AT'S CRAZY RECORD HOP

"...The Disk Jockey: they’ll always be in a class of their own. Whereas the success of an event in the UK depends entirely on the person "spinning the wax", their status here in Holland is often negligible.
Festival organisers often choose the easy way out, and ask the DJ who was there last year, or one of their friends who’s willing to drag a suitcase full of records around and play at being a DJ for an evening’s free beer. As long as they play it safe and spin all the audience’s requests plus a few of the latest chart toppers, a great time is generally had by all. But there’s another way. There is a breed of DJ with a Mission and a Task, subtly manoeuvring between the music they want to play and what people want to hear. They know how to put together an evening of musical fun, how to steer and interact with their audience. First and foremost of course, they really need to know their music collection inside out.
One such DJ is At Koning of At’s Crazy Record Hop, the one and only At’s Crazy Record Hop, who advertises in Boppin’ Around. At provided me with a demo CD of 12 neatly mixed songs, none of them well known, but all sounding familiar, without being able to name an exact artist or title. Nothing obscure or elite, and even more importantly, all of them tunes which you only need to hear once and they’re imprinted in your brain. And in your legs, because you simply can’t sit still. All the songs have a medium beat, which is what makes them so danceable. They’re also very diverse in style: At’s business card says ‘30s to early ‘60s, boogie, billy and swing, how true that is: black rock ’n roll, hillbilly, bluesbop, boogie woogie, western swing, doowop, rockabilly, jive, rhythm and blue, all perfectly blended together. If this is a taste of how At can put together an evening of DJ-in, which I don’t doubt for even a nanosecond, then your party will indeed be complete. Worth a thought for your next event? As they used to say: “Buy from your advertisers!..."
Written by Frantic Franky for the Boppin' Around (Dutch Rock 'n' Roll magazine) Februari 2004 --Click hier voor de originele teksten--


DJ Presentation : At Koning from the land of tulips and windmills

"… Somewhere in the south of the Netherlands, in the middle of nowhere, At Koning has made his home together with his wife Gonnie and dog Moos, a hairball of immense proportions. This eco-energy architect has been a rock 'n roll fan since early childhood (My Guest by Fats Domino was his first 45", a present from a girlfriend).
At started to DJ 25 years ago, in the dance school he had back then, where people of all ages came to learn to rock 'n roll. Whereas in those days he played only first-line rock 'n roll, his repertoire is nowadays much broader, ranging from rockabilly and rock 'n roll to hillbilly boogie, (western) swing and R&B; music from the 1930s to the early 1960s.
At describes himself as an original from the rockabilly scene, and a passionate dancer. No wonder he manages to get people on the dance floor and keep them there. Over the past few years, he's been asked to DJ all the well known festivals and weekenders, and always receives plenty of positive feedback from his audiences: "Apparently I make them feel happy, as a DJ".
His own favourite music genre is western swing and country boogie, and top of his favourite list of events are the Rock 'n Roll Holidays in Calella (near Barcelona in Spain) and the festivals on the Dutch Wadden Islands of Terschelling and Texel.
At only uses CDs. He spends countless hours searching for new danceable songs and compiling a certain style of CD (and also printing inlays for the CD cases to make notes). When working, he has three CDs on the go, allowing him constant access to the right music for the right moment. He plays his music in sets, taking care never to play a song twice at the same event (hence the CD inlays, he makes notes of what he played last time). Given half a chance, he’ll take to the dance floor himself occasionally, during his sets.
The highlight of his career so far has been his performance at the Fitzgerald’s Jazz Club in Chicago. The crowd was already wild after a performance by Big Sandy and the Treniers, and At kept them that way while spinning his wax. You’d have thought there was a live band playing! "The manager asked me 'what did you do to those people?'"
Right now, At's favourite artists are Ray Collins Hot Club, Lynette Morgan & the Blackwater Valley Boys and Charlie Thompson. His idea of a successful evening's work is when there’s a good party atmosphere, and all he needs to do is put on his music…"
Written by HH for Slam Bam (German 50s, 40s & 30s Music & Lifestyle Magazin)
No.1 2004 --Click hier für den orginal texten--


Aachen (Germany), September 27, 2003 Review Ray Collins Hot Club

"…the most important thing I needed to know, was that tonight Ray Collins and his Hot Club were performing in the Jacobshof, with At’s Crazy Record Hop for the music between the sets…. With Ray Collins on stage, At naturally plays a lot of swing. That is something best left to him, because I believe that swing is his main style, even if he is comfortable with most rock ’n roll genres…
… and after the band stopped, DJ At kept us busy for a couple of hours, and we didn’t call it a day until he finally did…"
Written by Charlie Discount for Boppin' Around (Dutch Rock 'n' Roll magazine) December 2003 --Click hier voor de originele teksten--

-- Click here to read some quotes about At's Crazy Record Hop --