Interview with DJ Johnny Bubonic

Except for John Peel, DJs have had close to zero influence on the sort of music I like. Except for DJ Johnny Bubonic, that is, who DJ'd for several years the weekly(!) deathrock night in Dallas, Texas, that was Funeral Drive. This was at Spiderbabies (RIP), a uniquely deathrock-centric venue that lasted about 4 years in Deep Ellum. Bubonic and company provided a strategic response to the deluge of electronic-centered music that eventually won the war in Big D by way of the main establishment club in Dallas, The Church (Lizard Lounge), which mostly shoved aside deathrock and postpunk to play EBM, IDM, and techno-flavored "goth," a trend that continues to this day. Bubonic's posts (setlists and assorted rants) on deathrock.com and elsewhere had a big influence on my own ideas about music, and introduced me to many great bands that remain favorites to this day.

But I'll let him speak for himself. After the interview is a sample playlist from Funeral Drive from February, 2002, as well as a piece Bubonic wrote for Starvox. (Interviewed by Oliver in November, 2011.)