Spin City

Last fall, Soundwaves buyer and professional house/downtempo DJ Chris Sill decided something was missing from the Soundwaves store in Montrose. What the nerve center of the whole freakin' chain needed was a big fat DJ booth parked right in the back of the store.

"The main reason for that is a couple of reasons," explains Sill. "One is to give exposure to local DJs. Two is whenever there's a big DJ in town, if we can get them for an in-store [appearance], like the Paul Oakenfold event nobody had last year, obviously we had it, we have the means to do that, by having a DJ booth and an actual area to do those kind of things."

Besides providing a space for superstar spinners to play once-in-a-lifetime sets that bootleggers will be trading on the Internet for years, the booth is being put to use for "Saturday Sessions." Sill created the event to give local and visiting DJs the opportunity to showcase their mixing talents. Customers get a groovy soundtrack to buy records to, not to mention a few purchasing suggestions. "The other good thing about Saturday Sessions is it gives the store, like, a sense of a live feel," says Sill. "You know, like something's going on down here."

Many of Houston's beat-digging elite have graced the Soundwaves booth since Sessions started up late last summer. Mike Snow, Sean Carnahan, Champa Moore, Lushus Brown and Deepi & Yogi (of KPFT's GenerAsian Radio) have been just some of the disc men and women who have dropped grooves, ranging from house to jungle to hip-hop.

Considering that the store's well-stocked dance section has made the shop a haven for dance music junkies, Sill invites any experienced decknician to perch on the throne and spin some tunes. "It's a community thing, really," notes Sill. "The dance scene is in a struggling point right now, and I think it needs all the help, the positive help, that it can get. We're just kinda hoping that we're doing our part."