SMOKIN JO

DJ & NUDE Promotor, Smokin Jo gives us the inside track on what NUDE is all about

1. You have a brand new night NUDE at Ministry of Sound - can you tell us a little about this?
Nude is a collaboration with myself and London club promoter Terry Hart ( Go!Zilla, Redlight, Drama) we both love dramatic, off the wall things along with our love for good music, we held parties at The key last year but realised for what we wanted to achieve MoS would be the perfect venue.
Nude is about the best underground music supplied by our resident dj's and rising stars Mazzy Supastar and Luke VB & Tim Red, along with wicked guest dj's like James Priestley, Dan Ghenacia, Clive Henry, Dollz at Play. Alongside the music we have various performers, an ariel artisit, pole dancers, freaks and charecters running around, it's a mad house, we just want people to come and go nuts, clubbing can be so serious sometimes we just want to make it fun and as out there as it should be. The opening party was amazing I'm not just saying that people really had a great time.

2. We've heard that NUDE is rather risqué - what sort of shows can we expect to see? Nudity?
No Nudity really unless something falls off the dancers by mistake, oh actually our male pole dancers balls kept falling out of his outfit on opening party..hehehe! 
Nude performers are all characters and some of them very strange indeed, so you will expect to see acts ranging from the sexiest female dancers to professionally trained contemporary dancers, to the wildest Ariel shows or a person dressed as a pig on ice skates, anything goes really.

3. Musically what is the direction of the night?
It's pretty much dirty house, jackin house,sexy electro and minimal in the bar, more full on electro, tech and minimal in the box and in the baby box it's a bit of a mash up, there are also live PA's in there too.

4. Ibiza? Do you still live there?
Yes I do, I could never live in London again, far to cold, expensive and depressing, sorry, it' is so hot right now in Ibiza, in Feb it was 22 degrees, sun is out nearly every day and the pace of life is so much slower, I love it, only thing now is the amount of building they are doing here, it is a real shame as I fear they are ruining parts of the island, anyone who comes this year will see the difference and the dirty great motorway they are building complete with underpass, so unnecessary and very ugly, it's so not Ibiza.

5. Are there any plans to go Nude in Ibiza this coming season?
Oh yes Nude have a few plans in the pipeline, we have a couple of big things planned which I cannot go into now but we are also doing a few free beach parties at Blue Marlin again, it's such a lovely setting a perfect place for a party.We will have details of all our parties on the website although it's not up right now as it is being redone www.clubnude.org  

6. If not Nude, any other plans?
Well with all my international gigs, the travel, studio and Nude I am pretty busy to be honest not much time for anything else. Really my main thing this year is to make as many tracks as possible and make Nude the best party we can, we hope to take Nude abroad after summer too.

7. Which DJ's will you be inviting to play at Nude? Who do you recommend for 2006?
For June party we have Jerome Pacman very cool up coming DJ form France and James Priestley will be joining us again, August we have Silicone Soul who are fantastic live and the fabulous D'Julz in bar, hopefully Locodice will play later in year too.


8. Favourite house track of all time? 
Too hard to answer so many of em, Ten City- that’s the way love is, Kariya-let me; love you, Darry Pandy-love can't turn around, Nightwriters - let the music use you, Sandy-notice me, Coral way chiefs -release myself, Guy called Gerald- voodoo ray.. I could go on.

9. Favourite non-house track of all time?
Again too many .....Massive Attack-Unfinished Symphony, Stevie Wonder-Superstition, Marvin Gaye-what’s going on, The Police-Don't Stand so close to me....

10. If you weren't a DJ what would you be doing?
Well Now that I have started promoting and I realise I really enjoy it so I guess a promoter. I wanted to be a dancer also so that may have been a possibility or I might just have been settled down with 2 kids and a gorgeous husband!.....

11.If you could re-live one gig which one would it be?
Some of the first years of Trade at Turnmills, I would love to experience that again, that was truly the nuttiest OTT the top club night EVER! And the first time I played Space in Ibiza in 93 that was pretty fab.

12. Have you ever been caught in the Nude?
Erm...no but one year I was sharing an apartment in Sydney with my friends, they had gone out, it was NYE and there was to be a big party upstairs, I was just in my underwear when the door rings, so me thinking it was my mates who are all gay men, I open the door and say in my sexiest French accent (for a laugh) "entree" as door opens `I see that is is 2 men, complete strangers!!!... I piss myself laughing, they must have thought I was a hooker, they were meant to be going to party upstairs and pressed wrong door, DOH!!


And finally your Life philosophy…?
Never mix business with pleasure
Treat others as you wish to be treated yourself.
Live every day as if it were your last,
No regrets
Don't take your acid before your e!