DJ Red a.k.a. Red Ferrington a.k.a. Johnny Francis Ferrington: DJ / Owner of 8,000 Records / Local Produce Handler

Sagewolf Interviews

@lets_talk_about_recs
The scene:
We are sitting on the floor in the back of the house in the room “where the magic happens.” Get your head out of the gutter! We are in Red’s music room surrounded by 8,000 records, speakers, 2 turn tables, and a microphone (see what I did there ;) I’ve been witness to his DJ mastery for 23 years now, and he’s "even better than the real thing." Join us for the OG story, a homeless jaunt through Yosemite, and THE BEST podcast soundtrack.
Dear parents: we use salty language in this interview.
Highlights:
+ Red "turns the tables" and makes me DJ our interview
+ And unsuccessfully tries to distract me from the interview questions
+ The pricey record collection: Tool’s “Enema” and Harlem Youth Percussion Group
+ A radio station on Humboldt Hot Air
+ Living under a rock in and getting chased out of Yosemite by rangers
+ Volunteering for $6/day
+ Being a DJ for 43 years
+ Sister sang for Charles Wright - in his home, with him playing the piano
+ Having a mom and a sister who are GREAT singers
+ Shout out to the Pin Room in Arcata - Woot!!
+ Having a soft spot for Disco
+ I sing Pistol Annie’s for Red - he has no idea what is going on
+ You do NOT need ecstasy to have fun at a rave
+ He still burns CDs for people (like me who have a CD player in their car)
+ Putting yourself in a position to receive criticism from mass public
+ Billy Corrigan should have stayed gangly
+ “Rock God” and rock power - what happens when you become a cool kid
+ Sensual albums for making out to
+ Nostalgic albums from youth: The Pretenders, The Beastie Boys…
+ Being sorta anti-social
+ Turning people onto new music
+ DJ Logic complimenting your record choice
+ Opening for Rob Garza and stumping him with music
+ Music snobbery
+ The volume wars and harmonic complexity
+ “Music peaked in the late 60’s and has gotten worse ever since” (according to an algorithm)
+ You won’t hear great bands on the radio
+ Current pop music is written by the same 4 people
+ The Telecommunications Act ruined music variety and discovery
+ Propaganda is everywhere you’re looking and listening
+ We don’t care about how many hot models Trump banged in the 80’s
+ “The media’s reaction to Trump is what divided us”
+ The difference between a conspiracy theory and the truth: 6 months
+ Being a local DJ so you can keep playing the music you love
+ “If it wasn’t for the community, I’d be playing for nobody”
+ Kids these days
A taste:
“I’m a storyteller but I also am super self-conscious about talking about myself. I don’t find my life that interesting but I guess I could maybe tell it in a way that it is interesting.”
“There was a crip - a legitimate Gardena crip who was in that class […]. I remember him asking me, ‘Hey, have you seen the Buffalo Gals video?’ And I was a super fucking geek [… ] He asked me if I had a turntable at home. ‘Does it have a scratch pad ?’ I was like ‘What the hell’s a scratch pad?’”
Favorite saying:
“I don’t like the taste of beer, but I like the flavor of being drunk.”

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Love, Sagewolf xoxo