Think of today's biggest DJs, the ones that everyone watches and listens to; the DJs of DJing if you will.  Think about their tricks and techniques, the way they select and mix their records, and the energy and atmosphere they create on their dancefloors.  Now, think about the DJs who came before them, such as Frankie Knuckles and Larry Levan.  Those DJs who influenced today's spinners, were guided musically and philosophically by a man who pioneered the art of mixing on three turntables, who first got audiences to sing records back to the DJ and who made everyone stop dancing and look up at the DJ booth of Studio 54.

Nicky Siano heard and saw something in the music and nightlife of the early 1970s that transcended the accepted norms of that time.  The dance music community had come together out of a need for expression, and a declaration of their rights.  The music reflected the many intense social and political issues of the time, including the Vietnam War and the Stonewall uprising.  When people came together to dance, it was a safe haven, if only for the night.  It was also a way to communicate collectively, something which DJs such as Siano and David Mancuso realized early on.

David Mancuso threw his first loft party in 1970. The Loft quickly grew into a members-only weekly event with Mancuso manipulating his custom-designed light and sound system to create a sonic journey and a story with the records he played.  Since this was before the art of DJing as we know it today, it was truly about the songs that were selected and the order in which they were played.  At this time, Nicky Siano was working as a DJ for a drag show and feeling creatively stifled.  He knew that the only way he could fulfill his vision was with a space of his own like Mancuso's.

In the summer of 1972, Siano, his brother Joe and friend Robin Lord opened The Gallery.  It was here that Siano became a larger-than-life force behind the turntables. He perfected what was, at the time, the controversial art of mixing records by adjusting the pitch. Siano worked like a magician, daring to manipulate two separate pieces of wax until they seemed to become one song.  He worked the turntables like no one else, whipping his crowds into a frenzy, forcing them from one sonic extreme to another; this was in sharp contrast to Mancuso, who favored a more organic and flowing musical journey.  Siano originated the philosophy of the DJ in complete control of the dancefloor.

Now, Siano is bringing back the essence of 1970s nightlife; specifically the entertainment factor and the positivity, two things he says are sorely missing from today's dance music culture.  His new party "Galleria" launches in London on October 20 and in New York City on October 29.  Last month, Siano took time to look back at Dance music's beginnings, its growing pains throughout the years, and the differences and similarities of today's Dance music scene.

Tell me about the social and political atmosphere of the early 1970s and how that influenced and inspired Dance music?

The war was falling apart and people were protesting in the streets, and Stonewall had happened.  People were active in a very militant yet peaceful way; they'd stop traffic, people got arrested but they didn't fire at anyone or explode anything.  They got things done: the war ended, they changed the clubbing law in New York that said 2 people of the same sex couldn't dance together.  That's why clubs flourished at that time.  People were feeling very empowered and the songs reflected that empowerment; songs like "Love Epidemic," and "Little Bit of Love."  All these songs had a message of "we can do this if we stick together, love one another.  Things happened as a result of the energy in the songs and the music.

Just the opposite today: the negative energy that a lot of songs have to them, people get angry [and violent].  It's outrageous that [today] people feel so disconnected and so powerless. That's how we've been taught to feel over the years, especially with the current administration.  We've been taught fear and that you don’t speak out against your government; you're not a true American if you speak out.  That's bullshit! I love my country which is why I'm speaking out against this administration.  I've never seen an administration that is so blatantly corrupt; like Haliburton rebuilding Iraq and its connection to the vice president.  During Watergate, there was an article a day in the paper until Nixon resigned.  Why isn't that happening today?

It seems like the negativity and darkness pervades the entire club scene, I'm thinking especially of the music and the energy in clubs after September 11th.

It does. What you chose to put on your turntable will effect your environment. It happened even at my birthday party in March. I'm playing something old that has a positive message, and within an hour the whole room starts to change: people start smiling, looking in each other's eyes, talking to people they don't know.  I know it's possible, I know people can do it.

What is your opinion of the continual development of digital technology that is pervading the DJ booth?  How do you think the technology effects House music?

I don’t know what effect it has, but I've always been a fan of technology. I had a drum machine at the gallery, although it was called a Boombox.  There were no drum machines in 1975.  I would create a beat on the Boombox and mix into it during the night, and then I'd change the beat and mix out of it.  I would use a tape loop for an echo during the night.  I always incorporated technology.  Today I use Ableton Live when I play, and I can create a song on the fly!

The people who are creative are going to shine.  People who are just good technicians are going to fall by the wayside.  And, although vinyl still has the best sound and has my heart, I can't turn my back on technology because it just stimulates my creative energy and I have to use it.  You do still have to be creative.

What are you hoping to accomplish with your new "Galleria" party? Is this a way to give people today a taste of what Dance music was like at the beginning?

With this party, I'm bringing back the drama.  I'm talking about entertainment drama that doesn't exist in clubs anymore.  There used to be a light show that blew you away, there used to be entertainment during the night; the entertainment aspect to a night out is gone.

I never thought of myself as just playing records, but creating atmosphere; you turn the lights out you start with the sound effect, throw in an acapella then a beat in the background slowly, bring in another acapella, flash the lights and create a whole atmosphere.  That's why I'm doing Galleria again.

The way I play, I always play a certain amount of classics.  But it's going to be about MUSIC, and bringing in different styles of music like danceable Jazz and alternative jazz like I used to play back in the day like Donald Byrd and Weather Report.  I'm not just looking for House.  It's so limited just looking for one type of music.  I want the music to be exceptional.  I'd rather play an old record than an OK new record.

What did your time DJing at Studio 54 mean to you? What role did it play in your overall career?

It didn't mean much.  The reason I was picked to play at Studio was because I was such a well known and respected DJ.  What did it do for my career? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.  Steve [Rubell]'s whole idea was to make the DJ invisible and make the club the star; prior to that the DJ was the star.  Part of why he and I had a fight and I left was because I had STOPPED THE MUSIC and played Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express" from the very beginning.  Kraftwerk was new and it was hard to mix in, and it had an impact when you let a record fade out and bring in "Trans Europe Express." It worked for me at the Gallery and it worked at Studio, but he flipped when I did it. I saw him on the balcony screaming "WHAT IS THIS RECORD HE'S PLAYING?!!" He fired me that night. Not so much for playing the record, but it was because I stopped the music and everyone looked up at the booth.  He didn't want that.  He wanted what Richie [Kaczor, Studio 54's other original DJ] did; seamless, unnoticeable jockeying.

Do you think Studio 54 played a part in Disco's downfall?

Studio was the beginning of the end of disco.  The stupid things [Rubell] did were his door policy: that was part of the demise because when you turn so many people away for no reason whatsoever but you don't like the way they look you put a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.

I think Studio had a lot to do with the demise of Disco, along with the shit music the record companies started to put out.  In 1975-76 anything that had a sticker with DISCO on it sold 200,000 copies before they even heard it. West End put out this Michelle record that was garbage and it sold 200,000 out of the box because they knew West End was a club label and it was a club record. The record companies got greedy and started putting that name on any piece of shit that had a beat. People got very angry.  At Comiskey Park it was about burning records because they were putting out such trash, recycling things. It was out of hand. House music started right after that and it has never gone commercial.

What is the future of House music?  How can it remain vital?

I say to all DJs, people have gotten very comfortable sitting in their apartments and doing their records. But real excitement is created by groups of people. Records worked in the past and were exciting because groups of musicians went in the studio and interacted.  So take a chance, reach out to three or four people, bring them into your world and have them collaborate on your record.  You'll find the excitement is palatable.  It's different than what you can create on your own. This is what needs to change. People need to interact and the energy needs to flow between people in order for us to rise up again. Everyone is feeling like an individual, no one is feeling like a connected unit and that's how we need to feel again.

Words and interview by Alex R. Mayer for JJazproJect.com.  Many thanks for Nicky for taking the time to speak with us. Also, thanks to Rick Heffernan at the Mona Rennalls Agency for arranging the interview.