RB Backstage: One on One with Crizzly

Hot on the announcement of his upcoming performance at Global Dance Festival Arizona we just had to get the inside scoop on crunkstep pioneer Crizzly. We caught up with Chris “Lee” Marshall and asked him a few burning questions:

Relentless Beats: While composing “Certified Gz” what was it that made you want to work with with Slim Thug?

Crizzly: I was born and raised in Texas so it’s always been a dream to work with a rapper from here. It goes back to when I was in middle school watching Sucker Free Sunday on MTV like it was a religion. All the dirty south music videos stuck out to me. That’s what I grew up with and now it’s a part of me.

RB: Who has been someone you have been dying to collaborate with?

CZ: Lil B

RB: Do you have a pre-show ritual that you do each night?

CZ: I do as many push ups as a can before I go on stage.  I also do handstands because those are fun and I just recently figured out I was good at them.

RB: What was the first show you did that felt “big” to you?

CZ: Haha pretty much my very first show has been a great experience! The first one that felt big was when I started DJing was my school’s homecoming dance.  I was nervous and didn’t have enough country music (still don’t).

RB: What is your favorite piece of tech in your DJ rig?

CZ: I really love my X1 by Native Instruments. It’s super portable. I can shove it in my backpack and it can basically do everything the S4 can. A lot of people look down upon it because it doesn’t have two large rotating platters but if you take the time to learn the technology you can do so much!

RB: Do you feel like the availability of inexpensive DJ software for personal computers and portable digital music formats have been a positive thing for the DJ community?

CZ: I totally think it’s a positive thing. It’s an expensive hobby, but at least there’s an inexpensive starting point for anyone who wants to learn the basics. You can download Traktor on an iPhone now to get started! If anyone were to say it’s a bad thing then I’d use the electric guitar as an example, there are plenty of people who thought differently about the electric guitar. These bands that created a bunch of “Noise”, and then a whole new era of music was born.

RB: Tell me about that moment when you knew you made the transition from a fan to a performer. 

CZ: I wish I could tell you but I’m 100% still a fan. I usually try to catch as many DJ sets as I can when I’m at festivals!

You can catch Crizzly with Steve Aoki, Adventure Club, and Emma Hewitt at Global Dance Festival in Tempe, AZ on November 21st. Visit www.globaldancefestival.com for ticketing and event information.