EBONYPALOOZA

(photo credit: John Bergman)

EBONY chatted with Lady D about her music, her dream of performing at Lolla and her most memorable public transportation experience. Check the interview below.

EBONY: What’s it like being a female House [music] DJ?

 Lady D: It’s really cool! You feel very special. There’s really no place like home, the admiration and adoration I get from people [in Chicago] is awesome! It really makes me feel loved and like I made the right decision. I feel like I’ve kind of crossed over from being a girl DJ to just a good DJ.

EBONY: Describe your sound.

Lady D: My sound…it’s like a speeding train. Runaway horses. Wild horses. It’s crazy! It’s a little bit techno, a little bit disco, a little bit house kind of like a hybrid of all that. I equate it to thunder and lightning.

EBONY: Who area your musical influences?

Lady D: My musical influences are pretty diverse. I like so many different types of music, which is why I think my sound is the way it is. I like Jill Scott. I like Saul Williams. I like poetic people. In terms of what I do as a DJ, locally, I like Derrick Carter.

EBONY: Describe your most memorable performance:

Lady D: One time [the city of Chicago] let event planners plan a party on the El [train]. It was a party called Motioness. They had a train six cars long and they only sold maybe 400 tickets. You had to get on in Wicker Park and the train went all around the city. They had a DJ set up on each car and I remember it was 9 o’clock at night and I’m playing downtown. That was very poignant to be playing for a very private audience on the El [train] going over the Chicago River; all the buildings were lit up, it was pretty surreal.

EBONY: How’d you end up on the Lolla stage?

Lady D: You know it’s kind of like one of those Kismet things. I went to Lolla as a guest of an artist two years ago. I got to see the whole backstage experience. I thought it was such an awesome festival and I said to myself: ’I want to play Lolla.’ Not really thinking it could really happen. I went home and wrote myself an e-mail and I sent it to myself. It said: ‘Find out more about Lolla.’ Then, last year somebody invited me to a party the day before Lolla started and I got to meet the organizers¾ the people at C3. After a few minutes of talking to them they were like, “I’m going to book you for next year.”  I went home and opened up that e-mail and was like, “It’s happening.”

Check Lady’s D’s song “Champagne Lady” below. She hits Perry’s Stage at Lolla TOMORROW at 12:45. We’ll be there!