We have got to get one of those giant, light-up name-spelling xylophones.

The top DJ in America according to DJ Times Magazine, Z-Trip, opens his Friday night residency, Revolution, at Rain inside the Palms tomorrow night. The club has been without a Friday regular since the death of DJ AM in August, now Z-Trip will settle into his new home at least two nights a month through New Year’s Eve.

Z-Trip, real name Zach Sciacca, was coming fresh off spending the night working on a remix for the Beastie Boys when we sat down at Rain to talk to him about the new show, Shepard Fairey’s involvement in the visual side and how to get people moving past the same-old, same-old songs.

So what do you have planned here?

Well, I’m trying to push boundaries a little bit, as much as I can get away with without overtly trying to push the boundaries. I’m just trying to go a little bit further if I can, musically. That’s sort of the whole point of Revolution for me was to sort of evolve for what the status quo has been for a lot of people in Vegas.

Musically, every time I’ve come to Vegas in the past it’s sort of been this stigma that Vegas is attached to the cheesy, club stuff. Any DJ has to do that stuff, but for me I also felt like there was an underlying group of people here who are also music people, and they were sort of getting shined on a little bit. There were DJs who were coming through here and pushing boundaries, but they were few and far and between. People like Mix Master Mike, AM, myself. Over time I think people were starting to get a little hip and into different music possibilities.

Obviously the circumstances are unfortunate. Does that affect how you come into this residency?

Yes and no. Yes, because I come in with a great deal of respect. Adam was a friend of mine. The whole point for me was to try and come in here and not disrespect anything that had gone before, but to try and carry that torch and keep it moving. I like to think he would do the same. In that regard it’s about trying to walk in here with a huge understanding of what’s up, but at the same time it’s also about this is an opportunity for me to do me. I’m going to do as much as I can to sort of keep this movement going. Not just in this club, but collectively. I think musically in Vegas it’s time to move forward.

It’s interesting, too. I think it’s also about the local scene here. There are little indicators that people are open and into it. I come here and play certain tunes and people go for it. It’s like there’s hope. With people like John Doe for instance, who does The Get Back every First Friday. He’s been doing that seven years now, and it sets a benchmark. John’s another friend of mine. I love the fact that the local scene in Vegas has rallied behind that. You don’t even have that in certain other metropolitan towns, let alone something that’s been going on for seven years. The fact is there is this group of people outside of the transients that come in and out. All of these are factors in me realizing that people are open to it and ready for it.

Had you ever been approached to do a residency in Vegas before?

They approached me a while back, the Palms did, but I was on the road and I had too many obligations. I couldn’t commit. And also I didn’t think it was the right time, so I turned it down. I was still doing one or two shows here and there at some of the other clubs, Pure, Tao. When it came back up again I was like, you know what? I think it is actually time.

I think a big catalyst for me was the Perfecto night. I was like wow, they’re marketing and pushing this completely different night and they’re getting behind it. I was like, if they can rally behind that then I think my night may have a chance. It’s a little abstract, on purpose. But I also like the fact that they were very supportive of that.

It looks like your schedule is two nights a month through December. Are you looking at doing more in the future?

I’ll probably do more. The thing is, for me, I book my schedule about six months out. So I have this tour in Australia coming up and other dates I couldn’t break away from. The cool thing is they were also willing to work with me and work around that. I think in the future it’s going to be a bit more regular.

What are we going to see with the Shepard Fairey involvement? How did you get involved with him?

He and I have been friends since about ’99, 2000. It’s interesting. He’s stated that I’m one of the reasons that he started DJing. I influenced him in that regard. I’ve always felt like he and I share the same kind of thing. Musically, I feel like I do what he does visually. We’re pulling from a lot of the same sources and putting our spin on it. It’s interesting, when we met, I’m like I’m a fan of yours as well. We just hit it off. I felt like I’ve known that guy for years based on seeing his images and seeing what he’s done, and vice-versa.

For the night, he originally was set to do all the art direction, but rather than doing it all in one big lump sum, I sort of wanted to stagger it. We’ll get the first kick-off, which is the poster. That’s sort of like the initial push. As the months evolve, it’s sort of like he’s doing me a solid. This is stuff that would probably cost people crazy amounts of money, but the fact that we’re friends, he’s breaking me off and doing me a solid. It’s also the same thing where I’ll do him solids as well. I’ll DJ like his art openings. This Saturday I’m going to Pittsburgh to go do the Warhol Musem for an art opening. It’s kind of one hand washes the other. I’m just really stoked because he’s sort of always looked out for me and I’ve looked out for him. It’s a good friendship.

How important is that fusion of the visual art with the music?

I think for me it’s about 50 percent. I think for the Perfecto night it’s probably a bit more, probably like an 80 percent. But I’m a bit of a minimalist in some regard. I don’t mind having it be a little bit flashy, but I also don’t want things to deter from the music. I do think it’s important to have a bit of production from a night, but sometimes it can get a little borderline overkill for me. It’s kind of interesting when we sat down they came in like we’re going to do this, this and this. I think they were coming off the heels of Perfecto which was all-in. It’s like, cool, hang on, maybe we’ll keep this and retool that. Maybe it’s about dialing some of it back and dialing some of it up but again, I think by the third or fourth show we’ll find our rhythm in that regard.

Do you feel like you had to do something to separate yourself from Perfecto a little bit?

A little bit. I think mine’s a bit more stark. There will be a bit more interaction and play on stage with guests. It’s about setting up four decks and having four decks operational at any given moment. Depending on who’s in town, I sort of think of that like jazz musicians. I feel like any really good DJ or jazz musician will be able to get down with anybody else on standards and vibe and cut and jibe with somebody. I want to have the ability to have that happen, when and if and however it happens. I’m a big fan of the the improvisation thing. Whether it be emcees coming and all of a sudden, oh let’s rock some shit. I think that needs to be embraced.

Seeing two DJs who don’t normally play together freestyle? When I’m playing I know where I’m going to go. If all of a sudden I pass it to somebody for a couple of records and they take it somewhere else, now they’ve derailed me by default. So I’m looking to go, oh shit, well now I’m inspired by where you’re going, I’m going to try to go there. Then I inspire them, and before you know it we’re communicating, and the crowd’s getting involved. If it’s done right, it’s such a different path people can go down. I don’t really see that that much. Not just in Vegas, but in general. I think in general, DJing needs to go back to the old incorporating anything, whether it be playing with musicians or other DJs. There are only a small handful of people who embrace that. Me, I really champion that. I’m hoping I can still wave that banner here a little bit if circumstances permit.

Original post: Daily Fiasco