Ozz-Some Beats
Amid a wave of celebrity-DJ wannabes, Louis Osbourne is the real thing
Like the rock and pop scenes, DJ culture doesn't necessarily open its arms to celebrity-come-latelys who think they can rock onstage with the best. Ex-porn princess Traci Lords tried to be a name-brand jock in the early '90s, but, lacking skills and name recognition among teen ravers too young to remember her underage porn roles, or even her Melrose Place appearances, she was rejected. New-waver Boy George has seen some longevity as a U.K. club jock, but he's also faced doubting critics and little success in the United States.
Several other celebs have been seen showing off their Technics 1200s on the likes of MTV's Cribs, and it's a wonder Kato Kaelin himself isn't jockeying for a gig at Spundae. But dance music has a surprisingly discerning audience that offers scowls and empty dance floors to those who fail to provide proper beats, SAG card or not.
Louis Osbourne, son of Ozzy, has belly-flopped with maximum splash into this foreboding mosh pit of e-music, and he isn't getting out of the water anytime soon.
He spun for a packed house on Saturday at Spundae in Hollywood, and anyone who expected crazy train wrecks or Spinal Tap-ian antics (no 11-level amplitude here) was surely disappointed. The dance-floor-facing decks at Spundae, with a sea-level view of a ferocious, having-it crowd, are some of the most daunting in the business - a true test of a DJ's mettle. Osbourne was calm, collected, and confident as he dominated the huge Allen & Heath mixer and pushed in track after track of pumping, funky techno. His British bulldog of a body bounced, and his shaved head nodded, as the big room throbbed to his banging sound.
"His name helped him get on the scene, but he has the talent," says dance fan Todd Metrick, a 24-year-old who came to L.A. from San Diego for a weekend of clubbing. "It's a different end of the spectrum than what his dad does. He's a total opposite."
Indeed, Louis said last week on the phone from his new home in Dublin, dad isn't much of a club-head. Louis was born to Ozzy's first wife, Thelma Mayfair, in 1974. They divorced in 1981, and Louis doesn't discuss his family much, except to say, "I have Thelma and Louise [his girlfriend] kicking my ass." But he has had walk-in cameos on MTV's The Osbournes, featuring Ozzy's family with current wife Sharon. Louis often stays at the Osbourne mansion when he's in town.
"I don't think he understands dance music," Louis says of his father's disgust for digital sounds. Indeed, there was the time Ozzy came stumbling out of the Beverly Hills home, imploring Louis, in a barrage of expletives, to turn down his house-music-blasting boombox. "He's just happy I found something I enjoy doing," Louis says.
Unlike a lot of newcomers to the DJ game, Osbourne embarked on a proper introduction, including a mid-'90s stint working as sales manager at the U.K.'s famed Hard to Find record store. "I got my education in dance music buying and selling old record collections and sifting through thousands of pieces of old vinyl," he says. "It was a great way to catch up with all the dance music." Osbourne started out as a lover of hardcore break-beat - the heavy metal of dance music, ironically - but was soon enamored with the dark New York house sound of Danny Tenaglia, DJ Duke, and Armand Van Helden. A native of Birmingham, Osbourne paid his dues on the U.K. Midlands club circuit, scoring a residency at techno club House of God. Eventually, he landed gigs on Spanish dance isle Ibiza, where he still plays at the legendary Cream.
"I know there are doubters out there," he says. "All I can say is that if anyone ever doubts me, come see me spin. You won't leave saying I can't mix well and can't play well. I have confidence in what I do."
Indeed, Louis Osbourne is for real, and his new mix CD, Motion Audio V.1, released last month, proves it. It's an action-jammed race down the quarter mile - minimal progressive meets slamming tech-house - and he makes no apologies.
"I try to build something and take it harder and harder and harder," he says. "This whole journey aspect wanes the crowd a bit. I like a heads-down, get-on-with-it approach." Sound familiar?
Published: 07/24/2003
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