Needle Exchange: A DJ Questionnaire with Doc Adam

IMAGE: Courtesy of Doc Adam.

Years DJing: I bought my first set of turntables and a mixer—Gemini PT-2000s and a shitty Numark—in 1999. I guess that means I've been DJing for 17 years? That doesn't seem right. How old am I? How long has the abyss been staring back at me?

Genre: Anything that makes a party get active. I play a lot of different genres, but I always say I'm a hip-hop DJ—but that's because the guys who taught me how to DJ in Ann Arbor and Detroit were hip-hop DJs from the time before there were enough hip-hop records to play a whole party.

Where you can catch me regularly: I play at Holocene a couple times a month for Snap! '90s Dance Party and most Tribute Nights. I play at Revelry, Tube and Fortune on a regular basis.

Craziest gig: It was inevitably either a Hot Mess or a Massive some time between 2009 and 2011. We did some really weird shit in Chinatown back in those days that I probably shouldn't discuss further for legal reasons.

My go-to records: Volume 10, "Pistol Grip Pump"; Frankie Beverly and Maze, "Before I Let Go." Everything else I play is to prepare people for "Pistol Grip Pump" or "Before I Let Go."

Don't ever ask me to play…: Anything unless you write the request on money. As a rule of thumb, don't talk to me when I'm DJing for a duration longer than a high-five unless we are already good friends. I'm busy and I know what I'm doing.

NEXT GIG: Doc Adam spins at Snap! '90s Dance Party at Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., with Colin Jones and Freaky Outty, on Friday, Nov. 25. 9 pm. $5. 21+.

Matthew Singer

A native Southern Californian, former Arts & Culture Editor Matthew Singer ruined Portland by coming here in 2008. He is an advocate for the canonization of the Fishbone and Oingo Boingo discographies, believes pro-wrestling is a serious art form and roots for the Lakers. Fortunately, he left Portland for Tucson, Arizona, in 2021.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office.

Help us dig deeper.