Needle Exchange: A DJ Questionnaire with Strange Babes

Their craziest gig, their go-to records and the music you should never ask them to play.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Kathy Foster.

Years DJing: We've been DJing together as a crew for seven years. We've each been DJing solo for longer than that, ranging from 11 to 15 years.

Genres: Modern underground, punk, post-punk, proto-punk, damaged garage and rock 'n' roll, international psych, soul, New Wave, no wave, cold wave, krautrock, Italo disco, hip-hop.

Where you can catch us regularly: Every third Friday at Killingsworth Dynasty for our monthly Dynasty Danze party, and on the radio every Tuesday, 4 to 6 pm, on XRAY.fm.

Craziest gig: The nuttiest, most intense gig was probably the Prince tribute at Wonder Ballroom last May. We were spinning onstage, and they were showing Purple Rain on a loop all night. There were balloons flying around, fog and so many people in need of a dance party. Since we're almost exclusively vinyl, the balloons were a little tricky because people kept hitting them toward us, and if we weren't careful they'd skip the records. So it was a little like being under attack all night. We'd have to keep an eye out for balloons as the other person was cueing up songs. But it was definitely a night to remember—the music and the movie kept syncing up in really magical ways. It was lovely to celebrate his life with so many strangers. Honorable mention goes to one of our very first Dynasty Danze nights. At the height of the evening, someone hurled his or her bra at us. I also remember an inexplicably wide array of Lycra body suits and being flashed.

Our go-to records: ESG, A South Bronx Story; Tom Tom Club; Devo, Q: Are We Not Men?…; Wipers, Is This Real?; the Cure, Standing on a Beach; New Order, Power, Corruption & Lies; the Pretenders, Pretenders II; Total Control, Henge Beat; the Psychedelic Furs, Forever Now.

Don't ever ask us to play…: Drake.

NEXT GIG: Strange Babes spin at Killingsworth Dynasty, 832 N Killingsworth St., on Friday, Jan. 20. 9:30 pm. 21+.

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