But, no, I wanted to do this show
because there was no punk radio show. When I first got into
music, into Green Day and all those Lookout! Records Bands,
I used to look online and thought there really should be a
punk radio show - it would be cool to learn about more
bands that I probably will like, and I could hear them on the
show. And every year, there never was one - if there was, it
would be at 3:00 in the morning on a Sunday, and they
wouldn't really interview bands, they would just play some
music. I did it out of a lack of a show. I said, "O.K., if there's
no show, I'm just going to make my own.
College Radio has, in some areas, has at least
stepped in to fill that void a little there. That's where I hear
the best music anymore. You were a college DJ at WVAU
(American University, Washington DC)?
(Laughs) Oh, you did your research. Yeah WVAU
Shit dawg!
That's funny
But you graduated and that's why you had to get a
new gig, right?
Well, there is another station, idobi Radio, run out of DC by
this guy named Tom. Tom and I used to always see each
other at concerts and at first it was more of a 'competitor'
vibe - I used to get jealous because he would get bigger
interviews, use better equipment.
We started becoming friends as time went on and he said to
me, 'You're graduating in May, and what do you plan to do?
...If you want to join idobi Radio, you can do your show on
our station." It's been a blessing - whereas WVAU had a limit
of 1,000 listeners, on idobi, we have 5...6...7,000 people that
listen at a time. We're listed on iTunes as one of the only
Rock radio stations. So, he definitely helped fill the void
quickly. From May to August, I stayed in DC and was able to
do the show on idobi just using my college equipment (which
[WVAU wasn't] too happy about)
The Internet is great - it's all about streaming. So I was able
to change the codes and stream from idobi. When I moved
here, I bought tons of equipment and set it up and I'm still
on idobi to this day
So you moved to Los Angeles from DC when you
graduated?
Well, I went home to New York for about a week and I was
like, "Alright, later."
And now, you're working your ass off with like
three jobs, just like everyone else trying to support indie
music?
I'm an industry bigwig. Nah, not yet (laughs). Yeah, radio
can only go so far. I love it and I would do it everyday if I
could, but realistically, there are lots of other things that I
would like to do that there are jobs for. There's no Internet
radio job right now, but I would like to do New Media work
and A&R work and Publicity - things closely related to doing
what I do
Do you think that Satellite Radio is going to
overtake 'over the air' radio?
No, I think regular radio will always be the most popular. It's
free. Just like downloading. I don't download music, I don't
have an iPod, I don't do any of that, but the majority of
people would rather pay $1.00 for a CD than $15 because
they're cheap asses. I shouldn't say that. ['I should say]
because it's easier.'
But, the interesting thing is that they said the same
thing about Cable TV in the '80's. That no one would pay for
TV when they already got it for free.
You never know. There are endless possibilities.
When you graduated, did your parents tell you to
get a 'real' job? 'This radio thing isn't going to work
out?'
(Interrupts) They still tell me that. They've been telling me
that since I was a sophomore in college. 'Get a real job.'
'Get a job.' 'Who's gonna pay your bills?' 'How are you going
to survive?' 'There's no money in music.' Blah, blah,
blah.
I think most people in music-related fields have
parents that tell them that. I get it every week. I talk to a
million people that get it that same way.
It's a nerve-racking thing. I think that music, and anything
involved with it, is a gamble. It's the most risky way to make
- or not make money. If you go to law school, you're
guaranteed to be an assistant to a lawyer; if you go to
dental school...there's always a job waiting for you. With
this, it's all connections and what you do.
Are you that annoying guy at shows who knows the
band, and then tells everyone there that you know the band?
I try to make it low key. Honestly, it hasn't gotten me laid,
so it doesn't work.
If I go out and meet someone for the first time and they
don't talk about music, I won't tell them about the show, but
if they bring it up, even a little bit, then they're screwed. I'm
going to go on forever about it.
Ever think of changing your name? Like, wouldn't
DJ No Pay or DJ Ramen work?
No, I don't know. The whole 'star' thing fits in to the whole
emo...I don't know. My ex-girlfriend made it up. She said,
'Rossstar, it's like Rock Star.' I said, 'O.K. that's cute.' Little
did I know that every single band that I interview messes up
how to pronounce it. No one's ever said it right. If people
don't know about it they'll call me DJ Rock Star, DJ
Rasta...
I'm out of questions, so I'm just gonna make 'em
up now. Hmm, are there any bands that you're dying to get
on the show, that you just can't seem to get?
Green Day!
Of course...I read that somewhere, but why
haven't you gotten Green Day?
I recently became friends with their manager. Green Day is
the busiest band in the world. When they're not playing a
show, they're doing other (MTV) things. They're always
doing something, and when they're not, they're resting. I
don't think they've ever done these type of things, like a
college interview or a 'Zine. To convince them will probably
be difficult.
Hopefully, if their manager lets them know how much of a
fanatic I am, they'll want to do it. I've seen them live 23
times
Weak! That's weak! What does it take for a band to
bust out a phone call for 30 minutes? Weak!
I don't know. I don't think it's them; it's getting to them. I'm
sure they'd do it; it's just getting the right person to go up to
them and ask them
What we'll do is put it out on your radio show and
here at NowOnTour for everyone to boycott Green Day
albums until they do an interview on your
show...
(Interrupts) No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, I don't want to do
that. Don't do that. I don't want to get them angry at me.
That would never work
We've got 16 seconds left - you want to give a
shout out?
Yes. I want to give a shout out to NowOnTour.com, which is
one of the most professional looking websites out of the
millions I've seen. I think it's very impressive and whoever
does the site should email me because my site looks
like it was done by a five-year old.
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