Fisher Price

After nearly a decade behind the decks, Gold Coast-based DJ Fisher Price puts a wealth of musical knowledge and his own bent passion into each and every set.

Setting out in the late nineties fired up by golden era hip hop, classic Ninja instrumental beats and the breaks coming out of the UK, Price wore a journeyman's leather helmet into Brisbane's record stores, paying a small fortune to amass a worthy breakbeat-and-funk-oriented vinyl collection, keeping an ear cocked for fresh sounds, hat pulled low over the eyes. Partner in crime General Public (aka James Blonde) scoured beats with him, and the two practiced.

They got gigs. Played free. Learnt about beat matching. Learnt how to read a crowd. Played parties. 'Worked' hard. The duo started getting residencies in small bars, joints their eclecticism was appreciated. They drank their respective weights in free schooners of New. The collection grew, as did the list of venues and residencies - Rumpus Room, Barsoma, Bread and Butter, Neverland, Swingin’ Safari, Zen Bar, Step Inn, Jorge, Verve, The Cavern and many more. Sets supporting Koolism, Loose Cannons, Sneaky Sound System (when they were good), Surecut Kids and at festivals including Southern Oracle and Earthfreq followed. They sharpened their corporate skills, and had several near breakups at a variety of corporate, charity and wedding-type events in between real gigs.

After Public departed for the cash-laden sands of Dubai in 2009, Fisher Price kept on spinning, expanding his tastes to include fresh bass music - from pure dub to Afro house to dubstep - into his repetoire. He learnt to fly solo, often steering his way through 6-8 hour solo sets. Using a combination of old-school vinyl and Serato, his sets can range widely to include just about every sound on the planet, or it might be pure hip hop. Depends on the crowd, depends on the night.

Continuing a five-year residency at West End’s Rumpus Room, 2011 has also seen him spinning with DJ Meekee at Swingin’ Safari fortnightly, recently supporting Omegaman.

It’s going to be a good summer.

"Fisher Price is alright. I mean, I like watching him for an hour or two; you could say he has the capacity to annoy and entertain me in equal parts. I'd probably rather listen to his tunes than most of the Miaow-gobbling, deep house gurners who kid themselves that they've been into techno since 1990. And it's pretty funny when he gets out of it enough to dance. Hey, have you seen my phone?"

The music will usually have a snare drum. Twisted bass is welcome. Vocals float in and out of the mix. Mashup party treats are generally welcome.

Meekee & Fisherprice - Reggae-ish by Meekee

Meekee & Fisherprice - Tea cup Funk by Meekee