DJ STEPDAD time to figure things out Release Party
Baby's All Right146 Broadway Brooklyn, NY · Map
This night happened — Tue 23 Jan 2024
Press play
Who was billed7 artists
In the order the promoter listed them.
- DJ STEPDAD
- next: Nowadays, Thu 19 Novmore eaze
- Connector
- Concave Reflection
- Ben Seretan
- Cleat
- Post-Geography
Set times were not published.
the pairs that have met
18 of the 21 pairings on this bill were first meetings.
- DJ STEPDAD and Post-Geography — 3 shared bills before that night, first on Tue 23 Jan 2024.
- DJ STEPDAD and Ben Seretan — 1 shared bill before that night, first on Tue 23 Jan 2024.
- DJ STEPDAD and Connector — 1 shared bill before that night, first on Tue 23 Jan 2024.
Who they are
“Whatever your thoughts are on artists with goofy monikers, Ted Davis (aka DJ STEPDAD) has likely heard them before.”
their own biography
the whole biography
Whatever your thoughts are on artists with goofy monikers, Ted Davis (aka DJ STEPDAD) has likely heard them before. In line with Davis’s worldview at large, the name of the dance project is as much an act of lighthearted sincerity as it is a reflection of his unbothered sense of humor. Initially a product of the short-lived lo-fi house boom and its endless cheekily-named producers, DJ STEPDAD began in 2018—around the same time Davis started hosting scrappy living room raves out of dingy college houses in Orange County. Reconnecting with a childhood friend over beers and Serato that winter break, the conversation turned to all the support Davis’s stepdad, Mike, had given his musical pursuits over the years. The name DJ STEPDAD had a ring to it, and was decided then and there as a quasi-tribute. Aside from the 2019 EP, for my stepchildren vol. 1, and the occasional stand-alone single, DJ STEPDAD remained a fleeting party trick while Davis relocated to Los Angeles in the early throes of the pandemic. Quickly becoming a respected critical voice in ambient music, Davis was netting bylines with his favorite publications while his own music fell into stasis. Lacking a sense of community in the SoCal sprawl, it didn’t take Davis long to find what he had been missing after relocating to New York in 2022. Within weeks of moving, DJ STEPDAD was playing sets on The Lot Radio, and building friendships with formative electronic influences. The coastal shift and refocus on music would come to shape time to figure things out, Davis’s forthcoming EP and proper reintroduction to the project. Named after a 1970s expression signaling a couple heading for divorce, time to figure things out fittingly finds Davis rebuilding his relationship with DJ STEPDAD. Between properly learning how to DJ ahead of travel dates for the first time, and having mixes featured on NTS and Dublab, the result is an inward-gazing collection of tracks that capture Davis’s confidence being built in real time. Nowhere is that clearer than on EP opener “heaven’s on fire,” which challenges what any DJ STEPDAD track has sounded like before it. Giving the beloved Radio Dept. single a deep house rework, the cover centers Davis’s vocals on a track for the first time under a woozy, autotuned sheen. Not letting time to figure things out become an isolated affair, Davis recruited college rave co-host Alex Conradt for time to figure things out’s artwork and enlisted Doom Trip Records label head Zac Emerson (Panda Bear, Maral) for mastering duties. “dads can’t step” and “she took the kids” stay committed to the divorced dad bit, but a move towards higher fidelity, along with Emerson’s mastering handiwork, have allowed DJ STEPDAD’s fog-enveloped production to soar. Closing with the restless, pop-sampling highlight “bad vibes,” time to figure things out sounds, if anything, like an artist that figured it out. [Tim Gagnon]often with Soler System, 3 People, Mole, none of them here that night
- Their RA profile lists Lillerne Tape Club, Safe Ground, Oxtail Recordings and Mondoj.
often with chinapoet, Wendy Eisenberg, Loidis, none of them here that night
“Cutting his teeth as an independent show booker in NYC, Connor Beckett McInerney's love for indie rock is long documented in his decade-long career as a professional freelance music critic and editor, during which his byline appeared in storied publications such as Pitchfork, FLOOD Magazine, and Manhattan's own The Deli Magazine (where he also once served as Managing Editor).”
their own biography
the whole biography
Cutting his teeth as an independent show booker in NYC, Connor Beckett McInerney's love for indie rock is long documented in his decade-long career as a professional freelance music critic and editor, during which his byline appeared in storied publications such as Pitchfork, FLOOD Magazine, and Manhattan's own The Deli Magazine (where he also once served as Managing Editor). After many sweaty nights in the crowd, McInerney took to the booth in 2021, honing his love of electro, house, and garage through a year-long residency at the now-shuttered Café Rosarito (where he hosted his monthly UNFILTERED party). His selections are frequently heard throughout north Brooklyn, where he's lived since 2018.often with ogd, Kweku, LOSI, none of them here that night
often with Chatham Natural Gas, Colle, Kindtree, none of them here that night
often with Alien D, 3 People, Gardener, none of them here that night
often with Madjestic Kasual, Alien D, none of them here that night
names these artists often play with — not that night
- Alien D3 with DJ STEPDAD, 1 with Ben Seretan and 1 with Post-Geography
- 3 People4 with DJ STEPDAD and 1 with Ben Seretan
- Madjestic Kasual1 with Concave Reflection and 1 with Post-Geography
- MASTA KEY7 with Connector
- Guero .9255 with Connector
- Kweku5 with Connector
- ogd5 with Connector
- Soler System5 with DJ STEPDAD
The room
Baby's All Right — 51 events and 133 distinct artists since Aug 2023.
Holds about 200.