How did you come up with the name 'Anabolic Frolic'?
I was trying to think of an original name, a little bit more inspired than your typical DJ xyz. And then I had remembered a friend of mine offering me an herbal tea once called 'anabolic frolic' and I thought it would be great to have a name that meant something. Frolic- having fun, and Anabolic- making people work out through dance. and it's a name people dont forget easily, which helped in the beginning.

Have you always played happy hardcore? or have you dabbled in any other genres?
I became a DJ to play happy hardcore. Back in 95 or so, when I was first introduced to the music, I was frustrated at the lack of exposure it had, very few djs spinning it here, and it was extremely hard to collect tapes, cds or anything else on this side of the pond. So through some internet connections I found some people overseas who would visit the vinyl shops over there and start sending me some records. To this day, I have maybe 10 or so pieces of vinyl from other genres, and that's it. The day I stop spinning hardcore is the day I stop being a dj.

For those not familiar with your style of music, what are the defining characteristics of happy hardcore?
What it comes down to, basically, is that happy hardcore is a direct descendant of the original UK 'rave' genre. It's changed and moved on of course, and typical characteristics would be a speed at about 170 bpm, bouncy techno stabs and pianos, usually some nice uplifting female vocals, and very melodic. It used to be more breakbeat driven, but you'll still hear them in there. The style I play is usually pretty anthemy, as that's what people have come to expect from me. What it has in common to this day with the old stuff is the fact that its 'Party' Music, with a capital P! You can't deny the atmosphere and vibe it creates.

How did you hook up with Moonshine and your 'Happy 2B Hardcore' series?
Back in my early days with the music ('96 sometime) I started up a happy hardcore mailorder outfit, Nokturnal Records, just to help other djs get the vinyl since it was so difficult to get. And for a while, ANY dj in all of north america who was interested in spinning it had to deal through me. Which basically put me a level higher on the food chain. Next thing I know, the president of moonshine calls me and says they've been kicking the idea around about doing a happy hardcore series to replace their aging 140bpm+ series and asked if I was interested in doing it. A week later they call me back looking for a DAT. To this day, I'm the only 'unknown' Moonshine has ever hired, and looking back I'm amazed at the trust they put in me, since I chose and compiled all the tracks myself, on top of the mix, and mailed them a dat which they threw onto CD. But the CD was successful enough, so it all worked out.

Is it true that the first 'Happy 2B Hardcore' CD was the biggest selling CD in the Moonshine catalog?
Not the biggest, but right up there. #2 or #3 from what I've been told, which is an amazing feat, looking at all the talent and quantity of discs moonshine puts out in a year. What's more amazing to me is the fact that it's selling those kind of numbers without a scene behind it. Outside of Toronto, and to a lesser extent L.A. there are no cities or regions that have any regular exposure to the music. To me, it shows the potential it can have over here and the U.S., if more promoters will pick up on it.

How much international recognition did you receive from this project?
Well, basically overnight I was interviewed, profiled and reviewed in dozens of different magazines, and with moonshine's large promotion for the disc it put my name all over the place. For a while, I was travelling week in and week out, but that begins to become a grind and I don't actively pursue out of town gigs any longer, rather playing in my own hometown, to the best crowds I've experienced anywhere.

What would you say was your best DJ-ing experience?
Some of the Hullabaloo parties have been insane. I would have to say the best for me was a year ago at the Electric Dreams party, which started the night as a bit of a disaster. We didn't have full use of the venue till past 1am, and thousands of ravers were stuck outside till then. But once everyone got in, the party was insane. I bumped my own timeslot till 7am since I had so many hassles to deal with, but at 7am the place was just going nuts. It was amazing to look out at the crowd, which was just busting at the seams in it's energy, so much so the mc's jumped right into the crowd and were dancing away with everyone. And the relief I felt after the nightmare at the beginning of the night I can't put into words. It was just one of those magical rave experiences your lucky to have once or twice during your rave career.

What was your worst?
Dunno, never really had an off-the-charts bad experience, beyond the usual 'not being paid' kinda stuff. Never played a bad crowd or one that wasn't up for it. And even for parties that have been technical nightmares, for example, I spun for Bassrush in D.C. without headphones (a DJ I had borrowed some off of, took them back from me 2 records in!) But the crowd was totally on my side, and they knew what I was up against, and would just cheer when a mix came off properly. So it was extremely frustrating for me at the time, but I couldn't help but smile and feel good where your surrounded by such a positive atmosphere.

What prompted you to start throwing your 'Hullabaloo' parties?
I started it out of frustration at the success I was having in the U.S. as a dj, but here in my backyard nothing was moving forward with happy hardcore. No promoter was interested in doing anything with it. So I took it upon myself to start throwing parties that I wanted to attend myself. I knew it could be successful, so I put my money where my mouth was. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that it would turn into what it has today. I thought maybe someday I could throw a party that 700 people might attend, haha.

What do you think it is that sets 'Hullabaloo' apart from the other companies?
Definitly the crowd that comes out everytime is something special. Many things contribute to this, the first would be the music. The music featured at my parties is pretty hard to stand if you're not into it, haha, so it eliminates most of the crowd that comes out for the wrong reasons. The other thing is that it's been a grass-roots success story. I print a rediculously low amount of flyers compared to the other big boys, and yet the parties sell out totally in advance, it's all just the overwhelming word-of-mouth that we get. It's always cool to see tons of people marking the days (and months) till the next event and getting so excited about it. Dunno, we've got some bottled lightning, and it's an incredible feeling to know so many people really appreciate what I do.

Check out the sounds of Anabolic Frolic! on Tribe Exclusive Tape #22!! Sample Coming Soon...