JAMES ANTHONY.
James Anthony has been about the music his entire life. From carrying crates as a teenager to packing dance floors all night today, he has stayed in tune with all genres that move people, building an extensive library that respects all decades of dance history. When he’s not in the DJ booth or hosting his SiriusXM radio show, he’s showing off his sacred collection of vinyl that has a story within every sleeve. His sets are set apart by his remix productions that bring his own flavor to the decks as he continues to create new works and push his sound further. James Anthony brings an energy to his work that matches his passion for the music he shares.
Ahead of his monthly residency at The Eagle NYC, James Anthony’s House, this Saturday, September 7, I caught up with the deviant darling as NYC nightlife gets back to school during its most electric month of the year.
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DXD: How did you get your start in nightlife?
JA: With a fake ID and a crate of really good house records! I was playing music for people as a DJ long before I could get into clubs. When I was a teenager in the 90’s, I worked for a mobile DJ company playing Sweet 16’s and weddings in gaudy catering halls in the NY/NJ area. I played a lot of Real McCoy and La Bouche songs and kept the big hair/long nails/velour tracksuit crowd very happy on the dancefloor. By the time I graduated into nightlife, I was already well-versed in the art of navigating heavy DJ equipment that weighed almost as much as I did up and down restaurant staircases, through kitchens in the middle of dinner service, and across empty parking lots late at night.
DXD: As a native New Yorker, what about the city inspires you most?
JA: I grew up in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Even with New York City right in my backyard, it still felt like this magical, aspirational place you could only visit on special occasions or school trips. Once I was old enough to experience it on my own, I started to understand the unmistakable grit and spirit that defines New York. There’s no place like it really. So much of the music I was surrounded by growing up: freestyle, disco, house; was all so distinctly New York in its style and character. By finally experiencing everything the city had to offer for the first time, I was able to make a personal connection between the culture of New York and the music that came from it.
The dance music, past and present, that comes from New York will always inspire me the most.
DXD: You have an impressive collection of vinyl records, and love to share more about them. Is there one that stands out because of a story other than the music it plays?
JA: The records on those shelves are, in physical form, the entire foundation of my love for DJing and creating music. Every single dollar of allowance, birthday money, paychecks from working at Blockbuster Video and nights spent in some hole in the wall club with sticky floors getting paid next to nothing to spin for 8 hours – all of it went to those records. Whatever I pull off the shelf always brings me right back to when I first bought it. From the price tag, I can tell you where and when it came from. I’ll always recall where and when I played it, usually with some story to go with it. Some of them are autographed by the artists and performers I’ve worked with over the years. I spent so much of my free time in the record store growing up, so being around them really takes me back to those happy moments of discovering music in a tactile way. Finding fun ways to share them on my social media is a lot of fun because people seem to genuinely appreciate and enjoy them.
DXD: Do you have any desire for a live vinyl show to showcase your skills and library?
JA: Literally every time I step into a DJ booth, carrying nothing but a stick drive and headphones, I thank the gods of technology and think, “Yeah, I earned this shit.”
I used to steal milk crates from behind the supermarket so I could lug my records to parties. Now they have a permanent home in my studio, where they shall remain forever (unless someone wants to pay me good money to take them out again.) In the meantime, I’m happy to showcase all of them on my social media.
DXD: You also host your weekly show Get Into The Groove on SiriusXM Studio 54 Radio. How did that get started?
JA: I got my start on New York radio in my early 20’s as a mixshow DJ on WKTU and later on SiriusXM, so with that experience I was able to successfully pitch my own show. Get Into the Groove is where I play the best dance records of the 1980’s, all curated from my record collection. I get deep with rare 80’s disco gems and custom edits and remixes I create exclusively for the show.
DXD: What do you love most about your radio show that you don’t get to do in the DJ booth?
JA: Get Into The Groove is where I can geek out, share stories, and talk about the songs, artists, and culture of dance music and nightlife of that era. It’s basically my Instagram stories in a longer form. It’s deeply rewarding and very full circle to be able to now play the same songs on the radio that I discovered the same way decades ago.
DXD: Moving back to the booth, you’re currently known for your jam-packed monthly Saturday night at The Eagle NYC, James Anthony’s House. Do you have a specific approach to how you prepare for each monthly edition?
JA: We have so much fun together at the Eagle, right? When it comes to the music for James Anthony’s House, I keep it very simple. What’s the vibe I want to create that night? Most times I decide in the moment. Having the opportunity to play a full six-hour set is a gift these days, but I wish I could go an hour or four longer. My sets at the Eagle actually start about 30 minutes before the doors even open. I’ll start playing just for the staff and to sound check the room. It’s been a lot of fun these past three years learning how to own that room and find new ways to create those moments that really send everyone on the dancefloor over the edge.
DXD: You’ve also recently released, “Think It Over,” with Bonanza Records, which marks your first solo release. What has your production journey been like, and how did it feel to put this out into the world?
JA: I’ve kicked around music production for a while, and have had remixes released on other people’s projects, but it was only after the pandemic that I started taking a more professional approach to it. Now, if I’m not in the DJ booth, I can guarantee you I am actively home creating music in my studio. When you hear me live, you hear a lot of my original remixes that have yet to be released.
DXD: If you could go back in time to any New York nightlife institution, when/where would it be?
JA: I mean where to begin? There’s been so many iconic eras. But I could only imagine what it must have been like to experience gay nightlife in New York City during the disco years. How mind blowing it must have been to be on a dancefloor and hear a song like, “I Feel Love,” by Donna Summer for the first time? Just to be at the forefront of such an important cultural movement that clearly we’re all just copying and paying homage to today would be incredible I’m sure.
DXD: Tell us about a track/set/artist that has been inspiring you lately.
JA: There’s literally so many. If you go check out my podcasts and my live sets, you’ll get a perfect sense of exactly who is inspiring me these days. I also should mention how inspired I am by all the great DJs I have the pleasure of sharing the booth with at events, having the opportunity to hear them live, and watching how they work.
DXD: It’s Saturday night and you’re not working. Where are you at to have a good time?
JA: My couch. With my husband. A 50 mg edible. Pizza and cookies close by. Thank you for inviting me to your party, but I’m probably not coming.
DXD: Top three things you love seeing at parties?
JA: Joy, Community, Dancing. If love is the message, I’m just lucky enough to be the messenger.
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Thank you James Anthony! Follow him on Insta and Soundcloud. You can catch him live this Saturday night and every first Saturday of the month at The Eagle NYC for James Anthony’s House. Cash only, darling!
Xx,
