Detroit's Terrence Parker will play a series of European dates during October and November.
Parker made his entry into the realm of music production back in 1992 but, as the title of his upcoming tour would suggest, has been DJing since the beginning of the '80s. Parker stood apart from his musical peers in Detroit as one of the few pushing the sound that would later become known as gospel house. Much of his output during the '90s arrived via labels like Octave One's 430 West and Studio !K7, while much of his material during the '00s has been through Parker MusicWorks, the imprint he founded in earnest back in 2007.
Parker's European tour will come to life on October 21st at L'Apostrophe in Reims, France; he'll then head on to Italy for dates at Moxa (Mantova) and Gamma (Turin) across that weekend. Further stops in October include Belgrade, Berlin and Warsaw, while November includes dates in Liverpool, Dublin, Helsinki and Moscow, before the whole thing comes to a head on Friday, November 26th at London's East Village.
Having just returned from a Japanese tour, we grabbed Parker via email for a quick catch-up ahead of these latest dates.How long has it been since you've done a tour like this in Europe?
Although I have DJ'ed in Europe many times, this will be the first time I have played in so many countries and cities across Europe in such a short time period. I am very excited and looking forward to this tour very much.
A lot of people talk about how radio isn't what it used to be, but you still have a radio show in Detroit. Tell us about why you think radio is still an important part of what you do.
It is very important to represent other styles of music on the radio. Many people still listen to the radio. Having a consistent show is a great way to share music with a wide audience. I am happy to have the opportunity to share a non-commercial style of music and mixing on one of the largest and most popular commercial stations in Detroit. The station also has online streaming of their broadcasts over the internet in select areas. I have been doing the show on Channel 955 FM in Detroit for almost four years now. I'm glad to still have the continued support of the listeners.
You put up a "Terrence Parker DJ Academy" advertisement on your MySpace last year. Have you had any students yet? How has it been going?
Yes, I have had many students. I haven't had much time to schedule lessons for potential students in recent weeks because of my tour schedule. However, in select areas on my tour I will have the chance to put on some learning seminars. For example, I will give a DJ seminar while in Singapore.