TA$TEMAKER$ COO SPOTLIGHT

WHO IS IAN MCDONELL

Ian Mcdonell is a BOSS. He is a seasoned International DJ known on the streets as Havoc, is one of the founders for TasteMakers Media as well as a key host in the Flagship podcast, TasteMakers Radio. Wearing multiple hats, this man is making waves on the air WAVs and beyond!

Ian is usually asking the hard questions so we were thrilled when we got to ask him a few. After all, inquiring minds want to know!

What is the one word that comes to mind when you think of TasteMakers Media?

TASTY

What is your show about?

TasteMakers Radio is a 2 hour talk show with an exclusive DJ mix. We showcase and discuss the urban influence in electronic music of today’s scene and tomorrow’s dance floors.

I deliver my unique flavor of underground white labels from the US/UK and beyond. I am forever dishing out the hottest gossip and news relating to the electronic music industry from years past into the present.

What to be in the know? Welcome to the bleeding edge of all things electronica and urban, we are making your Taste, one tune at a time.

Great entertainment comes with drama and comedy. We deliver the tasty goods to have you on the edge of your seat with the best new ground‐breaking tunes and provide comedic relief with our eccentric personalities. Picture; Mista Jam meets Howard Stern, backstage at BPM.

who have been some of your past guests?

Tastemakers is about Urban Influenced Electronic music and the culture that summons the early 90's into today. Our past guest range from legends like DJ Assult and Boys Noize to current game changes Like Lil Dicky and Valentino Khan.

When and where can the world hear your podcast?

TasteMakers Radio is available on all streaming platforms. I encourage you to check out some of our best episodes on our Soundcloud or Apple Music. If you want to tune in “LIVE” we are on every Friday from 3:00 to 5:00pm PST on the LOUD Station on Dash Radio. www.dashradio.com

What inspired you to begin your podcast and/or how did you become involved in the show?

I was interviewed by Caroline D' Amore for her show on Dash Radio 7 years ago as a guest dj to talk about my life touring with Dev and The Cataras for our hit record Like A G6. After the interview Caroline asked me to conceptualize a radio show for Dash's then Electronic music channel "ElectroCity" as she wanted to pitch a show hosted by me to DJ Skee. I hit up my then manager and closest friend Charlie Lytle aka Chucky Fresh (RIP) and we came up with Tastemakers, the rest is history.

As a tastemaker, can you recommend any other podcasts that are just as awesome?

NOPE, there's nothing like Tastemakers Radio, i can very confidently say, there is nothing just as awesome, nothing that even compares. But if you have to change the channel, the only radio show I was ever truly a fan of is MistaJam on Radio One XTRA circa 2009. lol

What do you love most about working with the TasteMakers Family?

Everybody's willingness to share the deepest darkest secrets and stories about themselves to the public. Tastemakers is all about having the inappropriate conversation, pushing the boundaries of whats politically or socially correct to have real genuine convo about Art's, Culture, sex, Drugs, and most importantly Trap House Lifestyle. When a new intern comes into tastemakers we don’t hesitate a single second to put them on the mic and ask about their current sex life. The Tastemakers who are still around today had a great story to tell from day one. Like Mattie True, who shared with us in her first month with the TM family how she got the IUD fucked so deep inside of her she had to have it surgically removed!!!! Now that's good content! And the choice to share that story with the family and laugh at it, is what makes you a Tastemaker.

Since quarantine, have you continued to record the show?

Yes, We did a live Episode of Tastemakers Radio, Recorded at Dash Radio in their new location on Hollywood BLVD 3 days into the pandemic. It was FIRE. great episode, I encourage you to check it out here https://soundcloud.com/tastemakersmedia/covid19 We had the pleasure of featuring Die Antword's Latest Album "House Of Zef" and we spoke about our Covid Dating app we were developing in studio titled "Pandemic Playmate". Recently We hosted an episode featuring an exclusive mix and intimate interview from the one and only LOUISAHHH. Episode is forthcoming and about to be fire.

what is your recommended setup for recording podcasts at home?

Higher Tastemakers, you don't know what you're doing.... OR google "cheap podcast setup" and you are good to go.

Who is the funniest tastemaker at TasteMakers Media?

ME, and if anyone else said otherwise they are lying and they are fired.

Who is the most fashionable tastemaker at TasteMakers Media?

Nemo & Mattie

Who has the best kicks at TasteMakers Media?

I Do! I'm the boss, I have to have the best kicks, its part of the job.

Who has the best taste in music at TasteMakers Media?

Again, Myself. My taste in music is forever changing and if there's any issue I have is that I'm always 2 years ahead of the trend, so by the time people want to hear a song, or are dick riding a new sub genre, i'm over it. I mean DUH, the name is Tastemakers, and I choose it. If you don't know what it means to be a tastemakers, it's the word we all used, we as in 90's kids, before the word "hipster" was fashionable, and way before is was marketable to sell "American made" $60 plane color T-shirts owned by a rapist. Oh Wait, we were talking about music. I like AphexTwin, E-40, Die Antwoord, and everything released on Drumcode Records that isn't by Adam Beyer.

What music do you listen to?

Only techno.... JK, I love so much different and it's always changing. I grew up in the 90's slapping Bay Area street Rap and Buttrock (Shout Out White Zombie, my first true love) I love Sub Genres that make every song possible to make in the first couple years; Triphop, GhettoTech, Moobahtone, IDM, EDM style trap and especially experimental electronic Folk Pop (Morr Music). You want me to blow your mind, hit me up in the DM, @ian.ceo and tell me your favorite music from the past 20 years, I'll lead you to the music from the 90's that it was inspired from, that's my specialty. Currently in my crate is Amnesia Scanner, Sophia Kennedy, 11/5, Dj Koze, The Advent, Easter, and my favorite lover girl; Tami T who's basically what Lady Gaga wishes she was.

Before you were a TasteMakers rockstar, what is craziest thing you said and/or did to get into a club/concert/rave for free and/or backstage?

I was born a Tastemaker, there is no before! Instead of "getting in" I just threw my own Raves. First one ever was 1998 I was 17, party was called Iron Kids, 200 person Underground rave in San Francisco from midnight till noon. XTC was free at the door with your $20 ticket.

What are your thoughts on the Covid19 pandemic?

Reality is what you make it. our existence is made up from how you view it. As far as the Rona, on one side you have Bill Gates' opportunity for world domination in his private billionaire game called "who's the most socially rejected nerd accomplishing payback" and on the other side you have some reasonable popular belief. I live my life respecting popular belief, but truthfully I think the most outlandish "Conspiracy Theory" is more likely to be closer to the truth. #911wasaninsidejob

Before Covid hit, what was your favorite place to hang out in LA?

Voda Spa. I'm clubbing at 240 Degrees !

After Covid hit, what is your new favorite place to hang out in LA?

I'm not telling, because the reason I like it is that nobody knows about it. But you can check out Runyon Canyon, it's in front of my house, I'll probably be out front chain smoking cigs and arguing with Emil and Paper about Tastemakers Media master plans.

What did you binge watch or listen to during quarantine?

After Tiger King and Ozarks season 3 there's been nothing of value to watch. I weekly binge Old Ru Paul's Drag Race episodes, Bil Marr and Last Week Tonight. As far as music goes, always Techno. I started quarantine with Die Antword's latest album "House Of Zef" and am currently listening to Sophia Kennedy's Self titled Album.

What hobbies have you picked up during quarantine?

Learning Zoom and alternative streaming platforms online... NOT BY CHOICE. lol

What is your favorite fitness activity since quarantine?

Masterbating, isn't it everybodys?

What have you learned about yourself since quarantine?

That I spend way to much time on the phone talking to people.

How has the pandemic changed the way TMM produces shows?

Tastemakers prides itself on hands-on production. We are a creative company first and participate in the creative aspect of all of our programming. So when Rona hit and we were looking at social distancing production it was a big leap for us from how we like to do things.

It’s important to go back and discuss how we built our production environment in the first place. From day one, Every guest, business associate, intern and even friends and friends of guests that are invited into one of our production studios is unknowingly forced onto the mic to be barreled with a litany of personal questions. My belief is let’s break the ice, and let's do it on air! Everybody has an interesting story to tell and when you put a mic in front of them, the pressure is on. I like putting pressure on people and then acting a fool to let them and the audience know in real time, we are all just creative people having fun together.

Fast forward to production with Kevin Hart and the Plastic Cup Boys for the LOL Network, Sirius XM channel 96 show, Straight From The Hart. As a third party production company we are introduced to the potential stages we will be using for production. The in-house Tech has set his production studio upstairs in a room separated from the Radio production room, viewable via camera and talk box communication. side note, if it was already pandemic, maybe this would have been great, but we are talking February of 2018, so fuuuuck that. Although we understand as a production company that most traditional radio, especially that of Sirius XM is set up this way. Producers separated by glass and walls from the hosts, BUT we don’t play that game. Radio is about intimacy, creating intimacy between the hosts and their audience, that same intimacy needs to be in place for the production team and the talent. And let's take a moment to give a shout out to Howard Stern and his executive producer Gary “Baba Booey” Dell'Abate who has always been integrated with Stern’s show. He’s in the room, he’s on the mic, he’s a fan favorite and has a public personality as the producer but also as part of the story line. In Film terms, the 4th wall is broken, we see behind the scenes and understand we, the audience, are witnessing not just the final product but also how it is made. This is great entertainment! This is how Tastemakers creates, we are fully integrated into everything we do and that's how we like it.

March, 2020, Pandemic, STAY THE FUCK AWAY FORM PEOPLE!!!… So now what? Let's continue discussing Straight From The Hart; how do we do what we do best and create a production process to facilitate social distancing? Like any major changes in process there’s a lot of trial and error. We, as many did, in our first week attempted a stage that proved 6ft apart from every person involved. This was not gonna work. mask on, now, mask off, now mask on, mask off, ahhhhhhh. Mind you at this point in the production of SFTH we have incorporated a live audience of 30+ friends and family per episode, we have a full bar and dining services catered as well as a 5 person production team and 6 hosts on the show. so we are in full swing 75+ people in a room all vining together. Not any more. How do we keep this energy alive? Tech is the answer, and all signs point to Zoom. Ill leave the nerdy conversation out of the story because really, who gives a fuck, suffuse to say after 2 weeks of high stress learning I could lead a fucking Ted Talk on Zoom production and its technically capabilities for Radio and podcast media. Currently we are still producing all of our properties on Zoom and have found creative ways to keep that same intimate feel that we value so deeply. What are they you might ask, well those are our tricks of the trade. Reach out to our sales department about your podcast and we are always happy to engage with you about our unique production process. I will say this, it was a rocky start and in the end we might even be having more fun social distancing then we ever were in each other's presence.

could talk about setting up Kevin Hart's home studio?

Setting up Kevin’s gear. HA. My experience is generally the more creative and talented someone is in front of the camera, the worse they are at the technical details. Most might assume someone of Kevin stature would have his our satellite network of proprietary CIA provided secret internet super power. Nope, just the opposite. In fact, out all of the 6 members of SFTH, Kevin's internet and therefore his Zoom capabilities proved to be the most challenging to put it politely. and still we find a way. I have no problem holding someone's digital hand while socially distancing and yet coddling them into a tech comfortable set up and thus we did.

What do you think about the future of podcast production?

The future of podcasting is DIY, get yourself a $600 plug and play home set up and just start talking. That's great for anyone out there, no shame in the game and with that said that not what we do. We are always looking to ways to innovate the radio and broadcast industries to bring in more tech and help provide more intimacy. The best radio is heavily structured in advance and then when it's time to go time, hands off, let the vibes flow naturally. As we say on SFTH “Real Raw Authentic Radio, Comedy No Condom” (cue ODB “ohh baby, I like it Raw” sample)

The pandemic and social distancing is not our reality; it is a temporary opportunity to learn different techniques and grow our capabilities. We have learned so much about how to produce fire content the way we like to do it while respecting the fact that everybody is working from home. And we have utilized this time to test new concepts for radio/podcast production including hands free fully mobile podcasting that allows the talent to capture radio while moving about their lives and interacting with each other as if there wasn’t a production occurring. We believe that the sexiest aspect of what has always made radio different then other forms of entertainment media is the intimacy, the flow of thought, stream of conscious from our talents mind into the ears of the audience and we will continue, pandemic or not, to develop procedures and creative ways to facilitate the best organic vibes for all of our properties and the fans that enjoy them.

What is your favorite food to cook?

Juice! I like making my own Cold Press Juices. chk out @healthnarcotics on instagram

What is the tastiest “take out” in LA?

The No Name Pho spot in Silverlake.

What is your personal insta and podcast insta?

@tastemakers_radio @ian.ceo @healthnarcotics (for all your underground juicing needs)

What is your truth?

I used to be a Crackhead.

Katherine WentworthSeptember 16, 2020