WSC: How did it feel to Play at Snowstorm music Festival?
Nick: It’s cool, we had an idea in mind to change the way we DJ to play more of the stuff we make, the style we make; and tonight was probably the first time we went all out THAT way, playing whatever we wanted in the style were going for.
Austin: Yea, because we used to be the “Drezzos” of the DJ world because we played heavy dark stuff. We don’t make that music, so playing here was our first opportunity to shift our DJ skills towards our brand.
WSC: How long have you guys been Djing/Performing in Chicago?
Nick: We’ve been playing here for about 3/4 years, we started in 2010. Our very first show was at Max Bar.
Austin: Our very first “big” club show was The Mid.
WSC: Oh cool, who did you guys open up for?
Nick: I think it was a local night on a Thursday. We just killed it. ISU homies came out in support, and actually an ISU homie hooked it up. He was like “Hey I can get you in the MiD on a Thursday” And were like “Cool”. We brought a ton of people.
WSC: What’s your favorite club in the city?
Austin: Honestly it’s the mid, between the main room and the century room, they always take care of us.
Nick: Its home. It’s always going to be home. They bring the best DJs.
WSC: That’s not the first time we heard that. But It’s the crowd too right?
Austin: The crowd is always responsive, it’s always packed. No matter what show were opening up at the mid at this stage in our career it’s always packed.
WSC: When did you guys first start thinking about doing this?
Nick: Its crazy because I’ve been around music my whole life but I dropped it all when I started college. I stopped playing guitar (I used to be in bands and stuff) and started partying. And then I picked up DJing… But its weird because we lived 20 minutes away from each other never knew each other. He (Austin) lived in a small 20 person town. We played beer pong..
Austin: I’m from Danforth,IL. Literally, the middle of nowhere.
Nick: So we met and I’ve started djing on a mini controller at parties.
Austin: good ol’ virtual DJ
Nick: Austin wanted to learn so I taught him. He played at some frat parties I played at, I was in the frat. We did our first event together at a sorority barn dance. ISU barn dance. We played all country songs and popular songs, but the last song we played was the country edit of “Where’s Your head At” . at the time no one heard that shit, it was before Bassnectar came to ISU and if eel that shit changed everything. Bassnectar at ISU enlightened the whole campus. He did that everywhere.
Austin: We started around then 2010 doing sorority gigs to make some money. Then we decided to take it to the next level and came back to Chicago.
WSC: What are your musical influences?
Austin: Crazy as it sounds we’ve always followed the Chainsmokers really closely. They’re like a brand and musicians that we idolize because we see each other like that.
Nick: They’re always pushing the boundaries. You can tell when someone is trying out different styles. Even though ChainSmokers came out with something super commercial (“Selfie”). We have been following them since before that. They developed a brand and did it right.
Austin: They kept true to themselves. Haven’t changed since they started.
Nick: But there are more people as well. I couldn’t just say one name.
Austin: We have our homies Doctor Fresh, Bentley-Dean. We all hang out and make music together.
WSC: Who are your favorite local DJs?
Austin: Tsunami, Inphinity & Kalendr, Trentino, Freak Island, Zebo, Phenom
Nick: They’re just really cool dudes that know how to work a room and have been doing it forever. Everyone in the Chicago Industry is pretty nice.
Austin: This is a big city, but a small community. We all try to help each other out.
WSC: What keeps you going every day? What motivates you?
Nick: It took us a long time for us to get to where we are now. There was a big learning curve. There is so much to keep up with. Even though we knew we could do it, it was hard to get up every day and start doing it. We didn’t have a studio. We just got one a year ago and it has been life changing. Now we just go there every day.
Austin: It is a make it or break it kind of thing.
Nick: It has been a dream to travel the world.
Austin: Our collective dream was to travel the world even before we started DJing. This is the way we can do it and express our talents at the same time.
WSC: Dream artists to work with?
Nick: EDX is our favorite right now. His music helped us understand what were making and what we are DJing, and how to do them both.
Austin: We make happy stuff and clubby darker stuff. And he is in between that. He is not a huge name but he is very well known.
WSC: Deep dish or thin crust?
Nick: Thin crust
Austin: Thin crust. Shout out to Monacle’s Pizza! It’s a local chain in central Illinois. The sickest thing crust.
WSC: Cubs or Sox?
Nick & Austin: Sox
WSC: Win or Woo?
Nick: Win!
Austin: Woo!
WSC: Anything you would like to tell your fans?
Austin: Honestly, thank you!
Nick: Especially in the past year. We shifted and we rebranded. Our music was so well received. It is all about confidence. Knowing that you can make whatever you like and everyone will like it, THAT is what keeps us going. Everyone giving us this support, is what makes us.
WSC: Anything we need to keep an eye out?
Austin: First initial remix coming out in March with Pompeya. They are a large rock band in Russia. They are really good. Their initial remixes had some big artists on them.
Nick: There are some other things we are currently working on that we can’t talk about yet.
Austin: We’re sitting on like 3-4 remixes.
Check them out!!
Twitter: @WinandWoo
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/winandwoo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/winandwoo
Instagram: @WinandWoo
On Saturday January 23 Kygo made his final Cloud Nine Tour stop for his North American leg of the tour. Unfortunately I’ll have to report that his show did not put me on cloud nine, in fact this could have been the worst show I have been to in a long time. Fortunately for Kygo this isn’t a review about the actual music he plays.
Since Congress Theater closed down, the Chicago EDM scene has been limited to using two venues for shows that are not 21+, The Aragon Ballroom and Concord Music Hall. When Above and Beyond used Navy Pier’s Grand Ballroom for their tour stop it seemed to have opened the doors of opportunity for this to become a regularly used venue. Just two weeks later, The Gathering Group (Snowstorm Fest Organizers) turned this iconic venue into something it’s never been before. With two levels of attractions, two stages, 11 artists, several bars and VIP “Igloos” (pictured on the left); Snowstorm Fest was something unseen before by Chicago.
