Doomtree's Paper Tiger: The Interview (and free 80s mix!)

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By Jen Boyles in DJ Q&A

Thu., Dec. 3 2009 @ 1:26PM

The best place to find John Samels is behind the DJ booth, 80's sunglasses (authentic, mind you) slipping down his nose a and too-small hat cocked to the side in a playful tongue-in-cheek nudge at the scene that's grown to love him. At 29 years old, the graphic designer and Doomtree DJ known as Paper Tiger is just starting to take a a big fat red pen to his musical aspirations checklist, starting this year with a European tour in support of POS, this month with production on his own and crew members' albums, and on Saturday with the 5th anniversary of the rap pack's "Blowout" showcase that somehow manages to top itself each year (even to the crew's surprise). On the heels of the Mainroom show, Papes takes a moment to answer all of our burning questions on everything from 80s movies to his time overseas to what it's really been like to go from the bottom of the bottle to the top of the throne.

Gimme Noise: You went to Europe in October to DJ on POS's tour dates. And we are so jealous. Tell us something that will make us even more so.

Paper Tiger: I did spend 3 weeks in Europe. It was totally amazing, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. We did Germany, England, Scotland, and Holland and we did the whole thing on trains, which is amazing. You get to see some beautiful parts of the countryside. It was really the first time I left the States, too, I mean, I went to Canada for a few days once, but that really doesn't count. The food, however, is terrible, but it is very easy to overlook when you are in a different part of the world. A few highlights: Munich, Berlin, London, Amsterdam. Boom, done.

GN: Around this time five years ago, a bunch of you were sitting in the back of the Varsity stunned at how well the first Blowout went. Is there still a sense of that-- that awe?

It is easy to get really wrapped up in things and forget that there a lot of people that actually like what we do. Every year when I am on that stage, and I look out and see a sold-out audience of kids going crazy, it really puts things into perspective, that what we are doing is not going unnoticed. I remember sitting in the coffee shop with the crew, planning the first one, wondering if it will all work. And you would think that after five years, times have changed, but there is definitely an element of that afternoon in every year we have done this since.

GN: Favorite Blowout so far and why?

The 2nd Blowout was special I think because it was the first time we sold out the Main Room (at First Avenue). That alone made the night for me. It is a place of legendary status, and I am just happy to be part of it.

GN: Tell us about your current project you're working on in the studio.

We just wrapped up working on the new full length record from Dessa - "A Badly Broken Code". I am really excited about this project, because I feel very involved with this record. I worked on a good portion of it with Dessa, and I am really proud of how it turned out. I am just about finished with my first full length album. It sort of picks up where I left off with my last EP. I spent a month in New York this summer working on it. I have a few guest vocalists, and I'm very excited for it to get finished. At the Blowout his year, I am releasing a 7" record. It is limited to 200 copies, and I hand screen printed all the packaging myself. This is 2 tracks that will appear on the record, but not exactly in this way.

GN: If you could only wear one pair of sunglasses for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

Ha! Well, I think my favorite pair I bought in a small town called Centralia, Washington. They are the perfect color, sort of a grey, cement color, with subtle black speckles and just the perfect amount of tint. And they are straight-up legit originals from the 80's, not this Urban Outfitter re-make crap.

GN: Another hypothetical - you have to hang out with one Doomtree member for a month straight, and that's the only person you get to see. Who do you pick and why?

That is a loaded question. Are you trying to get me in trouble? The real answer is, I could very easily spend a month with anyone in the crew. They are my best friends in the world. I understand that is the super cop-out answer, but it's true.