Originally from San Francisco, Behrouz has settled in Miami, where he has well established himself as a DJ. He has brought his Pure Behrouz party all across the globe and recently opened his club, Do Not Sit On The Furniture in South Beach. The new space aims to stand out from all the other clubs in Miami by focusing solely on the music instead of bottle service and bringing in big name DJs. Behrouz will be featured at BangOn!'s New Year's Eve party in Brooklyn on December 31st. We sat down with him ahead of the gig to chat about his vision for Do Not Sit, his experience of opening a new club, some of his favorite things to do when he's visiting New York, and what he has in store for 2014. Get tickets to BangOn! "Time And Space" on Pulse Radio!
This fall, you opened your new club Do Not Sit On The Furniture in Miami. What has that experience been like so far? To put it quite bluntly, it has been nothing short of amazing. I get to see both sides of the ball game now - DJ on one side and club owner on the other. The learning curve is definitely up and every day I learn something new. It's always been a goal of mine to open up my own place and I don't know which is harder, touring non stop and not having a moment to relax or running a club. They both take so much of your time. But I love challenges so I'm ready for whatever comes next.
The club is described as “the abandoned-treasure-turned-retro-sixties-atomic-bomb-dance-music-bar-institution” and aims to be relaxed, comfortable, reasonably priced, and all about the music. What was your motivation for opening it? What sets it apart from other spots in the area? I moved to Miami seven years ago from San Francisco, and at the same time the whole EDM and commercial music scene was growing bigger and I was not at all in touch with this whole movement. After living in Miami and starting a family here, I wanted to contribute something back to the music scene. I wanted to express my artistic point of view and open a place that I could play the record I really wanted to play and not what someone who bought a $10K table wanted to hear. When people walk into Do Not Sit On The Furniture, the first thing they say to me is "wow, this place is different than any other club/bar in South Beach". It's different because it's not about the DJ or the table someone bought, it's about the music. I have also created a room that my friends can come and play unannounced when they are in town. Guy Gerber hosted a party during Art Basel, the Life and Death & Unreal MGMT guys do a weekly Thursday party, and we had Tale of Us and Mind Against playing the week after Art Basel with many other surprises in store. What also sets us apart is that Do Not Sit is the only club in South Beach that is smoke-free. We just started a new campaign called Clean Lungs Dance Long. You come dance all night without inhaling smoke or leaving the venue smelling like a burnt cigarette. I'm really excited to push this campaign.
You’ll be playing for our friends at BangOn! at their New Year’s Eve party in Brooklyn. What can guests look forward to from your set? As always, a special journey with my music. Just come prepared for the journey! I feel like this party is going to have a somewhat of a Burning Man vibe since it's me, Damian Lazarus, Bob Moses and some other burners playing in Brooklyn. That means trouble! I think BangOn will be one of the best parties to attend during NYE and I am getting messages every day from so many friends in NYC and all over that are excited to come to the party. Let's ring in 2014 with a big BANG.
What are some of your favorite things to see, do, and eat when you’re visiting New York? I always like to go to Chelsea Market and have lobster or go to Café Habana for the best Mexican corn and Cuban food. You can't leave without having proper Chinese food as well (this is seriously lacking in Miami). I love NY. It feels like home to me and will always have a special place in my heart. I've been lucky to have a good following in NY which allows me to come back and play at some of the best clubs, like Output, Cielo or back in the day like Vinyl, Twilo and many others.
As someone who has been involved in the scene in the US for so long, how have you seen it evolve in your own experience? This is a funny subject for me because when I am in Europe and I hear some Europeans that don’t know about the US scene that much tell me, "It's great that the US is picking up and learning about the underground." I always laugh at them and tell them, "where were you in 90’s when we had everything?" It’s like a cycle that shifts but always comes right back to our scene here. The soul of dance music comes from the vibe of a city and when the city becomes too expensive you lose all the creative people. That’s what has happened to many cities like NY, SF, and Chicago but at the end it comes right back!
Do you have a New Year’s resolution this year? Live a happy healthy life. I just want to be happy and the rest will work it's self out.
What else do you have planned for 2014? Build this club the way I envision it to be , work a lot in the studio and always try to become better at what I do.
