I am Wolfgang Gartner. Ask me anything you want.

Hi. Guy from crowd here. why dont you call me anymore? was it something i ate?

lol. didn't even look at the name when i read that. why don't you return my texts? i have a fear of speaking on the telephone.

Are you a millionaire yet? If so for how long

yeah, but a million dollars ain't shit in 2014.

Hey Wolfgang, I heard that you hang out in your hotel a lot and aren't big into the party scene when you tour. Is there a reason why?

I don't understand how other DJ's can go out and party and drink and wake up the next morning, get on the plane and make it to the next gig and play a good set. I tried it for a bit, . . . it didn't work out so well. Traveling takes so much out of you already, there's no room for any more battering of your immune system!

What is your opinion on the Beatport top 10 chart vs. the chart 3-4 years ago?

I can't even listen to it anymore. Like, it will make me fear for the future of humanity if I listen to that top 10 these days.

aight guys, it's been over 2 hours, i gotta go, sorry if i didn't get to your question, i tried my best to find the unique ones and answer questions that there aren't already answers to on the internet. if you didn't get an answer, chances are good i've actually answered your question in an interview online and you may be able to find it pretty easily through a google search. otherwise thanks for the love / kind words and see you next time.

Wolfgang (or Joey) I have loved your music ever since the Joey days and am absolutely inspired by your work! I'm currently spinning music at clubs and shows professionally as much as possible(not nearly enough as I'd like) and it's all thanks to you! I have seen you a grand total of 8 times (Get Lucky, UT; Wolfgang Show, UT; Wonderland, UT; Coachella,CA; 2 Wolfgang Shows,CO; EDC 2013,NV) and plan on seeing you on the 13th of Feb here in Denver. Too Excited! I actually opened for you and JES when you played at Wonderland in Utah! You signed my computer that I produce on! Sadly, someone stole that computer and all my projects on it. You have no idea how upset I was... No... idea… That was the most priceless thing in my life.

Anywho, enough fan-boying, my question is when you were doing deep house, did you ever think that you'd switch up genres and do something different? Did you want to go in that direction or did you feel the pull of the crowd going more to that style?

Thanks for doing the AMA. You are the absolute best! Please continue doing what you do and if I could learn something from you for a couple of hours while you are in Denver you'd make my life a complete success! Either way it goes, I will make a song with you eventually, just a matter of time.

first off thanks for all the kind words. with the old school house thing it was just a matter of it shrinking - the industry, the attendance at shows, record sales, people were getting old and growing out of it, and new young kids were listening to more commercial stuff like electro at the time. i wanted to make an impact and that meant having my music heard by a lot of people - it was never going to happen with that old house sound, i changed styles mainly because i wanted to play some kind of a role in music / music history, shaping its direction, and in order to do that I had to find where the broader audience was. Then I applied MY ideas and tastes to that niche of the market and eventually accomplished what i set out to accomplish

Wolfgang!!! Huge fan here! One question! How do you fill out your tracks to make them sound so full? A lot of white noise, low volume effects?

compression, mixdown, mastering, it's a combination of all the factors, there aren't really specific tricks. i do use a lot of very low volume / subliminal hi-hat / percussive noises to fill up the treble space organically though. maybe that's a tip.

How do you deal with the stress of making music, touring, and interacting with people all the time? It must take it's toll.

lots of massages, spas, and other ways of relieving stress, herbal remedy type shit. but just to clarify there is no stress involved in making music. that relieves stress.

herbal remedy, eh?

yeah you know. medicinal herbs.

How do you feel about Paris Hilton claiming to be a top 5 DJ?

i think it's pretty much in line with everything else going on in "EDM" right now.

I LOVE YOU YOU'RE ONE OF MY FAVORITES HI.

HI

Wolfgang! I'm a huge fan, and have had the pleasure of opening for you in DC, and was part of the road sign hack crew in the area.

I was wondering, what track of yours was your favorite to make?

you are a hero! the DC road sign hack crew are my people. my fav track to make? probably Anaconda, because it all just came to me really naturally and instantly, i never had to sit and think or take breaks, it was just a case of, the first noise i made was the right noise every time. sometimes that happens. studio magic.

Out of curiosity, what would you say it takes to get signed to Kindergarten Records?

a song that i really like

What are your thoughts on Avicii?

I think he took a big chance and did something nobody else was doing, and no matter what you think about the music you have to respect him for doing that. I personally think he is helping play a role in moving away from this generic big room stuff and I hope he continues on the path he's on.

Thanks for the AMA!

Who/what would you say provides you the most inspiration in your recent tracks?

rap. i pretty much just listen to rap and then translate that attitude into house music i guess. for recent tracks at least.

have you rolled (molly, beans, X, etc.) before? ever while performing?

pretty much every time i ever performed up until i was 20 or so, yeah. hundreds of times. it was pressed pills back then though. and it definitely wouldn't be conducive to performing now. . . . . . waaaay different scenario. i would be a mess.

Who would win in probably the laziest ever fight, your cat or Meowingtons?

Meowingtons. My cat is old. I've seen Meowingtons in the flesh, he's a spry and energetic fellow, unfortunately I think he'd beat the shit out of my old man. My dude is a lover not a fighter though,

If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be?

I'd produce a track with Quincy Jones and resurrect Freddie Mercury for the lead vocals.

Oh man you're awesome. I can't tell you how many times I've lost my mind in those huge chords in Space Junk. I need a question don't I? Hmmm. What're your thoughts on the Big Room House trend? And also what production tips can you give to newbs like myself?

the big room house trend? to me it's a joke. it's a lot of marketing and back scratching and publicly traded conglomerates buying festivals and music sites. . . . it all goes hand in hand.

first of all you're awesome.

I held up a happy birthday sign for you at the last Ultra!

what's your favorite breakfast cereal?

i remember that sign. actually it's in a picture of that show. CHEERIOS. multigrain, chocolate, with strawberries, plain, muhfckin CHEEEEERIOS.

Which artist are you most excited to hear new music from in 2014? I know there's a lot of people trying to put out albums soon (Madeon, Skrillex, Porter Robinson, Dillon Francis, etc.)

that's news to me -- i'd be excited to hear all of the above albums, that's a nice list.

Hello! What is the best and the worst about the DJ life?

best - being able to make and play the music that i love and getting paid for it. worst - air travel, and everything related to air travel.

How many travel days do you have on average?

average 220 per year

boxers or briefs?

boxer briefs

Love your music first of all :) My question for you is, what is the exact feeling you get when you see all those people raging to you?

a big fat rush of dopamine and serotonin and adrenaline.

Hey Wolfgang! Do you miss living in Austin?

no. i can't believe i stayed there so long actually. i'm from California all my life, this is my home / the coast of california, I just somehow ended up in Austin for a few years and got stuck.

What did you think about your talents when you first started? How did you see the future back then?

I thought I was "going to be a famous producer who toured the world playing music". . . . according to my dad, when i was 14. thing is, when i was 14, my music was soooooo bad. i thought it was great, but listening now, it was so bad. I didn't see my music for what it really was in those early stages. now I know when something sucks and i'm not "on" so to speak

What does your music mean to you, emotionally? Does it tell a story, or is it just a cool beat? What's going on in there?

It creates a certain emotion that only happens when I make music, so there could even be some kind of name for what that emotion is: it's like nostalgia and euphoria and sex drive all sort of coming together and once my neck starts jerking and i'm bouncing in my seat is when that emotion fully sets in. A lot of it is remembering parties I went to in the 90's and parties I've played in the 00's and 10's, and the nostalgia of being there again.

Who is your favorite producer to collaborate with?

mau5 was my favorite i think because we worked in such a similar way / used so many similar tools already that it was very symbiotic and good for creativity.

Wolfgang! Do you have the toilet roll roll with the sheet of paper forward or backwards?

whichever way my girlfriend puts it on because i never remember to put a new one on

Could you name any specific guides/ tutorials that helped you with getting your overall sound? From mixing to building synthesizers/ instruments, I'm curious if there are any "go-to" books, videos or lessons of some sore that you'd recommend.

Thank you!

Houston

no tutorials, no books, just trial and error from 1993 to now, in a room with a bunch of gear.

So did you teach yourself music theory and everything? or were you just like fuck that shit

i took piano for 8 or 10 yrs when i was a little kid. music theory / all that.

Before I saw you at Bonnaroo 2013, I was not a fan of electronic music at all. I would talk endless shit about it and just wrote it off as the newest trend in music. After your set though, I was completely blown away and consider you to be among the best in your genre right now. I have two questions for you. What artists influence the music you make? and How is your touring looking for 2014? Would love to see you in Miami sometime this year (preferably at a smaller less expensive club). Keep up the good work and thank you for getting me into a new genre of music!

awesome to hear. I don't think I'm really influenced by dance music right now since most of the stuff coming out isn't really to my liking. So I guess I'm deriving my inspiration from mainly rap, new and old, and trying to take it out of context and turn that attitude into something completely new. I'll be in Miami in 2014 for sure yes. :) can't give confirmed venues / dates yet.

Will you be playing any major festivals in North America this year?

yes

Do CDJ's really give you control over the music you're playing or does using them become more of a means of keeping music playing while you interact with the crowd? Basically how much active music control are you doing when using CDJ's vs other controllers?

every DJ is different. I am doing a lot of technical stuff when I mix. with the CDJ's (looping, sampling, etc) and with the mixer with certain effects. It's important (IMO) to have a good balance of doing live technical artistry and crowd interaction, not just one or the other.

Any saturation plugins you find yourself coming back to time and time again?

Waves Kramer tape is amazing but really drains your system, PSP makes a couple good ones too. But I haven't used those on the master in at least a year. usually on individual tracks.

Any plans to come back through Florida anytime soon, I saw you at Identity Fest Tampa 2012 and you killed it

for sure. so many college cities in that state i love playing. i'll be in florida plenty in 2014.

What headphones do you typically use? For listen and for producing?

i don't produce in headphones or on my laptop or anything. only studio. for DJ'ing i use Shure in-ear monitors in each ear - i monitor on the left and cue on the right.

Hi! What is your favorite festival that you've played at?

Sasquatch 2011

Would you ever consider doing a collab with Kaskade?

yeah, we were doing one for a while years ago, it just sorta faded out. actually we did a remix swap for our labels many years ago when we were both doing the deep house thing.

How long does it usually take you to make a track? Do you ever find yourself with writers block and how do you overcome it?

Saw you at the end of your tour last year in LA at the Palladium. Sick show, I loved it.

writers block - i finally realized that there is absolutely no cure for writers block, aside from heavy narcotics, which are a temporary cure that later create more harm than good. so now i just accept it and stop trying. i'll just take time off. play around the house, work in the garage on projects or whatever, chill by the pool, just make it my time off basically. then when i think i'm ready, i'll try making music again. if it's not happening in an hour or two, i just go back to vacation mode again.

How long was the process for writing Piranha?

i think about 4 solid days, . . . probably like 12hrs a day of work.

Mixdown tips?

good room, good monitors, good musical references, and less is more on the mastering tip if you master your own.

What was your favorite song of 2013?

Bugatti

Someone has a gun to your head, they're forcing you to take a drug of your choice and record an album. Which drug do you choose?

i think i always made better stuff on blow when i did hard drugs (up till like 20yrs old) to make music, . . . . . so, gun to my head? blow i guess. i don't know how it would end up these days. maybe not good.

Hello!

Big Fan! I saw you this summer at Escapade in Ottawa, you were great. QUESTION: After performing so many shows over the years, do they start to blur together or can you remember really great specific nights?

i can always remember specific nights. actually i can remember almost every show i've played in the last 5 years or so if i think hard enough. you wouldn't think the brain would retain all that shit but it does! for me at least.