By Wade Coggeshall
INDIANAPOLIS — Slater Hogan may be turning 40, but he’s not letting a number stop him from doing what he loves.
Hogan has progressively fashioned himself as not only one of the city’s most in-demand club DJs, but has made a name for himself internationally as well. He and DJ partner John Larner have spun in chic hot spots all over Europe and North America. Their weekly Keepin’ it Deep series at Blu on South Meridian Street is one of Indianapolis’ longest-running electronic music events.
“I didn’t think it would ever amount to anything,” Hogan said of his DJing while sipping an organic beer in his modish Massachusetts Avenue apartment.
Hogan, whose day job is head tennis pro at the Riveria Club, came to the electronic music scene late. He loved artists like New Order and Depeche Mode as an adolescent. He discovered house music — a form of electronic dance music heavily influenced by the likes of soul, funk, and disco — while attending Butler University.
“Once I heard house music and techno, it was a natural transition from the stuff I had been listening to,” Hogan said.
He started attending raves and other parties, and liked what the DJ added to such events.
“Two songs combined are actually better than the individual songs,” Hogan said. “That really intrigued me. I have no musical background whatsoever, but thought man I want to give that a try.”
Over time Hogan got DJ gigs at The Vogue and The Patio in Broad Ripple. It was the latter where he met Larner, who was already an established talent on the Midwest rave circuit.
“He was still pretty new at it, and still figuring out mixing on the technical side, but I recognized the way that he played,” Larner said of Hogan. “He had a really good ear for what to put together and ways to take stuff from different genres and make them sound good together.”
They became fast friends and started crafting their own house-inspired tracks. While they didn’t think their music was good enough to send to any record labels, the pair did muster the courage to send some examples to Mark Farina, a famous West Coast DJ. They never got a response from him, but about three months later Hogan heard him play some of their music when he listened to one of Farina’s live sets over the Internet.
“I thought wow, we might be onto something,” Hogan said.
Farina gave credit to Hogan and Larner when anyone asked about the tracks. Soon they were getting calls from labels. Over the course of 2003 they issued about 40 new mixes and broke into the overseas market thanks to BBC DJ Pete Tong — known as the UK’s dance music ambassador — who added some of their songs to his essential mix.
Since then, Hogan and Larner have averaged two to three months overseas a year spinning everywhere from London to Paris and in cities all over Australia and New Zealand.
“If it all stopped today, I would still be more than satisfied with where it got me,” Hogan said. “I never imagined I’d be paid to travel the world.”
When they’re not on the road, Hogan and Larner are bringing internationally-renowned DJs to the Circle City while also offering local musical mixologists a popular platform through Keepin’ it Deep every Thursday at Blu. Now eight years old, the series has called numerous night spots around the city home before settling at its current location. Katelin Reeves, Blu’s events coordinator, says Keepin’ it Deep has opened the venue to a whole new clientele, as well as more customers.
“We’ve had Thursday nights here that are Saturday night busy,” Reeves said. “That’s something that hadn’t happened for a long time. They’ve really created another weekend night here.”
Larner, who coordinates Keepin’ it Deep with Hogan and Tyler Stewart and Scott McCorkle, says there’s a simple explanation for the event’s longevity.
“We like to party,” he said. “We have a great time doing it.”
By that he means they’re committed to nurturing a burgeoning scene here. Otherwise it wouldn’t survive.
“The time, quality, and money that goes into doing these shows, a lot of people don’t understand,” Larner said. “At the end of the day, it’s not really important that they do, but that’s why it does well. It comes off like we just go out there and do it.”
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Online:
www.bluindy.com
www.muziqueboutique.com
Just the Facts
WHO: Slater Hogan w/ The Hood Internet
WHEN: Feb. 11, doors open 9 p.m.
WHERE: Blu, 240 S. Meridian St.
