Greens Keepers, OZ

SB – Where and how did you and your associates come up with the name “Greenskeepers”?

JAMES – When I was around 19 years old I used to play golf 3 times a week. I was going to college, working at a record store, going to loft parties, and making music on an MPC2000. My buddy Nick who just moved back from Germany was a greenskeeper for his job there while studying. So because of all my golfing and his time on the course we called ourselves Greenskeepers. 

SB – We know you are an avid skateboarder, what is the hardest trick you have accomplished?

JAMES – I Ollie’d the Gonz in San Francisco switch stance. 

The “Gonz” is a massive gap that was in Embarcadero Plaza in the ’90s. 

SB – What kind of music do you listen to other than House Music?

JAMES – All kinds! 

SB – If you could talk to James Curd in the year 2001, what advice would you tell him?

JAMES – I’m not sure. I don’t have many complaints. It’s strange to think about changing the course of your life. Then I would not be where I am now and I could not risk that. Maybe just something like grabbing some Apple, Amazon, and Google stock!

SB – What five music artists influenced you the most?  

JAMES – Would have to say it was the artist that I went to see week in and week out. Derrick Carter was always fun to go hear and he was also always around to help me out when I ran into studio problems. He is a great friend. I used to wear out old Mark Farina tapes. Chez Damier a big one. I also used to listen to Beastie Boys, Pailhead, Primus, and Tribe Called Quest in my early musical formative years. I have always been all over the map when it comes to finding inspiration in music. 

SB – Are there any producers as of late that you dig, if so who are they?

JAMES – DRAMA, Art Of Tones and Lazywax.

SB – Was it hard to transition to Australia coming from Chicago?  Would you ever move back to Chicago?

JAMES – It was easy at the beginning because I was ready for a change. There were a couple of years in the middle that I was not so sure I was staying forever. Now life is so good and set up here that it feels like home and a good home base. Chicago is still there. I plan on making a better effort to get back more often now but I’m not moving anywhere. 

SB – Are there any regions of the world that seem to be birthing a ton of really good music this year?

JAMES – I have no idea. With everything online, it’s hard to know where anything is coming from. 

SB – If you could play one club you have not played in your lifetime, what would that club be?

JAMES – I think I would pick DJoon in Paris. 

I love Paris and I’ve played a ton of clubs there but I never played at Joon. Based on what I see online, I think it would be a great fit for what I do in one of the best cities in the world. 

SB – If you could do an official remix of any one track, what would that track be and why? Tough question! I’m sure everyone says Prince, MJ, or Stevie right?

JAMES – I think I’ll pick “Forever Monna” by Chez Damier. It’s one of my favorite house songs of all time. It was one of those songs I had to dig for months to find the record. Chez is also a great guy and always picks up when I ring him late in the studio or when I hit a wall.  Would be fun to see what I could do to it 25 years later. 

SB – What does your VST/Hardware stack look like on your vocal channel?

JAMES – I have a pretty nice Gefell microphone that I record into an Avalon 737. Then I’ll run the vocals through Melodyne to get everything sounding perfect pitch-wise. Then I’ll do a bit of EQ and a small touch of the verb. I like natural-sounding vocals so I don’t do too much. 

SB – Do you have any studio tricks you can reveal to us?  What is your favorite VST?

JAMES – Melodyne is a great tool for fixing vocals as well as getting some inspiration. It can analyze songs and you can go in and isolate chord progressions and things like that. I like to pull elements from songs by using Melodyne and turn them into midi. From there I can make it my own and send it out to one of my synths. 

SB – What is the most used piece of hardware in your studio?

JAMES – I have about 30 old vintage synths and every month or two I have something that I use the most. It depends if I’m scoring a film, working on stuff for GTA, writing band projects, or banging out house tracks! Currently, the Prophet 600 is getting a lot of use. 

SB – What is your favorite ice cream?

JAMES – Chocolate Chip Mint!