 |
|
|
|
|
No place like home for Devecchis
This century, dance music has evolved. A new generation of punters has hit the streets of Sydney, and there’s been talk of the death of clubs at the hands of large events. But through it all, Sydney’s self-styled superclub, home, has kept on thriving.
John Devecchis has viewed the changing Sydney scene from his vantage as DJ and occasional promoter at the club. He’s such a familiar face around Cockle Bay Wharf that it’s easy to forget that back in November 2000 he was a salesman working for a print company and had never lived outside the historic British town of York.
The tourist trap offered little in the way of dance music but through the 1990s Devecchis had been seduced by nearby Leeds and Sheffield, where he was captivated by folkloric clubs like Back To Basics, The Orbit, and Love To Be.
“My influences come from my brother’s techno, [progressive house gods] Sasha and Digweed early on, and the Back To Basics house scene.”
He brought to Australia this three-pronged taste, a few records, and limited experience – not that he ever intended on spinning tunes for a living, let alone staying here longer than his six months worth of savings would allow.
But a visit to Darling Harbour and his first look at the club changed his plans. “I walked into homebar and just started speaking to the manager. I didn’t expect anything, but I gave him my number. About a week later - a week after I had landed – he phoned me up and said, ‘Do you want to come and start playing Sunday afternoons?’”
Devecchis was very much in the right place at the right time. Sunday events in Sydney were becoming more popular, and Sundays at homebar exploded, led by the champions of the local house sound, Alex Taylor and Jules Beaumont.
“They’re legends, I love both those guys,” Devecchis smiles. “When I first came my music direction went somewhere in between what those two played. The records I had [brought from York] were a little bit techy, so I started doing a little record shopping, more soulful stuff.”
In short time Devecchis was playing whenever he wasn’t travelling around the country. Eventually, he was almost out of money, and looking for work.
“Towards the five month, six month period I said to the bosses, ‘Is there anything else I can do at the club?’ And they said, ‘Can you paint?’ I said, ‘I’m no Michelangelo, but I’ll give it my best shot!’”
Devecchis again picked up a brush recently, painting the lounge area not for money, but “for a laugh”. It typifies his comical yet can-do personality.
His positivity shines through when he talks about home’s chequered history. In the four years since the Brit’s arrival, home has weathered a storm of changes. But Devecchis says speculation the club was ever in trouble, for example when Sat@home was dropped in favour of Kinkidisko in 2001, simply isn’t true.
“home’s never struggled. When Kinkidisko came in ... the numbers dropped a bit but not as much as people think, it wasn’t drastic.”
And while promoters and DJs have come and gone, Devecchis says it’s been musical trends that have dictated the changes.
Back when Devecchis hit town and Sat@home was keeping its legions of fans enthralled, “the main room sound was a trancier sound. Back then trance was bigger. ‘Greece 2000’, ‘Soul Of An Angel’, ‘For An Angel’, ‘Heaven Scent’, those tracks were smack bang in the middle of when prog struck trance. All that timeless, wicked music – by the time Kinkidisko had come and gone, trance wasn’t big anymore.”
“I don’t think the crowd had changed that much. It was certainly a different wave of people, but all they were doing was following the trends. In general people go with whatever’s cool. Look at Tsubi jeans and trucker caps. It’s the same for music. All this club has done is go with what’s most popular – because that’s how it’s going to survive.”
Which is not to say home has lost credibility – it’s simply giving the punters what they want.
“A lot of people here are into instantly likeable music. The sounds we play now in the main room [on Saturdays at together@home] are the more commercially accessible tracks of these days, the more funky, big room sort of house.”
And to be fair, home is not dissimilar from the other big house brands in Sydney – Yu and Kink.
“It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other,” says Devecchis. However, Devecchis adds that “competition keeps the scene going around”. It’s an odd symbiosis, one that extends to Yu promoters, Fuzzy.
Perhaps the biggest change during Devecchis’ tenure has been the surge in popularity of special events at the expense of weekly club nights – a shift in power led by Fuzzy.
“It’s something that I’ve thought about a lot, especially after New Year’s when there seems to be a festival every second weekend.”
But Devecchis is far from being spiteful or envious. “People make up rivalries but there really isn’t. There’s competition, but you can work together.”
“There’s actually an understanding between home and Fuzzy, people wouldn’t believe it.” Devecchis says the heads “have coffee” and discuss, for example, who is getting which headliner for New Year’s Eve. “It all fits into place.”
In January, home held a party after the Good Vibrations festival and managed to get headliner Miguel Migs, and consequently 2200 people through the door. Devecchis says it’s an example of using the festivals to their advantage.
Devecchis is keen to make the point that the promoters are “friends”. For example, he even plays soccer with Andy from Good Vibrations.
He’s also keen to make it very clear that home is still a major player. “We’re still there because we’ve got a beautiful venue. As far a venues go, it’s still ahead of anything else in Sydney.”
And the numbers emphatically show it. Devecchis is happy to reveal that home is at capacity when an international plays, and averaging 1900-2000 people on a regular Saturday.
Devecchis believes that together@home is doing so well because it offers “a mix of ‘hands in the air’ and ‘I’ve never heard this before’.”
Upstairs on the Terrace, Devecchis aims to “push boundaries” and educate, playing a deeper brand of house with fellow DJ Illya – or, as he likes to call it, “music for the house heads”.
Devecchis wants more DJs with a passion for more underground genres of dance music to take a gamble on their own night.
“What I think you’ll see in the next year is more smaller nights opening up ... but there needs to be more smaller venues.”
Of course, other promoters don’t have the ‘club-within-a-club’ advantage that the Terrace affords – people flowing through his space, those liking what they hear staying to be wowed.
“The Sweetchilli boys [progressive house promoters], I can’t believe they don’t get better numbers than they do. I still think there’s a lot of good prog, I still think prog’s got a lot to offer, but I don’t think it’s given much of a chance in Sydney.”
Back at home, Devecchis is outlived numerous club nights, renovations, and paintjobs. “I love this place,” he says. The club may sponsor the visa that has kept him downunder for almost four years, but Devecchis speaks with a sincere smile. He’s very happy with his role at home, and he’s optimistic about the its future.
“Don’t worry about this club, it’s alright for now!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
Published / Tuesday, 25 May 2004
 Post a comment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Features
|
|
|
