"The Keith Richards of dance music" and Venice Beach’s resident legend, DJ Harvey, graced The Standard, Downtown LA with his presence to share his musings on everything under the LA sun.
LA“It has everything one might desire. People say, ‘You can surf in the morning, snowboard in the afternoon, and get a half-decent sandwich on the way there.’”
Threesomes“Well, someone’s always missing out in a threesome. You can never quite tell whose hand is on your ass.”
Fame“I don’t consider myself really famous. Fame doesn’t really achieve very much. You can be famous as a murderer. You can be famous for being an asshole. You can be famous for doing nothing. So fame in itself doesn’t pay your rent, it doesn’t help you in your relationships…people aspire to be famous, and then once they are, they usually regret it. It can be a major pain in the ass. Fame is a double-edged sword.
On the way here I noticed a van that said ‘Swifty the Penguin’, and we thought ‘How cool is Swifty the Penguin!’ And the guy wound down the window and goes, ‘Are you the legendary DJ Harvey?’ You never can really tell when fame will strike.”
Cocaine“A thing of the past.”
California“It has the only things that matter: the tech industry, the porn industry, marijuana, and oil.”
EDM Culture“I know very little about it. It’s like asking me about country western culture. I’m sure it’s great.”
Driving“I never learned to drive a car. I ride motorcycles.”
Trump“Ronald McDonald. They’re kind of the same person, aren’t they?”
Exercise“I don’t go to the gym, I go to the john.”
Reality TV“It’s unreal, isn’t it? I love it. I watch all the Real Housewives, Shahs of Sunset, I steer away from the Big Brother and Survivor type of things. The bitchier the better, I say.”
Monogamy“It’s overrated.”
Millennials“Rub ointment on them and they’ll go away.”
Smoking“I’ve really enjoyed smoking for 30 years, but I don’t do it anymore, and I don’t have a problem with it. Marijuana is a plan made by the man to stop people from having a revolution. If you’re stoned out of your mind on the couch, you’re not active. It’s the exact opposite of what righteous smokers think it is.”
Dating“I’m going steady at the moment [with a woman], but I would quite like to have a Grindr account to see how many men like me.”
Ecstasy“Sometime around 1990, ecstasy became a pill, and I stopped taking it then.”
The Chainsmokers“They’re a sad little duo, aren’t they?”
DJs“Isn’t everybody one?”
Juicing“I’m all for it.”
Endurance“The longest I’ve DJ’d was something like three days. I lived off Turkish delights and Coca-Cola.”
Sexuality“Whatever angle you take to dangle should be celebrated and embraced.”
Rock ‘n’ Roll“A way of life, I suppose.”
The Meaning of Life“It’s a Monty Python movie. Love is the message. Don’t go chasing waterfalls.”
